Riki Wessels’ 60 prevented Worcestershire from taking a decisive grip on their top-of-the-table encounter but Nottinghamshire still have work to do to avoid defeat

David Hopps at Trent Bridge06-Sep-2017Nottinghamshire 193 and 138 for 5 (Wessels 60) lead Worcestershire 243 (Barnard 55, Mullaney 4-31) by 88 runs
Riki Wessels kept Notts afloat in their second innings•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire’s faith in attacking cricket on responsive Trent Bridge pitches has been fundamental to their surge to the top of Division Two and their anticipated securing of a treble that already includes both limited-overs trophies.But play with fire and occasionally you get burned. Two days into their final home Championship match of the season, their unbeaten record is in peril. Worcestershire, their closest challengers, hold the edge, with Notts only 88 ahead with five wickets intact, and the batsman most likely to fashion victory, Riki Wessels, dismissed five overs before the close for 60, from 79 balls, cutting at Josh Tongue.For Sussex and Kent, this had promised to be the round when Worcestershire would falter and their own ambitions of runners-up spot, and promotion, would be sharpened as a result. Instead, Worcestershire claimed a first-innings lead of 50 from an unlikely position of 89 for 6 and then bagged four Notts wickets before the arrears were paid off. Sussex, meanwhile, are following on in Northampton and Kent are in quite a scrap away to Durham.When Wessels came to the crease, with Notts still seven behind, it was not inconceivable on such a rip-roaring, fluctuating day that Worcestershire could win in two days and they might well have done so had he not survived an lbw appeal, first ball, from Joe Leach.He has had an outstanding season over both four days and 20 overs and, on a day when many batsmen nicked off as they pushed hard at the ball, he tended to sit back, make the bowlers come to him, and dealt in pulls, cuts and punches. It was Wessels’ innings of 69 and 48 that helped tip the balance against another promotion contender, Northants, last week.Until Wessels’ intervention, Trent Bridge’s “Batman” scoreboard, so called because of its black background and two pointy ears, told a disturbing tale for home supporters. Even Adam West, who played the caped crusader in the kitsch 1960s Batman series – a far cry from the dark and meaningful big budget versions of the 21st century – would have struggled to find a solution conveniently hidden in his utility belt. And this was a man who once pulled out a live fish from his nether regions.Batman was no doubt in evidence when Notts emerged triumphant on NatWest Finals day, along with every other fancy-dress character ever imagined. Four days after the event home supporters were still uplifted, stopping each other around the ground and asking: “How’s your hangover?”The hangover was most noticeable on the pitch as the shift back to the four-day game brought a disinclination to meet a challenging pitch with defensive excellence. The most effective innings were defiant counterattacking affairs in adversity: not just Wessels, but Ben Cox and Ed Barnard for Worcestershire as they recovered to 243.There were some high-profile casualties as 16 wickets fell, with Worcestershire’s starlet Joe Clarke and Notts’ Alex Hales among them. Clarke and Hales are both outsiders for a place in England’s Ashes squad, Hales by dint of a few eye-catching biggies, Clarke promoted as such by his coach, Steve Rhodes, as he played the age-old card of inspiring one of his charges with talk of international honours.So much for that theory. Clarke made a first-baller before lunch, pushing down the wrong line to lose his off stump to Steven Mullaney and, halfway up the pitch, looking round to gaze upon the wreckage. Hales, after tea, got to 12 then pushed forward only to edge Leach.Clarke’s future is uncertain – both Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire are touted as possible suitors, although Warwickshire look about to be relegated which would hardly help their case. Clarke is anxious for wicketkeeping opportunities, doubtless in the belief that it strengthens his England appeal, which overlooks the fact that England are well served by batsman-keepers, but not so overstocked by middle-order batsmen. Perhaps keeping is trendy at the moment, like grey carpets, jogging watches and newsreaders with opinions.Worcestershire were well served in the morning by George Rhodes, whose mannerisms at the crease are the spit of his father Steve a generation earlier. He made 32 before he fell driving at Jake Ball immediately after lunch. R Ashwin’s 19 at No. 6, which included a larrup over extra cover for six, was ended by a good outer in Ball’s next over.Cox announced the Worcestershire fightback, one pull shot against Harry Gurney as good as anything seen all day. Barnard caught the mood and, Wessels apart, is the only player to have passed 50. Leach took a blow on the head from a short ball from Ball, but looked none the worse for wear.The ease with which Worcestershire added 154 for the last four wickets will worry Notts as they ponder what they need. They would take a 220 lead, certainly now, but that remains a long way away. “Holy Crossfire, Batman!” as Robin once wisely observed.

