Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has been fined INR 24 lakh for his team’s slow over rate in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2016Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has been fined INR 24 lakh (USD 36,000 approx) for his team’s slow over rate in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday night. Kohli had already been found guilty of an over-rate offence earlier in the competition, when he was fined INR 12 lakh. Another such instance will fetch him a one-match suspension.The rest of the Royal Challengers team were fined INR 6 lakh each.The IPL has usually been severe on teams maintaining slow over rates. In 2010, Kings XI Punjab captain Kumar Sangakkara received a one-match ban for a third such offence, following fines of USD 20,000 and USD 40,000.Opposition captain Gautam Gambhir also picked up a fine after Monday’s game, for breaching the code of conduct article related to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a match”.Royal Challengers lost the game in dramatic fashion, going down by five wickets after Knight Riders had required 81 off 36. Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell teed off at the end resulting in the asking rate coming crashing down, before Suryakumar Yadav joined Yusuf to take the team home. When Suryakumar swept chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi for four in the penultimate over to bring the equation to two runs required off eight balls, Gambhir showed his emotions by kicking a chair in the dugout. That reaction, presumably, lost him 15% of his match fee.

Lancashire could head into Sunday’s Roses clash with champions Yorkshire top of the Specsavers County Championship after polishing off Surrey inside three days at Old Trafford

ECB Reporters Network24-May-2016
ScorecardKyle Jarvis finished with career-best match figures of 11 for 119•Getty Images

Lancashire could head into Sunday’s Roses clash with champions Yorkshire top of the Specsavers County Championship after polishing off Surrey inside three days at Old Trafford.The 2011 Division One winners, unfancied then, are it again having won three of their first five matches following promotion.They completed a comprehensive innings and 96-run victory over a Surrey side lacking confidence and beset by injuries midway through the afternoon.And they have now won their first three home Championship matches in a season for the first time since 1952.The visitors, minus injured Rory Burns, lost eight wickets for 45 runs in 100 balls from almost immediately after lunch to slip from 62 for 2 to 107 all out inside 38 overs of their second innings.Kyle Jarvis, with six wickets in the first innings, was the star of the show again. He added 5 for 49 in the second to finish with career-best match figures of 11 for 119 in 37 overs.Having conceded a first-innings lead of 203 before lunch on the third day, Surrey started their second innings with further disruption following illness to Steven Davies.Burns was ruled out of the rest of the game with mild concussion following a blow to the helmet whilst fielding at short-leg on the second day, while Davies could not bat until ten minutes after lunch having been off the field.Their task of saving the game was made much harder through a tenth-wicket stand of 63 between Jarvis and Simon Kerrigan, who finished with 35 and 32 not out respectively.It was Lancashire’s third successive tenth-wicket partnership in this fixture dating back to last season, with the pair hitting a boundary apiece in the first two overs of play to take the score from 342 for 9 overnight to 350 and ensure a fourth batting bonus point.Stuart Meaker wrapped up the innings by getting Jarvis caught behind down leg-side to finish with 4 for 78.Burns’ absence from the top of the order forced Tom Curran into the role. And although he had never batted higher than seven in first-class cricket before, he did an admirable job for 53 off 104 balls. Unfortunately for Surrey, he was given no support.Tom Bailey had Arun Harinath caught behind in the tenth over before a Neil Wagner slower ball did for Kumar Sangakkara as he chipped to mid-off, leaving the score at 46 for 2 shortly before lunch.Then came the remarkable early afternoon spell which raced the match to its conclusion. Jarvis, bowling the second over after lunch, trapped Jason Roy lbw and had Ben Foakes caught behind for a second-ball duck, leaving the score at 62 for 4 in the 20th.He then had James Burke superbly caught by Liam Livingstone running back from first slip following a top-edge in his next over before Bailey had Davies, batting at No. 7, caught behind. Jarvis later bowled Gareth Batty and trapped Mathew Pillans lbw.Wagner wrapped up the win when he had Curran caught at short fine-leg the ball after he had reached 50.Should Durham complete victory over Warwickshire at Edgbaston, Lancashire will remain top of Division One heading into the next round of fixtures.

