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The Board of Directors of the West Indies Cricket Board will meet on Friday and Saturday in Antigua to review the Draft Strategic Plan for 2011-2016

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2011The board of directors of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will meet on Friday and Saturday in Antigua to review the Draft Strategic Plan for 2011-2016 which was prepared by the WICB management. The plan will be evaluated by WICB president Julian Hunte, vice-president Whycliffe Cameron and the board directors. Other key issues that will be discussed include the draft Schedule of Cricket for 2011-2012 and the Event Memorandum of Understanding between the WICB and Territorial Boards.The Umpires Pathway document along with a programme for improving the existing skills of ground and pitch curators across the region, the WICB Anti-Doping and Anti-Corruption codes and the Communications and Public Relations Policy are all likely to come up for discussion and approval. The Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket and Digicel Grassroots Cricket programmes targeting youth development will be presented.The WICB will also host its Annual General Meeting on Sunday at the same venue.

This match will be of more interest to Mumbai Indians, though, who will want to enter knockouts on a winning note

The Preview by Sidharth Monga18-Apr-2010

Match facts

Kolkata v Mumbai, Kolkata

Monday, April 19
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Will Monday’s clash be Sourav Ganguly’s last for Kolkata?•Indian Premier League

Big picture

At long last, we have a dead rubber in IPL 3.0. Unless, of course, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians, and by a margin so huge that they move from their current net run-rate of -0.456 to higher than Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 0.219. This match will be of more interest to Mumbai, though, who will want to enter knockouts on a winning note.

Form guide

Kolkata WLLWL
Mumbai WWWLL

Team talk

Mumbai made an interesting move by opening with Ryan McLaren against Bangalore. McLaren scored a 42-ball 40 and took 1 for 21 in a Man-of-the-Match performance. They could give that opening combination another chance.Dilhara Fernando, given two chances after Lasith Malinga was rested, has created a headache too: his split-finger slower ball hasn’t been picked at all, and his eight overs have gone for 56 runs and four wickets.The third team issue for Mumbai is the wicketkeeper: neither of Aditya Tare, Ambati Rayudu or Chandan Madan has been good with the big gloves. For the Bangalore match, Tare came back, and wasn’t great. In the same game, Abhishek Nayar returned to fitness and played ahead of Ali Murtaza and R Sathish. Monday’s match will be one final opportunity for Mumbai to sort out the combinations before the knockout stage.Kolkata could decide to draft in those who haven’t had many opportunities this year.

Previously

Mumbai 5 Kolkata 0In their first match this season, Mumbai managed to subdue Kolkata with yorkers and low full tosses: Chris Gayle scored 75 off 60, and Kolkata 155 with only three wickets down. Mumbai chased it down with ease.

In the spotlight

Who knows where Sourav Ganguly will be in next year’s IPL. Will Kolkata want to retain him? On paper there is no reason why they shouldn’t: Ganguly has been their most consistent, and perhaps the best, batsman this year. That their best batsman has struck at 118 per 100 balls tells the season’s story. If Kolkata don’t, who will buy him at the next draft? And will Ganguly, who turns 38 in July, want to play anyway? Given all these considerations, it might just be Ganguly’s last effort for Kolkata.The last time Sachin Tendulkar played at the Eden Gardens, he scored a Test century against South Africa in a famous series-levelling, No.1-retaining win for India. The Eden crowds have been the most partisan in the IPL: when Virender Sehwag scored a half-century for Delhi Daredevils, he met with a hush from the same crowd he had sent into delirium in that Test match. If Tendulkar gets going, though, it will be the biggest test of how partisan the crowd can be.

Prime numbers and trivia

• Of the 20 bowlers who have taken 10 wickets or more, none comes from Kolkata. Four Mumbai bowlers, including Kieron Pollard, feature on that list.
• Kolkata haven’t had regular specialist bowlers: neither of them has played more than nine matches.
• If Mumbai win, they will have won 11 matches; in the last two seasons put together they won 12.

The chatter

“A lot of people are also surprised by my fielding. I am not, because it is just a reflection of the hard work put in throughout the year. That’s what makes it more frustrating. We were not that bad a team to have to depend on others to know our fate.”

