All posts by n8rngtd.top

“We need to ensure only those who are really required to be with the players are part of the bubble”

PTI03-Sep-2020Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia on Thursday said the Covid-19 positive cases in the Chennai Super Kings contingent could have hit any of the eight franchises and wants only those people in the IPL bio-bubble who are “really required” to be with the players. Thirteen members of the CSK contingent, including two players, tested positive for the virus last week, raising safety concerns for the tournament taking place in the UAE amid the pandemic.”The CSK incident has taught us that it can happen to anyone even when the best of precautions are taken and therefore we must be more compliant and rigid on the bio-bubble protocols. We need to ensure only those who are really required to be with the players are part of the bubble,” Wadia told .The franchisees’ non-player and non-coaching staff includes team operations manager, and social media specialists. The cricketers are also required to spend time with the marketing staff during photo shoots which will be held closer to the IPL beginning September 19. The CEOs and owners, most of whom are yet to reach the UAE, are also allowed in the bio-bubble but any violation of the BCCI’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) will send them into a seven-day quarantine.”The number of staff outside of the teams and their support staff and the match officials should be limited to the absolute minimum,” the BCCI SOPs say.When asked if he would be travelling for the tournament, Wadia said: “I have not finalised my plans but I normally don’t interact a lot with the players. I have spoken to Anil Kumble (head coach) twice so far just to check what is going on. I am very comfortable interacting on Zoom and other [online communication platforms].”Wadia asserted that there is nothing to worry about in the wake of developments at Super Kings as positive cases have also been found in major European football leagues on resumption. Even NBA players have tested positive.”The BCCI has put internationally established protocols in place,” Wadia said. “If you look at the football leagues, there were cases in the beginning and the highest of precautions were taken. There are so many variables [in the current situation]. I don’t think people need to worry at all. Things will get better and smoother as we go forward.”The teams will have to cope with a financial hit as their share from the BCCI central revenue pool stands reduced after new title sponsor Dream11 paid nearly half (INR 222 crore) of what Vivo was paying. The teams will also lose out on the gate money with the tournament held overseas and in front of empty stadiums. Delhi Capitals chairman Parth Jindal has predicted a 30% drop in teams’ revenues in case the BCCI doesn’t compensate them.Wadia said his team too is seeking compensation from the board but he also chose to look at the brighter side.”Every problem is an opportunity for someone else. So now everyone (potential sponsors) is trying to take advantage of the situation,” Wadia said. “We do hope that BCCI compensates in some form or manner. Be it this year or next year for the hit we are taking. But I would rather look at glass half full than half empty. At the least, the IPL is happening after all that we have gone through this year.”

The IPL has initiated steps to ensure that all contracted cricketers, except those with international commitments, are made available for the entire season

Ajay S Shankar16-Nov-2009The IPL has initiated steps to ensure that all cricketers who have been contracted by its franchises are available to play for the entire season from next year, except those with international commitments. This effectively means that these contracted players, and their national boards, will have to put the IPL ahead of their domestic commitments.A press release issued on Monday said that in case of a default, the IPL will impose penalties on such players, including termination of player contracts and a ban on future participation, although Lalit Modi, the league’s chairman, told Cricinfo that this would only happen in a worst-case scenario.In what can be seen as a two-pronged deterrent, the IPL, which is owned by BCCI, will also ask the governing council of the Champions League Twenty20, comprising senior officials from India, Australia and South Africa, to take “appropriate action” against participating national boards in that tournament if they don’t issue an IPL clearance for their players citing domestic commitments as a reason. While an IPL ban will affect players directly, any sanction on participating in the Champions League will impact the national board, which gets a share of the money from the organisers apart from an appearance fee for its competing domestic team.However, the IPL said that this move does not cover players with international commitments and those who will play in matches scheduled under the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) during the tournament. These decisions were finalised during the league’s workshop in Bangkok last week to ensure that the IPL franchises get their best players, who have been paid huge amounts by the teams, to be part of the league.

