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Sri Lanka’s returning World T20 champions will have an open-top parade from the Katunayake Airport to Colombo, upon their arrival from Dhaka on Tuesday, SLC has confirmed

Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Apr-2014Sri Lanka’s returning World T20 champions will have an open-top parade from the Katunayake Airport to Colombo, upon their arrival from Dhaka on Tuesday, SLC has confirmed. The team is scheduled to arrive in the country at 3pm, with the parade to begin at 4pm. Tens of thousands are expected to line the streets, with the parade set to be conducted on a much grander scale than the reception for the Asia Cup winning team, one month ago.The team is yet to sign its contracts with the board, having departed after a tense standoff with officials, but SLC has offered the team a sum of US $1.5 million for the victory, even as negotiations are set to resume this week.The board had initially offered a participation fee of $500,000, a further $250,000 if the team were to reach the final, and another $250,000 for winning the tournament, but that pay structure had seemingly been rejected by the players, who wished to have a 12% cut of the ICC’s tournament payment to SLC reinstated in their contracts. If the $1.5 million is accepted by the players, they will have received a figure roughly equivalent to 17% of the funds SLC is expected to receive from the ICC.Congratulations for the Sri Lanka team had poured in from around the world, with Jason Gillespie, Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan among those voicing their appreciation on twitter. At home, a host of local celebrities have joined the chorus.The victory sparked jubilation across the island, with fans’ celebrations having stretched long into the night in several major centres, while Sri Lanka’s team manager said the team had themselves been singing and celebrating for hours after the victory. Sri Lanka also reclaimed the top ranking in Twenty20 cricket with the win, moving three points clear after India had briefly become the top-ranked team during the tournament. Sri Lanka had held the top ranking since their 2012 World T20 campaign.

Former Test batsman Craig McMillan has joined New Zealand as their full-time batting coach for the next two years

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2014Former Test batsman Craig McMillan has joined New Zealand as their full-time batting coach for the next two years. McMillan filled the role temporarily during their recent tour of the West Indies after Bob Carter’s departure earlier this year and has just returned home from a successful New Zealand A tour of England.He will now be part of the permanent setup, joining head coach Mike Hesson, who on Wednesday had his contract extended until 2017, and bowling coach Shane Bond. New Zealand Cricket’s head of cricket Lindsay Crocker said McMillan had established a good rapport with the players over the past few months.”The West Indies and NZA tours were his first as a coach at that level, and we’re very happy with his development,” Crocker said. “He’s been awarded his two-year contract on that basis and I’m confident he’ll continue to form an excellent coaching trio with Mike and Shane.”McMillan played 55 Tests for New Zealand from 1997 to 2005, scored six centuries and averaged 38.46. In 197 one-day internationals he scored three hundreds and averaged 28.18. He retired from first-class cricket in 2007.

The Champions League sees Neymar, Mbappe and Cavani of PSG face Liverpool's Salah, Mane and Firmino – are they among the best triumvirates ever?

GettyMSN

Neymar may have broken up Barcelona's band of brothers last season when he fled to France after a shock €222 million move to Paris Saint-Germain, but the legend of the MSN partnership will live on.

With the brilliant Brazilian lining up in attack alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, the Blaugrana won the Champions League, Club World Cup and La Liga (twice), tearing defences to shreds with their incredible pace, skill and movement

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While MSN was forming at Camp Nou, Real Madrid saw their own attacking triumvirate become an institution within the Spanish capital.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has since moved to Juventus, was the undisputed star of the show but the addition of Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema added more blistering pace, power and, of course, goals to a forward line that fired the Blancos to four Champions League triumphs in five years.

Getty ImagesBBC2

Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini formed a formidable defence in front of legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as Juventus set about re-establishing themselves as a major European force.

Together, the BBC provided the foundation on which the Bianconeri's resurgence was founded, helping the Old Lady win six successive Scudetti before Bonucci departed for AC Milan last year only to return this summer.

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GettyAC Milan's Dutch gold

The arrival of Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit at San Siro in 1987 proved instrumental in AC Milan winning a first Serie A title in nine years, but the signing of Frank Rijkaard propelled the Rossoneri to glory on a world stage.

The Dutch trio became the stars of Arrigo Sacchi's wonderful team, helping the Italian outfit win two European Cups and two Club World Cup crowns.

