All posts by csb10.top

The Pakistan Cricket Board has abruptly revoked No-Objection Certificates given to 13 players currently in England and the West Indies and has asked them to return home to fulfill national and domestic commitments.The board had originally given as many as 10 players, including seven centrally contracted cricketers, permission to play the entire Caribbean Premier League – which began on August 4 and runs until September 9. Three cricketers without central contracts – Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Sami – have also been asked to return after they were selected by Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Lahore Whites for the National T20 Cup. While there is no contractual compulsion on them to do so, it is expected that they will.

Pakistan players called back

From the CPL: Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Babar Azam, Mohammad Sami, Sohail Tanvir, Kamran Akmal
From England: Sarfraz Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Amir

The same notices went out to Mohammad Amir, who was to stay with Essex until September, Sarfraz Ahmed, who was to play five games for Yorkshire in the Natwest T20 Blast, and Fakhar Zaman, who was set to join Somerset until the end of the season.Essex are currently top of Division One of the Championship, after Amir’s ten-wicket haul helped them to a two-day win over Yorkshire earlier this week. They are understood to be in negotiations with the PCB about when Amir is required to return, but could try to bring back New Zealand quick Neil Wagner, who filled the overseas spot in the first half of the season, as a replacement.”The centrally contracted players were given permission to participate in the CPL and English county season subject to recall if the World XI series took place in mid-September,” the PCB said in a statement. “So they are being recalled owing to the changes in the schedule brought about due to the change in the original plan of the World XI’s tour of Pakistan.”The World XI’s visit – subject to security clearance – was originally scheduled for the last week of September but it has been brought forward into a window between September 10 and 16. This change was made to ensure the series would not clash with a high profile by-election in Lahore on September 17, coming in the wake of the Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification from the post of Prime Minister last month.However, the final call over the World XI matches is expected to be taken by the government. The Law and Order Committee of Punjab has reviewed the PCB’s request to host the series in Lahore and, according to Najam Sethi, the new chairman of the board, both parties are in agreement over dates and are waiting for the approval of the chief minister.Pakistan are also set to travel to the UAE from September 21 for a full series against Sri Lanka. Amid this tight schedule, the PCB announced a National T20 Championship running from August 25 to September 10.”Owing to the late finalisation and rescheduling of the ICC World XI series to be played mid-September, the PCB has been obliged to schedule its National T20 Cup to start near the end of August and finish before the World XI series so that its national team can leave for UAE to play Sri Lanka starting September 24,” the PCB explained. “This has compelled the PCB to call back centrally contracted players in contention for selection for the World XI series next month from their ongoing Caribbean Premier League and English county stints.”The series has been brought forward to mid-September because the Punjab government wants it to be held before the NA120 election on September 17. It can’t be held after September 17 because there is no time to both hold the series and also give coach Mickey Arthur time for training his team before the series against Sri Lanka starts on September 24. The players have been asked to report for a pre-series fitness testing/training camp, as planned by the national team management and the National T20 tournament that starts in Multan on August 25.”The returning players have been asked to report to the National Cricket Academy for fitness and medical tests under Arthur’s supervision on August 22.

The emerging theme from the series between Pakistan and the World XI is that it’s more than just cricket, with the feeling that this is the first time real, high-profile international cricket returns to Pakistan. The actual cricket looks to have taken a back seat, but Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is eager to push it back into focus, looking to maintain Pakistan’s T20 ranking by winning games.The players comprising the World XI hail from seven different countries, and landed in Lahore with a view to reviving cricket in Pakistan. It is a series being celebrated around the country as the future of Pakistan as viable host hinges on the success of the series, which has been ratified by the ICC and holds T20 international status.”I think the burden of responsibility has been increased because we are playing at home but we take every series seriously,” Sarfraz said ahead of the first T20. “This might be a series for a great cause to revive cricket but we have to watch out for our T20 ranking as well. Our ranking is quite high (No. 3) and we want to maintain it so the series is equally important. We will try to win every game one-sidedly. But obviously, they are a strong team on paper and we will have to fight to win.”Sarfraz grew up in an era when Pakistan used to host international teams frequently. He played in the 2008 Asia Cup and was part of the Pakistan squad when Zimbabwe toured the country in 2015. He had also captained Quetta Gladiators in the PSL final earlier this year, but this will be the first instance of him captaining Pakistan on home soil in an international game. Apart from Sarfraz, as many as 10 players out of the 16-man squad have never played an international game at home.Amir debuted in 2009 but has never played at home while Babar Azam, Ahmed Shehzad, and Imad Wasim played their first international in 2015 against Zimbabwe. “I am very excited to have cricket back home after a long time and it is a moment of joy,” Sarfraz said. “Since the incident (Sri Lanka team attack in 2009) this is my third event in Pakistan.”As captain it’s my first, so for me, it’s a proud moment, as well as for all those who have been selected to play against World XI. I think nothing is more joyous for them than to be playing cricket in Pakistan and we are hopeful that after this series, cricket will be regularly played in the country. We have a young team building up and we are fully prepared ahead of the game. We played with a blend of young player in West Indies, as we are now, but at the same time, we have the likes of Ahmed Shezhad, with ample experience along with Shoaib Malik, so there isn’t any worry at all. We are actually trying to play young players who will step up to the plate.”