Expansion opposed

The IPL has confirmed its previous decision to expand to 10 teams from 2011, but the move was opposed during the recent Bangkok workshop by one franchise, believed to be Chennai Super Kings. “A discussion for the addition of two new franchises in Season 4 was held with the same being adopted with 7 of the 8 franchises being in favour of increasing the number of teams to 10,” an IPL statement said. The Chennai franchise, owned by N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, is apparently concerned that the addition of teams would impact the value of existing franchises, and cut into their share of the central sponsorship pie that includes a billion-dollar TV rights deal. It will also necessitate a fresh auction of all players before the fourth season. But an IPL official said that the addition of more teams would add more money to the pool in terms of franchise purchase fee, which is expected to run into millions of dollars.

“The IPL will work with all the cricket boards to ensure that cricketers contracted with the eight franchises are available for the season,” Modi told Cricinfo. “The IPL 2010 season is in March-April, when a lot of domestic domestic tournaments will still be on. This is a one-off situation. A worst-case scenario could mean penalties on such players (who skip IPL matches citing domestic commitments), including termination of contracts, jeopardising future participation. However, we do not want to walk that path and are hopeful that we can sort this through discussions with the boards.”The next IPL will be held from March 12 to April 25, instead of the usual April-May slot, to avoid a clash with the ICC World Twenty20 that starts soon after. However, this advanced IPL schedule clashes with the Australian domestic season, which ends on March 23, and the South African season that ends on March 28. Players from both these countries are among the most sought-after in the Indian league. The Australian cricketers will then be busy with the New Zealand series that ends on March 31.Apparently, the IPL wants to adopt the model of the Champions League Twenty20, which ensured that the best players from the top domestic teams from the seven participating countries (India, Australia, South Africa, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand) were available for the multi-nation club tournament. “Given that this was also the founding principle of the Champions League Twenty20, it was agreed that in the event any of the member boards not issuing an NOC to their players for participation in the IPL, on the pretext of domestic engagements, IPL could make a representation to the governing council of the Champions League for taking appropriate action against the members boards’ participation in the League,” the IPL release stated.The BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa are founding partners of the Champions League and its governing council comprises Lalit Modi, its chairman, Niranjan Shah, its vice-chairman, N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, Dean Kino, CA’s business and legal affairs head, and Gerald Majola, CSA’s chief executive.The IPL press release added that the measures discussed at the workshop in case of a no-show by the players include “termination of player contracts and barring from future participation in the IPL, of players that have signed contracts, but fail to make themselves available for playing in the IPL.”This will exclude any instances wherein players would have international and FTP commitments and was aimed at ensuring that players make themselves available for the IPL post their FTP commitments, especially, since such players would have already received a player release to play in the IPL from their respective boards.”

The technical committee also warned Elias Sunny after a hearing on Wednesday evening

Mohammad Isam17-Jun-2021Legends of Rupganj batter Sabbir Rahman and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club manager Sultan Mahmud have been fined BDT 50,000 (US $590 approx.) for their involvement in an incident on June 16 at the BKSP. Although the BCB’s press release didn’t mention what the incident was, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club had lodged a complaint against Rahman after their match against Old DOHS Sports Club at the BKSP-3 ground on Wednesday.Rahman had arrived at the ground to play Rupganj’s DPL T20 match against Partex Sporting Club at the BKSP-4 ground when he allegedly racially abused and threw stones at Elias Sunny, who was fielding at the time. Rahman had allegedly also racially abused Sunny during their June 13 match.The technical committee held a hearing on Wednesday evening, after which they also warned Sunny.”After an extensive hearing session the Technical Committee has decided to take the following disciplinary measures: fine of BDT 50,000.00 each for Shabbir Rahaman of Legends of Rupganj and Sheikh Jamal’s Manager Sultan Mahmud.”Sunny had told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday that Rahman had abused him during the June 13 match, and the June 16 incidents were a continuation of that.”Sabbir started abusing me when I was batting against Rupganj on June 13,” Sunny said. “I asked him thrice whether he himself understood what he was saying, but he kept repeating it. I got angry, after which the umpires had to separate us. But he kept calling me “kalo” (black, referring to his skin colour) repeatedly from the outfield. We won the match so I didn’t react too much.”During today’s (Wednesday’s) match, when we were fielding, Rupganj’s bus had arrived near the BKSP 3 ground. He started teasing me with the same “kalo, kalo“. I didn’t react at first. But shortly afterwards, he threw a stone at me. I maintained the protocol by telling the umpires. Play was stopped for a while. I also spoke to the match referee.”This is Rahman’s latest misdemeanour after he was banned for six months for abusing a fan on social media and lost his national contract for beating up a fan during a first-class game in 2018. He also lost half his BPL salary in 2015 for a serious breach of discipline.

