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Having become the first South African sportsperson to be criminally convicted for match-fixing, he faces a potential 15-year sentence

Liam Brickhill04-Nov-2018Former South Africa and Lions batsman Gulam Bodi has pleaded guilty to eight charges of corruption and begged for clemency in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court. On Friday, Bodi became the first South African sportsperson to be criminally convicted for match-fixing and is facing a potential 15-year sentence.Bodi is being charged under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004, which makes match-fixing and spot-fixing in sport a crime in South Africa. The act was introduced after the Hansie Cronje match-fixing saga in 2000, and this is the first time it is being exercised.In 2016, Bodi was banned from taking part in any activities relating to cricket for 20 years by Cricket South Africa for his part in contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects of the 2015 Ram Slam T20 tournament. Six other players – Alviro Petersen, Thami Tsolekile, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Jean Symes, Pumi Matshikwe and Ethy Mbhalati – were also implicated.CSA handed their evidence over to the South African police services, who launched their own investigation culminating in this case.”It has been a very tough few years,” Bodi told reporters outside the courtroom. “I’ve been banned for 20 years. That’s already a long sentence. So for me not to be able to do something I loved my entire life has been terribly hard. I haven’t really settled in the last three years. It’s been a constant battle.”Just recently I managed to get a job, and after three years of running around and struggling, things started slowly looking a bit better, and now this comes up. It’s completely shattered me.”They pulled me out of school when I was just 16 and put me in a cricket academy. I don’t even have an education background to fall back on, so it’s been a real battle. This is going to greatly affect my job and my family, because nobody wants to be associated with a criminal.”Sinenhlanhla Mnguni, Bodi’s legal representative, said his client acknowledged his wrongdoing and pleaded for the court’s mercy. The state and defence legal teams both asked for more time in order to prepare for a sentencing, and Magistrate Nicola Setshogoe agreed to a postponement, acknowledging that as a first-time offender Bodi had handed himself in and co-operated fully with authorities since being arrested in July.”Before this whole thing transpired, my client was offered a job at a cricket academy and had also been commenting with SuperSport,” Mnguni told . “The fact that the ban he received meant he couldn’t be involved with cricket took away any form of income he would be able to earn because in essence this man only knows cricket. He doesn’t have an academic background.”I’m hoping that when we bring forward all these issues to the court, in addition to the fact that he’s got three very young children and he’s got an elderly unemployed mother, whom he financially supports.”I feel for my client because I know he’s been through a lot. He’s made a mistake and I won’t say he’s been punished enough, but he has been punished and he suffered a lot going through this process, and he obviously feels very sorry for what he’s done and the harm he has caused to CSA and the damage that they suffered in the public for what he’s done.”Bodi will return to court on 28 January next year for sentencing.

“I remain fully committed to giving my best as a player and will continue my journey with MCA to help us win more trophies,” Ajinkya Rahane says

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2025Ajinkya Rahane has given up the captaincy of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season, saying he believes “it’s the right time to groom a new leader”. In a communication to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), Rahane, now 37, said he wants to continue as a player for the team.”Captaining and winning championships with the Mumbai team has been an absolute honour,” Rahane wrote in a social media post. “With a new domestic season ahead, I believe it’s the right time to groom a new leader. And hence I’ve decided not to continue in the captaincy role. I remain fully committed to giving my best as a player and will continue my journey with MCA to help us win more trophies. Looking forward to the season.”Rahane helped Mumbai break a nine-year drought by leading them to their 42nd Ranji Trophy title in 2023-24. While his red-ball form over the past two years has been patchy (467 runs in 27 innings with just one century), he was more fluent in the shorter formats. At the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in December last year, when he played under Shreyas Iyer, Rahane was the Player of the Tournament for his chart-topping 469 runs in a title-winning season.Related

