All posts by n8rngtd.top

KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj in India Test squad for Australia tour; Rohit Sharma out with injury

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Both Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma were missing from the squad after picking up injuries in the IPL

Vishal Dikshit26-Oct-20201:52

Will Rahul’s IPL form help him in Tests?

Rohit Sharma has not been included in any of the three squads for India’s tour of Australia after he picked a hamstring injury in the ongoing IPL. KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav have returned to India’s Test squad and uncapped fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has also been called-up for the four-match series in December-January. Ishant Sharma’s injury in the IPL meant he was not in the Test squad either, and the BCCI has said in a statement they will “continue to monitor the progress of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma.”While Rohit picked up a hamstring injury last week and he is still in the UAE with the Mumbai Indians squad, Ishant was ruled out of the IPL much earlier with an abdominal muscle tear and he had returned to India. Ishant has been at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru since then.Rohit had also missed India’s last Test series, against New Zealand earlier this year, with a calf injury.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

India’s openers in Rohit’s absence are Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, just like was the case for the New Zealand Tests earlier this year, with the addition of Rahul now to make it an 18-man squad. Siraj will be the fifth pace-bowling option along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini whereas Kuldeep will be the third spinner along with Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin.The BCCI release also said four additional bowlers – Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and T Natarajan – will travel with the Indian contingent.Rishabh Pant, who is missing from the white-ball squads, and Wriddhiman Saha are the two wicketkeepers, and Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain) and Hanuma Vihari are the expected batsmen in the squad led by Virat Kohli.Pujara and Vihari – the two specialist Test batsmen – flew to the UAE recently along with the majority of India’s coaching staff. India’s squads will then fly to Australia directly from the UAE after the IPL final on November 10, with the tour expected to start on November 27 in Sydney with the ODIs, followed by the T20Is and the Tests.Rahul, who last played a Test in the West Indies last year and also toured Australia in 2018-19, has been one of the most consistent batsmen this IPL while opening for the Kings XI Punjab and is currently the leading run-scorer of the season with 595 runs. Siraj has impressed for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, especially with his stunning figures of 3 for 8 against the Kolkata Knight Riders last week. Overall, Siraj has six wickets from 16 overs in five games so far.It is for the longer format, though, that Siraj has been impressing the selectors by regularly representing India A in the last few years. He toured New Zealand with the A squad earlier this year for three wickets from two games, after a tally of 19 wickets in five games in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy. Prior to that he was part of the A squads for the home series against South Africa A and the tour of West Indies in 2019.It was in late 2018, however, that he turned heads with the red ball when he took career-best figures of 8 for 59 against an Australia A line-up that had several Test batsmen. When he took another three wickets in the second innings, he finished with 40 wickets in five first-class games against the A squads of West Indies, England, South Africa and Australia.Kuldeep’s last Test was in Australia in 2019 in Sydney, where he took a five-for, and he has been more regular in the shorter formats since then, having played an ODI in New Zealand earlier this year and the home series against Australia, Sri Lanka and West Indies before that.The fixtures have not been announced officially yet but the Test series is expected to start with a day-night game in Adelaide from December 17, before moving to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test starting December 26, followed by the New Year’s Test in Sydney from January 7 and the last one in Brisbane from January 15.India Test squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

Kagiso Rabada 100% in support of BLM movement – but South Africa won't be kneeling

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Fast bowler says it was “team decision” not to take a knee during England series

