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India A bowlers did not find much help from the final-day pitch at the Krishnagiri Stadium as England Lions ended the day on 214 for 5, with an overall lead of 14 runs

Sruthi Ravindranath in Wayanad10-Feb-2019India A bowlers did not find much help from the final-day pitch at the Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad, as England Lions batted through the last day, with Ollie Pope and Sam Hain making half-centuries to salvage a draw. Lions started the last day on 20 for 0 in their second innings, trailing by 180 runs, and ended the day on 214 for 5, with an overall lead of 14 runs.Pope played with composure, and was circumspect on his way to a well-crafted 63 off 122 balls. While the pitch did not offer much for the quicks, the two wickets left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem got later in the day gave some evidence of spin available from the Pavilion End. But the English batsmen stuck around and saw through the rest of the day, avoiding any risky shots.A couple of wickets earlier in the day kept India A interested in victory, but resistance from Pope and Hain over two sessions chastened their ambitions. Lions lost Ben Duckett early to a poor shot, when he was tempted by Avesh Khan to slash at a ball that was well outside the off stump, only to find a thick outside edge flying to KL Rahul at first slip. A couple of overs later, Max Holden fell to a dodgy decision – he was convinced the ball had hit the ground before it was pouched by Abhimanyu Easwaran at silly point off Saxena.India A suddenly had a spring in their step, but Pope and Hain motored on for the next two sessions, although the runs didn’t come quickly on a pitch that seemed a bit slower for expansive shots. But Pope fell soon after lunch, when Nadeem got a full ball to grip, turn, and bounce that caressed his outside edge for the wicketkeeper.Captain Sam Billings followed soon, pressing forward to Nadeem and popping a catch to silly point. Hain’s dismissal within the next five overs, trapped lbw by Saxena, would be the last wicket to fall on the day.Bad light halted play for about 15 minutes with more than an hour’s play left in the day, but it eventually resumed, only to be stopped again due to bad weather. With Steven Mullaney and Will Jacks at the crease, the players shook hands with 12 mandatory overs remaining.

India will play more than half their cricket against Australia, England and South Africa between the World Cups of 2019 and 2023, if the proposed FTP is ratified

Sidharth Monga11-Dec-20171:17

New FTP could usher in big Four era

India will play more than half their cricket against Australia, England and South Africa between the World Cups of 2019 and 2023 if the proposed Future Tours Programme (FTP) – agreed to in principle by the BCCI at its special general meeting (SGM) on Monday – is ratified and signed. They will play fewer Tests and more T20Is, play more of their cricket at home, and will prefer to restrict their southern-hemisphere tours to the new year.The FTP includes no matches against Pakistan outside ICC events, a state of affairs the PCB has challenged. The total workload of the players will reduce, too: according to the BCCI, India will have played 390 days of international cricket plus ICC tournaments in the four-year cycle that ends in 2019, but will only have about 350 match days over the next cycle, including two home ICC events.The SGM has also mandated the office bearers – acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry – to nominate a working group that will deal with all the details and intricacies of the FTP, including the Members’ Participation Agreement (MPA). ESPNcricinfo understands the working group will be formed from among the general body. By doing so, the BCCI wishes to retain some control and leverage when it comes to playing arrangements. In the past, India’s participation has been used by the board as a negotiation tool at times, and a diplomacy device at others. While there had been a broad FTP in the past too, each tour needed a final stamp of approval from the participating teams. It is understood the body was not in favour of losing that power.A final approval on the working group will need to be given by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA). The CoA had already given its nod to the broad FTP, prepared by the BCCI operations team led by its CEO Rahul Johri. Representatives from all boards and the ICC met in Singapore on December 7 and 8 to flesh out the FTP.In particular, the operations team has tried to eliminate the imbalance typical of India’s FTPs. They didn’t want a repeat of the 2016-17 home season in which India played 13 Tests, nor did they want another season like 2017-18 in which the only three home Tests they played came against Sri Lanka. The new FTP seeks to eliminate the home-away imbalance: most of India’s cricket since their last overseas cycle has come at home, and almost all of the important cricket they play next year will be overseas.At the press conference, Choudhary and Johri said they were pleased with the proposed FTP. Choudhary said India’s home matches would go up from 51 to 81, which is about a 60% increase, but also said the match days would only increase by 20% – a clear indication of the reduction of Test cricket. India’s tours, as is obvious from the increase in home cricket and reduction in overall playing days, will be fewer and staggered to meet the team management’s demands of not spending long periods away from home.The new FTP will look to some as a continuation of the infamous Big Three, with the addition of South Africa to a lesser degree, but that, according to those present at the meeting, was also a demand of the broadcasters. It has become difficult to market Test cricket that doesn’t involve the four main Test-playing nations. Asked if this was a sign of things to come, if Test cricket was going to be played extensively only among the top four nations, Choudhary said: “Well you can say so. You can say so. But then time is not constant. There will be changes. These are things that will keep happening, and we will have to continue dealing with them.”India’s engagement with other Test teams is likely to be capped to two matches per series, which is the minimum requirement of the ICC Test Championship. If anything, this only formalises what has been apparent for a while. In the cycle between the World Cups of 2011 and 2015, 80 of India’s 166 international matches were against Australia, England and South Africa.Another contest that did not enjoy patronage from the broadcasters was the Champions League T20. It has long been discontinued, but the BCCI has retained the three-week window in September originally meant for the Champions League, which means another T20-related event cannot be ruled out.About securing a fixed home season, Choudahry said: “Traditionally speaking our season begins in October and goes on till March. While we were negotiating and preparing for the FTP conferences, we made certain assumptions. One of them was that it was a long season so let’s qualitatively assign them into two parts.”We decided October, November and December are our primary season. And January, February and March are our secondary season. The reasons mostly being the fact that you will attract more home crowd and there will be more certainty of matches in the first three months than the next three. The next three months, half of India will have other difficulties.”We have tried to make sure that our home matches fall in our primary home season firstly, and otherwise secondary. We know that the seasons of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand will clash with ours, and we will tour them but will prefer to do so in January, February and March.”