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Rahane was most recently in charge of Kolkata Knight Riders at IPL 2025, for whom he was the highest scorer with 390 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 147.27. The team had a mediocre season, though, finishing eighth with just five wins.In July, Rahane said he still possessed the “hunger and passion” for the game and for red-ball cricket, stating he even carried his trainers and cricket gear while on holiday in London to begin preparations for the upcoming domestic season.”I still want to play Test cricket,” Rahane had told Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton in an interview with . “I’m really passionate about playing Test cricket. I’m enjoying my cricket at the moment. For me, it’s all about focusing on the controllable things. Frankly, I tried to have conversations with the selectors, but [there are] things as a player I cannot control. I got no response.”As a player, all I can do is keep playing cricket, keep enjoying the game, and give my best each and every time. I love playing Test cricket, love playing red-ball [cricket], it’s a passion. The love for the game keeps me going.”Mumbai are currently preparing for the upcoming season by playing the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Chennai, with a young squad led by 18-year-old Ayush Mhatre. Mumbai allrounder Shardul Thakur, a key member of their 2024-25 Ranji campaign, was named captain of West Zone for the season-opening Duleep Trophy.

Speaking to after being called up to the Test squad, the batsman also spoke about the influence of Rahul Dravid on his game

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2018Almost exactly a year ago, India A travelled to South Africa for two unofficial Tests and a one-day triangular. Hanuma Vihari was only part of the squad for the two four-day games against South Africa A, and he only got to play in the second of them, in Potchefstroom.He scored 7 in the first innings, and in the second dig he walked in when India were two runs away from their target of 224. He faced one ball, and hit the winning boundary.It’s hard to draw any conclusions from a match like that, but for Vihari it was an opportunity missed. He knew what it meant to be part of the India A set-up, and didn’t want to miss out when the next tour came along. Despite getting such a limited opportunity, Vihari says the tour taught him a lot, especially since he was in close proximity to Rahul Dravid, the India A coach.”Going to South Africa and playing in those conditions, especially [since] it was my first tour, I learned a lot from that tour,” Vihari told . “I knew what was coming after that. I knew I had to perform a lot in the domestic season again to get back into the India A squad because that tour didn’t go well for me, especially with the bat.”I had only one innings – I didn’t perform, but I knew I had to perform more in the domestic season to get back into the side, and grow in the India A level, because if you have to play for India, you have to score in the A team, there’s no other choice.”So I knew I had to do well again. It helped me a lot in South Africa, especially with Rahul sir. It was the first tour with him, for me, and he gave us advice in that tour, it helped me a lot.”Since then, Vihari has made good his desire to keep scoring heavily. He scored a century in his only match in the Duleep Trophy and another hundred in the Irani Cup, those two knocks sandwiching a Ranji Trophy season in which he made 752 runs at an average of 94.00 – including a career-best 302 not out. On the tour of England with India A in June-July, he made scores of 69 and 147 in the one-day triangular series, and a 68 in an unofficial Test against West Indies A. Back home, he made 202 runs at 67.33 in two four-day games against South Africa A.All those runs have catapulted Vihari into India’s Test squad for the last two Tests in England. He knows it won’t be easy for him to break into the first XI immediately – apart from the established middle-order batsmen, he also has Karun Nair to get past – but he is mindful that he has to be ready mentally to grab the opportunity when it does arrive.”To be honest, if you see the Indian side, it’s tough to get into the side, but once you get into the side you have to make sure that you grab that opportunity,” he said. “That’s the only thing I’m thinking about. I know that opportunity will come, but I have to be really ready for the opportunity. Once it comes I really want to grab it and make it my own.”And when he does get the opportunity, he wants to show the world that he can adapt his game to any situation.”It’s more the situation that matters to me rather than the strike rates I’m batting at,” Vihari said. “Sometimes on a good day you’ll bat at 60-70 in a four-day game, but sometimes you have to grind for the team, you have to bat at 45-50 as well.”If you have that mental ability to bat differently at different situations, you’re rated as one of the best batsmen, you can score consistently at a higher level as well.”

