All posts by h716a5.icu

Ishant Sharma, the India fast bowler, has said that his ankle has healed completely and that he no longer needs surgery to fix it

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2011Ishant Sharma, the India fast bowler, has said that his ankle has healed and that he, in all probability, no longer needs surgery to fix it. Ishant, who played the first Test against the West Indies in Delhi, had sustained a ligament injury to his left ankle during the third Test against England at Edgbaston earlier this year. He was forced to miss the limited-overs part of the England tour and the subsequent one-day series against the same opponents in India, but recovered in time to play against West Indies.”There is no risk about it [ankle],” Ishant told reporters after India’s practice session on Sunday. I’ve been working a lot on my ankle and everything. I am fit now and I am ready to play in Australia, and I don’t think even after the Australia tour I will need surgery.”Zaheer Khan, India’s leading fast bowler, has been out of action since the first Test in England back in June. With offspinner Harbhajan Singh also missing, having been dropped for the first two Tests against West Indies, Ishant has been catapulted into the role of India’s senior strike-bower, a role he said he was happy to fill.”Obviously it’s a great feeling … It’s an honour to lead the Indian attack. Being the senior-most bowler in the team, it’s really great. It’s difficult to express this kind of feeling actually. You are obviously going to miss a bowler like Zak [Zaheer]. But injuries are part and parcel of the game. You have to play the role of the senior when someone is injured. Whoever you have in the team, you need to go ahead and give your best shot.”Given India’s recent spate of injuries, the selectors have taken the opportunity to blood a few new players during the recently completed one-day series against England and the first Test against West Indies. Among the new faces in the ODIs were Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, while Yadav played in the Test win over West Indies in Delhi. Both bowlers impressed with their pace and Ishant said it was a “great feeling” to be part of an attack that can bowl quick.”Earlier, everyone was saying that India can’t produce fast bowlers. Now all the three fast bowlers are consistently clocking 90 miles per hour. Obviously it’s a great feeling for any fast bowler in the team.”When he was asked why India’s bowlers failed to get reverse-swing at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Ishant it was difficult to do so on the first day when the track was fresh. “The only thing you can do is to be consistent and bowl in the right areas. As the day progresses, you get reverse-swing. Reverse-swing happens only on second or third day of a Test match.”The Australia tour is after this series. We will get two practice matches there to get accustomed to the conditions. In India, the wickets are like this only. We can’t complain about this.”

Maddy Green and Katie Perkins have made it to the New Zealand women’s squad that will take on Australia in the Rose Bowl series later this month

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2012Maddy Green and Katie Perkins have made it to the New Zealand women’s squad that will take on Australia in the Rose Bowl series later this month. New Zealand Cricket announced the 14-player squad for the series in Australia, which will include five Twenty20s and three ODIs, starting from January 20.Suzie Bates, who has taken over from the retired Aimee Watkins as captain, will be assisted by Amy Satterthwaite. Rachel Candy, a medium pacer who last played for New Zealand in 2008, and Morna Nielsen, who was not in the squad that played the Natwest quadrangular series in England last summer, have made returns. The debutants, Green and Perkins, had done well in New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 tournament.”The squad has been picked on the back of a hard-fought domestic competition,” national selection manager Kim Littlejohn said. “Top order batsman Maddy Green has been on the radar for some time and deserves her chance after impressing for the Auckland Hearts in the Action Cricket Twenty20 competition, where she has hit 150 runs at an average of 37.50.”Katie Perkins also demanded a spot in the squad with strong performances in the domestic competition. In seven Twenty20 innings Perkins has hit 126 runs and only been dismissed once. Her batting along with her world-class fielding has played a major part in the success of the Hearts this season.”Squad: Suzie Bates (capt), Amy Satterthwaite (vice-capt), Kate Broadmore, Rachel Candy, Lucy Doolan, Maddy Green, Frances Mackay, Katey Martin, Sara McGlashan, Morna Nielsen, Katie Perkins, Liz Perry, Lea Tahuhu, Sian Ruck

