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With Virender Sehwag gone, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel gave India a South African welcome – one that involved tenderizing gloves, bruising bodies and the smell of lacquer and leather

The Bulletin by George Binoy16-Dec-201038.1 overs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball-details
Gautam Gambhir had the hardest time against the South African fast bowlers•AFP

It lasted three deliveries. After weeks of anticipation, and a four-and-a-half-hour rain delay, the duel between Dale Steyn and Virender Sehwag ended the moment the batsman touched the ball at SuperSport Park. Anti-climatic it may have been, but the South Africans were in raptures. With Sehwag gone, Steyn and Morne Morkel gave India a hostile welcome – one that involved tenderising gloves, bruising bodies and the smell of lacquer and leather. India were hustled and hurried by bouncers, but it was the fuller follow-up delivery that brought South Africa the wickets.The Indians had spent a week at Gary Kirsten’s academy in Cape Town customising their preparation for today but no simulation could match the reality of Steyn and Morkel. The batsmen were unable to score – even if only to get off strike, to deny the bowler consecutive deliveries at a particular player and the time to execute plans. Of 122 deliveries bowled in the first session, 101 were dots and India’s accomplished line-up continued to underperform in their bogey country.Overnight and early-morning downpours had dampened conditions, prompting Graeme Smith, with an attack far classier than India’s previous opponents New Zealand, to put India in. The first delivery set the tone: Steyn hit Gautam Gambhir’s back pad and a close lbw appeal was denied. Sehwag shouldered arms twice in Steyn’s opening over, and in the bowler’s second, he attempted to flay the ball through cover point. It moved away a fraction and flew off the edge to Hashim Amla, placed at third man for precisely that. Steyn 1, Sehwag 0, India 1 for 1 and stunned.Gambhir was perhaps lucky on 1, when a ripsnorter from Morkel rose from a length and sped towards his face. Gambhir began to sway and then fended helplessly. The ball appeared to kiss the glove and was pouched by Mark Boucher, but umpire Steve Davis shook his head. Morkel had touched speeds of 150kph during his first spell and was perhaps just too quick.The reprieve cost South Africa only four runs, perhaps the hardest runs Gambhir has made. Morkel pounded in from round the wicket, pitched the ball short of a length, angled it into the left-hander, targeting the body and sometimes the head. Pinned to the crease without room outside off, Gambhir ducked and defended in discomfort.There was no respite against Steyn either. Following a brief exchange of words, Steyn let rip. Gambhir took his eyes off the bouncer and took the ball on his back. The next ball was fuller, moved away from the left-hander, and beat the tentative poke outside off stump. Gambhir was soon put out of his misery, though, and it was the follow-up ball to the bouncer that got him. Having been cornered by the short-pitched attack from Morkel, he drove at a fuller one with poor footwork, and edged to first slip.Dravid had appeared the most comfortable, relatively speaking, taking his bottom hand off the bat to fend off rising deliveries, careful to leave anything outside off, and compact while playing deliveries aimed at his body. Morkel then got one to jag sharply into him from outside off. Dravid was caught on the crease, hit on the pad and Morkel was celebrating his 100th Test wicket, having reduced India to 27 for 3.The smattering of rain-resistant spectators gave Sachin Tendulkar a warm reception and he responded to adversity by taking on the less-threatening Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Tendulkar pulled him twice for fours from outside off stump, drove fluently through cover and guided to third man. Neither Tendulkar nor VVS Laxman was tested much by South Africa’s support act, but their respite was fleeting and ended soon after the break for tea.Tendulkar continued to attack Steyn, edging past his stumps before driving through extra cover and cutting past point – all for boundaries. Steyn responded with two similar deliveries, on a good length, straight and fast. The first beat Laxman’s flick from the crease and uprooted middle stump. The second beat Tendulkar’s flick from the crease and hit the pad, otherwise it too would have uprooted middle stump. Between those dismissals Suresh Raina, who appeared brittle as a leaf in a thunderstorm, had edged Jacques Kallis to third slip. India, at 71 for 6, were being cooked on a .Harbhajan Singh fought, as he usually does, but a trigger movement towards leg as the fast bowlers attacked him betrayed nervousness. He hit the day’s first six, clouting Tsotsobe over long-on, before losing his grip on the bat while attempting a third to be run out. The tailenders had no chance against the barrage, and only Dhoni, with his awkward movements, threw a few counterpunches.Rain had threatened to ruin the opening day of the series, the terrific efforts of the groundstaff had ensured it wasn’t washed out, and similar efforts from South Africa’s fearsome new-ball attack ensured that lost time was made up.