Worcestershire recover from 68 for 5 through middle-order partnership

Paul Edwards22-Jul-2019
Every moment one spends at Cheltenham is precious but no festival in recent years has been as rich in promise as that which currently garlands the College Ground. The six struck over point by Gareth Roderick to secure last week’s victory over Leicestershire already has legendary status in Charlton Kings and by mid-afternoon on this second day the prospect of a second, rather more comfortable win for Gloucestershire beguiled both the serious drinkers in the Old Patesians marquee and the county chief executives enjoying their reunion at the College Lawn End.Replying to the home side’s 354, Worcestershire were 68 for 5 when Brett D’Oliveira joined Ross Whiteley. Most people agreed Chris Dent would enforce the follow-on; few considered the possibility he might not have the chance to do so. Yet Whiteley had already begun to bat against most of the memories his muscles and temperament had acquired over seasons of short-form cricket. He waited until his 43rd ball before hitting his first four and his six over midwicket off Ethan Bamber seemed an eccentric highlight from a different match.D’Oliveira, dropped by Miles Hammond at second slip off Ryan Higgins when only 3, joined him in a sixth-wicket partnership of 146 characterised by rigorous self-discipline. Whiteley hit three sixes but had earned the right to do so rather than brusquely asserting it in a manner likely to get him into trouble. Four years to the day since he made his last century, against Yorkshire at Scarborough, he was only 12 runs short of three figures when Matt Taylor got a ball that was 75 overs old to fly from just short of a length, take the edge of the bat and fly via James Bracey’s gloves to Benny Howell at slip.But our day ended with D’Oliveira unbeaten on 66 albeit Gloucestershire’s bowlers will be encouraged by the prospect of using a nearly new ball in the morning. A game which both sides need to win is far better balanced than appeared likely in mid-afternoon and we have two fine days ahead of us. “There are great spiritual advantages to be had in that town,” Nicholas Bulstrode informs his wife when describing Cheltenham in .Yet advantages of any sort were the home side’s monopoly earlier in a day when Worcestershire’s top-order batsmen seemed as ripe for the picking as pears in late September. When their first dig dwindled from 24 without loss to 68 for 5 the statisticians pointed out it was the fifth successive innings in which they had lost those wickets for less than 85 runs and the sixth time in seven matches when Worcestershire’s top five first-innings wickets had fallen for less than a hundred.Gloucestershire’s bowlers fed on such insecurity and their own Puritan disciplines offered Joe Leach’s batsmen no repose. A hesitant Riki Wessels edged Bamber to Benny Howell in his side’s sixth over; Callum Ferguson was pinioned in his crease by David Payne and nicked a catch to Hammond. After lunch Gloucestershire’s can-do approach was epitomised by Bracey who took an outstanding leg-side catch off Ryan Higgins to remove Ed Barnard and then took an even better one standing up to dismiss Daryl Mitchell off the same bowler.For all that he is having a poor season Mitchell remains the batsman Worcestershire’s opponents would most like to remove but Bracey’s positioning was a shrewd attempt to counteract his tendency to come down the wicket. That, though, was almost the end of Gloucestershire’s absolute dominance. The rest of the day saw Whiteley and D’Oliveira give their team some hope they might yet achieve a victory they sorely need. And their resistance recalled a first session in which one of Worcestershire’s most loyal servants had achieved a fine career landmark.Indeed the morning has begun in an atmosphere of multi-faceted incipience and general enticement. Cleeve Hill was dark green beneath benevolent cloud and the old paths towards Winchcombe were beguiling in the gentlest haze. Tom Smith was on 79, five runs short of his career-best score, Gloucestershire were 11 runs shy of a fourth batting bonus point and Leach needed two wickets to reach 300 in first-class cricket for Worcestershire. The third of these landmarks was the first to be reached when Leach, bowling as tightly as ever, knocked back Payne’s off stump in the sixth over of the day and had Bamber caught by a diving Ben Cox in the tenth. The bowler greeted this wicket with a guttural roar of triumph. Smith was last man out on 83 but he will not give a monkey’s if his side have 23 points in the bag on Wednesday evening.Neither will any other home supporters. There must, one imagines, be better things in life than watching cricket at Cheltenham. Yet on a warm, dream-laden evening at the College Ground, with the Glorious Glosters slightly in the ascendant, and the air scented with possibility it was awfully difficult to think what those things might be. So we ate oranges on the pavilion balcony and watched the evening light on distant, tree-ringed fields.

