Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni, rising star and fading force, combined to deliver India victory over Australia at the last possible opportunity in another run-fest at the SCG

The Report by Daniel Brettig at the SCG23-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:58

Chappell: Hundred will give Pandey more belief

Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni, rising star and fading force, combined to deliver India victory over Australia at the last possible opportunity in another run-fest at the SCG. Having crumpled in a humiliating heap in Canberra, the tourists were able to hold their nerve this time, helped by a pair of critical Australian dropped catches.
David Warner and Mitchell Marsh had made centuries for Australia, but the allrounder conceded 13 from the final over of the night to allow the visitors avoid the ignominy of a 5-0 series sweep. It also provided partial vindication of Dhoni’s longtime belief in seeing out an innings, even if his steady 34 was a diminished version of supreme closing displays he used to be able to put together for his team. Australia were denied an unbeaten home summer.Fluent hands from Shikhar Dhawan and the Man-of-the-Series Rohit Sharma had put India in sight of victory though both men fell short of centuries. Dhawan was brilliantly caught by Shaun Marsh at deep point, before Rohit reached 99 only to edge John Hastings behind and be given out by the umpire Paul Wilson after a dramatic pause for the crowd of 33,710.Pandey, playing his fourth ODI, weathered that moment and pushed on to his highest and best innings for India. His crisp stroke play found plenty of gaps around the SCG and kept the run chase within sight. Dhoni arrived at the fall of Rohit’s wicket and after a halting start India’s captain gradually found his range in time-honoured fashion.The pair allowed the equation to leak out to 35 to win from the final three overs, before taking 13 from the 48th over and nine from the 49th. Needing 13 from the final over, Mitchell Marsh gave away a wide first ball, before Dhoni hammered a six over long off. He then perished trying to repeat the shot, but Pandey squirted a boundary past the gloves of Matthew Wade to reach a deserved hundred and put the result beyond doubt.Heavy rain around Sydney in the lead-up to the match affected the ground staff’s preparation, ironically resulting in arguably the fairest surface of the international summer – excepting the grassy, experimental pitch prepared for the inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide. Dhoni duly sent the Australians in, and was rewarded with early wickets.But after the loss of Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, the captain, George Bailey and Shaun Marsh inside the first 22 overs of the afternoon, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh combined for a partnership all the more impressive for the fact that they had to deal with a moving ball for virtually the first time since Adelaide back in November.Warner’s hundred was his second from as many SCG fixtures this summer, and he also made a century against India on this ground in their Test match last January. His momentum built throughout the innings even as he appeared to try to make certain of a hundred after being dismissed for 93 in Canberra. The resultant celebration is now near enough to choreographed, but Warner added a baby-rocking motion in recognition of the recent birth of his second daughter.Less scripted was the manner of Mitchell Marsh’s celebration, having rattled to a maiden international hundred on the same ground where he made his first Sheffield Shield century for Western Australia in 2011. Twice before this summer, Mitchell Marsh had been promoted by Smith in order to grant the allrounder extra time in the middle, and he had looked awkward each time.This was more the role he has been groomed for, staging a middle-order recovery after early wickets with good judgment and power hitting. There was some drama to Mitchell Marsh’s hundredth run – he spent three nervy deliveries on 99, before flicking Ishant through midwicket to reach the milestone from a mere 81 balls. Mitchell Marsh’s 82nd struck him amidships, and precious momentum was lost in the final 12 balls.Those two overs meant India were chasing a target somewhat skinnier than they had faced in Canberra; Dhawan and Rohit began with venomous intent, and for a time there seemed nothing that would stem their momentum. The stand was worth 123 at comfortably better than a run-a-ball when Dhawan lofted John Hastings and was caught by a leaping Shaun Marsh.Rohit’s prolific scoring in this series was completed by another confident hand, which ended only when a baying crowd and tight field placed by Smith had the opener edging behind. Shaun Marsh had dropped a far simpler chance from him the over before. That wicket may have given Australia the momentum to go on to win, but Dhoni’s early struggles were reprieved when Nathan Lyon spilled another chance at deep midwicket.The spin of Lyon and Smith cost 78 from 10 overs, leaving much responsibility on the shoulders of Hastings and Scott Boland. Mitchell Marsh bowled well enough until India’s final onslaught, and the all-round skills of Glenn Maxwell, missing due to a knee knock in Canberra, were notable for their absence.Ishant Sharma had found seam movement in the very first over of the afternoon, fooling Aaron Finch into shouldering arms to a nip-backer that struck him in the vicinity of the off stump. The umpire Richard Kettleborough raised his finger without hesitation, though ball tracking was to show the ball may not quite have been moving back enough.Smith looked at ease despite his early arrival to the crease, until the introduction of the debutant Jasprit Bumrah who appeared to catch Smith a little off guard. Bumrah generated decent pace from an abbreviated run up and unusual action, and after tying down Smith was able to gain his wicket when a pull shot found Rohit Sharma at midwicket. Bumrah later added the wicket of James Faulkner: his control put other more experienced teammates to shame.Neither George Bailey nor Shaun Marsh were able to prosper, the former fooled by Dhawan’s leg cutter and the latter a run out when Umesh Yadav’s return from the outfield rebounded from the knee of Gurkeerat Singh to disturb the bails. At 4 for 117, Australia were teetering, but Warner and Marsh were to recover the innings in some style. They seemed to have done enough, until a mere seven runs from the final two overs of the innings gave India a glimpse.