Firdose Moonda23-Nov-2020Kagiso Rabada has said the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement “will always be relevant” to him even though South Africa will not take a knee in their upcoming white-ball series against England. Instead, the squad, who will play together for the first time since March, are considering wearing black armbands in solidarity with the fight against gender-based violence and to mourn the lives lost to Covid_19.South Africa’s head coach, Mark Boucher, last week described BLM as “an ongoing thing for us, not something that we have to continue to show”. Rabada said it would remain part of the conversation, even if it is not front-and-centre of their actions.ALSO READ: ‘Real conversations’ key for anti-racism message – Jordan“Black Lives Matter is one-hundred percent something I will always stand for and I speak for myself,” Rabada said. “It was a team decision not to kneel and to look at gender-based violence and devote ourselves to another cause. However, Black Lives Matter will always be relevant and something I will always believe in and I speak for myself there. But, Mark has stated that the team will not be kneeling and that’s how it’s going to be.”Boucher said the South Africa squad believed they already showed their support for BLM when they took a knee at the exhibition 3TC match in July, following weeks of fractious debates on race in the country. All the players involved in that fixture are part of the squad that will play England and Boucher said of one of them, Lungi Ngidi, who led South Africa’s response to BLM, was satisfied that the team has done enough.According to Boucher, South Africa will now concentrate on living out values of anti-racism rather than demonstrate them with on-field gestures, even though they have not played together as a national team since the BLM movement resurged over the winter.In South Africa, the rhetoric around BLM was particularly divisive and exposed the recently papered-over cracks that have resulted from decades of legalised racial discrimination. After Ngidi expressed his wish that South African players join the rest of the world in “making a stand” in support of BLM, four former players, all white, criticised him, prompting an outpouring of stories of exclusion from players of colour. CSA has set up a social justice and nation-building committee to address historical injustices but has recently made no other public statements about anti-racist action or transformation, including its plans for reparations.Janneman Malan takes a knee on the pitch prior to the start of the 3TC game•AFP via Getty Images

The conversation around BLM appears to have shifted from collective to individual action, which Rabada remains in favour of. During the IPL, he spoke about the responsibility that high-profile people, including sportsmen, have to raise awareness over social issues and he reiterated that belief.”It is important, especially if you have a platform like you do as a sportsman – spreading the right message is important. It doesn’t mean anyone should go out of their way to do it but if you would like to, it’s important to spread the right message,” Rabada said. “There is huge responsibility in the things you say and the things you stand up for. We’ve seen the roles sportsmen had to play in all the political movements that were happening during the lockdown. I expressed my opinion on Twitter, and on some podcasts that we did but I am not getting into it too hectically. I am not writing essays about it, I am not writing a doctorate about it but I threw my two cents out.”When asked whether he thought the debate needed to move from whether a team should take a knee as a symbolic gesture, to whether they could better tackle racism in practical ways because repeated taking of a knee diminishes its significance, Rabada said he would “need to think about it”.

Andre Russell: 'Playing for West Indies comes first'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

West Indies allrounder opens up on why he missed New Zealand T20Is and went to play Lanka Premier League

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Dec-2020West Indies allrounder Andre Russell has asserted that playing for West Indies “comes first” to him, clearing the air on his absence from the T20 series in New Zealand recently while featuring in the ongoing Lanka Premier League.Russell also revealed that having initially turned down the offer to tour New Zealand he had tried to reverse his decision, but was told by the chief selector Roger Harper that was “too late” since the squad had already been picked. However, Russell captured headlines on the eve of the T20I series after Phil Simmons, the West Indies head coach, said it was “news” to him that Russell was playing for the Colombo Kings in the LPL.In a chat this week with Jamaica-based TV network , Russell reasoned expansively for the first time his absence from the New Zealand tour. “Playing for West Indies comes first for me,” Russell said responding to a query from Wayne Lewis, the secretary of West Indies Players Association, who doubles up as an expert on . “And the energy and effort that I put out playing for West Indies, I wouldn’t do it playing anywhere else. Sometimes people don’t understand what a player like myself goes through with niggles and all of those things. But they’re just going to judge, and it’s easy for them to judge,” he said.‘Nothing was going my way. The pressure was real’ Russell acknowledged that when Harper contacted him in October – while he was playing the IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders – he had told both the chief selector as well as West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard he was not in the right “headspace” coping with living in the bubble. Both players had moved between bubbles from the CPL into the IPL between August and early November.”The chairman reached out to me while I was playing IPL, but before that, I was talking to Pollard,” he said. “And Pollard asked me and said: “Russ, I’m not forcing you, I’m just asking you: “Are you coming to New Zealand?” I said, “yeah, man, I would want to come, but right now, Polly, my headspace is messed up. I’m struggling, I’m not getting no runs, all of this.””As a player to another player, he will understand what I’m going through. Coming from a bubble in Trinidad [for CPL], come straight into Abu Dhabi [in IPL], days on days, you can only go to practise, and come back to the hotel and your room. You can close your eyes and go to the bathroom, but there is nowhere else to go.”Eventually Russell said a combination of severe restrictions on movements in the bubble along with the hamstring injury during the IPL took its toll on his mindset and hurt his form. “When he [Harper] reached out to me, I told the chairman that my headspace is not clear. I changed my stance, I changed my technique, I changed my trigger movement, all these things I changed just to score runs in IPL and nothing was going my way. The pressure was real. I’m a tough player, and I didn’t know I could actually feel what happened during this year’s IPL. And I just wanted everything to go quickly behind me.”Harper, in fact, granted Russell some more time to make up his mind. “He [Harper] reached out to me a couple of days after, when I’d played two games after that. We won one of them, we lost one, I struggled in both games. At the end of the day, you can see the eyes in the team, you can feel energy. And as a big player, with the team depending on you and all of that, it’s pressure. So I was saying no, I can’t go to New Zealand like this – I need to at least take a break from cricket, get out the bubble after IPL, go [to] Dubai, go out, just loosen myself a bit and clear my head.”Related