Abdur Razzak has said that the Bangladesh bowlers had no answers to the problems imposed by dew and Virat Kohli in Fatullah

Mohammad Isam in Fatullah26-Feb-20140:00

‘Kohli was special today’ – Razzak

Abdur Razzak has said that the Bangladesh bowlers had no answers to the problems imposed by dew and Virat Kohli in Fatullah. They failed to defend yet another 250-plus score against India, this time having two very experienced bowlers in the attack.Since Angelo Mathews had spoken about how the dew did not affect Sri Lanka’s total of 296 on Tuesday, Razzak was also asked if there was a drastic change in the conditions overnight. He said the next few matches will show what he is talking about.”It was possible to defend a good total,” Razzak said. “The big problem was the dew. It was present from probably the 22nd or 23rd over. There is no way out from playing with dew, we have to play with what we have.”I don’t know what Angelo Mathews said but you will see in the next matches here, how the team fielding second will be hampered.”Virat Kohli added to the problems imposed on the Bangladesh bowlers because of the dew•AFPMashrafe Mortaza and Razzak took one wicket between them, conceding 99 runs in 19 overs. Among the current Bangladesh players, they have bowled the most overs while defending targets but average 31.15 and 40.14 in the second innings.Rubel Hossain gave away 63 runs in 10 overs, the third consecutive time that he has conceded more than six an over. He delivered two telling yorkers, both to Kohli. While the first one was a free hit, the second got him a wicket.The big worry would be how offspinner Sohag Gazi bowled in the innings. He conceded 49 runs in eight overs, later picking up the wicket of Rahane. The last time he took more than a wicket in an ODI was in the second match against New Zealand last October, a match-winning effort. He struggled against Sri Lanka in all three formats, and now the Asia Cup has also started poorly for him.Surprisingly, Ziaur Rahman was given only five overs, which can make sense given that he is not a front-line option but Bangladesh are in a situation worth taking a punt with Ziaur.But Razzak said the Kohli-Rahane pair batted far too well to give them a chance, particularly while picking the singles.”I think our bowlers didn’t do too badly,” he said. “Virat Kohli played really well, he did something special today. We already need to have four in the circle. At times I pulled in an extra fielder, but they still picked the singles.”

Australia Women survived a Deandra Dottin-led late charge from West Indies Women to keep their chances of completing a hat-trick of World T20 titles with a tight win in the first semi-final in Mirpur

The Report by Devashish Fuloria03-Apr-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlyssa Healy’s counter lifted Australia in the their last five overs•ICCAustralia Women survived a Deandra Dottin-led late charge to remain in contention for a hat-trick of World T20 titles with a tight win over West Indies Women in the first semi-final in Mirpur. Dottin, in the company of Stacy-Ann King, kept West Indies interested in the chase of 141 with a 78-run stand that came in 8.4 overs, but her dismissal in the penultimate over continued her team’s trend of sliding against Australia in a World Cup knockout match. West Indies had been stung by Australia in the final of the ODI World Cup last year and in the semi-final of the World T20 in Sri Lanka before that.After the openers had provided West Indies with a solid platform, much depended on how Dottin, West Indies’ second-best batsman in the tournament behind Stafanie Taylor, would respond to an increasing required rate that had climbed to 9.3 at the end of 10 overs. Dottin opted for a relatively watchful approach rather than an all-out attack as her run-scoring load for lessened by an aggressive King at the other end. However, she didn’t let any loose delivery go unpunished – full-tosses were swatted away and shorter ones were pulled hard. She brought up the half-century of the partnership with a muscular hoick over long-on for six that also brought the equation down to 43 off 28 balls. But with 20 needed off 11, she smashed a low full-toss from Sarah Coyte straight into the hands of deep midwicket, effectively ending West Indies’ chances.West Indies’ highest total to win a T20I was 140 and Australia had much to thank Alyssa Healy – who normally opens the innings but batted at No. 7 – for pushing the target beyond that number. Australia experimented with Jess Jonassen as opener for the first time in her 22-match career but her surprise promotion brought some glaring communication errors between the openers to fore. Jonassen was lucky to not be run-out on the first ball she faced, and then survived another couple of poor calls and a dropped chance at mid-off, before being finally run-out for 5, in a partnership of 32.The side-effect of that faulty experiment however worked in Australia’s favour. Healy, pushed down the order, brought the energy back after West Indies had struck to remove three middle-order wickets within the space of 14 runs. Her first stroke, a late cut to the third-man boundary off Anisa Mohammed, was polar opposite of a switch-hit she attempted twice: the first time, she failed to make a contact but the ball ran away for four byes while the second time, Taylor, spotting the intentions early, didn’t release the ball at all. Misfiring switch-hits aside, Healy managed to ping the boundary four times in an unbeaten 21-ball 30 to lift Australia to 140, Australia’s lowest total batting first in this tournament.The foundation of the total was laid at the top end by opener Elyse Villani’s 35 and Meg Lanning, who continued her good form in the tournament. Villani opened her account with an emphatic front-foot pull in the first over bowled by Tremaine Smartt and was comfortable using either the sweep-shot or the lofted drive over mid-off once West Indies switched to spin from the second over onwards. One of those aerial drives also brought her innings to an end as it landed in the lap of long-off in Anisa’s second over.Lanning too was happy to use her feet to the spinners – an extra cover drive that landed just short of the boundary being her best shot – while her cuts and pulls brought her boundaries off seamer Shakera Selman. But her effortless innings was cut short when she chopped on a length delivery from Smartt. Australia’s mini-crisis at the fall of Jess Cameron to Anisa soon after was averted though as Healy put up 48 in 28 balls with Alex Blackwell.The West Indies openers couldn’t have asked for anything better than pace on a slow wicket. Unlike West Indies, Australia’s attack was replete with seamers and they provided the necessary fuel for the deflections to run to the boundary easily – the first three boundaries from Taylor and Kycia Knight came in the third-man region. The next two boundaries – flicks through square leg – ensured the scoreboard kept ticking despite the openers having to take any undue risks.Australia’s lucky break came in the eighth over when Taylor, trying to sneak an extra run off a misfield at cover, was found short by a flat throw from Sarah Coyte. The sudden dip in scoring brought the second wicket soon as Knight skipped out of the crease to a flighted delivery from Erin Osborne only to miss it and lose her middle stump. The bowlers ran out of ideas during the third-wicket stand between Dottin and King, but once the partnership was broken, they quickly closed all escape routes.