Sean Williams and Craig Ervine are not part of Zimbabwe’s 18-man squad for the three T20Is against India starting June 18 in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-20161:00

Depleted Zimbabwe seek turnaround in T20Is

Batsmen Sean Williams and Craig Ervine are not part of Zimbabwe’s 18-man squad for the three T20Is against India starting on June 18 in Harare, after suffering injuries during the ODI series.Ervine injured his hamstring in the first ODI, while Williams, who replaced him for the second game, fractured his finger at training soon after the toss.Tendai Chisoro and Tawanda Mupariwa, who were part of the ODI squad, were left out, while the uncapped offspinner Tapiwa Mufudza earned a call-up. Brian Chari and Tinotenda Mutombodzi, who last played an international game in late 2015, were also recalled, while Chamu Chibhabha, who last played T20Is in January, was picked following decent returns in the ODI series.

Zimbabwe’s changes

In: Brian Chari, Donald Tiripano, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Timycen Maruma, Tapiwa Mufudza, Chamu Chibhabha
Out: Sean Williams, Tinashe Panyangara, Luke Jongwe, Tendai Chisoro

Chari, an opening batsman who is yet to play T20Is, impressed for Zimbabwe A in their home series against Bangladesh A in November last year, when he struck a century to secure a draw in the second four-day fixture. Mufudza, who made his franchise debut in 2011, picked up 15 wickets in 10 T20s for Mountaineers, with best figures of 5 for 20.Eleven members who were part of Zimbabwe’s World T20 campaign, in which they failed to qualify for the main round, were retained. Among the notable omissions were Tinashe Panyangara, out with a back injury, and Luke Jongwe. Having lost the ODI series 3-0, with poor batting in all games, Zimbabwe will be hoping for better results in a format in which they are currently 12th in the ICC rankings.”We’re not going to reflect too much on the one-dayers, we are just going to look to hit the ground running in T20s,” Cremer said after the ODI series loss. “We’re going to try our best to turn things around.”He hoped Zimbabwe, who are ranked below Afghanistan and Netherlands, would draw inspiration from their T20 win over India last year. “I think it’s motivating enough that the last T20 we played against India here is the one we won,” he said. “It’s motivating enough knowing how it felt when we won the last time, how good the crowd was and how we enjoyed that. Guys are looking forward to doing well and obviously having a disappointing one-day series makes us even more motivated to do well in the T20.”Zimbabwe squad: Graeme Cremer (capt), Sikandar Raza, Brian Chari, Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Neville Madziva, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza, Wellington Masakadza, Peter Moor, Tapiwa Mufudza, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Taurai Muzarabani, Vusi Sibanda, Donald Tiripano, Malcolm Waller

The ICC is pushing for the creation of a new ODI league for the world’s top 13 countries to give 50-over cricket new context and relevance