Pragyan Ojha has revealed that he went “literally blank” when he was banned last December for chucking, but has come through the troubling period with a successfully remodeled action and is looking forward to the new season

Deivarayan Muthu07-Oct-2015Pragyan Ojha has revealed that he went “literally blank” when he was banned last December for chucking, but has come through the difficult period with a successfully remodeled action and is looking forward to the new season.”I was literally blank for a couple of days,” Ojha told ESPNcricinfo. “I really could not understand what to do and how to go about it.”Ojha credited the strong support system he had for helping him bounce back.”I felt this should not end like this,” he said. “I was very emotional about what happened but I was lucky to have great support and encouragement from my family and [VVS] Laxman . They connected to me everyday, they took my feedback, and also gave their feedback. The passion towards playing for the country pushed me.”Having confirmed his switch from Hyderabad to Bengal in a bid to compete in the top tier of the Ranji Trophy, Ojha is looking forward to winning games for his new team.”Mentally and physically I am in a good space now,” Ojha told ESPNcricinfo. “My aim is to take wickets, do well for the Bengal side, and win games for them.”Ojha became the third-fastest Indian to 100 Test wickets in March 2013 and eight months later went on to claim match figures of 10 for 89 in Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test. Soon after, however, his fortunes slid drastically.First, he was left out of India’s squads for the tours to New Zealand and England. Then, in December 2014, he was banned from bowling in competitive cricket, and was subsequently withdrawn from the Hyderabad squad.Ojha reported to the ICC-accredited testing facility at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College [SRMC] in Chennai, where former Tamil Nadu spinners D Vasu and M Venkataramana helped him correct his action. Vasu identified unwanted body movement that was breaking his ‘kinetic chain’, thereby affecting his action.”The training was pretty serious and intense,” Vasu said. “We focused on the wrist position. We have constant video feedback; it’s a live feedback the way you correct muscle memory. We have a software in SRMC when a bowler bowls, and after about six seconds he can come back and watch it. Right now he looks fine.”Ojha said his action was now more side-on, but he hadn’t made too many other changes. “Definitely [the action is more side-on],” Ojha says. “We tried different types of action to see which would suit me and helped me make things right. The unwanted body movement was corrected. It wasn’t like I changed everything completely.”Was there any specific method or exercise to correct his action? “No, there is no set or fixed pattern,” Ojha said. “It is an individualistic process, if I can say that.””Initially I used to do some visualisations but slowly and gradually [the correction] sunk in and I started doing well. After playing five-six domestic games, it become more of a natural thing.”On his return in February, after the BCCI cleared his new action, Ojha took three wickets in an over against Himachal Pradesh. He wheeled away for 42 overs in HP’s only innings and finished with a four-wicket haul. He picked up another four-for in the Irani Cup against Karnataka, before returning career-best T20 figures of 4 for 15, against Andhra, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Ojha also showed good form in the two-match unofficial Test series against Australia A, finishing with ten wickets. India A coach Rahul Dravid lauded Ojha for his control and bowling with a half-sleeved shirt.”He has taken the bull by the horns: ‘I have nothing to hide and I want to bowl with half-sleeves’. He must be applauded for that,” Dravid said. “Because he has gone out there [with the thought] that I’m confident in my action and bowling and confident enough to wear a half-sleeve t-shirt.”Asked if preferring to bowl in a half-sleeved shirt was an emphatic statement, Ojha said: “That is up to you experts. But the compliment from Dravid boosted my confidence. It really inspires me to do well.”Ojha’s immediate task is to fill a troubling hole in Bengal’s bowling attack. While Ashok Dinda and Veer Pratap Singh led Bengal’s pace attack last season with handy back-up options in Shib Paul and Sourav Sarkar, spin was an area of concern.Left-arm spinning allrounder Amit Banerjee, who made his debut last season, took nine wickets in four matches, while Iresh Saxena managed only two wickets. Offspinner Saurashish Lahiri, who led Bengal to the knockouts in 2013-2014, has tailed off and has been left out of the squad for the match against double-treble champions Karnataka. Ojha’s guile and experience add weight to a revamped bowling line-up that also includes the former India Under-19 offspinner Aamir Gani.Should Ojha solve Bengal’s spin quandary and bag a sizeable wicket haul this season, a national recall could follow. Ojha, though, emphasised that he was not thinking that far ahead. He said his immediate focus was to take wickets in the Ranji Trophy and maintain his fitness.”The only things in my control are my bowling and my fitness. If I keep these things right, everything will fall in place. Other things are not in my control. I want to keep it as simple as that.”