The ECB will begin their search for a replacement bowling coach after Ottis Gibson was released from his contract to take up the head coach’s role with West Indies

Cricinfo staff02-Feb-2010The ECB will begin their search for a replacement bowling coach after Ottis Gibson was released from his contract to take up the head coach’s role with West Indies. England leave for Dubai in mid-February for two Twenty20s against Pakistan before heading onto Bangladesh for a one-day and Test tour, and it seems unlikely a full-time appointment will be made in time for that trip.Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, and head coach Andy Flower will lead the search for Gibson’s replacement. “There has been much speculation in the last few days about the role of fast bowling coach,” Morris said, “but now Ottis has confirmed his departure, Andy Flower and I will begin the process of identifying the right individual who can join the England set up and build on the foundation laid by Ottis.”Gibson had become a well-respected member of England’s growing backroom staff and had been credited with the improving performances of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graham Onions. The England quick bowlers often spoke highly of Gibson who was the first man to successfully fill the hole left by Troy Cooley’s departure following the 2005 Ashes series.”I think Ottis has done a pretty good job,” the former England seamer, Angus Fraser, told Cricinfo. “He’s been quiet and undemonstrative, and he’s just gone about his business. He never sought the limelight and he had the respect of his players, which you do when you’ve had a good career yourself, and he dealt with them in a very mature way.”The ECB will want a high-calibre appointment to fill the vacancy and their search could well lead them back to South Africa, a country that has proved a popular source of players and coaches in recent times. Allan Donald is likely to be sounded out over his availability and is certainly one of the stand-out candidates currently not in a role, having missed out on the India bowling role that recently went to his fellow South African, Eric Simons.Donald held an interim role with England in 2007 but turned down the full-time position because of the touring commitments involved, and instead returned to Warwickshire. However, he left county cricket at the end of the 2009 season because of family reasons and returned home, and it remains to be seen whether he would be willing to uproot his young family again.Another option the ECB may consider is Donald’s former team-mate Shaun Pollock, who has taken his first steps into coaching with the Mumbai Indians at the IPL. It is also possible that South Africa’s current bowling coach, Vincent Barnes, could well be looking for a new job after the tour of India if the upheaval in the South African coaching structure continues.There aren’t many candidates from closer to home making huge cases to be considered. Kevin Shine held the position after Cooley departed and is now in charge of the fast bowling programme at the National Academy in Loughborough, but remains tainted by his back-room role during the 2006-07 Ashes whitewash in Australia.From those not currently in the coaching set-up, Darren Gough would make an interesting choice, particularly when it comes to the art of one-day cricket, although his lifestyle has moved away from cricket since retirement. Meanwhile Phil DeFreitas, the former England seamer, was in the running when Shine got the job in 2006.”The most important factor in who they pick now is that they find someone who fits in with what Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower want to achieve,” added Fraser.

Bengaluru and Lucknow are the other two venues for the five-team tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2025WPL 2025 will begin on February 14, a week later than earlier planned, with Gujarat Giants hosting defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the newly built BCA stadium in Vadodara. As ESPNcricinfo had reported earlier, Lucknow is the other new venue for the upcoming season, with Mumbai and Bengaluru to host matches as well.After the first six games in Vadodara, the tournament will move to Bengaluru for the next eight matches. Lucknow will then host four games before the last leg in Mumbai. Mumbai will also stage four games, including the Eliminator on March 13 and the final on March 15 – all at the CCI stadium.RCB will play four games at their home venue, the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which drew boisterous crowds last season. As for the UP Warriorz, they will play three games at their home base, Lucknow. Delhi Capitals are the only team who don’t have home games in the five-team tournament.Related

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Just like the previous season, all matches will be single-headers.In the new women’s FTP, a separate window has been allocated for the WPL, the most lucrative women’s franchise league.The WPL 2025 auction, which was held in December last year, turned out to be a big deal for uncapped Indian players, with Simran Shaikh, the Mumbai allrounder, fetching the highest bid of NR 1.9 crore (USD 223,000 approx).RCB had clinched their first WPL title in 2024 after beating Capitals by eight wickets in Delhi.