Tim Wigmore18-Jun-2016The ICC is pushing for the creation of a new ODI league for the world’s top 13 countries to give 50-over cricket new context and relevance.Plans are well-advanced to create a new league from 2019 for 13 nations – believed to be the ten Test teams, Afghanistan, Ireland and one other Associate, with Nepal advocated by some as a favoured option in a debate that still has some way to run.The league will see all countries play each other over three years, with the top two nations playing a play-off series to determine the overall winner of the league.It is hoped that the proposals will give ODI cricket a new context and sense of purpose, amid fears that the format fits awkwardly between Test and Twenty20 cricket, insufficiently loved either by traditionalists or newer fans.Under the plans, each team would play a three-match series either home or away against every other country, amounting to 36 ODIs each over a three-year basis. The fourth year of each cycle would be reserved for World Cup preparation.It is envisaged that the ODI league would progress towards a play-off series, likely to be either three matches or five, to determine the overall winner, giving bilateral ODI cricket a global showpiece it has previously lacked.The system, if adopted, would also be used to determine automatic qualification, and seedings, for the World Cup. The side finishing bottom after three years would face relegation to the World Cricket League Championship, the second tier of one-day cricket, possibly after a play-off with the winners of the World Cricket League Championship.As with the proposed reforms to Test cricket, the structure is intended as a minimum schedule for each country, and they would be free to organise extra ODIs, which would not count towards the league.The most obvious beneficiaries of the schedule would be Afghanistan and Ireland, who would have a guaranteed set of fixtures to develop their teams and have a more attractive set of matches to sell sponsors. While both have enjoyed an upturn in fixtures since their inclusion on the 12-team ODI rankings table, the proposed new ODI league would bolster this further.The identity of the 13th team is likely to be altogether more controversial. The ICC are known to be impressed by the game’s popularity in Nepal, and are considering promoting Nepal regardless of their overall standing in the 2015-17 edition of the World Cricket League Championship, although this is just one option.Yet, if Nepal were elevated, in defiance of their position on the World Cricket League Championship table, which Netherlands currently lead, the ICC would leave themselves open to undermining the integrity of their own structures.The creation of a 13-team league, with promotion, is a crucial part of the ICC’s strategy to increase the number of competitive international teams and ensure they can rise on merit. Conversely, struggling teams will face relegation with, it is hoped, no exceptions for the ten nations with Full Member status.This might affect Zimbabwe, whose recent 3-0 defeat at home to an understrength India side was one of the most one-sided ODI series in the history of the game – even allowing for their shock defeat of India in a T20I in Harare on Saturday.The proposals are designed to provide ODI cricket with new relevance, which the format lacks outside the World Cup. It is also believed that the new structure would lead to the fixtures generating more broadcasting revenue, in the belief that fans would be more enticed by the notion of a league culminating in an easily understood winner.As with the favoured two-divisional structure in Test cricket, concerns about the dwindling commercial value of bilateral cricket, and a belief that the new structure would lead to greater revenue, underpin the proposals.The plans for ODI and Test cricket will be discussed at the ICC annual conference, which begins in Edinburgh at the end of the month.While they might be agreed upon there, voting on the proposals could wait until the ICC board meeting in October, because the reforms are partly dependent upon changes in the ICC revenue model. However, it is understood that the decision to bring the World T20 back to every two years is likely to be ratified in Edinburgh.

David Peever, the Cricket Australia chairman, has delivered a pointed message to nations opposing proposed changes to the structure of international cricket – tradition must not stand in the way of progress

Daniel Brettig in Galle03-Aug-2016David Peever, the Cricket Australia chairman, has delivered a pointed message to nations opposing proposed changes to the structure of international cricket – tradition must not stand in the way of progress.Speaking at the official banquet to mark Australia’s series in Sri Lanka on Tuesday night, Peever stressed the importance of keeping the game relevant and balancing tradition with progress. Sri Lanka Cricket and its president Thilanga Sumathipala have been outspoken critics of the proposal for two-tier Test cricket and radical changes to the game’s financial model.”There is no better community of people than the cricket community. But I have to say I think in terms of responsibility and the place that cricket needs to hold globally today and tomorrow,” Peever said. “I do respect traditions but am conscious of not loving them at the expense of progress. Progress and tradition, in our view, need to have at least equal weighting.”Cricket is the people’s game. Without fans it would have little value or relevance. Fans provide the money for us to sustain the game, to invest in the pathways, to help us support the grass roots. We have to always be guided by what they want, but also continuing to stay ahead of the curve and keep the game relevant, in all parts of our society. We need to continue to be a sport of choice for all, men women, boys and girls and girls of all backgrounds all over the world.”Since replacing Wally Edwards as the CA chairman, Peever has kept a low profile, but his words at the dinner marked a statement of intent, even as he sat next to Sumathipala. The pair are expected to hold further talks over the next two days, with SLC’s opposition to ICC reforms likely to be a major topic for discussion. The ICC chairman Shashank Manohar is believed to desire any constitutional and structural change to be approved by unanimous vote.”Sri Lanka Cricket has decided not to support two-tier Test cricket as we have decided it’s detrimental to SLC and for its future,” Sumathipala said last month. “We feel that to make it a top seven – you are virtually relegating the bottom three to a different level.”Among other topics in a wide-ranging address, Peever pointed towards day-night Tests as a major reform, and thanked Australia’s cricketers for taking part in the inaugural pink ball match in Adelaide last year. At the same time he admitted the concept “needs some further refinement”.”In Australia recently we embarked on innovation in our last season and held our inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide,” he said. “We did this to encourage more fans to the game, both watching at home and attending the ground at times when it fits their lifestyle, to make the game more accessible to fans.”We do accept the concept needs some further refinement, and I want to thank the New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa players and their boards for helping us with this important reform. In particular I want to thank our Australian players for the way they have helped lead this change in putting the long term health of the game first. They’re leading change in a way that was similarly led back in the World Series Cricket era.”Peever also argued that international cricket had to be maintained as the game’s pinnacle, rather than allowing further erosion of contests between nations by domestic Twenty20 leagues. We’re very lucky in cricket that we have three viable formats of the game,” he said.”T20 cricket is enticing kids and families to become fans, and I want to take the opportunity to stress here the importance and primacy of international cricket to continue nourishing the game. Money is fundamental to our game, but it has to follow strategy and not the other way round.”

