Category Uncategorized

Shakib, Mushfiqur, Tamim among 113 players who will be part of the draft

Mohammad Isam08-Nov-2020The players’ draft for the Bangabandhu T20 Cup, a five-team domestic competition, will be held in Dhaka on November 12, while the tournament scheduled be begin in the third week of November. The competition will feature no overseas players.Fortune Barishal, Beximco Dhaka, Minister Group Rajshahi, Gemcon Khulna and Gazi Group Chattogram are the five teams competing, with each of these companies buying teams from the BCB for a reported BDT Two crore (US $235,000 approx) each.Among them, Beximco and Gemcon owned the now-erstwhile BPL franchises Dhaka Dynamites and Khulna Titans respectively, while Gazi Group has teams in the Dhaka league system.The BCB will use the money earned as franchise fee to pay the players. The BCB have set four grades of payments. Those in Grade A (Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Mustafizur Rahman) will get BDT 15 lakh (US $18,000 approx) each. In Grade B, twenty cricketers are marked for BDT 10 (US $11,800 approx). Twenty five players in Grade C will earn BDT 6 lakh (US $7,100 approx) while those in Grade D, comprising players from the High Performance setup will earn BDT 4 lakh (US $4,800 approx).Around 113 players, including Shakib, who haven’t been a part of BCB’s camps in recent months, will take part in a fitness test on November 9 and 10 to determine whether they make it to the draft. Mashrafe Mortaza will miss the tournament due to a hamstring injury, according to Akram Khan, BCB’s chairman of cricket operations.Each squad will comprise 15 players, two coaches, one trainer, one physio and a manager, who will be included in the bio-bubble. Bangladesh’s overseas coaching staff of Russell Domingo (head coach), Daniel Vettori (spin bowling coach), Ottis Gibson (fast bowling coach) and Ryan Cook (fielding coach), will take charge of the teams, with the BCB organising a bubble at the same hotel in Dhaka.The BCB had last month conducted the President’s Cup one-day competition, where in similar arrangements with regards to a bio bubble were made.The Bangabandhu Cup is likely to take up four weeks in the cricket season, after which it is likely that the West Indies will tour Bangladesh in January. The BCB is also pushing for the resumption of the 2019-20 Dhaka Premier League, which was put on hold due to the pandemic.

India captain calls Edgbaston dimensions ‘bizarre’ and ‘crazy’

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston30-Jun-2019Virat Kohli has questioned Edgbaston’s short, 59-metre boundary where England openers picked off a substantial percentage of runs against the Indian bowlers. Although Kohli did not blame the shorter boundary for India’s first defeat of the World Cup, he did raise an eyebrow over the dimensions on one side, which he called “bizarre” and “crazy” on a pitch that was flat, and slow.The shorter boundary was a bother for India. On Saturday, as soon India arrived at the ground, the coaching staff comprising Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Bangar and Bharat Arun were seen having word with the head groundsman. As the host of the tournament, the guidelines for pitch and ground conditions are set by the ICC.The shorter boundary was a concern for India only because they have consistently played the two wrist spinners in their first XI this World Cup in Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.Watch on Hotstar (India only): Bairstow’s centuryThe England batsman, particularly Jonny Bairstow, who hit an explosive 111, took full advantage of the short boundary. Five out of the six sixes Bairstow hit went over the shorter boundary. Four of those hits were against Chahal and one against Kuldeep. Ben Stokes, too, took advantage by hitting an audacious reverse-swept six against Chahal, who was hit over the boundary half a dozen times on a day when he returned the worst ever figures for an Indian bowler in World Cups with 10-0-88-0.Kohli was seen frequently rushing to Chahal, urging him to stick to bowling on lines that did not allow the batsmen to take advantage of the shorter boundary. In the end Kohli did not hide his frustration.Colour correction: Virat Kohli leads a new-look India team out•Getty Images

“It’s a coincidence that it (the short boundary) just falls under the limitations of the shortest boundary you can have in the tournament,” Kohli told the host broadcaster in the post-match briefing. “So quite bizarre on a flat pitch, it’s the first time we’ve experienced that so it’s crazy that things fall in place like that randomly.”Kohli said the pressure was obviously then on the spinners not to falter, although he did admit that the lines Indian bowlers pitched could have been much better.When Sanjay Manjrekar, who was conducting the post-match briefing, asked whether he had tactically miscalculated by not bringing in part-time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav, Kohli disagreed. “I don’t think so because if batsmen are able to reverse sweep you for a six on a 59-metre boundary then there is not much you can do as a spinner. There is no sort of room to think whether you are going to get out or not and one side was about 82 (metres) or something like that. Yeah, look, they had to be smart with the with lines they bowled, but with one short boundary it was very difficult to contain runs.”

