Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Sami have been picked in the Pakistan ODI squad for the first time in over two years

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2015Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Sami have been picked in the Pakistan ODI squad for the first time in nearly two years. However, Saeed Ajmal was not among the 16 members to meet Zimbabwe in the three-match series in Lahore.Malik hadn’t played 50-over cricket since June 2013, but has averaged 50.36 in List A cricket over 12 matches in the last two years, including a hundred and five fifties – made in successive innings.Sami was last with the ODI team in June 2012. His last 12 months in domestic one-day cricket have fetched 19 wickets at an average of 23.63 and economy-rate of 5.10.

A heavily revamped Pakistan ODI squad

In: Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Sami, Hammad Azam, Imad Wasim, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Anwar Ali
Out Fawad Alam, Saad Nasim, Saeed Ajmal, Sami Aslam, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali

After a 0-3 defeat to Bangladesh, the Pakistan Cricket Board had hinted at making considerable changes. Ahmed Shehzad and has reclaimed his place as well. Imad Wasim, who made his Pakistan debut in the second T20 against Zimbabwe, is also part of the squad.Umar Gul, Rahat Ali and Zulfiqar Babar have lost their place, though. So the fast-bowling workload will be borne by Wahab Riaz, Anwar Ali, Junaid Khan and Sami. Yasir Shah is the lone specialist spinner in the squad.Opener Sami Aslam and middle-order batsmen Saad Nasim and Fawad Alam have been dropped as well. Umar Akmal, who was not picked for the Bangladesh tour, hasn’t been preferred for this series either.Pakistan ODI squad Azhar Ali (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Anwar Ali, Hammad Azam, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Sami, Junaid Khan

Chadwick Walton and Chris Gayle powered Jamaica Tallawahs to a resounding nine-wicket victory with four overs to spare against St Lucia Zouks at Sabina Park

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Sammy dropped a catch during the Tallawahs chase•Caribbean Premier League

A brace of half-centuries from Chadwick Walton and Chris Gayle, scored at a strike rate of more than 150, powered Jamaica Tallawahs to a resounding nine-wicket victory with four overs to spare against St Lucia Zouks at Sabina Park.Medium-pacer Krishmar Santokie put Tallawahs on course after they had won the toss, dismissing the Zouks openers in the first and third over. Kevin Pietersen attacked at his end, scoring an unbeaten 83 off 57 balls with four sixes, but he received poor support from his team-mates. Having been dropped on 42 by the wicketkeeper Walton, Pietersen went on to hit two fours and a six in each of the last two overs to lift Zouks to 158.He added 70 runs for the fifth wicket with Darren Sammy, who had to retire hurt on 29 in the final over because of an injured finger and did not bowl in the defence. Daniel Vettori bowled an economical spell for Tallawahs, conceding only 13 runs in four overs.The chase was a no-contest. Watlon and Gayle began in a blaze of boundaries and carried on to add 119 in 13.5 overs. Sammy had a tough day in the field, putting down Gayle on 28 and later Chris Lynn on 6. Gayle made Zouks pay for that reprieve, smashing five sixes during his 64 off 42 balls, while Walton made 76 off 48 with three sixes.

The BCCI has suspended Hiken Shah, a Mumbai batsman, with immediate effect for having “found guilty of breaching BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Code for participants”

Amol Karhadkar13-Jul-2015The BCCI has suspended Hiken Shah, a Mumbai batsman, with immediate effect after he was found guilty of breaching the board’s anti-corruption code for participants.”Hiken Shah made a corrupt approach to one of his colleagues from first-class cricket, who is also a member of one of the IPL teams,” BCCI said in a statement. “The approached player immediately informed the incident to his franchise team. The franchise team followed the process of informing the incident to the Anti Corruption Unit of the BCCI. Based on the information, BCCI President, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, instructed ACU to conduct an immediate enquiry into the matter.”After a detailed inquiry into the reported incident, the inquiry commissioner found Hiken Shah guilty of committing breach of Articles 2.1.1; 2.1.2; and 2.1.4 of the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code for participants and recommended their provisions to the BCCI President.”

