All posts by n8rngtd.top

Derbyshire responded to the shock resignation of elite performance director Graeme Welch by beating Leicestershire by four wickets in a tense T20 Blast game

ECB Reporters Network03-Jun-2016
ScorecardChesney Hughes dives full-length for a catch to remove Niall O’Brien•Getty Images

Derbyshire responded to the shock resignation of elite performance director Graeme Welch by beating Leicestershire by four wickets in a tense T20 Blast game at Derby.Only hours after Welch’s departure was announced, Derbyshire bowled the Leicestershire out for 119 and then survived a top-order collapse to get home with two overs to spare.New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham, who followed figures of 3 for 26 with an unbeaten 29, and acting skipper Alex Hughes, 27, shared a sixth wicket stand of 49 in eight overs to swing the game in the Falcons favour.Former Leicestershire allrounder Shiv Thakor took 3 for 17, and although Neil Dexter made 34 from 33 balls and then claimed two wickets, it was not enough to deny Derbyshire a second North Group victory.Derbyshire also went into the game without injured skipper Wes Durston but Alex Hughes made an inspired move after winning the toss by opening with Wayne Madsen’s offspin.Madsen struck with his fourth ball, beating Mark Pettini’s attempted sweep, and in the next over, Mark Cosgrove was bowled for 1 driving at Neesham.The Kiwi struck again in his his next over when Kevin O’Brien skied a drive to mid-on and then took a stunning catch at cover to remove Umar Akmal for a duck.When Ben Raine swept Matt Critchley to deep square leg and Niall O’Brien was brilliantly caught on the run by Chesney Hughes at long-on, Leicestershire were in desperate trouble at 53 for 6 after 10 overs.Lewis Hill pulled Andy Carter for 6 and with Neil Dexter, took the score to 84 before Thakor struck twice to put Derbyshire firmly in control.Hill chipped tamely to mid-off and Tom Wells had his middle stump uprooted three runs later before Neesham returned to have Dexter taken at deep midwicket and end Leicestershire’s hopes of a late flourish.Leicestershire had to take early wickets to have any chance of defending a modest total and they were back in the game when Clint McKay and Raine reduced Derbyshire to 14 for 3.Hamish Rutherford edged a drive at Raine to slip and then McKay had Billy Godleman caught behind and Neil Broom taken at slip first ball.Chesney Hughes struck two sixes and with Madsen, put the Falcons back on course before Dexter removed them both in four balls in his first over.Hughes was bowled trying to drive and then Akmal leapt to take a stunning catch at point to send back Madsen for 23 to reduce Derbyshire to 54 for 5.But Neesham and Alex Hughes batted well under pressure before Thakor finished the contest with three fours in four balls.

James Sutherland has said Cricket Australia is open to diverting part of its overseas television revenue from India tours ot Australia to a central rights package bundle to be shared among all member boards

Daniel Brettig04-Jul-2016

Cricket Australia total revenue figures since 2008 (from annual reports)

