There were a few names among the overseas players picked on day one of the Pakistan Super League draft that might have had you asking, “Who?” Here are brief answers to that question

Mohit Shah21-Dec-2015Jim Allenby
Australia-born Jim Allenby played one first-class match for Western Australia towards the end of the 2006 season but has earned his name in county cricket, chiefly for Glamorgan. The 33-year-old, a medium-pace bowling allrounder who can strike the ball powerfully, was a potent force in the Glamorgan side that reached the final of the Yorkshire Bank 40 in 2013. He shifted to Somerset at the beginning of the 2015 season to get a taste of First Division cricket.Cameron Delport
The 26-year-old South African is a big-hitting left-hand batsman who is also capable of bowling solid medium pace. He has played in the Big Bash League (Sydney Thunder) and the Caribbean Premier League (Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel), and slammed 34 off 9 for Dolphins to briefly threaten Chennai Super Kings during a massive chase in the 2014 Champions League T20 – he finished that tournament with a strike rate of 280.Kevon Cooper
Another pace-bowling allrounder, Kevon Cooper is a T20 specialist who plays around the globe – he has already plied his trade in the IPL, the Bangladesh Premier League and the CPL. The 26-year-old Trinidadian has played 122 T20 games and only two first-class games. He was recently a part of the Barisal Bulls squad that finished runners-up in the BPL, and was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 22 wickets at an average of 9.31 and an economy rate under six. Cooper can also whack a few big sixes down the order.James Vince
Hampshire captain James Vince is a stylish, classy batsman who recently made his T20I debut for England against Pakistan, a few months after debuting in ODI cricket. He showed flair and considerable nous in making scores of 41, 38 and 46 in the three-match T20 series and finished as the highest scorer from either side. Former England coach Duncan Fletcher once compared Vince’s batsmanship to that of former England captain, Michael Vaughan.

The BCCI Ombudsman, Justice (Retired) AP Shah, has asked independent journalist Niraj Gunde to clarify which rule would specifically apply in his complaint alleging a conflict of interest between BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur and national selector Vikram R

Arun Venugopal30-Jan-2016Justice AP Shah, the BCCI ombudsman, has asked independent journalist Niraj Gunde to clarify which rule would specifically apply in his complaint alleging a conflict of interest between BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur and national selector Vikram Rathour.Gunde confirmed that he had received the communication from the ombudsman’s office. “Even assuming that the facts in the complaint are true, the Ombudsman wants me to quote the specific conflict-of-interest-related rule under which the complaint can be entertained,” Gunde told ESPNcricinfo. Gunde said he has been given time till February 2 to respond.Gunde had written a mail to Shah on Thursday alleging that Thakur and Rathour had “business connections.” The mail further contends that Rathour was appointed and re-appointed as national selector when Thakur was an office-bearer.”Mr. Rathour was appointed in the senior selection committee when Mr. Thakur was the Jt. Secretary of the BCCI representing North Zone at the behest of Mr. Thakur,” Gunde wrote in the mail, which has been accessed by ESPNcricinfo.”And [Rathour was] re-appointed in November 2015, when Mr. Thakur is the Hon. Secretary of BCCI. It is found that Mr. Rathour &/or his family members and Mr. Thakur &/or his family members are directors in various companies.”It is clear that both these administrators are connected through business commercial relationship that either of them failed to disclose. It is a clear case of conflict of interest.”Gunde also attached a set of documents that sought to establish that Thakur was a director in companies which also had Rathour’s relatives as its directors. This is the second complaint against Rathour, who was earlier alleged by Gunde of being a British citizen and hence his “loyalty” to the BCCI was conflicted.Thakur contended it was a smear campaign and raised doubts over Gunde’s motivations. “I think with the appointment of the ombudsman certain people are busy making false allegations,” he told reporters after the meeting of the World T20 managing committee on Friday.”Unfortunately these are limited number of people who have been involved in such activity with a certain motive and agenda in their mind. But we have to look at the overall advantage of having an ombudsman in place. The BCCI wants to be more transparent and accountable.”Thakur was also quoted by as saying that his business relationship with Rathour had “nothing to do with cricket”, and that their families knew each other for four decades.This is the latest in a series of complaints lodged by Gunde, who has also filed complaints with the ombudsman against Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, media manager Nishant Arora and junior selector Rakesh Parikh.