Opener ends the day unbeaten on 125 as England move to within touching distance of taking the lead

The Report by Andrew McGlashan02-Aug-2019It didn’t quite have the backstory of Steven Smith’s century, but for the second day running the opening Ashes Test witnessed a hugely significant hundred as Rory Burns showed tremendous resilience to score his first for England. He finished unbeaten on 125, forming a substantial partnership with Joe Root of 132 and another steadying stand with Ben Stokes, which carried England to 267 for 4 and within sight of what could be a critical lead.Burns endured a lean Test against Ireland last week with twin scores of 6, his technique, which is unorthodox anyway, appearing out of sync. Before that his Test experience was six games overseas against Sri Lanka and West Indies on tough surfaces, but already the pressure was growing. However, plenty of work between matches and the mental strength that he is renowned for by those who know him well brought rich dividends in what has been a hugely troublesome spot for England.If Australia had reviewed an lbw appeal against Nathan Lyon he would have gone for 22 and if Usman Khawaja had produced a direct hit he was short on 75. Then he spent more than half an hour in the 90s and sweated nine balls on 99 before scampering a single to mid-on from his 224th delivery. Burns celebrated as soon as he crossed the crease, but had to wait a few moments for the official verdict as it went to third umpire. All was fine and he could soak up the applause of a raucous Edgbaston crowd. Given the emotion of the moment, it was to his immense credit that he kept his focus throughout the rest of the day.Australia started the day well, picking up the early success of Jason Roy – James Pattinson’s first Test wicket for three-and-a-half years – and hit back strongly after tea when a ball change produced one which swung significantly to dent the middle order. They didn’t have much luck, either, regularly beating the bat or finding the inside edge, but a long day in the field early in the series will fuel the debate about the balance of the side, particularly with Pattinson managed in reasonably short spells. There was considerable help for Nathan Lyon, to suggest batting last will be tough, so it will have been a disappointment that he went wicketless through 28 overs.After facing a couple of overs on the first evening, in the aftermath of Smith’s astonishing innings, Burns and Roy resumed in slightly less febrile conditions – if facing Pattinson and Pat Cummins can be put in such terms. Roy fell in the sixth over of the morning, edging Pattinson low to Smith at second slip, but that would be Australia’s only success for the first half of the day.In contrast to the often frenetic nature of England’s Test batting, Burns and Root bided their time during an opening session that brought 61 runs in 27 overs. Lyon’s first delivery of the day forced people to sit up and take notice as it spun back sharply to nearly take Root’s off stump. Root also had an extraordinary left-off on 9 when he was given caught behind against Pattinson – Joel Wilson going by a woody click – only for replays to show the ball had clipped off stump but not dislodged the bail.It took Root 70 balls to score his first boundary – he had also been saved by the DRS when given lbw on 12 despite a thin inside edge – but his and England’s rate lifted during the afternoon. Burns kept Australia’s slip cordon interested with a collection of edges along the ground and in the air which eventually persuaded Tim Paine to plug the gap and go without a fine leg for a brief period, but also drove strongly and nudged through his favoured on side.Just when Australia were beginning to look flat, Root bunted a return to catch Peter Siddle who stuck out his right hand. Having converted fifties into hundreds against India, Sri Lanka and West Indies this was a missed opportunity for the captain. He thumbed the staircase of the dressing room in frustration.Either side of tea Joe Denly produced a couple of pleasing drives, but at the end of the 60th over the umpires changed the ball and the first delivery with the replacement – albeit a big full toss – swung miles for Pattinson. Suddenly he and Cummins had a spring in their step. Denly was trapped lbw by a full delivery and Jos Buttler squared up by Cummins, sending a low catch to third slip, as England lost 3 for 40. The latter two fell with Burns stuck in the 90s, his scoring dried up as Australia pushed the ball outside off coupled with the pressure of the looming milestone.With the century bagged, and having focused on not giving things away to the part-time offerings of Matthew Wade and Travis Head, attention turned to seeing off the second new ball. Stokes was one of the players to miss the Ireland Test but looked to have brought his World Cup batting form with him. The strains of the day showed with Cummins and Pattinson given just two overs apiece with the new ball in the final half hour. They will need to be refreshed in the morning if Australia are to keep any deficit to acceptable levels.

