All posts by csb10.top

BCB president Nazmul Hassan has revealed the significant influence he has over Bangladesh’s selection process at present, saying that it was his call to drop allrounder Mahmudullah from the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka.Hassan also said another high-profile player might have suffered the axe had the designated wicketkeeper Liton Das not been ruled out of the second Test through injury. Indications are that the player he was referring to was the captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who had said “if I get to play” more than once ahead of the game.”I take all the decisions,” Hassan said in Colombo on the first day of Bangladesh’s 100th Test. “I have said it repeatedly that I take every decision. The decision that [Mahmudullah] won’t play the Test also has to come from me. And no one told me that he won’t be in the ODI squad. Until I take the decision, what others say doesn’t count. Chandika [Hathurusingha, the coach] doesn’t send me anything, it is the selectors who send me the list of players.”Mahmudullah got left out because this is an important Test for us. Just because we like Mahmudullah, Shakib [Al Hasan], Tamim [Iqbal] and Mushfiqur, doesn’t mean we will sit around while they keep playing with poor form. It will make the team unstable.”There would have been a bigger change had Liton Das not got injured. Anyone can be dropped. I don’t need a player in the squad who effects a team after being dropped. This message has to be clear. Whoever is replacing a senior player, you have to encourage him, impart intelligence to him. It is a team game after all.”Hassan’s comments, however, appeared to be at odds with the mandate he had set out for the revamped selection committee in June 2016, when the selection of the Bangladesh team became a three-step process.The committee was expanded by the inclusion of the coach Chandika Hathurusingha, the team manager Khaled Mahmud, and BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan. Hassan said at the time that his role in the selection process would be diminished because of Mahmud’s inclusion in the panel.Then the chief selector Faruque Ahmed had quit as a result, saying the new composition would curb the independence of the appointed selectors. Former Bangladesh batsman Minhajul Abedin was given Faruque’s position.Over the last nine months, however, Hassan made public comments about selection on at least three occasions. During the home series against Afghanistan in September 2016 – right after the selection committee was revamped – Hassan said left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain should be picked for the ODIs against England. The 34-year-old was left out of the second and third ODIs after a poor first game.During the Bangladesh Premier League, Hassan had said the selectors should consider performers from the T20 tournament for the training camp for the New Zealand tour. Mehedi Maruf, one of the players Hassan had mentioned, was included in the camp in Sydney as a “development player”, and also travelled to train with the squad in New Zealand.Hassan’s latest comments about Mahmudullah are likely to put more pressure on the current selectors, particularly the chief selector Minhajul, who is a respected figure in Bangladesh cricket, having been the country’s best batsman in the 1980s and 1990s.

A century from MS Dhoni and his 151-run stand for the seventh wicket with Shahbaz Nadeem helped Jharkhand overcome a collapse to beat Chhattisgarh by 78 runs at the Eden Gardens. His 107-ball 129 came after Chhattisgarh had reduced Jharkhand to 57 for 6 in the 20th over. Opening bowlers Pankaj Rao (3-27) and Kant Singh (4-33) shared the first six wickets. But Dhoni, coming in at No. 6, combined with Nadeem (53 off 90) to steady their innings with a stand that lasted 27.4 overs, helping Jharkhand to 243 for 9. Dhoni fell off the last ball of the innings after hitting ten fours and six sixes. In response, Chhattisgarh failed to put on substantial partnerships before folding for 165 in an innings where only three batsmen got past 20 – Kant top-scored with 24, to add to a memorable List A debut. Fast bowler Varun Aaron (3-26) and Nadeem (3-36) were the top performers for Jharkhand with the ball.Akshath Reddy’s third List A century powered Hyderabad to 312 before Chama Milind’s four-wicket haul restricted Saurasthra to 199, for a 113-run victory in Kalyani. Reddy lost opening partner Tanmay Agarwal in the fifth over but added 191 with Kolla Sumanth, who retired hurt on 91. Reddy put up a career-best 154 off 132 balls before being run-out in a 48th over that accounted for three wickets. Medium-pacer Kushang Patel (3-54) took three wickets in four balls in that over. In reply, Saurashtra lost their openers within the fourth over. A third-wicket stand of 46 steadied the innings briefly before a collapse saw them fall from 57 for 2 to 96 for 7. All of Hyderabad’s bowlers chipped in with wickets, but Milind and Mehdi Hasan (2-44) were at the forefront. Prerak Mankad, the lone resistance for Saurashtra, hit his maiden century – 104 off 88 balls – before falling to Ravi Kiran (2-46).Pavan Deshpande’s maiden fifty anchored Karnataka‘s chase against Services, helping them to a four-wicket win at the Jadavpur University ground in Kolkata. After Services were put in, they lost quick wickets on either side of a third-wicket stand of 54 to slump to 114 for 6. Suraj Yadav (44*) and Diwesh Pathania (49) added 82 before for the seventh wicket, before Poonam Poonia’s unbeaten 13-ball 20 lifted Services to 231 for 7. Medium-pacer Prasidh Krishna (3-39) and offspinner Aniruddha Joshi (2-32) led the charge for Karnataka. Robin Uthappa, who effected three catches and a stumping behind the wickets, hit 51 off 43 after Karnataka were reduced to 3 for 2. His fifty came in a 76-run partnership with Manish Pandey (23) before the pair fell off consecutive overs to leave Karnataka at 81 for 4 in the 18th over. Deshpande’s 73 brought them to within 44 runs of victory, before Joshi (50* off 37) and J Suchith (24* off 18) sealed the win.