Hardik Rathod, who took late wickets on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final to keep Saurashtra’s hopes alive, said his team hopes to clean up Mumbai’s lower order early and bat well on the third day

Shashank Kishore in Pune25-Feb-2016Think of Saurashtra’s bowling and Ravindra Jadeja comes to mind immediately. Scratch the surface, and then there’s Jaydev Unadkat. Eye-catching moments with the ball have been far and few if you look beyond these two. But on Thursday, there was a ray of hope in the form of Hardik Rathod.The 27-year-old isn’t a tearaway quick, but his ability to swing the ball can be mighty effective when he lands them in the right spot. While he was anything but consistent when Shreyas Iyer was at the crease, he found his rhythm towards the end of the day; his three late wickets of Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur gave Saurashtra hope after they were sent on a leather hunt in the afternoon.Rathod’s career, although in its nascent stages, hasn’t panned out the way he would have liked. His last first-class appearance before the quarter-final was in December 2013 against Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow. Modest returns – 21 wickets in 11 matches – didn’t inspire confidence within the team management. But an injury to Shaurya Sanandia, that drew curtains on his season, proved to be a blessing in disguise for Rathod. He justified the call-up by picking up six wickets in the semi-final and complementing Jaydev Unadkat who finished with a 11-wicket haul, as Assam were handed a ten-wicket thrashing.A repeat of that show didn’t seem coming when Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav combined to flatten Saurashtra’s bowlers in the second session. “In the first spell, when Iyer was batting, he was going for his strokes and we were trying for wickets,” he explained. “The aim was that we should get him out as quickly as possible. In trying to try too hard, we either bowled too short or too full, and gave away a lot of runs. But in the evening, after tea, the plan was to limit the runs and create pressure. As runs dry up the pressure will tell.”When Suryakumar and Iyer were playing, we couldn’t execute our plans. Suryakumar was taking singles and Iyer was playing his strokes. So we had to keep changing the fields and our bowling strategies often, as a result of which our consistency went for a toss.”The tea break came to Saurashtra’s rescue. They had just taken the wicket of Iyer, and were two wickets away from breaking into the lower order. Cheteshwar Pujara, who briefly led the side in Jaydev Shah’s absence, brought the team together and gave them a pep talk. The bowlers, particularly, were all ears. The plan, according to Rathod, was as simple as it could get.”Both the captain (Jaydev Shah) and Cheteshwar Pujara told us not to try too many things, to bowl one line and length. ‘Force the batsmen to make mistakes and don’t vary too much from your disciplines. Let them play their shots, you just remain consistent’, that was the message they gave us,” Rathod said. “It worked for us towards the end.”On another day, it may have come a little too late, but in slicing through the lower order, Saurashtra have given themselves an opening. “On the first day there was moisture but today, second day, it played well, both for batting and, if you put in some effort, for the bowlers as well,” Rathod said. “You have to try harder on day three with the ball than on day one. The match is wide open. Tomorrow, we will look to get them out as quickly as possible. The less the lead, the better because there is every chance of this being an outright game. Get the two wickets early and bat well, that is the plan for tomorrow.”One man the team can take a cue from is Prerak Mankad, the debutant, who was fast-tracked into the team after consistent returns for Saurashtra Under-23s. He battled hard to make a composed 66, after walking in to bat at 108 for 7. It helped Saurashtra get past the 200-mark on a surface where batsmen needed to graft.”Ever since we got here, I had feelers from the coach that I would play, because this is a seaming wicket,” Mankad said. “The plan was to bat normally, but I hadn’t faced an attack of this quality before. Maybe in an Under-25 game against Rajasthan, we played on a similar surface, but not this kind of attack. The plan was to play close to the body and leave balls that are outside off stump, that was the plan.”From the morning, when I was included in the XI, the team motivated me. The environment was good, everyone was pushing me and my self-belief was good. When I walked out, Arpit Vasavada was already batting. That was very important for me because he is my captain in inter-district cricket, I have been playing with him for a long time. He kept giving me advice and I followed that.”

Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal stroked his third fifty of the PSL, his 58-ball 80 guiding Peshawar Zalmi to a seven-wicket win against Islamabad United in Sharjah

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Tamim Iqbal smoked six fours and three sixes during his 80-run blast•AFP

Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal stroked his third fifty of the PSL, his 58-ball 80 guiding Peshawar Zalmi to a seven-wicket win against Islamabad United in Sharjah. Victory also meant that Peshawar took top spot in the table after five games; defeat for Islamabad left them rooted near the bottom at fourth.Set 153 for victory, Peshawar lost Mohammad Hafeez early after a brisk start, but Tamim almost single-handedly kept the runs flowing, blasting six fours and three sixes during his knock. Two more quick wickets, of Jim Allenby and Kamran Akmal, gave Islamabad a glimmer, but Shahid Yousuf quickly dashed those hopes by slamming a 19-ball 27 and combining with Tamim for a fourth-wicket association which yielded 60 runs, as Peshawar got home with nine balls to spare.Earlier, Islamabad’s 152 for 6 had been built on the back of a bright half-century from Khalid Latif, who smoked four sixes during a 41-ball 59. Latif received ample support from Misbah-ul-Haq during a 57-run stand, but the dismissal of Misbah halted Islamabad’s charge, as the team struggled to accelerate at the death. Shaun Tait (1 for 18), Mohammad Asghar (2 for 25) and Wahab Riaz (2 for 24) all produced economical spells to ensure that Peshawar’s target was a reachable one.

Tasmania maintained their late season surge by reducing New South Wales to 4 for 26 in reply to 242 after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Bellerive Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Jackson Bird cut through New South Wales’ top order after Tasmania were bowled out for 242•Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images

Tasmania maintained their late season surge by reducing New South Wales to 4 for 26 in reply to 242 after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Bellerive Oval.Having beaten Victoria by an innings last round, Tasmania were again able to prosper with the ball after Beau Webster and Ben McDermott had allowed the hosts to scramble to a reasonable total on a lively surface, after New South Wales had elected to bowl first.Ben Dunk’s recent run of strong form did not continue as he was bowled by Doug Bollinger for a duck in the first over of the match, but Webster and McDermott were able to cobble together valuable runs with useful lower order help from Evan Gulbis.Left with 14 overs to bowl to the visitors before the close, Tasmania were led in their efforts by Jackson Bird, fresh from his effective displays for Australia in the New Zealand Test series. He pinned Daniel Hughes LBW with the fifth ball of the innings, before Hamish Kingston found a way past Ed Cowan.The exit of Cowan brought the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon to the crease, and after he edged Bird behind, Nic Maddinson also fell LBW to leave New South Wales teetering at stumps. Ben Rohrer and Kurtis Patterson will hope for better on day two.

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.