The PCB made the decision saying “all three cricketers play all three formats and Pakistan will need their services in the next eight months”

Danyal Rasool20-Jul-2024The Pakistan Cricket Board has refused No-Objection Cetificates (NOCs) to Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for the Global T20 in Canada. In a statement, the PCB said it had decided against issuing these NOCs “after consulting with the three players and the selection committee”.The decision comes shortly after the PCB also refused Naseem Shah’s NOC to play the Hundred last week. Naseem had been signed by Birmingham Phoenix in a deal that would have seen him earn GBP 125,000.As ESPNcricinfo reported a few days earlier, the PCB was expected to deny NOCs to all four players owing to their status as all-format international cricketers, and have cited the heavy upcoming international schedule as the reason: “It should be remembered that between August 2024 and March 2025, the Pakistan cricket team has to play nine Tests of the ICC World Test Championship, the ICC Champions Trophy, 14 ODIs and nine T20Is. All three cricketers play all three formats and Pakistan will need their services in the next eight months.”The PCB’s denial of NOCs appears contingent on the extent of international availability of the players concerned. Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz and Asif Ali recently received NOCs for multiple T20 tournaments, but with the busy Test schedule in the months ahead, the PCB has moved to prevent red-ball cricketers from tournaments in the days leading up to the series against Bangladesh in August.Related

• Pakistan to host Tests against Bangladesh, England and WI in packed 2024-25 season

• PCB set for collision course after rejecting NOC to Naseem Shah

The decision to pull three marquee players out of the league in Canada, as well as Naseem from the Hundred, is significant. The three-year central contracts the PCB and the players signed last year allowed for two overseas franchise competitions per year, as long as those did not clash with international commitments. While the contracts do state the PCB has the right to refuse NOCs if it feels it is in the best interests of the Pakistan team, the decision to withdraw the players from leagues which do not directly clash with international cricket is set to cause discontent among players affected, and questions around whether the allowance made in central contracts is being respected in spirit.Afridi, in particular, had expected to be allowed to take part in the Global T20 Canada, even announcing a pullout from the Hundred last month. The NOC rejections are set to go further than just the leagues over the next month. Pakistan have a virtually non-stop cricketing schedule from October 2024 to May 2025.They play three Tests against England at home, followed by limited-overs series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, a Test series in South Africa, a home Test series against West Indies, a home tri-series featuring South Africa and New Zealand, a home Champions Trophy, eight white-ball games in New Zealand, and the PSL. It is understood the PCB will entertain no NOC requests during that period for all-format players, which coincides with a spate of T20 leagues.Bangladesh are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan in mid-August, with two Tests in Rawalpindi and Karachi beginning on August 21 and August 30 respectively.

Ireland came back from 27 for 4 to take their lead past 100 on the third day

Mohammad Isam06-Apr-2023Lorcan Tucker led Ireland’s resistance against Bangladesh in the Dhaka Test, batting out the third day after starting it on 27 for 4. Tucker became the second Irishman to score a century on Test debut, and the sixth wicketkeeper to do so, as his 108 involved two sizeable partnerships to keep them in the hunt. Ireland ended on 286 for 8, when everyone thought that Test would end early on the third day.The visitors’ 131-run lead may not look impressive but they have done enough to put questions in Bangladesh’s mind. The home side doesn’t have a great chasing record at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, where they haven’t won since 2020. Taijul Islam was the pick of the bowlers again, taking his tally to nine wickets in the match, but Shakib bowling just six overs in the day was a peculiar decision given that he looked fit and fielded all day.Tucker defied the Bangladesh spinners superbly. His celebration after reaching the hundred got cheers from the tiny crowd who appreciated the young batter’s century. His 111-run stand with Andy McBrine for the seventh wicket frustrated Bangladesh for 28.3 overs, as Ireland put together a string of partnerships.The visitors had started the day on 27 for 4 after their top order crumbled in 6.5 overs on the second evening. Shakib and Taijul shared those four wickets and looked menacing. But PJ Moor and Tector negated them for 10.1 overs late on the second day, before continuing in the same vein on the third morning.Litton dropped Tector on nine in the second over of the day, but that was the only chance that went down. Tector and Moor lasted 25.4 overs for the fifth wicket and though they added only 38, it served as the foundation for the rest of the day. Moor fell to the one shot he played away from his body, edging Shoriful Islam at the end of the first hour.Tector and Tucker picked up the tempo with some fine shots. Tucker started with a reverse-swept four off Mehidy Hasan Miraz, before Tector cracked a cover drive off Shoriful. Tucker then played two pulls against Ebadot Hossain, before launching Khaled over midwicket with a flick. Tector’s last boundary was a straight drive before he fell for 56, having struck seven fours and a six in his 159-ball innings.Bangladesh celebrate Peter Moor’s wicket•Walton