ScorecardAFP

Yasir Ali’s brisk century and Abu Hider’s three-for starred for Bangladesh A, helping them trounce Ireland A by 76 runs in the fifth unofficial ODI in Cox’s Bazar, leaving the visitors without a win on tour. Bangladesh A completed a 4-0 win in the ODIs, and had also win the solitary unofficial Test.Batting first, Bangladesh A racked up 286 for 6 in 50 overs. Yasir joined Shadman Islam at the crease in the 15th over, by which time Anamul Haque and Nazmul Hossain Shanto were both dismissed. Yasir and Shadman added 132 runs in 22.5 overs, with the latter making 68 off 103 balls, with one six and four fours.Bangladesh A scored 85 runs in the last five overs with Yasir leading the charge. He struck five sixes and eight fours in his 101-ball 102. Barry McCarthy and Shane Getkate took two wickets each while Simi Singh and George Dockrell took one apiece.The visitors started poorly, losing Sean Terry and the in-form Andrew Balbirnie in the first 9.2 overs. Thereafter, Jack Tector and John Anderson added 83 runs for the third wicket to bring them back into the contest.But from 117 for 2, Ireland A lost four wickets in the less than eight overs, before eventually getting bowled out for 210 runs in 43.4 overs.

Big pictureAfter four weeks of mostly woeful cricket, Bangladesh finally showed some fight in the first T20I although they still lost the game by 20 runs. South Africa were thankful that some of their fringe performers came to the fore, notably their fast bowlers, and for the late impetus provided by Farhaan Behardien.In an ironic twist, Bangladesh had hit more boundaries (21) than South Africa (20) on Thursday, but Andile Phehlukwayo, Robbie Frylinck, Dane Paterson and Beuran Hendricks managed to offset that by stringing together a lot of dot balls – 52 in total. An inexperienced bowling attack came under fire but did quite well to withstand it.Bangladesh’s spinners performed just as well, especially Mehidy Hasan, who was instrumental in ensuring South Africa were kept to under 200. The skill he showed to dismiss a rampaging AB de Villiers, refusing him the room to free the arms, or the length to get under the ball should give Bangladesh some hope. But they need their batsmen to step up, especially the seniors. Otherwise they run the risk of returning home empty handed.Form guideSouth Africa: WLWLW
Bangladesh: LWLLL
Dane Paterson sends one down•AFP

In the spotlightRobbie Frylinck‘s two wickets in his international debut should have come as a relief, having made his debut at the age of 33. One of them was Shakib Al Hasan’s who had just struck him for two fours. South Africa would be hoping Frylinck keeps his nerve if similar situations arise in the second game.Soumya Sarkar finally showed some spark on this tour of South Africa, although some may argue he has come to the party far too late. Still through his quickfire 47, the opener showed why Bangladesh’s team management trusts him so much.Team newsSouth Africa may keep their winning combination going, but considering they had earmarked the T20Is as a means to test the mettle of their fringe players, wicketkeeper Mangaliso Mosehle, fast bowler Dwaine Pretorius and left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi might still make the XI.South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk)/ Mangaliso Mosehle, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 JP Duminy (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Robbie Frylinck, 9 Dane Paterson/ Dwaine Pretorius, 10 Beuran Hendricks, 11 Aaron Phangiso/ Tabraiz ShamsiLiton Das or Nasir Hossain is likely to play after the BCB president Nazmul Hassan said they are likely to add an extra batsman to the line-up on Friday.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Imrul Kayes, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah 7 Nasir Hossain/Taskin Ahmed, 8 Mehidy Hasan, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel HossainPitch and conditionsThe first Test was held in Potchefstroom, which produced a lot of runs but also afforded a bit of turn. Conditions are expected to be similar for the T20I, with weather being forecast as dry.Stats and trivia

• Farhaan Behardien hasn’t been dismissed in his last three innings against Bangladesh, though he has made only 76 runs.
• This will be the first T20 international held in Potchefstroom.