Mumbai are playing their third game in four days, and that workload could have an impact in the eliminator

Vishal Dikshit12-Mar-20256:16

Mithali Raj: Harmanpreet finds a way to score against Giants

Who’s playing

Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Gujarat Giants (GG)
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, 7.30pm IST

What to expect: two wounded teams eyeing a final spot

Even though both Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians come into the eliminator after losing their last league games, Mumbai look a little more wounded. They lost their first home game at Brabourne Stadium in the WPL on Tuesday, they dropped four catches in the game, leaked a lot of runs in the field, and they are playing non-stop cricket at the end of the tournament. The eliminator on Thursday will be their third game in four days after back-to-back matches to start the week and should they make the final, it will be four games in the span of six days for Mumbai.Giants have no such issues. The margin of their loss to Mumbai on Monday was just nine runs after Bharti Fulmali’s blazing finish, their Indian players are stepping up at the right time to take some of the load off the overseas stars, and their run of three straight wins before heading to Mumbai would have given them bundles of confidence.Except they have never beaten Mumbai. In these three seasons of WPL, Mumbai boast of a 6-0 record against Giants but going by their last clash, the next contest may not be as lopsided as this stat suggests. One of the factors behind Giants’ rise in the points table was their middle-order batting led by captain Ashleigh Gardner and Deandra Dottin, even if they struggled to find the perfect opening partner for Beth Mooney. Giants have been the slowest starters in the powerplay this WPL (run rate 5.97), but then they pick up fabulously in the middle overs with a scoring rate of 8.81 (better than anyone else), and have been the second-best finishers at the death (10 per over) behind only Royal Challengers Bengaluru.Related

• Best of WPL 2025 so far: Ghosh's hitting, Henry's sixes, Gautam's promise

• Priya Mishra spins her way into the spotlight

• The rise and roar of Kashvee Gautam

• Harmanpreet adds more aggression to her game

Going by this WPL’s trends, what could possibly decide the match will be Giants’ middle overs, when they will be looking to press the pedal but will be up against the mighty bowling of Mumbai – the best bowling side in that phase. Amelia Kerr, their star bowler in the middle overs, might have leaked plenty of runs on Tuesday, but had all the catches been taken off her bowling her figures might have been different. Her ability to excel under pressure – as was seen in the T20 World Cup last year – could be on display again on Thursday.Going into the toss, both captains would be relieved to know which way the coin falls might not matter too much: while teams have still been opting to chase, the tide has turned at the end of the league stage with teams batting first winning the last three games. Before that, only two games had been won batting first out of 17.While Mumbai will be eyeing their second final in three years after losing to RCB in the eliminator last year, the onus is on Giants to not make this year’s final match-up a repeat of what we saw in 2023.