ScorecardFile photo – Simon Milenko struck 75 off 62 balls and took a wicket on the third day•Getty Images

Western Australia completed a nine-wicket thumping of Tasmania inside three days at Bellerive Oval to notch their third consecutive Sheffield Shield victory and pull back into contention for the competition final.Western Australia were again well served by their seam attack, the debutant Cameron Green added two wickets to his first-innings five while David Moody claimed four to help round up Tasmania’s second innings for 265, despite a firm rearguard effort from Simon Milenko that ensured the hosts would avoid an innings defeat.That left a target of only 54 for Western Australia to seal victory, with Hilton Cartwright wasting little time on the requirement after Cameron Bancroft fell to Milenko. Cartwright earned Man-of-the-Match honours for his first-innings 94 when batting conditions were at their most difficult.WA remain fifth on the table, but are now within an outright win of second place with three fixtures remaining.

Adam Voges and Moises Henriques, captains of Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers respectively, have thrown their support behind the competition’s decision to expand ahead of its seventh edition next year.Cricket Australia announced on Friday that each team would play 10 games next season, two more than the first six editions of the tournament, taking the regular season programme from 32 to 40 overall. The expectation is that the tournament will not be elongated on the calendar, but that franchises will be encouraged to take matches to new cities in their states.Saturday’s BBL final is the 20th sellout of this season’s 35 games, with Perth Scorchers one of three clubs – alongside Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat – to sell every ticket to their home games. Hobart Hurricanes fell just short.Voges described the news, given such excellent crowds, as “inevitable”, while Henriques – who “had no idea it was coming” and found out on Twitter on Friday morning – said: “I’m sure the guys will love it. It’s fantastic, and to be playing more games under this sort of pressure, at this standard is only a good thing for state cricket.””[It’s a positive] As long as it doesn’t extend the season too much, but our last four games were played over 20 days or so, so there is enough time there to get a couple of extra games in,” Voges said. “We have sold out all our home games, so you’d hope that would be the same result.”CA is considering playing more daytime and twilight games, as well as having more days with two matches.”Personally I feel the BBL is the easiest part of the season for cricketers in terms of how you pull up with your body,” Henriques said. “The Shield season is harder, backing up for four days in a row. I feel they could compress the tournament even more, getting 10 games into the same amount of time we play now. I don’t see it being a huge issue, but we’ll find out next year.”Voges was not supportive, however, of CA’s discussions over naming the venue for the final in advance, although this is unsurprising ahead of a final at his team’s homeground, the WACA. Currently, the teams that finish first and second host the semi-finals. The highest-placed team to make the final hosts it. Scorchers finished top in the regular season.”I hope not,” Voges said. “We played a home final in Canberra a few years ago which was great because we won it, but I’d certainly have liked to have played here. No, I’d like to see the finals stay in the home state.”

