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The four-person independent panel assigned to review South Africa’s national teams performance last season has disbanded without completing its work

Firdose Moonda01-Jun-2016The four-person independent panel assigned to review South Africa’s national teams performance last season has disbanded without completing its work. Sports physiologist Ross Tucker, who was on the panel, confirmed the news to ESPNcricinfo, although he declined further comment until the message had been communicated to CSA’s board. Tucker and his fellow panelists informed CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat of their decision last week.The investigation, which was due to be headed by CSA’s head of HR, Dawn Mokhobo, and also included former Test cricketer Adam Bacher and World Cup winning Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, was announced in the aftermath of South Africa’s men and women exiting the World T20 after the first round. It was to include an examination of the men’s team’s poor Test summer, in which they lost back-to-back series to India and England and the national Under-19 side, who failed to defend their World Cup title. The job of Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, was expected to come under particular scrutiny.The panel held preliminary meetings at the end of April and discussed the scope and the process of their review, which included identifying timeframes and cost. On Twitter, in conversation with another user, Tucker confirmed that they, “Couldn’t agree terms, times and scope/process, so it didn’t begin. Pity.”With CSA yet to announce the cessation of the review process, it is uncertain what steps it will take to conduct an analysis of the past summer. An option would be to ask the 14-person panel that is conducting a review into domestic cricket to include the national teams in its scope as well. The findings of the domestic review are set to be revealed in the next two months, with CSA also due to hold its AGM over the winter.The cancellation of the review process means that Domingo may feel he can breathe a little easier but only just. With his contract expiring at the end of April next year and a Champions Trophy looming, he is still under pressure to prove he can turn the team’s fortunes around to stop CSA from starting to search for his replacement.

Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, has blamed heavy workloads and jaded players for his team’s failure to reach the final of the tri-nation series in the West Indies, but insisted the below-par performance would not push him to resign

Firdose Moonda29-Jun-2016Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, has blamed heavy workloads and jaded players for his team’s failure to reach the final of the tri-nation series in the West Indies, but insisted the below-par performance would not push him to resign. Instead, Domingo called on Cricket South Africa to look into managing players’ workloads outside the international schedule to ensure they are hungry enough to perform for their country.”This loss comes on the back of our top players playing too much cricket,” Domingo said on his arrival in South Africa. “It’s a big concern for me. It’s one of the points I need to highlight with my superiors when I get time to sit down and chat to them.

‘De Villiers’ workload is a concern’

On the possibility of resting AB de Villiers for the Tests against New Zealand:
“He’s the captain, he’ll be the first name down on the sheet to play Tests against New Zealand. I spoke to him two days ago planning the workload. It is a concern. Some players around the world play all these tournaments but don’t play all the formats. Our players – Hashim, AB, Faf, Quinton, Morne, JP – they play all the formats and then play a lot of outside leagues as well so that is a big problem for us. But if AB is fit, he should be good to go for the Test series.”
On Dale Steyn being rested for the tri-series but being allowed to play in the NatWest t20 Blast:
“A lot of that thinking was that Dale did need some cricket. We sort of knew that spinners would play a big role in West Indies. Having him sit around, not doing too much was not going to benefit him too much. He would probably have gone to the West Indies and been in a similar position to Morne Morkel. He would probably have only played one game and done a lot of time in the nets. Five games of four overs wouldn’t have hurt him. It would only have benefitted him. I am glad he has gone and played some cricket.”
On the upcoming South Africa A matches in Zimbabwe and Australia:
“The South Africa A side allows you to broaden your base a bit and give some fringe players game time against quality opposition. There are some players in our Test side that will be playing for them like Dean Elgar, Stephen Cook, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt.”

