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Chadd Sayers made a fruitful return to South Australia’s Sheffield Shield XI to help roll Western Australia for 211 on the first day of their match at the Adelaide Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Chadd Sayers knocked over Western Australia’s top three•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Seamer Chadd Sayers made a fruitful return to South Australia’s Sheffield Shield XI to help roll Western Australia for 211 on the first day of their match at the Adelaide Oval.Having opted to bat after captain Shaun Marsh won the toss, the Warriors were unable to make the most of what appeared to be decent scoring conditions in the face of disciplined Redbacks bowling.Sayers had undergone ankle surgery during the winter, and was missing from both South Australia’s Matador Cup squad and the team that lost to New South Wales in the opening Shield round.But he wasted little time demonstrating his command of line and subtle movement, claiming the first three wickets of the WA innings to set SA on the path to a productive day.Joe Mennie followed up with four wickets of his own, and it took a series of pesky lower-order partnerships featuring William Bosisto and Sam Whiteman to allow the Warriors to eke out a tally of 211.Kelvin Smith and Mark Cosgrove then kept out the new ball in the hands of Jason Behrendorff and Michael Hogan in nine overs to the close, and will be hoping to build on their start on day two.

SLC has suspended Galle chief curator Jayananda Warnaweera from all cricket activities for two years following his failure to attend two interviews with the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit

Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Nov-2015Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has suspended Galle chief curator Jayananda Warnaweera from all cricket activities for two years following his failure to attend two interviews with the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). Warnaweera himself is understood to be the subject of the ACU investigation.SLC had issued Warnaweera a show-cause notice after he missed meetings with ACU officials in Colombo last month. His failure to respond to that notice prompted the suspension, though SLC had already unofficially asked him to step back from his role at Galle in October.”Following disciplinary proceedings taken by Sri Lanka Cricket arising from charges that Mr. Jayananda Warnaweera failed to attend two interviews scheduled to be held by the Anti-Corruption Unit of the ICC, and failed to cooperate with and assist the investigation being carried out by the Anti-Corruption Unit and related charges of misconduct, the Interim Committee of SLC has suspended Mr. Warnaweera from cricket, cricket management and representation for a period of two years,” a board statement said.The ACU had met SLC officials following Warnaweera’s failure to show up at meetings and is believed to have told the board that Warnaweera was under investigation. Specific details of that investigation were withheld, but the ICC revealed it had already built a substantial case against Warnaweera based on financial records and alleged contact with bookmakers.Warnaweera stepped down from his position in the interim committee days before he missed the meetings with the ACU staff. SLC officials have since described him as having “gone missing” and “very difficult to contact”.Warnaweera’s original appointment to the interim committee in March had raised minor criticism, because he had also been an executive committee member in controversial previous administrations. At the time, then-sports minister Navin Dissanayake had postured the new board as a clean break from the past.

ICC chairman Shashank Manohar’s plans of translating what he calls his “personal opinion” of a structural imbalance in the world body into the BCCI’s official position may face some resistance within the Indian board

Arun Venugopal26-Nov-2015ICC chairman Shashank Manohar’s plans of translating what he calls his “personal opinion” of a structural imbalance in the world body into the BCCI’s official position may face some resistance within the Indian board. The key sticking point among BCCI officials who spoke to ESPNcricinfo is that it would deny India its rightful share of the ICC’s revenues, as they feel has been the case over the past decade or so.Manohar, who is also the BCCI president, had said in his interview that he didn’t agree with the present revenue-sharing formula that was arrived at after the sweeping administrative reforms in the ICC last year. “It’s nice to say that India [BCCI] will get 22 percent of the total revenue of the ICC, but you cannot make the poor poorer and the rich richer, only because you have the clout,” he had said.Long-time administrator Niranjan Shah, who is also president of the Saurashtra Cricket Association, said Manohar’s ideas on revenue-sharing were “debatable” but agreed with his main contention that the big three shouldn’t bully other nations. “We must look at other teams also, without them competition is not there and if there is no competition there won’t be money for India also,” Shah said.”But some time ago, some boards tried to float the idea that they should also get revenue when India earn. That was not right. Until recently, every Test playing country were getting the same amount of money, about $11 million per year, where India would contribute around Rs 80 crore ($12m) from two ODIs. The amount was totally disproportionate.”Maybe now, the proportion [of revenue] can be fractionally reduced to give more to the needy boards. We have to find a middle way. This is Manohar’s idea, but inside the board also collective decision has to be taken.”Quite a few administrators that ESPNcricinfo contacted – most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity – admitted to being in the dark about Manohar’s plans and felt he was compromising the BCCI’s interests, especially on the financial front. “No question that India’s contribution is maximum,” a BCCI official said. “We have only asked for our rightful share. That [strengthening other countries] is okay but we should not surrender what we are getting today.”Another office-bearer said he had concerns over the wider practical implications of a change to the revenue-sharing system. “The BCCI has 25 states that are members, and six or seven states who are going to become members in the entire north-east region, and building stadia is costly,” he said. “Today you have other sporting leagues mushrooming, and you want to maintain the paramountcy of cricket. If this comes up in the Working Committee, it could face some opposition.”There is a theory that Manohar’s views on the revenue-sharing arrangement are guided by the need to pre-empt the Lodha Committee’s report next month, which is expected to recommend reforms to the board’s constitution. One member said that Manohar’s statements might be a plan to insulate the BCCI from any action taken by the Supreme Court. “Manohar probably wants to impress upon the Lodha Committee that we are not for money.”