A round-up of the National Cricket League 2016-17 matches that ended on October 11, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2016​Tier 1Rain affected proceedings for the second consecutive day in Cox’s Bazar as both the Tier 1 matches in the third round of the 2016-17 National Cricket League ended in draws, with no cricket possible on the third and fourth days.At the Sheikh Kamal Academy Ground, Dhaka Division opted to bat against Barisal Division, and amassed 523 in 132 overs on the back of Taibur Rahman’s fourth first-class century.Coming in at 213 for 4, Rahman made 147, with eight fours and four sixes. He was supported by Nadif Chowdhury (75), with whom he put on 158 for the sixth wicket, and wicketkeeper Zahiduzzaman (57), with whom he put on 113 for the eighth wicket, at a rate of 5.39.
Earlier, opener Abdul Mazid missed a seventh first-class century by four runs after putting on 176 for the opening wicket with Rony Talukdar, who was bowled for 84. Left-arm spinner Monir Hossain, who removed both of them, finished with 5 for 152.In reply, Barisal were 103 for 1, with Fazle Mahmud unbeaten on 55 and opening batsman Shahriar Nafees giving him company on 40, when rain truncated the rest of the game. Barisal picked up only five points as opposed to Dhaka’s seven, but it was enough to put them on top of Tier 1.In the other Tier 1 game, Nurul Hasan rescued Khulna Division with an unbeaten 103 to take them to 293 against Dhaka Metropolis.
Khulna were reduced to 67 for 5 after electing to bat, and it took a 101-run stand between Hasan and Ziaur Rahman to bring them back into the game. Hasan also stitched together seventh and eighth wicket stands of 51 and 57 with Mehedi Hasan Miraz (26) and Abdur Razzak (45) respectively in his four-and-a-half-hour vigil.Arafat Sunny took three wickets for Dhaka Metro, while right-arm medium-pacers Shahidul Islam and Shykat Ali took two each.In reply, Shadman Islam and Mehedi Maruf, the Dhaka Metropolis openers, batted for 20 overs and took the team to 59 for no loss, before rain arrived. Dhaka Metropolis picked up six points, while Khulna got five.Tier 2Sylhet Division narrowly missed their first win of the season after bad light ended play early, with eight overs remaining in their match against Chittagong Division in Fatullah.Chittagong’s decision to bowl backfired as Sylhet piled on 444, courtesy Alok Kapali (137), who scored his 18th century, and Shahnur Rahman (102), who raised his maiden ton in only his third first-class game.Shahanur followed up his century with a five-for to help Sylhet dismiss Chittagong for 315 and take a first-innings lead of 129. Yasir Ali top-scored with 95, while Tasamul Haque made 57. There was some late resistance from Mohammad Saifuddin (56), who came out at No. 8, and No. 9 Iftekhar Sajjad, who chipped in with 36. Shahanur ended with figures of 5 for 66, while left-arm spinner Emanul Haque jnr took 3 for 54.Sylhet batted aggressively in the second innings, racing away to 243 for 5 in 42 overs. Zakir Hasan top-scored with 86, and Kapali came good again, slamming two fours and four sixes en route to an unbeaten 58 off 31 balls.Set a target of 373, Chittagong were reduced to 26 for 4, with offspinner Rahatul Ferdous running through the top-order. Yasir Ali and Saeed Sarkar, who top-scored with 68, fought back through an 87-run stand for the fifth wicket, before a second collapse saw Chittagong lose five wickets for the addition of 33. However, with Sylhet one strike away from a win, bad light forced the players off the field.Sylhet picked up nine points, and Chittagong ended with seven.Over at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar, Rajshahi Division drew with Rangpur Division after rain forced delays on all four days.After being inserted, Rangpur put up 234, courtesy half-centuries from Tanveer Haider and Suhrawadi Shuvo, who made identical scores of 53, and Ariful Haque, who chipped in with 39. The trio’s efforts helped revive Rangpur’s innings after they found themselves in an early wobble at 39 for 4. Rajshahi’s bowlers hunted in a pack, with Farhad Reza and Mukhtar Ali, who shared the new ball, taking three wickets each, while Taijul Islam took two and Mamun Hossain accounted for one wicket.Rajshahi were reduced to 99 for 6 in their reply, before a seventh-wicket stand of 120 between Junaid Siddique (126), who struck his first century this season, and Sunzamul Islam took them past the 200-mark. Siddique carried on after the partnership was broken and was the last man dismissed, by which time he had helped Rajshahi eke out a 24-run first-innings lead. Right-arm medium pacer Saddam Hossain led Rangpur’s charge with the ball with career-best figures of 4 for 46.Rangpur scored 233 for 7 in their second innings, courtesy half-centuries from openers Saymon Ahmed (94) and Jahid Jabed (52). Sunzamul took 4 for 106, while Mamun took three wickets.