Hard though they tried, Alastair Cook and England could not shake Australia in Perth, on an enthralling day that produced some of the most compelling cricket of the Ashes series so far.

The Report by Daniel Brettig13-Dec-2013
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:00

Jarrod Kimber’s Ashes Report: A Day of Attrition

Hard though they tried, Alastair Cook and England could not shake Australia in Perth, on an enthralling day that produced some of the most compelling cricket of the Ashes series so far.Knowing one more batting capitulation would all but hand the Urn to the hosts, England fought bravely with the ball then the bat but by day’s end maintained only a tenuous hold on a match they cannot afford to lose.The tourists’ fight was personified by their captain’s innings, a calm, collected 72 by Cook that nonetheless fell short of the definitive tally he desired. His exit at the hands of Nathan Lyon followed a lively spell by Mitchell Johnson, who then made another critical contribution to the series by leaping at mid-on to catch Kevin Pietersen from the bowling of a revved up Peter Siddle.Ian Bell and Ben Stokes survived to the close, but they still have an enormous task ahead to reach parity on a pitch showing signs of deterioration in addition to its high pace and sharp bounce.Australia’s bowlers have been drained by their efforts on another day of temperatures nudging 40C but they remained an admirably skilful and united ensemble as the shadows lengthened, giving the batsmen barely a moment’s peace.England’s frustrations on a tour where little has gone right for them was epitomised by the exit of Joe Root, who was flabbergasted to be given out caught behind as hard won gains were eroded. Reviewing the decision immediately, Root was ultimately sent on his way after video evidence could not mount a strong enough case for Tony Hill to overrule the on-field call of Marais Erasmus, despite Hot Spot revealing no mark on Root’s bat and Real-Time Snicko finding a noise only after ball had passed bat.Smart stats

England’s current run-rate of 2.64 runs per over is the fifth-slowest in a Perth Test (with a minimum of 50 overs) since 2000. It’s England’s slowest in Perth since 1982.

The dot-ball percentage in Australia’s innings was 75%; in England’s innings so far it’s been 84%.

Peter Siddle dismissed Kevin Pietersen for the tenth time in Tests – his average against Pietersen is 16.70. No other bowler has dismissed him more than six times in Tests.

The 85-run first-wicket stand between Alastair Cook and Michael Carberry is England’s highest for the opening wicket since March this year, when Cook and Nick Compton added 231 against New Zealand. In 21 innings in between, England’s average stand for the first wicket was 23.95.

Pietersen became the fifth England batsman to go past 8000 Test runs. He achieved it in 176 innings, the quickest among them. The previous-fastest among England batsmen was Graham Gooch, in 189 innings.