• 2007-08 (Sri Lanka, India): A$146,430,545

• 2008-09 (New Zealand, South Africa): A$115,825,592

• 2009-10 (West Indies, Pakistan): A$134,997,460

• 2010-11 (England): A$167,907,641

• 2011-12 (New Zealand, India): A$264,631,134

• 2012-13 (South Africa, Sri Lanka): A$168,392,766

• 2013-14 (England): A$295,897,820

• 2014-15 (India, England, World Cup): A$380,874,924

James Sutherland has declared Cricket Australia’s willingness to part with its multi-million-dollar Indian pot of gold as part of a collective effort to preserve the financial health of the global game.Following the ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh, Sutherland, the CA chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo that CA was not alone in contemplating major changes to the revenue models based around bilateral (home and away) tours. Chief among these was the possibility of allowing overseas television revenue from India tours to Australia – worth up to $100 million extra to CA’s annual balance sheet – to be at least partly diverted into a central rights package bundle to be shared among all members.Such a change would be likely to cost CA money in the short-term, while also changing the dynamics around the board’s close relationship with the BCCI, a huge contributor to Australian cricket’s financial health. However Sutherland was blunt in saying that “doing nothing is not an option”, and said all boards had to look at “the big picture” of the international game’s future, amid worsening financial situations for some countries and the encroachment of domestic Twenty20 leagues on schedules and player priorities.”It’s different, isn’t it,” Sutherland said of the proposal to bundle rights for bilateral series. “You have to have a belief in the broader context and you’ve also got to see the big picture. I think together with pretty well all other countries right now we see that bilateral cricket is very much our core business and it’s really important that it continues to be popular. Ideally if we get to a situation where it has more structure around it, we build context, fans can understand and appreciate it more and we can increase the value and appeal of bilateral cricket.”We’ve got a very open mind and we believe in a big-picture sense that the benefits will flow, not only to us but to others. It may well be we go backwards before we go forwards, we don’t know, but we do believe in the big picture and we do believe individual countries can’t operate in isolation of everyone else. That’s something we’re very conscious of and that’s why we support the work the ICC has done so far in reviewing the structure of bilateral cricket and how that might all work. It’ll be good for the game, that’s our foremost position, and hopefully down the track it’ll be good for cricket in Australia.”Sutherland’s words are a world away from CA’s actions eight years ago during the “Monkeygate” furore, when Australia’s players felt let down when the board elected to avoid the risk of India flying home from the 2007-08 tour rather than backing Andrew Symonds against Harbhajan Singh. However since that time CA has worked assiduously to become more financially independent, raising a second major revenue stream from the Big Bash League and reforming governance to better advance the interests of the game in total.As a member of the ICC working committee exploring the commercial implications of changes to bilateral tours, Sutherland said he was encouraged by how much willingness he saw in Edinburgh to reform the structure of the game. Further talks are set to be held in late August or early September, before a more detailed model is presented to the ICC board in October.”I think we’re getting to a stage of really getting down to a bit of detail now of what it all looks like and how it works,” he said. “We’re hoping to have some meetings next month where we get everyone together to talk a bit more about it. The pleasing thing is there’s some genuine momentum here on this and strong alignment and will to make some meaningful decisions. That’s going to be good for the game and hopefully that will happen in the next little while. Everyone is strongly aligned and I’m confident we’re heading in the right direction here.”Everyone is firmly of the view that doing nothing around the structure is not an option, and about building more context around international bilateral competition. How it unfolds in regard to exploitation of rights and all of that is something individual members will need to make some decisions on, but it does follow that there are opportunities perhaps to do things better and differently on a collective basis rather than on an individual basis.”That sort of stuff is not a necessity, people could opt in or opt out of that opportunity; the bundling of rights may well deliver greater value but it will almost certainly deliver greater flexibility and capacity for member countries to generate media and digital assets that can help make the game more accessible for fans. That’s ultimately what we should all be about.”The models being currently discussed will include a certain weighting for the value of each country’s overseas rights, meaning that the likes of India, Australia and England will still get a share somewhat proportionate to their financial contribution. It will also be possible to schedule bilateral tours outside of the proposed league structures, meaning the Ashes or Border-Gavaskar series could still take place if the teams found themselves in different divisions.However the days of countries being financially tied to the BCCI for their very survival, and thus in lockstep when voting on issues at the ICC board table, may soon make way for a more equitable future, in line with governance changes also in the works. “The share of the revenues will still be somewhat proportionate one way or the other to the contribution,” Sutherland said. “If one country, India for example, their contribution to that total pie is greater than someone else they’ll get a benefit from that in a proportional sense.”But what it should allow is for other countries, who aren’t as strong or don’t have as much power and are effectively selling their rights in competition against other countries, to be a part of a bundle that helps increase the value by virtue of context and structure that they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to achieve. That’s all about everyone helping each other to get a better outcome.”

South Africa is set to get a T20 Premier League of its own after the board was presented with a proposal for an eight-team tournament, which will run separately to other domestic cricket in the country

Firdose Moonda26-Jul-2016South Africa is set to get a T20 Premier League of its own after the board was presented with a proposal for an eight-team tournament, which will run separately to other domestic cricket in the country. If approved, the competition will begin in the 2017-18 season and will take place in November-December, with a final pencilled in for December 16, a public holiday in South Africa.Should the new tournament become a reality, it would drastically alter South Africa’s twenty-over landscape, which is languishing behind other countries. While the IPL, BBL, CPL, BPL, PSL and NatWest T20 Blast continue to attract big names, South Africa’s Ram Slam competition has struggled to do the same. The weak Rand and the scheduling – which often coincides with international cricket, including fixtures played by South Africa – are to blame.CSA intended to fix the second of those this season, when, in February, they moved a Test against Sri Lanka to ensure South African internationals could be available for the Ram Slam. But, when the domestic fixtures were announced in June it emerged that several players will be unavailable for that tournament because they will be playing Test cricket in Australia, meaning the 2016-17 Ram Slam will not be too dissimilar to its predecessors.There will be at least one big name, with Kevin Pietersen signing for Dolphins for the second season in succession. South Africa’s domestic twenty-over tournaments have had a small selection of players of Pietersen’s profile involved, mostly from the Caribbean. In previous seasons, Chris Gayle played for Dolphins, Kieron Pollard for Cobras, Sohail Tanvir for Lions, Andre Russell for Knights, and Darren Sammy for Titans, but the domestic transformation targets and the small number of franchise teams make it difficult to attract more big names.For that reason, there has been talk of an expansion into eight franchises, which CSA is mulling across all formats, but it is likely to be implemented in this new T20 event first. Details regarding the funding of the competition are yet to be revealed.