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.”

Michael Clarke has suggested that there could be changes to Australia’s line-up for the third Test in Mohali

Brydon Coverdale05-Mar-2013Michael Clarke has suggested that there could be changes to Australia’s line-up for the third Test in Mohali after what he called “unacceptable” performances from both the batsmen and bowlers in the first two matches. Clarke also conceded that the shot selection of the batsmen had been “horrible” so far on the tour and called on them to show more patience in the middle, as their Indian counterparts had done.Speaking straight after the defeat by an innings and 135 runs in Hyderabad, Clarke did not foreshadow what team alterations could occur, other than to confirm that he would move up the order from his No.5 position. None of the top four batsmen have averaged more than 30 during the first two Tests, while James Pattinson is the only bowler averaging under 30.The squad includes three men who are yet to play a Test on this trip – Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith – and the other two players left out of Hyderabad after the Chennai loss, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, will also be in consideration. The team has eight days to regroup ahead of the third Test and Clarke said the batting and bowling departments would both be under the microscope.Michael Clarke: “There’s plenty of people that not only watch us on TV but fly around the world to support us and watch us and we know we’ve let them down”•BCCI

“We have to look at both areas that’s for sure,” Clarke said. “Both have been unacceptable, both aren’t good enough. We have to try and find ways to improve and if that means making changes that’s what we have to do. We made a couple of changes for this Test match. I want to pay credit to India, the way [Cheteshwar] Pujara and Vijay played. Our bowlers in patches bowled really well but they were able to stay together and not lose their wicket and bat patiently.”While the bowlers only claimed one victim on the second day of the Test as Pujara and M Vijay put on 370 for the second wicket, it was the team’s first-day batting that really started the rot. After Clarke won the toss and chose to bat Australia struggled to 237, a paltry effort compared to the 503 compiled by India.The accurate seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar accounted for three of the top four batsmen in the first innings and spin then troubled the rest. Clarke and Matthew Wade looked comfortable during their 145-run partnership but only three other stands reached double figures. That was followed by a second innings collapse on the fourth morning and the entire innings lasted less than two sessions. But the most damning statistic was that Australia made less in the whole match than Pujara and Vijay did in one partnership.”I think they scored 50 runs in the [first] session, but they had the discipline and the patience to bat long periods of time because they knew as the game went on, second session, third session, they would catch up,” Clarke said. “It gets easier. It does. That’s the fun part about batting. You do the work at the start of your innings, you get the reward at the end of your innings. At the moment our shot selection has been horrible.”We need to be smarter with our shot selection, that’s for sure. You have seen in the first few Tests too many guys getting out playing across the line of the ball and against the spin especially early in our innings. So I think we have to be more disciplined with our shot selection. But I don’t want guys to curb their natural instinct, I don’t want guys to try and play a way they aren’t comfortable doing.”We’ve had the best of conditions, won the toss and batted on both wickets. We knew before coming to India how important the first innings was going to be. There is more variable bounce, more spin, it is harder to bat in the second innings. That doesn’t excuse today, that’s for sure. We still should be doing than we did today and yesterday but our first innings has really let us down as a batting unit.”The result was Australia’s first innings defeat since the Sydney Ashes Test in 2010-11, when Clarke found himself in charge of the Test side for the first time as the stand-in captain when Ricky Ponting was injured. When asked to offer his overall thoughts following the second-innings collapse for 131, Clarke was blunt in his assessment.”It’s probably more polite of me by not putting it into words,” Clarke said. “It’s obviously unacceptable. Very disappointing. I certainly don’t want to take any credit away from India, I thought they played very well yesterday, they showed us once again how to bat in these conditions, they showed us once you get in how to go on and cash in and make a big score.”Our performances in these two Test matches have been unacceptable, certainly nowhere near the standard we are trying to set as an Australian cricket team. There’s plenty of people that not only watch us on TV but fly around the world to support us and watch us and we know we’ve let them down.”