“Think about our seriously long tour to India, long tour against England, then straight into the World T20. Then players stayed behind, played the IPL and flew straight to Caribbean. Some players arrived two days before our first game in Guyana and now some are staying another four weeks in the Caribbean, some are playing county cricket, then home for two weeks, then a series against New Zealand, then go and play a mini IPL, then straight into a tour against Australia. Those are challenges that the coaching staff and the players are sitting with at the moment. When you are playing that amount of cricket for that period of time, it’s difficult to maintain the standards consistently.”Of South Africa’s 15-man squad for the tri-series, nine (including Dean Elgar, who came in as an injury replacement) are Test regulars, eleven were part of the World T20 squad, ten played at the IPL, six are staying on for the CPL, two are headed for county stints and the rest will play for the A side. That means none of the players who are part of the current national set-up have had any time off since October last year and Domingo believes the fatigue is starting to show.”The desire and the hunger levels when you are playing day in and day out will wane at some stage. There’s no doubt about that. You can’t give 100% to ten different teams for ten months. Something’s got to give,” he said.The something, according to team manager Mohammed Moosajee, could be the no-objection certificates (NOC) CSA issues to players, which allows them to spend what should be time off playing in foreign leagues. “CSA management will need to look at the process going forward, how they release NOCs, taking into account the long international season,” Moosajee said.But the declining Rand has made it difficult to deny NOCs because CSA cannot match the amounts players earn overseas and this has left Domingo and his management team with a problem. “The big challenge for me is making sure that international cricket is still the main priority for our players. There are lot of tournaments, a lot of money to be made, a lot of opportunities for players to get out there and market themselves so I need to be making sure we focus really hard on our No.1 priority and that is representing our country,” he said. “Sometimes, if you have done it for a long time, you can take it for granted maybe. There is a lot happening outside international cricket. Making sure guys are fresh and hungry to perform for their country is of utmost importance for me.”Despite admitting he has not been able to do that in the last six months, and that the “sharpness and effectiveness” of the side is “lacking”, Domingo remained confident he and his management team are the right people to try and turn things around.”I’ve got to sit down with my management team and the board members and the CEO and the guys who make those decisions and plan the way forward. I’ve got 10 months left on my contract and the last six months haven’t gone according to plan. I am not a guy who wants to give up or quit so I need to discuss what their thoughts are,” Domingo said. “I’ve got a few days at home now to just mull over things and see where things are going. I feel that the management team we’ve got in place have ticked a lot of boxes and provided the players with as much support as we can. We’re still very motivated to do well. We feel we can take the team forward. That decision doesn’t always lie with us but that’s the way it is.”Domingo will take heart from the knowledge that he has one of the most important people in the set-up in his corner. AB de Villiers threw his weight behind the coach after the team’s loss in their final round-robin match when he said the players should take responsibility for their own shortcomings. Domingo, however, does not feel the players have let him down.”I wouldn’t say the players have let me down. I’m not a coach who is going to sit here and blame the players for lack of performances. Coaches have to front up and take the brunt of it when performances are not there,” he said. “I don’t feel let down by players, I feel let down by performances. The results haven’t been as good as what we’ve wanted. I feel the players gave it as much as they possible could.”The coach put South Africa’s early exit from the tournament on two moments in particular but stressed this does not mean they don’t have what it takes to perform under pressure. “The one was where we needed 96 runs off 15 overs against Australia we were three down and we lost. The batters let us down. Then, in the last game, we had West Indies 21 for 4 after 5 overs and our next 12 overs were very average. We bowled really poorly and allowed West Indies to get some momentum and establish a partnership. Those two phases probably cost us getting into the final and possibly winning the tournament,” Domingo said. “But I definitely think the team has got big-match temperament. This team has managed to win some must-win games in ODI and T20 cricket over the last two or three years.”He cited examples like their Mumbai win to take the series against India and their three victories in succession against England at home earlier this year, but acknowledged that those count for nothing because South Africa’s cabinet is missing a major trophy.”Until we win a world event, people will always question us,” Domingo said. “There’s another opportunity next year. There’s a Champions Trophy. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in our one-day side to get us to be contenders for that but, with the players within our ranks, if we can manage them properly and make sure when the time comes they are all fully fit, all swimming in the same direction, we’ll be one of the teams to beat there.”Domingo’s contract expires before that tournament but if South Africa are to replace him, it is likely they will do so fairly soon to allow the new coach time in charge. With that in mind, has he come home feeling the heat? A little.”There’s always pressure. We know that playing for your country is the ultimate. It’s representing the people back home and we want to represent them well. We know how passionate our supporters are and how much time and money and effort gets put into our cricket. Management and players are under pressure to perform at all times.”