  • Ricky Skerritt: Selectors will 'not punish' Andre Russell for choosing LPL over New Zealand T20Is

  • Andre Russell's LPL involvement 'news to me', says Phil Simmons

However after a chat with his national team-mates Shimron Hetmeyer and Keemo Paul, who told him that there were far fewer restrictions in New Zealand, Russell decided to reverse his decision.”I reached out to him and said: ‘Sir, I know that a week or two weeks ago I said that I’m not available, [but] I’m available. I want to go around my Caribbean guys. I know I would maybe be better off in that space. They speak my language, I don’t have to be worried about whatever, and if I fail, they’re going to know that Andre Russell was trying his best’.The chairman reached out to me and said: “sorry Andre, we already went ahead, we made a decision.” And he said best wishes or something for the rest of the IPL. I said okay, I understand.”Luckily Harper’s decision turned out to blessing considering Russell was hampered by the hamstring injury, which Russell had described at the time during the IPL as “ugly”.Andre Russell revealed he told Kieron Pollard that he was not in the right headspace coping with living in the bubble•BCCI

‘Felt like coming out of prison’ While admitting he was not “irreplaceable”, Russell pointed out that living in the bio-secure bubbles was akin to being “in a prison”.”I get out of the bubble. I go to Dubai, have a good time, drink, party, loosen myself. I feel alive. When you feel like you’re coming out of prison, it’s like.. I’ve never been to prison, but this lockdown actually felt ‘oh my god, I can’t do whatever I want to do’.At that point, Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews reached out with LPL offer. It was the second time Russell had got the offer, after he had rejected it first time during the IPL.”While in Dubai, I got an offer, but before I get this offer, I turned down the offer to come here [Sri Lanka] because I said I can’t come because I got injured. “While I was in Dubai, playing the UKC [Ultimate Kricket Challenge], then, Angelo Mathews messaged me. He said: ‘Bro, we need you to play, even as a batsman.’Russell decided then to travel to Sri Lanka, having worked hard on his rehab with help from his personal physio and the Knight Riders’ trainer and management to regain fitness.‘Playing for country, you want to make sure body is 100%’ Russell has played just twice in T20Is for West Indies since 2018. He is aware the Harper’s panel will want to have a good look at him if he is in contention for 2021 T20 World Cup.”I’m 32 years old now, I’ve been injury-prone for the last couple of years, struggling with knee injury, and having hamstring injuries and stuff like that. I don’t want anyone to say that next time Andre Russell puts on the West Indies colours, he’s going to get injured. No one walks out on the field and say “I’m going to get injured today”. No player.”Now, I’ve got smart up in terms of how to manage my body. I will allow a ball to go for four and try to make it up with the bat, but when you’re playing for your country, you want to make sure that the body is 100%.”