England had been stretched by Pakistan during a closely contested 2-2 Test series draw, they rebounded to be well ahead of the DLS requirement when rain returned

The Report by Alan Gardner24-Aug-2016
Sorecard and ball-by-ball details0:58

By the Numbers: England make it 9-1

This was another sign of the reversal of England’s fortunes in the Test and one-day formats. Where they had been stretched by Pakistan during a closely contested 2-2 Test series draw, they rebounded with elastic potential during the first ODI to be well ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern requirement when rain returned in the evening to curtail a processional run chase.Half-centuries for Jason Roy and Joe Root ensured that England would make light work of a target of 261 – revised down to 252 after an initial delay and ultimately pegged at a DLS par score of 149 – and take a 1-0 lead in the series. An encouraging comeback from Mark Wood in a solid all-round bowling effort meant that Pakistan never looked like getting away, with Azhar Ali’s return to form the one bright spot for the tourists.Roy required the attention of England’s physio, having suffered a dizzy spell after running two in the fourth over, and was badly missed by the wicketkeeper, Sarfraz Ahmed, on 24 but shrugged off such inconveniences to cruise along at more than a run a ball. His fifty came off 43 deliveries and it was something of a surprise when he miscued a wild slog at Mohammad Nawaz, which was well-taken by Babar Azam running along the boundary rope at long-off. His 65 off 56 was the first time since his maiden ODI century last year that he had not converted a fifty to three figures.Pakistan needed wickets to compensate for their lack of runs but, on a typically true Ageas Bowl surface, Root calmly ushered England past the 150 mark – only to then be caught short by a misjudged call for a single by his captain, Eoin Morgan. Neither Morgan nor Ben Stokes, making his England comeback after a calf tear, looked in the best of nick (only Stokes, with two T20 innings for Durham, had batted previously this month) but they cobbled together enough loose change to keep England well ahead as showers swept in at the end of a muggy day on the south coast.Azhar’s highest ODI score since making a century against Zimbabwe in Lahore last May and some effective scampering from Sarfraz had provided a platform for Pakistan but the late charge towards 300 never really materialised. From 199 for 4 after 40 overs, they could only manage to add a further 61 runs, giving them the lowest first-innings total in an ODI at the ground (from a full 50 overs) since England made 256 for 6 against Pakistan in 2010. Pakistan failed to clear the ropes at all and only four boundaries were scored in the final ten; only four runs came from the last over.Roy then cracked three fours from four balls in the third over of the chase as England’s one-day buccaneers signalled that a requirement of little more than five an over was unlikely to daunt them. Alex Hales fell early, once more punished like a miscreant schoolboy for playing in the corridor, but England were 66 for 1 after the opening Powerplay and, as Roy swept the first and only six of the match over the head of the man stationed at deep square leg to bring up a fifty stand with Root off 42 balls, the direction of travel was clear.Pakistan had won the right to make first use of an oatmeal-coloured surface, with Azhar patiently compiling 82, his first ODI half-century in 13 innings, and although he could not push on to three figures, he glued the innings together for long enough to give his side a chance. That they could not fully cash in was as much down to some excellent death bowling as a failure of Pakistan’s lower-order hitters.Azhar put on half-century stands with Babar Azam and Sarfraz, following a cagey opening in which Wood’s pace caught the eye, but after the 43rd over was interrupted by a 20-minute rain delay Pakistan lost their way. Sarfraz and Shoaib Malik perished in identical fashion, chipping wastefully to mid-off, and Chris Woakes was particularly impressive as the southpaw allrounders Nawaz and Imad Wasim struggled to raise the tempo.Wood, making his first international appearance since England’s tour of the UAE last year, was consistently above 90mph in his opening spell – his ankle no longer impeding his ability to throw his body through the crease – and he claimed the first wicket of the day, Sharjeel Khan getting a thin top edge on a pull, confirmed by the Snickometer after a review, after biffing a few early boundaries.Pakistan finished the initial Powerplay on 45 for 1, though Azhar was a touch fortunate to still be at the crease after twice being dropped on 9. The first, off the bowling of Woakes, was a straightforward chance to Hales in the gully – though he gestured that he hadn’t picked the ball out of the crowd – and then in the following over, Plunkett’s first, Jos Buttler could not hold on to a leg-side nick diving one-handed to his left.England snuffled out a bonus wicket through Root’s part-time offspin, as Mohammad Hafeez did little to suggest the change to a white ball would improve his form by top-edging a casual-looking sweep straight to deep backward square leg, but Azhar and Azam found their range with a 61-run stand in 70 balls to take Pakistan into three figures.The nimble-footed Azam scored two-thirds of those runs and was looking increasingly fluent but, a ball after carting a dragged-down Adil Rashid delivery just short of the rope at wide long-on, he received a poor decision from umpire Simon Fry. Defending with bat close to his front pad, replays revealed a clear inside edge but, with Sharjeel having wasted Pakistan’s one review, Azam had to make his way off lbw to Rashid for 40.The default setting for Pakistan’s limited-overs captain seems to be “under pressure” but Azhar had accepted the situation with a laugh and a shrug on the eve of the match. Without a series win since beating Zimbabwe 2-1 in October, Azhar had also not passed fifty in over a year, so the sight of Pakistan’s leader raising his bat in the 29th over was heartening for a healthy contingent of flag-waving supporters at the Ageas Bowl – even if it took 84 balls to get there.Azhar attempted to forge on after reaching his half-century, bludgeoning five more boundaries over the course of the next six overs to take his stand with Sarfraz to 65, but he was then undone by a some extra bounce for Rashid, a top edge looping to Moeen Ali running across from short third man. Barely had the pressure released before it was mounting once again.