Daryl Mitchell, chairman of the Professional Cricketers Association, insisted that the 100-ball format is “not set in stone” after a meeting between the ECB and a players’ delegation at Edgbaston

George Dobell08-May-2018Daryl Mitchell has warned the ECB that “there’s no competition without any players” and insisted the future of The Hundred is “not set in stone” as England’s professional cricketers press for more information about the controversial tournament.Mitchell, the chairman of the Professional Cricketers Association, was among a delegation of players who met ECB representatives at Edgbaston on Tuesday to discuss plans for The Hundred – the ECB’s new-team 100-ball a side competition proposal.Among the 27 professional players in attendance were Paul Collingwood, Jonny Bairstow and Tammy Beaumont, while the ECB were represented by their chief executive, Tom Harrison, and the managing director of the new competition, Sanjay Patel.And while Mitchell described the meeting as “a good starting point” and stressed the union’s desire to “work with the ECB” to find consensus, he also confirmed there were “an enormous amount of unanswered questions” over the new competition and described the lack of plans for a domestic women’s T20 league as “a huge negative.”As a result, he has warned the ECB the cooperation of the players cannot be taken for granted and requested more clarity over their plans as a matter of urgency.Part of the players’ frustration would appear to be a lack of consultation – only three players (Mitchell and England captains Eoin Morgan and Heather Knight) were alerted to the idea ahead of its announcement a couple of weeks ago.But there is also a concern over moving away from the T20 format that is now accepted worldwide as cricket’s biggest revenue raiser and changes to playing regulations that could see a 10-ball over each innings. The prospect of losing the KSL – the women’s domestic T20 competition – has also caused dismay.”What would it take for this competition not to happen?” Mitchell asked rhetorically. “Probably the players saying they don’t want it. We have the power to do that but whether it does happen or not, I’m not sure. It’s important we work with the ECB and try and shape how it looks for the benefit of our members and the game as a whole.”One of our huge concerns is time frames. Here we are, two years out and there are many, many unanswered questions. The ECB don’t officially have a format that is set in stone. The drafts, general managers, the pay bands… there’s an enormous amount of unanswered questions and the worry for me is that we don’t even have a timeframe as to when we’re going to get those answers.”Why we are moving away from the T20 format, which has been successful around the world? That was a big concern.”And there might not be a domestic T20 for the ladies, which is a huge negative. There’s no getting away from that: they need to be playing T20 cricket if there’s world competitions in that format.”There is no competition without any players, is there? As a union, we would have to feel very, very strongly to go completely against it. Whether that is likely to happen, I don’t know. We need to canvas opinions when we have more details of what it looks like.”The ECB are very keen to stress that the idea is still a concept. It’s an idea that all stakeholders will be consulted on and we’re a huge part of that. So it is not set in stone. It is a concept, but one they are very keen on.”While few more details were provided how the competition would work, there was a little more detail over the payment structures. As things stand, it seems each of the eight new teams would have a salary cap of GBP £1m with the top pay-band likely to be somewhere between GBP £110,000-130,000. As the competition is likely to clash with the CPL, however, that figure may need to rise.There is also no change in the expectation that England cricket’s biggest stars – the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes – would not be available for the new competition as they would be involved in a Test series.”That’s another concern,” Mitchell said. “The likes of Root and Stokes will be allocated to a team for marketing purposes, but they won’t be playing. The ECB made the point that this new audience won’t necessarily know who Stokes and Root are anyway.”Mitchell also confirmed that, as far the 27 representatives at the meeting were concerned, it would wrong to play Championship cricket at the same time as the new competition.”We’re still very keen that the pinnacle of the domestic game is the Championship and the pinnacle of the international game is Test cricket,” Mitchell said. “The ECB also said their No.1 priority was red ball, Test cricket which was reassuring to hear.Championship cricket is very marginalised at present. We’ll have to have a bit more red-ball cricket – and more changes of format – in the summer months rather than April and September. We’re probably going to have to move away from the blocks we have now to a degree.”The next step in the negotiations is for those PCA members who were present at the meeting to go back to their county dressing rooms to discuss the issues raised. “The ECB have promised we’ll meet more often and be kept in the loop more,” Mitchell said.The ECB also released a statement following the meeting. Repeating the word “concept”, they sought to reassure the players that no firm decision had been taken over the format of the new competition at this stage.”Today’s meeting with the PCA’s Player Representatives gave us constructive and valuable feedback on the 100-ball concept,” they said. “It was invaluable to talk through the concept after sharing it with the ECB Board, first-class county chief executives and chairmen and PCA management.”Players are the core of the game and we look forward to further discussions with them as we continue to develop the new competition.”