BCCI’s anti-corruption code

• 2.1.1 Fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to any effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any Match or Event.

• 2.1.2 Seeking, accepting, offering or agreeing to accept any bribe or other Reward to fix or to contrive in any way or otherwise to influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any Match or Event.

• 2.1.4 Soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or facilitating (a) any Participant to commit an offence under any of the foregoing provisions of this Article 2.1 and/or (b) any other person to do any act that would be an offence if that person were a Participant

While the BCCI hasn’t revealed the name of the first-class cricketer, it is understood that Shah had approached a Mumbai team-mate ahead of IPL 2015. That falls against the above mentioned articles which prohibit any player from “seeking to fix”, “offering any bribe or other rewards” or “improperly influencing” the course of a match.The BCCI anti-corruption unit inquiry found that Shah had made an “exploratory approach” and now a three-member disciplinary committee, which includes BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, KP Kajaria and Jyotiraditya Scindia, will now take a final call on Shah’s fate after hearing him out.”BCCI has zero tolerance for corruption in the game of cricket,” Dalmiya said. “We have and we will take swift action against such incidents to set a precedent and control the menace of corruption in the game. While placing the player under suspension, I have referred the matter to the disciplinary committee of the BCCI to take further action against the player involved.”Board secretary Anurag Thakur, meanwhile, was pleased that precautionary measures put in place to keep cricket clean were working: “This particular incident demonstrates that BCCI’s education policy against corruption is showing results, as the player approached was vigilant enough to report the matter to the ACU of the BCCI. Having said that, the fight against corruption is an ongoing battle and we will not leave any stone unturned. BCCI is committed to keep cricket corruption-free.”Shah is presently playing for Whalley Cricket Club in the Ribblesdale Cricket League, a minor county league in Lancashire. He is the second Mumbai cricketer to be found guilty of being involved in corrupt activities. Left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan, who has been chargesheeted for his involvement in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal, was banned for life by the BCCI for his involvement in spot-fixing.”It is shocking for us. After the Ankeet Chavan case, we never thought any Mumbai cricketer would even think of being involved in such activities, but there has been another case and it is shocking,” Dr PV Shetty, joint secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, told ESPNcricinfo.Shah made his first-class debut for Mumbai in 2006-07. After failing to cement a place, he moved to Jammu & Kashmir as a professional in 2009-10. Later, he decided to return home and was back playing for Mumbai in the 2011-12 Ranji season.In November 2012, Shah made an impressive 92 against England. He continued that form into domestic season and emerged as a key architect of Mumbai’s Ranji title in 2012-13. But patchy performances since led to his being dropped midway through the 2014-15 season.

A fresh – if familiar – format, some new colours, a couple of new faces and a return to a favourite old venue was all it took to freshen England up and keep the Ashes alive

Will Macpherson at Chelmsford26-Aug-2015
ScorecardCharlotte Edwards congratulates Sarah Taylor on a matchwinning fifty•Stephen Pond/Getty Images