Their partnership had lasted 24 overs, and they added 72 at three runs per over. It was the boost that Ireland needed, and McBrine and Tucker took that momentum forward.Ireland scored 106 in the middle session, during which Tucker reached his hundred with a cover drive off Taijul. Tucker finally got out when he drove Ebadot waywardly to cover, where Shoriful let out a huge roar after taking the catch. But Ireland weren’t done yet. McBrine reached his maiden fifty, adding another 31 runs for the eighth wicket with Mark Adair.Even the way the day ended – the ninth-wicket pair of McBrine and Graham Hume batting out the remaining 8.3 overs – will encourage Ireland to have a go at Bangladesh on the fourth day.

Players paid 50% of match fees for tournaments missed due to the pandemic

Shashank Kishore02-Jan-2022In a move best described by a domestic player as a “Christmas gift”, the BCCI has begun to disburse the match fees it owes hundreds of domestic cricketers – male and female – for tournaments that had to be shelved due to Covid-19 in the 2020-21 season.ESPNcricinfo understands that players from those associations who have duly sent in the filled in invoices have begun to be compensated 50% of their regular earnings.A number of players are yet to receive payments because of procedural delays with regards to invoices raised. The delays are understood to be due to issues at the state associations’ end. These are expected to be cleared soon upon receipt of invoices.The Ranji Trophy was cancelled for the first time in its 85-year history in 2020-21 for the senior men. In the women’s category, the T20 tournament was shelved due to the severity of the second wave of the pandemic in the country.The compensation payments are in line with the formula worked out by the Mohammad Azharuddin-led seven-member working group, which was tasked with formulating compensation for the Covid-19-affected season by the BCCI.A player who featured in eight games in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy, for example, received INR 11.20 lakh (USD 15,000 approx.), the match fee per day for the four-day tournament being INR 35,000 (USD 470 approx.). For 2020-21, under the compensation structures drawn up, the same player will receive INR 5.10 lakh (USD 6,800 approx.).Players who didn’t make the XI for certain games in 2019-20 will be compensated for 2020-21 on a pro-rata basis. For example, if a player was part of a team’s XI for four games and on the bench for four games in the 2019-20 season, for 2020-21 he will be compensated with 50% of the match fees for four games and 50% of the corresponding fees for players outside the starting XI for the remainder of the games.The clearing of payments coincides with the start of the new Ranji Trophy season from January 13 to March 17 across seven venues, even as confusion reigns among certain players over further tweaks to the scheduling owing to the rise in Covid-19 cases across the country, accelerated by the Omicron variant.Earlier in the week, the BCCI was forced to postpone the Under-16 tournament, the Vijay Merchant Trophy, because “participants are still not vaccinated and as such, are vulnerable” as per BCCI secretary Jay Shah. Those below 18 years of age are still not eligible to take the vaccine in the country; eligible recipients in the age group of 15-18 years will only be administered Covid-19 vaccines starting from January 3.Regarding payments for 2021-22, the board had earlier announced a significant increase in match fees for domestic players. The new pay slabs, which will be in place from this season, will have the senior men earning between INR 40,000 and 60,000 (USD 540 to 810 approx.) per day of cricket while senior women will earn up to INR 20,000 (USD 270 approx.) per day.That hike is a small one for the players in the first category (under 20 matches) but an almost 100% hike for more experienced hands (40-plus games), while those who have played between 21 and 40 matches will earn INR 50,000 (USD 680 approx.). Earlier, senior men’s cricketers earned INR 35,000 (USD 470 approx.) per day for first-class and one-day games regardless of how many caps they had, and INR 17,500 (USD 240 approx.) per game for T20s.Related

• BCCI announces increase in monthly pensions of former players and umpires

• FAQs: Everything you wanted to know about the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy

• BCCI unveils two-phased plan for Ranji Trophy

• BCCI's Ranji plan: League phase in Feb-March, knockouts in June

• Cooch Behar Trophy postponed following 'positive Covid-19 cases within the team environment'

For the senior women players, who earlier earned INR 12,500 (USD 170 approx.) per one-day match and INR 6,250 (USD 85 approx.) per T20 match, the pay has been raised to INR 20,000 for playing XI members and INR 10,000 (USD 135 approx.) for those on the bench in both limited-overs formats. There currently isn’t a first-class competition for women in India, the last multi-day women’s tournament in the country – the 2017-2018 Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Three-Day Game – having been held in March-April 2018.While the hikes have been welcomed by the playing fraternity, there’s disgruntlement at a significant reduction in the number of matches. In 2019-20, for example, each side played eight group matches in the Ranji Trophy followed by three knockout games (if they made the final). This time around, teams will play just five group matches, which significantly reduce the net increase in pay.Players across the country are hoping to address this issue at the conclusion of the current season, when the BCCI organises their annual captains and coaches conclave.

The players’ body has warned of administrative ‘dysfunctionality that threatens the existence of the game in our country’

Firdose Moonda19-Aug-2020The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) has issued a stern warning about the state of the game in the country and warned that its existence is under threat following the departure of the CEO and the president of Cricket South Africa (CSA). SACA has called on Chris Nenzani, who resigned as president over the weekend, to offer an explanation for stepping away three weeks before his tenure ended and for CSA to show leadership in matters relating to the suspended CEO Thabang Moroe and the season ahead.”SACA has engaged directly with players over the past few weeks, and there is a growing realisation amongst players that their careers as professional cricketers are being threatened by the very organization that should be nurturing them,” a SACA statement read.It further asked that CSA work appropriately to resolve the issues of discrimination that have come to light following Lungi Ngidi’s stance on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and the resumption of the domestic and international season and Moroe’s disciplinary situation. Most pressingly for SACA, South Africa’s players, both men and women, have no indication of when they will return to play following the Covid-19 hiatus, both as a result of international borders being closed and because no domestic fixtures have been finalised.ALSO READ – Graeme Smith ‘shocked’ after threats on supporting Black Lives Matter movement“CSA must show leadership in dealing with the various crises facing the game; the transformation and discrimination crisis that has come to the fore over the past two months; the resumption of domestic and international cricket under COVID-19; the finalization of the disciplinary matter of the suspended CEO; the forensic investigation; and the forecast deficit which has the potential to financially cripple the game,” the statement read.Franchise teams have returned to training and there is talk of the season starting in November but there is no clarity on whether the franchise T20 tournament, the Mzansi Super League (MSL), will take place or who will lead CSA through the next few months.An Acting CEO, Kugandrie Govender, was named this morning and will hold the post until the Moroe case is finalised. Only then can CSA begin the search for a new CEO. CSA is also operating under an acting president, Beresford Williams, with a new president set to be elected at the AGM on September 5. Nenzani has undertaken to engage with the media after that but SACA CEO Andrew Breetzke would like answers from him immediately.”Mr Nenzani owes all stakeholders an immediate explanation as to why he has stood down a mere three weeks before the CSA AGM, after he had refused to do so over the previous eight-month period despite calls to do so from key stakeholders within the game,” Breetzke said. “Together with the sudden resignation of Dr Jacques Faul as acting-CEO, one can only deduce that the Board of Directors has yet again reached a level of dysfunctionality that threatens the existence of the game in our country.”SACA has consistently led calls for Nenzani and Williams to step down, following last year’s administrative meltdown and again pointed to the board as being responsible for the troubles in the game. SACA continue to point at CSA’s inability to resolve its myriad problems as being due to lack of corporate governance and warned the game may face “total collapse” if issues are not dealt with.”CSA is embroiled in destructive politics at Board and Management level. It is evident that cricket is unable to self-correct,” Omphile Ramela, SACA’s president said. ” Many of the administrative challenges confronting the game are as a result of administrators failing to adhere to principles of corporate governance. Before we see the total collapse of the game of cricket there needs to be a leadership intervention at Board and Management level that is able to stabilise and transform both the game and the business of cricket.”