Worcestershire have announced a pre-tax profit of more than £200,000 for 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2012Worcestershire have announced a pre-tax profit of more than £200,000 for 2011. The county, that secured Division One status despite losing their opening six games of the County Championship, also reported increased ticket and membership sales.Although revenue for the accounts up to September 30, 2011 was marginally down at £2.89m, due to a slight drop in ECB funding, the surplus after tax was £186,656 – up from £103,627 in 2010.”Having gained promotion to the first division of the County Championship for 2011, retaining this status for 2012 was a key target and to have managed this with a young and developing squad is a major achievement,” Worcestershire chief executive David Leatherdale said.”The support from members and spectators continues to be strong which has seen a growth in revenue from both membership and ticket sales, as well as an increase in physical numbers attending matches, and is no doubt a reflection on the loyal and growing support the club has.”

Barisal Burners became the second team to qualify for the Bangladesh Premier League semi-finals after comfortably beating Chittagong Kings in Mirpur

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2012
ScorecardYasir Arafat ripped through Chittagong’s middle order•BPL T20Barisal Burners beat Chittagong Kings easily in Mirpur thanks to a half-century from Brad Hodge and three wickets from Yasir Arafat.It was a match Chittagong started brightly. The openers got them off to a flier, putting together 51 runs in just 3.5 overs. Ziaur Rahman was dismissed for 24 off 13 balls but England’s Jason Roy carried on, and got 42 off 25 balls. Chittagong had the base to go on and get a big total, but their middle and lower order collapsed. Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam started the slide, dismissing Roy and Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor. Then Pakistan’s Yasir Arafat took three wickets to rip through the Chittagong middle order. None of Chittagong’s last six batsmen got into double figures, and they went from 123 for 3 to 150 for 9.Barisal looked keen to make short work of the chase, and the openers raced to 109 inside 10 overs. Ahmed Shehzad fell for 43 off 30 balls, and Brad Hodge followed, after scoring 67 off just 36 balls with eight fours and three sixes. A flurry of wickets followed but the opening pair had done enough to ensure Barisal got home in just 15 overs.

Top officials of the BCCI and Sahara India will meet in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon over the dispute regarding the IPL Pune franchise, with all indications pointing to an amicable resolution

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Feb-2012Top officials of the BCCI and Sahara India will meet in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon over the dispute regarding the IPL Pune franchise, with all indications pointing to an amicable resolution. Both parties have, given the high stakes involved, softened their stance in the week since Sahara went public about its grievances with the Indian board and announced its pullout from the sponsorship of the Indian team and the ownership of the Pune Warriors franchise.The BCCI is likely to be represented by its president N Srinivasan and and its treasurer Ajay Shirke. IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla and IPL chief executive Sundar Raman will also be present. Sahara chairman Subrata Roy will lead his side, with his son Sushanto expected to sit alongside him.The meeting follows a week of top-level dialogue between officials from both sides seeking to work out possible openings for a solution. There are several issues to be sorted out, including the reduction in the number of IPL matches last season from 94 to 74; Roy said Sahara had paid $370 million for the franchise based on a 94-match season.Sahara’s immediate point of dispute, though, concerns the IPL’s refusal to allow it any concession in replacing Yuvraj Singh, who is being treated for cancer and is expected to miss the entire season. Sahara had wanted his $1.8 million salary added to its $1.6 million auction purse but that request was turned down.Sahara insiders say Roy will ask the IPL to tweak its rules and allow the Warriors to field five foreigners, instead of the stipulated four – as was done for Mumbai Indians in the 2011 Champions League. However, it is unlikely to be acceptable to the BCCI, with rival franchises already making noises that it would be unfair to them. “Mumbai’s case was extraordinary and everyone respected that, but if you now allow Sahara the same then in future there is a danger of this becoming a norm,” said an official of one of the original eight franchises.Instead, ESPNcricinfo understands, the IPL will allow the Warriors to buy players left unsold at the supplementary auction held in Bangalore on February 4. The IPL rules say franchises can pick unsold players only as a replacement for an injured player or in a medical emergency, but the rule could be relaxed to allow the Warrirors to utilise the $1.6 million purse.It’s unclear whether that will be acceptable to Sahara but crucially the company, which has a relatively long and close connection with Indian sport, has not closed all doors to cricket. In fact, as reported, the Warriors coaching staff have been asked to compile a list of players it could get on board during the IPL’s third trading window, which ends on March 4.The onus, though, seems to be on the BCCI, which has higher stakes in this issue. Already without a TV broadcast deal and unable to sell its internet rights, it cannot afford the embarrassment of being without a sponsor for the Indian team. The IPL, too, is in some flux; it has already lost one team – the Kochi franchise – and losing another in a relatively depressed financial market will not help advertisers and sponsors.That is believed to have forced board officials to admit they would have to soften their stand on some of the contentious issues. One top board official conceded its top brass needed to take the blame for the current impasse. “Things could have been handled and sorted out in good time as opposed to our approach, which is to allow it to build up into a fight.”There is no provision in the IPL rules for someone who is suffering from cancer. The BCCI top brass was aware about Yuvraj’s sickness for the last few months. Sahara were asking for a solution but if you keep neglecting a potential area of conflict, then it is bound to build up. So Sahara thought obviously enough is enough.”