Defending a total of only 126, the two Karachi Kings spinners took a combined 6 for 42 to bowl Islamabad United out for 82

The Report by Danyal Rasool01-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:42

Watch – Highlights of Karachi tripping up Islamabad

In a nutshell
For a team that won the title last year by playing their best cricket when it really mattered, this was the meekest of surrenders in the biggest of games. Islamabad United whimpered out of the tournament, failing in a chase of 127 and handing the record for the lowest total successfully defended at the PSL to Karachi Kings.Misbah-ul-Haq’s men put in a lion-hearted bowling performance, but were rather timid with the bat. On a slow and low pitch where strokeplay wasn’t entirely easy, they lost two early wickets and slipped into their shell. The attempts to consolidate in the middle overs was unconvincing, the response to unerringly accurate bowling from spinners Imad Wasim and Usama Mir was ugly, and the chastening defeat to end the defending champions’ campaign was inevitable.To think they had begun the match with back-to-back maidens. Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Irfan bowled to their strengths early on, keeping the length short and beating the batsmen for pace and bounce. No Karachi player could muster any sort of meaningful contribution. Left-arm quick Rumman Raees took three wickets in a sensational 19th over as Karachi collapsed from 122 for 5 to 126 all out.Where the game was won
Although he walked out to bat in the third over of the chase, Misbah, arguably, was in his comfort zone. He has restored calm in far more frenzied situations before. After all, the target in front of him wasn’t huge and the required-rate was barely even threatening. But, just as Islamabad began looking comfortable, Imad bowled Misbah with a special little slider and there was no looking back. Eight out of 10 Islamabad batsmen fell for single digits as the Karachi spinners Imad and Mir – with combined figures of 6 for 42 in eight overs – defied the dew in SharjahThe men that won it
When he was dismissed for 14 in the first innings, Imad had a run-in with Raees, unhappy at what he thought was unnecessary provocation from the bowler. Clearly, he needed to vent and did so against the Islamabad batting line-up, his trademark wicket-to-wicket sliders besting the defences of Misbah, Shane Watson and Nicholas Pooran and fetching him the Man-of-the-Match award.Sweet revengeKarachi’s 126 was the lowest total defended in two seasons of the PSL. They will find that particularly gratifying considering the part they had played in setting up the previous record – failing to chase 133 against Islamabad in 2016.The margin of victory – 44 – was also the largest – in terms of runs – at his year’s tournament. Meanwhile, Islamabad’s unravelling put the seal on only the second time a team has been bowled out under 100 in the PSL. The other instance took place last month when Lahore Qalandars were bundled out for 59 by Peshawar Zalmi.Moment of the matchKumar Sangakkara already has a shot at being remembered for taking the catch of the PSL when he leapt high to his right to dismiss Cameron Delport in Karachi’s match against Lahore last week. On Wednesday, he may well have bettered that effort.With Mohammad Amir bowling over the wicket, and Smith getting a thick outside edge, the only chance of a wicket seemed to rested with Chris Gayle at first slip. But he was backing away from the ball. He was forced to because Sangakkara had launched himself to his right, showing off reflexes not seen often among 39-year olds – and pulled off a one-handed screamer.It was a catch that stuck – at the very end of his webbing too – but Sangakkara deserved extra credit for having the presence of mind to bring his left hand over to steady the ball that was in his right before he hit the ground. The fact that it didn’t pop out was testament to the Karachi captain’s quick thinking under high pressure. Smith, Islamabad’s most prolific batsman in 2017, was gone for 8. Not long after, his team, too, succumbed.Where they stand
Islamabad find themselves out of the PSL. Karachi go through to the second eliminator, to face Peshawar for the right to compete in the final against Quetta Gladiators in Lahore on March 5.