Lions left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso has been reported for an illegal action following his team’s win against Warriors in the semi-finals of the Momentum One Day Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2016Lions left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso has been reported for an illegal action following his team’s win against Warriors in the semi-finals of the Momentum One Day Cup on February 25.In accordance with the ICC’s regulations and Law 18 clause 2.25, Phangiso’s action will now have to be tested in “as soon as reasonably possible but, in any event, within 21 days of receipt by the Player’s Home Board of the notice.” He will be tested on Friday at the ICC-accredited High Performance Academy at the University of Pretoria. Fourteen days after that test, an ICC appointed specialist will furnish the body with written report which will determine whether Phangiso’s action is legal or not.Phangiso, who has played 16 ODIs and nine T20Is and has taken a combined tally of 29 wickets for South Africa, is part of their squad for the upcoming World T20 in India. The time frame for his testing means that Phangiso’s performance in the World T20 could be affected. Even if he is tested immediately, the 14-day period for the analysis would only conclude on March 10, after the first round of the tournament begins. Changes to squads are allowed until March 8, which may see South Africa’s selectors look for another back-up spinner to Imran Tahir.When contacted on Thursday morning, South Africa’s convener of selectors, Linda Zondi, was in a meeting and unavailable for immediate comment. It is likely him and his panel will consider another option to Phangiso. Eddie Leie, who has played two T20s for South Africa, could come into contention if he recovers from the hamstring injury which kept him out of the one-day cup semi-final in time.This is the third time this year Phangiso has made headlines. In mid-January it emerged that he had been prevented from boarding an international flight following South Africa’s ODI series win in India because he was drunk and disorderly and CSA had subsequently handed him an unknown sanction. This week, Phangiso had to apologise for being caught on camera pretending to sniff an unknown substance off his leg during South Africa’s T20 against England at the Wanderers. Phangiso was in the dug out and his gesture took place when South Africa were batting. He said it was a lighthearted joke but understood that in a country with a drug problem, it was inappropriate.

Shahid Afridi has stepped down as Pakistan’s T20 captain but has said that he intends to continue playing international cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-20162:31

Match Day – Afridi didn’t have the temperament for captaincy

Shahid Afridi has decided not to retire from T20 internationals following Pakistan’s exit from the World T20, but he has stepped down from captaincy in the format.”Today I wish to inform my fans in Pakistan and all over the world that I am relinquishing the captaincy of the T20 Pakistan team of my own volition,” Afridi said in a statement. “I would also like to inform that InshaAllah I intend to continue playing the game for my country and league cricket etc, and request my fans to keep praying and supporting me as long as I play for Pakistan or for any other league team all over the worldAfter the 2015 World Cup, Afridi, 36, had announced his intention to retire from international cricket following the World T20 in India. Earlier this year, however, he stated he was facing “huge pressure” from family and friends to not do so.Afridi was heavily criticised as a leader following Pakistan’s poor performances in the recent Asia Cup and the World T20. Pakistan’s only victories in eight games across those two tournaments were against UAE, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Subsequently, a report from the coach Waqar Younis said the players “felt confused with what the captain was telling them to do” The team manager Intikhab Alam said Afridi was an “absolutely clueless” captain.Afridi had succeeded Mohammad Hafeez as T20 captain in September 2014. He won 11 out of 24 matches in that time. His batting and bowling form has also been dipping recently. Over the past 12 months, he has averaged 14.61 with the bat and 34 with the ball. Overall, he has led Pakistan in 43 matches, won 19 and lost 23.

Keaton Jennings became the third Durham batsmen to make two hundreds in the same match and set Durham on course for victory against Somerset

Paul Edwards at Chester-le-Street11-Apr-2016
ScorecardKeaton Jennings became the third Durham batsmen to score two hundreds in the same match•PA Photos