Kevon Cooper and Arafat Sunny have been reported by the umpires for suspect bowling actions in the BPL.In the case of Sunny, Rangpur Riders’ left-arm spinner, one delivery, the first ball of the 19th over in Rangpur’s match against Rajshahi Kings on November 28, raised suspicion.Video footage of Khulna Titan’s allrounder Cooper’s bowling has been sent to the WICB, the BPL technical committee chairman Jalal Yunus said.”Sunny was reported once, in their last game [on November 28],” Yunus said. “The next step would be for the BCB’s bowling action review committee to analyse video footage of the delivery, which we will do soon after the end of the tournament. We have sent Cooper’s footage to the WICB.”Sunny was suspended for an illegal action during this year’s World T20 in March but cleared to bowl by the ICC in international cricket on September 23.After Sunny and Taskin Ahmed were suspended by the ICC, the BCB formed a bowling action review committee which found five bowlers to have illegal bowling actions during last season’s Dhaka Premier League.Yunus, who is also the chairman of the bowling action review committee, said that they will be stricter on suspected bowling actions.West Indies’ Cooper, too, was reported for a suspected bowling action during this year’s Pakistan Super League. Yunus said the BPL wanted to cases such as Cooper’s in future.”In the next BPL, we hope to do the video analysis of suspected bowling action during the tournament itself,” Yunus said. “We will also have to be aware of foreign players who has been reported previously, so that we can inform our franchises beforehand. We don’t want to have such bowlers in future tournaments.”

Cameron Delport’s all-round performance and Dolphins‘ top order steered them to a comfortable eight-wicket win against Knights in Bloemfontein, to earn their second win from five matches. Knights, on the other hand, suffered their third defeat in four matches.Knights’ openers Patrick Kruger and Andries Gous scored 28 each, after they opted to bat, but both were removed in Delport’s consecutive overs after the Powerplay. Captain Theunis de Bruyn then led them to a competitive 153 for 8 with an unbeaten 63 off 41. It was his fourth T20 fifty in his first match of the tournament and featured six fours and a six. Delport finished with 3 for 26.Dolphins hardly stuttered in their chase. They reached 50 in 5.1 overs but lost Delport for a 24-ball 36 on the next ball. Morne van Wyk, the other opener, and Cody Chetty combined for a commanding stand of 86 runs in only 11.1 overs to keep them ahead of the asking rate. Van Wyk fell for 56 of 43 in the 17th over and soon Khaya Zondo sealed the chase with a four in the penultimate over. Chetty was unbeaten on 46 off 38.Lions fell to a third loss in four games, with Christiaan Jonker helping Warriors breeze to their target of 153 with 13 balls and six wickets to spare. The win bumped Warriors up to No. 2 on the points table.Lions elected to bat and were off to a decent start, getting to 97 for 1 in the 15th. But none of their middle over could get going, and it was up to No. 3, Mangaliso Mosehle, who struck 49 off 28, to take the total past 150. JJ Smuts was the most effective of the Warriors bowlers: his left-arm spin accounted for both the openers after they were set, and he was miserly in taking 2 for 15 in his four.Smuts and Somila Seyibokwe laid the platform in the chase, before both were out in quick succession, and a couple more quick wickets followed to put the wobbles on Warriors. However, Jonker then launched his counterattack, thumping 49 off 18 with three fours and five sixes to seal the deal for Warriors.Titans v Cape Cobras in Centurion was a no result, with only 11 overs possible across both innings. The teams shared points, taking two each. The match was reduced to ten overs a side, and Cobras got to 115 for 4 in their allotment, with Richard Levi setting up the innings with 45 off 27 before Rory Kleinveldt put on the finishing touches with 28 off eight with four sixes. Titans could manage only one over in their reply, before play was called off.

