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UAE were bowled out for 110 in the first match of their maiden ODI tour of a Full Member nation

The Report by Peter Della Penna10-Apr-2019Zimbabwe drew first blood in UAE’s historic maiden ODI tour of a Full Member nation, notching a seven-wicket win over the visitors at Harare Sports Club after sending them in and wiping them out for 110.UAE were struggling from the start, ending the Powerplay at 19 for 3 as Kyle Jarvis and eventual Man of the Match Tendai Chatara struck a series of early blows. The biggest was Jarvis claiming Ashfaq Ahmed for just 2 to start the third over after the opening batsman entered the day on the back of an unbeaten 131 in UAE’s win over a Zimbabwe Chairman’s XI to start the tour.Chatara and Donald Tiripano each claimed two wickets as UAE slipped to 42 for 6 by the end of the 23rd over. Mohammad Boota top-scored with 36 at No. 7, helping his side past 100 by the time he was dismissed. Boota teamed up with Imran Haider for a 29-run seventh-wicket stand, the largest of the day for UAE, before Chatara returned in a late spell to have Haider caught behind for his third wicket.Zimbabwe suffered a brief setback early in the chase when Solomon Mire fell leg before to Qadeer Ahmed for 11. But Regis Chakabva and Craig Ervine produced an 80-run partnership for the second wicket before Chakabva fell to Haider with victory in sight.Ervine entered the match in sizzling form, having scored four half-centuries in his last five innings during Zimbabwe’s domestic T20 competition while his last three List A innings for Tuskers in the Zimbabwe Pro50 Championship totaled 310 runs while being dismissed just once. The 33-year-old racked up a 40-ball half-century before he was dismissed by Rohan Mustafa with Zimbabwe one shot away from victory.Timycen Maruma and Sean Williams knocked off the remaining four runs for the win, which came with 26.5 overs to spare.The two sides square off again in the second ODI of the four-match series on Friday.

The five-member committee featuring the likes of Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara had suggested plans for domestic cricket in the first report

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Jan-2018The five-member committee featuring the likes of Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara has made its recommendations on a revamp of domestic cricket to the Sports Ministry, but the minister has not set any changes in motion so far.The committee handed over its report to the Sports Ministry in mid-December, and has not heard from the ministry since.According to sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekara, he must first “chat with the cricket board” before any changes are imposed. What those changes might be, the ministry is not willing to say. The ministry has also instructed committee members to withhold their recommendations from the public, for now.It is understood, however, that the committee’s plan for domestic cricket features a provincial cricket system that aims to organically develop talent outside the main centres. Presently, it is Sri Lanka’s big-city schools that supply the national team with the majority of its players. It has long been suggested that Sri Lanka must tap into rural talent more effectively, with a particular emphasis on bringing the island’s northern and eastern provinces more meaningfully into the fold.The sports minister appointed the committee – headed by former SLC president Hemaka Amarasuriya – in October, to much media fanfare. Its inaction since the report has been handed over, however, raises concerns over whether anything will result from the exercise. Sri Lankan cricket has a brief history of announcing high-profile inquiries, yet failing to adopt any recommendations that result. In 2013, virtually none of Haroon Lorgat’s recommendations to SLC – unambitious though they were – were put into operation.Meanwhile, Amarasuriya’s committee is working on a second report – this one focusing on the overhaul of SLC’s governance system.