The second day of this match dawned cool and heavily clouded, conditions which were unlikely to buck up Somerset skipper Chris Rogers as he made his way down to breakfast. Still 226 runs in arrears and with both openers having been dismissed on Sunday evening, Rogers knew that his batsmen would have to resist the many skills of Chris Rushworth and Graham Onions if they were to achieve parity on first innings. That task is generally difficult enough, even without the hindrance of seamers’ gloom.So it must have been devilishly irritating to Somerset’s skipper that his team were bowled out for 179, thus conceding a 77-run lead as much because of their own carelessness and misjudgements as the bowlers’ excellence. Also galling, perhaps, was that Somerset subsided as conditions for batting rapidly improved, albeit that the morning shadows were pale, evanescent things when set beside Sunday’s sharp images.Some Somerset bats might have been playing shots at shadows on Monday morning and
by close of play the home side’s lead had been extended to 300 with Keaton Jennings having become the third Durham batsman after Dean Jones and Paul Collingwood to score two hundreds in a first-class match. Jennings, who is newly qualified to play for England but hardly likely to do so very soon, reached his century off 163 balls with a drive through midwicket off Roelof van der Merwe three overs before play ended. It is a remarkable achievement for a player who was dropped for the last six games of the 2015 Championship season having scored just 473 in 20 innings.In contrast to his batting on Sunday, Jennings batted with considerable freedom on the second afternoon of his game. He helped Mark Stoneman put on 74 for the first wicket in just less than 13 overs as Somerset’s new-ball attack fell apart. Jennings then reined in his more aggressive instincts a little as he lost three partners in 49 balls but Collingwood was with him when he reached his century in 38 fewer balls than he had needed on Sunday. The pair’s unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 72 in only 14 overs firmly reminded everyone at a floodlit Riverside where the balance of this match lay.More significantly than any personal achievement, Jennings gives a side a few were tipping for relegation a wonderful chance of beginning their campaign with a victory. By the same reasoning it seems clear at the midpoint of this game that unless Rogers and his batsmen outdo Leonidas and the Greeks in the First Test at Thermopylae, Somerset will begin their season with a defeat. Rogers’ men may, of course, be saved by the weather but they would be deceiving themselves if they thought that a draw currently represented parity.Yet for the first 40 minutes of the day, Rogers and Hildreth had resisted Rushworth and Onions very stoutly, adding 43 runs to the total and only rarely being defeated. Whenever Rogers drove unwisely or played and missed, he jerked his head back in savage self-reproof and took a penitential walk to square leg. Hildreth looked in even less trouble until, as he seems annoyingly prone to do in the thirties, he edged a catch to the slips, Ryan Pringle pouching the chance off Onions. Jim Allenby’s first ball was straight and on a good length; it needed to be hit, not to be played with a hopeful half-stride forward, the pad doing most of the work and the bat alongside, as if in comradely solidarity. The latter, though, was what Allenby attempted and Rob Bailey sent him on his way. 79 for 5.A quarter of an hour later two more wickets fell to consecutive deliveries and the second of them probably marked a pivotal moment in this game. First van der Merwe drove wildly at Onions but only inside edged the ball to Michael Richardson. Then Peter Trego cover-drove his first ball straight to Mark Stoneman in the ring and called Rogers for a single. Stoneman’s throw took out the middle stump with Rogers still stretching for the crease. The Somerset skipper departed for 23 with a glance at his former partner; perhaps he was speculating as to the nature of life on planet Trego. 85 for 7.The rest of the innings sought to staunch a deep wound with sticking plasters. Trego, hardly in the manner of a sinner seeking atonement, made 45 off 57 balls and added 66 for the eighth wicket with Lewis Gregory. But 20-year-old Brydon Carse marked his Championship debut by dismissing two of the last three batsmen and Durham’s 77-run lead already seemed substantial in the context of the game.

Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders are the first teams to meet for the second time this IPL, and Mumbai are the only team to have defeated Knight Riders so far this season

The Preview by Sirish Raghavan27-Apr-2016

Match facts

Thursday, April 28, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders have shared the last four IPL titles between them, and their previous matches have served as reminders of why that has been the case. Though Knight Riders had won three of their first four matches, the away win against Rising Pune Supergiants in their fifth match would have been particularly pleasing as it demonstrated that their batting depth can get them out of trouble when Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa fail. Similarly, Mumbai’s win over Kings XI Punjab in Mohali came on the back of a solid top-order showing despite Rohit Sharma’s duck. A strong bowling effort from their pacers made them just the third team – after Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils – to successfully defend a total this season. As these two star-studded teams begin to harness the depth of their resources, a clash between them is a mouth-watering prospect.They also become the first teams to meet for the second time this season. In their first meeting, at Eden Gardens, Mumbai convincingly gunned down a target of 188. They are the only team to have defeated Knight Riders so far this season. While Knight Riders will be itching to exact revenge, Mumbai will be desperate to win their last match at the Wankhede stadium this season.There is an interesting contrast between Mumbai’s pace-heavy bowling attack – led by Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah – and Knight Riders’ spin riches, featuring Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Shakib Al Hasan (with Brad Hogg in the wings). How these markedly different attacks shape up against each other will make for a fascinating sub-plot, with potentially significant implications on the result.