India coach Anil Kumble spoke of the challenges faced by not just Indian batsmen, but any modern batsman batting out of his comfort zone, two days before the start of the first Test, in Kanpur

Sidharth Monga in Kanpur20-Sep-20161:08

Kumble ‘proud’ to coach in 500th Test

One of the reasons New Zealand are expected to fare better than South Africa in Indian conditions is that they have three spinners, three varieties of spinners, two of whom have had success in India in the shortest format of the game. On the other hand, though, India’s batsmen are expected to have improved their game on such tracks. They will be expected to do better than last year, when only Ajinkya Rahane managed to score a hundred and average over 35. It won’t be easy, though, should the pitches be similar.Anil Kumble, India’s coach, spoke of the challenges faced by not just Indian batsmen, but any modern batsman batting out of his comfort zone, two days before the start of the first Test in Kanpur.”It is quite challenging for a modern-day cricketer to keep changing formats,” Kumble said. “Invariably, when you are playing the shorter format, it’s in favour of the batsmen. There is hardly anything for the bowler. So, obviously, when they come to play in a Test match, irrespective of the conditions, seam or spin…”We have seen modern cricketers, who, if you look at their records in previous years, they were all good players of fast bowling. But they have struggled on seaming tracks because of what the modern batsman encounters. That goes with all teams. But one good thing we have had is we are coming off a Test series, and we have a long Test season at home. So it’ll only get better. And in terms of our preparations, we have spent a lot of time focusing on preparing to play spinners, and how to respond to playing spinners. And it will only improve, which you’ll notice as the series goes by.”According to Kumble, the problem persists despite knowing what to expect in today’s world of analysis. “I don’t think there is any intrigue left, but the challenge is to adapt to those conditions as quickly as possible,” he said. “It’s equally the same for the home team as well because you’re playing so much of cricket. It’s all about adapting to whatever challenges are forthcoming. Yes, the home team certainly has the advantage of knowing and playing in these conditions, growing up in these conditions.”For a foreign team, since they travel so much – and even for the Indian team now because we have travelled so much – the conditions are no longer alien. It’s all about how good and how committed you are, and what kind of quality cricket you can put across on the park.”India’s preparations have been thorough. They assembled in Kanpur on September 17, five days before the first Test, and began with their fitness tests. Knowing they could have to face a lot of left-arm pace in the series from Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, they called up Delhi’s Pradeep Sangwan and Rajasthan’s Aniket Choudhary to bowl in the nets. They were helped by two pretty good local left-arm quicks. Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who is from Kanpur, was at the nets too.The training sessions were long and intense. On Monday, they went on for at least two hours either side of their press conference, virtually spending the whole day at the ground. Kumble said they were not underestimating the opposition.”The New Zealand team have done really well,” Kumble said. “They are not just good at home, but they tour really well, and we’re aware of that. The fact that they have three spinners, yes, we watch them – at least I watched them – two of the three spinners in the World T20. They played a significant role in New Zealand’s progress. We respect the opposition and we know that New Zealand is a very potent team, not just in the spin department, but all-round as well. We certainly respect their all-round ability. They have different variations in their spin attack – left-arm spinner, offspinner, legspinner. That is something you don’t often see in a foreign team.”