Scott Boland’s 4 for 30 helped Melbourne Stars restrict Adelaide Strikers to 152, a total chased down with the help of Ben Hilfenhaus’ violent 32

The Report by Will Macpherson at the MCG10-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBen Hilfenhaus’ unbeaten 32 off 24 balls helped Melbourne Stars stave off an accurate bowling performance from Adelaide Strikers•Cricket Australia

Six nights ago, Eoin Morgan drove Ben Hilfenhaus down the ground for six to secure an unlikely win for Sydney Thunder over Melbourne Stars.Thus it felt poetic that Hilfenhaus’ fraught, violent innings of 32 saw his team over the line by two wickets and with three balls to spare against Adelaide Strikers at the MCG, moving the Stars to third on the BBL table.On New Year’s Eve, 152 had been enough for Strikers to pull off an unlikely heist against Sydney Sixers. Against the Stars, despite the best efforts of their new signing Ish Sodhi, that same figure – which looked underpar at the innings break – was not quite enough. With four defeats to their name, their hopes of making the knockouts are all but over.Strikers’ fast start … and slow deathDavid Hussey stuck the Strikers in and 41 balls later, he’d have been wondering if he made the right call. Ben Dunk, the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer, had lost his opening partner Jake Weatherald, but raced to 35, and looked in fine touch. He had run twos hard, and picked the gaps; Strikers were 60-1, and cruising.But Hussey’s trump card, 19-year-old Liam Bowe, tossed the last ball of his first over up and Dunk bit – a touch of dip saw him fail to get to the pitch and he picked out mid-off, where the captain took a fine catch. From there, everything slowed up for the Strikers. With Dunk gone, they failed to score a boundary for seven overs. Brad Hodge and Tim Ludeman struggled for fluency and slogged their wickets away in the same Scott Boland over.With all Stars bowlers impressing (all six who bowled finished with an economy rate of 7 or 7.50), a low total was always on the cards. It took until the 18th over for Jono Dean to hit the Strikers’ first six, but he became Boland’s fourth wicket two balls later. In the following over, Ben Hilfenhaus found himself on a hat-trick.A spinner called elbowEven Kevin Pietersen admitted it was the first time he had seen Bowe, the bespectacled lad from Bendigo, bowl. But, with his funky chinaman bowling and subtle variations, he proved a triumph – and, as if to prove a point, immediately became Twitter’s top trend in Australia. His performance would have eased the Stars’ worries about the absence of Adam Zampa for the rest of the tournament.The bespectacled Liam Bowe finished with 1 for 21 on debut•Cricket Australia

Ish’s instant impactThe big difference between this year and the last – when they topped the table – for the Strikers has been the absence of their spin twins, Jon Holland (injured) and Adil Rashid (with England). So when Chris Jordan went down with a hamstring injury to compound their depleted bowling stocks, Jason Gillespie turned to Ish Sodhi.His debut could barely have gone better. He belted the final ball of Strikers’ innings for six that took the score over 150. Then, in his first over had Peter Handscomb bowled with a topspinner, and shed just two singles. His second went for five. David Hussey hit the first ball of his third down the ground for six, but the second was caught brilliantly at midwicket. In his final over, Evan Gulbis smote a six, then nudged into the leg side, with an eye on two. Sodhi sprinted across to midwicket. Pietersen hesitated turning for the second, Sodhi turned and threw to the bowlers end, where Hodge had crept in to remove the bails. It was a spectacular piece of fielding to complete a spectacular debut. It was not quite enough.The vital 18th How often does the 18th over of the chase turn a T20? Wes Agar, debutant and brother of Ashton, had been savaged by Quiney in the first over of the chase, but returned in the 16th, and bowled five dots to Hilfenhaus. Hodge trusted the youngster with another over.He nailed four down the ground, scampered two to long-on, then slogged four more through square leg. He swung and missed, then two more were slashed through the covers. A slower ball ended the over, and Hilfenhaus flat-batted it down the ground for six.There was still time for a twist. Ben Laughlin bowled Gulbis and Boland in the 19th, meaning three were required from the last. Hilfenhaus and Beer traded singles, and the game was done.