Seamer Chris Mpofu is in line for an international recall as Zimbabwe look to bolster their ranks ahead of the second Test against New Zealand, which starts from August 6

Firdose Moonda31-Jul-2016Seamer Chris Mpofu is in line for an international recall as Zimbabwe look to bolster their ranks ahead of the second Test against New Zealand, which starts from August 6. With more than half the squad afflicted by the illness that kept Sean Williams off the field for the entire New Zealand innings, changes to the current 15-man group are expected and ESPNcricinfo has learned that Mpofu is being seriously considered.The seamer has not played a Test in five years, since New Zealand last toured Zimbabwe in 2011. He was part of the XI that took the one-off game to the wire and finished with five wickets in the match. Mpofu has since been plagued by a lower back injury but has played international cricket in shorter formats, with his last ODI and T20 both coming in 2015. Mpofu also played throughout last season, including three matches in the Logan Cup where he claimed 11 wickets at 23.81, and it is understood his wicket-taking ability is what Zimbabwe are after.”We don’t have a powerhouse of seamers which you can pick and choose from,” Makhaya Ntini, Zimbabwe’s interim head coach, said. “For this match, we thought if we have more power in the batting line-up, we’ll have time to be able to take wickets.”However, on a slow, low Bulawayo surface, Zimbabwe’s attack of two seamers, one specialist spinner and four part-timers was only able to take six New Zealand wickets and, of those, the frontline seamers only took two. A lack of experience in the pack is also a problem – the four quicks had only two Test caps between them before this match.Their inexperience showed when both Donald Tiripano and Michael Chinouya wasted the new ball and did not make New Zealand’s openers play enough. They also stayed away from the short ball, which had worked well for Neil Wagner in Zimbabwe’s innings. The pair improved with the second new ball, tightened their lines and asked some questions and Ntini has been working with them on applying pressure for longer periods.”They need to search more, they need to hit one side of the wicket, they need to be able to bowl to fields and they must not be greedy,” Ntini said. “But they are learning. From a fast bowler’s point of view, what we had to mention to them is to pay attention to which ball gets hit for four and then try to correct that. You want to cut off the boundaries. If the boundary ball becomes a single, you are able to understand where you need to improve so when you get hit, you have to think – which ball was that. Then you will understand what not to do.”Apart from Tiripano and Chinouya, Ntini has also been teaching this to the other members of his squad which include Njabulo Ncube, who also played in the 2011 Test, and Taurai Muzarabani, neither of whom were picked for the first Test. Zimbabwe also have the option of calling up Shingi Masakadaza, who topped the Logan Cup wicket-taker’s list and performed well against South Africa A.At the other end, changes are also expected in the batting line-up, especially the top order, although Ntini was careful not to be too harsh on his young top two. Chamu Chibhabha was on debut and Brian Chari had just two caps to his name before this Test. Chari then had to keep wicket as well. “We can’t judge a person by one single game,” Ntini said. “For example, with Chari, he kept for two days and he is not a wicketkeeper and then he got out. But yes, Tino (Mawoyo) has also showed signs of being one of the top-order players. Whatever changes we do, they have to be needed, we won’t just do them.”Mawoyo, who suffered bruising around his right thumb after being hit by Tim Southee in the three-day warm-up match, is hopeful to be fit for the second Test. Although scans did not reveal a fracture, Mawoyo was unable to hold a bat after suffering the blow and did not hit any balls during this Test. He will resume training on Tuesday.

Dale Steyn harnessed helpful conditions for fast bowling in Durban and put New Zealand in trouble after South Africa were all out for 263. But rain allowed for only 22 overs of play