Uday Joshi, a former India domestic player, has been jailed for six years after being convicted of sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy in Northern Ireland three decades ago, according to the

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2012Uday Joshi, a former India domestic player, has been jailed for six years after being convicted of sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy in Northern Ireland three decades ago, according to the . Offspinner Joshi, 67, maintains his innocence and has lodged an appeal against the conviction.Originally from Rajkot, Joshi had played 186 first-class matches for Gujarat, Railways, Saurashtra and Sussex between 1965 and 1983, claiming over 500 wickets. Currently an American citizen, residing in North Carolina, Joshi’s offence occurred in August 1979, during his stint with Sussex – he was in Northern Ireland for the summer to play for a local club.

Ram Varadarajan, presidential candidate for USA Cricket Association, is taking it to court in a bid to overturn February’s decision by its board to ban 32 of its 47 member leagues from voting in their general elections

Peter Della Penna07-Apr-2012Ram Varadarajan, presidential candidate for USA Cricket Association, is taking what he calls a “historic fight” to court on Thursday in a bid to overturn February’s decision by the USACA board of directors to ban 32 of its 47 member leagues from voting in their general elections. Varadarajan, along with the California Cricket Academy (CCA), filed a lawsuit last month in a bid to reinstate the voting rights of those leagues which were barred from voting.The case will be heard before U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California on April 12, just two days before the scheduled USACA elections. Varadarajan and CCA are seeking a preliminary injunction to force USACA to hold off elections until May 18 in order for banned leagues to be reinstated to ensure their participation. They are also asking the judge to force USACA to recognise regional election results from 2011 which were declared null and void by USACA president Gladstone Dainty last July.”Nobody can predict how a judge will rule,” Varadarajan told ESPNcricinfo when asked about his chances of gaining a judgment in his favour. “We believe that not only we have a solid case but also that we are on the side of righteousness and that we are morally correct.”He said that USACA board has committed a number of unconstitutional actions, the least of which is overstaying their designated three-year term by more than a year and that the recent actions taken by the board were the last straw to force him to pursue legal action.”It’s not that the US cricket population doesn’t feel outraged,” Varadarajan said. “They do feel outraged but the question is what is the remedy? So they write letters to editors, they write blogs, they send emails and things like that but the next step… you can shame a certain government into action but that clearly is not working here.””Regional elections were held and the results were withheld,” he said, making reference to last year’s Atlantic Region elections. “People took it all lying down. I think now I’m actually showing a path forward on how this can be remedied, by going to a court and seeking redress which is the right way to do it. The one organisation that they cannot ignore is a judge in a court of law.”Varadarajan said that he has written to the ICC regarding the current state of affairs in US cricket and that he received a response which said they were monitoring the situation. Although USACA has been suspended twice before by the ICC due to poor governance, he said that it should not be the fallback solution for internal problems within the US cricket administration.”My goal is not to have USACA suspended,” Varadarajan said. “My whole goal is to make sure that we follow a fair democratic process.”On March 30, 2011, USACA announced that general elections would take place on October 15. However, Dainty initiated a highly controversial member leagues compliance review audit in September as a means for determining which leagues were “members in good standing” and were eligible to vote versus those who were not. Varadarajan said that he has no problem with having an audit, but the timing was inappropriate and it should not have been used as a means to delay the elections.”There should be a process set up to clean house and do all those kinds of things but that has to be done as a regular administrative task and cannot be used as a mechanism, unless you are in some banana republic, to extend the government. That’s the whole issue here, extending tenure by illegal means and making it sound as though it’s very altruistic. It’s clever, but it’s not legal.”Varadarajan hopes that this case will be a turning point in the history of USACA and that a judgment in his favor will open the door to free and fair elections as well as pave the way to establish good governance.”This is a historic fight. I think the importance here is that at last somebody is standing up to bring goodness and fair play, which is what cricket is all about, to the game of cricket in America.”Varadarajan was appointed by USACA last April to serve on the board of directors for Cricket Holdings America (CHA), the joint entity between USACA and New Zealand Cricket, to pursue the formation of a professional Twenty20 league in the USA. However, he resigned from his position on the CHA board last month before initiating legal action against USACA.USACA general Manager Manaf Mohamed declined an opportunity to speak to ESPNcricinfo for this story. Dainty did not respond to attempts to reach him for comment.