England’s bowlers had rounded up Australia’s tail for the addition of 59 runs from their overnight 6 for 326. Stuart Broad and James Anderson pursued a fuller length than that of the first day and were rewarded with a series of edges that either found the slips cordon or squeezed through gaps – few runs were found anywhere else.Johnson was out to his second ball of the morning, snicking a beautifully pitched delivery from Broad that curved subtly in before seaming the other way and going through to Matt Prior. Steve Smith could add only eight to his overnight 103, getting the merest of inside edges to an Anderson ball that moved back at him.Erasmus declined the appeal but the evidence of Hot Spot and Real-Time Snicko was enough for the decision to be reversed by Hill under the DRS. Smith walked off shaking his head. Harris and Siddle also perished to edges though not before he and Lyon added a pesky 31 for the last wicket.Cook survived a difficult diving chance offered to Smith’s left from Harris before lunch, and after it Carberry’s skied pull shot that landed inches beyond the grasp of a sprinting Haddin. Gradually the England openers wrested the initiative, forcing Australia onto a less aggressive footing, bowling for maidens to slow the run rate.But the tactic proved extremely effective. Carberry was becalmed and played Harris onto his stumps while trying to leave the first ball delivered from around the wicket. Root’s debatable feather to Watson drew raucous celebrations from the Australian huddle, and it was the hosts who went to tea feeling happier about their afternoon’s work.Both sides recognised the importance of the evening session, England wrestling for a foothold, Australia straining equally hard to turn them back. Pietersen and Cook withstood some exceptional bowling by Siddle, Harris and Johnson on resumption, concerning themselves principally with survival in the hope that things would get easier.Peter Siddle’s dismissal of Kevin Pietersen put the Australians on top•Getty ImagesIn the unrelenting heat, Clarke had to rotate his bowlers frequently but they responded by maintaining discipline in a way that offered little respite to the batsmen. The importance of the moment was emphasised when Clarke actively encouraged the crowd to get behind the pacemen, drawing an extra spell of speed out of Johnson at a moment when Cook and Pietersen might have wriggled free.The din of Australian spectators around the WACA was rewarded as Cook eventually succumbed when Lyon’s extra bounce drew a top-edged cut shot that Warner held diving forward at point. Having contributed to Cook’s departure, Johnson made way for Siddle, pursuing his favoured quarry, Pietersen.Australia’s planning to Pietersen has succeeded in corralling the most free-spirited of batsmen, and he again perished to Siddle. This time it was not the midwicket trap but a toe-ended pull to mid-on that did for him, Johnson leaping with wonderful athleticism to claim the catch. Siddle’s celebration was all bared teeth and spinning eyeballs.

A round-up of the World Cup 2015 Qualifiers for January 16, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2014Papua New Guinea took a commanding position atop Group B after a thumping nine-wicket win over Uganda in New Plymouth on Thursday. Uganda got off to a serene start against opening bowlers Willie Gavera and Raymond Haoda, reaching 53 for 0 after PNG captain Chris Amini won the toss and elected to field first. The match shifted dramatically in PNG’s favour when Amini brought on younger brother Charles Amini. The 21-year-old legspinner proceeded to dismiss Uganda’s top five and eventually finished with career best figures of 6 for 19 in 10 overs as Uganda lost 10 for 52 to be all out for 105 in 35.5 overs.Tony Ura’s dismissal for 4 in the second over was the only hiccup in PNG’s chase. Lega Siaka (65*) and Assad Vala (37*) put on an unbeaten 98-run partnership for the second wicket to achieve victory with 33 overs to spare, giving their side a massive net run rate boost to +2.427 to go with an unblemished 2-0 record. At 0-2 and with a severe hit to their net run rate, which stands at -2.985, Uganda’s chances of finishing in the top three of Group B to be able to advance to the Super Sixes are hanging by a thread.”It was a very, very, very disappointing result for us today,” Davis Arinaitwe, the Uganda captain, said. “We need one of our batsmen to get in and stay in, so that the rest of the team can bat around them and build a decent total.”Scotland bounced back from their opening day loss to defeat Nepal by 90 runs in Queenstown. Calum MacLeod (46), Matt Machan (37) and Preston Mommsen (35) all chipped in with handy contributions after Nepal chose to send Scotland in to bat. Freddie Coleman entered at number five in the 25th over with the score 110 for 3 and made the most of the foundation laid by the top order to finish with 64 not out and his 59-run unbeaten eighth-wicket stand with Safyaan Sharif pushed Scotland’s total to 249 for 7. Sompal Kami lead the Nepal bowling attack with 3 for 35.Nepal’s chances were dealt a blow before the match began when captain Paras Khadka was ruled out due to injury and things only got worse on the first ball of the chase when opener Sagar Pun was caught behind off Rob Taylor. Gyanendra Malla, deputising for Khadka, top scored with 34 but his dismissal on the first ball of the 18th over by Sharif made it 60 for 4 and put Nepal into a hole from which they could not climb out. They were eventually bowled out for 159 in 46.1 overs. Iain Wardlaw finished with 3 for 32 while Coleman was named Man of the Match for his half-century.”It was a pretty tough start for us (against Hong Kong) and we were obviously pretty disappointed with that result, but it was important for us today that we came out and got ourselves rolling and got a good win under our belt and we did that so now we are up and running,” Coleman said. “It was nice to get some runs and we got off to a good start, but it was quite tricky during the middle overs with the spinners. The pitch has been played on a bit so it is a bit slow which made it difficult to hit the ball into the gaps, but it was nice to kind of hold my patience a little bit and score a few at the end.”