Sri Lanka are best placed at the moment, but they are not in the final yet

S Rajesh07-Sep-2022Afghanistan
If Afghanistan lose to Pakistan, they will be eliminated [along with India]. If they beat Pakistan but lose to India, they will have to hope Sri Lanka beat Pakistan on Friday, so that three teams are tied on one win each.If Afghanistan win both matches, they will qualify for certain if Sri Lanka defeat Pakistan on Friday. If Sri Lanka lose to Pakistan, then three teams will be level on two wins, and net run-rate will come into play.India
India’s only chance of making the final is if Sri Lanka finish with three wins, and the three other teams have one win each. In that case, the team with the best NRR among Afghanistan, India and Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka in the final.For India to qualify, Pakistan will have to lose both their remaining matches, against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, while India will need to beat Afghanistan on Thursday. If Pakistan beat Afghanistan, both India and Afghanistan will be eliminated.Pakistan
If Pakistan beat Afghanistan, they will qualify for the final along with Sri Lanka. If they lose on Wednesday and beat Sri Lanka on Friday, they will still qualify if India beat Afghanistan on Thursday. However, if Afghanistan win both their remaining games, then Pakistan will need to beat Sri Lanka and hope that their NRR is in the top two.If Pakistan lose both their remaining matches, they will have to hope India beat Afghanistan, in which case three teams will have one win each. NRR will then decide the second finalists.Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka are sitting pretty with two wins out of two. The only way they can fall short is if they lose to Pakistan, and Afghanistan beat both Pakistan and India. In that case, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan will all finish on two points each, with NRR deciding which two teams qualify. For that to happen, though, Afghanistan will have to beat Pakistan and India on successive days at two different venues.

Ollie Pope unbeaten on 91 at close while Jos Buttler makes first half-century in eight Tests