Bangladesh to wear special jersey to commemorate 50 years of independence

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The BCB will also determine central contracts after the series against West Indies and New Zealand

Mohammad Isam17-Jan-2021The BCB has finalised a specially-designed jersey for the Bangladesh team to commemorate the country’s 50 years of independence this year, even as the board announced it would delay the announcement of central contracts till after the series against West Indies and New Zealand. According to cricket operations chairman Akram Khan, the jersey will be red and green in tune with the country’s flag, and include freedom fighters and the national martyrs’ memorial, a historical national monument in memory of those who were martyred for Bangladesh’s freedom in the 1971 war of independence.National Martyrs’ Memorial, known in Bangla as the , is Bangladesh’s national monument, built in memory of the martyrs of 1971.”To celebrate fifty years of our independence, we have designed a special jersey,” Khan said. “It is green and red, from our national flag. We have the celebration of our freedom fighters when victory was achieved in 1971, and we also have the Smrity Shoudho (national martyrs’ memorial),” he said.

The BCB will also determine the 2021 central contracts after the West Indies and New Zealand series, according to Khan. He said that the delay, till at least March this year, to name the list of cricketers is due to the lack of cricket in 2020 when Bangladesh played only nine international matches because of the Covid-19 pandemic.”Every year we look at performances before making the centrally contracted cricketers’ list. I think we will take a decision this time based on the two upcoming series, because we haven’t seen many performances till now. The decision will be made after discussing with the board of directors,” Khan said.Bangladesh go by the red-ball and white-ball contracts having established the contract system last year. Seven cricketers including Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim are in both contracts, while there are ten others who are on a single red or white-ball contract. The BCB also raised the match fees in all three formats, most significantly in Tests where it saw a 70% rise.Akram also said that the BCB is trying to fit in as many of their postponed series from 2020 into an already busy 2021 schedule. “We don’t have much time this year, an important one when our players will be very busy. After hosting West Indies, we go to New Zealand, and then Sri Lanka. We are also trying to play the postponed matches but time is of the essence for everyone this year.”

Bangladesh Emerging Team vs Ireland A game called off after player tests positive for Covid-19

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Ruhan Pretorius, the player in question, was on the field as part of the Irish team’s playing XI

Mohammad Isam05-Mar-2021The first one-day match between Bangladesh Emerging Team and Ireland A had to be abandoned after 30 overs of action in Chattogram on Friday when a positive Covid-19 test report came in for allrounder Ruhan Pretorius, who was a part of the Irish playing XI. The 30-year-old Pretorius had been tested on Thursday.ESPNcricinfo understands that the report, which had been delayed in reaching the venue, came in after the match had started, with the visitors asking the local side to bat first. At the first drinks break then, Pretorius, who had bowled four overs by that time, left the field. The Ireland team management had initially considered using a replacement player, but later decided not to take part in the game after the second drinks interval.A Cricket Ireland statement on the events of the day said, “Prior to today’s game, both squads received negative results for Covid, and the game proceeded as per protocols. However, a review of results by mid-morning by the local laboratory detected one positive test in the Ireland Wolves (A) squad.”Play was suspended and the player was immediately isolated ahead of a further test today”Related

  • Ireland A support staff tests positive for Covid-19, prompts two-hour delay

  • Ruhan Pretorius opens up on 'bizarre few days' after false Covid-positive

  • Shamim Hossain's 53* trumps Ruhan Pretorius' 90 as Bangladesh Emerging win

  • Covid-19 vaccines administered to NZ-bound Bangladesh members

  • PSL could resume in May, clashing with the IPL

BCB’s chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that there was no option but to call off the match because of the timing of the test report reaching the relevant people, and confirmed that the other members of the two sides would be tested again before the next one-dayer, scheduled for Sunday.”We follow the protocol of taking the individual into isolation as soon as he is found positive,” Chowdhury said. “The report [for Pretorius] arrived slightly later in the morning, which left us with no choice. Our next step is to test everyone before the next game.”The match, which was being aired on the BCB’s official YouTube channel, stopped abruptly at the end of the 30th over of the first innings – the Bangladeshis were 122 for 4 at that stage – with the umpires seemingly informing the batsmen of the development even as the Ireland fielders walked off the field. The details emerged later.The development in Chattogram came a day after the Pakistan Super League had to be postponed after the completion of just 14 matches following a spurt in the number of positive Covid-19 cases among players. The number had reached seven – including a support staffer – forcing the organisers to take the drastic step.Ireland A have already played their only four-day game of the tour, and this was the first of the five-match one-day series against Bangladesh Emerging Team, with the next matches slotted for March 7, 9, 12 and 14. The two sides are also scheduled to play two T20s on March 17 and 18.Pretorius is an experienced hand, having played for close to a decade in the South African and Irish domestic circuits. In 62 first-class matches, he has 2610 runs at an average of 29.32, to go with 157 wickets at 23.66. He has also played 54 List A games, including the one on Friday, for 1408 runs and 46 wickets, and 33 T20s, in which he has 409 runs and 22 wickets.