Mark Cosgrove defied the pain of a damaged hand to hold Leicestershire together but a late burst from Will Davis gave Derbyshire the edge before bad light ended play early on the second day of the Division Two game at Derby

ECB Reporters Network13-Sep-2016
ScorecardWill Davis’ late wickets gave Derbyshire the advantage•Getty Images

Mark Cosgrove defied the pain of a damaged hand to hold Leicestershire together but a late burst from Will Davis gave Derbyshire the edge before bad light ended play early on the second day of the Division Two game at Derby.The Leicestershire captain was forced to retire hurt on 77 but returned and was unbeaten on 81 but Davis took three wickets in two overs to reduce the visitors to 228 for 8, 79 behind.Derbyshire had earlier been bowled out for 307 with Harvey Hosein unbeaten on 83 as Charlie Shreck took 4 for 78, but Davis claimed 4 for 60 to tilt the balance towards the home side.The fast bowler said: “I think we bowled well all day, there were times when wickets were harder to come by but I think we got our reward for a full day’s work.”We worked hard in the afternoon session and we all noticed the opportunity to try and make the most of the unfortunate injury so that gave us a bit of a lift and worked well for us.”Hopefully we can finish them off quickly and I think any sort of lead will be good and will put us in the driving seat.”All the attention at the start was on Hosein who had a good chance of a maiden first-class hundred but the 19-year-old’s inexperience showed as he took singles at the start of overs and scored only four more runs before Shreck wrapped up the innings.Davis drove Shreck over extra cover for four to secure a third batting point before fending a short ball to short leg but he was soon celebrating as Leicestershire lost wickets cheaply before lunch.Tony Palladino swung one back into Angus Robson who was struck in front but Paul Horton was tempted into flashing at a ball from Davis he should have left alone.Neil Dexter was lucky to escape when he miscued a hook but he played another rash stroke at the first ball of the last over of the morning and was well caught at slip by Wayne Madsen.It was just as well for Leicestershire that Cosgrove was showing greater selectivity and Ned Eckersley also played with restraint to rebuild the innings after lunch.Derbyshire plugged away around off stump and gave little away although Cosgrove did come down the pitch to dispatch Parkinson over long on for six and a cover drive off Davis took him to 50.Eckersley had scored two hundreds against Derbyshire at Leicester last month but he faced 92 balls for his 27 before Palladino cut one back to have him lbw.Cosgrove had taken several blows on his injured left hand and he was finally forced to leave the field three overs later, which gave Derbyshire two new batsmen to bowl at, but Harry Dearden played well on his senior debut and dug in for 14 overs before he was caught behind pushing at Parkinson.Clint McKay hoisted Parkinson onto the pavilion roof, breaking a tile, but the innings unravelled as Davis took three wickets with short balls in two overs.Alex Hughes held two smart catches at deep midwicket either side of Cosgrove’s return and after a top edged hook from Rob Sayer was taken at backward square, the umpires decided the light was too poor for play to continue.

With the Australia team for the Perth Test against South Africa set to be announced within a week, Nathan Lyon reasserted his place as the side’s most accomplished spinner with a miserly 4 for 10 against Queensland

Daniel Brettig23-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHaving been surplus to requirements in the previous match against Victoria, Nathan Lyon put in a more assertive display in the final•Getty Images

On Friday, Nathan Lyon was dropped by New South Wales for the elimination final against Victoria. On Sunday, he responded by dismantling Queensland to deliver the Matador Cup title to the Blues at North Sydney Oval and reassert his place as Australia’s most accomplished active spin bowler.With players like Mitchell Starc, Steven Smith and David Warner looking on, Lyon’s display was a welcome sight for members of the national team at the start of the week in which the Test squad to face South Africa in Perth will be announced.

Starc’s restricted fielding duties

Mitchell Starc will be restricted in his fielding ability during the South Africa Test series as a result of the deep cut that he suffered in a training mishap ahead of the summer.
Watching the Matador Cup final before he underwent a fitness session post-match, Starc said he would be unable to slide or dive until the wound had fully healed, though he will be fit to bowl in Tuesday’s Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane. Starc may well find himself in the slip cordon as a result.
“It’s going ok, it’s slowly closing up,” Starc told . “It’s still a bit open, but holding together nicely.”