Star legspinner hopes the performance provides solace to people who are struggling back home

Ashish Pant15-Oct-20231:27

What made the Afghanistan spinners so good against England?

Rashid Khan has always been in tune with the struggles of the Afghanistan people. At the time of the Taliban takeover, he was in the UK, playing in the Hundred, and all he wanted was “peace”. Now, in the aftermath of earthquakes that have wreaked immense damage in Herat, he hoped that their humbling of the men’s ODI World Champions England may give the nation some form of solace.”It will be a big celebration back home,” he told after the game “We don’t have that kind of wins and that kind of situation back home in Afghanistan where people could celebrate. I think cricket is the only source which gives them lots of happiness and lots of good memories and people back home just wait. We have lost so many games but still the kind of support we got from them…and they are so excited for us to be playing in that stage.””Winning the game against England was a big one for us, back home they will be so proud. Lately, we’ve had an earthquake back home in Afghanistan in Herat where lots of people lost their lives, more than 3000. Around 2000 people’s houses were destroyed. This victory will give them a little bit of smile on their faces and they could little bit forget those tough days.”Related

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Coming into the game, Afghanistan’s only win at the World Cup in 17 attempts, came against Scotland back in the 2015 edition. But having racked up their second-highest score at this tournament, the Afghanistan spin trio of Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi wove their magic as England went down by 69 runs in Delhi – their second loss in three games.Rashid played a huge role in the win, both with the bat and ball. He first scored a crucial 23-ball 22 coming lower down the order to arrest a slide as Afghanistan recorded 284 in 49.5 overs. He then followed it up with a three-wicket haul taking his side to the biggest upset of the competition this year.”Against a big team like England, it always gives you a kind of huge boost. We had very tough games in the Asia Cup and the series against Pakistan,” he said.There’s no keeping down Mujeeb Ur Rahman after he strikes•Getty Images

“We were very close there but we were not winning those games, which was disappointing to the players because they were working very hard and at the end they were ending on the wrong side. They were not getting the right kind of energy and boost up. This win will give us a lot of energy for the rest of the competition. Now we have the belief that we can beat any side at any time.”While Rashid’s major contribution came with the ball as he removed Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood, that isn’t the thing that had him smiling from ear to ear. “More than the three wickets, it was the 23 runs that were crucial. I was so happy with that, especially the cover drive off Mark Wood,” he said, “That is something I am more excited about after the game than my three wickets. That was the kind of contribution I wanted to have for the team. Happy after a long time to get three wickets. I was struggling a little bit to get the wickets as well but happy to get them at a very crucial time.”Along with Rashid, the other major influence in the game was Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman who first slammed a 16-ball 28 before picking 3 for 51 off his ten overs to take home the Player-of-the-Match trophy. After Fazalhaq Farooqi set the ball rolling with the wicket of Jonny Bairstow, Mujeeb made a mess of Joe Root’s stumps inside the powerplay.”As a spinner, it is very hard to bowl in the powerplay. You have only two fielders outside but that is something I have been working on in the nets,” Mujeeb said at the presentation. “Bowling with the new ball there and I try my best to be as consistent as possible and that is something which made me more effective. In the powerplay, you don’t have much of the areas to bowl wider or leg stump but I always try my best to bowl stump to stump and make it simple for myself.”Whenever I am bowling in the nets, same mindset and same mentality. I am bowling into the wicket and that’s where I am enjoying my bowling.”It’s a very proud moment to be here in the World Cup and beating the last World Cup champions. It is a great achievement for the whole nation, for the whole team and I think it is a kind of opportunity and we have worked hard for this day to beat such a big team and so happy for this performance.”Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi termed this win against England as Afghanistan’s best and was confident that this was just the start of his side’s journey in the World Cup.”This was the best win that we got today and the confidence will be there for the next games and all the country will be proud and happy,” he said. “Last couple of games we did not finish well, but we had the belief. This is not the first win that we are looking for. Moving forward, we will be positive for the next games. This means a lot for us. This was the first one, not the last one.”