Gauhar Hafeez has been named as the Pakistan Under-19 captain for the upcoming Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh

Umar Farooq19-Dec-2015Lahore Eagles batsman Gauhar Hafeez has been named as the Pakistan Under-19 captain for the upcoming Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. Pakistan, placed in Group B, play their first game against Afghanistan on January 28 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.Pakistan named six specialist batsmen in the squad, including the top run-scorers of the recently concluded regional Under-19 One-Day Cup – Zeeshan Malik and Umar Barki, who notched up 582 and 442 tournament runs respectively. Legspinner Shadab Khan, who was the top wicket-taker of the tournament with 30 wickets at 7.73, was also included.”Each one of the squad members is talented and I personally saw some of them growing from the Under-15 circuit,” Masroor Ahmed, Pakistan’s Under-19 coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “The combination I see according to the condition in Bangladesh I am confident we can produce good results. This is an exciting job to coach the players at this level because they are the future and will lead the country from here.”I am not entirely involved in the selection process but I know many players, especially from Karachi, but the combination I see is outstanding. We have two genuine allrounders and two solid openers and given the condition in Bangladesh we have flavor in spinning department with a legspinner, left-arm spinner and offspinner. I am looking forward to seeing these players perform at the top level.”The only surprise pick in the 15-man squad is offspinner Arsal Sheikh. Arsal did not play the Under-19 One-day Cup but featured in the Under-19 three-day tournament in October, where he took nine wickets. The selectors, however, have rewarded the two best players from the much deprived FATA region- Barki and right-arm pacer, Sameen Gul.The squad is currently training in Lahore with NCA coaches, while the newly-appointed coaching staff is expected to join the squad within three days. The team, though, will lack international experience going into the World Cup, as they play just one series before the tournament- a tri-nation series involving Australia and New Zealand in January in Dubai. Nine players picked in the squad were part of the Sri Lanka tour in October, where Pakistan failed to pick up a win.Masroor, however, was upbeat about his team’s chances at the World Cup. “They have been staying together in Lahore and training with the high performance coaches at NCA and I am sure they all are getting what is required,” he said.”Half of the boys had also toured Sri Lanka [in October] this year and they understand the international experience as most of the boys have been overseas with Under-16 teams. All of the boys have been playing cricket continuously and now they are undergoing a reconditioning camp playing training matches so I don’t think they will be any problem for them as the conditions in Bangladesh are similar to what they have played most of their cricket so far.”Pakistan Under-19 squad: Gohar Hafeez (capt), Mohammad Umar, Zeeshan Malik, Hasan Mohsin, Muhammad Asad, Saif Badar, Hasan Khan, Salman Fayyaz, Shadab Khan, Umair Masood, Saif Ali, Irfan Liaqat, Sameen Gul, Arsal Sheikh, Ahmad Shafiq.