Justice AP Shah, who was recently appointed ombudsman by the BCCI to deal with conflict-of-interest cases in the board, has said that an issue like conflict of interest must be understood within the context of the organization and it does not have a “stra

Raunak Kapoor11-Nov-2015Justice Ajit Prakash Shah, who was recently appointed ombudsman by the BCCI to look into matters of conflict of interest in the board, has said that an issue like conflict of interest “cannot have a straitjacket definition” and, in the case of the BCCI, must be understood in the context of the organisation. Shah said that the BCCI seems to have acknowledged that it faces “structural problems” and saw his appointment as an opportunity to support the reforms.”Generally, conflict of interest is a situation where someone has multiple interests, which could potentially clash with each other, and which could possibly affect how you operate in specific circumstances,” Shah told ESPNcricinfo. “However, the context will change the colour of the definition. You cannot have a straitjacket definition for all circumstances.”BCCI’s challenges as a large sports organisation are unique, and conflict of interest must be understood in its unique context. This is not an answer that is easy or which can be obtained immediately.”Shah’s appointment as the BCCI’s first-ever ombudsman is part of president Shashank Manohar’s reformatory agenda to have an independent authority look into problems relating to conflicts of interest among the BCCI’s administrators and employees, as well as current and former players on its payroll.”In a large sports body like the BCCI, there are several challenges of management and organisation,” Shah said. “The BCCI itself seems to have acknowledged that it has structural problems. My role is to help them to avoid such issues in the future. Reforms are being introduced, and the Supreme Court has also intervened. This is a welcome step. The appointment is an opportunity for me to support the reforms.”Shah also highlighted that the effectiveness of the ombudsman will depend on how an organisation uses the role. He suggested that using an ombudsman in the right way could help the BCCI preempt many of the issues it faces today.”The idea of having an ombudsman to address complaints in an organisation is not new,” he said. “Ombudsmen already exist for various sectors, in both government and the private sector. In India, for instance, you have ombudsmen for the banking and insurance sectors.”How an organisaton is likely to benefit depends on how they use the ombudsman, what kind of complaints the ombudsman receives, and what actions that ombudsman can take. Used in the right way, an ombudsman can help a large organisation like the BCCI preempt many of the problems it faces today.”Shah, a former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, admitted that he is a keen follower of the game and his decision to accept the BCCI’s appointment stemmed from his desire to contribute towards maintaining “the purity of the game”.”I am a keen follower of the game, but not an expert. I try not to miss a single one-day international, and even watch Tests if I get the time,” he said. “I accepted the appointment because I thought this was one way in which I could contribute to maintain the purity of the game.”

Preview of the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors in Ranchi

The Preview by Nikita Bastian14-May-2013

Match facts

May 15, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Can Pune Warriors’ season get any worse?•BCCI

Big Picture

It’s hard for the average fan to find much significance in this game, but Kolkata Knight Riders would disagree. Their chances of progressing to the playoffs are mighty slim at the moment, but it’s still mathematically possible. And they have been keeping that flickering hope alive by winning their previous two matches, while others have done their bit for them, too – Mumbai Indians came from behind to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Kings XI Punjab, who are also trying to fight their way out of a very tight corner, handed Royal Challengers Bangalore their first defeat of the year at the Chinnaswamy stadium. Knight Riders have to win their remaining two matches now, and do it with as big a margin as possible to boost their net run rate, and hope Sunrisers and Royal Challengers keep losing.Knight Riders will be glad that one of their two upcoming must-wins is against Pune Warriors. Bottom-of-the-table Warriors have long since been out of this tournament, and have looked clueless more often than not. For them, this match is all about preventing their losing streak from extending into double digits: they have lost nine in a row since showing so much promise by beating Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk. Considering they have lost 33 out of 44 IPL matches (10 wins, 1 no result) overall, and 21 off the previous 23, any victory however insignificant would be most welcome.