The Report by Valkerie Baynes24-Jul-2020A steadying innings from Ollie Pope rescued England in the face of some threatening West Indies bowling early on the opening day of the series-deciding Test at Emirates Old Trafford.At the close of play, and with rain expected to feature heavily on Saturday, Pope was unbeaten just nine runs shy of his century with England 258 for 4 after they had been 47 for 2 before lunch and 92 for 3 after the break.Rory Burns contributed 57 but, with England effectively a batsman down after leaving out Zak Crawley to accommodate an extra seamer in the likely event that Ben Stokes was unable to bowl, the hosts ideally needed someone to convert a start, especially after a shaky beginning to their innings.Kemar Roach did the most damage, claiming 2 for 56 including the important wicket of Stokes, as he moved within one wicket of becoming the ninth West Indies bowler to reach the 200-mark in Tests.Jos Buttler helped England’s cause and his own, having come into this match under pressure after a year in which he has averaged 21.26 from 12 Tests and scores of 35, 9, 40 and 0 for this series. On this occasion, he managed 56 off 120 deliveries, his first half-century in a Test since September 2019, some 15 innings ago.Pope had been quiet in the previous two matches also, with a high score of 12*, but he went into his 10th Test with an unbeaten century and a fifty under his belt this year, against South Africa, and a career average of 39.41.His innings was assured, coming off 142 balls and including 11 fours. He came in with his side three wickets down, with England’s batsmen having all moved up a place after Crawley’s omission, leaving Joe Root back at No. 3 rather than his preferred berth at No. 4.Dom Sibley, whose marathon 120 helped set up England’s 113-run victory in the second Test, was out for nought on the sixth ball of the match, lbw to an excellent Roach delivery that angled into the stumps off a length and straightened slightly.A wave of concern surely rippled through West Indies’ ranks when Shannon Gabriel pulled up two balls into his fourth over, the eighth of the day, with an apparent leg problem. Having won the toss and elected to bowl with two spinners, bringing in Rahkeem Cornwall for Alzarri Joseph, the tourists were relieved when Gabriel returned to the field after the first drinks break after a stretch to alleviate “some general tightness”.It was West Indies’ other spinner, Roston Chase, who struck from the field to remove Root. As Burns steered Cornwall towards third man, Root set off for a quick single but Chase swooped on the ball and fired it into the keeper’s end, removing the bail with a direct hit that caught Root short of his crease.Stokes, who admitted on the morning of the match to having felt better after injuring his quad muscle while bowling late on the final day of the second Test, in which he played a starring role with bat and ball, was thrust into the action perhaps before he would have liked with Root’s dismissal. He reached 20 before Roach struck again with a gem of a delivery that beat Stokes’ forward defence and crashed into middle and off stump.Burns had been ticking along nicely before he fell thanks to the sharpest of slips catches by Cornwall, thrusting his hand out to snatch a top edge from an attempted cut off the bowling of Chase to leave England 122 for 4.While Burns had shared in promising partnerships with Root, Stokes and Pope, England had to wait until Pope and Buttler came together for their first 50-plus union of the match, and their unbroken stand of 136 was just what England needed.Pope survived an appeal for lbw to Gabriel, which was adjudged not out before West Indies’ review. Hawk-Eye showed the ball, which hit Pope just above the knee roll, was clipping the bails and the decision stayed with the on-field umpire’s call.Pope responded with a four off Gabriel two balls later to move to 47 and brought up his fifty with a boundary off Jason Holder in the next over.Another West Indies review went Pope’s way when Cornwall, making his first appearance in this series, struck him on the pad and shouted heartily in appeal but replays showed the ball was turning too much and missing leg stump.From there Pope and Buttler scored reasonably freely, Buttler bringing up his fifty with two runs punched through the covers off Chase.Buttler, who sacrificed his wicket chasing much-needed quick runs for his side during England’s second innings in the previous Test, mixed control with his trademark free hitting, his innings including five fours and two sixes.West Indies took the second new ball in the 83rd over but the batsmen, both now set, navigated the remaining 3.4 overs before bad light stopped play.The opening day of the Test was designated #RedForRuth Day, and helped raise in excess of £280,000 for the Ruth Strauss Foundation, a charity set up in honour of former England captain Andrew Strauss’ wife, who died in 2018 from a rare form of lung cancer. The charity aims to fund research into the disease and provide support for families facing the loss of a parent. Players and staff from both sides wore red caps before play commenced to mark the occasion.Both sides and their support staff also took a knee before the start of play in spport of the Black Lives Matter movement, as they have done throughout the series.

The first two rounds have thrown up some mixed results for Australia’s Test incumbents and contenders