Sri Lanka took the last eight wickets in just 23.4 overs to secure a series-levelling win in Galle

Danyal Rasool28-Jul-2022Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, admitted it was “disappointing” to see his side fold as swiftly as it had either side of lunch on the final day in Galle and miss out on an opportunity to win their second successive series in Sri Lanka.With eight wickets still in hand half an hour before lunch and rain and poor light looming, a draw seemed like it was all but secured. But three quick wickets before the interval gave Sri Lanka an opening who, spearheaded by Prabath Jayasuriya, went on to rip through the Pakistan batting line-up.”The lower order falling cheaply was disappointing. Credit to Jayasuriya for how he bowled, he was outstanding. He was patient; in Test cricket, you need patience. He’s a consistent bowler. He plugs away at a length and sticks to it. Even if he gets hit for a boundary, he doesn’t deviate from his length. As a batting unit, you need patience too, and we were slightly lacking in that department. And that goes for our lower order as well.”Related

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There appeared to be no demons in the pitch to worry Pakistan when the day began. The early loss of Imam-ul-Haq was followed up by a 79-run stand across 23 overs between Babar and Mohammad Rizwan, with Jayasuriya and Mendis – who operated almost that entire time – made to look relatively harmless. Then things changed.”Early morning, the pitch wasn’t doing much,” Babar said, “But after a bit of rain, the spinners began to get a bit of help which led to a few of our wickets falling early. We didn’t strike up a partnership like we needed to, and whenever back-to-back wickets fall, you inevitably feel the pressure.It was Rizwan’s wicket that opened the floodgates, with the wicketkeeper-batter letting one go that carried on to take his off stump. The panic began to set in at that point and bled over into the next dismissal, when a mix-up between Fawad Alam and Babar led to the former being run-out. Agha Salman’s dismissal on the stroke of lunch effectively put Babar as the sole roadblock between Sri Lanka and a huge win. When Jayasuriya trapped him in front for 81 a few overs after lunch, Pakistan’s fate was effectively sealed. In the end, the last eight wickets took just 23.4 overs to fall, the disappointing fourth-innings showing a bit of a departure from Pakistan’s performances of late.”When you’ve chased big scores in the past, you get confidence,” Babar said. “We brought that confidence into this chase. We had belief we could do it, but Sri Lanka came well prepared and bowled according to their plans. As a batting unit, we were slightly unlucky because there were plenty of soft dismissals.”Day by day, the team is improving and the performances are improving. These conditions weren’t easy but we did well in phases. We did things wrong, too, which we’ll discuss. But there are lots of positives here, too. And we’ll try and build on those.”

Asif Ali, who was already in the T20I squad, replaces the 25-year old in the ODI squad

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2021A leg injury has ruled Saud Shakeel out of Pakistan’s tour of South Africa, with middle-order batsman Asif Ali taking his place. Shakeel, who is yet to play an international for Pakistan, was included in the squad for the ODI series against South Africa, and the Tests against Zimbabwe.But the PCB announced a Grade-1 quadriceps tear, which meant he would have to be excluded and stay back at the National High Performance Centre to continue his rehabilitation. The PCB did leave open the possibility that he might travel separately to Zimbabwe should he recover in time for the Test series, and did not name a replacement for the 25-year old for that part of the tour.Ali was already slated to travel to South Africa with the Pakistan side, but only as part of the T20I leg. His inclusion in the ODIs against South Africa gives him another chance to impress in a format where he has never quite been able to nail down a place since making his debut in 2018. An indifferent PSL and recent struggles in T20I cricket meant there were doubts over his inclusion on the tour at all.The 34-member squad, including 13 officials and 21 players, will depart for Johannesburg on a chartered flight on Friday morning. In South Africa, Pakistan will play three ODIs, part of the ICC’s Super League, from April 2 to 7, and four T20Is from April 10 to 16. The side will then depart for Harare for three T20Is and two Tests, before returning home on 12 May.