A calf injury to Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has ruled him out of the ongoing National One-Day Cup, which had been his final opportunity for competitive cricket before the tour to England in July 2016

Umar Farooq11-Jan-2016A calf injury to Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has ruled him out of the ongoing National One-Day cup, which had been one of his final opportunities for competitive cricket before the tour to England in July 2016. He may yet get the chance to find form with the Pakistan Super League, where he plays for Islamabad United, scheduled for February.Misbah was due to play his second match for Sui Northern Gas Private Limited against Peshawar on Tuesday, but now he is travelling back home to Lahore to gauge the extent of the damage. “I am not sure how serious the injury is, but I have been advised at least two weeks rest,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I am undergoing an MRI scan and the result will further reveal the level of injury. I am disappointed that I won’t be able to carry on with the ongoing one-day tournament.”Injuries have been rare in the 41-year old Misbah’s career. The most recent occurrence was in December 2014, when he missed the third, fourth and fifth ODIs against New Zealand in the UAE. He returned to lead Pakistan in the World Cup, and retired from one-day internationals at the end of the tournament.Misbah had intended to sign-off from Test cricket as well following the recent series against England, but at the request of the PCB decided to play on. He has kept himself game ready since then by playing in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class competition, and even turned out for Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League.Pakistan do not have any Test series lined up in that time and the domestic season is about to end as the PSL begins in February. Misbah has said he is open to playing English county cricket, but has not received any offers yet.Pakistan are scheduled to tour England for four Tests from July 2016, and then Australia for three Tests in the 2016-17 season.

Umpire Richard Illingworth was “distraught” when he discovered that he had incorrectly called a no-ball that reprieved Adam Voges on the first day in Wellington, according to match referee Chris Broad

Brydon Coverdale in Wellington15-Feb-20162:39

‘Credit to Voges for making umpiring decision count’ – McCullum

Umpire Richard Illingworth was “distraught” when he discovered that he had incorrectly called a no-ball that reprieved Adam Voges on the first day in Wellington, according to match referee Chris Broad.Voges went on to score 239 in a match-defining innings; he was on 7 at the time when he left a delivery and was bowled off the Doug Bracewell no-ball, despite a significant part of the bowler’s heel being behind the crease. Under the ICC playing conditions, a no-ball can be retrospectively called but not rescinded, so there was nothing that could be done about the call after Illingworth had made it.”Unfortunately Richard was distraught afterwards when he realised that it wasn’t a no ball,” Broad told the . “… I think when anyone is proved wrong in any decision that they make it’s clearly embarrassing at the time. But umpires, particularly on the elite panel have a great ability to be able to overcome that feeling and get on with the game.”There can be nothing done about it. The problem is that when an umpire calls a no-ball, you can’t change that decision because under the laws a batsman may change his shot when the no-ball is called. It was called – that’s the end of the matter. Richard is a Yorkshireman, he shrugs his shoulders and gets on with it. I’m constantly amazed at how the umpires, when they do make their occasional errors, are able to recover from it.”The mistake has led to debate about whether the on-field umpire is the best person to call no-balls, and whether the job would be better placed in the hands of the TV umpire. Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann, who sits on the ICC Cricket Committee which has discussed the matter in the past, said he would like to see the square-leg umpire take control of no-balls.”It’s a part of the game but I know it’s not right,” Lehmann said of Illingworth’s error. “We all make mistakes, I make plenty as a coach, umpires are going to make some. It’s heightened because he was on 7 and made 239 isn’t it? The no-ball situation is getting tough for umpires. I’d have the square-leg umpire do the no balls, but that’s me, that’s my cricket hat on.”Where do you go? How far do you go? How many no-balls are there in a game. How long will the day go, how many overs will we miss out on? All those questions have to be asked.””It’s something we’ve got to talk about at the ICC Cricket Committee. I sit on that so I have my views but there’s a lot of views and a lot of good players who have played a lot of cricket on that. We’ve got to get the solution right for umpires as well, there’s umpires on that commitee.”The incident occurred in the last over of the first day and was not replayed on the big screen at the Basin Reserve, so the New Zealand players did not realise the no-ball call was incorrect until they left the field at stumps. New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said he had spoken to Broad about the no-ball but the New Zealanders had moved on and tried to refocus on the match.”I just discussed it with Chris Broad after the game, as you do, but it became fairly clear pretty quickly that there’s not a lot that can be done about it, so you move on,” Hesson said on Tuesday morning. The spirit [among the players] was fine, there’s no doubt at the time we were disappointed, there’s no doubt about that. We moved on pretty quickly.”After New Zealand’s loss, captain Brendon McCullum indicated he would have no problem with taking no-ball calls out of the hands of the on-field umpires, and Hesson was also open to the possibility.”The more decisions right the better,” Hesson said. “If we can use more technology to do that then decisions like that become less influential. It’s something the ICC are aware of and will discuss … The game’s about swings and roundabouts, sometimes you get a bit of fortune sometimes you don’t. In this situation many batsmen get a reprieve but some are good enough to make the most of it and Adam Voges certainly made the most of it.”