An imperious display of strokemaking by Virat Kohli powered an Indian fightback conspicuous in its absence recently, made a mockery of an imposing score and kept India’s finals hopes alive

The Report by Siddhartha Talya28-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Virat Kohli was “in the zone” during his 133 not out off 86 balls•AFP

Turnarounds don’t come any better. Fortunes don’t change more dramatically. And emotions don’t bear a starker contrast. At the halfway stage, Sri Lanka would have felt they had one foot in the final, having left the India bowlers deflated after a dominating performance with the bat. And they would have been right to think that way, the Indian batting having shown little promise in the series and the team on the brink of elimination.But Virat Kohli put on an imperious display of strokemaking, his malleable wrists powering an Indian fightback conspicuous by its absence on what had been, until now, two forgettable overseas trips. Kohli’s innings made a mockery of an imposing score, kept India’s finals hopes alive and left Sri Lanka having to beat Australia for a third time in the tournament to knock India out.Given India’s poor outings with the bat in their recent games, one would have expected them to struggle to chase a target of 321 in 50 overs. They achieved it in 36.4 – needing to chase it in 40 to stay alive in the series – and did so with Kohli finishing things off in a blaze of glory. Kohli was in the zone; he dismissed anything that came his way with clinical precision, found the boundary at will whether the field was in or pushed back, ran swiftly between the wickets to catch the fielders off guard and middled the ball with scarcely believable consistency.While Kohli was the protagonist in India’s successful chase, the other characters played their due part. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar would have wanted to do more but gave India the explosive start they desperately needed to stage a counterattack; Gautam Gambhir continued to be fluent, just four boundaries in a knock of 63 off 64 balls showing the toil behind the runs; and Suresh Raina, under pressure to perform, kept Kohli valuable company in a matchwinning stand.If India were insipid with their bowling, Sri Lanka were far worse, as wides flowed, gift balls were doled out with regularity and the fielding buckled under the pressure of an unexpected fightback. Both innings were replete with fumbles, misfields, wayward throws – one of them, had it been on target, could have run Kohli out – making batting even more profitable on the easiest track in the series thus far. The brisk start to the chase and the subsequent consolidation by Gambhir and Kohli meant India were in with a fighting chance with two Powerplays still remaining, and both proved highly lucrative.Kohli made both his own, first targetting Nuwan Kulasekara in the 31st over, which began with India needing 91 in 10 overs for a bonus point. He carted three consecutive fours as attempted yorkers failed to meet their desired lengths and served as tempting length balls. Two were whipped – in trademark Kohli fashion, a momentary turn of the wrists imparting tremendous force to the ball – and the other sliced over point in an act of improvisation.The Sri Lanka fast bowlers misfired badly but even when they got it right, like an accurate yorker from Malinga, Kohli was able to shuffle across and expertly work it past the short fine fielder. He took 24 from Malinga in the 35th over, flicking him for six, sending one through the covers for four and then picking up three more fours past short fine, and finished the game with two thunderous drives through the off side. A pump of the fists was followed by a roar of elation and relief as MS Dhoni calmly trudged on to the field to join in the celebrations.A win this dominating seemed a distant possibility when Kohli joined Gambhir at the fall of Tendulkar’s wicket. Tendulkar had walked across too far to be caught plumb by Malinga, ending an innings in which Tendulkar seemed devoid of pressure and completely uninhibited in his approach. Sehwag and Tendulkar batted with freedom, the former smashing Malinga into the grassbanks behind deep midwicket in a fiery opening stand of 54, and Tendulkar going over the top on the off side, and displaying an adeptness in picking Malinga’s variations. But at 2 for 86 in the 10th over, with India’s two most experienced batsmen back in the pavilion and the required-rate still very high, Kohli and Gambhir faced a daunting task.That both took little time to get going was crucial in maintaining the tempo that had been set. Gambhir steered Kulasekara for four off his third delivery before punching one past midwicket, and Kohli warmed up with one of several whips off Malinga off his second ball. The pair didn’t get bogged down despite a 35-ball boundary drought, running swiftly between the wickets, converting ones into twos by putting the outfielders under pressure and making the fielders inside the circle appear redundant by stealing quick ones.Kohli broke that drought with a drive off Thisara Perara past extra cover and later clobbered Angelo Mathews over the wide long-off boundary. At the halfway stage in the chase, the pair had notched up half-centuries, laying a solid foundation for the onslaught to follow with ten Powerplay overs still remaining. After Gambhir fell to an accurate throw while trying to steal a second, Raina infused the innings with greater urgency, providing a quicker partner at the other end to Kohli and indulging in some power play of his own to help hasten the finish.The Kohli show overshadowed an assured and commanding performance by Sri Lanka with the bat, and centuries from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, who capitalised on a palpably below-par show from India’s bowlers.Dilshan shrugged off his initial unease against the swinging ball to gradually open up and march towards his 11th ODI century and Sangakkara played an innings as attractive as several of his abruptly terminated cameos this tournament, only longer in duration this time, full of confidence and more pleasing on the eye. The determination and focus of trying to bat India out of the game was unwavering in their innings, and the smiles on their faces and the India players’ drooping shoulders suggested a one-sided game. But body-language is not always a reliable indicator, for it had taken an about turn in three hours’ time.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