Alex Malcolm22-Oct-2019Who’s going wellMitchell Starc probably made the biggest statement this week. On a Drummoyne Oval surface that is typically batsmen-friendly he tore through Tasmania, taking 10 for 60 in 44.2 overs across the match. He bowled with serious pace after making some minor technical adjustments with New South Wales bowling coach Andre Adams and looks to be coming together nicely for Brisbane. The other quick who has put himself back in the mix is Jhye Richardson. He has bowled superbly for Western Australia taking nine wickets in three innings at an economy rate of under two. He is bowling as quickly, if not quicker than prior to his shoulder injury. On a batting front no one is hammering the door down. Shaun Marsh‘s double hundred will inevitably spark the almost annual debate over his career while Tom Cooper and Nic Maddinson also cashed in with doubles on the flat Junction Oval pitch but are some way from the Test mix. Marnus Labuschagne has scores of 69, 52, 32 and 72 not out which on the surface doesn’t jump off the page, but given the difficulty of the batting conditions at the Gabba they have been impressive returns.Who’s doing enoughDavid Warner will be in Brisbane after an outstanding century on a difficult surface against Queensland at the Gabba. There will be dissenting voices claiming he has two other low scores but that is part and parcel of opening the batting in Shield cricket in October. Marcus Harris could claim to have done enough to retain his place with a hundred and a half century in three innings. The century will have an asterisk next to it, however, given it came at the Junction Oval where 12 wickets fell in four days. He was also dropped twice in the innings. Of the genuine contenders, Will Pucovski is doing enough to keep his name in the mix. Like Harris he has a century and a half century to his name on the same pitches. He has four Shield hundreds now in 13 matches at an average of 54.45. There will be a lot of public support for his inclusion. Tim Paine’s spot was never in jeopardy but he quietened any murmurs with his first Shield century in 13 years, on the same day Alex Carey produced a century in Melbourne. James Pattinson‘s figures don’t leap out but he bowled some outstanding spells against South Australia and Western Australia without much luck. He deserves to be in contention to play in Brisbane. Michael Neser was part of the Ashes squad and has done his chances to debut in Australia no harm with 10 wickets in four innings, including 5 for 56 against South Australia. He’s doing enough to stay in the frame although conditions in Brisbane have certainly favoured the bowlers.Who needs to do moreYou could mount an argument Matthew Wade has done enough to be picked for Brisbane. Scores of 40, 20, and 40 suggest he’s still playing well but he knows there are no guarantees, despite two Ashes centuries. Usman Khawaja is under pressure. Scores of 1, 24, 2, and 0 have done nothing to push his case for a recall, although his failures in the last match against South Australia need deeper scrutiny from the selectors as he appeared to be the victim of not one but two questionable umpiring decisions. He has also batted in the toughest conditions in Australia, although Labuschagne’s success makes those mitigating circumstances harder to argue for. Travis Head made a painstaking and unconvincing 51 against Victoria but butchered a golden chance to make a monstrous century as Cooper did on a road at the Junction Oval. He followed that with a 25-ball duck and 12 against Queensland, falling to two loose shots. Cameron Bancroft‘s form has dropped off quite significantly since his impressive performance in the Southampton practice match prior to the Ashes. He has scores of 30, 0, 10 and 6 not out so far this season and isn’t in the Test frame at this stage. Joe Burns was a man to watch but he probably hasn’t done enough to dispel whatever doubts that continue to surround him as a Test player, despite batting on some tough tracks. He has reached 20 in three of his four innings at the Gabba but his highest score is only 52. Peter Siddle, who played in Australia’s last Test, has been injured but did not set the world alight in his first game back against Western Australia.

With the slow pitches and key pace bowlers injured, the legspinner could have a big role in the knockouts

Daniel Brettig02-Mar-2020For most of this summer, Georgia Wareham could only have expected the most fringe-dwelling of T20 World Cup roles for Australia. After all, Ellyse Perry and Tayla Vlaeminck were set to blast opponents out with pace, Megan Schutt bewitching them with swing, and Jess Jonassen cleaning up whatever other resistance was left over.This script was largely followed in Australia’s tournament lead-up, as Wareham played only twice against India and England and then in one unofficial warm-up against South Africa before the tournament began. In a further dampener of expectations, the loss of Vlaeminck to a foot fracture saw Molly Strano vault into the team for the opener against India: unlike her key role in the Caribbean, Wareham was looking squarely at a lot of drinks running.

‘Best win of the tournament’ – Lanning

Meg Lanning called the four-run win over New Zealand in the must-win final group game Australia’s best win of the tournament. The loss to India earlier in the script had put Australia in a spot, and they rode on Beth Mooney’s 60 Georgia Wareham’s three-for to get to the semi-finals after a tight finish in Melbourne.
“Today’s performance was our best of the tournament so far,” Lanning said. “I don’t think we could be better placed for the semi-finals. It’s certainly nice to have a win against a really good team and I thought it was a really good performance. We started well and were able to calm the situation down early with Beth Mooney playing a really good hand.
“We were under the pump with the ball a little bit but I think we dealt with it extremely well to get over the line against a really good New Zealand team. Our first challenge for this tournament to get out of the group stage and to have done that now is certainly a nice feeling.”