A fresh – if familiar – format, some new colours, a couple of new faces and a return to a favourite old venue was all it took to freshen England up and keep the Ashes alive.After a torrid Test match that saw little go right for England, there was still the chance of winning the Ashes overall in a series where they are decided by virtue of points gained in all three formats.Charlotte Edwards’ side ticked boxes aplenty: their fielding – with three sharp run outs, a series of fine dives in the deep, and some excellent catching – returned to the spectacular level achieved in the series opener at Taunton, Edwards was more tactically astute, and, crucially, Sarah Taylor – fresh from a pair in the Test match at Canterbury – enjoyed a timely return to form with the bat, that characteristic insouciance and those rubbery wrists back as she notched a nonchalant half-century.Even the promotion of the brutalist Katherine Brunt to No 5 worked, as she boshed 12 from Ellyse Perry’s final over to help England home with 15 balls to spare; her 21 from 10 balls was just her third double-figure score in twenty T20I innings.This bumptious Australian side – whose run of 16 consecutive T20I victories comes to an end with this defeat – seldom seem cowed. But with a partisan packed house cheering the hosts on, they were unable to recover from a sluggish start having been inserted.Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole were immediately into their groove, and England were particularly lively in the field, with both Danielles – Wyatt and Hazell – making impressive early contributions. But Australia were passive in the opening powerplay, which included 22 dot balls for the loss of Elyse Villani, whose leading edge off Shrubsole’s fifth ball – a slower one – fell simply back to the bowler.Australia’s start was slow, but their two strongest batsmen, Ellyse Perry and Meg Lanning, were set. As if to demonstrate that point, Lanning swept Jenny Gunn’s first delivery – the first after the powerplay – for six. The introduction of Hazell, however, tied the pair down. Her first over went for one, before Lanning drove straight and hit Hazell square on the leg, and two dot balls later she slogged a rank full toss to deep square-leg, where Lydia Greenway took a sharp catch.Gunn failed to pick up a Perry miscue off Hazell’s next over and shelled the catch, but the drop was worth just a slogged four to cow and a single, as Nat Sciver’s first ball saw Perry bowled off the pad by a full one.Wickets fell steadily from that point. Canterbury hero Jess Jonassen was deceived by Sciver’s slower ball, and then, as Australia took on risky singles, the run outs began. Youngster Grace Harris was dismissed by a direct hit when backing up, Alyssa Healy by a fired up Brunt, and Erin Osborne by sharp work from Greenway. Between times, Alex Blackwell lofted Gunn’s first ball back to cover, and tight bowling meant runs were hard to come by.A target of 123 was underpar, but with a dewy outfield, a quality attack, and an English order prone to indecision, was eminently defendable. But Australia – particularly in the middle overs – bowled an ugly set of half-trackers and full tosses, and dropped both Edwards and Taylor, who shared 77 after Perry had Lauren Winfield caught at mid-on in her second over.The pair bristled with intent in the powerplay, as Megan Schutt once again made the ball talk. Taylor unleashed her ramp to Perry and used her feet to Sarah Coyte’s seam, while Edwards showed off that classical cover drive and flick to midwicket out, too. Australia had their chances, with Villani dropping Edwards on 19 at mid-off, and Coyte shelling a low caught and bowled off Taylor on 34.Both batsmen were eventually stumped by Healy, Edwards sharply and Taylor easily, but by then the damage was done, as hard-hitting cameos from Sciver and Brunt ensured victory. England must do this twice more, of course, and if the Ashes are to be retained, they will have to do it away from their happy hunting ground, where they have now won six from six.

India A’s robust lower middle order contributed three half-centuries to help the side to a strong total before their bowlers scuppered the visitors’ chase

The Report by Arun Venugopal in Bangalore16-Sep-2015
Scorecard2:02

I was a bit worried about how I’ll do – Gurkeerat

India A’s robust lower middle order contributed three half-centuries to help the side to a strong total before their bowlers scuppered the visitors’ chase.Gurkeerat Singh had the biggest role in his team’s victory as he followed up a fifty with five wickets, while Rishi Dhawan first smashed an unbeaten 56 off 34 balls and then claimed two wickets. Sanju Samson (73) and Mayank Agarwal (56) provided calmer counterpoints to the late-order blast that eventually ensued. Samson put on 102 runs with Gurkeerat for the sixth wicket, before adding 78 for the seventh with Dhawan.Chasing 323, Bangladesh A were off to a wobbly start as left-arm seamer S Aravind dismissed the top three batsmen for a cumulative score of 34. The visitors were reduced to 87 for 5 after Dhawan removed Bangladesh A captain Mominul Haque and Sabbir Rahman. Bangladesh A, however, were roused by a 120-run alliance for the sixth wicket between Nasir Hossain (52) and Liton Das (75). But, once Gurkeerat removed both the batsmen in the space of three overs, the chase headed south, and they were bowled out with 7.3 overs still remaining.While Nasir and Liton were at the crease, however, India A had a genuine scare, as the duo looked untroubled against spin and pace. This was significant given how Aravind had made things difficult by moving the ball sharply, even dismissing Soumya Sarkar and Anamul Haque with successive deliveries. Nasir and Liton mixed cheek and alacrity to ensure Bangladesh A’s scoring rate never really sagged. However, wickets at the wrong time pushed them out of the game.Earlier, having been inserted on a surface that had generous grass cover, India A began briskly. This was partly a result of Bangladesh A’s largesse with the ball: Taskin Ahmed conceded 14 runs in wides in his first two overs even as Mayank Agarwal and captain Unmukt Chand breezed to 44 runs inside five overs. Taskin struck the first blow and sent Chand back. After bowling one that nipped back appreciably off a length, Taskin got one delivery to hold its line and Chand’s airy waft was pouched by the keeper.Meanwhile, Shafiul Islam, who was less profligate, used the bounce on offer judiciously and had Manish Pandey caught behind three overs later. Suresh Raina walked in to cheers from a sparse crowd and, along with Agarwal, sought to stabilise the innings.While not always assured, Raina struck a couple of eye-catching cover-drives. But, Nasir trapped him in front of the stumps in the 16th over with one that didn’t turn much, and Raina did not offer a more confident forward stride. Nasir was in the thick of things again four balls later, as he threw down the stumps to catch Kedar Jadhav short of the crease for a three-ball duck.Agarwal, in the company of Samson, repeatedly played the slog-sweep, but also fell to the shot, finding the fielder at deep midwicket after scoring 56.Samson continued to play steadily for his 73 even as Gurkeerat delighted in some street-smart play in his 65, bisecting Sarkar between point and short third man for successive boundaries. After Gurkeerat was trapped lbw by Arafat Sunny, Dhawan produced an innings that was an amalgam of hacks, dabs and squirts. His innings allowed India A to ransack 98 runs in the last 10 overs, aided by underwhelming fielding from Bangladesh A.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, suffered a heart attack on Thursday evening and has undergone an angiogram at the BM Birla hospital in Kolkata

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Sep-2015Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, suffered a heart attack on Thursday evening, and has undergone an angiogram at the BM Birla hospital in Kolkata, a senior Cricket Association of Bengal official told ESPNcricinfo. He was in a critical care unit, but was reported to be stable.Dalmiya, 75, had not been in good health since beginning his third term as BCCI president in March this year, having taken over from N Srinivasan. A long-serving cricket administrator, Dalmiya has been president of the ICC, has held different offices in the BCCI, and occupied top posts in the CAB in a career that began in 1979.Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who is joint secretary of the CAB, and other board officials had arrived at the hospital to visit Dalmiya, who is expected to remain under observation for a few days.The hospital’s medical bulletin, accessed by the Kolkata-based said: “Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, 75 years, came to BM Birla Heart Research Centre at around 9 pm today, almost 6 hours after the onset of chest pain, with a history of acute extensive anterior myocardial wall infarction… His blood pressure and pulse were stable.”Patient after initial clinical assessment was taken to cath lab for coronary angiography. Multiple lesions were observed with total occlusion of left anterior descending coronary artery. Thrombus aspiration was performed but significant residual thrombus load persisted with poor distal run off in capillary bed. It was not advisable to do a primary stenting at this point of time.”The patient is currently under requisite medication protocol and is being closely monitored in coronary critical care unit.”

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2015

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has declared day-night Test cricket “here to stay” after the conclusion of the inaugural floodlit match at Adelaide Oval, a popular success despite its three-day running time

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide29-Nov-2015New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has declared day-night Test cricket “here to stay” after the conclusion of the inaugural floodlit match at Adelaide Oval, a popular success despite its meagre three-day running time.A crowd of 123,736 poured into the ground across those three days, and similarly strong television audiences made it a spectacle to delight broadcasters and administrators alike. But the verdict of the players was always going to be critical to the future of the concept, and in the glowing words of McCullum and his opposite number Steven Smith there was ample evidence that the game’s elite practitioners will be comfortable with doing this kind of thing more often.The only reservation raised by both McCullum and Smith was the amount of grass left on the Adelaide Oval pitch, which they agreed was the major factor in the game’s short time span. But they were equally adamant that players would be able to adapt with greater experience, with the added incentive now of having played a Test match in front of such a celebratory and voluminous gathering.”It’s a great concept,” McCullum said. “As pink ball cricket evolves as I am sure it will grow into a global game and I think we will see the pitches probably won’t have quite as much grass on it. The thing about day-night Test cricket is it is meant to allow Test match cricket to be played at night time, it is not meant to be to change how Test cricket should play.”There was a fraction too much grass on it, I think we saw under lights that the pink ball probably responded a little bit much, but I would say that because I am a batter. Overall it was a roaring success and 120,000 people over three days, people are voting with their feet and I think it’s here to stay, which is great.”In general, spectators would want see results in games. And will want to see captains start to try and force results. Sitting in changing room after hard fought Test win that’s what’s most memorable as a cricketer. Sometimes fighting draws are great and I think we’ll find captains will try and push home some advantage to get Test victories.”Smith was naturally relieved after seeing out a series victory over a fast-finishing New Zealand, and he had little hesitation in describing the contest as a “great” one. “The whole Test match was a great innovation, it was a great spectacle,” he said. “To get 120,000 people through the gates in three days is absolutely amazing. I thought it was a great spectacle and a great Test match.”It was a game that was dominated by the bowlers. New Zealand’s bowlers bowled just as well as ours. But it was one of those games – if you got yourself in you could still score runs, it just wasn’t to be this game for a lot of the batters, we got starts and couldn’t go on with it. I think the contest is there if you’re willing to have a game plan and bat some time you can certainly score runs.”Like McCullum, Smith noted the thick grass coverage presented for the pink ball, but was happy enough to live with that after finishing the match as a narrow winner. “I think the wicket here compared to the two Shield games that have been played on it and particularly the pink ball shield game we played, it looked like the grass was a bit more lively,” he said. “I think it was the same height as the grass in the Shield game but it was probably just a tad greener.”That created a little bit more movement for the bowlers and kept the ball together and swinging for a long period. But I think it was great to see something different, the first two Test matches were dominated by the bat, so it’s great to see something different and see the bowlers coming into their own.”

BCCI’s decision to make the ‘actual’ salaries of retained players in the IPL public – ostensibly as a part of its recent attempts to ensure transparency – has evoked mixed responses from franchises

Arun Venugopal17-Dec-20150:29

‘Will put up salaries on the website’ – Shukla

The BCCI’s decision to make the ‘actual’ salaries of retained players in the IPL public – ostensibly as a part of its recent attempts to ensure transparency – has evoked mixed responses from franchises. After the IPL draft held on Tuesday, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla had said that details of payments made to the players retained will be put up on the BCCI’s website. It is learnt that such information is likely to be available at the end of the first trading window on December 31.If the rule comes into effect, the franchises may have to disclose the actual remuneration paid to the players retained for the first time since the introduction of the retention system in 2010, which allowed teams to sign a certain number of players from their squad ahead of the auction. The earnings of the players on the retention list are not necessarily the same as the fixed price bands they are slotted in. For example, if Royal Challengers Bangalore retain Virat Kohli as their first player, a deduction of Rs 12.5 crore from their auction purse will be made, but they may pay Kohli either the same amount or more or less.The BCCI, by virtue of being a party in this tripartite agreement, is privy to the payment made, but such numbers are not easily available in the public realm, as opposed to the non-negotiable hammer-price for which a player is picked up in the auctions.Kasi Viswanathan, one of the directors of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd, the company that owns the suspended franchise, Chennai Super Kings, felt franchises were loath to disclose the actual payments because of the fear of leaking business strategy. “This is a business proposition,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Why would they want to let out trade secrets?”Viswanathan, however, said the players retained by Super Kings in 2014 – MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo – were compensated in accordance with the prescribed money brackets. Dhoni was paid Rs 12.5 crore, Raina 9.5 crore, Ashwin 7.5 crore, Jadeja 5.5 crore and Bravo Rs 4 crore. Viswanathan also said the subject of revealing such payments had never come for discussion in the past.Another franchise official felt it would create a wedge between the players, and facilitate an environment conducive for horse-trading. “Why should everyone know what price he has been retained?” he asked. “If other franchises come to know of what a player is being paid, they might try to pick holes in the contract and dissuade the player from signing a contract. You know how these things work.”It will also create a lot of unpleasantness in the team. Some foreigner maybe as good or better than a retained [Indian] player, but he might be miffed if he doesn’t get the same amount or more in the auction.” The franchise official contended that Shane Watson wasn’t picked up in the draft by either Pune or Rajkot because they knew he was paid a “huge sum” by Rajasthan Royals, and they had to match thatHowever, two other people involved with IPL teams – one of them a former franchise official – contested this argument and said franchises wouldn’t fret over salary disclosures. He also said the figures were anyway made public to a large extent when the balance sheets were submitted.”The inequalities of salaries exist anyway and are publicly clear to everyone,” the former official said. “These are only four or five cases that are coming from retention. Otherwise everyone else’s salary is crystal clear to everyone. I see no reason [why franchises would have a problem revealing the figures].”The franchise is declaring it in the books – the auditors have to see it anyway – so it doesn’t really kill them. If it is a publicly listed company they will have to open their books anyway.”The former official said the system of payments wasn’t altogether transparent. “It is not transparent to everybody else; at this point it is not. I think the BCCI couldn’t really care if you pay more or less [to the player]. As far as the BCCI is concerned it’s the purse that matters.
“If you are retaining a guy that’s when the money is actually written down saying that my cost of retaining for the IPL purse is X but my cost of retention otherwise is Y,” he said.There are murmurs of an undisclosed component being paid to players that is kept off the books, but it could not be independently verified.

Dale Steyn has said that the notion he is coming towards the end of his international career due to his recent run of injuries is “absolutely ridiculous”

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2016Dale Steyn has said that the notion he is coming towards the end of his international career due to his recent run of injuries is “absolutely ridiculous” and added he is desperate to help lead the recovery of South Africa’s fortunes.With Steyn being ruled out of the final Test against England in Centurion, due to the shoulder injury he sustained in the opening match of the series in Durban, it means he will have missed six of South Africa’s last eight Tests.Amid the problems swirling around South African cricket – including the doubts over AB de Villiers’ future – the long-term prognosis for Steyn has been questioned but he has no intention of packing it in.”It’s absolute rubbish,” Steyn told . “I played 48 Tests in a row, didn’t miss a single one, and now suddenly I’m an injury liability at the age of 32? It’s ridiculous. Injuries can happen to anybody but I’m still one of the fittest players in the squad and I have many, many overs left in me.””The Test team is going through some huge changes and I want to help lead the way as one of the senior players. This is no time to turn your back and walk away, that’s the last thing on my mind.”Steyn said that he retains ambitions in all three formats of the game but for now his immediate aim is to regain fitness for the World T20, which he concedes may be his last global limited-overs event, and that he will not be rushing back for the ODIs against England if not fully ready.”I’d love to be involved in the ODI series against England but I’m not going to rush back from injury, like I did in India, and make it worse. I’m desperately keen to be fit and play in the T20 World Cup in India in March. It might be my last World Cup so I’d like to help win the bloody thing.”