Sri Lanka arrive in Edinburgh having lost eight straight ODIs and new captain Dimuth Karunaratne must now not only band together a struggling team, but also prove his own worth in the XI

The Preview by Peter Della Penna in Edinburgh17-May-2019

Big picture

On the eve of the World Cup, there’s still time for a tune-up fight or two for a former champion as they gear up for the main event. In one corner, wearing purple and gold trunks, stands the Associate annihilator. Across the ring in the other corner, wearing plaid blue and white, stands the Associate on the rise.Arguably no Full Member has feasted on global cricket’s second-tier opposition more than Sri Lanka. They have especially enjoyed their fill when raiding European shores.Before new-age England made 400 totals passé, Sri Lanka’s total of 443 for 9 against Netherlands in 2006 stood as the ODI benchmark for more than a decade. Eight years later, they bowled the same opposition out at the 2014 World T20 for 39. They continued to show no mercy against Ireland on a visit to Malahide in 2016 by sprinting to 377.But they arrive in Edinburgh having lost eight straight ODIs, including a 5-0 sweep at the hands of South Africa. If traditions are made to be broken, then Scotland helped end the wretched run for Associates against Sri Lanka with a seven-wicket win in an unofficial warm-up at Kent in 2017 leading into the Champions Trophy. After two decades of futility against Test nations, that win gave Scotland the belief that they no longer have to hope heavyweight opposition shows up overweight and out of shape to be vulnerable enough for a sucker-punch.Scotland’s players aren’t afraid to stand in the middle of the ring and trade punches with a bloodied and bruised opponent, to wear them down and go all 12 rounds if not knock them down to the canvas. Just ask Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and a No. 1 ranked England.Though Netherlands claimed the WCL Championship and a spot in the 13-team ODI Super League beginning next year, it is Scotland who have made an even more compelling case over the last two years to become the 13th Full Member by virtue of their sustained competitiveness against Test nations. That feistiness was on display once again last week in a two-run loss on DLS to Afghanistan. In fact, a win over Sri Lanka will tick off one of the ICC’s defined criteria for applying for Full Membership: having three wins in ODIs or T20Is over top-10 ranked opposition inside 24 months.That run of form since 2017 has put ringside seats in hot demand. Cricket Scotland announced on Thursday that the malleable capacity at The Grange, capped at 1500 with temporarily imported stands for this series, had sold out for the first ODI. The Stockbridge faithful and a loyal Sri Lankan traveling fan troupe await the ding-ding-ding of bat on ball to signal the opening bell.

Form guide

Scotland LWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLLLLMatthew Cross is all smiles after scoring a hundred•Getty Images

In the spotlight

A former MCC Young Cricketer, wicketkeeper Matthew Cross had been simmering with the bat for several years before a breakout 106 not out as part of a 201-run opening stand with Kyle Coetzer in the seven-wicket warm-up win over Sri Lanka in 2017. He followed it with his maiden ODI ton last year, then another against UAE at the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. Though Kyle Coetzer gets most of the plaudits at the top of the order, Cross remains a threat.Few players at the forthcoming World Cup find themselves in as strange a position as Dimuth Karunaratne. Not part of Sri Lanka’s ODI side since the 2015 World Cup, he has been parachuted in as an emergency captain, following eight successive losses under Lasith Malinga. Karunaratne must now not only band together a struggling team, but also prove his own worth in the XI. Whether the selectors made the correct choice in installing him as captain remains to be seen, but he will feel a lot better about his leadership if he can produce runs at the top of the order.

Team news

Scotland vice-captain Richie Berrington suffered a broken left pinky in the field after making unbeaten 170 off 145 balls on Monday playing for Western Warriors in Scotland’s domestic 50-over competition. Dylan Budge has been drafted into the squad but Berrington’s slot will more likely be a toss-up between specialist batsman Michael Jones and Michael Leask’s all-round package.Scotland (possible): 1 Kyle Coetzer (capt.), 2 Matthew Cross (wk), 3 Calum MacLeod, 4 Michael Jones, 5 George Munsey, 6 Craig Wallace, 7 Tom Sole, 8 Mark Watt, 9 Alasdair Evans, 10 Safyaan Sharif, 11 Brad WhealIt’s difficult to pin down Sri Lanka’s exact XI, but Malinga has not yet arrived in Scotland, having played in the IPL final last Sunday, giving an opportunity for some of the medium pacers to make a final argument for being in the first choice World Cup starting XI against New Zealand at Cardiff on June 1.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt.), 2 Lahiru Thirimanne/Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Kusal Perera (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Jeffrey Vandersay, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pitch and conditions

Regardless of the finish being decided by Duckworth-Lewis, Scotland’s first innings total of 325 looked below par in the loss to Afghanistan last week and the pitch may force bowlers to toil once more. The forecast is calling for rain in Edinburgh from midnight until 1pm on match day, though the drainage at the Grange is excellent so the probability of completing a reduced-overs match is high.