Two things happened to change things drastically. First, Australia lost to India, and then nearly coughed up another defeat to Sri Lanka that would have meant instant elimination. Second, the pitches turned out to be far more suitable to Wareham’s art, rewarding spin bowlers who bowl stump to stump while varying their speed and degree of spin, while depriving batters of pace to work with or create angles through the field.If her first appearance against Bangladesh was not particularly memorable, Wareham produced her most incisive spell of the home season at the precise moment Australia needed it: even more so once Perry had limped out of the match and probably the Cup with a hamstring injury. At 20, Wareham has shown considerable evolution as a spin bowler even from the 2018 World Cup to now, and was too good for New Zealand’s key trio of Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Maddie Green as they contended with a steepling required run rate.Asked how she had summoned up this display with so little consistent cricket behind her, Wareham said she had recalled her important contributions to both the 2018 World Cup and last year’s West Indies tour, when she plucked four wickets while conceding just 46 runs from 11 overs in three T20Is.”It’s probably something I’ve looked back on and seen how I did things during that tournament and what worked for me,” Wareham said. “I think implementing those little things today helped out, and also I guess knowing that I can play that sort of role in the team because I did that in the last World Cup, it gives me a bit of confidence and it definitely helped out today.”Things started to turn for Wareham when she and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy correctly deduced that Bates was lbw to a skidder after trying a pull shot. “I was confident it was out, but Midge [Healy] had a pretty good say and that usually helps,” Wareham said.The captain Meg Lanning added: “We were talking about it maybe being too high. As soon as we felt that she hadn’t hit it, it was worth a gamble I guess and it paid off as well.”Devine’s exit, well stumped off a legbreak outside the off stump just as the game was starting to tighten, was the result of a more concerted plan. “It’s probably something that’s been in the works for a little bit,” Wareham said. “Just planning around if I see the batter coming at me just chucking one wide, it worked out for me today, which was good, but it’s been tough going and it was finally good to get one.”All this added up to the pivotal spell of the game, and perhaps also a blueprint for Australia to take forward into the semi-final and, if they get there, the final of the tournament they were widely expected to win. Lacking the pace of Vlaeminck and Perry, Lanning will likely need to call on Wareham, Jonassen and maybe even a third spin bowler – Sophie Molineux if fit, or someone like Amanda Wellington coming in from outside the squad – to deny opponents the chance to use pace onto the bat.”As the tournament goes on I think the wickets are played on a lot more and they become a bit slower and lower, and pace off the ball makes it more difficult for the batters to create it,” Lanning said. “So that seemed to work for us today, and I guess it just depends on where you’re playing – the SCG we’re not really sure what we’re going to get, there’s been no games on there so far, so we’ll have to look at that. But I think spin’s played a massive role across T20 cricket for a long time now and when you are under the pump as batters and you’ve got to force the issue a bit, it is more difficult to do it against the slower pace.Georgia Wareham celebrates after a successful review•Getty Images

“We’ve got 15 players here who can do a job and you need a squad to win a World Cup. You can’t rely on two players and the same XI each game, and we’re going to have to use the depth we have got, we’ve said we’ve got a lot of depth, I believe that, and we’re just going to have to use it. That’s just the reality of it, in elite sport you get injuries and things like that … I’ve got full confidence that any player who comes in can play a role and we’re just going to have to get through it and play maybe slightly differently, but that’s fine, we’ve got to adapt.”Having finished second best to Wareham to ensure her side’s elimination, Devine admitted that it had been a different feeling losing to an Australian side relying so much more on spin than speed. “I think it is, and I think as well the pitch conditions certainly haven’t been what we expected when we first came over to Australia,” she said. “As soon as we knew the World Cup was here, we thought we’d get nice, fast, bouncy wickets and probably haven’t had those, although today’s wicket was a lot better, had a bit more carry and bounce in it.”But spin has played a massive part throughout the tournament and it will continue to do so moving into the finals series. Certainly with Australia losing Tayla early in the competition, I know that was a massive blow fro them, but we also know their depth, spoken a lot about with the bat but certainly with the ball, the way Georgia Wareham stood up today was fantastic.”Megan Schutt as well – geez, I hate her sometimes! – but they’re world-class players and I think that’s the great thing about Australia, I don’t like blowing them up too much because they’ve got big enough heads already, but it doesn’t matter who on the day, someone always seems to step up for them.”From the moment they lost Vlaeminck, to the opening loss against India, the near-death experience against Sri Lanka and now the loss of Perry, Australia are becoming accustomed to doing things according to plans B and C. Wareham showed that, in her case at least, the back-ups are ready, willing, and most importantly able.