Daniel Brettig13-Dec-2019A nearby grass fire wafted the unmistakable odour of smoke across Perth Stadium early on another enervating day in the west. By the close the only fire was that being breathed by Mitchell Starc, as Australia cornered New Zealand’s batsmen under lights despite the damaging loss of Josh Hazlewood to a left hamstring strain.Two grinding sessions in daylight saw Australia eke out 416 following the loss of early wickets before the pitch and the match burst into furious life in the third, floodlit session. Starc and Hazlewood blasted out Tom Latham and Jeet Raval in their opening overs, only for Pat Cummins to be drafted into early service when Hazlewood pulled up lame before delivering his ninth ball of the Test match.Ross Tayor and Kane Williamson threatened to form a pivotal stand with Australia’s bowling resources shorn by a quarter, only for Starc to coax an edge from New Zealand’s captain that was intercepted by the flying right hand of Steven Smith diving into where third slip might have been. Henry Nicholls and Neil Wagner were swiftly accounted for, and Starc had a hat-trick ball bunted away by Taylor before the close.Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head had earlier looked capable of dominating for the hosts, but both were dismissed in circumstances they would have been disappointed by as part of eight wickets shared between Wagner and Tim Southee.That meant the remainder of the innings was something of a slog for the Australians, as the captain Tim Paine forged partnerships with Cummins and Starc in an effort to not only advance the scoreboard but also ensure that New Zealand’s innings would commence in the harder batting conditions under lights at day’s end.Latham certainly looked to have trouble finding the Starc short ball that lobbed off the shoulder of the bat and back to a grateful bowler to the delight of a crowd of 20,018, and Raval was even further away from a Hazlewood in-dipper that clattered his stumps after several deliveries angled across him towards the slips.Williamson was fortunate to survive early on when a thin edge – picked up by snicko – evaded the attention of every Australian but Smith, whose strangled appeal and brief attempt to call for a review was ignored by Paine, who did not enjoy an entirely pleasant evening with a couple more painful blows to his troublesome right index finger. The early loss of Hazlewood from the attack even had Paine resorting to Matthew Wade’s speculative right-arm mediums inside the first 10 overs.Nathan Lyon’s extravagant turn out of a day two pitch pushed Taylor into a thrilling counter-attack, and at 2 for 77 the visitors had a toehold on the match. But Starc returned and beat Williamson with one superb delivery moving away from him, and then the New Zealand skipper fenced at a wider ball to give Smith the chance to make what is now a trademark full length dive to his right for a spectacular catch.Nicholls, never entirely comfortable, touched one of Starc’s few ordinary deliveries for the evening down the legside to Paine, and next ball Wagner was too crooked and late on a yorker that he dragged onto the stumps. Taylor and BJ Watling did well to survive the day’s remaining deliveries, but they will be starting the third afternoon with a yawning deficit of 307.Labuschagne had begun the second day with designs on a third consecutive score in advance of 150, after a fluent start, as he and Head asserted themselves. But he was left annoyed and confounded by Wagner, who found another way past an international batsman of strong repute when he angled a fullish ball into Labuschagne from around the wicket and snaked it behind the No. 3’s pads and into leg stump. Wagner’s celebration was prolonged, indicating that like most of his wickets, this was no accident.Head was then left with the responsibility for building the innings, but on 56 he leaned back to hammer Southee through the off side and picked out the fieldsman at cover. Head threw his head back in disgust at the dismissal, as did the former captain and sometime Australian team mentor Ricky Ponting in the commentary box.Paine, who had made a circumspect start, was joined by Cummins, and the pair worked their way to the long break in the hope of adding plenty more to the total. They re-emerged with a clear plan to bat for as long as possible, even to the exclusion of scoring, to keep New Zealand in the field and also to ensure that the home side’s bowlers would get to use a new ball once the sun had gone down.This made for some absorbing if not exactly pulse-quickening cricket, as the partnership soaked up 135 balls for 38 runs. Cummins was teased out by the part-time leg breaks of Jeet Raval, bowled around his legs trying to sweep after the bowling had convinced Kane Williamson to bring the deep backward square leg in from the boundary. The arrival of Starc brought a rise in the scoring rate, but Australia’s 400 was still their second slowest in a home Test since 2000.Starc ultimately fell when an attempt to hit Southee out of the stadium finished in Williamson’s hands, and Nathan Lyon hooked a couple of boundaries before picking out fine leg to hand Wagner his fourth wicket. Paine hooked Southee into BJ Watling’s gloves to end the innings on the stroke of the tea break. Fireworks would follow.