The BCB is expected to earn $30 million for the financial year 2017-18, but only 1.8% of the amount will be put aside for the national team’s salaries

Mohammad Isam11-Oct-2017The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is generating greater revenues than it ever has, but that growth has not filtered down to the men most responsible for it: the national team. For the financial year 2017-18, the BCB is expected to earn $30 million, but they will spend only 1.8% of that amount on the national team’s salaries.Documents obtained by ESPNcricinfo show that the BCB will spend $550,500 in total yearly players’ salary for the centrally contracted cricketers. Over half of the BCB’s earnings can be said to be generated from the senior team: $17 million comes from title sponsors for international home series, national team sponsorship, ICC and ACC events, as well as international TV rights. The BCB will earn $1.4 million in this period, as part of a $20-million broadcast deal with that ends in 2019. The players’ salaries constitute just over 3% of this $17 million.It isn’t as if the BCB has not recognised the players’ contribution at all. In May this year, the board raised player salaries, though they still didn’t match those of Zimbabwe or Ireland players. The highest paid Bangladesh players – Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim – are set to earn $63,000 annually, a 68% rise from the $37,500-retainer that Grade A-plus cricketers earned the previous year. In the next four grades, players are paid between $45,000 and $15,000 annually.The players’ match fees in all three formats have also seen an increase; a Test appearance fetches $4,300, an ODI $2,500, and for T20s, $1,250 per game.This year’s salary hike is mainly down to negotiations between senior players and BCB officials earlier in the year. Players like Mortaza, Shakib, Mushfiqur and Tamim Iqbal have been at the forefront of negotiations on big and small issues for the senior team. But what they put forward as their end of the bargain doesn’t usually contain properly vetted numbers from within the BCB’s financial reports, on which they can base their demands.For instance, they don’t know how much the BCB earns from ICC events ($9 million in 2017-18) or from the broadcast deal. They also aren’t fully aware of team sponsorship deals. It hasn’t helped that the players’ body, the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), has become largely ineffective over the years.The influence of these senior players is also limited to their team, and not for professional cricketers throughout the country. The BCB has been paying first-class cricketers a monthly salary since 2012, but has talked about shutting that down this year. Instead, most professional cricketers rely heavily on the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), the domestic one-day competition, for income. A top cricketer can earn between $40,000 and $60,000 there.Another source of income now is the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Mushfiqur, Tamim, Shakib, Mashrafe, Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman are projected to earn between $62,500 and $125,000 from BPL contracts for this year’s tournament (the franchises don’t disclose icon players’ fees). But the DPL is poorly run, often with no paperwork to back players’ claims for payment, or even a proper yearly schedule. In many seasons, the DPL is delayed for months, keeping even the top players uncertain about their financial future.In contrast, a six-man foreign coaching staff stands to earn around $1.1 million – double the total spent on player – in salaries. In the last few years, the BCB has relied on a number of foreign coaches, beginning with Chandika Hathurusingha and Heath Streak in mid-2014. They have since replaced Streak with Courtney Walsh. Coaching staff aren’t paid match fees, however.