The Report by Alagappan Muthu20-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt seemed the only thing Dale Steyn’s angry eyes did not have power over was the weather. While the grey clouds gave him swing, and he controlled it so well that South Africa’s total of 263 assumed excellent proportions, they also brought rain which allowed only 22 overs to be bowled on the second day at Kingsmead.New Zealand were 15 for 2 at lunch and they stayed 15 for 2 when play was called off at tea time.The day had begun a little late with South Africa’s tail batting. Trent Boult designed a beauty – away swing that almost bowled Kagiso Rabada around his legs. Tim Southee, playing his first Test in South Africa, kissed the top of leg stump. The man he dismissed, that old pro Steyn, took four balls when New Zealand batted to make clear his having played no Tests in eight months would only serve to embellish his legend. It was a fast-bowling fashion show in Durban.Martin Guptill was distracted by a bevy of outswingers before one moved in and struck the front pad. Steyn whirled around, his veins popping and spit flying in appeal. Umpire Richard Illingworth calmly shook his head in response.”Crack it open, boy,” leered the slip cordon. Tom Latham found himself ganged up on. Then he was sucked in by one that pretended to be a half-volley.Steyn had watched Latham playing with extreme care, making sure his bat didn’t stray too far from his body and committing himself to a shot as late as possible. But a batsman’s instinct is to score runs and that instinct flared up when the second ball of the seventh over was pitched wide. Latham fished outside off. Steyn bagged him, tagged him and would have instagrammed him if he was allowed to.Guptill’s front pad and Steyn’s inswing went out on a second date right in front of middle stump. The romance was so compelling that even umpire Illingworth had to give his blessing.Steyn’s first spell read 6-4-3-2. After a point he felt he was getting too much movement and began bowling cross-seamers to have a better chance at snatching the outside edge. He was on 408 wickets and needed 14 more for the South African record.Into this walked Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, their averages of 10.75 and 11 in South Africa hanging over them along with the dark clouds. They had only played three matches in this country, but they were New Zealand’s two best batsmen. Regrouping on day three with them at the crease may just be the best of a bad situation for the visitors.New Zealand will need some luck though because overcast conditions are forecast on the third day as well and South Africa have an attack capable of exploiting them. Vernon Philander, coming back to Test cricket for the first time since injuring his ankle in November 2015, bustled in to string together balls on a good length and jerk them this way and that. There was one delivery that came down perfectly straight, pitched a few inches in front of Taylor’s front foot and seamed away so sharply it seemed like a freakishly quick legbreak.The stage was … wet after the break. Gloomy conditions – despite the floodlights – meant New Zealand were confined to their dressing room, which they wouldn’t have minded. It was safe indoors, and the All Blacks were thumping the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship.It wasn’t rain that kept the players out for the rest of the day. For the most part the light just wasn’t good enough, leaving the 2543 people at Kingsmead, approximately one-tenth its capacity, equally frustrated. Helpfully, play was called off with an hour remaining for them to scramble and catch the start of the Springboks’ Championship campaign.The outfield in Durban had been relaid in June and a few chunks did come out when fielders slid to retrieve the ball. With more rain expected at night, there was concern over whether it would be ready in time for play to restart tomorrow at 10 am.

Sri Lanka will host the Under-19 Asia Cup between December 8 and 22, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2016Sri Lanka will host the Under-19 Asia Cup between December 8 and 22, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced.After a meeting of the SLC’s executive committee on September 24, the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota, the Galle International Cricket Stadium and Matara Uyanwatte Stadium were approved as venues for the tournament. The tournament itinerary and other details will be decided in due course.The committee further approved the appointment of Thusith Perera, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) general manager, as the event director, while Sultan Rana, the ACC’s events manager, will serve in the same role for the U-19 tournament.

Bangladesh’s first-class competition, the National Cricket League, has been postponed till the end of the Bangladesh Premier League T20 tournament, which ends on December 9

Mohammad Isam26-Oct-2016Bangladesh’s first-class competition, the National Cricket League, has been postponed till the end of the Bangladesh Premier League T20 tournament, which ends on December 9. Three rounds of NCL matches in both the first and second tier were held before October 11, but rain affected every match in the third round.The BCB had announced that matches from the fourth round onwards, scheduled for October 14 to 17, were to be put off until the weather improved. But while the weather did improve, the NCL was shelved because of the impending BPL, which begins on November 4.All Tier-1 NCL matches that began on September 25 had ended in rain-curtailed draws and only two Tier-2 matches yielded results. Barisal Division were leading Tier-1 with 23 points while Rajshahi Division, with 33, were on top of Tier-2.The NCL is set to restart in mid-December but will be without Bangladesh’s international players, who will be in Australia for a camp before the tour of New Zealand.The postponement of the NCL came following calls for better first-class cricket in Bangladesh, especially after the senior team’s 22-run loss in the Chittagong Test against England. Bangladesh were mostly competitive in that match but problems with their fast bowling raised questions about the standard of first-class cricket in the country.

Rangana Herath’s seventh ten-for in Tests put a depleted Sri Lanka side within touching distance of a 2-0 Test series sweep in Zimbabwe

The Report by Shashank Kishore09-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRangana Herath became the first bowler to take 50 wickets in 2016•Associated Press

Three days between Tests is hardly enough for teams to work on their weaknesses. But this was Zimbabwe’s opportunity to prove they had learnt from their mistakes in the first Test, or at least from their first innings in this Test. Going by the evidence of the 45 overs they batted on the fourth day, they haven’t.Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain, who on the previous day had become just the third bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan and Dale Steyn to complete five-wicket hauls against all Test oppositions, picked up five wickets to leave Zimbabwe in a spin. Along the way, he became the first bowler to take 50 wickets in 2016. Chasing an improbable 491, after Sri Lanka’s declaration on 258 for 9 midway through the second session, Zimbabwe slumped to 180 for 7, with first-innings half-centurion Craig Ervine and Donald Tiripano at the crease.The first three wickets fell in identical fashion – batsmen pressing forward and playing either outside the line or inside the line without any conviction, almost like they were searching for the ball without quite reading the trajectory. The deliveries that got Brian Chari and Hamilton Masakadza were arm balls, while another flighted delivery spun away from the rough to take Tino Mawoyo’s edge off a tentative push to Dhananjaya de Silva at slip.Sean Williams decided the best way to score runs was to step out to the spinners. He was lucky that a couple of mis-hits landed safe. But the visible difference in his approach was that there were no half-measures – a slog sweep off Dilruwan Perera from outside off over deep midwicket underscored that point. Having weathered the early storm against spin, he paid the price for relaxing against the pacers. His ugly waft away from the body resulted in a thick edge to first slip off Lahiru Kumara.Then Dhananjaya, handed the ball perhaps just to shake things up, had a wicket in his second over when Malcolm Waller looked to drive, much like he did in the first innings, to a ball that drifted away to take the edge through to the wicketkeeper.Not even the loss of five wickets in the session curbed the instincts of Zimbabwe’s batsmen. Peter Moor kept going after the bowlers and struck them well for as long as he was around, before jabbing with hard hands to be caught at silly point. Then came perhaps the ball of the innings when Herath got one to drift in and spin away to square up Graeme Cremer and hit the stumps. It was fitting that the special delivery brought his seventh ten-wicket haul in Tests.Meanwhile, Ervine, it appeared, was batting on a completely different plane, playing deliveries on merit while taking toll of the half-trackers. Zimbabwe will need him and Tiripano, who in the past has proved to be a handy batsman, to carry on for as possible to at least reduce the margin of defeat.The first session had been attritional, with Sri Lanka happy to take their time to grind Zimbabwe down. Resuming on 102 for 4, they added 75 in the first session to leave Dimuth Karunaratne facing the prospect of bringing up his fifth Test ton. Asela Gunaratne, the other overnight batsman, made a sparkling 39, driving from the rough and playing with a degree of authority, before falling lbw to Tiripano on 39.Sri Lanka’s intent to up the scoring in the second session was evident from the outset. Given a license to attack, in line with his natural game, Kusal Perera swept, swiped and reverse-swept his way to a half-century off just 61 balls to swell Sri Lanka’s second-innings total.Suranga Lakmal too helped himself like he would in a buffet, picking away leg stump half-volleys and half-trackers to the boundary in an entertaining 47-run ninth-wicket stand. Herath declared when Kusal holed out to long-on for 62, thereby giving his team a day and a half to dismiss Zimbabwe and sweep to 2-0 in his first series as captain.

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha have been ruled out of contention for India’s fifth Test against England, which begins on December 16 in Chennai

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2016Fast bowler Mohammed Shami and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha have been ruled out of contention for India’s fifth Test against England, which begins on December 16 in Chennai. Both are missing the ongoing Mumbai Test with injuries.Shami has had trouble with his right leg right through the series, right since he was seen clutching his hamstring while bowling in the first Test in Rajkot. He played the first three Tests, but was forced out of the Mumbai Test. On Sunday, the BCCI sent out a release saying he has “soreness in his right knee and has been advised rest and rehabilitation. He will be going to the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bengaluru to start his recovery programme.”Saha suffered a hamstring tendon injury during the second Test in Visakhapatnam, and is undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA. Parthiv Patel has taken over the keeping gloves from Saha since the third Test in Mohali.