Form guide

Mumbai Indians LWWLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Giants LWWWL

Team news

Both teams went unchanged into their last league games but will be concerned about their opening combinations. If Giants haven’t found anyone to partner Mooney, Mumbai’s strategy to promote Kerr to the top hasn’t worked in three attempts.Gujarat Giants (probable): 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Kashvee Gautam, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Phoebe Lichfield, 6 Deandra Dottin, 7 Bharti Fulmali, 8 Simran Shaikh, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Meghna Singh, 11 Priya MishraMumbai Indians (probable): 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Amelia Kerr, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amanjot Kaur, 6 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 7 G Kamalini, 8 S Sajana, 9 Sanskriti Gupta, 9 10 Shabnim Ismail, 11 Parunika Sisodia

Players to watch: Harmanpreet Kaur and Beth Mooney

Harmanpreet Kaur loves playing Giants. She averages nearly 79 against them, scores at a rate of 171 and has four half-centuries against them. Harmanpreet’s tally of 315 runs is the most a batter has accrued against Giants. She has not been at her consistent best this season and, in the absence of solid batting options after her, another big score against Giants would give her a lot of confidence potentially going into a final.A big-match player like Beth Mooney will be crucial for Giants•BCCI

Beth Mooney has been Giants’ only hope at the top of the order for large parts of the season. Fortunately for them Harleen Deol has come good at No. 3 lately, but Mooney has done the heavy lifting to give them steady if sedate starts. RCB’s openers showed on Tuesday that you could go after Mumbai’s top bowlers too, and Mooney could take a leaf out of Smriti Mandhana’s book. She has two half-centuries this season, not even close to her best, and she’ll be itching to get a big one against Giants’ nemesis in the eliminator.

Key stats

• An average of nearly 70 combined with a strike rate that’s touching 153 is largely unheard of in WT20s, but such is Nat Sciver-Brunt’s purple patch this time. She currently has the Orange Cup and became the first batter to cross 400 runs in a WPL season. If she scores another 80 on Thursday – her highest score in the WPL – she will become the first player to reach 1000 WPL runs
• Ash Gardner is the top run-scorer (559) and the top wicket-taker (25) for Giants in WPL history
• There are three allrounders this season who have over 200 runs and more than five wickets so far, all from Mumbai and Giants: Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews and Gardner
• Kerr and Matthews lead the wicket-taking charts so far this WPL with 14 scalps each. Giants’ top wicket-taker is Kashvee Gautam with ten

Meanwhile, Titan Law, the firm that represents the Zimbabwe players, says it has resurrected the players’ association that was disbanded in 2015

Firdose Moonda15-Jun-2018Zimbabwe Cricket have undertaken to pay all outstanding salaries of players by July 25, a month after the players’ deadline.The players threatened to “review their availability for selection” if their initial deadline wasn’t met, which threatens to derail next month’s T20 triangular series involving Australia and Pakistan. The series is slated to be held between June 28 to July 8 in Bulawayo and Harare.In a letter addressed to the players, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, newly-appointed ZC consultant Vince van der Bijl has reiterated the board’s commitment to “pay all outstanding monies up to your June salary by 25 July and July salary by end of July.”The letter also states the timeline is “conservative” and that ZC are “hopeful” of making payments sooner. The board is also hopeful of paying the Sri Lanka tour fees by end of June. ZC is expected to receive their next payout from the ICC in July.Despite the assurances, ESPNcricinfo has learnt that a section of the players are unhappy with the proposed plans and consider it to be “unacceptable”.In a separate statement, Titan Law, the firm that represents the Zimbabwe players, confirmed that they had resurrected the players’ association that was disbanded in 2015. The body formed on June 1 is likely to seek affiliation from the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA).