Treating these Tests almost as tour games for the series in South Africa, India were in no danger of the apparent disrespect to Sri Lanka, biting them on the backside instead

The Report by Sidharth Monga24-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Chopra: Sri Lanka batsmen lacked in skill sets and temperament

Treating these Tests almost as tour games for the series in South Africa, India were in no danger of the apparent disrespect to Sri Lanka, biting them on the backside instead. For the sixth straight Test between these two sides, Sri Lanka failed to reach 300, getting bowled out for 205 after winning the toss on a pretty good batting surface. Ishant Sharma, replacing the injured Mohammed Shami, presented his claim to the first XI in South Africa with disciplined bowling and three wickets while R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja reclaimed their turf with seven wickets after both went wicketless in Kolkata.At the toss, India made it clear that they were thinking as much about South Africa as they were about Sri Lanka. The pitch, as expected, had grass on it in an attempt to prepare the hosts for their next tour. Rohit Sharma replaced a bowler in the XI just because they want him to have some game time before South Africa, where he might well be needed as the sixth batsman.The biggest gain keeping South Africa in mind, though, might have come in the field. Since he dropped Alastair Cook in Kolkata in 2012-13 – Cook went on to score 190 from 17 when he was let off – Cheteshwar Pujara has only rarely stood at slip for India. That alone will not be the reason for his banishment from the slips, but Pujara has continued to field at slip for Saurashtra. Now fielding at first slip in Shikhar Dhawan’s absence, Pujara pulled off an excellent low catch to his left, almost diving forward, to send back opener Sadeera Samarawickrama to make it 20 for 1 in the fifth over.This was a significant catch for two reasons. India usually have about a 50% success rate at slips for quick bowlers, and given this was a tough catch, it was an odds-on favourite to go down. And slip catches for quicks will be crucial in a month’s time in South Africa. Given he stays fit enough, Pujara could be an option India need to seriously think about.In the context of this Test, too, it was an important catch. In attempting to create the hard bouncy surface, Nagpur had rolled out a pretty friendly surface to begin with. There wasn’t disconcerting sideways movement in it, and it began to assist spin only later in the day. Sri Lanka had won the toss, and they had got off to a comfortable start. Samarawickrama, though, played an ill-advised drive on the up to give Ishant an early wicket.That wicket taken, India turned the screws with tight lines and lengths. Circumspect batsmen played into their hands. Hardly any runs came in the first session, even singles involved risking a run-out, and eventually led to a big risk seven minutes before lunch to give an India spinner a wicket for the first time in this series. R Ashwin was the man who struck in the 25th over when Lahiru Thirimanne played a big sweep after scoring just nine runs off 57 balls in the best batting conditions of the match.BCCI