The Supreme Court of India has said there is, on first impression, a charge of perjury that can be laid against BCCI president Anurag Thakur for lying under oath

Jonathan Selvaraj and Nagraj Golapudi15-Dec-20164:44

Ugra: BCCI at the end of the rope given by the court

The Supreme Court of India has said there is, on first impression, a charge of perjury that can be laid against BCCI president Anurag Thakur and the board’s general manager of game development Ratnakar Shetty for lying under oath.The court also reserved its order on the Lodha Committee’s suggestion to remove ineligible BCCI office bearers and appoint former civil servant GK Pillai as an observer to oversee business operations of the board. After the BCCI rejected Pillai during Thursday’s hearing, the court asked the board to submit, by December 23, the names of three people who could replace the existing office bearers and govern the BCCI.The court suggested former India allrounder Mohinder Amarnath as one of the names. It is expected to hear the matter again after the winter vacation, which ends on January 2.The issue of perjury arose because Thakur, in an affidavit, had denied that he sought a letter from the ICC stating that the Lodha Committee’s recommendation to have a member of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office on the apex council of the BCCI amounted to government interference in the board. Thakur’s request had been revealed by ICC chief executive David Richardson in an interview to an Indian TV channel.Thakur had said he only asked ICC chairman Shashank Manohar what his stance on the matter had been when he was the BCCI president. “I pointed out to the Chairman of the ICC, Mr Shashank Manohar that, when he was President of BCCI, he had taken a view that the recommendations of the Justice Lodha committee appointing the nominee of the CAG on the Apex Council would amount to governmental interference, and might invoke an action of suspension from ICC,” Thakur had said in his affidavit. “I therefore requested him that, being the ICC Chairman, can a letter be issued clarifying the position which he had taken as BCCI President.”Shetty, in an affidavit on October 7, had denied that Thakur had sought ICC intervention at all. Observing there was a “variance’ between Thakur and Shetty’s submissions, the court said: “Mr Shetty in his response to the status report claims that the CEO of ICC had ‘falsely’ stated in his interview that the President of BCCI had requested ICC to issue a letter stating that the intervention of this Court amounted to governmental interference. The version of Mr Shetty is at variance to what is alleged to have been stated by the CEO of ICC.”On Thursday, the court said there appeared to be evidence against Thakur and Shetty of lying under oath and asked the BCCI to submit relevant documents to avoid perjury. “Prima facie it seems that Anurag Thakur has perjured and lied under oath because of the letter to Manohar. It is a case of prosecution,” Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said during the hearing. “You had no occasion to approach Manohar. Where was the occasion to raise the issue once we had pronounced on this. This amounts to perjury.”The court asked Kapil Sibal, the lawyer representing the BCCI president, to “apologise” if Thakur wanted to “escape” an adverse order against him.Anurag Thakur (left) has been put in a tight spot by the Supreme Court•Hindustan Times

Sibal explained to the court that his client’s question to Manohar was not against court intervention but whether appointment of the CAG official on the Apex Council would amount to government interference.According to Lodha Committee secretary Gopal Sankaranaryanan, there was a discrepancy in the affidavit submitted by Thakur and the letter submitted by Manohar. “In [Anurag] Thakur’s version of events it is a clarification he had sought. In Manohar’s version of events, he said as ICC chairman I was asked to give a letter, not a clarification, saying that this amounts to interference. For me this amounts to variance.”The Gopal Subramnium had in earlier hearings told the court that Thakur was playing an obstructionist role and impeding the implementation of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations. “The whole issue is that of there is a person [Anurag Thakur] obstructing and in contempt of court. Then should he head the BCCI?” Chief Justice Thakur said on Thursday. “We have given opportunities and time. Don’t do something unpleasant.”Sibal reiterated the BCCI’s point that it could not force the state associations to accept the Lodha recommendations, and that a majority vote was needed to pass them. At several board meetings, the states had voiced opposition to most of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations: in particular, the one-state-one-vote policy, the age cap for office bearers, and the limits on tenure.The court replied by saying that one option was to supercede the office bearers, as suggested by the Lodha Committee. “You supercede them,” the court said. “Who should be appointed in your place, give us recommendation in next one week.”The Lodha Committee – comprising former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha and retired Supreme Court judges Ashok Bhan and R Raveendran – was formed in January 2015 to determine appropriate punishments for some of the officials involved in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal, and also to propose changes to streamline the BCCI, reform its functioning, prevent sporting fraud and conflict of interest.In January 2016, the committee released its report, which recommended an exhaustive overhaul of the BCCI’s governance and administrative structures. On July 18, the Supreme Court approved the majority of the recommendations and directed the Lodha Committee to supervise the BCCI’s implementations of the same. However, despite the Lodha Committee laying out timelines and other directives, the board has not cooperated because its state associations objected to the recommendations.