A squad that contains nine players who have played fewer than 20 ODI matches is on the path to find consistency before the World Cup

Varun Shetty in Guwahati20-Oct-20181:31

Chance for new faces to show what they have got – Holder

It’s time for another West Indies series, and that means, once again, it’s time for Jason Holder and the team’s leadership to try and achieve results in the face of forced changes. While opener Evin Lewis’ withdrawal from the limited-overs leg of the India tour for personal reasons isn’t in the same vein as some of the more controversial pulling outs West Indies have seen in recent years, it is a massive setback for a squad that contains nine players who have played fewer than 20 ODIs.

Nobody’s given us a chance. That’s incentive for us – Law

Although the West Indies squad is inexperienced, the head coach Stuart Law insisted that they had more than enough talent to surprise their doubters.
“[This series] is all about opportunity. These kids have been identified throughout T20 tournaments and domestic cricket back home,” he said. “So they’re really green. But sometimes the greener you are, the less fear you have. You don’t know the unknown. I notice in the press that everyone’s given us absolutely no chance to win a game. That’s incentive for us. It’s great for us to also have no expectations from the media and the public. We’re supposed to get our backsides handed to us but it’s great motivation for us to show that we’re not just here to make up the numbers.”

“It’s hard to lose a player who has been around and has some success in the particular format we’re playing in. No doubt, it’s tough,” Holder said. “You obviously set your plans and you formulate your plans around the composition you would have selected. [To have someone pull out at] such a late time is tough.”I’ve got to only cope with what I can, I’ve got to control what I can. I’ve been given a task to marshal the troops that we have here. Know that I’ll be going out on the field trying to give my best with the side. For me, it’s just leading from the front and leading by example with my own personal performances. We’ve set up roles for everyone, so everyone can carry out their roles and make the team’s success a lot easier.”Holder has been on a steep rise over the last 18 months or so, particularly in Tests, where along with a vast improvement in his all-round skills, he has led West Indies to six wins alongside coach Stuart Law. He has emerged with a reputation of being an up-and-coming young leader of a young team, but that is far from the case behind the scenes.”Funnily enough, I’m staring down the barrel of my 27th birthday next month,” Holder said. “I’ve been around for a little, but I’m relatively still young as well. I’m playing the father figure role, trying to mentor and nourish the young talent we have. It’s enjoyable for me. I like things like this. I love challenges. The talent we have in the Caribbean is something that really excites me.””You see young people like Fabian Allen who has come into this team or [Obed] McCoy… he’s done really well for us in domestic cricket, so we’ve got good talent here. This is the future for West Indies cricket. Obviously for anyone coming into international cricket, there’s a bit of nerves and pressure trying to solidify yourself into the side. Hopefully, those guys can put that aside and channel the nervous energy in the right direction.”That direction is next year’s World Cup, for which West Indies qualified with some difficulty earlier this year. And there are spots to be filled. Before pulling out of the tour, Lewis rejected a contract with Cricket West Indies; Chris Gayle, who was part of the team that played in the qualifiers, has been told that he won’t have an automatic place in the World Cup squad, and Andre Russell has been battling his own hamstrings, which are currently incapable of getting him through 50-overs cricket. With that reality, West Indies and their plethora of youngsters have 13 ODI matches between now and the World Cup to emerge as a settled team. And there are specific challenges they are looking to overcome.”Consistency is one of the main things we need to look at,” Holder said. “Particularly in our batting. We haven’t really been able to get consistent scores in excess of 300. A lot of times you’ve got to be able to set your benchmark around 300 or 320. That’s one area that our batters really need to look at. We’ve spoken about it in our dressing room and we need be to hitting that mark more often than not and be consistently doing it.”It’s a big test to play against India in India. This gives us a really good gauge to see where we’re at. This team is fairly competent in terms of one-day cricket. We had a really good time in the World Cup qualifiers, which was a challenge you know, playing in Zimbabwe – turning tracks playing against opponents you know very little about. That was a challenge in itself and we had a Test series against Bangladesh, one we felt we should have done a lot better in but we weren’t able to clinch it with confidence. So, all to play for here. Again, it’s another opportunity for players. No doubt it’ll be very competitive in terms of selection.”