A round-up of the third day of the first round of the Regional Four Day Competition

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2011England Lions began their tour of West Indies on a winning note after they thrashed Leeward Islands at Warner Park in St Kitts by an innings and 120 runs. Leeward, who began the third day on 148 for 2, were able to add only 158 more runs before they were bowled out for 306. Kieran Powell made 131, but none of the remaining Leeward batsmen were able to get past 40. James Hildreth used six bowlers and all of them were among the wickets, with Danny Briggs the most successful with his left-arm spin, picking up 3 for 44. Following-on, the Leeward batsmen capitulated in their second stint, lasting just 38.3 overs. Surrey’s Jade Dernbach did the damage, conceding just 16 runs to pick up five wickets. Lower-order batsmen Justin Athanaze and Gavin Tonge showed some resistance with a half-century partnership but that just delayed the inevitable as Leewards were bowled out for 127 to hand the Lions 12 points.Combined Campuses and Colleges joined the Lions at the top of the points table after they beat Windward Islands by 33 runs at the Three Ws Oval in Barbados. CCC added just five runs to their overnight total of 216 for 9 before they were bowled out, to set Windward a victory target of 179. Windward started solidly with openers Johnson Charles and Tyrone Theophile adding 38 runs before Ryan Austin struck. He picked up two quick wickets as Windward stumbled to 46 for 3. A 50-run partnership between Andre Fletcher (35) and captain Liam Sebastien (27) steadied the Windward innings. However, once both batsmen fell, Windward lost the momentum. Legspinner Nkruma Bonner ran through the middle and lower order, picking up five wickets as Windward slumped from 117 for 4 to 145 all out.Jamaica hold the advantage over Guyana going in to the final day at Alpart Sports Club in Jamaica. Jamaica’s second innings was anchored by a dominating double-century from Marlon Samuels. Samuels hit 22 fours and seven sixes in an unbeaten 250 as he powered his team to 391 for 4 before captain Tamar Lambert declared, to set Guyana a target of 359 runs. Both teams had failed to get past 200 in their first innings, but after Jamaica’s strong showing in their second stint, Guyana too, began their chase in positive fashion. They reached 58 for no loss at stumps with Rajindra Chandrika and Shemroy Barrington at the crease.The match between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados at Guaracara Park in Trinidad seems to be headed towards a draw after both teams put in a strong batting performance in their first innings. Runako Morton and Denish Ramdin both made 86, missing out on centuries, but together with Imran Khan (49) and Rayad Emrit, who was unbeaten on 82, carried T&T to 390 for 9 at stumps on the third day, trailing Barbados by just 5 runs. Kevin Stoute was the most successful of the Barbados bowlers, picking up 3 for 69.

Surrey’s CEO Paul Sheldon, envisages a future in which The Oval, soon to be regenerated as a 25,000-seater stadium, can be at the forefront of any further drive to globalise the game