Kedar Jadhav on his batting in Pune, on batting with Virat Kohli, and on batting through pain

Sidharth Monga17-Jan-2017Kedar Jadhav is 31 years old, but on Sunday he did what only boys not bogged down by realities of life can dream of. He walked out at 63 for 4, with his parents, his wife and his daughter in attendance, and stunned England with a century that helped India chase down 350. It was an innings that overshadowed a really exceptional effort from a man who now has legitimate claims to being one of India’s best three ODI batsmen of all time. It was an innings where Kohli had to push himself. Imagine. Jadhav played a knock that outshone Kohli effort. Only boys dream of just walking in with the match all but lost and then running away with it, with a man destined to be an all-time great watching in awe at times.One such time was when Joe Root and Moeen Ali had bowled 10 straight balls without a boundary. Thirty-three runs had come off the last 35 balls. This was the quietest England had managed to keep this Jadhav-Kohli partnership of 200. To the last ball of this over, the 27th, Jadhav made room. Moeen saw it. He fired it into the pads. There was no room to play a forceful shot now, especially with the leg side packed. Jadhav, though, went ahead with his attempted drive over mid-off to this short ball. The ball flew far enough to meet the boundary skirting on the half-volley.A Hawk-Eye indication of where Moeen Ali pitched that ball•Hawk-Eye

It was just Jadhav’s bad luck that, later in the night, Kohli played a shot even more awesome. This one didn’t get talked about so much. Two days later, Jadhav explained why he could execute a shot like that. And one sweep against the turn of Adil Rashid, straight over mid-on for a six.”As a kid, I played more tennis-ball cricket than with the cricket ball,” Jadhav said. “There used to be a tournament where you could hit fours and sixes only straight down the ground. If you hit on the sides you were given out. So that’s how I got into this habit that even if there is bounce, if the ball is at a manageable height and if I feel I can clear 30 yards, I can do it. I could do this with the tennis ball. So the flow with which I was playing yesterday, I thought if there isn’t much bounce and if I can get a bit of elevation, I can hit out. In that over we hadn’t got a boundary and you needed a boundary every over to maintain that asking rate. So I took that option and it clicked.”On the night, as Kohli pushed Jadhav with the running between the wickets, you got the impression he was struggling to keep up, but he turned down only those runs that were not on. Jadhav later said he will come back as a better runner, but his strength and endurance is not to be underestimated. Two years ago he went to Australia to represent India A and played on despite what he thought was some pain in his hand. When the pain didn’t recede even after he came back home, he got it checked only to find he had fractured his hand.”I realised that if I could perform well in Australia for India despite carrying a fracture, I can bear any pain,” Jadhav said. “If I have to overcome odds, I know I can do anything. That’s how I always think, and since I keep achieving it most of the times, my belief in my abilities continues to grow.”That doesn’t stop Jadhav from watching against complacency. Jadhav’s second century may have given him a more permanent spot in the India ODI side, but he is not taking it for granted. “There shouldn’t be a change [in my approach],” Jadhav said. “I always play every game as my last game. Whenever you represent your country, you’ve to give more than 100%. I’ll try and do that in whatever games I get, whenever I bat or bowl.”Jadhav played some IPL cricket with Virender Sehwag at Delhi Daredevils, and he showed shades of Sehwag’s thinking in the way he approached the chase.’Whenever you bat with Virat, it helps you, because the bowlers focus on him’ – Jadhav•Associated Press

“Since we were four down, England were looking to attack,” Jadhav said. “It was good that many fielders were in catching positions rather than saving boundaries. The wicket was good for batting, so I had a lot of gaps to score boundaries. And my natural game is to try and dominate the opposition whenever I bat. I look to take the bowlers on. So I was just playing in that flow, and because we had to chase 350, irrespective of the situation, we had to maintain the tempo.”It helped that Kohli was at the other end, which meant all of England’s energies were spent on the more accomplished partner. Jadhav had said after the match that he rued that he hadn’t got to bat as much with Kohli as he would have liked. Before Sunday, Jadhav had batted with Kohli three times.”Whenever you bat with Virat, it helps you,” Jadhav said. “Because the bowlers’ focus would be on him – how to get him out, how to control him. So that’s an advantage. If you are batting with him, you sometimes get loose balls and more opportunities to score. The bowlers are not able to put a lot of pressure on you, so that helps a lot.”