Form guide

Kolkata Knight Riders: WWLWL (most recent first)
Pune Warriors: LLLLL

In the spotlight

How will the pitch at the JSCA International Stadium play? On IPL debut, the Ranchi track proved to be quite hard for Knight Riders and Royal Challengers to handle, with the latter scratching to 115 for 9 before the ‘hosts’ got across the line with only four balls to spare. While Murali Kartik said it was difficult to judge with its slowness and two-paced nature, Jacques Kallis said the surface wasn’t quite fit for T20 cricket. Even Royal Challengers franchise owner Siddharth Mallya was critical of the pitch, tweeting “The JSCA int’ stadium in Ranchi is simply outstanding…Best in India after Chinnaswamy by far…Shame about the wicket tho…” But curator Shyam Bahadur Singh, while defending the pitch, has confirmed that the same strip will be used on Wednesday; the teams, and the fans in Ranchi, will be hoping it plays a bit better this time round.

Stats and trivia

• Pune Warriors’ win/loss ratio in the IPL is a woeful 0.30. That’s far worse than even the two now-defunct franchises, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Deccan Chargers, who had ratios of 0.75 and 0.63 respectively
• After four matches, Warriors are yet to beat Knight Riders
• Fourteen games into their season, none of the Knight Riders batsmen have an average of 30 or more (three matches minimum)

Quotes

“Today we didn’t make enough runs. Last match we went for too many runs in the death. It’s a mixture of a lot of things.”
“Be it any situation, we as a team enter the ground thinking about a victory. We do not play to participate.”

The Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) has formed a panel to investigate a domestic Twenty20 match last month between Karachi Zebras and Peshawar Panthers over allegations of suspect play

Umar Farooq14-Apr-2012The Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) has formed a panel to investigate a domestic Twenty20 match last month between Karachi Zebras and Peshawar Panthers over allegations of suspect play.The association held an executive council meeting in which former KCCA secretary Ejaz Faruqi was nominated to head the panel to investigate the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup match that the Zebras lost by 31 runs against a weakened Peshawar. Peshawar made 158, their highest total of the tournament, and the victory led them to the semi-finals and eliminated the Zebras.”There are a lot of observations on the particular match against Peshawar,” Faruqi told ESPNcricinfo. “KCCA in its general body meeting understood that the suspect match has to be investigated. We’ll make sure that this case is thoroughly investigated with great care.”We don’t want to destroy anyone’s career but if we find any wrongdoings, those involved will be dealt with severely. I don’t know if it was fixing for money or players underperformed for particular reason or it merely could be an allegation but we are definitely looking into it and it’s our responsibility to clarify the status of the match.”Peshawar, a relatively weak team, missed their star player Umar Gul, who sat out the match because of a finger injury but returned to play the semi-final. “The KCCA move is underestimating the Peshawar side,” Wasel Durrani, Peshawar regional head, told ESPNcricinfo. “We won the game on our own capacity and Twenty20 is a format where any weaker team can turn the table.”The PCB has an anti-corruption code at the domestic level, but its media manager and director of domestic cricket both refused to comment on the probe by the KCCA.”It’s a very sensitive matter and we have to take it very carefully,” KCCA president, Sirajul Islam Bhukhari, said. “We got reports of foul play from our side and this has been discussed in our council meeting yesterday and we decided to launch an investigation. We have formed a panel that has reputed people in it to investigate, so whatever the panel finds will be accepted.”Pakistan has had several fixing controversies in the recent past. Last November, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments at Southwark Crown Court in London. Earlier this month, the ECB decided to bring disciplinary proceedings against legspinner Danish Kaneria in relation to spot-fixing allegations.

Robbie Frylinck, the Lions allrounder, has been reprimanded after testing positive for a drug found in a slimming tablet

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2011Robbie Frylinck , the Lions allrounder, has been reprimanded after testing positive for a drug found in a slimming tablet during a random test following a domestic match in South Africa.Frylinck, 26, had a disciplinary hearing on March 28 where it was revealed he had been given clearance from the Lions’ medical team before taking the tablet. He pleaded guilty to the positive test which showed sibutramine – used to aid slimming – but because of the advice he was given by team staff he was only handed a reprimand rather than a more severe punishment.”Although Robbie followed the team protocol before taking the tablets this case illustrates the risks when players take unregulated supplements,” Tony Irish, the CEO of the South African Cricketers’ Association, said: “In cricket, as in all sports, we support anti-doping measures and players need to constantly guard against the risks.”Frylinck is free to take up his Indian Premier League contract with Delhi Daredevils when the tournament starts in early April.