Nat Sciver and Tammy Beaumont lead the way as England make it 2-0

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Brooke Halliday again impressed but New Zealand were well short after an early batting collapse

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2021Nat Sciver produced a fine all-round display as England secured the ODI series over New Zealand with a game to spare in Dunedin. Sciver followed her 3 for 26, which included the key scalp of Sophie Devine, with a brisk 63 as England raced home with more than 12 overs to spare.New Zealand did well to keep themselves in the contest having fallen to 34 for 5 after opting to bat as Brooke Halliday continued her fine start to international cricket with a second consecutive half-century. New Zealand appeared to have a chance when England slipped to 12 for 2 in the chase, but Sciver and Tammy Beaumont added 103 in 127 balls for the third wicket.Earlier, Katherine Brunt had put the home side on the back foot when she dismissed both openers in her first two overs: Hayley Jensen edged a cut against a ball too close for the shot and Natalie Dodd dragged on.Sciver then made her first mark on the game when Devine chipped a catch to midwicket, and soon added Amelia Kerr to her tally.Natalie Sciver had a good day with both bat and ball•Getty Images

Amy Satterthwaite departed in curious circumstances when she walked having edged a cut off Kate Cross with no appeal coming from keeper Amy Jones, and barely a murmur from any England player, although Snicko confirmed a healthy nick.Halliday and Katey Martin briefly steadied the innings but it was the last four wickets that really bolstered New Zealand as they added 116 and enabled them to almost bat-out the 50 overs. Halliday was the eighth to fall having brought up her fifty from 63 deliveries, when she edged Sciver for her third wicket, before Hannah Rowe (29 not out) and Jess Kerr (28) put on 53 for the ninth wicket.It was Jess who made the first breakthrough for New Zealand when Danni Wyatt dragged on a drive in the first over and England were wobbling a touch after captain Heather Knight was run out from cover.However, Beaumont played the anchor role and Sciver took charge in good batting conditions as England eased along at five an over with New Zealand, who were without the injured Lea Tahuhu, unable to build pressure. Halliday claimed her first international wicket when Sciver’s run-a-ball innings ended with a catch to midwicket.Beaumont reached her second fifty of the series from 93 balls while Jones kept the tempo high with eight boundaries, the last three of which came in the space of four balls against Satterthwaite to end the match in convincing style.

Fakhar Zaman: 'Don't regret not getting the double, regret losing the match'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Temba Bavuma calls Pakistan opener’s innings “incredible… the best I’ve come across”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-20212:23

Fakhar Zaman on his run-out: ‘Fault was mine as I was busy looking out for Haris Rauf’

For a little while, the memory may have drifted back to Abu Dhabi, over a decade ago, when Abdul Razzaq pulled off one of Pakistan’s most improbable heists against South Africa. In the end Pakistan – basically Fakhar Zaman – fell desperately close, closer than the 17-run margin suggests. But had they pulled it off, it would’ve been of a different order of magnitude of improbable from that memorable Abu Dhabi night, even accounting for the runs inflation in the years since.Pakistan were 70 for 2, 71 for 3, 85 for 4, 120 for 5, 186 for 6 and 205 for 7, all the while with Zaman at the other end, playing an unusually restrained innings. It was only after he got to his 100, at a shade under a run-a-ball in the 39th over that he really blew the game open. Pakistan were already seven down and 130 short at that stage, but a flurry of seven sixes across the next five overs, five of them off Tabraiz Shamsi, pulled Pakistan right back into it.In the process Zaman broke a few records, and though the manner of his dismissal ultimately grabbed the attention, once the dust of settles there a proper appraisal of this innings might begin. And it may well see his 193 rank among the greatest one-day innings played by a Pakistani. Temba Bavuma, the South Africa captain, thought it a bit more. “He played an incredible innings,” he said. “It’s the best I have come across. To chase down 340 single-handedly is always tough. But the innings he played was an incredible one. He remained quite clear.”Related