Stats & Trivia

• Dimuth Karunaratne is one of the few players to have been in the XI on Sri Lanka’s last visit to the Grange in 2011. Both he and Mahela Jayawardene made half-centuries opening the batting in Sri Lanka’s 183-run win.
• The only other official ODI between the sides was at the 2015 World Cup, which Sri Lanka won by 148 runs.
• Calum MacLeod needs 47 runs to become the second Scotland batsman to cross 2000 runs in ODIs. Captain Kyle Coetzer became the first during his 79 last Friday against Afghanistan.

Quotes

“I think the thing we remember most about the match is the style of cricket we played. We talked about being aggressive with the ball and bat, stamping our authority on the game. It kind of kickstarted from there for everything that followed that so it was quite an important day in Scottish cricket.”
“We had a bad year for one-dayers but I think we did really well in the Test series. In South Africa, the major thing was team spirit. We played together. There was no senior-junior things. We played 11 as a team. So that sort of thing I want to get into the one-day side as well.”

Having been Bangladesh’s head coach – a role he had held since 2014 – the current Sri Lanka coach was privy to information on individual players’ games. Sri Lanka have used that effectively to gain a substantial edge

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Feb-2018It had been suspected right through Sri Lanka’s tour, but it is now official: Chandika Hathurusingha’s knowledge of Bangladesh players and conditions provided Sri Lanka with a substantial edge.Having been Bangladesh’s head coach – a role he had held since 2014 – until October last year, Hathurusingha was instrumental to the long-term development of the Bangladesh side, and was privy to information on the state of individual players’ games. His defection to Sri Lanka was acrimonious, particularly as he had not publicly divulged his reasons for the early exit. As a result, there has been rankling in Bangladesh about the insider information he has wielded on this tour. On the eve of Sri Lanka’s final match in the country, Hathurusingha himself conceded his insight into the Bangladesh side had proved useful for Sri Lanka, who won the ODI tri-nation series, and the Test series.”I think yes, to be honest [knowledge of Bangladesh did help],” he said. “We had some strategic plans for some of the players. We knew how they would react under pressure. They came very hard in the first two games, which I expected. If that didn’t happen, I would have been very disappointed. I have never not left something behind. I was happy about it, and then happy about how we came back as well. All in all, it was a satisfying tour for me personally. But then again, after I leave, I want Bangladesh to do well. I am actually keeping [an] eye on how they are going forward.”Sri Lanka employed several unusual strategies throughout this tour, many of which yielded rich dividends. The emphasis on short-pitched bowling during the ODI tournament was almost certainly a strategy devised by Hathurusingha. Sri Lanka’s reading of the two Test-match pitches was also near-perfect. In Chittagong, anticipating a batting track, Sri Lanka played an extra bowler. In Mirpur, which substantially favoured the bowlers, Sri Lanka handed a debut to Akila Dananjaya, who took the most wickets in the game. The offspinners also often bowled around the wicket to Bangladesh’s left-hand batsmen – a ploy that was frequently effective.Bangladesh’s acting limited-overs captain was also of the view that some Sri Lanka tactics were founded upon Hathurusingha’s familiarity with the opposition.”Hathu was with us recently,” Mahmudullah said. He knows pretty much everything about us. He definitely used that information. He is a quality coach, and he has the capability. But if we had done our job properly, we would have been winning and we wouldn’t have had to talk about this. It was upon us to do something good.”Just as Mahmudullah placed blame for Bangladesh’s performance on the team itself, Hathurusingha also suggested that at least some of the hosts’ woes were of their own making. Bangladesh had dominated their first three matches of the tri-nations series, even inflicting a record defeat in their first match against Sri Lanka. But since then, they have been winless in five consecutive matches against Sri Lanka, across formats.”I don’t think Bangladesh panicked,” Hathurusingha said. “They played really well at the start of the tri-series. They put both opposition teams under pressure playing how they know to play. I think they put doubt on themselves after few failures. I was surprised that they went down that quickly.”Having won the first match on Thursday, Sri Lanka cannot lose the T20 series, but they will sweep the trophies on this tour if they can muster another victory. After the torrid 2017 Sri Lanka had experienced, this tour has already been a substantial fillip to players and fans – much of the credit going to Hathurusingha’s coaching.”Actually I am very pleased with the response I got from the Sri Lanka players,” Hathurusingha said. “I think it has got to do with the familiarity of being with my country. It helped me communicate better. It took time but they responded very well to the challenges.”