Sri Lanka Cricket will invite Muttiah Muralitharan to present awards at the conclusion of the ongoing series against Australia, SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala has said

Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Aug-2016Sri Lanka Cricket will invite Muttiah Muralitharan to present awards at the conclusion of the ongoing series against Australia, SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala has said. The move is ostensibly an attempt to repair the board’s relationship with Muralitharan, following the war of words between the two parties that preceded the series.”I have asked the secretary Mohan de Silva to invite Murali to give away the awards on the last day of the final Test match,” Sumathipala told . “Murali is welcome to witness the entire Test. At least we want him to remain present on the last day of the match on August 17, or on the day if the Test finishes early.” The third match of the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy begins at SSC on Saturday.Tempers had flared ahead of the series when Murali took on a ten-day consulting role with Australia, which ended just prior to the first match. Sumathipala had originally said he was not opposed to Murali’s consulting with Australia, but later suggested that the spinner had made an ethical breach by working in opposition to Sri Lanka, citing in particular the trials he had endured regarding his action, in Australia. Murali had then slammed the board for, among other things, its treatment of local coaches.Now, however, there is an appetite to patch up the relationship and move on.

Mitchell Johnson hopes to pursue a mentoring role in Australian cricket, with the aim of helping young players adjust to the major lifestyle changes that come with reaching the elite level

Brydon Coverdale14-Sep-2016Mitchell Johnson hopes to pursue a mentoring role in Australian cricket, with the aim of helping young players adjust to the major lifestyle changes that come with reaching the elite level.Nearly a year on from his international retirement, Johnson is preparing for his first home summer as a spectator, although he will still have a playing role after signing with the Perth Scorchers for the BBL. However, he also believes he has plenty to offer off the field, given his own personal experience of a rapid rise to the big time.”I came from not much money and to all of a sudden earn big cash was really exciting, and you want to spend it and do this and do that,” Johnson told reporters in Perth on Wednesday. “But I had good people around me … Through cricket I’ve experienced all the highs and lows. I’m in the process of figuring out where to go with the mentoring side of things and hopefully in the next year or so I can be part of guiding these young guys.”Johnson used the example of controversies in the National Rugby League to highlight the need for off-field assistance for players, who could easily find themselves led towards questionable behaviour without proper guidance.”I think we’re seeing a lot of sportsmen falling into the trap of earning big money and there’s gambling and there’s drinking and there’s lots of things going on,” Johnson said. “Definitely there’s a real challenge there, looking at it from a cricket point of view, for Cricket Australia and the ACA to bring in some past players and hopefully mentor. I’m definitely looking into that at the moment. It’s something that’s at the front of my mind.”It’s been like this for a long time, it’s not just now. But I guess there’s more opportunities now. There’s more money involved in sport. I guess the example that I see is growing up in north Queensland and seeing what the [NRL team] Cowboys have gone through now.”Getting that good coin now and you see in the papers there’s a bit of trouble with a few players, they come from nowhere to all of a sudden earning big money and I think just a bit of guidance would be great. I don’t think a lot of sportsmen are getting that guidance or mentoring at the moment.”