Stuart Broad believes that the World Twenty20 offers England their best opportunity yet to end their 35-year hunt for a major ICC Trophy, and feels that his personal preparation since last month’s tour of Bangladesh has left him at the peak of his form an

Cricinfo staff27-Apr-2010Stuart Broad believes that the World Twenty20 offers England their best opportunity yet to end their 35-year hunt for a major ICC Trophy, and feels that his personal preparation since last month’s tour of Bangladesh has left him at the peak of his form and fitness.Broad was made to work hard for his wickets on flat surfaces in Bangladesh, having overcome a worrying back spasm that had left his participation in the first Test in doubt. But following a month’s break, he confirmed his readiness for further international action by taking eight wickets in Nottinghamshire’s Championship victory over Somerset last week.”I feel great,” Broad told reporters in Barbados. “The rest was fantastic after Bangladesh to make sure the body got rid of all the niggles. Then this last week it was a fantastic experience helping Notts win and get some overs under my belt. I feel really fresh and excited about what we can do in this tournament.”Broad will be embarking on his third World Twenty20 campaign, and he has endured mixed fortunes in his previous outings – from being cracked for six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh in Durban in 2007, to his role in the embarrassing defeat by the Netherlands in last year’s tournament opener. Nevertheless, those experiences have taught him how quickly and easily a team can regroup in this format.”We obviously stumbled against the Netherlands,” he said. “But the great thing about this tournament is you can recover from that , and we qualified after beating Pakistan pretty convincingly and were actually quite unfortunate losing in a rain-affected game [against West Indies], where the Duckworth-Lewis stuffed us a bit.”England do not have home advantage to fall back on this time around, but they gained plenty of experience during their eventful tour of the Caribbean last year, in which they bounced back from a 1-0 defeat in the Test series to win their first limited-overs series in the West Indies.”If we can use the knowledge we gained here last year, I think we can go far,” said Broad. “I think we’ve got a really well-balanced squad here, batters who can hit boundaries all the way through the order, good spinners – and I think the team is really excited about our prospects. This is one of the best chances an England squad has had since I’ve been involved in an ICC event. We’ve got the players to do the business.”Five of England’s batsmen go into the tournament with IPL experience under their belt, although none of the bowlers put themselves forward for the same opportunity – a fact that Kevin Pietersen questioned in a recent interview. However, Broad was unrepentant about taking a break rather than seek the extra knowhow on offer.”Obviously, I want to experience the IPL at some stage, it looks a fantastic tournament,” he said. “Every player involved in it has only got good words to say. But I am pleased I had the rest this time.”

On managing workloads of Jasprit Bumrah & Co: “We’re going to take a call on a match-to-match basis,” Shubman Gill says

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-20252:50

‘Nothing is pre-decided’ – Gill on Bumrah’s workload

It’s “very important” for India to do well in the two-Test series against West Indies after they were blanked 3-0 in their previous home Test series by New Zealand, Shubman Gill said on the eve of the first Test in Ahmedabad.”We are looking to play some hard, grinding cricket. Over the past few years, if you see the Test matches, they haven’t got to five days. So what we are looking to do is play some good, hard cricket,” Gill said at a press conference. “All the Test matches that we played in England went pretty deep [all five Tests went into the fifth day]. And I think what you can expect from us is good, hard, grinding cricket and we won’t be looking for any easy options.”And I think we have the skills to dominate in any kind of situation and the kind of talent we have got in the team, we can turn around from any situation, so that’s what we will be looking to play.”Related

• Between formats and futures: Shubman Gill's most unprecedented test yet

• From invincibles to uncertain: India begin home season with everything to prove yet again