Andrew Miller and Andrew McGlashan09-Feb-2010Hampshire’s groundbreaking deal with the Rajasthan Royals, which was announced at Lord’s on Monday, could have changed at a stroke the dynamics and priorities of the remaining 17 first-class counties, as the scramble intensifies to reposition English cricket in the midst of the IPL revolution.As many as six county chief executives are currently believed to be in India, sounding out investment opportunities for the future of their clubs, and one of those, Surrey’s CEO Paul Sheldon, envisages a future in which The Oval, soon to be regenerated as a 25,000-seater stadium, can be at the forefront of any further drive to globalise the game.”I have been having various discussions with various people to investigate possible links that can be made in a country that’s full of opportunities,” Sheldon told Cricinfo. “Business-wise and stadium-wise, and international cricket-wise, we like to think of ourselves as a global leader, and we believe it’s vital that Surrey is at the forefront of such discussions, given that we’ve had many, many, more people through our gates for Twenty20 cricket than any other ground.”Despite enduring three of the leanest on-field years in the county’s long and illustrious history, the sheer value of Surrey’s bricks and mortar – crucially situated in the heart of London – give them the right, in Sheldon’s opinion, to drive a hard bargain, and he confirmed that, as a potential senior partner in any future alignment, the business model adopted by Hampshire is not a direction that they would contemplate following.”We are well situated in London, and we have a very, very strong Indian and Asian following,” he added, highlighting Surrey’s success in marketing previous matches with a subcontinental slant, in particular the 2005 Tsunami relief match featuring Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, and the World Twenty20 warm-up fixture between India and Pakistan last summer, both of which were sell-outs.”Without jeopardising anything in terms of our agreements with the ECB, it is clearly my responsibility to use the ground as much as we can,” said Sheldon, who reiterated his belief in the sanctity of Test cricket, but acknowledged that the days of relying on the England team as the sport’s principal source of income could be drawing rapidly to a close.”We all acknowledge that we need to broaden our revenue streams, particularly if there is a reduction of TV revenue due to the potential delisting of Ashes cricket,” he said. “If that occurs, we may have to take individual initiatives, and here at Surrey, we’re in a very strong position to capitalise on that.”If Surrey and the Lord’s-based MCC are the two clubs best placed to thrive in the changing landscape, then there are still opportunities to be had for the next tier in the county game. Durham’s chief executive, David Harker, sees clear parallels between themselves and Hampshire – two of the most ambitious counties in the land, with modern green-field venues to attract investors, and uncomplicated business models which, as Hampshire have already shown, allow for a quick decision in the event of a opportunity arising.”Test match grounds are looking for ways of making returns from their investments,” Harker told Cricinfo. “Organisations that are in the business of cricket will look at ways they can sustain their ventures. Whether what has happened at Hampshire is right for other counties, I really don’t know. but it is certainly intriguing and something we are all keeping a close eye on – and perhaps even informally beginning to explore opportunities with other franchises.”Other counties are not so fortunate. Leicestershire had harboured hopes of securing a deal with Rajasthan through their longstanding links with the franchise chairman and former Investors in Cricket partner, Manoj Badale, but they were beaten to the punch despite their strong links with the Midlands Asian community. “We had negotiations with Badele, but we always knew a deal would be unlikely,” Neil Davidson, Leicestershire’s chairman, told Cricinfo. “The key will be when we have Indian players in the first team, when we can boast an iconic, home-grown figure.”Meanwhile, Somerset enjoyed an eye-opening foray into the Champions League in India last October, and in a bid to bludgeon themselves a second bite of the cherry, they have assembled a formidable team of power-hitters including Marcus Trescothick, Craig Kieswetter and Kieron Pollard for this season’s Twenty20 Cup. But in terms of long-term viability, the bucolic charms of Taunton have little to offer any potential franchise tie-up, and on Friday last week, their chief executive, Richard Gould, issued a bleak warning that county cricket could cease to exist beyond 2013.”The one thing we want to make sure of is that if we join anything it isn’t a bandwagon,” Gould told Cricinfo. “The Champions League was a great adventure and something we would love to return to on a regular basis, but our club has been going since 1875 and we’ve got a great deal of equity and tradition in the brand and the name of Somerset. The one thing you can risk by creating a franchise is that you disenfranchise all the supporters you have built up.”With regards to franchise and branding, would we be prepared to wear another team’s colours, and would we be prepared to put another team’s suffix onto the end of Somerset? I think that’s a more difficult point. Hampshire are a well-run club and I’m sure they will have identified that they will need to put a lot of investing into making sure the brand and the franchise does have meaning to existing supporters.”Gould acknowledged that, in the iconic figure of Shane Warne, the Royals franchise possess a priceless figurehead with personal links to three of the five key clubs involved, as well as a global appeal that few cricketers – with the possible exception of Sachin Tendulkar – can ever hope to match. Without the cachet of big-name players or the security of a world-class venue, the future for several counties has rarely looked bleaker.

David Coltart, the former sports minister, called it a “misplaced budgetary priority” as ZC look to market it as a destination venue for touring teams and the fans

Firdose Moonda25-Aug-2025Zimbabwe Cricket’s (ZC) construction of a flagship 10,000-seater stadium at Victoria Falls has come under severe criticism from the country’s former sports minister and mayor of Bulawayo, David Coltart.The stadium, named the Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium, is scheduled to be ready by August 2026 and is expected to host matches in the 2027 ODI World Cup. It has been called a “misplaced budgetary priority” by Coltart, even as ZC looks to market it as a destination venue for touring teams and the fans, especially from the countries that make up cricket’s Big Three.Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium has already had the main pitch planted, irrigation installed, and grass embankments completed. Work is now being done on the players’ pavilion and media centre, as well as with the water and power supply infrastructure.The development is fully funded by ZC and will cost the organisation US$12 million, money they believe they will recoup through the hosting of 2027 ODI World Cup matches and high-profile international visits. The confirmed fixtures and venues for the World Cup are yet to be decided, but Zimbabwe, who will co-host the tournament with South Africa and Namibia, will have at least two stadia allocated to them.Related

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Post-tournament, Zimbabwe’s first target for a Victoria Falls series could be England and their large contingent of travelling fans. If a tour can be agreed, it will end more than 20 years of England cricket’s absence from Zimbabwe. England last played in the country in 2004 but relations thawed when they hosted Zimbabwe for a Test in May, after 22 years.Even with England as a drawcard, Coltart’s concern is that ZC are putting all their eggs in one basket, and not a very big one when it comes to cricket development. “Victoria Falls is a small tourist town with a tiny cricket supporting population. The development of this boutique stadium is unprecedented worldwide,” he posted on Facebook. “In every other Test-playing nation, the primary investment by their Boards has been to invest in existing stadia in large population centers right across their countries.”It must be clear that this stadium is not primarily part of an objective to take the game to smaller centers to promote the game. It appears to be mainly to have a stadium in a tourist center to attract foreign teams who will come for reasons beyond the sole purpose of playing cricket.”Whilst this may be admirable if the financial health of ZC was good, it is a terribly misplaced budgetary priority given the fact that cricket venues in cities across the country outside of Harare are collapsing and there is, as stated above, a near total collapse of cricketing facilities at most Government schools countrywide.ZC’s flagship Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium is expected to be ready by August 2026•Zimbabwe Cricket

“Unless we focus on the development of grassroots cricket and the game right across the country, our ability to play the game well at international level will continue to erode and ultimately the Victoria Falls stadium will become a white elephant.”ZC has not disguised that they are hoping to cash in on the tourist appeal of Victoria Falls, whose 108-metre-high and 1,708-metre-wide waterfalls attract around half a million people a year. However, they denied that it is their sole financial focus as they are spending a further US$6 million on other projects around the country.”Victoria Falls is our flagship project, but Zimbabwe Cricket is also investing heavily in other venues,” Tavengwa Mukhulani, ZC’s chairman, said. “At Harare Sports Club (HSC), we have almost completed construction of a new indoor facility, while we will also be reconstructing the famous Castle Corner grandstand and other areas.”Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo is getting new floodlights this year, while Takashinga is being expanded with new pitches and practice nets. We have also modernised facilities in Masvingo while setting up our new academy facility at Ncema. We are also preparing new sites in Mutare, Gweru and Mhondoro-Ngezi. These investments are about building capacity across the country so that cricket truly becomes a national game.”It is the last of those points that Coltart also contested in his post, where he wrote, “it appears that there is a conscious decision by Zimbabwe Cricket to promote cricket in Harare but little elsewhere,” and referenced both fixtures and team selection.HSC, which is Zimbabwe’s only venue with floodlights, currently hosts all of Zimbabwe’s white-ball internationals, while Queens in Bulawayo has hosted their last nine home Tests. Zimbabwe have not won a Test at Queens since 2001, and have not won a home Test since beating Pakistan in Harare in 2013.Their latest string of defeats, which culminated with their heaviest Test loss by an innings and 301 runs to New Zealand earlier this month, has also prompted criticism of team selection. Coltart alleged this is regionally biased and speaks to the lack of development elsewhere in the country.Zimbabwe were handed a comprehensive defeat by New Zealand•Zimbabwe Cricket

“It is also increasingly reflected in the composition of National teams, with almost all the players selected coming from Harare. All but one player in the current senior men’s team comes from Harare,” he wrote. “All but two players in the current men’s Under-19 team come from Harare and its environs.”Is it really the case that the rest of the country isn’t producing players of international quality? Cricket is a national game and we can only compete well internationally if we promote the game fairly right across Zimbabwe.”In a press conference, Mukhulani admitted that there is “an issue with the talent pool,” but said Zimbabwe’s wretched run is the result of them playing much more cricket (11 Tests this year alone) against much stronger opposition. “Given where we were coming from, it was important that we challenge ourselves,” he said. “We give the boys the best opportunity to progress. And you can only do that when you play those who are better than you.”The media engagement took place on August 15, the same day as Coltart’s post went public and three days after ZC issued a press release condemning what they called a “smear campaign,” run by Coltart.Among the issues between the parties are historical disputes dating as far back as 2003 over Coltart’s role when Andy Flower and Henry Olonga wore black armbands to protest what they called the death of democracy in Zimbabwe, both ZC’s and Coltart and relationship with the UK, and differences over team selection and environment and board composition.

