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New Zealand retained the out-of-form duo of Martin Guptill and Mark Craig as they pruned their Test squad from 16 to 12 for the two-match home series against Sri Lanka that begins on December 10

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2015New Zealand retained the out-of-form duo of Martin Guptill and Mark Craig as they pruned their Test squad from 16 to 12 for the two-match home series against Sri Lanka that begins on December 10. Opening the batting on their just-concluded tour of Australia, Guptill made a highest score of 23 in his six Test innings, while the offspinner Craig picked up eight wickets at an average of 64.12 while conceding more than five runs an over.Out of the squad that toured Australia, New Zealand left out fast bowlers Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan, back-up wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi and back-up opener Hamish Rutherford. Allrounders Corey Anderson and James Neesham, who are both nursing back injuries, were not available for selection.”Mark and Martin didn’t perform to the level they would have liked over in Australia, but both have shown in the past what they’re capable of and we’re confident they’ll make valuable contributions in the upcoming series,” New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said.Left-arm seamer Neil Wagner and allrounder Mitchell Santner, who made his debut during the day-night Test in Adelaide, also kept their places in the squad. Wagner didn’t play any of the Tests in Australia, but picked-up a five-wicket haul in a tour game against a Western Australia XI.”The level of composure Mitchell showed on debut was very impressive and he certainly displayed how exciting a player he is with both the bat and ball,” Hesson said. “His ability to bat in the top six and bowl good overs gives us options and assists the team balance. We’re looking forward to watching Mitchell’s continued development. Neil impressed in Australia and not only showed that he’ll run in hard all day, but was swinging the ball again.”Wagner has also been included in the New Zealand Board President’s XI, which will take on the Sri Lankans in a three-day warm-up match that begins on December 3.Test squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane WilliamsonPresident’s XI: Ryan McCone (capt), James Baker, Joe Carter, Joel Harden, Shawn Hicks, Tim Johnston, Ken McClure, Matt McEwan, Glenn Phillips, Bharat Popli, Ben Smith, Blair Tickner, Neil Wagner

The BCCI has deferred a decision on possible sanctions on offspinner Ajit Chandila and Mumbai batsman Hiken Shah

Arun Venugopal24-Dec-2015The BCCI has deferred a decision on possible sanctions on offspinner Ajit Chandila and Mumbai batsman Hiken Shah until January 5.

BCCI issues notice to umpire Rauf

The BCCI’s disciplinary committee has issued a notice to former Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf, asking him to respond to the charges leveled against him in the IPL spot-fixing case.
Rauf’s name had been included in the chargesheet as a “wanted accused”, after he had left India during the IPL even as the Mumbai Police wanted to question him in person.
Rauf, though, has always maintained his innocence, calling for proof regarding the allegations of corruption against him.

Chandila was found guilty of alleged spot-fixing charges, along with fellow Rajasthan Royals bowlers S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Amit Singh, by a BCCI probe in September 2013. Hiken, on the other hand, was suspended by the board in July with immediate effect after he was found guilty of making an illegal approach to a player ahead of IPL 2015.Chandila, along with Chavan and Sreesanth, were also charged by the Delhi Police under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, but were subsequently discharged by a trial court in July. In November, the Delhi High Court served notices to the trio after the Delhi Police challenged the trial court’s ruling.After the disciplinary committee meeting in Mumbai, Chandila said he was questioned by the members of the committee – BCCI president Shashank Manohar, Niranjan Shah and Jyotiraditya Scindia (on video conference) and the board’s Anti-Corruption Unit head Ravi Sawani.”The acquittal by the trial court was a big turning point for me,” Chandila said. “The questions were the same as the ones Delhi Police asked me. This is a new committee and I had to give them answers. I gave them the same answers I gave the court.”I have been waiting to be heard by the new committee. I have full faith in the new BCCI committee and God that justice will be done to me. I’m confident this committee will give me a fair trial. I have answered all their questions. Let’s see what happens next.”While bans were imposed on Sreesanth, Chavan and Amit, Chandila’s case remained pending as Sawani did not have the opportunity to question him before the submission of his report.There was a further delay as after Sawani eventually questioned Chandila in October 2013, the latter sought additional time to respond to charges leveled against him. Chandila was eventually given time until March 12, 2014.While the BCCI did not name the first-class cricketer who was approached, it is learnt that Hiken approached a Mumbai team-mate ahead of IPL 2015. The anti-corruption unit inquiry found that Hiken had made an “exploratory approach”Hiken’s lawyer Som Sinha told ESPNcricinfo their next course of action would depend on when Hiken is heard next. “We have to follow the procedure. Once the procedure is over we will see. They have given him some papers. I’ll be meeting him tomorrow