It also helped complete back-to-back domestic limited-overs titles for New South Wales, a possibility that had seemed remote earlier in the competition when the Blues had struggled in their win against the Cricket Australia XI and also dropped matches against Tasmania and South Australia. By contrast, Queensland had been the early pacesetters, winning their first four matches before slipping up in the final.Lyon’s spell combined flight and frugality. At one point his analysis read an eye-popping 3 for 3 before he finished his 10 overs with figures of 4 for 10. Having been surplus to requirements on Friday, Lyon needed to put in a more assertive display, following some returns on the recent tour of Sri Lanka when he did not adapt well to the role of leading strike bowler in spin-friendly conditions.This time around he was into the game with the early wicket of the Player-of-the-Tournament Marnus Labuschagne, and followed up by tempting the Bulls captain Usman Khawaja to top-edge a sweep. He then found a way past Jason Floros and rounded things off by deceiving Ben Cutting before he could do any serious damage with his notoriously clean hitting.Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins and Doug Bollinger all provided useful support on a North Sydney pitch that posed some early challenges for batsmen but also rewarded patience. This was to be borne out when the Blues set about chasing the modest target – only once has a team successfully defended less than 240 on this ground.Ed Cowan, Nick Larkin and Nic Maddinson all fell swiftly to a strong new-ball spell from Michael Neser, who will be particularly happy to have burst through Cowan’s forward stroke with some late inswing to the left-hander. However the innings was steadied and then controlled by the Blues captain Moises Henriques.In partnership with the tall and elegant Kurtis Patterson, Henriques worked the ball around initially before opening his shoulders with some compelling blows. By the time Henriques fell to Mitch Swepson’s leg breaks for 85, the Blues were well and truly in charge, meaning the tournament was won by the team that finished strongest, rather than that which started fastest.

England have buckled at all the wrong times, but they have to mount a better challenge to stop India from winning their fifth series on the trot

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu07-Dec-2016

Match facts

December 8-12, 2016
Start time 9.30 local (0400GMT)3:03

Trott: England will be very positive at Wankhede

Big picture

Small margins. England have lost two Test matches because they haven’t minded them as much as they are capable of, and now, they have to win in Mumbai to stay alive in the series.India are not without troubles themselves. Their lead fast bowler Mohammed Shami has a sore knee and middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane broke his right index finger in the nets* and has been ruled out of the series. Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey and Mumbai seamer Shardul Thakur have been added to the squad as cover.England are also carrying some aching players – chiefly Stuart Broad – but it is their performance so far in the series that would concern them more.Alastair Cook has spoken about how he leads a side that can match India for skill and that the bowling they have faced has not been magical. Those comments were meant to put perspective on the scoreline that reads 2-0 against them; words that would have been stronger had they not been steeped with frustration.James Anderson and company have bounced M Vijay out enough times to suggest a pattern and R Ashwin has had to man rescue operations from the lower-middle order. England have made their plays, had their chances, even won two tosses, but have been found wanting when the moments to dig in have arrived.A week’s worth of rest and time with family should have lifted their spirits though. Plus, if anything could help England forget how they let the opposition get away from 156 for 5 to 417, or how they lost wickets in the last over before stumps twice, it could be their return to Mumbai, the venue of one of their most famous victories.India, on the other hand, drew the game in Rajkot despite chasing most of it, slammed two hundreds to offset the openers’ fall within the first five overs in Visakhapatnam, and took four wickets in the morning session in Mohali to erase a spate of fielding errors. The tenacity that Virat Kohli’s men have shown has been a welcome sight to their fans. More importantly, it has put them in a position to win their fifth Test series in a row. Only once in 84 years has an Indian team achieved that. Wankhede Stadium takes centre stage, again.India are waiting on their fifth straight series win•Associated Press

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India WWDWW

England LLDLW

In the spotlight

One game into his comeback from a hamstring injury, KL Rahul found himself on the bench nursing a forearm injury. Can’t fault a man for blows sustained at short leg, though. He was first in the nets on Tuesday and is expected to play in Mumbai. It must help that Rahul has the unwavering backing of the team management, especially considering the stop-start nature of his career. A big innings wouldn’t go amiss either, considering he made 0 and 10 in his previous game.At times, especially in the last Test, Ben Stokes looked the only England bowler capable of getting wickets. That was because he never stopped trying. The allrounder was tireless in the pursuit for reverse swing, or the far more rare movement off the pitch. More of his resolve would be necessary for the team to come back from the position they are in.