The outfield for the ground’s first game of the BBL season came in for significant criticism with the tournament boss saying it was “presented poorly”

AAP24-Dec-2024Cricket Australia will consider avoiding Marvel Stadium until later in the summer in future BBL seasons, as Melbourne Renegades great Aaron Finch called for the club to weigh up abandoning the venue for Geelong.Finch was among those to be scathing of the venue on Tuesday when the Renegades’ Monday-night win over Perth Scorchers was overshadowed by a patchy-looking outfield. The pitch also proved difficult to bat on after the roof was closed for two days due to wet weather, with Scorchers struggling to score early.Related

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The issue came just two days after similar issues at Sydney’s Engie Stadium where large parts of dirt didn’t have any grass covering during the Sydney Smash.Both grounds are multi-purpose venues with Pearl Jam concerts having headlined a raft of events to have fallen between the AFL and BBL seasons. An annual RMIT university graduation was also held at Marvel Stadium last Wednesday, before Monday’s match.”Marvel was shocking last night. I was out on the ground and it was slippery,” former Renegades and Australia white-ball captain Aaron Finch said on ESPN’s . “There has to be questions, are Marvel Stadium serious about hosting cricket.”Because each and every year the first couple of games the same thing happens there. If they’re not interested in hosting cricket, take it somewhere else. Take it to Geelong, they’ll have it.”BBL boss Alistair Dobson also admitted on Tuesday he was “disappointed”, conceding the ground was “presented poorly”.”By and large they present good outfields and good wickets, particularly as we get further into the season,” Dobson said on SEN. “That [multi-purpose aspect] does come with some trade offs, but we don’t expect it to be the size of the trade off we saw last night.”Dobson said his organisation was open to not scheduling BBL games at Marvel Stadium until close to January in the future, if it would ensure a better surface. But in reality that would cause more issues with the MCG also offline in the lead up to and during the Boxing Day Test.”Last night would certainly give us cause to reflect on that and whether we schedule in a different way going forward,” Dobson said. “The trade off on that though is you end up with a lot of games of BBL in a short period. It’s a balance between the best possible preparation and spacing games out to give fans a chance to go.”The other concern for CA is the way the poor outfields showcase the BBL overseas, in a summer where crowds and TV ratings are up by 30 percent domestically.AAP has been told Finch’s proposed full-time Geelong move is unlikely, given officials believe Melbourne needs two teams to service it both on and off the field.Dobson also rejected any suggestion the Renegades should abandon Marvel Stadium and join Melbourne Stars at the MCG.”We have two clubs in Melbourne that have different identities and different fan bases and different history,” Dobson said. “The Melbourne Stars are iconic to the MCG and the Renegades are keen to have a point of difference on that.”

Former England spinner to take charge at Chelmsford after spells with Lancashire and Manchester Originals

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2025Essex have appointed former England spinner Stephen Parry as their new women’s team head coach.Having retired in 2020, Parry was part of the coaching structures at both Lancashire Women and Manchester Originals. He took charge of Originals in the 2023 and 2024 seasons of the women’s Hundred before being replaced by Michael Klinger.Parry, 39, will aim to oversee an upturn in fortunes for Essex after a difficult first season in the Tier 1 women’s structure that saw Andy Tennant depart as head coach after less than 12 months in the role.”I am really excited for this next journey of my cricket career,” Parry said. “I have seen the squad and I feel like I can bring my experience here to move them forward, become more competitive and work towards winning some trophies.”The squad we have here is really exciting and there is a lot of room for growth. There are some great people here, plenty to work with and the club has a real family-orientated feel to it. I am still young, thirsty to learn and want to improve myself whilst helping everybody around me and look to build something special.”The long-term goal is to build a squad where we are competitive across all formats, the first team, Academy and pathway – enhancing Essex Women’s cricket as a whole.”Parry spent his entire 13-year playing career with Lancashire and remains the club’s leading T20 wicket-taker. He was capped five times in the format by England, playing at the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh, as well as twice in ODIs.Essex’s director of cricket, Chris Silverwood, said: “We are really excited to appoint Stephen as the new Essex Women’s head coach. Stephen brings a wealth of experience from his playing and coaching career, and we are delighted to welcome him to the club.”His recent appointments with Lancashire and the Manchester Originals have shown that he can lead teams in high-pressure environments, and develop, nurture, and bring through talent, which makes him the ideal person to guide our women’s squad.”We are confident that Stephen will have a major impact in shaping the current group of Essex Women, contributing to success both on and off the field.”