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has admitted he “misread the pitch” at the Harare Sports Club in their seven-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in the first ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2013Misbah-ul-Haq has admitted he “misread the pitch” at the Harare Sports Club in their seven-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in the first ODI. Misbah had won the toss and elected to bat on what he thought would be a good pitch for the team batting first.Even though they were cruising at just under five-runs per over till the 38th over with eight wickets in hand, they only managed 244. Pakistan won both Twenty20s last week on the same ground after batting first after they lost the toss on both the occasions.”We misread the pitch. It was looking like it was going to be slow in the second innings, but I think it was slow in the first innings and played better in the second,” Misbah said.Misbah gave Zimbabwe the credit for chasing a competitive target of 245 with 10 balls to spare. Their top order scored nearly three-fourths of the runs and handled Pakistan’s spinners deftly as Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Afridi went wicketless.”I think Zimbabwe really deserved it,” Misbah said. “They played really well and played better than us. Specially the way their openers batted, there was no panic in their batting line-up and they did it comfortably. The way they bowled and batted, they really took the game away from us. They are a much improved side, especially in home conditions, they are a better side. I think we have to go back and think where we went wrong to really improve our batting, bowling and fielding.”Misbah stated that their total of 244 was not enough and that their bowling and fielding let them down. Pakistan fielded five bowlers, but their bowling struggled as they failed to break Zimbabwe’s opening partnership.”I don’t think it [244] was enough, you can’t say it was a fighting total on this pitch,” he said. “Maybe we fell 30 runs short. Still, you need to bowl and field very well but we were missing something in the bowling line-up, especially with the new ball and our fielding wasn’t up to the standards.”Opening bowlers are our strength – both of them [Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan] give us breakthroughs in the first 10 overs with the new ball, but we were struggling and not getting wickets at the top so that is where we are missing [something]. I think it is really important to get wickets at the top to put the opposition under pressure.”Pakistan are not playing a second-string side on this tour, the way India did earlier this month when they were led by Virat Kohli, even though they play South Africa and Sri Lanka later this year. Misbah defended the selectors’ decision of naming a full-strength squad for the current tour instead of giving youngsters a chance.”In Pakistan people feel that we should win these matches and a lot of people were saying that you should try youngsters and this and that,” he said. “Almost 60% of the players are already new in this team, they are just making their way into international cricket, they are playing regularly at the moment. This team is already relatively new and we played with our full strength. We got the team here, we played with our full strength and we lost.”I think we have to change this psyche because in international cricket all the teams are good enough. And specially if you are playing in their own conditions, you need to be 100% focused and you need to be 100%. Otherwise, if you give them just a little bit of chance, they can do these sort of upsets. We need to just come back strongly and play our A game, our best game then you can really win these games.”The remaining two ODIs of the series will be played on Thursday and Saturday on the same ground before the two-Test series starts next month.

Virender Sehwag has said he is hopeful of figuring in the list of India’s World Cup probables and possibly, playing the tournament

Amol Karhadkar02-Dec-20141:17

Sehwag picks his World Cup semi-finalists

Sehwag’s top four: Australia, SA, India, NZ

When asked to predict the semi-finalists at the World Cup, Virender Sehwag joked that he would have to “study astrology”, before going on to pick India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand as the top four teams.
“All teams are good. Recently, New Zealand played well against Pakistan in Tests and they will be playing in home conditions at the World Cup. The other teams like Australia and South Africa, they recently played in Australia. In every match, the score was around the 300-run mark and they were close games,” he said. “So it is difficult to say which teams would make the last four but I would still say that it would be Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand.”