West Indies women have recalled Jamaican allrounder Chedean Nation after a gap of nearly seven years, for the ODIs and T20s in India next month. West Indies also recalled wicketkeeper-batsman Kycia Knight and medium-pacer Shakera Selman, both of whom were dropped for the home series against England.Nation, 29, last played international cricket in November 2009, against England at home, in both ODIs and T20Is. She has played 12 ODIs and five T20Is, and was named in an 18-member West Indies training squad for a camp in September, before the England series.Knight and Selman, who were part of the World T20 winning squad this year, had been dropped earlier this month and Anisa Mohammed had replaced Selman as the vice-captain. Even though Selman has returned, Mohammed continues to be the vice-captain for the India tour.West Indies will play three T20Is after three ODIs, which will count towards the ICC Women’s Championship, in India. The first ODI will start on November 10 and the last T20I on November 22; all six matches will be played in Vijayawada.West Indies are currently placed third with 22 points in the Women’s Championship table and India are sixth with 13 points.Squad: Stafanie Taylor (capt.), Anisa Mohammed (vice-capt.), Merissa Aguilleira (wk), Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Kycia Knight, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Shaquana Quintyne, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt

India have agreed to use DRS for the upcoming Test series against England on a “trial basis” to “evaluate the improvements made” in the system. India had played in the first series with umpire reviews, against Sri Lanka in 2008, but this will be their first bilateral contest since then with all the components of the DRS – including ball-tracking technology – in place.”We are happy to note that Hawk-Eye has institutionalised all the recommendations made by BCCI, and we confirm that this improved version of DRS will be used on a trial basis during the forthcoming series against England,” the BCCI president Anurag Thakur said. “Based on the performance of the system and the feedback that we will receive, further continuation in forthcoming series will be decided.”One of India’s biggest concerns with the DRS, the predicted path of the ball after it hits the pad in the case of lbw decisions, will be addressed by the use of ultra-motion cameras. The manual intervention in determining the point of impact will be minimised by the introduction of Ultra Edge, which according to a BCCI release had been approved by Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT]. It will also eliminate the possibility of another touch after the first impact affecting the predicted path or point of impact.”Earlier, there was a possibility that the operator would have missed a delivery and hence an lbw appeal could have been missed,” the BCCI release said. “Now, Hawk-Eye has developed the technology to record and save all images so that in case an operator fails to arm the tracking system, the images can be rewound and replayed.”Since their first experience with the system in its nascent stages, India were the biggest opponents of the DRS. The only times India used it since that 2008 series was in ICC events and in one Test series against England in 2011. In that series, the DRS was not used for lbw decisions.The BCCI’s sustained refusal to use the DRS meant that other countries would not use the system only when playing India. The board rarely articulated its opposition to the system in detail; India’s former Test captain MS Dhoni used to say they would use DRS only when it was 100% accurate.The current India coach Anil Kumble, who is also the head of the ICC cricket committee, had made a visit to MIT before he took over the India job to be apprised of the latest developments in the DRS technology. During the recent series against New Zealand, India’s current Test captain Virat Kohli had said India “definitely wanted to think about DRS”, which was the first significant departure from their previous stance.On October 19, the ICC general manager Geoff Allardice made a presentation in Delhi that was attended by Kumble. Two days later, India confirmed their acceptance of the system albeit on a trial basis.

ScorecardIndia A blew away a strong opening partnership by losing four quick wickets and ended the third day of their four-day game still 108 runs behind Australia A with six wickets remaining in their second innings.Australia A, who began the day on 5 for 319 in their first innings, piled on 435 for a first-innings lead of 266 runs, with Hilton Cartwright, who was unbeaten on 99 overnight, completing his century. He eventually fell for 117, caught behind off Shardul Thakur, who completed his tenth first-class five-wicket haul and first outside India. He finished with figures of 5 for 101.India A then lost their first four wickets in a cluster – three to Jon Holland, the left-arm spinner, and one to a run out – to finish the day on 4 for 158, with opener Akhil Herwadkar unbeaten on 82 and Sanju Samson giving him company on 34. Holland had 3 for 59 after 15 overs.He could have had four had he not dropped Faiz Fazal off his own bowling. That was one of four reprieves handed to the India A openers during the course of a chancy 84-run partnership. Herwadkar was dropped twice, first by Nic Maddinson at first slip, and then on 53, when Jackson Bird put down a tough chance at leg slip. The dropped catches apart, Australia A also missed a run-out opportunity.India A’s opening partnership ended with a chaotic run-out – a throw at the striker’s end missed the stumps before Travis Dean, backing up, hit the other end to catch Fazal short of his ground. Fazal had played second fiddle to Herwadkar, contributing 29 off 88 balls with two fours and a six. Thereafter, Holland struck three times. First, Karun Nair was trapped lbw, before Manish Pandey was caught by Beau Webster, and finally, Naman Ojha was caught by Bird with the score having touched 100.Herwadkar and Samson then came together for an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 58. Samson faced 76 balls for his unbeaten 34, while Herwadkar had faced 188 balls and struck six fours and three sixes.When the day began, Cartwright added 37 more to Australia’s overnight total with Sam Whiteman. After he was dismissed, having faced 193 balls and struck 15 fours and a six, Whiteman batted on. Whiteman, who was unbeaten on 9 overnight, raised a half-century. His 100-ball 51, along with contributions from Kane Richardson (19) and No. 10 Jackson Bird (24), ensured that the lead swelled.