India captain MS Dhoni blamed the absence of big partnerships for his team’s six-run defeat to New Zealand

Arun Venugopal20-Oct-20161:34

‘If anyone batted 15 minutes more, we would have won’

India captain MS Dhoni blamed the absence of big partnerships for his team’s six-run defeat to New Zealand on a Feroz Shah Kotla pitch that was slow and had variable bounce.After New Zealand had made 242, India stitched together sizeable partnerships in their chase but lost clumps of wickets on two occasions. First, Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey departed in the space of four balls in the 19th over, and then Dhoni, Axar Patel and Amit Mishra fell in a nine-ball span during overs 40 and 41, with Martin Guptill accounting for the last two of those dismissals in his only over of the match.”If you see there were quite a few partnerships, but we kept losing wickets after every partnership,” Dhoni said. “When you are chasing a score like this it is important that you need to keep a few wickets because the runs were coming. Even if you need six or seven runs an over in the end it can easily be achieved but our problem was that we kept losing the wickets. In fact in the 41st over we lost two wickets.”It’s not about one batsman, I felt we lost wickets throughout. Any batsman could have said that had I contributed 10 percent more we would have won the game. So it was the responsibility of the whole batting unit. I felt the bowlers did well.”Dhoni said the pitch continued to slow down despite the dew, which generally ensured the ball came on to the bat better. “I felt it was best to bat in the day time as the game kept progressing the wicket got slightly slower and slower with a bit of variable bounce,” he said. “Also, if you lose one or two wickets that slows you down to an extent. Then, if you have that partnership and still lose a wicket again, again you have to start from scratch.”He defended the decision to bowl first and said 242 was a par score on the pitch. “If any of our batsman had batted 15 minutes more we would have won the game,” he said. “The bowlers did well to come back into the game. Initially it was difficult to contain their batsmen and they played some proper shots, not to forget we dropped two catches off [Kane] Williamson. That also has a bit of a bearing. Overall I was happy with 240-245, because that was very much something we could have achieved.”Dhoni also lauded Jasprit Bumrah’s ability to bowl inch-perfect yorkers, and said his consistency made him his go-to man, particularly at the death. After a tight spell up front, Bumrah returned to clean up New Zealand’s lower order with yorkers and slower deliveries and finished with figures of 3 for 35.”Right from the time he began his international career he has always been someone who can bowl yorkers at will, and that’s why he has been someone I can always bank upon,” Dhoni said. “A lot of times I had to see how every bowler is bowling and then decide who will bowl the last few but with Bumrah be it any condition or situation he has always been someone who gives me those last few overs. He practices that way, he has an awkward action. Still credit to him for consistently bowling those yorkers.”

Sri Lanka Cricket is set to introduce annual contracts for close to 70 cricketers, including players in the youth and emerging categories, in a bid to encourage them to press for places in the national side

Sa'adi Thawfeeq11-Oct-2016Sri Lanka Cricket is set to introduce annual contracts for close to 70 cricketers, across the youth, emerging and senior categories, in a bid to encourage them to press for places in the Sri Lanka team. The new contract system does not include the current national players already contracted with the board.SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala said that the new contract system will cover the period between November 1, 2016, and April 30, 2017, after which the cricketers could play in any part of the world. Under this system, the cricketers will be paid between SL Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000 per month ($170 – $680).”There are so many categories of players who are playing cricket so we must look after them,” Sumathipala said. “We don’t want the players who have not played for Sri Lanka to be idling in club cricket but to start putting pressure on the national players and make every effort to play for the country as well as their clubs.”We have decided to look after these cricketers and put them on a national contract. We met about 70 players last Saturday and gave them a proposed agreement and we are informing our member clubs that if there are anybody whom they feel are worthy of contract to inform us.”We will sign the contracts on October 30. The contract lasts from November 1 to April 30. After that date the cricketers are free to play in any part of the world. We want to see that our domestic [structure] is stronger and protected and give the players something they can be happy about. Apart from the national players we are also looking after the other players as well.”The board also announced that it had suspended financial grants for nine member clubs and associations, including Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club and Badureliya Cricket Club, for a variety of administrative faults, including the failure to submit an audit report. Both Bloomfield and Badureliya CC are prominent domestic teams that participate in the Premier League tournaments. The other associations are: Southern Province Cricket Association, Negombo Cricket Club, Matara District Cricket Association, Puttalam District Cricket Association, Kollupitiya Sports Club, Nomads Sports Club and Peterson Lane Sports Club. Sumathipala clarified that the teams could continue participating in SLC-conducted tournaments.”From the month of January we have informed the clubs and associations to have their audit reports and to hold their AGM in time,” Sumathipala said. “They have not complied with our request so we have to suspend funding them.”We are not funding any money until they rectify their administration. But for the sake of cricket they will be allowed to play in SLC-conducted tournaments. Until they get their accounts up and running and they submit the audit reports the SLC has decided not to grant them any money.”