Big Bash League clubs and players have been reminded of their responsibilities and processes under Cricket Australia’s anti-corruption measures even as the governing body’s chief executive James Sutherland poured further cold water on allegations of potential spot-fixing relationships in the game in Australia.Following a report in on the first morning of the Perth Test match, the ICC’s anti-corruption chief Alex Marshall briefed Sutherland and ECB chief executive Tom Harrison on the material passed on from the newspaper to the ACU, and Australian players were also briefed on the first evening of the match. Sutherland said he had subsequently spoken several times more to Marshall, while all BBL teams had received the strong message that CA wanted the competition to be “the biggest, best and cleanest sports league in the country, if not the world”.CA has not been advised of whether or not any Australian players will be interviewed as part of the ICC’s investigation. “We’ve taken the opportunity to reiterate a few things with everyone, just to understand various processes, responsibilities and our very clear aspiration is we want the Big Bash League to be the biggest and the best and the cleanest sports league in the country, if not the world,” Sutherland said in Melbourne. “Certainly from our perspective that’s why we have such high standards around anti-corruption, security and we’ll stop at nothing to keep reinforcing our zero tolerance approach.”What we saw was a bit of a scattergun, mud-slinging sort of exercise from people who would appear to be boasting about people they know when they perhaps really don’t know them. From there, that’s not to say anything in there should be underestimated. It’s beholden on ICC in particular and we’ll co-operate as best we can as well – to work out whether there’s anything credible in those allegations. But until you get to any sort of belief or feeling that there’s anything credible in there, you’re not really going anywhere and you don’t get into any sort of serious in-depth investigation.”I don’t know the details of their process and how they’ll go about it – and I don’t think it’s something I need to get particularly involved with. But sort of – all I would say is we’ve given with the trust, to the ICC and the anti-corruption unit. Alex leads that and I’ve got great confidence in him and his team and their ability to work through it as appropriate. I’ve had two or three chats with [Marshall] since then. His initial judgment has only been reaffirmed by any work that he’s done since – I think that’s fair to say.”Concurrent to the BBL is the Women’s Big Bash League, the flagship Twenty20 tournament of the women’s game that has grown exponentially in professionalism and success in the past few years. The recent graduation of women’s cricket in Australia to full professionalism and far better wages helped remove one of the key risk factors for corruption – underpaid players – but Sutherland said that either way he would be surprised to see any players getting involved in spot-fixing at a time when the game was growing so much.”I know there has always been a theory that where there are lower wages, there is greater susceptibility to corruption,” he said. “But I don’t think that’s true with the Women’s Big Bash League. What we know and understand there are serious consequences and we – Cricket Australia and ICC – are absolutely committed to ensuring those consequences play out properly.Getty Images and Cricket Australia

“And with what’s happening in women’s cricket right now, why on earth would you want to take the risk? These women are part of something special – the wave of support, enthusiasm and growth in the WBBL is outstanding. You just wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of that – or put yourself in a position to be banned for two years, five years or whatever it might be.”Sutherland said he had been annoyed by the timing of the allegations, in the hours before the start of what turned out to be the pivotal match of the Ashes series, compelling him to go into the Australian team “bubble” to address the allegations. “It was pretty annoying,” he said. “It seemed to be a major distraction and nothing much more than an attempt to bring down – or discredit – an Ashes Test match. We were about to start the third and a very important Test match of the summer. It was pleasing the ICC were able to do their review as quickly as they did to make some initial judgment and I think everyone responded pretty confidently off the back of that.””[The team] are a bit in the bubble and certainly very focused on that. I think we all know and understand that once they’re in game mode it’s very difficult to get them to vary from that. They’re fine and in fact the way it unfolded, it was almost like the issue had gone by the end of the Test match. And I spoke to them briefly during the Test match and it was always like ‘well we didn’t even know anything about that’ but just in case – I gave them a bit of a briefing on it.”