India offspinner R Ashwin, who batted at No. 6 for the first time in his Test career, has said that he was surprised by the promotion in Antigua, where he made his third Test century and his first away from home.”Batting at No. 6 was a complete surprise for me,” Ashwin told . “Virat [Kohli] told me in the morning of the game that I would be batting at six, and I really liked what he said. He said: ‘We trust you, and we want you to bat at six and see how it goes’. I wanted to give something back to the team, and show that I was good batting at No.6.”Having arrived late on the first day at 236 for 4, Ashwin saw out a tricky phase with Kohli and took India to 302 for 4 at stumps.Ashwin then unfurled his array of strokes on the second day, the highlight being a straight back-foot punch off West Indies captain Jason Holder. But when Shannon Gabriel, West Indies’ best bowler in the game, posed questions outside off stump with away movement or the lack of it, Ashwin was prepared to grind him down. He pressed on to bring up a century off 237 balls with a whipped four, before holing out for 113 off 253 balls.”I wanted to lend some solidity,” Ashwin said. “It was quite a tiring innings because I played about 250 balls, and after that to come out and exhibit how I could bowl after a tired innings. I was very pleased with that.”Given Kohli’s penchant for playing with five bowlers, there was pressure on Ashwin and the lower order to contribute more with the bat. Ashwin had said after his century that batting in the top seven was a long-term goal and that he considered himself an allrounder.”I always value myself as an allrounder,” he said. “Not like I don’t look at myself that way. Batting at six, there is always that many opportunities to score a hundred than when you are batting at eight. So, I have started off well on that note. Batting at No.6, I have managed a five-for as well. I just hope I can go from strength to strength from here.”Ashwin was pleased with his first five-wicket haul outside Asia, having made his debut against West Indies in 2011. He finished with figures of 7 for 83 to seal India’s innings-and-92-run win inside four days.”It has taken more than five years for me to repeat it [take a five-for] outside the subcontinent,” he said. “That is something I wanted to break: getting a five-wicket haul away from Asia. That is something I worked earnestly towards and very pleased for myself.”Ashwin’s returns came after he had gone wicketless in the first innings while conceding 43 runs in 17 overs. He said that his role in the first innings was to largely support the fast bowlers, who found swing and then reverse swing to rattle the hosts.”In the first innings, I couldn’t get a good spell going because the fast bowlers were bowling really well,” he said. “We actually had to short change with them for roles and try to give them a break.”Ashwin revelled in a more attacking role in the second innings, profiting from subtle changes in pace and drift. His dismissal of Marlon Samuels, drifting one away past the outside edge to hit the top of off stump, was reward for using the breeze after setting the batsman up with a couple of offbreaks.”The speeds were something that was going to challenge us on this wicket, because the ball got softer,” Ashwin said. “As the ball got softer and softer, it was very hard to get the ball going. It was very slow and sluggish, and so we needed to keep a tab on the pace, and use the drift pretty well.”Ashwin also lauded coach Anil Kumble for his inputs during the course of the match. “In the second innings, I was constantly in touch with Anil bhai also about what is that right speeds to be bowling,” Ashwin said. “We were constantly in touch through different occasions of the game. I went wicketless for the first 25-26 overs I bowled in the match, and in the past it would have definitely troubled me. I am someone who likes to keep getting wickets. I kept on speaking to him about what I was doing right and what I was not doing right. He felt my body was not going through well yesterday because I was a little tired. Also, he told I had to slow down at the crease, gave me different ideas about what lines to bowl to batsmen.”