• One of the greenest Indian pitches likely for Ahmedabad Test

• India's selection headache: Two slots, multiple contenders

• With patience and old-school grit, Chanderpaul gets ready

In recent years, when India have hosted teams for Test cricket, spin-friendly pitches have been prepared more often than not. Seeing how well India competed in the 2-2 series in England earlier this year, what sort of pitch should we expect?”I can’t speak about the conversations before I came, but we would be looking to play on wickets that offer [something] to both the batsmen and to the bowlers,” Gill said. “But, having said that, any team that comes to India, the challenge is the spin and reverse swing. These are the two things that, if teams can play spin well and if they can challenge the reverse swing, they are going to get good success.”So keeping these challenges in mind, you’d be looking to play on wickets that offer [something] to the batsmen and the bowlers.”In England, India picked a pace-heavy bowling attack, and the only spinners in the mix were the allrounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, with Kuldeep Yadav sitting out all five Tests. Two days out from the Test, the Ahmedabad pitch appeared to be greener than anticipated.”The weather and wickets we have in India, it will be difficult to follow that template [employed in England],” Gill said. “We have such quality in our team. Someone like Kuldeep, such a wicket-taker for us in all formats, didn’t get a chance to play in England, which was very unfortunate. Here, I think, playing four spinners, and spinners of such quality, you are always tempted to look at the batting depth, you have to just weigh in your options, what can give you a bit more.”6:18

Aaron on Bumrah: India not taking any chances after NZ drubbing

Will Jasprit Bumrah play both Tests?

It was a constant talking point in England after it had been announced before the series that Jasprit Bumrah would play only three of the five Tests to manage his fitness. What happens now?”We’re going to take a call on a match-to-match basis depending on how long a Test match goes on and how many overs our fast bowlers bowl,” Gill said. “Nothing is pre-decided. We’re going to take the call once the Test match is over and how our fast bowlers feel and how their bodies feel after the match.”And what about Gill himself? Going from red-ball cricket in England to white-ball cricket in the UAE and back to red-ball cricket, on a red-soil pitch this time, just three days after winning the T20 Asia Cup?”For a batsman, I don’t think it’s physical fatigue. It’s more mental for a batsman. That’s a little different for a bowler,” he said. “As of now, I feel fresh and my body is ready. I am just looking at what I have to do this week and next week and that’s how I will be taking my decisions.”

Australia’s Darcie Brown, who got 5 for 21, felt day two could be “interesting”, given it was “a bowler-friendly wicket”

Tristan Lavalette15-Feb-2024The heartbreak of being without superstar Marizanne Kapp did not derail South Africa’s confidence and focus, said debutant quick Masabata Klaas after the tourists endured a torrid initiation to Test cricket against Australia at the WACA.South Africa’s hopes of a major upset in their first Test against Australia were rocked when Kapp was ruled out due to illness. She had been absent from training in the lead-up to the match, but was expected to play. The South Africa camp had hoped she could pull through on match day, but she did not feel well enough. “We only found out when we had to play that she’s not going to play,” Klaas told reporters after day one of the Test.After being sent in to bat, South Africa’s batting wilted against sustained pressure from Australia’s quicks, who bowled a disciplined line outside off stump that had batters perishing to loose shots. Without the mighty presence of Kapp, South Africa lost eight wickets in a humiliating first session before being routed for just 76 in their lowest ever Test score in an innings that lasted 31.2 overs.”I don’t think so,” Klaas said when asked if South Africa were rattled in the wake of Kapp’s absence. “We’re confident enough and have a strong batting line-up, so I won’t say that her not being here affected the team.”While it was a difficult day for South Africa, Klaas was a shining light on her debut as she ripped open Australia’s top order by dismissing Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry and Tahlia McGrath cheaply. Her performance earned praise from Kapp, who also voiced on social media her lament that South Africa did not select young quick Eliz-mari Marx.