Ashwin picked up his 24th five-for to wrap up the Mumbai Test by an innings and 36 runs and the series 3-0 for India

The Report by Alagappan Muthu12-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details23:20

Sourav Ganguly and Jonathan Trott discuss India’s emphatic victory over England in the Mumbai Test

With a victory over England by an innings and 36 runs, India have secured their fifth consecutive series and regained the Anthony De Mello trophy. R Ashwin picked up his second five-for of the match, and the 24th of his career, to make sure the formalities were complete by the first half hour on the fifth day. He took his first wicket when the visitors were 180 for 4. They were all out for 195. It was only the third time in Test history that a team had made 400 in the first innings and then lost by an innings.The end was very quick and very messy. Jonny Bairstow was sent packing in the second over and Chris Woakes in the fourth. Their dismissals provided a simple little summary of the difference in skill between the sides in subcontinent conditions.Ashwin flicked a carrom ball on middle and leg with the intention of making Bairstow play across the line and the batsman obliged. Bairstow failed to pick the variation, was squared up when the ball turned the wrong way, and sharply, and was plumb lbw. Woakes, in the next Ashwin over, went for a loose cover drive, but the ball dipped on him and stormed through the gate to hit the stumps. Reading the ball out of the hand is key to playing on turning tracks, as is avoiding strokes that have a high degree of risk, like hitting against the break.Adil Rashid gave an example of the other thing batsmen weren’t supposed to do: throw their wicket away. He lobbed a catch to deep midwicket off Ashwin’s third over. James Anderson came out and was promptly pulled into some polite conversation by the close-in fielders after his criticism of their captain. He popped a catch to midwicket to give Ashwin his sixth wicket and the best match figures by a spinner at Wankhede stadium – 12 for 167.With the win in Mumbai, India were unbeaten for 17 matches in a row – equalling their longest such streak in Test cricket.

A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy Group B matches on October 11, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Left-arm spinner Rahil Shah took two wickets and complemented pacer Aswin Crist•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A four-wicket haul from the medium-pacer Aswin Crist helped Tamil Nadu to crucial first-innings points, against Madhya Pradesh in Indore. MP, who began the day well-placed at 181 for 0 in reply to Tamil Nadu’s 596, suffered a mini-blip once Rahil Shah provided the breakthrough to dismiss Aditya Shrivastava for 90. Shrivastava’s opening partner Jalaj Saxena made his way to a century, but quick strikes from Crist meant MP fell from 213 for 0, to 288 for 7. Naman Ojha offered a brief resistance, scoring 87 and putting up a 94-run stand with Puneet Datey, but Rahil and L Vignesh soon cleaned up the tail, ensuring MP were bowled out 407, and that TN took away three vital points.
ScorecardAndhra claimed three points against Gujarat on the back of a first-innings lead of 113 runs. Resuming the final day on 24 for 1, Gujarat were held together by four half-centuries. Opener Priyank Kirit Panchal added 109 with Bhargav Merai before he became Bodapati Sumanth’s maiden first-class victim. Panchal was the next fall when he was trapped lbw by Prasanth Kumar for 72 off 173 balls. Ruijul Bhatt and Parthiv Patel also hit fifties as Gujarat finished at 254 for 4 in 90 overs.Wicketkeeper-batsman Srikar Bharat, who scored 127 in the first innings, was named Man of the Match.Mumbai v Punjab: Herwadkar six-for seals Mumbai’s innings win