  • Fakhar Zaman, and the art of turning fortunes around

  • Quinton de Kock unlikely to face any sanction for Fakhar Zaman dismissal

  • The de Kock-Fakhar affair: MCC says 'up to the umpires to decide' if act was wilful

  • Fakhar Zaman's 193 not enough for Pakistan as series level

  • 'Quite clever' – de Kock gets pat on the back from Bavuma for Fakhar run-out

It won’t be lessened any by the fact that he got so close to a second ODI double (that too in southern Africa).”I don’t regret not getting the double, I regret losing the match,” he said afterwards. “If we had won this it would’ve been amazing so my regret is about that. The situation was such that I was only focusing on getting the win, not the double. I couldn’t finish it but I’d take scoring less runs than this and winning the game.”Personally it was a timely innings. Zaman had been in lean ODI form for a while – this was his first hundred since May 2019 and he was averaging a touch over 25 in the period in between.Initially that seemed to be playing on his mind though it turned out that Pakistan’s stumbling start and the nature of South African wickets for openers played a bigger part in his early sedateness. He was going at over a run-a-ball before Babar Azam and then Mohammad Rizwan fell in quick succession, but he went from 25 off 21 to a fifty off 70 thereafter. It was around that period, with Pakistan five down and with Shamsi entrenched at one end, that he thought he would start going after it and felt that the chase was still on.Interestingly enough, it was a chat with Sarfaraz Ahmed – former captain and now part of the squad but no longer in the side – during a drinks break that convinced him to go for it.”Yes, to be honest [I thought we could win it even then], I think around the 25th over I just called Saifi [Sarfraz Ahmed], he knows my game, I talked to him and said ask Babar can I start playing my natural game because Shamsi was bowling with small boundaries,” he said. “At that time I was feeling that if I start hitting then I could win the game for Pakistan.”When wickets were falling and we were 200 for 7, I was just telling the others coming in to stick around. Don’t get out. Don’t worry about the runs, don’t get out. The wickets here, you can’t stop runs on so I was just telling them to stick around with me, don’t get out.”What became evident the longer the chase went was the absence of one durable partner. It was the lack of stickability at the top, in fact, that Pakistan were likely to rue the most.”If you’re the first batsman, or the number 11, the first 10-15 runs are very difficult on these pitches,” Zaman said. “On Asian wickets it isn’t like that but here it is. Unluckily not many of our top order got through 20-25 balls. Until you get through that start here, you don’t get runs. Babar got a little set but others didn’t so people got out quickly. Had anyone gotten set, it would’ve become easier but unfortunately it just didn’t happen.”

Amid Covid concerns, BCCI considers moving the IPL to Mumbai

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

BCCI is believed to be working on a plan that will minimise risks, especially in travel