Big picture

Sri Lanka have won just five out of 27 completed ODIs this year. But if there’s a way to turn around a disappointing year, it can’t get better than ending it with their first-ever series win in India.Their bowlers skittled India for a little over 100 in Dharamsala. Then, in Mohali, they wilted as Rohit Sharma walloped a sensational third double-ton to take the series into a decider. For Sri Lanka to stand a chance, they’ll need their players to have an impact of the kind Suranga Lakmal had in the first ODI – where he swung his way to four top-order wickets – and Angelo Mathews in the second.India, meanwhile, have not lost a series at home all year, across formats. That isn’t to say they haven’t been uncomfortable. They did just about enough to come from behind and squeeze out a 2-1 win over New Zealand. After seeing their batsmen crumble under cloudy Dharamsala skies, they’ll be wary of the potential that the Sri Lankan bowlers possess when the pitch has something to offer.It took whirlwind hundreds from Virat Kohli and Rohit in the decider against New Zealand to clinch their last ODI series, while it was Rohit’s 208* in Mohali that took India’s total beyond Sri Lanka’s reach. Can India find someone to step up beyond these two, again?India’s middle order crumbled in the Champions Trophy final in England. In the decider against New Zealand in Kanpur and in the first ODI of this series, they withered in tough conditions. Shreyas Iyer showed glimpses of his potential in making 88 in the second ODI. Can he present a case for himself to be considered even when Kohli returns? Time for the middle order, which hasn’t had the kind of batting time they would like in the series, to come good.

Form guide

India: WLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LWLLL

In the spotlight

With Iyer finding his footing in Mohali, the focus shifts to Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik. In their last four innings, Pandey and Karthik have scored 82 and 105 runs respectively. Both have got starts on days when every other batsman has been on song, but have failed to make much noise when the top order has crumbled. If both batsmen find themselves in the middle before the 30th over, the onus will be on them to play high-impact innings.Lakmal’s performance with the ball has often been the key to Sri Lanka’s successes (or failures) this year. While he finished with out-of-the-world figures of 4 for 13 in Dharamsala, Lakmal quickly realised how fickle the game was, conceding 71 over eight wicketless overs in Mohali. Can he now deliver a series-defining spell?

Team news

The last time India played at Visakhapatnam, against New Zealand in 2016, Amit Mishra took a five-for. If the pitch on Sunday is anything like how it was last year, India could opt for Kuldeep Yadav’s wristspin over Washington Sundar’s fast offbreaks.India (possible) : 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Dinesh Karthik, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Washington Sundar/Kuldeep Yadav 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal.Mathews, who hit an unbeaten hundred in Mohali, had some fitness concerns leading up to the game but was declared fit on Saturday evening. The captain Thisara Perera said that Sri Lanka would stick to a 12-man squad and decide their XI on the day. Sadeera Samarawickrama could stand a chance of being brought in for Lahiru Thirimanne.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Thisara Perera (capt), 8 Sachith Pathirana, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Akila Dananjaya, 11 Nuwan Pradeep.

Pitch and conditions

Visakhapatnam has always produced an even contest between bat and ball. Only once has any team gone past 300, while both pacers and spinners have enjoyed success here. The coastal conditions could remind Sri Lanka more of Colombo than Mohali. Thisara felt the pitch looked dry and expected it to be slow with a lot of turn.

Stats and trivia

• MS Dhoni needs 102 more to become the fourth Indian – and the 12th overall – to reach 10,000 ODI runs.
• India have won five out of six ODIs they’ve played at the ACA-VDCA Stadium. Their success percentage of 83.33 is second-highest win-percentage among all venues in India.
• India have won each of their last six bilateral series deciders.

Quotes

“India are the best team in the world and I am sure they will be under some sort of pressure.”
“Just how we bounced back after Dharamsala, so can Sri Lanka.”

Joe Root has been withdrawn from England’s T20 squad to play in the inaugural tri-series against Australia and New Zealand next month, as he prepares to make his IPL bow after being entered in the auction that takes place in Bangalore on January 27 and 28.Root, who had initially declined the opportunity to sit out the tournament after a draining winter of international cricket, including captaining England to a 4-0 defeat in the Ashes, will instead return home for a break before resuming his place in the squad for the ODI series against New Zealand that gets underway on February 25.Root, who is an automatic pick for England across all three formats, admitted his unease at missing out on international duty, especially given that his stated intention is to make his first foray into the IPL in April and May, at a time when he could instead be taking a break.The financial allure of the IPL is a significant factor in Root’s choice. However, with England fully focussed on the 2019 World Cup, the opportunity for the team’s integral members to broaden their experience by taking part in the world’s foremost T20 league is now considered a vital part of their development, and Root’s decision was made in consultation with the head coach, Trevor Bayliss.”I hate missing games of cricket for England,” Root said. “It is something that doesn’t really sit well with me either. It was a long, hard decision that me and Trevor had to come to.”You look at the amount of cricket that we have got coming up and the opportunity that the IPL brings and you almost have to look at it as more of an investment for my game and for all the England team moving forward.”If being involved in that block of cricket, with everything that tournament brings, is going to add more to my game for the next four or five years then missing a few games here might be worthwhile.”Root has entered the IPL auction at the highest reserve price of £170,000, and could be one of a raft of prominent England players to be picked up by franchises for the first time this year.However, he has never before played in an overseas league, and due to his England commitments, he has featured in just five T20 Blast matches since 2012. Part of his reasoning for wanting to remain a part of the England T20 squad was that he feared the shortest form of the game was evolving without him, but he admitted the monetary side of the IPL is a significant draw too.”Of course, there is a money side to it, there is no point lying about it,” he said. “That is obviously a benefit of playing in the IPL but that is not why I went into the auction. I really believe playing a block of Twenty20 cricket with that scrutiny, being under pressure for long periods of time against the world’s players in that format would be a great opportunity to develop and learn my white-ball game.”With the two major tournaments in white-ball cricket around the corner that is what going there is all about, to gain experience in the short form and work with other players around the world who have had a huge amount of exposure to Twenty20 cricket, and see some different coaches.”