Once again the pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium is in focus

Mohammad Isam19-Jul-2025Pakistan captain Salman Agha has said that his team will stick to their fearless approach, especially if the conditions in Bangladesh favour them as the two teams prepare to face each other in a three-match T20I series.Except the conditions in Dhaka aren’t always conducive to run-scoring. The average first-innings score in night T20Is in the last ten games is less than 125. Those include the 2021 series against New Zealand and Australia, where raging turners were employed to aid the Bangladesh spinners. It played out perfectly as Bangladesh won the series 4-1 (against Australia) and 3-2 (against New Zealand). The current Bangladesh T20I captain though would prefer a move away from such made-to-order surfaces.”I agree that the (2021 series) had an adverse effect on our batters,” Litton Das said. “Even I could have built up a career as a bowler in those pitches. It was a tough time for the batters although Bangladesh won both series. I don’t think there will be a repeat this time. I saw a good wicket. It will be an even game.”Related

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• Bangladesh carry momentum into contest against bogey team Pakistan

• Bangladesh name unchanged squad for T20Is against Pakistan

• Mahedi was Litton's 'first name in the line-up' for Colombo T20I

• Shadab, Rauf to miss Pakistan's T20I tour of Bangladesh

Pakistan had beaten Bangladesh 3-0 in a T20I series in May and June. After having piled up 200-plus totals while batting first in the first two games, Pakistan successfully chased 197 with nearly three overs to spare in the third game.Head coach Mike Hesson and captain Agha are trying to get the team to follow the modern trend of trying to get as many runs as possible in the first six overs.”We have changed the way we play, and that’s how we want to play,” Agha said. “But assessing the conditions is always going to be key. We will see what the conditions are and how we want to play. If the conditions allow us to play that way, we will play, and if the conditions don’t allow us to play that way, we will try to do what the conditions are allowing us. Our goal is to score above par, like 10-15 runs, and when we are batting above par and then when we are bowling, to make sure we will restrict the teams less than over par.Litton Das hits out at the nets•AFP/Getty Images

“T20 is changing every single year, every six months, to be honest. We have the players now who will play the way we want. We want to play aggressive cricket, and with that, anyone can play that kind of cricket and can come into the team. But yeah, the players we have right now, they are very good, and very exciting.”While Pakistan skipped training on the eve of the T20I series opener, Bangladesh held an optional session from late afternoon. Litton Das took a long hard look at the pitch for Sunday’s opening T20I and had a lengthy discussion with curator Gamini Silva. At his press conference, Litton said he expected sporting pitches.”Mirpur isn’t always bad for batters,” he said. “It was just troubling for batters in two particular series (against Australia and New Zealand in 2021). The ball spins here, there’s help for pacers. But there’s also runs being scored. I think it’s a sporting wicket.”Litton had earlier expressed his concerns about the conditions in Dhaka after the third T20I in Sri Lanka last week. “I don’t know how the Mirpur wicket is going to be behave, for the Pakistan series,” he had said. “I think it is raining in Dhaka every day, so wicket can be difficult for batting in such conditions. Batters may fail there, but we won’t be too disappointed. We will keep trying to give our 100%.”During the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) however, the Shere Bangla National Stadium produced good batting surfaces. Teams batting first in the last 10 night games managed a few scores in the region of 190-200. Litton said that it also has to do with the winter dew and poorer bowling attacks in the BPL.”I can see two factors in this regard,” Litton said. “There is always a chance of dew in one innings in the BPL. It makes batting easier. I also don’t think there are exactly five quality bowlers in a BPL bowling attack. We can target one or two bowlers. The international level is definitely different. We will face at least five good bowlers. I think even if this match is not high scoring, it will be an exciting match.”