Team news

Karun Nair should retain his place in the middle order after Rahane’s injury. A call on Mohammed Shami will be made on the morning of the Test. If he is unfit, India may bring Bhuvneshwar Kumar back into the XI. Parthiv Patel retains his role as wicketkeeper with Wriddhiman Saha yet to recover from his thigh strain. KL Rahul should slot back in the top of the order.India (probable) 1 KL Rahul, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Karun Nair/Manish Pandey, 6 R Ashwin, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Jayant Yadav, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Mohammad Shami/ Bhuvneshwar KumarStuart Broad had a 50-50 chance of playing in Mumbai following his foot injury three weeks ago. He did some light training on Tuesday and should he be ready to play, England may well go in with four seamers and two spinners. Keaton Jennings will debut as opener in place of the injured Haseeb Hameed.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Stuart Broad/ Steven Finn, 11 James Anderson

Pitch and conditions

This series has been played on surfaces that have largely behaved themselves, and the trend is likely to continue. There will be spin, of course, but reports suggested it won’t alarm batsmen until the third day.

Stats and trivia

• In the last 50 years, 14 England batsmen have made more than 300 runs in a series in India. Alastair Cook is one of them and he can do so again, along with Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes.
• England have won their last two matches at Wankhede Stadium. India have won 10 out of 24 matches at the venue.
• In the nine Tests at Wankhede over the last 20 years, no fast bowler has picked up a five-wicket haul. In the same period, the spinners have 13.
• Virat Kohli needs 41 runs to complete 4000 in Test cricket. He would be the sixth-fastest Indian to the mark in terms of innings played; Virender Sehwag, with 79, is at the top.

Quotes

Pressure to me is people who can’t afford food or who are struggling to live. This is just a game of cricket. I’ll give it my best shot.

No fewer than 141 overs were lost to rain but Australia, led by their captain Steven Smith, secured a dramatic Test and series victory with the last hour to spare at the MCG

The Report by Daniel Brettig at the MCG30-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA double-century from Azhar Ali. Pakistan batting until after lunch on day three. No fewer than 141 overs lost to rain. Fifteen wickets in four days on a surface more concrete than pitch. Australia won the Boxing Day Test. Yep, really.

Pakistan fined for slow over rate

Pakistan have been fined for a slow over rate during the second Test against Australia at the MCG. Match referee Ranjan Madugalle imposed the fine after Pakistan were ruled to be two overs short of their target when time allowances were taken into consideration.
Players are fined 10% of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined 20%, in accordance with Article 2.5.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. Misbah-ul-Haq was hence fined 40% of his match fee; he pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction.

In a conjuring act to rival those of Sydney 2010 and Adelaide 2006, Steven Smith’s men produced a Test and series victory from seemingly nowhere. Nowhere that is, apart from Pakistan’s unrivalled propensity for either triumph or disaster, with little in between.This, we had been told, was a sturdier Pakistan, capable of fighting a match out in the manner they did at the Gabba after a horrid start. This was also the Pakistan side that had ascended to No. 1 in the world earlier in the year. But their descent from the summit has been just as rapid as Australia’s: both sides know what it is like to lose five consecutive Tests from the moment they reached the top of the ICC’s rankings.From the opening moments of the day, Pakistan had looked a team worried about defeat, Australia a team alert to the prospect of victory. After Smith and Mitchell Starc supercharged their scoring rate so effectively as to post the highest ever Test total in Melbourne, a pair of early wickets either side of lunch gave the hosts a glimmer.It was exploited brilliantly by Nathan Lyon, who in the space of a single spell unseated Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq. Under extreme pressure to hold his spot entering the final day, Lyon’s response was emphatic, but not enough to cause Smith to keep him on after the tea break: he is not the first Australian spin bowler to struggle to retain the full confidence of his captain.That being the case, the final blows were struck by the seamers. Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird and Starc all found deliveries incisive enough to cut through the tail, much to the delight of a final day crowd that swelled the total attendance to 142,188, a figure as admirable in the rain-affected circumstances as Australia’s charge to victory.Much of Pakistan’s early bowling and fielding had been lacklustre when placed under pressure by Smith and Starc, personified by Sohail Khan’s wretched drop of Starc at long-off. Sohail finished with three wickets but was one of four expensive bowlers, none able to contain even with the help of Misbah’s often defensive fields.So quickly did Smith and Starc score that the home captain had the luxury of declaring before the interval, meaning the visiting openers were compelled to survive two bursts of the new ball either side of lunch.Mitchell Starc ripped out Sarfraz Ahmed with reverse-swing•Getty Images