Ambati Rayudu has been fined 100% of his match fee while Harshal Patel, was docked 25% of his match earnings following a spat between the two

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2012Ambati Rayudu, the Mumbai Indians batsman, has been fined 100% of his match fee while Harshal Patel, the Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler, was docked 25% of his match earnings following a spat between the two after Mumbai Indians’ tense win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.Rayudu was punished for using obscene and abusive language towards Harshal immediately after Mumbai Indians hit the winning runs in the final over. Harshal reacted and both players had to be restrained. Harshal was fined for a Level 1 offence, for bringing the game into disrepute.Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh was also fined for maintaining a slow over-rate. They were found to be one over behind the required rate after allowances were taken into consideration. Harbhajan was fined $20,000 for his offence.Mumbai Indians in particular have been guilty of a few transgressions this IPL, aside from the latest events. In their match against Deccan Chargers in Visakhapatnam, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan were guilty of showing dissent towards the umpire, after the umpire had initially chosen not to refer an appeal to the third umpire. Munaf was fined 25% of his match fee while Harbhajan was warned.Munaf was guilty again in the game against Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai. He lost 50% of his match fee after making inappropriate gestures towards the batsman Nitin Saini, who had hit him for two fours.Rohit Sharma was reprimanded for kicking the stumps after his team’s nine-wicket loss to Royal Challengers last week at the Wankhede Stadium.

England Twenty20 opener Alex Hales’ fine form continued with the bat as he propelled Nottinghamshire back to the top of the Friends Life t20 North Group with a 41-run victory over Durham.