Women’s cricket will never lose its longer form components under James Sutherland’s watch, despite murmurings beneath him at Cricket Australia about exploiting the commercial gains of the inaugural WBBL by making the female game an exclusively Twenty20 af

Daniel Brettig24-Jan-20163:37

Brettig : Women cricket needs two format to be strong and vital

Women’s cricket will never lose its longer form components under James Sutherland’s watch, despite murmurings beneath him at Cricket Australia about exploiting the commercial gains of the inaugural WBBL by making the female game an exclusively Twenty20 affair.ESPNcricinfo has learned of discussions that open up the possibility of the 50-over and Test match formats being phased out altogether. There has been talk of phasing out the state-based Women’s National Cricket League after the 2017 World Cup, following on from previous discussions that the city-based WBBL teams should replace, not just complement, well established state identities.These ideas have not been taken to the ICC, nor are they on the table of other boards such as the ECB or BCCI. Nevertheless, they do represent the opinions of some senior CA executives, who have seen the commercial potential of the WBBL in grasping of an impressively strong television audience when aired on the Ten Network – pulling larger audiences than for the WNBA, among other global competitions.As chief executive of CA, Sutherland must balance commercial concerns with those of Australian cricket in total, and spoke out strongly in favour of retaining at least two formats for women when asked about the possibility of a T20-only future. Chief among his points was the value of the WNCL as a way to expose and develop the players who are now starring in the WBBL, the final of which is being played on Sunday afternoon at the MCG.”Our strategy does talk about the Twenty20 format being the most obvious vehicle to drive growth in the women’s game, participation and public interest, but at the same time we’re not at all interested in the concept of turning our back on the 50-over format,” Sutherland told ESPNcricinfo.”Domestic cricket is not just about learning who the champion team is, it’s about creating opportunities for people to develop as players so they can walk into international cricket and be able to cope with it. That development aspect is really important and we need to make sure the WNCL is a really strong and competitive environment for women in the one day format.”We see that it’s an integral part of the women’s game, it’s really important in terms of the development of skills, and also variety in terms of the way the women play, both at club level but also international level. We’re absolutely committed to two women’s formats of the game.”Australia’s female cricketers are overwhelmingly in favour of ensuring the WNCL keeps its place as the prime breeding ground for cricket talent, in much the same way as the Sheffield Shield underpins the men’s game. While it is unlikely that Test matches will expand beyond their current place as a single component of the multi-format Ashes, diversity of experience is viewed as essential to developing the best possible cricketers.Sutherland said there would be discussions about whether this season’s early finish of the state competition would be changed, and reiterated that there was no rush to push women’s cricket in the most commercially expedient directions. More important to him is growing the game as a popular option for women and girls.”We will reflect on this current summer, the first time we introduced the WBBL and had the WNCL earlier on, whether we’ve got the balance right in terms of the number of games – the balance between the two formats is something that we’ll review,” Sutherland said. “I’ve heard varying views and opinions on that, but we need to sit down in the cold, hard light of day and get some feedback and just work out how it has worked.”The BBL is starting to wash its face as a commercial proposition, but the strategy behind the men’s Big Bash League and the WBBL is very different. We don’t necessarily have short or even medium term aspirations for the WBBL to be a huge commercial proposition. The priority for us is all about demonstrating that cricket is a sport for girls too, and to send that message in a really positive and proactive way in the community to inspire girls to play the game.”Sutherland’s words echoed those of Belinda Clark, the manager of the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. “Our intention is to continue to support two formats of the game domestically,” she said last year when the WBBL was launched.”That means making sure the Women’s National Cricket League still has a really meaningful place in the women’s calendar. There’s a number of models put forward so far to make sure that Australian cricket remains really dominant in the one-day format as well as T20.”

Brendon McCullum blasted into history with the fastest Test hundred of them all to leave Australia speechless and grant New Zealand a first-innings foothold on an unforgettable first afternoon at Hagley Oval

The Report by Daniel Brettig19-Feb-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:51

Farrell: McCullum goes out all-tatooed-guns blazing

He’s not going quietly. Brendon McCullum blasted into history with the fastest Test hundred of them all to leave Australia speechless and grant New Zealand a first-innings foothold on an unforgettable day at Hagley Oval.Arriving at the crease with the hosts a floundering 32 for 3 in the 20th over of the innings, McCullum launched an immediate counterattack in the lead-up to lunch. On resumption he stepped things up further in the company of a similarly fearless Corey Anderson, and spanked Josh Hazlewood over wide mid-off to reach his century in a mere 54 balls – two fewer than Viv Richards in 1986 and Misbah-ul-Haq in 2014.Most of Test cricket’s fastest hundreds have been compiled in circumstances that heavily favoured batsman, whether it be the pitch or the match scenario. Not so this time, as McCullum and Anderson overcame the obstacles of a lively pitch, a dominant Australian attack and a day one scenario that would traditionally have called for dogged defence.Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson and Jackson Bird had all bowled demanding spells with the new ball, but none were able to find an answer for McCullum’s assault. Vitally, an outstanding catch by Mitchell Marsh when McCullum had made 39 was rendered meaningless when the replay showed Pattinson had overstepped.It would have been Australia’s third brilliant catch of the innings, after the captain, Steven Smith, snared a pair of thrilling one-handed takes to dismiss Tom Latham and Kane Williamson. The second of these was made still more impressive by the fact that Smith was partly obscured by a helmet-clad David Warner, posted at a short third slip close to the bat.After useful innings by BJ Watling and Matt Henry, New Zealand were ultimately bowled out for 370, leaving Australia with a testing period to bat in the evening session. The tourists’ over rate was less than optimal during the afternoon, something that may result in a fine for Smith, though more than 12 months after his previous transgression, against India in late 2014.Warner and Joe Burns began carefully, weighing up conditions that still provided some challenges to the batsmen. Boult was particularly testing, gaining just enough movement to draw an edge from Warner that was comfortably held in the slips. Burns and Usman Khawaja did well to get to stumps, but there is plenty of work yet to be done.As was the case in Wellington, Smith did not hesitate in sending New Zealand in on a pitch even greener than that served up at the Basin Reserve. Hazlewood and Pattinson found extravagant seam movement immediately, leaving Martin Guptill and Latham groping for the new ball.Guptill was particularly troubled by Pattinson deliveries that cut back into him, and an inside edge squeezed off the body presented a chance to the short leg, Joe Burns, who grassed it. Another opportunity was not long in coming, and this time Burns did well to propel himself forward for the catch.A period of stalemate followed, as Williamson and Latham tried to dig in. There were multiple plays and misses, and pressure built through some diligent work by Hazlewood, Pattinson and Bird. Eventually, Bird gave Latham one to drive, and the batsman’s slightly hesitant movement drew an edge towards the slips. It was probably Adam Voges’ catch, but Smith removed all doubt by flinging himself brilliantly across for a one-handed classic.Hazlewood had bowled beautifully without reward, but he now homed in on Nicholls, who had edged a ball going across him on day one in Wellington. This time Hazlewood seamed one back down the line, and pinned Nicholls in front of the off stump. Richard Kettleborough gave it out, and the batsman’s review only confirmed the fact.All this time Williamson had been battling for survival, his back thigh taking a battering as he was often turned around by seam movement. Sensing momentum needed to change, McCullum walked out with his mind set on attack, and, after accepting a gracious guard of honour from the Australians, he did exactly that.McCullum’s first shot flew fortunately over the slips, but he subsequently found his range, and one Mitchell Marsh over was dispatched for no fewer than 21 runs including a pair of sixes. The Hagley Oval crowd came to life, and Australia’s grip on proceedings was loosened.They tightened it again when Smith swooped to claim Williamson, but Pattinson’s overstep shifted momentum back towards New Zealand. The reprieve allowed McCullum to carry on charging at the bowlers with all the crazy brave belief of a man who knows his luck is in.There were almost as many edges as full-blooded shots, not unlike Ian Botham at Headingley in 1981, but on a surface offering useful sideways movement this was to be expected. What McCullum did achieve was to throw Australia’s bowlers off the optimum approach for the pitch.Rather than pursuing the edge of the bat, the visiting pacemen dropped shorter and shorter, inviting McCullum and Anderson to use a horizontal bat. What resulted was an avalanche of runs that put New Zealand firmly back into the match and left Australia pondering a more challenging pursuit than they had faced in Wellington.Aside from McCullum’s thrilling display, the overall scoring was equally eye-popping. No fewer than 199 runs came between lunch and tea, 161 in 16 overs after Pattinson’s no-ball. When McCullum finally hit one within reach of an Australian fielder to depart for 145, Hagley Oval stood as one. It may as well have been the whole of New Zealand.

There is still a month to go till the World Twenty20, but no side other than India can claim to know their first XI so much in advance, with MS Dhoni well aware of his team’s main strengths and shortcomings

Sidharth Monga14-Feb-2016There is still a month to go till the World Twenty20, but no side other than India can claim to know their first XI so much in advance. In the team that beat Sri Lanka 2-1, thus retaining its No. 1 ranking in T20Is, there will only be one change made – Virat Kohli replacing Ajinkya Rahane – barring an extraordinary pitch or an opposition full of left-hand batsmen, but MS Dhoni also knows the fickle nature of the T20 format. He knows his side will be difficult to beat, but he also knows his side can be beaten. Two of the areas that can derail India’s campaign are a big hitter in the opposition and India’s somewhat suspect lower middle order, which can struggle to play the big shots from ball one.”We are always a top contender when it comes to shorter formats,” Dhoni said after India beat Sri Lanka by nine wickets in Visakhapatnam. “Also with the World Cup to be held in India we know the spinners will come into action. It gives us the added benefit. Also the exposure of having played the IPL over here. Out of the eight seasons we have played seven seasons in India. We have got a lot of players, especially ones who are the part of the team, who have got very good experience of playing in India.”All of that will definitely count, but what the shortest format really does is, it narrows down the difference between the two teams. What you have to do is keep the [opposition’s] big hitters out of the game. Also the knockout games, you have to be at your best. Once the knockout stage starts it is more like lottery cricket. To be consistent is something that is very important.”Asked if any aspect of his side was untested, Dhoni spoke of the lower middle order. “Everybody has not got a chance to bat, but we will keep facing this problem,” Dhoni said. “Because also our batting line-up is quite deep. We will try to give batting to a few of the players who haven’t batted so far. But usually people who are batting close to 6, 7 and 8, will have to develop more of going in and straightaway play the big shot. That’s something that will certainly be very important for us. It is not about how many runs you score at that point of time. You may be facing just three or four or five deliveries. If you can get 10 or 12 runs, that will be of real benefit.”But overall, other than that everybody has got an opportunity to bowl, which is a good thing. I think, in the last three games, everybody has gone for runs a bit. If it is the spinners or the fast bowlers, to an extent. They were under pressure at some point of time, which is a good thing for them. Overall we are looking good, but a bit more batting to the middle order will help.”One of the final ticks is R Ashwin’s performance with the new ball after Dhoni had tended to bowl the six Powerplay overs with his quicks in Australia. Ashwin’s success – he has claimed eight wickets in the two matches that he has taken the new ball against Sri Lanka – takes away that predictability from India’s attack. “Ashwin is the pick of the bowlers when it comes to giving him the new ball, [with seven men] in the circle. He still flights the ball, asks the batsmen to step out and play the big shot. That is crucial in this format. At times you tend to bowl too flat, but he is somebody who mixes it up really well.”He gives us that liberty of using the fast bowlers in the middle overs, especially when you are playing with just two fast bowlers. Gives us the liberty of mixing up the bowlers at different levels. But it’s something we will keep doing throughout the coming games. We will see the conditions and the opposition at the same time, how many left-handers they have, and how many right-handers they have. Also what gives me that option is having Suresh Raina in the mix. You have literally two proper offspinners, especially when it is turning, and you have two left-arm spinners in [Ravindra] Jadeja and Yuvraj Singh in the XI so even if one of them has to bowl upfront it doesn’t really matter because the others can do the job.”