Form guide

Mumbai Indians: WLWLL (most recent matches first)
Kolkata Knight Riders: WWWLW

In the spotlight

Mumbai’s bowling has been driven by Tim Southee’s pace and swing, Mitchell McClenaghan’s aggression and Jasprit Bumrah’s excellent yorkers and variations. To the extent that spin has played a role, Krunal Pandya has shone, combining an economy rate of 6.57 with an average of 30.66. Harbhajan Singh, who is meant to be the lead spinner, has been largely ineffective, with an average of 62.66 and going at 8.54 runs an over. He has played all of Mumbai’s matches so far, but unless he can improve that record, there may be a temptation to look at other spin options.Andre Russell has had a fairly low-key start to the season. He has been expensive with the ball and has had only one innings of substance – a 17-ball 36 against Mumbai – with the bat. Knight Riders already have a wide base of players that are performing but if Russell can hit form as well, that would be a massive boost to the side’s balance and destructive potential.

Team news

Jerome Taylor has been drafted into Mumbai’s squad in place of the injured Lasith Malinga, but is unlikely to break into the XI just yet, considering the fine performances of Mumbai’s pacers. Mumbai might consider giving Corey Anderson a game, perhaps at the expense of the out-of-form Kieron Pollard. Pollard has scored just 71 runs at 17.75 in six innings and leaked 36 runs in three overs on the two occasions he has bowled.Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Parthiv Patel (wk), 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Jos Buttler, 5 Kieron Pollard/Corey Anderson, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Jasprit BumrahHaving shown their batting depth, Knight Riders might be inclined to stick with the same XI.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Robin Uthappa (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Andre Russell, 7 R Sathish, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Morne Morkel

Pitch and conditions

The Wankhede Stadium is generally full of runs. The three matches played here so far have yielded progressively higher first-innings totals, with 170 scored in the last match, on April 20. On all three occasions, the totals have been successfully chased down. The forecast is for a hot day, with temperatures expected to hit 36C, and no rain. Given the success teams chasing have enjoyed, and dew potentially being a factor later in the evening, bowling first would presumably be the way to go.

Stats and trivia

• Mumbai’s average opening stand of 12.14 is the lowest among all teams in this IPL
• Of the eight batsmen with 200-plus runs so far this year, Gambhir has hit the fewest sixes (2). He also has the second-lowest strike rate (123.43) among those batsmen, after Ambati Rayudu (121.91)

Leicestershire’s late assault proved decisive as Yorkshire, so disappointing in the Blast last season, lost heavily in front of only 6,000 at Headingley

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2016
ScorecardBen Raine top-scored for Leicestershire and then took three wickets•Getty Images

Yorkshire Vikings were never in the hunt against Leicestershire Foxes who beat them by 54 runs with eight balls remaining in the NatWest T20 Blast at Headingley.It was a disappointing start to the campaign for Yorkshire, who are desperate to do well in the competition this season under a new young captain in Alex Lees, but who drew only 6,000 to Headingley.Leicestershire could feel delighted with the result after opening with a defeat to Northamptonshire last week.Chasing a 175 victory target, Yorkshire failed to put a substantial stand together in a game which was dominated by Ben Raine and the O’Brien brothers, Kevin and Niall.Raine top-scored with 48 before opening the bowling and capturing 3 for 7 in his 3.4 overs. Niall O’Brien powered his way to 39 while Kevin hit 21 and then took three for 27.Yorkshire lost wickets at regular intervals and openers Adam Lyth and new one-day captain, Alex Lees, were both out inside the first five overs, Lyth driving Raine to mid-off and Lees turning Kevin O’Brien to leg-gully.Only Will Rhodes showed any real form, coming in at 32 for 4 and smacking 45 with three fours and two sixes before departing at 109 for 9 by driving Neil Dexter to Tom Wells at long off, by which time the game was well and truly lost for Yorkshire.A late flurry of sixes had revitalised the Foxes’ innings with 102 coming off the final ten overs. It was off the fourth delivery of the 14th over that Niall O’Brien straight drove Lyth for the first six of the match but another eight were to clear the rope in the remaining overs for Leicestershire to close on a competitive 174 for seven.All four of Niall O’Brian’s boundary shots in his 39 off 21 balls came from six hits while Raine included two fours and two sixes in his 48 from 43 deliveries.But Lewis Hill was responsible for the final flourish with three mid-wicket sixes in the last over from Ben Coad who gave away 22 runs, Hill ending unbeaten on 24 from just nine balls.Yorkshire did not have their best night in the field as three catches were put down, the easiest being when Raine, who had just pulled Adil Rashid for two sixes, survived a simple chance to Liam Plunkett on the mid-wicket boundary.Things began encouragingly for Yorkshire as Tim Bresnan, in his first appearance of the season after being sidelined with a calf muscle tear, started with a wicket maiden, Pettini forcing his fifth ball straight into the hands of Rhodes at point.Bresnan’s new ball partner, James Wainman, also enjoyed an early success on his T20 Blast debut. In Wainman’s second over, Mark Cosgrove, who had struck 20 from 11 balls, was caught at deep square leg by Coad.Bresnan and Plunkett each claimed two wickets but Leicestershire kept battling away and their destructive hitting late on proved to be decisive.