In four overs before the interval, Pakistan lost the wicket of Sami Aslam, dragging a ball from Hazlewood onto the stumps via his body. The first over of the afternoon brought another, when Babar Azam was struck on the pad by a Starc inswinger that the umpire Ian Gould judged to be hitting leg stump – a decision the batsman’s referral showed to be marginal.Younis scored freely enough until Lyon’s introduction, when a fraction of extra bounce saw him turn an offbreak in the air towards short leg. Peter Handscomb moved forward to claim the chance a matter of millimetres above the turf. Misbah, out of sorts with the bat all series so far, tried a sweep first ball and then repeated it to his second, the top edge well caught around the corner by Nic Maddinson.This double left the door ajar for Australia, and it opened further when Shafiq advanced and pushed Lyon directly to Handscomb, who this time hung on after a juggle. Lyon, for so long this summer a harried figure, was now dictating terms, and his team could sense a remarkable result.It was a surprise when Smith did not keep Lyon on when play resumed, preferring Starc from the Great Southern Stand End. Hazlewood had found a modicum of reverse-swing and his tight lines were rewarded with Azhar’s wicket, the opener’s guard finally let down after 476 deliveries across two innings. Again, Gould ruled marginally in Australia’s favour on an lbw.That opened up an end, and after Bird surprised Mohammad Amir with a quicker delivery that was dragged onto the stumps, an exultant Starc blasted out Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah in a fashion that would have impressed Wasim Akram.Australian celebrations were unrestrained and it was not hard to work out why. For most of the past five days it appeared that time was getting away from both sides; in the end Australia toasted victory with the last hour to spare.

No ousted BCCI office bearer will be able to attend BCCI meetings as a state association representative or ICC meetings as a BCCI representative

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-20173:40

Ugra: Every BCCI move monitored by Lodha Committee

Other Lodha Committee clarifications

Does the nine-year disqualification hold true for members of a governing body, or managing or working committee, at a state association?
Unless the state association’s constitution defines those members as office bearers, the cap will not apply.
How do you calculate tenure if you are an office bearer at an Associate who has just become a Full Member?
The type of membership has no bearing on the eligibility of the office bearer. It would be calculated from the time the office bearer took office. But if the state association has never been a member of the BCCI, the tenure of the office bearer starts from the date of affiliation “unless he had already been the office bearer of another affiliated association.”

No ousted BCCI office bearer will be able to attend BCCI meetings as a state-association representative or ICC meetings as a BCCI representative after a fresh set of clarifications by the Lodha Committee has barred all disqualified office bearers from being “associated with cricket administration”.Ever since the Supreme Court made them ineligible with its January 2 order, many office bearers at various state associations have harboured hopes of retaining their position in some form. Last week, a Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) meeting had reportedly appointed its former president and BCCI’s last secretary Ajay Shirke as its representative at BCCI meetings.The Lodha Panel’s clarifications, however, have put paid to any hopes the disqualified officials might have harboured of coming back to the BCCI fold. In a response to frequently asked questions – by BCCI representatives, state associations and journalists – the Lodha Committee said: “In keeping with the spirit of the hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgment, a disqualified office bearer is no longer to be associated with cricket administration. He/she is disqualified from being a representative or nominee of the member association or the BCCI and cannot discharge any other role in or on behalf of the association or the BCCI. He/she cannot function within the association in any patron or advisory capacity not be a member of a committee or council.”The Lodha Committee also dealt with another key issue concerning elections of state associations. It said it would be “prudent” for state associations to await the appointment of the panel of administrators by the Supreme Court, which is likely to be finalised at the next hearing on January 19. This could have an impact on the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), which is scheduled to hold its elections on January 17. The Lodha Committee has not barred the HCA from holding elections should it be able to follow the committee’s norms.”While there is no bar to the holding of elections [subject to the orders of any court], if any election is held which is inconsistent with the committee’s report and the judgment of the Supreme Court, then the same will be treated as void and with no legal sanctity. This would also necessarily imply that such an election is supervised by an election officer as prescribed under the recommendations.”Among other clarifications, the committee has said officials in the middle of a term can stand for fresh elections but their current tenure will count towards the three-year cooling-off requirement. “This is to avoid any potential abuse,” the committee said. “For example, if there were no such bar, an office bearer could resign after two years and nine months, and then claim eligibility to stand at the next election three months later on the ground that a new term would commence.”The definition of an office bearer for the purpose of reforms will not be limited to president, secretary, vice-presidents, treasurer and joint-secretary. If a particular state association’s constitution has office bearers such an assistant secretary or a director or an assistant treasurer, such officials will also stand disqualified if they have spent a cumulative nine years in the said office. The Cricket Association of Bengal had reportedly sought the committee’s clarification as to whether its treasurer Biswarup Dey’s two years as assistant secretary would count towards his cumulative tenure in the association.”For example, in an association where the constitution refers to the assistant treasurer as an office bearer, if a person has occupied that post for three years and also been secretary for six years, he stands disqualified,” the clarification said.