Nagraj Gollapudi03-May-2021Relocating the IPL to Mumbai has emerged as a serious option for the BCCI as it looks to minimise the risks after Covid-19 related cases were reported from the bio-bubbles in both Ahmedabad and Delhi, two of the venues currently hosting the tournament. If things go to plan, Mumbai could be hosting matches as early as the coming weekend.This will necessitate a rejigged tournament schedule, with multiple doubleheaders. There is also a likelihood of the IPL final being moved from May 30 to early June.The biggest challenge for the BCCI in making its Mumbai plan work is to create the IPL bubble, which mainly entails finding hotels for the eight teams to be housed in and preparing the stadia. Luckily, in terms of match fitness, all the three key grounds in Mumbai – Wankhede, DY Patil and Brabourne – were utilised during the first leg of the IPL in April.While the Wankhede hosted 10 IPL matches, the other two grounds, and the Mumbai Cricket Association’s ground in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, were used by various teams for training purposes.It is understood that the BCCI team made calls on Monday to various big hotels in Mumbai to verify if they were capable of satisfying the various SOPs needed to create a team bubble. No BCCI and IPL official was available for comment. Franchises, too, have not heard of the plan formally, but some say they will not be surprised if the Mumbai plan was acted on.It would mean ditching the two-venue caravan model and reverting to the BCCI’s original plan, when it was working out the IPL schedule, of having Mumbai as the hub. The schedule eventually released, on March 7, had six venues – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Chennai and Mumbai hosted the first leg while the second leg is being played currently in Ahmedabad and Delhi.The IPL’s next stage is meant to be in Bengaluru and Kolkata, from next week. However, with India being enveloped by a second wave of the pandemic and the first cases emerging of the IPL bubble being breached, franchises, players and even some within the BCCI remain concerned about the pitfalls involved in travelling.When the IPL began, Mumbai was the worst-affected metro in India, with almost 10,000 new cases every day. It is now acknowledged that a corner has been turned in this respect – Monday’s case count was 2,662, the lowest daily tally since March 17. It was a steep drop from a month ago – 11,163 covid-19 cases on April 4, the highest-ever number in the pandemic.The impact on the WTC final
If the IPL is stretched beyond May 30, it is bound to potentially have an impact on the World Test Championship final, between India and New Zealand in Southampton from June 18-22. With the UK recently blocking travel from India, the ICC, the WTC host, is currently negotiating quarantine norms and exemptions with the British government for the members of both teams who are currently playing in the IPL.One BCCI official, though, pointed out that moving the IPL to Mumbai could offer the advantage of the Indian and New Zealand players flying direct to England instead of the potential two-leg journey if the IPL final were to be played in Ahmedabad, as scheduled.

Essex's hopes of defending title dented by draw with Nottinghamshire

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Brett Hutton bags five before bad light, rain intervene leaving Essex likely to rely on favours to progress

ECB Reporters Network06-Jun-2021Essex’s hopes of defending the LV= Insurance County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy took a massive hit as they drew with Nottinghamshire at the Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford.Notts fast bowler Brett Hutton, on just his second outing of the season, took 5 for 65, including his 200th first-class wicket to bowl Essex out for 210 – and give Notts an 83-run first-innings lead.Ben Slater killed off any potential drama by reaching 19 before bad light, and subsequently rain, ended play at 2.20pm, with the match officially abandoned at 3pm.The stalemate does Essex no help in their attempt to reach Division One- with favours likely needed from elsewhere to stop one of Warwickshire, Durham and Notts from progressing.The top four in Group 1 are now separated by only nine points, although Essex have played a game more than their rivals.Hopes for a positive result had all but been kiboshed by a washed-out second day, along with a pitch which had made scoring slow.Notts needed 10 morning overs to wrap up the Essex first innings, with both sides picking up a bonus point – the former for taking nine wickets and the latter for sliding past 200.After the second new ball was taken an over into the day, Shane Snater and Simon Harmer’s eighth-wicket partnership reached exactly 50 before both fell in consecutive overs.First, Snater was adjudged leg-before to Hutton, and then Harmer was pinned in front by Luke Fletcher – the burly seamer’s 38th wicket of an impressive campaign.The innings concluded as Hutton made Sam Cook’s off stump go kerplunk to complete his five-wicket haul, the 10th of his career.In reply, the visitors had no need nor intention to take any risks as they reached 44 for 2 before umpires Ian Blackwell and Neil Mallender ended proceedings.Peter Siddle provided a probing spell with the new ball and was rewarded with the edge to first slip of Ben Compton.Ben Duckett was bowled around his legs by Snater, having eaten up 50 minutes, with Slater holding things together for an unbeaten 87-ball 19.