AB de Villiers has refused to commit his long-term future to Test cricket despite being named South Africa’s stand-in captain

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg13-Jan-2016AB de Villiers has refused to commit his long-term future to Test cricket despite being named South Africa’s stand-in captain and has warned that leading players will leave international cricket behind unless there are significant changes within the game. De Villiers, who was reported to be considering early retirement at the start of the England series when he also spoke about managing his workload, has once again emphasised the need for time off and explained his own uncertainty in the current set-up.”There have been a few rumours floating around, and in most rumours there is always a little bit of truth,” de Villiers said. “It’s not just in the last while; it’s for two or three years I’ve been searching for the right answers, to play a little bit less cricket in one way or another, to keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game. Every now and then in the past few years I’ve found myself on the pitch not enjoying myself as much as I should be, and that raises concerns within myself. I’ve been searching for answers and speaking to people and obviously that’s leaked a bit.”That also means de Villiers is not sure whether he will want to lead South Africa’s Test team permanently, even though he earlier said that being given the captaincy was the “fulfilment of a lifelong dream.” The decision on who will take over as long-term successor to Hashim Amla, who stepped down after the Newlands Test, will be made during the winter break which is also when de Villiers will decide on his own future.”I’m still very committed, to the job I’m not sure – obviously the two Test matches for now are all I’m focusing on and then there’s a nice big break of six months before we play Test cricket again. Lots of things can happen before then so I don’t want to commit myself too much to everything before that. But for now, I’m as committed as I can be and very, very hungry to make a success of the next two Test matches,” de Villiers said.Asked what he will consider in that period, de Villiers was unsure but mentioned the things that he would still like to achieve as an international cricketer, which stretch across various formats.”I honestly don’t know. But I’ve got some good advice around me, good people who have my best interests at heart, and we’ll just try to make the right kind of call on which direction I want to go,” he said. “My focus is on international cricket and I want to play for as long as possible. I’ve got dreams of winning World Cups and maintaining this No.1 status in Test cricket for as long as possible. Obviously I want to get my experience across to some of the youngsters. There are so many dreams that I’d like to follow. I’d just like to sit down, take some time away from the game and discuss all these things and make the right call.”For the next four months, de Villiers will find it difficult to get away from the game. After the Tests against England, South Africa play five ODIs and two T20s against the same opponents and three T20s against Australia before the World T20 in March and early April, which will be closely followed by the IPL.De Villiers is contracted to Royal Challengers Bangalore until the end of 2017 on a deal worth Rs 9.5 crore (US$1.5 million). At today’s exchange rate, that is 23.45 million rand, which is at least ten times more than his national contract which is believed to be between 2 and 3 million rand. The financial implications of that gulf against the backdrop of the congested international schedule is the biggest challenge facing the games’ global organisers, according to de Villiers.”I think it’s a growing concern for the ICC and they’ve been talking about it for the last few years to find the right structure to keep all the guys fresh. Obviously international cricket is the main cricket you want to play, especially Test cricket. It’s the main format and we all want to be part of that. There are huge traditions and culture in this format. I believe there are one or two areas where we can improve, and make sure that we keep the guys focus in the right place,” de Villiers said.”Obviously there are big tournaments going on around the world. Some you can’t ignore because financially they make a huge difference in our lives, and obviously you’ve got to look after that side of it as well. International cricket is the main one you want to play, and one or two things will have to change in order for that to happen.”De Villiers said the ICC have conducted surveys to ascertain player concerns. “I have seen some changes,” he said. “But there are definitely one or two that need some more attention.”His recommendation is for established players to have some leeway so that they can avoid being overworked and continue to enjoy the game. “One of those are the schedules of some of the older guys, to make sure they keep their focus on the right places. I don’t know what the answers are, I just know there are quite a few guys feeling that we’re playing a little too much cricket at times. We just need to get the focus right.”

Yorkshire and Lancashire fought out a Roses tie in front of Yorkshire’s first capacity crowd at Headingley for nine years

David Hopps at Headingley05-Jul-2013Yorkshire 152 for 6 (Jaques 66*) tied with Lancashire 152 for 5 (Croft 42*, Smith 35, Pyrah 3-15)
ScorecardRyan Sidebottom held off Lancashire’s challenge as the Roses match was tied in front of 15,000 at Headingley•Getty Images

This was an uplifting evening for the neutral, but this was also a Roses match, where there is no such thing as no man’s land. So before extolling the joys of a capacity crowd at Headingley, entertained to the utmost, it is best to record without further ado that the result was a tie. Neither captain looked particularly happy. But Yorkshire, under the cosh for much of the night, will feel they got away with it.With three runs needed from the final ball, and Ryan Sidebottom bent upon rounding off a final over awash with perfect yorkers, Steven Croft could only squeeze two runs to deep cover. Sidebottom punched the air as if in victory. Yorkshire have yet to win in three goes, Lancashire just avoided three defeats in a week, but both will feel their chance of qualification from North Group is not yet extinguished.That is what matters most, and it would have mattered just as much if it was played in front of one man and his dog.But it was not. It was hotly contested in front of Yorkshire’s first capacity crowd for nine years. It stated that county cricket, repositioned intelligently, can have a future. They turned out at Headingley even though Yorkshire took the field without their England triumvirate of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow or Tim Bresnan and, as well as that, are trying to survive throughout this Friends Life t20 season without an overseas player.There was controversy, too, in a broiling finale, fought out between two vulnerable batting sides which did not make the most of a favourable surface. Gareth Cross will surely face the wrath of the ECB for his dissent after he was entirely deceived by a loopy slower ball from Liam Plunkett which passed him around waist high. Cross thought it was substantially higher – and therefore should have been called a no ball – but he was so disorientated by the delivery his opinion did not carry much weight.Glen Chapple, Lancashire’s captain, said: “Gareth’s dismissal looks a bit high. We have a third umpire and I don’t see why he was not used. We are playing some decent cricket but we need to win some games now.” Andrew Gale, his Yorkshire opposite number, said: “At halfway we would have regarded that as a point gained. But Ryan nailed two yorkers at the death; he is one of the best yorker bowlers in the world.”Croft’s unbeaten 42 from 28 balls fueled Lancashire’s stuttering innings. He averages more than 30 in T20, with a strike rate of 120-plus. His six over midwicket from Plunkett’s full toss left Lancashire needing ten off Sidebottom’s final over; his edge through the slips, perilously close to off stump, cut the requirement to five from four. But with 15,000 spectators screaming, Sidebottom hit the blockhole when it most mattered.But there is a bigger picture. Around the country, in gorgeous weather, the crowds came out in force. There was even a capacity crowd at Derby for the East Midlands derby, a reward for a club operating with good habits, and at The Oval. After ten years, despite the usual media disinclination to cover the tournament extensively, a few days of sunshine have been enough to bring out the crowds. Perhaps next season’s switch to regular Friday nights might yet have a chance of success.Tom Smith’s pinch hitting should have set Lancashire on course for victory. He slapped an over of length balls from Brooks for 24, enough for the bowler to slip his headband over his eyes in disbelief. But Richard Pyrah replaced Brooks, had Smith excellently caught at mid-on by Plunkett and then bowled Simon Katich and Karl Brown. His 3 for 15 won the Man of the Match award. As for the Duke of York Cup, awarded to the winners, presumably it went back into the Duke’s attic.It was a wonderful Headingley surface, testimony again to the groundsmanship skills of Andy Fogarty, possessing the pace and bounce that T20 needs to maximise the entertainment. By halfway, Yorkshire were restless at 69 for 2, Gale briefly looking pumped up, as a Yorkshire captain should when the public, for once, lives up to the folklore by turning out, before he was deflated by a lackadaisical wide half volley by Tom Smith.Lancashire’s spinners strangled Yorkshire in mid-innings. Arron Lilley, a 22-year-old from Tameside, was on debut for Lancashire and collected his first T20 wicket when he ended Adil Rashid’s fussing lbw on the reverse sweep. There was minimal turn, but Yorkshire managed less than a run a ball against 10 overs of spin. The 100 limped along with only 29 balls remaining. Yorkshire would not have fancied their chances at that point. But then Roses matches are not easily read.