Like buses, one nearly brought two as Ravindra Jadeja had Dimuth Karunanaratne stumped in his first over, but it turned out he had overstepped. That capped off a session sprinkled with good fortune for Karunaratane. He was on 14 when a 26-ball spell of no runs produced a risky single where he just about beat Pujara’s direct hit. Pressure not yet released, Karunaratne looked to go over mid-on a couple of overs later, but this time the overhead chance burst through Pujara’s hands.Kanrunaratne’s fortune continued post lunch as he survived an extremely tight lbw call through umpire’s call. His former skipper Angelo Mathews wasn’t as fortunate. Having shown some intent against Ashwin, Mathews missed a straight ball from Jadeja because his bat clipped the pad on its downswing and got displaced from the line of the ball. This one too returned an umpire’s call but had been given on the field.Karunaratne and current captain Dinesh Chandimal then put together the most assured-looking batting spell of the day in a 62-run partnership. Chandimal had to take a couple of risks in the beginning – including a thick-edged six off Ashwin – but he settled in nicely. The tandem act of spinners was broken, and Umesh Yadav brought easier runs. Ashwin now began to bowl a defensive line to Chandimal, on off and middle, which was half a victory.Just then, though, Karunaratne ran out of luck, and copped what in traditional sense was a rough lbw. From over the wicket, Ishant pitched short of a length and hit him in front. Barring appreciable seam movement, this ball had to either pitch outside leg or miss the stumps if it pitched within. The review, though, showed that the ball pitched within and shaped back in late and just enough to be clipping the off stump. This umpire’s call finally went against Karunaratne.Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella then saw Sri Lanka through to tea with a purposeful 29-run stand but they had almost exhausted themselves in trying to maintain parity, that too just about. They might have held off wave after wave of India’s charge in the first two sessions but the dam broke in the hour after tea. The batsmen’s patience ran out and loose shots creeped in.Dickwella charged down recklessly to Jadeja, was beaten in the flight, and then saw the ball didn’t turn as expected to make it the worst possible outcome for him. Dasun Shanaka played for a big Ashwin offbreak, against the round-the-wicket angle and on the first day, which was recipe for the off stump to be flattened. Dilruwan Perera then fell to a non-turner from Jadeja; it had seemed only a matter of time.With the last three for company, Chandimal decided it was time for him to dominate the scoring. With India not providing him any free runs, Chandimal went for a big reverse slog, and was trapped lbw by Ashwin. Suranga Lakmal then swung around for a chancy 17 before Ishant came back to nick him off. Ashwin immediately wrapped things up with Rangana Herath’s wicket.There was some consolation for Sri Lanka in the wicket of KL Rahul, but they were now looking at the reunion of the old firm of M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, who have ground into dust the best of the lot at home.

‘He is the most in-form batsman in Australia at the moment,’ says Western Australia team-mate

Mohammad Isam and Andrew McGlashan20-Nov-2017Cameron Bancroft will be the first Australian opener to debut in an Ashes Test since Michael Slater in 1993, but his Western Australian team-mate Michael Klinger believes he has “the fire in the belly” to make a success of his elevation.Bancroft, who was previously selected for the postponed tour of Bangladesh last year, has ousted Matt Renshaw, the Queensland opener, after he endured a torrid start to his domestic season having shown promise early in his Test career.Bancroft’s numbers, which included an unbeaten 228 against South Australia, became impossible for the selectors to ignore and the main question as the squad approached was whether he would bat at No. 6 or become David Warner’s latest opening partner.Klinger has watched Bancroft’s development at close hand for WA and also recommended him to Gloucestershire as an overseas player in 2016. He has seen the player become more attuned his game and learn what sort of a batsman he wants to be.”I have been lucky enough to have a lot to do with Cameron,” Klinger, who is currently at the BPL, told ESPNcricinfo. “I batted quite a lot with him in the first couple of years in first-class cricket, I have spent a lot of time talking to him about cricket and just feeding off each other. I think he has learned a lot in the last two years.”I think he probably went through a period when he tried to over-score too much. He has gone back to batting long periods of time. He knows he has developed enough shots and skills. He knows if he bats for long periods of time, he can score freely. Mentally he has the fire in the belly to bat long periods.”While his double century in Perth earlier this month is the headline number from his season, it was a pair of half-centuries (76 not out and 86) against a New South Wales side boasting Australia’s Test attack that could well have done just as much to propel him to his first baggy green.”Last year he probably didn’t have as good a year he would have liked,” Klinger said. “He started this year brilliantly in the one-day competition and certainly in the Sheffield Shield to come and score, I think, 70 and 80 against an attack that had Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon was a super effort. To finish off with a 200-odd not out sealed the deal. He deserves his spot. He is the most in-form batsman in Australia at the moment.”And Klinger had no doubt that he would be able to handle the pressure that comes with not only a Test debut, but in an opening Ashes Test.”I think he has been waiting for a while now. You won’t find a harder trainer than him, certainly. He is very astute. I am looking forward to seeing him how he will cope with the pressure. There’s no doubt he will cope really well. He will make sure he will have everything in place and ready to go.”

Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has hinted strongly at Mitchell Marsh’s likely inclusion for the final Ashes Test to be played at the WACA Ground

Daniel Brettig10-Dec-2017Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has hinted strongly at Mitchell Marsh’s likely inclusion for the Perth Test – the final Ashes match to be played at the WACA Ground – leaving Peter Handscomb very much in the gun as far as his immediate international future is concerned.Handscomb, who has struggled for runs and technical consistency against the plans and accuracy of England’s James Anderson in particular, may find himself left out in favour of Marsh for reasons of team balance. A fifth bowling option is thought to be necessary on what has this season been an unforgiving Perth surface for bowlers.While Nathan Lyon has performed commendably in the first two Tests as both an attacking and holding option, soaking up overs to keep Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins fresh, the likely WACA surface, Marsh’s return to the bowling crease and Handscomb’s current malaise all point towards a change being made.”We’ve got all the reports back and JL [Western Australia coach Justin Langer] has been really impressed with him,” Lehmann said in Perth as the Australian team assembled. “He’s surprised by bowling a couple of games ago, he surprised us as well to be perfectly honest. His batting has been exceptional all summer and he’s led from the front as captain. He deserves his chance.”Other people might be unlucky to miss out but Mitchell fills the role we need for this particular Test match. As a batter he was in some good form. But we needed his bowling as well. Now he’s bowling, we can consider him.”Much as the captain Steven Smith had factored preservation of the bowlers in his decision not to enforce the follow on against England in Adelaide, Lehmann said the team composition for Perth would take into account the pitch, weather and the freshness of the pace bowlers. Jackson Bird is the other bowling member of the squad.”It depends on the wickets, we’ll just wait and see. They said it’s going to have some pace and bounce in it, a bit like the old WACA,” Lehmann said. “It’s pretty hot this week so we’ll have a better idea probably on Tuesday/Wednesday of what we’re going to go with.”We just want to have the ability to get 20 wickets. So if the three and Nathan can do that so be it. If we decide to go with an extra one it would be for that reason. You’d love to be able to make them available for all Test matches and all one-dayers. End of the day we just don’t know how they’re going to travel. At the moment our focus is just this game, so we can’t look too far ahead or behind.”England’s recent disciplinary issues, the latest the suspension of Ben Duckett for pouring a drink over the head of Anderson at the same Perth bar where Jonny Bairstow headbutted Cameron Bancroft, were not a source of mirth for Lehmann, who said it was vital that his players did not underestimate the tourists despite the current impression of off-field chaos.Australia batting coach Graeme Hick chats with Pete Handscomb at a training session•Getty Images

“I’ve been through all that, so no, I don’t have a chuckle,” Lehmann said when asked if he had laughed at England’s troubles. “You have those situations at various stages throughout your career. It’s not funny. It’s a case of actually making sure you’re trying the best you can to get your side prepared. For me, I don’t have a chuckle at any of that.”Start from scratch, don’t you, the first ball in Perth. For us we can’t worry about what’s going on outside with England. They’re still a good cricket side and have some dangerous players. For us they’ve got to be really switched on come day one in Perth. Hopefully a crowd’s there and we have a great spectacle over five days.”For us we’re going to have to play some really good cricket again. We’ve done that over the first two Test matches in periods of time and they’ve fought back in periods of time as well. We’ve got to start the game well and get in front of the game is going to be key.”As for the WACA’s last Ashes Test, Lehmann said there would be plenty of nostalgia both inside and outside the dressing room for a venue that first hosted a Test match against England in 1970-71 but is now to be superseded by the new multi-purpose stadium across the Swan River at Burswood. Lehmann has mixed personal memories of the ground, coaching an Ashes win in 2013-14 but also being dismissed there by his brother-in-law, Craig White, in 2002-03.”Not my brother getting me out in an Ashes Test match,” he said when thinking of a favourite memory. “Winning the Ashes a few years ago in Perth. But the best one would be Viv Richards and Dennis Lillee in the Gillette Cup semi-final [in 1976]. It’s on Facebook all the time. I watch it. It was a ripper. You hear all the stories about the pace and bounce and carry. It would have been fantastic to be part of that era.”I’m pretty biased with the Adelaide Oval stadium. But walking past this stadium, it looks bloody good. So I expect it will be a great spectacle when it moves. Hopefully we can send off this ground in the right format with a win.”