New South Wales were well poised to secure a place against South Australia in the Sheffield Shield final after dismantling Victoria’s top order late on the third day in Alice Springs

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2016
ScorecardDaniel Christian picked up 5 for 40•Getty Images

New South Wales were well poised to secure a place against South Australia in the Sheffield Shield final after dismantling Victoria’s top order late on the third day in Alice Springs. Chasing 249 for victory, which would put them in the decider instead of the Blues, the Bushrangers closed the day wobbling at 3 for 20, with Marcus Stoinis on 13, Matthew Wade on 1, and a further 249 runs needed.The day had started with Victoria 8 for 239 in their first innings and they added just 12 more for the loss of their last two wickets. New South Wales started shakily in their second innings and were 2 for 8 in the fifth over, but captain Nic Maddinson (40) helped to steady the effort before Ryan Carters (39) and Trent Copeland (47) added some important later runs.Daniel Christian picked up 5 for 40 for Victoria and Jon Holland collected 3 for 48 as the Bushrangers dismissed the Blues for 178 to give themselves a realistic hope of victory. However, Copeland removed both of Victoria’s openers in his first two overs and Sean Abbott also picked up a wicket before stumps to leave New South Wales on top.

Shane Watson has announced his retirement from international cricket, 14 years to the day after he first played for Australia

Brydon Coverdale and Melinda Farrell24-Mar-2016
Shane Watson has announced his retirement from international cricket, 14 years to the day after he first played for Australia. Watson had retired from Test cricket at the end of last year’s Ashes tour of England, and he has not played ODIs since September last year; he will now officially depart from Australia’s international setup at the end of the ongoing World Twenty20 in India.Watson’s retirement is effectively the final cutting of ties to Australia’s dominant era of the early 2000s; he was the last remaining player turning out regularly in any format for Australia who had debuted before 2007, the year of the Warne-McGrath retirements. Watson has also confirmed that he is retiring from first-class cricket, having not played since the Ashes tour.T20 had yet to be invented when Watson made his international debut in an ODI against South Africa in Centurion on March 24, 2002. He was 20 at the time. Now, on the eve of a crucial World T20 match against Pakistan, at the age of 34 and as a father of two children, Watson has decided that the time has come to move on to another stage of his life.”One morning I woke up in Dharamsala to the beautiful view and I don’t know what it was exactly but I knew now was the right time,” Watson said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time being back in the Australian squad. But it is quite different, none of the other guys I played with growing up are here any more. I’ve made the right decision. I couldn’t really see the light with the all the injuries I had.”Although Watson’s Test career was sometimes frustrating for Australian fans and selectors, he was a consistently high performer for his country in the shorter formats. At his peak he reached No.1 on the ICC’s T20 international batting rankings and spent two years as the No.1 allrounder; in ODIs he also reached No.1 as an allrounder in 2011, and peaked at No.3 as a batsman.His clean striking at the top of the order made him a consistent threat as an opening batsman; only Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting struck more sixes for Australia in ODI cricket than Watson, who played far fewer games. As a bowler, he was accurate and reliable, could swing the ball when conditions suited, and provided vital balance to the line-up.He will finish with 190 one-day internationals to his name for 5757 runs at 40.54, and 168 wickets at 31.79, as well as holding the Australian record for the highest ODI score: his unbeaten 185 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2011. Ahead of his final T20 international matches, Watson has 1400 runs at 28.00 from 56 games, and 46 wickets at 24.71.Watson is one of only seven men in history to have achieved the double of 10000 runs and 250 wickets in international cricket across all three formats; the others are Steve Waugh, Carl Hooper, Sanath Jayasuirya, Jacques Kallis, Shahid Afridi and Chris Gayle. He also captained Australia in all three forms, adding T20s to his list in January against India, his 124 not out in that game being the
highest T20 international score by a captain.He played in three World Cup campaigns and was part of Australia’s triumphs in 2007 and 2015. Watson was also Man of the Match in the Champions Trophy finals of 2006 and 2009, both of which Australia won thanks largely to his runs as an opener. The 2009 Champions Trophy especially was a case of Watson standing up in the big moments: he scored an unbeaten 136 against England in the semi-final and then struck 105 not out against New Zealand in the final.Although Australia are yet to win a World T20 title, Watson was Player of the Tournament in 2012 in Sri Lanka, where he topped the run tally with 249 at 49.80 and was the second leading wicket-taker with 11 at 16.00. The team will need something special from Watson in the remainder of this year’s tournament if he is to depart with a T20 trophy to his name.”Hopefully there’s still one highlight to come, with us really hitting our straps over the next two games. Then once you get to the semis you never know what will happen.”

A round-up of all IPL related news on April 8, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2016It is important to put Indian farmers’ interests before those of the IPL franchises, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said in his column in the . His comments come in wake of the Public Interest Litigation filed in the Bombay High Court over IPL games – which require significant water usage on the field and pitch – being held in drought-hit Maharashtra, a state where farmer suicides have been a common tragedy year after year.”The issue of drought is one such where many lives are at stake,” Gavaskar wrote. “I am no expert on ground and pitch preparation and how much water will be consumed for it, nor do I know whether the water that will be saved if the matches are not played can be used to irrigate the lands that have become dry and parched. What, however, is without any doubt is that it is the farmers of this country that help put our food on the table and if their lives are at stake, then whatever needs to be done must be done to ensure that not even one life is lost.”The BCCI… will no doubt do what is in the best interest of the nation. There will certainly be losses to the franchises if the games are moved out of their home grounds but, as happened in 2009 and 2014 when the tournament was moved to South Africa and UAE, the franchises will no doubt get compensated… It is a small price to pay, for the alternative could well be unnecessary loss of lives of those whose hard work gives us our daily and .”The Bombay High Court had adjourned the matter on Thursday, with the next hearing scheduled for April 12, meaning the IPL opener will go ahead as scheduled in Mumbai on Saturday.Don’t get caught up with age – Zaheer
Zaheer Khan, the newly appointed Delhi Daredevils captain, is set to take the field in recognised cricket for the first time in almost a year when his team play Kolkata Knight Riders on April 10. Zaheer, 37, retired from international cricket last October, and had missed half of Daredevils’ season last year due to injury. But he is raring to go, he told the IPL website, and doesn’t think he is too old for the format.”I think it [T20 cricket] is about clear thinking and strategy, and if you are good enough and fit enough to play and cope with the pressures and demands of the format, then why not,” he said. “At times we get caught up with numbers, be it statistics on the field or be it the age, so I think we all need to move on from that. There are plenty of guys who are playing the shortest format and been around for a long time.”I always look ahead. It’s a new season and a new start. Everyone put in a lot of work to get things together. We can’t wait to get to Kolkata and play the first game.”

Hamish Rutherford batted himself back into form with 68 as Derbyshire ground out a draw on a severely rain-affected day at Chelmsford

ECB Reporters Network18-May-2016
ScorecardHamish Rutherford staved off Essex’s attempts to force victory•Getty Images

Hamish Rutherford batted himself back into form with 68 as Derbyshire ground out a draw on a severely rain-affected day at Chelmsford.The New Zealand batsman had managed just one score above fifty in his previous eight County Championship innings this summer. But he added a 92-ball half-century to the 49 he eked out in the first innings, helping to hold Division Two leaders Essex at bay as the match petered out into a damp draw.It was a disappointing end for the home side after they amassed 538 when Derbyshire exercised their option to bowl first. Essex needed nine wickets at the start of the day to claim a third Championship win, but managed just three in the day’s 24 overs.Only seven were possible in the morning session, during which Derbyshire advanced their score by 24 runs without loss. Rutherford was watchful in that first mini-session, but hammered three fours in Aaron Beard’s first over in the late afternoon. The first ball was flicked off his legs to fine leg, an overpitched ball through the covers and the third through midwicket.Tom Taylor eventually departed nearly 23 hours after he was sent in as nightwatchman, falling lbw to Jamie Porter for 19 from a second-wicket stand of 50.His exit brought back Chesney Hughes to the crease after he retired with a migraine on Tuesday evening. He added two first ball to the 26 he already had to his name with a flick to fine leg off Porter, and then drove Porter for four through mid-off.Hughes, who had two lives in his first-innings 37, received another when Porter spilled a straightforward caught-and-bowled when he had reached 38. It was the fourth catch Essex put down in the game, and Hughes escaped to record his fourth score over fifty.Rutherford put on 51 for the third wicket with Hughes before he nicked Ravi Bopara through to wicketkeeper James Foster. The out-of-form Wayne Madsen did not last long, rooted to the spot and beaten for pace by Napier.Hughes cleared Derbyshire’s arrears in the match with a six over midwicket off a full-toss by Daniel Lawrence in his first over in first-class cricket. At that point handshakes were offered and the draw accepted.