Aaron Finch and Jade Dernbach gave Surrey the edge over a Somerset side whose T20 dreams have turned sour

Will Macpherson08-Jul-2016
ScorecardFile photo: Jade Dernbach had an outstanding night•Getty Images

It was always going to require something inspired for Surrey to defend their Aaron Finch-filled 154. But, through a combination of waspish fielding, fine bowling – with Jade Dernbach to the fore in both disciplines – and canny captaincy, they did just that – by a whopping 15 runs, all but ending Somerset’s hopes of progressing. After a staggering stall in Surrey’s innings after Finch’s fireworks, Somerset – strangled by Surrey – put on a clinic in how not to chase.Dernbach, having taken a wicket in both his early overs and also pulling off a magnificent direct hit to dismiss Jim Allenby, was recalled to the attack by Gareth Batty and entrusted – as he always is – with closing out a tight game with his chicanery and craft. The equation was 33 required from 24 balls, and five Somerset wickets still standing.These last 12 Dernbach deliveries – always just wide enough of line, always just awkward enough of length, and never remotely readable of pace – went for eight, with his last ball deceiving Lewis Gregory, who was caught on the midwicket fence. As Tom Curran – who bowled a brilliant over between Dernbach’s two – stood atop his mark for the innings’s last, the game was won.It was Sam Curran’s tight opening over and Ben Foakes’s outstanding diving catch of Johann Myburgh – off Dernbach’s bowling – that set the tone for Surrey’s excellent defence. Against the new ball, Mahela Jayawardene was in sublime form, flicking beautifully to leg and placing perfectly on the offside but, after Dernbach bowled Peter Trego, he fell to Batty’s first ball.Batty quickly identified that, with 63 scored from the first six overs, the spin of he and Zafar Ansari would be vital. Both finished with figures of 1 for 20, with Ansari’s wicket also vital, Roloef van der Merwe bowled slogging. With the wind sucked from Somerset’s sails – although Alex Barrow and Gregory shared a chancy 43 to give them hope, Batty turned to Dernbach and his protege, the older Curran.If Dernbach sealed the deal, it was Finch who set Surrey’s win up. South London on a Friday night is as close to the Twenty20 Finch knows as England can offer. Before a roisterous sellout crowd of 25,500 – there were, as now seems mandatory, variations of “Will Grigg’s On Fire”, and the Iceland slowclap – Finch began the night in ominously ravenous form.By the time Surrey had 50, for the loss of just Jason Roy, who bunted Josh Davey to mid-off, Finch had 44. There was a cut four, before Lewis Gregory was pulled for six, lustily pumped through cover for four, then flicked to cow for six more. Jamie Overton was the victim of another violent triptych: a sensual six towards long-on, a beastly cover drive, and a finessed guide to third man.Yet when he went, a couple of balls after reaching 50, bowled off the pad by Max Waller – who Finch admitted on TV after that he had never seen bowl, Surrey lost their way horribly. There were all the hallmarks of the grim stall: a 12-over wait for a boundary (Tom Curran and Ben Foakes scrambled one each late on), and there were no more sixes; there were two run outs, with Rory Burns’s so farcical that the third umpire was required to decide whether he or Dom Sibley should go. Sibley failed to kick on, adding five to his score before slapping to long-on, Chris Morris top edged to be caught and bowled, while Zafar Ansari pulled straight to the man in the deep.In the Curran brothers, on the day they were called up by England Lions, Surrey found a pair of patient, dinky accumulators, who ensured their innings went the distance. Sam, productive to third man, was run out cleverly by the leaping wicketkeeper Barrow going for a silly second, while Tom lost Foakes to a brilliant catch at backward square-leg from Peter Trego in the final over.It should never have been enough, but Dernbach – after a lengthy spell on the sidelines – is back. The nature of his job often make his failures memorable, but there remain few better at closing out a game. At 30, and having seen – not to mention copped – plenty, he is now a wily old operator with more to give than most acknowledge. Somerset had no answer.