Tom Westley and Ben Foakes relished an absorbing contest with Afghanistan’s spinners on a hard-fought first day of England Lions’ first-class match in Abu Dhabi

ECB Reporters Network07-Dec-2016England Lions 279 for 9 (Westley 84, Foakes 70, Alsop 40, Rashid Khan 4-48) v Afghanistan

ScorecardTom Westley played a controlled innings to revive England Lions after an early stutter•Getty Images

Tom Westley and Ben Foakes relished an absorbing contest with Afghanistan’s spinners on a hard-fought first day of England Lions’ first-class match in Abu Dhabi.Westley made the most of his first Lions appearance of the winter with a patient 84, sharing a fifth-wicket partnership of 125 with Foakes before the Surrey wicketkeeper was dismissed for 70.But the Afghans hit back after tea to reduce the Lions to 279 for 9 at the close with Rashid Khan, an impressive young legspinner who has been playing in the Bangladesh Premier League, earning figures of 4 for 48.”I knew that after three weeks out here I might only have this one innings, or maybe two, so it was an important innings for me,” said Westley, who was the only member of the Lions squad not to appear in the three-match one-day series against UAE.”There was a bit of pressure on and plenty of noise when Foakesy came in, so it was enjoyable to put on a decent partnership. I thought the openers had played well early on as well to give us a start. It’s just a shame one of us top three couldn’t have gone on to something a bit bigger so we could be 320 for 5 rather than 280 for 9.”Credit to Afghanistan though. I remember playing against them for Essex second XI a few years ago, but now they are respected as a good side, with players who play in competitions like the BPL. They showed that with the way they played today, especially the legspinner.”The start of play was delayed by 15 minutes because of thick morning fog in Abu Dhabi. But Toby Roland-Jones, who followed Keaton Jennings and Nick Gubbins as the Lions’ third captain in four matches on this trip, chose to bat despite the unusual desert moisture, and openers Gubbins and Tom Alsop justified that decision with a stand of 67 in 15 overs.Alsop, the 21-year-old Hampshire left-hander who was selected ahead of Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond, made a flying start by taking 12 including two boundaries off the first over of the match, and continued in that positive manner to reach 40 from 46 balls.However he went back to the first ball after the first drinks break of the day and was pinned lbw by Rashid. The legspinner then switched ends to strike twice in the space of three balls, bowling Gubbins for 26 and then Joe Clarke for a duck to leave the Lions on 85 for three.
It was 97 for four when Liam Livingstone, having recovered from the illness which confined him to bed on Tuesday, fell caught behind to seamer Yamin Ahmadzai.But after a few nervy early moments Westley and Foakes gradually got on top of the Afghan bowlers and quietened the excited chatter in the field.Foakes was lbw trying to sweep the veteran offspinner Mohammad Nabi after facing 137 balls and hitting nine fours, and Westley grafted on for 13 more overs before he also fell to Nabi, caught at short leg.Rashid then trapped Sam Curran lbw for 17 and Afghanistan’s seamers chipped in with the second new ball, taking the wickets of Roland-Jones and Ollie Rayner – who had passed a morning fitness test on a knee injury.