Rajshahi Kings have appointed Daniel Vettori as their head coach for the 2018 and 2019 BPL. This will be the first time the former New Zealand captain will be working in Bangladesh.”With his experience as a specialist coach in the T20 format, Daniel will not only help the team but the local youngsters to learn and excel in this very exciting format,” Rajshahi Kings CEO Tahmeed Huq said.Vettori is already the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Brisbane Heat and Middlesex in the domestic T20 leagues.Earlier, Sarwar Imran was Rajshahi’s coach in 2016 and 2017 seasons. Rajshahi were the runners-up in 2016, but finished second last in the 2017 season.

England Lions 171 for 3 (Hain 54*, Davies 48) beat West Indies A 166 (Chase 67, Parkinson 4-26)
ScorecardEngland Lions achieved a consolation seven-wicket win at the end of their disappointing tour of the Caribbean, thanks to an unbeaten 50 from Sam Hain against West Indies A in Antigua.Once again, the Lions had to overcome a batting slump, as they lost three wickets for four runs, but Hain and Sam Northeast came together to put on 80, to take their side home at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.Matt Parkinson, the Lancashire legspinner, was the pick of the Lions bowlers, taking four wickets, while Richard Gleeson and Sam Curran took two apiece with the new ball.Roston Chase’s 67 had helped the hosts set 166, but once Alex Davies and Nick Gubbins put on 87 for the first wicket, the match was firmly in the Lions’ grasp.After West Indies won the toss and chose to bat, they were quickly reduced to 28 for 3, with Kieran Powell hooking Gleeson to fine leg before Jermaine Blackwood holed out to third man.Curran then bowled Devon Thomas for 5 to keep up the pressure, and though Chase found support in a fifty-run stand with Jahmar Hamilton, Parkinson returned to mop up the tail.The Lions started their response positively, with Gubbins and Davies both latching on to any loose deliveries from the Windies bowlers.Gubbins eventually pulled a Cornwall half-tracker straight to Blackwood on the boundary before Davies miscued an attempted ramp off Reifer, and when Jennings was trapped lbw by Cornwall for a duck, the pressure was beginning to build.However, Hain and Northeast carried the Lions over the line to record their first win in any of the unofficial internationals on this tour, following a clean sweep for West Indies A in the Test series.

Australia swing bowler Megan Schutt has become the top-ranked bowler in the ICC’s T20I rankings for women after emerging as the highest wicket-taker in the recent T20 tri-series in India. Australia clinched the title by by beating England in the final in Mumbai, where Schutt was named Player of the Series for her nine wickets from five matches, and the best economy rate in the series (minimum five overs) of 6.28.Schutt had briefly held the top spot last year too, but only for three days in November. She is now on 669 rating points, followed by New Zealand offspinner Leigh Kasperek (630) who picked up 10 wickets in the four home T20s against West Indies. Kasperek jumped seven spots to overtake Hayley Matthews, Jess Jonassen and Poonam Yadav. Poonam went up six places to her career-best fifth spot while her team-mate Jhulan Goswami returned to the top-20 list by taking 15th place.Among the batsmen, Australia captain Meg Lanning moved up one spot to No. 3 after not being dismissed even once during the tri-series while scoring 175 runs, including her match-winning 88* off 45 balls in the final on Saturday. West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor is still at the top while Suzie Bates is second. Australia opener Beth Mooney moved up to fourth place and India’s Smriti Mandhana from 20th to seventh.In the women’s team rankings, which take into account results across formats, Australia are at the top, followed by England, New Zealand and India.