The allrounder will be eligible to resume playing from midnight on January 14, having “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2018Baroda allrounder Yusuf Pathan has been handed a back-dated five-month ban by the BCCI. The 35-year-old, who last played for India in 2012, was found to be in violation of the BCCI’s anti-doping rules, having ingested the banned substance terbutaline. The ban expires at midnight on January 14, 2018.A BCCI statement said Pathan had “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups”. Pathan had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing programme during the domestic T20 competition on March 16 last year. Upon testing, his sample was found to contain terbutaline, a substance that is prohibited both in and out of competition in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of prohibited substances.Pathan was charged with an anti-doping violation under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules on October 27 and was provisionally suspended pending determination of the charge. Eventually, his five-month ban was deemed to have started from August 15 last year as the BCCI was satisfied with Pathan’s explanation that – as per the board release – he had “taken terbutaline inadvertently to treat an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) and not as a performance-enhancing drug”.”Having considered all of the evidence and taken expert external advice, the BCCI has accepted Mr Pathan’s explanation of the cause of his ADRV [anti-doping rules violation], and on that basis has agreed that a period of ineligibility of five months should apply,” the BCCI release said.On the decision to back-date the suspension, the release said: “Under BCCI ADR [anti-doping rules] Article 10.10.3, Mr Pathan is entitled to the full credit against that period of ineligibility for the provisional suspension that he has been serving since 28 October, 2017.”In addition, there is discretion under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 to back-date the start date of the period of ineligibility still further on account of Mr Pathan’s prompt admission of his ADRV upon being confronted with it by the BCCI, and under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.1 on account of the delays in the results management in this case that are not attributable to Mr Pathan.”The BCCI also noted that Pathan had previously been drug-tested five times without any “adverse analytical findings”. According to the board, while Pathan had departed from the rigorous standard of “utmost caution” expected of a player under the BCCI’s Anti-Doping Rules in this instance, his departure from such standard was deemed to not be “significant”.In a statement, Pathan said he would be more careful with his choice of medication in the future. “The prohibited substance was detected in my sample because of a medicine I was taking for throat infection,” he said. “I would like to once again assure to the BCCI, Baroda Cricket Association and my fans and I promise to be more careful with what I consume henceforth. In hindsight, I should have been more careful and checked the status of the medications with the BCCI’s dedicated anti-doping helpline.”Pathan had played only two matches for Baroda during the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season, before his provisional ban took effect, scoring 111 and 136* against Madhya Pradesh. He will be eligible to return to action in the Super League phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.

Afghanistan’s hopes of qualifying hinge on a Nepal win over Hong Kong in the final group fixture on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2018Associated Press