Ashantha de Mel was appointed as team manager and selector-on-tour for the World Cup and had clashed earlier with the coach over selection choices

Madushka Balasuriya02-May-2019Sri Lanka Cricket believes that coach Chandika Hathurusingha and Ashantha de Mel will have no issues working together in the Sri Lankan dressing room, after the pair is said to have “thrashed things out” prior to the latter’s appointment as team manager and selector-on-tour for the World Cup starting at the end of this month. Since de Mel took the reins as chief selector ahead of Sri Lanka’s tour to New Zealand, the pair had clashed over several selection choices – most notably the exclusion of Dinesh Chandimal and Lasith Malinga’s captaincy.

Other decisions taken by SLC’s executive committee

• Chandima Mapatuna appointed as the logistic manager of the team for the World Cup. Mapatuna, who is also the head of international cricket of SLC, will travel with the team for the World Cup

• In the wake of recent tragic incidents in the country, SLC will take additional measures to strengthen the security of the team at the World Cup. SLC is working on it in consultation with the Ministry of Sports and the ICC

• Roy Dias appointed as coach of the ‘A’ team for the upcoming tour of India, in May, while Chaminda Mendis has been appointed as team manager. Mendis will also continue to function as a national selector

• Avishka Gunawardena appointed coach of the emerging team for the tour of South Africa, in June. Hemantha Wickramaratne appointed team manager and will continue to function as a national selector

• SLC has decided to donate Rs. 2 million to the Relief Effort Fund set up by His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith The Arch Bishop of Colombo, to support the victims of the affected areas and parishes following multiple attacks on Easter Sunday

“Before the appointment we got the both of them together to talk things through,” SLC secretary Mohan de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “They eventually thrashed things out and now we’re very confident that they’ll work quite well together.”De Mel’s appointment, which was rubber-stamped by SLC at an executive committee meeting on April 30, had been mooted for some time, but speculation had been rife over whether he and Hathurusingha would be able to get along over the course of the six-week tournament.It was a spat with the new selection committee that culminated in Hathurusingha being removed from the role of selector-on-tour in February. And since then Hathurusingha’s job security has only become more tenuous.In March, he was given “a break” during Sri Lanka’s T20I series against South Africa after rumours surfaced of him having fallen out with certain players and staff. The situation was so dire that SLC CEO Ashley de Silva flew over personally to hold crisis talks, following which Hathurusingha returned to the island for further mediation. During this period, there were also reports of SLC seeking legal advice over possible options with regard to prematurely terminating Hathurusingha’s contract which will only run out in 2020.However, following clear-the-air talks with the board, Hathurusingha is understood to have agreed to rein in his methods as a “total dictator”, much of which de Silva believes had manifested during the course of the nine-month SLC power vacuum, when the governing body was run by a sports ministry-appointed competent authority.”We were in two minds whether to discontinue him or not,” de Silva said. “We needed to know if he was amenable to our way of thinking and whether he would change his attitude. Because to be quite honest, he had become a total dictator after we left, and that’s also one of the reasons that the selectors were gunning for him.”But he has now promised to toe the line with the administrators and the selectors, because to be honest his thinking in terms of the national team has been good, although the results haven’t followed unfortunately.”Sri Lanka will begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Cardiff on June 1.

Cameron Green’s 87 help Western Australia stretch to a competitive first-innings score

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2019Usman Khawaja gave himself the chance to press his Test claims by grinding out a platform for Queensland with the help of Joe Burns and Bryce Street on day two of the Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia at the Gabba.After Western Australia were able to stretch their first innings as far as 332, due largely to an industrious unbeaten innings of 87 not out by the emerging allrounder Cameron Green, Queensland dug in to reach 1 for 167 as Street dropped anchor.Burns was by the far the most enterprising of the three home batsmen on show, gliding to 76 from 119 balls before he was lbw to a ball of very full length to Green that looked to be going on to hit middle and leg stump.From there Khawaja and Street scrounged their way through another 31 overs for 67 runs, taking Queensland more than halfway towards the Western Australia total without ever being able to assert themselves against Green, Jhye Richardson, Matthew Kelly or David Moody.Following Travis Head’s century against New South Wales at Adelaide Oval and the strong early season performances of Marcus Harris and Will Pucovski, Khawaja needs a score of note to keep his name in the forefront of the selectors’ minds despite a brilliant recent record batting in Test matches in Australia.