A round-up of the WICB Regional 4 Day Tournament games that ended on March 20, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2016
ScorecardGuyana defended their title with an innings victory over Jamaica•WICB Media

Guyana beat Jamaica by an innings and 55 runs in Providence to claim the WICB Regional 4-Day Tournament trophy for the second season in a row. Their title-defending victory was built around Under-19 World-Cup winning captain Shimron Hetmyer, and spinners Gudakesh Motie and Veerasammy Permaul.They had begun the game seven points clear of second-placed Barbados, and given the latter’s strong showing on day one of the round against Leeward Islands, Guyana could not afford to fall behind from the outset. They did not, courtesy a solid top-order showing from Hetmyer, Rajendra Chandrika and Leon Johnson. Opener Chandrika made 76, Hetmyer 107 from No. 3 and tournament top-scorer Johnson 93 from No. 4. That laid the platform for a big first-innings total, and so it was, with Guyana getting to 420, despite a five-for from legspinner Damion Jacobs.Spin played a more incisive role thereon, though, with left-arm spinner Motie taking charge in Jamaica’s first innings, claiming 4 for 55 to help enforce the follow-on. The supporting acts were Permaul and Devendra Bishoo, who took three wickets between them. Needing to make another 190 to force Guyana to bat again, Jamaica fell away even more rapidly to spin the second time round. This time it was Permaul in the lead role, taking 5 for 36 on his way to 40 in the competition – joint-fourth highest with Motie. Bishoo chipped in with three wickets as well, as Jamaica were routed for 134.
ScorecardBarbados began the final round needing to win to have a chance of toppling Guyana at the top of the table, and they did everything they had to do. But Guyana did the same, and so Barbados finished second despite their commanding innings-and-93-run win against Leeward Islands in Basseterre.Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican was central to the victory, with a match haul of nine. He picked up three wickets in a team effort on day one to knock Leewards over for 119, an effort in which none of the hosts’ batsmen could get to a half-century. Barbados got to 436 in reply, built around middle-order fifties from Shane Dowrich (96) and Roston Chase (62), followed by a rapid 53 from No. 9 Kemar Roach. Offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall, who had taken the new ball for Leewards, finished with five-for in a marathon 47.3 overs.Captain Orlando Peters was the only half-centurion for Leewards in the second innings, hitting 60 before becoming one of Warrican’s six victims. A massive victory was duly wrapped up by Barbados with a day and an innings to spare, but it would not have tasted as sweet given the news coming through from Providence.
ScorecardAt the National Cricket Centre in Couva, Windward Islands picked up a seven-wicket win over Trinidad & Tobago. Despite collecting 17 points, however, Windwards finished just above laggards Leeward Islands, having won just two matches in the competition. Windwards finished with 58 points, and T&T, just above them with 74.Windwards’ bowlers hunted in a pack after T&T elected to bat. Larry Edwards, the left-arm spinner, led the way on first-class debut with figures of 4 for 77 as T&T were bundled out for 211. That T&T got to 211 was courtesy Narsingh Deonarine, who remained unbeaten on 91. Kyle Hope (28) got off to a start but couldn’t make it count, while Imran Khan chipped in with a handy 39 down the order.Imran, the legspinner, came good with the ball, too, taking 4 for 93, before adding another one to his tally in Windwards’ second innings to finish the tournament with 44 wickets – third on the bowling charts. Imran’s efforts couldn’t prevent Windwards from taking a 78-run first-innings lead, however. Devon Smith, the tournament’s second-highest scorer with 719 runs from eight games, struck his second century in as many games and put on 163 for the opening wicket with Tyrone Theophile (75). Imran, along with Jon-Russ Jaggesar and Rayad Emrit, the new-ball bowlers, who picked up three wickets each, fought back as Windwards were bowled out for 289.Kyle Hope, the T&T opener, and captain Yannick Ottley struck half-centuries in their second innings, while Imran once again came good with the bat, scoring 46. But offspinner Liam Sebastien’s 10th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket kept T&T to 243.Set a target of 166, Windwards were reduced to 68 for 3 before Theophile and Sunil Ambris, the wicketkeeper-batsman, combined for an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 101 to see them through. Theophile was unbeaten on 83, while Ambris finished on 54 not out.