Rahmat Shah and Najibullah Zadran came up with vital contributions as Afghanistan bounced back from three successive losses to register their first win at the World Cup Qualifers. The six-wicket win over Nepal with 11.2 overs to spare meant Afghanistan still have an outside chance to qualify for the Super Sixes.For that, they will need Nepal to beat Hong Kong in their final group game on Monday. This would force a three-way between Afghanistan, Nepal and Hong Kong, with Afghanistan having a good chance or progressing because of a superior net run rate. However, they will not carry forward points (points are only carried forward for victories against the other teams progressing to the Super Sixes, and Afghanistan have lost to both Scotland and Zimbabwe).Nepal’s decision to bat first, seemingly with an eye on their opponents who haven’t chased well so far in the competition, seemed justified when Paras Khadka, the captain, struck a 82-ball 75 at No. 3 to set up a strong platform. But with just one other batsman – Dipendra Airee – crossing 30, they were shortchanged. The innings came to a grinding halt in the final over, with Nepal collapsing from 105 for 1 to 194 all out.Rashid Khan, the Afghanistan captain who went wicketless in his team’s defeat to Hong Kong on Thursday, claiming three wickets. Mohammad Nabi, the offspinner, was also at it, slicing through the middle order to finish with 4 for 33. Sixteen-year-old mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who had shared the new ball with Shapoor Zadran, picked up 1 for 24 in his 10 overs. Forty seven of his 60 balls were dots. In all, Afghanistan’s bowlers bowled 193 dots.Rashid promoted himself to open but fell in the sixth over to fast bowler Karan KC. Afghanistan were then steered by a 65-run second-wicket stand between Javed Ahmadi and Rahmat, before Sandeep Lamichhane, the legspinner, struck. When Airee struck three overs later, Afghanistan were wobbly at 111 for 3 and in dire need of a partnership.Nabi brought his experience of 94 ODIs to calm down proceedings, while also knocking off runs quickly. His 34 came off just 32 balls courtesy two fours and a six. Najibullah, meanwhile, kept going. He brought up his second half-century of the tournament to see Afghanistan through.Nepal have one game left to play in the group stage, and are still searching for their first win in the tournament.

The November 1 ODI has been moved to Thiruvananthapuram after leading voices in football including Tendulkar, the co-owner of the Kerala Blasters franchise, raised concerns over potential damage to the turf in the Kochi stadium

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Mar-2018The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has decided to shift the November 1 ODI between India and West Indies from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram with the issue gaining a political dimension. The decision was taken after the southern Indian state’s sports minister intervened in the matter and asked the KCA to shift the venue.Last week the BCCI’s tours, programmes and fixtures committee finalised the itinerary for West Indies’ tour of India, which comprises two Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is. One of the ODIs, scheduled for November 1, was to be hosted at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi.The Kochi ground has predominantly become a venue for football in recent years. It was one of the six venues for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in October 2017 and is also home base for the Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL). The last cricket match played at the venue, in 2014, was also against West Indies, a big win for the visitors.Since then, only one other international match has been played in Kerala, a T20I against New Zealand last November at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, which India won. Critics of the KCA asked why the association was so keen to host the ODI in Kochi when another ICC-certified cricket ground was available in Thiruvananthapuram.As soon as the BCCI announced Kochi as the venue for the West Indies ODI, a number of leading voices in football including Sachin Tendulkar – a co-owner of the Kerala Blasters franchise – raised the red flag. On Tuesday, Tendulkar posted a message on his Twitter feed, saying he had “urged” Vinod Rai, chairman of the Supreme-Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) that is supervising the BCCI, to look into the matter.”Worried about the potential damage to the FIFA approved World class Football turf in Kochi. Urge the KCA to take the right decision where cricket (Thiruvananthapuram) and Football (Kochi) can happily coexist,” Tendulkar tweeted.
Rai had already been made aware of the issue by another prominent voice, Shashi Tharoor, the Minister of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, who called the KCA move to play the match in Kochi a “suspect” and “bizarre” decision. Tharoor told Rai to review the decision only because the Kochi turf would need to be dug up to get the venue ready for the ODI, which would would prove detrimental to its footballing use.Since both the grounds in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are owned by the state government, the Kerala sports minister AC Moideen held a meeting with the KCA top brass on Thursday to chalk out a solution.According to Jayesh George, the KCA secretary, the state cricket body has signed a MoU with the government to get both the grounds on lease. Accordingly the KCA has invested money in uplifting the infrastructure at both venues and felt it has the right to choose the ground for cricket matches.However the MoU also states that both grounds, being multi-purpose venues, can host football too. “Till today we planned to host the ODI in Kochi,” George told ESPNcricinfo. “Since 2011 we had maintained the stadium in Kochi. But the government took possession of the ground last year for the Under-17 World Cup.”George said Moideen assured the KCA that the government would grant land to develop a cricket-only stadium to avoid such issues in future. “Since the government has intervened and advised us to conduct the match in Thiruvananthapuram, we are doing that.”