Brittin top-scored in the 1993 World Cup final with 48 against New Zealand and took the final catch

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2017Jan Brittin, who was part of England’s World Cup-winning side in 1993, has died from cancer aged 58.Brittin is the leading run-scorer and century-maker in Women’s Test cricket with five hundreds in her 27 matches between 1979 and 1998. She played 63 ODIs, and top-scored with 48 when England beat New Zealand at Lord’s to win the World Cup and also took the final catch to secure victory.Her Test best of 167 came against Australia at Harrogate in 1998 – in the penultimate match of her career – and she opened alongside Charlotte Edwards, who paid tribute on Twitter calling Brittin “her idol.”
Clare Connor, the director of England Women’s Cricket, said: “JB was one of the most quiet and unassuming cricketers you could meet, but she was pure class. An outstanding cricketer and a truly lovely person.”In a year when England have again won the World Cup at Lord’s, we should not forget the huge contribution JB made to the development and success of women’s cricket in this country.”For girls of my generation she was our first real female role model. She batted with grace and timing – a classical opener, so beautiful to watch. She was also a brilliantly athletic cover fielder.”JB was born to play Test cricket and it’s unlikely that her record in this format will ever be beaten. She also had a fine record in the one-day game, and of course she made that significant contribution to England’s World Cup win at Lord’s in 1993.”Brittin played her domestic cricket for Surrey and flags at The Oval were lowered to half-mast during the Championship match against Yorkshire.Ebony Rainford-Brent, Surrey’s director of women’s cricket, said: “JB was such an inspiration to me and many others growing up who were able to watch or play with one of the greatest female cricketers of all time. As a character she was fun, engaging and always generous in her knowledge, particularly when she gave back as a coach later in her career. Her records speak for themselves the class of player she was and will stand the test of time.”

The BCCI has convened an emergent working committee meeting on August 2 in Mumbai, ahead of its special AGM on August 5 in New Delhi

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2016The BCCI has convened an emergent working committee meeting on August 2 in Mumbai, ahead of its special AGM on August 5 in New Delhi. The meeting will focus on the Supreme Court’s order to implement the Lodha Committee recommendations and the proposed T20I series between West Indies and India in the USA next month. The notice for the working committee meeting was reportedly sent on Saturday.”A working committee meeting has been convened in Mumbai on August 2 to discuss the Supreme Court verdict on Justice Lodha Committee’s reforms in the board,” BCCI sources told . “It will also discuss the two-match T20 series between India and West Indies proposed to be held in Florida, USA after the conclusion of the current tour of West Indies by the Indian team.”Asked whether everything had been finalised about the short T20 series, the sources told , “more or less”.The BCCI had earlier announced a special general meeting in August 5 in New Delhi to discuss the recommendations, which were approved by the Supreme Court on July 18. BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke are also scheduled to meet with the Lodha Committee in Delhi on August 9, although a board official had told ESPNcricinfo that a date had not yet been fixed.The meetings come after the BCCI was given between four and six months by the Supreme Court to implement the Lodha panel’s recommendations, which cover wide-ranging aspects of Indian cricket at the central and state level. RM Lodha, the former chief justice of India who was the architect of the report, has been directed to oversee the transition.The other agenda before the working committee is the proposed series in Florida, and a source with knowledge of negotiations between the BCCI and the WICB told ESPNcricinfo that the series was “98% on”. The 2% hold-up on finalising the August series is based on multiple factors, including the visa status of the players. However, multiple sources have confirmed that the BCCI has already submitted names, photographs and documents for their intended T20 squad to the US Embassy in Jamaica, where the second Test started on Saturday.