Virender Sehwag last played for India in March 2013. Barring an odd big knock in the IPL, he has failed to impress with the bat during this period. Still, retirement is not on his mind and he is hopeful of featuring in India’s list of World Cup probables and possibly, playing the tournament.”I am still hopeful that my name will figure in the 30 probables for the World Cup,” Sehwag said at an ICC promotional event in Mumbai. “Every player who represents the country dreams of playing in the World Cup and I also still dream of playing in it.”Last month, Sehwag made himself unavailable for the Deodhar Trophy, reportedly to offer more opportunities to youngsters from the North Zone. Still, he stressed he was hoping to break into the national side. “I am playing first-class cricket and looking to score as many runs as I can. Last year, I scored around 250 runs and hopefully this year I can score more. I hope that I can score runs and get back into the [national] side.”Sehwag was also optimistic about India’s chances in the 2015 World Cup. “I think without hopes, nothing happens,” he said. “We won the World Cup in 2011 and I believe we are capable of defending the title in 2015. Our team is very good and is playing well in ODIs. I am sure we can retain the World Cup.”The biggest challenge India could face are the pace-friendly conditions in Australia and New Zealand. Indian teams in the past have struggled to adapt to conditions different from those in the subcontinent. This time, though, the Indian team will spend more than two months in Australia before the World Cup and Sehwag is confident the acclimatisation will help India immensely.”Australia is the best place to play cricket. You get good wickets with bounce, fast wickets, and the ball comes nicely on to the bat,” he said. “You will enjoy batting in Australia and you will also enjoy bowling in Australia. I think all the players who will go to the World Cup, they have already played in Australia and they will be playing in the triangular series before the World Cup so they will get used to the conditions.”The wickets are similar, they are not different. In the World Cup, you will get good wickets to bat and bowl on. You will get true wickets for the game. I don’t think there will be any problem for any team or any problem to adjust. If you have the talent and if you have a strong mindset, you can perform anywhere in the world. A lot of our players have performed in Australia, South Africa, England and everywhere. So we have the team and hopefully we will do well in the World Cup.”

The BCCI has retained a base price of Rs 2 crore (approx. $320,000) per international match while inviting bids for a series-title sponsor for all the major matches played in India

Amol Karhadkar19-Sep-2013The BCCI has retained a base price of Rs 2 crore (approx. $320,000) per international match while inviting bids for a series-title sponsor for all the major matches played in India, in place of Bharti Airtel, the telecommunication company that decided not to renew its contract for the same.The board decided to float a tender for the period beginning October 1 to March 31, 2014, which includes at least 13 international matches. The winning bidder, though, will then get the first right to extend the agreement till March 31, 2018.After Bharti Airtel decided not to extend their contract, the BCCI’s marketing committee, which was presided over by president N Srinivasan in the absence of its chairman Farooq Abdullah, finalised the invitation to tender (ITT) document. The ITT will be available to “only corporate entities with a turnover of Rs 100 crore, for performance deposit of Rs 3 crore” at Rs 2 lakh. The bids will be opened in the presence of all the bidders on October 3.While the media statement issued by BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel didn’t specify the base price, a summary of the ITT document that was finalised at the meeting, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, recommended “to have the same base price of Rs 2 crore as the tender done in 2010”.While barring agents from representing corporate houses, the BCCI decided to allow consortia bids. “It is recommended that the consortia is allowed to bid for the title sponsor with consortia members nominating the title sponsor and other associate sponsor during the time of the bid,” the marketing committee suggested.Besides being awarded the title sponsorship of all the senior domestic tournaments barring the Challenger Trophy, which will be played in September, and the domestic Twenty20, the winning bidder will also be able to avail 28 other rights. Some of the prominent ones include: “Integration into the event logo and the use of all official marks; right to put up to 12 advertising boards of standard size (approx. 3ft x 20ft) in the stadium at all matches and the right to nominate the positioning of these 12 boards; exclusive branding on the stumps; and non-exclusive branding on the BCCI’s website”.The marketing committee also took into consideration the current title sponsorship deals of Cricket South Africa, Cricket Australia and the ECB. It noted that CA awards Test sponsorship for $2.4mn and ODI sponsorship for $0.8mn, the ECB awards Tests for $1.07mn and ODIs and T20s for $0.25mn, and CSA’s sponsorship is priced at $0.45mn per Test, $0.5mn per ODI and $0.3mn per T20.