Left-arm fast bowlers Rahat Ali and Usman Khan also return to the 15-man squad for the upcoming T20I series against West Indies in Karachi

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2018Strong performances in the PSL have brought rich rewards upon three uncapped Pakistan players – Asif Ali, Hussain Talat and Shaheen Afridi – who have been called-up to the international side for the upcoming T20I series against West Indies in Karachi. Asif, Talat and Shaheen form part of the 15-man squad for the series, with left-arm fast bowlers Rahat Ali and Usman Khan also coming back into the fray.Imad Wasim and Rumman Raees, meanwhile, missed out, having failed to recover from their injuries in time. Imad sustained a concussion after his head slammed into the ground after completing a catch, while Raees trod on a ball on the boundary and damaged knee ligaments. Ahmed Shehzad kept his place at the top of the order, while Shoaib Malik, who missed the second half of the tour to New Zealand with concussion after being struck on the head by a wayward throw, also returned.The T20I series will be played across three consecutive days: April 1, 2 and 3. All matches will be played at the National Stadium in Karachi, which recently hosted the Pakistan Super League final. It will be the first time international cricket will be played in Karachi since 2009, and the first T20I to ever be played at the venue.Talat, Asif and Afridi have been three of the standout performers in this year’s PSL. Talat’s composure under pressure and solid technique saw him play vital roles in close games, while Asif’s power-hitting, culminating in a six-ball 26 in the final that all but secured the title. Lahore Qalandars’ left-arm bowler Shaheen Afridi is understood to have a strong admirer in Mickey Arthur, who compared him to a young Mitchell Starc days after the 17-year old took five wickets for four runs, the best ever figures in the PSL.T20 squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi

Hampshire captain James Vince failed to capitalise on a good start in front of England selector Ed Smith, but Jimmy Adams scored a watchful half-century on another truncated day

ECB Reporters Network28-Apr-2018
ScorecardHampshire captain James Vince failed to capitalise on a good start in front of England selector Ed Smith, but Jimmy Adams scored a watchful half-century on another truncated day against Essex. Vince batted with maturity on a testing wicket to reach 47, while Adams dropped anchor for the 73rd first-class fifty of his career in the 45 overs of play before bad light brought an early close.New National Selector Smith was in attendance at the Ageas Bowl, with Alastair Cook, Jamie Porter, Tom Westley, Liam Dawson and Vince the most likely players to be under the spotlight. But Porter and Vince were the only two candidates able to show off their skills in front of the former Kent and Middlesex man.Fast bowler Porter took 75 wickets to help Essex to the Division One title in 2017, and began the new season with nine wickets against Lancashire last week. But he was out-bowled by canny Australian Peter Siddle – who managed to find more movement and bounce than his fellow seamers – as Porter went wicketless for 47 runs.Siddle had Joe Weatherley caught at third slip by Nick Browne, who had dropped the batsman the previous delivery, to end the opening stand at 54.Thick slate coloured clouds, along with the floodlights, made it good bowling conditions, but Adams and Vince nullified any Essex advantage with sensible and patient batting. Vince in particular seemed to have Smith’s presence in mind as he moved away from his trademark drives to knuckle down for almost two hours.There was still the opportunity to show off a few flourishes as he looked for early season runs to cement his place in the Test team, with extravagant pull shots played with high skill but very little risk. But just when he appeared in his comfort zone, offspinner Simon Harmer found extra bounce as Vince attempted to cut, with James Foster completing a smart catch.Adams is likely to retire at the end of the season, insisting only a bucketful of runs could persuade him to carry on. Having already smashed 182 not out against Cardiff MCCU, he again looked in good touch. Unbeaten on 19 overnight, he appeared unlikely to be hauled away from the crease as he left and defended with experience. He took 138 balls to reach his half-century and was left 57 not out when the bad light prevented any more action shortly before tea.