Test captain offers support to Ollie Robinson as England ponder three-man seam attack

Vithushan Ehantharajah05-Mar-20241:34

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For the first time under Ben Stokes’ captaincy, England will be playing for pride in a Test match.India hold the spoils, and all England have is the carrot of leaving with a 3-2 scoreline by becoming the first team since 2012 to win two matches in a series against the hosts. Though that is mainly down to the fact not every Test nation is afforded five Tests in these parts. Even Australia were only given four this time last year.That Dharamsala is hosting this fifth and final Test does add extra context of scenery and, for some, divinity. A number of the touring party will meet the Dalai Lama on Wednesday morning. At this point, England’s own spiritual leader is unlikely to be among them.Related

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The series may be gone, but Stokes’ focus remains for this final stretch of this tour. “Well, it’s like whenever we play,” he replied when asked what, aside from a few World Test Championship points, are at stake. “We want to win this week.”Complacency is not an option, particularly with the sense this team needs to step up to the next level. Missed chances against Australia last summer stung, and similar spurned opportunities in India speak of the need for a talented group to start handling these pressure situations more effectively.”It’s not a mental or a mentality thing,” Stokes said, matter-of-factly. “All you can do is work your hardest and try your nuts off in the nets because that’s where you get better.”It was in the nets on Tuesday morning that England came the close to freezing those proverbials off. Most of the squad trained in beanie hats, which were brought over during the break between the second and third Test, along with a few long-sleeve cream jumpers. Cooler temperatures and even rain forecast on day one make this match an altogether different proposition.England are entertaining picking a three-pronged seam attack for the first time on this trip, but will wait to see how what Stokes described as a “belting deck” as far as batting is concerned, with surprisingly little grass given the rain over the last week, looks on Wednesday afternoon. Shoaib Bashir is nursing a split spinning finger, having bowled almost 38% of his first-class overs in the last month. He is likely to be the one that makes way for the extra pace option.With James Anderson fully fit after a quad strain kept him off the field for the final session of the fourth Test – and just two away from 700 career dismissals – Mark Wood could return for his third match of the series. And while Stokes lauded uncapped quick Gus Atkinson as “an exciting talent”, Ollie Robinson may retain his place in the XI after a disappointing first appearance since last July in the defeat at Ranchi.Robinson went wicketless in 13 overs consigned solely to the first innings after picking up a back issue running between the wickets while compiling his maiden Test fifty. It dramatically stifled his effectiveness and in turn blunted England’s cutting-edge with the ball. His misery was compounded by a costly drop of Dhruv Jurel in India’s first innings.Stokes took the opportunity to back Robinson, whose Test record still reads an impressive 76 wickets at 22.92. And he gave a clear indication he sees the 30-year-old as an important part of England’s future.Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum oversee preparations ahead of the fifth Test against India•Getty Images

“You are more gutted for Ollie that something on day one, his back going, which affects the role he can play in the long run. He is more disappointed that he couldn’t help the team out as much as he’d like,” he said.”With Ollie, we look at the effort he put in as an individual leading up to and on this tour. His work ethic away from playing was very good, and he gave himself the best chance of being in position to win that game for us.”The thing to look at is that he was out on the field, trying to influence the game even though he wasn’t feeling 100%. A lesser man would have put their hands up, walked away and not even tried.”Stokes saved special praise for Jonny Bairstow, ahead of the Yorkshire batter’s 100th cap. The pair have a long association, starting from age-group cricket. And it was instructive that Bairstow rated his 2022 summer – Stokes’ first as captain – as a broad highlight of his career.Naturally, Stokes was unwilling to take credit: “I’m not the one who’s out there doing that,” referencing the 681 runs struck across just six Tests that season. But as a close friend of Bairstow, and someone who brought up three figures himself in the third Test at Rajkot and brushed it off, he knows how much this will mean to the 34-year-old.”This is probably going to be more of an emotional thing for Jonny than it ever was for me. I don’t need to go into details as to why about the whole family. He’s got his mam, sister, partner, little baby boy and some friends here.”Playing for England means so much to Jonny and means so much to his family as well and to play over 100 ODIs, 100 Tests – a lot of cricket for England – it means a hell of a lot to him. He deserves everything that gets spoken about him in the build-up to the game and throughout the week as well.”But amid all the Bairstow-related pageantry, and the possibility of narrowing the gap between them and India, England first need to approach this fixture like it matters, even if it carries little weight in the grand scheme of things. Stokes made a note of reiterating that to the team before training got underway.”We’ve been on so many India tours, you know what it’s like when you get to an end of a long one – that sometimes you start thinking about the end of the game,” Stokes warned.”I don’t think that anyone is thinking like that because every opportunity we feel at the moment is special to play for England. Because we’ve lost the series, it doesn’t mean that this game is different to what last week was or the week before.”We’ll think about the plane and getting home when we’re in the airport. So I won’t be thinking about that whatsoever until the game’s done.”