29-Jun-2012
ScorecardEngland Twenty20 opener Alex Hales’ fine form continued with the bat as he propelled Nottinghamshire back to the top of the Friends Life t20 North Group with a 41-run victory over Durham.Hales, 23, fresh from his brilliant 99 against the West Indies on his home ground last weekend, hit 88 off 51 balls with four sixes and six fours, sharing a club record partnership of 142 with Riki Wessels for the second wicket. Wessels himself made 53 and Michael Lumb 36 as Notts posted 210 for 3 in the first innings, Mitch Claydon picking up 3 for 34.Durham lost early wickets and although Ben Stokes (56) smashed four sixes from 32 balls, his dismissal by Darren Pattinson ended any hopes of a win for the visitors, who finished on 169 for 7.Notts have developed a formidable home record in T20 in the past two seasons, based on defending heavy first innings totals. They followed the recipe to perfection again with Lumb kick-starting the innings with a massive six over midwicket off Graham Onions, as well as thumping six boundaries, before he was caught by a diving Stokes at the start of the fifth over.Hales was only on seven at that point with Lumb dominating the strike, but slipped into gear by sweeping Scott Borthwick for six as Hales and Wessels blazed 142 from 13.3 overs. Durham’s night was summed up when Liam Plunkett was banned from the bowling attack after two head-high beamers to Wessels, who managed to pull both balls for four.Needing to get a good start, Durham were restricted to one run off the opening over from Harry Gurney and saw Herschelle Gibbs run out after a mix-up with Phil Mustard, who fell in the next over to Pattinson.Durham’s chances rested on the shoulders of the big-hitting Stokes, who briefly had the visitors up with the run-rate and reached his 50 with two straight sixes off Samit Patel, before his attempted paddle shot in the next over from Pattinson ended in the hands of short fine leg.That ended any hopes of a win, with the result putting Notts back ahead of Yorkshire on run-rate, both team having nine points from six matches.

Azeem Rafiq became the first cricketer of Asian origin, and the youngest player in the county’s history, to captain Yorkshire when he led them to victory in a Friends Life t20 tie away to Durham at Chester-le-Street.

David Hopps22-Jun-2012
ScorecardAzeem Rafiq’s captaincy potential has also been spotted by England. Here he is captain in an U-19 series against West Indies•Getty ImagesAzeem Rafiq became the first cricketer of Asian origin, and the youngest player in the county’s history, to captain Yorkshire when he led them to victory in a Friends Life t20 tie away to Durham at Chester-le-Street.Rafiq, only 21 and born in Karachi, was deputising for Andrew Gale after Yorkshire’s regular captain was ruled out with a hip injury.He has had widespread captaincy experience, having led England’s Under-15 and Under-19 sides, the latter at the World Cup in 2010, as well as skippering Yorkshire’s 2nd X1 this season and leading them in pre-season friendlies, both at home and abroad.His career has had its controversial moments. Two years ago he was banned from all matches for a month after verbally abusing England Under-19 coach John Abrahams on Twitter when he was dropped from the side to play Sri Lanka after breaking a curfew.When he made his Yorkshire first-team debut in a Twenty20 match against Nottinghamshire in 2008, it subsequently emerged that he was not properly registered because at the time he did not have a British passport.Rafiq’s honour transformed a demoralising season for Yorkshire’s Asian contingent. Ajmal Shahzad was farmed out to Lancashire on loan, amid a general agreement that his career at Headingley was over, after falling out with the county over bowling tactics.More gloom followed when Adil Rashid, another England international, was dropped into the 2nd X1 and told to fight to regain his place.Yorkshire’s win, which took them level with Nottinghamshire at the top of the North group, was fashioned by David Miller, who scored a half-century against Durham, his former county, to set up a 12-run win.Miller, whose top score of 54 for Durham last year came against Yorkshire, thrashed six sixes – including four leg-side hits off the legspinner Scott Borthwick – in an unbeaten 74 off 35 balls to take the visitors to 171 for 6.Durham were coasting when they reached 108 for 1 in reply after 10 overs with the South African, Herschelle Gibbs, on 69. But Gibbs departed for 76, made off 47 balls, when he drove Moin Ashraf to extra cover and Durham quickly collapsed to 159 all out.In the three overs after the mid-point, Ashraf and Mitchell Starc conceded only 10 runs and removed Johann Myburgh for 14 as well as Gibbs.Durham became frantic and Ryan Sidebottom picked up three wickets in his second spell to finish with his best T20 figures of four for 25.Yorkshire’s innings was also fired up by Adam Lyth, who hit the fifth ball of the match, from Liam Plunkett, for a six wide of long-on and went on to make 30 off 20 balls. Joe Root also batted superbly for 41 off 32 balls. There was no joy for Jonny Bairstow, who was bowled by Ben Stokes after travelling up from the washed-out one-day international at Headingley.