Birmingham Bears boost top-four hopes as Carlos Brathwaite leads way in Yorkshire mauling

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Adam Hose and Ed Pollock seal chase with 69 balls to spare as Blast records tumble

George Dobell30-Jun-2021Birmingham Bears inflicted a crushing defeat on Yorkshire to move back into the top four of the North Group of the Vitality Blast.After bowling out Yorkshire for the lowest score in their T20 history – 81 – Birmingham galloped to a 10-wicket victory with 69 deliveries to spare. It was the first time they had inflicted a 10-wicket defeat on a side in this format. You could be forgiven for wondering if we really needed a shorter format.This was a game littered with records; each as unwelcome for Yorkshire as they were delightful for Birmingham. While the hosts were not quite able to achieve the largest victory – in terms of balls remaining – in the history of the competition (twice sides have completed victory quicker, with the record – 82 balls – set by Nottinghamshire last week), having bowled Yorkshire out with 25 balls of their innings remaining, this is believed to be the shortest completed T20 match (in terms of overall deliveries bowled) in the competition’s history. In all, 94 balls were not required.There have only been nine lower scores in this competition’s history and Birmingham (or Warwickshire, as they were previously known) had never previously kept a side to less than 96. Yorkshire’s previous lowest total was 90 for 9 against Durham in 2009. This was the lowest score made in England in a T20 since 2016.There was no sign of the carnage to come when Adam Lyth took 15 from the first over of the match. The manner in which he took Tim Bresnan for a six (a gorgeous drive over extra cover) and two fours suggested a total of 180 might be on the cards.But once Lyth was out, to the ninth ball of the match, Yorkshire only hit only three more fours and a six in the rest of their innings. Only other man in the side managed to make double-figures and, after the fourth over, there were only two more fours.Related

  • Rutherford joins Glamorgan as Labuschagne leaves early

  • Harmer bedazzles Somerset as Essex prevail on DLS

  • Steel lacks backing as Steelbacks outfox Leicestershire

  • Glamorgan keep QF hopes alive in one-run thriller against Surrey

There may be a temptation, in such circumstances, to question the surface. But while this pitch had been used for three previous T20 games (one women’s match and two men’s) it was blameless. Yes, there was a fraction of turn for Birmingham’s spinners, but the bounce appeared to be true and the pace pretty consistent. These hybrid pitches really are a godsend to groundstaff.Birmingham bowled well, too. Carlos Brathwaite, who claimed three for seven, gained reward for thumping out an excellent line and length, while Danny Briggs delighted in the turn he was able to extract. Craig Miles’ three for 19, again achieved largely by hitting a length hard, were his career-best figures.Those bowlers were well supported in the field, too. Matt Lamb’s catch, running every bit of 30 metres from short fine leg towards the boundary to cling on to a top-edge offered by Gary Ballance, was outstanding, while Michael Burgess, who has just signed a two-year contract extension, justified his growing reputation with the gloves by pulling off two stumpings. The first of them, as Jonathan Tattersall attempted a reverse-sweep but dragged his back foot a little, was especially impressive.All that being said, this was an horrendous batting performance from Yorkshire. Unable to adjust to the pace of the wicket or work out what a par score might have been, they succumbed to a series of cross-batted slogs – four of them: Ballance, Mark Stoneman, Dom Bess and Matt Fisher all fell to mistimed pulls – when they might have been wiser to accept it was a pitch on which a total of 140 to 150 might have sufficed.They do have some mitigation. They have been decimated by injuries and international call-ups, with five men absent on England duty and two more batters absent through injury. In this game, they utilised their third keeper and third captain of the campaign.Adam Hose gets into his groove•Getty Images

“We didn’t adapt to the wicket quickly enough,” Lyth admitted with admirable candour afterwards. “The scoreboard won’t reflect it, but I thought it was a pretty good wicket with a bit of extra pace and bounce. But if you get bowled out for 81, you leave your bowlers with no chance. It’s not good enough.”The experience of Birmingham’s openers, Adam Hose and Ed Pollock, would appear to support that view. Hose, in particular, looked in super touch as he took three successive boundaries off Matthew Waite – a drive, a clip and a pull – and then drove Lockie Ferguson over extra cover for six. Two more sixes, one lofted over long-on off Bess and one hooked into the upper tier of the West Stand off Ferguson, clinched the game.Birmingham needed this result. They hadn’t won in four matches – albeit one of those was abandoned due to rain – including a home defeat at the hands of Derbyshire and had dropped out of the top four. This was their first home win and pushes them up to third with a much-improved net run-rate. The hit Yorkshire took to theirs sees them drop to second.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus