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Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee is likely to retain Galle as a venue for the two-Test series against West Indies in October but has decided to drastically reduce the costs it will incur in hosting the match there, as well as at other venues for the

Sa'adi Thawfeeq03-Sep-2015After much deliberation, Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee is likely to retain Galle as a venue for the two-Test series against West Indies in October but has decided to drastically reduce the costs it will incur in hosting the match there, as well as at other venues for the tour.”We hope to cut costs down to about Rs 3 million (approx. $22,200) to try and offset the losses we will incur hosting West Indies,” Kushil Gunasekera, the interim committee vice-president, said.”We didn’t want to deprive the outstation spectators from watching an international match but at the same time we had to also curtail the losses that we will incur playing at Galle.”Galle traditionally has been an extravagant venue and we will try and keep down costs to a minimum.”Gunasekera said that SLC will not be making use of the Galle Municipal building and the Galle Cricket Club. It will also discard having marquees for spectators as well as feeding 500 school children breakfast, lunch and tea, which alone cost SLC Rs 1.2 million.Galle has been a Test venue for all tours since 1998. The two Tests played against Pakistan and India in Galle brought in revenue of Rs 14 million, Gunasekara said, but with SLC receiving only Rs 45 million for TV broadcasting rights for the West Indies series, it stands to lose overall Rs 105 million on the tour comprising two Tests, three ODIs and two T20s.SLC made a record profit of Rs 87 million from the Pakistan tour against a target of Rs 50 million, and stands to gain Rs 300 million from the recently concluded India tour.The first Test against West Indies starts October 14 with the second beginning at P Sara Oval on October 22. R Premadasa Stadium and Pallekele will host the ODIs and T20s.

England players are “substantially underpaid” and require far greater compensation for missing out on the riches available in T20 leagues around the world, according to Angus Porter

George Dobell15-Feb-2013England players are “substantially underpaid” and require far greater compensation for missing out on the riches available in T20 leagues around the world, according to the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), the players’ union.Angus Porter is one of the key men charged with negotiating England’s central contracts and he feels there is a chasm to be bridged before the players and the ECB can agree the next deal. The new contracts are due to be issued in October.England’s busy schedule is one key area of concern. With the international team playing cricket almost the whole way around the calendar, the opportunities available to England players to participate in the various domestic T20 leagues springing up around the world are sharply curtailed. As a result, according to Porter, their payment lags far behind their opposite numbers from other countries.The players are also said to be concerned about the integrity of Test cricket. While the format remains most cherished by all current England players, Porter said they are worried that Tests played in May are compromised by the absence of key members of the opposition at the IPL and serve to devalue the premier form of the game.”T20 leagues are very much an issue as we look at the next round of central contracts,” Porter told ESPNcricinfo. “It would be wrong to focus purely on the IPL; the fact is that England players have very little time to appear in any of the highly profitable T20 leagues or even in the Champions League.”It is quite wrong to presume that central contracts are adequate compensation. England players are substantially underpaid even before we factor in the lost earnings from potential T20 appearances. They are paid somewhere around half the amount of Australian players and most Australian players also have the opportunity to appear in the IPL and the BBL. We are asking that England players be given a chance to maximise their earnings.”While helping the players to do that is clearly one part of Porter’s remit, it is not his only concern. “It is very important to the ECB that the integrity of the early season Tests is maintained,” Porter said. “But it isn’t necessarily so important to the opposition. The players are concerned that playing games against half-strength teams does long-term damage to the integrity of the format that all of them feel is the most important and prestigious.”We understand there are complex issues here. We understand why the England schedule is so busy and we don’t pretend there are simple answers. We are not thrusting a stake into the ground and saying our position cannot be moved. We just feel that a bit of flexibility is required and that a negotiated settlement is the answer. The players are certainly prepared to compromise and I hope the ECB are, too. The England players need to have a greater say in the schedule.”Talks between the two sides are at an early stage but it is clear that there are significant problems to be solved before the England team depart for the Ashes at the end of October.As things stand, an uneasy compromise exists between the ECB and its contracted players, allowing them to appear in the IPL for around a month but rendering them far less attractive to franchises due to their partial availability – several went unsold in this year’s IPL auction.The 2013 IPL runs from April 3 to May 26 but the ECB has insisted their players are back in England by May 5, ahead of the New Zealand Test at Lord’s, which begins on May 16. The New Zealand team is sure to be weakened by players who have chosen to appear in the IPL instead.The ECB might have thought it had won the argument after subjugating Kevin Pietersen’s attempted rebellion in 2012. Among other disagreements, Pietersen had wanted to play a whole season of IPL but was forced to back down when the England management made it clear that they were not willing to give any more ground. But Matt Prior is the latest England regular to suggest a rethink of England’s early season schedule, while Owais Shah is believed to be thinking of becoming the first English cricketer to give up a contract in county cricket to make himself available as a travelling T20 professional. The issue is clearly not going away.”There is no question that we are going to see cricketers go freelance,” Porter said. “It may be Shah and it may be someone else. But you can understand players wanting to maximise their earning ability over the last few years of their career and, perhaps, extending that career by managing their workload. It will happen soon.”The involvement of England’s players in the IPL may be academic for a few years, though. Between 2014 and 2016 the dates of the IPL are set to be pushed back a few weeks to accommodate major global events, making it practically impossible for England players to be involved. The World T20 takes place in Bangladesh in April 2014, the World Cup the following year runs until the end of March and the following World T20 takes place in India in April 2016.

Andrew Strauss has described England’s defeat against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi as among the most painful of his career

George Dobell in Abu Dhabi28-Jan-2012Andrew Strauss has described England’s defeat against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi as among the most painful of his career.Strauss, the England captain, top scored with 32 as his side was dismissed for 72 in pursuit of a target of 145. It was England’s lowest total against Pakistan and only the second time they failed to chase a target of under 150 in the fourth innings in more than a century. The result condemned them to their first series defeat since losing in the West Indies in 2009 and jeopardised their reign as the world’s No. 1 Test team. If England fail to win the final Test and South Africa inflict a 3-0 defeat upon New Zealand, then South Africa will usurp England.To make the defeat all the more galling, England had several opportunities to win. Not only was their target modest but, had Kevin Pietersen hit the stumps with a simple throw on day three to run out Asad Shafiq, Pakistan’s key second-innings partnership would have been ended. In the context of a low-scoring game, the extra 49 runs the pair added were vital.”It is a struggle to think of a loss that has hurt more than this,” Strauss said. “It’s bitterly disappointing to lose a game you should have won. These are the games that hurt the most, because you feel like you’ve done everything you can to win the game – and then you aren’t able to nail the final nail in the coffin.Strauss’ disappointment was increased by the sense that England had failed a significant challenge. Winning in Asian conditions remains the Holy Grail for England and, after the success of the last couple of years, they felt they had an excellent opportunity on this tour. He was, however, frank when assessing where England had gone wrong.Andrew Strauss was one of two batsmen to make it past single digits in England’s second innings•AFP

“I said at the start of this tour, this is the final frontier,” Strauss said. “England teams haven’t done very well out here [in Asia] in the past. We felt like we had a great chance to win this series, but I think the fact that we got rolled over twice in Dubai meant that there was some baggage there going into this final innings. Test
cricket is hard and it exposes any vulnerability or weaknesses you have.”As a batting unit we have to hold our hands up and say we haven’t done well enough. We have been rolled over three times in four innings this series. There are no excuses – we need to be better than that.”We just didn’t play well enough, individually or collectively. Individually we’ve not been clear enough in our game plans against spin, we’ve not been clear enough in our methods of where our scoring areas are, and we’ve allowed pressure to build.”Strauss admitted that England’s cautious approach might have contributed to the defeat. England were almost strokeless at times, with Alastair Cook labouring for 15 overs for his seven runs.”It is easy to get caught between two stools,” Strauss said. “You don’t know whether to be patient or to take the bull by the horns. There is always a balance to strike between attack and defence and ultimately we didn’t do it right. I’m a strong believer that players should play their natural game in positions like this, but it was a bit unfortunate that our attacking players were out very quickly.”Strauss was also keen to credit Pakistan for their performance. “It’s very important in circumstances like this, and particularly after this game, to give a lot of credit to Pakistan,” he said. “They were outstanding. They’ve been a good, close-knit unit – and they’ve got some very good spin bowlers. Ultimately, they’ve played better cricket than we did.”

Growing differences between Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif appear to have given rise to the acknowledgment that wrongdoing was committed

Osman Samiuddin in Doha10-Jan-2011Growing differences between Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif in the spot-fixing hearings in Doha, Qatar appear to have given rise to the acknowledgment that wrongdoing was committed during the Lord’s Test last summer, but that complicity in the act and blame for it have not yet been settled.The pair, along with Mohammad Amir, have pleaded not guilty to charges of bowling deliberate no-balls in the fourth Test against England, allegedly at the behest of player-agent Mazhar Majeed. But on day five of the hearing, during which Asif presented his defence and was then cross-examined by ICC lawyers, the explanations of why a no-ball was bowled suggest that it was the result of a direct or indirect instruction from Butt.It has slowly become clear over the course of the hearing that the equation between how Butt and Asif defended themselves in particular was going to be pivotal in the case. In his opening statement, Asif is believed to have said that the no-ball came about because of the extra effort required to bowl a faster ball as instructed by Butt, who was captain at the time.As a result, Butt was questioned by Asif’s lawyer, Alexander Cameron, during his defence earlier in the hearing; in turn, on Monday, Butt’s lawyer Yasin Patel questioned Asif. Amir on the other hand was not questioned by either of the other players’ lawyers.There is a suggestion that Butt wasn’t in the courtroom, on the 12th floor of the Qatar Financial Centre, during Asif’s questioning. As has been the case through the week, the players arrived separately; Asif was the first to do so and the last to leave.Given that the possibility of deliberate wrongdoing is strengthened through the interplay between Butt and Asif, the situation does not appear too bright for the players. The probability that the ICC, which is keen to establish its credentials as a body with zero tolerance for corruption, will push for harsh sanctions must be high. As Pakistan’s captain at the time, Butt faces the possibility of the sternest sanctions.He was under cross-examination for the longest period of the three players and one witness’ statements in particular are thought to have hurt his case. Equally, stern action against Asif and Amir cannot be discounted if guilt is established, even though the latter’s youth and unblemished disciplinary record might provide mitigating circumstances.After Asif’s cross-examination, the ICC began its closing statements. On Wednesday the players will deliver their closing statements. Thereafter the tribunal of Michael Beloff QC, Albie Sachs and Sharad Rao is expected to deliberate over the judgment. There is no indication yet whether a judgment and verdict will be made public on Tuesday or whether they decide to reserve the judgment till later.

George Bailey’s maiden one-day century and his astute use of the spinner Xavier Doherty kept Tasmania’s FR Cup season alive

Cricinfo staff13-Feb-2010Tasmania 5 for 264 (Bailey 112*, Cowan 53) beat Queensland 245 (Reardon 79, Doherty 4-28) by 19 runs

ScorecardGeorge Bailey’s century set up Tasmania’s win•Getty Images

The captain George Bailey’s maiden one-day century and his astute use of the spinner Xavier Doherty kept Tasmania’s FR Cup season alive with a 19-run win over Queensland. Bailey scored 112 as the hosts reached 5 for 264 and then opened with Doherty, the left-arm orthodox, who finished with 4 for 28 off 10 overs.Nathan Reardon’s 79, which included three sixes and took 84 balls, and 36 to Craig Philipson gave the Bulls hope, but Doherty proved too much of an obstacle and they were dismissed for 245. The result left a jammed table, with the leaders Queensland on 21 points with Victoria, Tasmania one behind in third, and the bottom-placed South Australia on 17. All the sides have one match remaining to determine who progresses to the final on February 28.With 66 needed off the last 10 overs, Queensland took the Powerplay and soon lost the crucial wicket of Reardon to a fine run-out from Bailey, who hit the stumps from cover. In the next over Chris Simpson fell without scoring when he found deep square leg off Doherty.Calling the spinner for the PowerPlay was as brave as opening with him, and Doherty was soon celebrating again when he bowled Ben Cutting. The game was effectively over when Philipson was caught by a diving Michael Dighton at backward point in the 48th over.Doherty started the second innings and the ploy worked after four balls when he had Ryan Broad lbw. Chris Hartley was also undone by a spinner, falling to Jason Krejza on 41, and the Bulls were in more difficulty at 4 for 141 when Chris Lynn became Doherty’s second victim.Tasmania’s innings began cautiously but picked up after Bailey joined Ed Cowan when the hosts were 2 for 43. Cowan left with a measured 53 and Bailey really picked up the tempo late in the innings when joined by Dan Marsh (24 off 25) and Krejza (32 off 22).Bailey’s hundred came up with a six flicked off his toes from Cutting, who was unfortunate to give up 17 in his last over, while he also gained eight fours during his 108-ball innings. His use of Doherty and a vital run-out added to the captain’s fine day.

Lancashire were dismissed for 284 in their first innings, a deficit of nine

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay09-Sep-2025Kent lead Lancashire by 105 after reaching 96 without loss at stumps in their second innings of the Rothesay County Championship match at Canterbury.Lancashire were dismissed for 284 in their first innings, a deficit of nine, Matt Quinn taking 4 for 43 and Matt Parkinson 4 for 93.Luke Wells hit 80 and although the visitors slumped to 195 for 8, Tom Hartley bailed them out with a 64, after he’d been dropped twice.Kent’s openers Jaydn Denly and Ben Dawkins responded with an aggressive and unbroken partnership and the hosts will be the happier of the two sides at the end of the second day.Lancashire were 19 without loss overnight and after yesterday’s collision with Ben Compton, Tawanda Muyeye developed delayed concussion symptoms. He was replaced by Joe Denly, in line with ECB protocols, although as a like-for-like replacement he wasn’t allowed to bowl. Compton himself hurt his wrist and was unable to field, or open.Kent were buoyed by two early wickets. Quinn struck in the fifth over of the morning, getting Keaton Jennings caught at first slip by Ben Dawkins for 17 and Josh Bohannon went for a fifth-ball duck, edging Joey Evison to Dawkins, who caught him at the second attempt.Although the ball regularly beat the bat, Wells and Marcus Harris put on 82 for the third wicket, Parkinson breaking the partnership when the latter charged at him and was stumped by Harry Finch for 32, leaving Lancs on 118 for 3 at lunch.The visitors regained the momentum until Matty Hurst played on to Quinn and was bowled for 24. Parkinson then had Wells caught behind.Quinn caught and bowled Michael Jones for 4, then got George Balderson lbw for 11.When Parkinson had Tom Bailey caught by Jaydn Denly at first slip for 3, Lancs were eight down and still 98 behind, but Hartley was dropped twice off Parkinson, by Finch and Mo Rizvi, and alongside Will Williams he steered Lancashire to 254 for 8 at tea.The deficit was down to 33 when Williams was lbw to Jaydn Denly, for 26, but Hartley responded by smearing Parkinson for six over midwicket to bring up his 50 and the visitors were almost level when he hit Parkinson down Ekansh Singh’s throat.With Compton absent, Jaydn Denly and Dawkins immediately went on the attack. The former pulled Hartley for six over midwicket and passed fifty with an elegant reverse-sweep off Wells, shortly before stumps.Dawkins survived a loud appeal in the final over, as Bailey bowled a tricky over of off-spin.

With 202 runs to get and six wickets in hand, the offspinner says there is confidence in the rest of the batting group

Alex Malcolm10-Mar-2024Nathan Lyon’s words said one thing but his body language and tone said quite another as Australia still have a chance to pull off a great escape in the second Test against New Zealand at Hagley Oval.Australia slumped to 34 for 4 in pursuit of the target of 279. Lyon had been padded up as the nightwatcher yet again but was not required after Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh steered Australia to stumps without any further loss. But they still need 202 runs to win with just six wickets in hand and two days of the Test remaining.Lyon said Australia believe they can win from any position.”It would be a great Test match win if we’re able to pick this off,” Lyon said after play. “There’s a lot of belief in that change room and I think that’s credit to Pat [Cummins] and Ron [Andrew McDonald], the way they go about their leadership, instilling a lot of belief that we can win from any position.”And we’ve now found ourselves in this position that our backs are up against the wall. New Zealand were on a roll tonight but I’m sitting here understanding and believing that we can win, that’s for sure.”Related

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Australia did chase down 282 at Edgbaston in the first Ashes Test in June last year, with Cummins and Lyon finishing as the heroes, sharing an unbeaten 55-run stand for the ninth wicket. But Australia have only run down 279 or more in the fourth innings on 13 occasions and only twice since 2006.Before Edgbaston, Australia’s last successful chase of that size was in South Africa in 2011, when Cummins was again the hero on Test debut as an 18-year-old while Lyon was nervously padded up as the next and last man in.”We’ve been able to tick off a couple of totals in the past,” Lyon said. “So there’s a lot of the confidence within our batting group and us bowlers with the bat in hand. We pride ourselves on our batting, so we’ll give it our best chance if it comes down to that.”But while Lyon was bullish with his words, his body language and tone told a different story. Just eight days earlier, he had sat bolt upright in the press conference room on the third night of the Wellington Test and declared confidently with a smile that Australia would easily create the seven chances required with the ball to win the game despite New Zealand being 111 for 3 chasing 369.In Christchurch, he was leaning forward and speaking in a quieter tone. He had only just taken the pads off, having admitted he had nervously sat there as the nightwatcher, a job he has had to do twice already in this series, having not done it for two years despite being Australia’s designated man.”Too often I seem to be batting in the top six,” Lyon said. “Happy to do the role but it’s nice that I didn’t have to walk out there tonight.”He stopped short of criticising his batting group, but his tone spoke volumes as to how the team is feeling about their latest batting collapse.”It’s not a frustration. I think it’s a learning curve for us,” Lyon said. “We’re on a path, and on a journey, on a dream to become one of Australia’s great cricket teams.”And I’m not saying that we are that at the moment. It’s a learning experience for us. And if we can try and get better at that, then it’s going to put us in really good stead on our dream to become a great Australian team.”I know that we’ve got a lot of work to do, but that’s our dream and that’s our goal.”They were interesting words from a largely unchanged World Test Championship-winning team. A team with nine of the 11 members over the age of 30 and one other aged 29.Australia could still win at Hagley Oval. But, right now, their actions and words are not in sync.

Services, meanwhile, beat Mumbai by eight wickets in the biggest upset of the tournament so far

Shashank Kishore13-Nov-2022Saurashtra’s Samarth Vyas became only the fifth batter to hit a double-century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy when he smashed a 131-ball 200 against Manipur in Delhi on Sunday.He joined Karn Veer Kaushal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Prithvi Shaw in the double-centurions club. Overall, this was Vyas’s third List-A century.Vyas put on a 282-run opening stand with Harvik Desai, who made 100 off 107 balls, as Saurashtra posted 397 for 4. In reply, Manipur were bowled out for 115. This was Saurashtra’s second straight win in the competition.On Saturday, they opened their campaign with a seven-wicket win over Chandigarh, with Vyas contributing a 64-ball 61 in a chase of 216.Vyas has been in excellent form lately. He topped the run charts for Saurashtra at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20s earlier in the month, where they made the semi-finals. Vyas smashed 314 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 177.40 and a best of 97 not out against Nagaland. He made one other 97, against Baroda. Overall, he was the fifth-highest run-getter in the tournament, finishing just 49 runs behind Yash Dhull, who topped the charts.Vyas made his List A debut in 2015 but has only recently become a regular member of the team. He started as a middle-order batter but has moved up the order of late, with the team management pushing him up to bat in the top three.Records-wise, Ajinkya Rahane’s 187 for Mumbai against Maharashtra in 2007-08 was the highest individual List A score in the tournament for nearly a decade until Uttarakhand’s Kaushal scaled the 200 barrier in the 2018-19 season against Sikkim.Since then, the tournament has seen four other double-centuries, including the one by Vyas on Sunday. Shaw’s 227 not out for Mumbai against Puducherry in the previous season remains the highest score, though.Meanwhile in Ranchi, in the biggest upset of the tournament so far, Services beat Mumbai by eight wickets by chasing down 265 with 27 balls remaining.Shubham Rohilla and Ravi Chauhan, the Services openers, hit centuries. Their opening stand of 231 broke the back of the chase. That meant Jaiswal’s 104 went in vain and Mumbai, who started their campaign with an eight-wicket win after skittling out Bengal for 121, have one win and one loss in the competition.

Acting CEO Geoff Allardice said the ICC took on board feedback that the points system needed to be “simplified”

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2021The ICC has confirmed the schedule and points structure of the 2021-23 World Test Championship, which is set to kick off in August with India’s five-Test series in England. As reported by ESPNcricinfo over two weeks ago, points will be awarded on a match-by-match basis as opposed to the series-by-series basis of the 2019-21 cycle, with the teams’ rankings determined by percentage of points won.”We received feedback that the previous points system needed to be simplified,” the ICC’s acting chief executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement. “The Cricket Committee took this into consideration when proposing a new, standardized points system for each match. It maintained the principle of ensuring that all matches in a WTC series count towards a team’s standing, while accommodating series varying in length between two Tests and five Tests.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“During the pandemic we had to change to ranking teams on the points table using the percentage of available points won by each team, since all series could not be completed. This helped us determine the finalists and we were able to complete the championship within the scheduled time frame. This method also allowed us to compare the relative performance of teams at any time, regardless of how many matches they had played.”The nine teams in the WTC will play an equal number of series – six (three home and three away) – but an unequal number of Tests, ranging from 22 Tests for England to 12 for Bangladesh. Each Test will carry a total of 12 points, with a win fetching all 12 points, a tie six points and a draw four points.Three international captains shared their thoughts on the WTC with the ICC.”It was obviously pretty special to win the inaugural ICC World Test Championship in Southampton last month and it’s exciting to now look ahead to the second edition,” said New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who lifted the WTC mace after his team beat India in the inaugural final last month. “The WTC has certainly added more context and brought new meaning to Test cricket and it was awesome to see the interest that was generated around the Final against India.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We know trying to defend the title will be a huge challenge, but our focus will be on making sure we prepare as well as we can for the tours ahead and trying to maintain our level of performance.”India captain Virat Kohli was enthused by the fans’ receptiveness to the first edition of the WTC.”It was great to have played the final of the ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand in what was a memorable contest,” he said. “Not just the final, we saw the determination of players throughout the first edition of the championship. The following of cricket lovers too was great to see, and I am sure they will all be waiting eagerly for the second edition.”We will regroup with new energy for the next cycle starting with our series against England, hoping to give our fans a lot to cheer about.”Joe Root, the England captain, looked forward to getting his team’s campaign off on a strong note.”We start our campaign in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship against the finalists of last time, which is an interesting challenge straight away,” he said. “India are a fine all-round side and it would be good to test them in our home conditions. We narrowly missed out on qualifying for the final last time and are looking to do better this time.”Test cricket is a format we all want to excel in and with points at stake for each match, everyone has to be at their best all the time.”

The Pakistani board intends to bid for five to six major events in the 2023-31 cycle, aiming to win at least two of those

Umar Farooq15-Apr-2020The PCB is planning to team up with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to bid for ICC events in the cycle that runs from 2023 to 2031. According to Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, the Pakistan board intends to bid for five to six major events, aiming to win at least two of those.The ICC had invited expressions of interest from its Member nations until March 15 for 20 global events that will be held in the 2023-2031 cycle but due to the coronavirus pandemic the meetings have been deferred indefinitely. Mani, meanwhile, has opted to initiate discussions with the ECB about the possibility of making joint bids and co-hosting events with a view to increasing the chances of winning the bids.Since becoming an affiliated member of the ICC in 1952, Pakistan have hosted two global cricket events: the 1987 and 1996 World Cups. They were supposed to host the 2008 Champions Trophy (which was later postponed and staged in South Africa) and the 2011 ODI World Cup but lost the hosting rights as several nations refused to tour Pakistan over security concerns in the wake of rising terrorist attacks in the country.ALSO READ – Playing India is like pie in the sky – Ehsan Mani“It is very important for Pakistan cricket and its development that some of the ICC events are played in Pakistan,” Mani said in a PCB podcast. “We intend to make a very serious expression of our interest on this matter and we will be getting full government support as well. The ICC delegation did met with Dr Fahmida Mirza, the Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination who also handles sports in the country, and they [the ICC] got a very positive impression [of our intent and ability to host global events].PCB chairman Ehsan Mani speaks at the PSL 2019 draft•Getty Images/AFP

“We had expressed an interest to host five to six events and, frankly, it is likely we won’t be getting more than one or two. But we also thought out of the box to bid jointly with another country. I have already begun speaking with the Emirates Cricket Board for a team-up to increase the chances of hosting some of it together but, again, it needs cooperation. There are a few events with 16 games and then there are events with 30-40 games, so depending on the scale, the workload can be divided between us.”For the best part of the decade following the terrorist attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in March 2009, international cricket on Pakistani soil remained an impossibility, with the PCB also stripped of hosting rights to ICC events. But in May 2015, the PCB convinced Zimbabwe to visit for a short limited-overs series after guaranteeing them a USD 500,000 pay package. Two years later, the final of the 2017 Pakistan Super League (PSL) was held in Lahore, with an eight-member overseas contingent taking part in the high-octane clash. Since then, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and a World XI side have toured Pakistan for international matches across formats and the PSL, too, has made a gradual comeback in its entirety.”We have demonstrated through the PSL that Pakistan has what it takes to hold international games at a large scale,” Mani said. “Those 30 games were free of any untoward incidents; they were well run despite some logistical challenges, which we were able to overcome to send the message loud and clear that we have the ability to stage big matches. It’s premature to tell which events we would be bidding for but we have indicated to the ICC about our interest across the board: from youth cricket to the senior World Cups. We have full confidence in our logistic capability and infrastructure to hold them.”But there are other countries, too, who are likely to present a strong case for their bids. But unfortunately when the “Big Three” (India, Australia, and England) emerged as a combined force and Pakistan and a few other boards couldn’t stop that from happening, the ICC had distributed all major events between them. But this won’t happen this time around. All the major broadcast markets in the world for the ICC to earn its revenue from is in the South-Asian region and Pakistan is well placed time-zone-wise as well. So, our case is really quite strong.”