Wilson and Athapaththu lay base for Sydney Thunder's statement win

Brisbane Heat put up a brave chase and needed 10 from two balls but Marizanne Kapp closed out the game

AAP06-Nov-2023Sydney Thunder made a statement in the WBBL, hitting the club’s highest ever total before holding on for an eight-run win in the top-of-the-table clash against Brisbane Heat.Led by hard-hitting openers Tahlia Wilson and Chamari Athapaththu, Thunder smashed 204 for 4 at North Sydney Oval.Heat were gallant in reply to get the equation down to 24 off the final over, before Jess Jonassen whacked two sixes of Marizanne Kapp to make it 10 needed off two balls. But the South African bowler held her nerve.Related

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Wooden-spooners last year with only one win, Thunder now lead the WBBL with a 5-1 record and a game in hand over the rest of the top four.Athapaththu has been a star, but equally impressive is the form of the Thunder’s entire top order. Wilson hit 83 from 54 balls in the best night of her WBBL career, setting the tone early with a 102-run opening stand with Athapaththu from 63 balls.The 24-year-old has made an art of piercing the leg-side field in this tournament, and seven of her 11 fours – as well as a six off Courtney Sippel – came in that fashion on Monday.Heat only had themselves to blame, dropping Wilson three times in her fiery innings.Athapaththu continues to be destructive, hitting 58 off 31 deliveries. She flayed the ball at will through the offside when offered width, and helped take 15 off Amelia Kerr’s first over when she hit the spinner back over her head for six.The Sri Lankan brought up her 50 off 25 balls, doing so in style by slow-sweeping Jonassen for two sixes in one over. The runs took Athapaththu to the top of the scoring charts for the tournament, with 304 at an average of 50.66 and a strike-rate of 143.39.More remarkably, the she was overlooked by everyone in the overseas player draft, before later being scooped up by Thunder.Heather Knight banged out 38 off 19 balls, as Thunder took 69 from the final five overs. Jonassen copped the most treatment, going for 0 for 48 from three overs, while Kerr was 0 for 43 from her three.Sippel had more success, removing Athapaththu and Phoebe Litchfield to finish with 2 for 31, while Nicola Hancock’s 2 for 32 included the wickets of Knight, and Kapp for a golden duck.Mignon du Preez gave Heat some hope in the chase with 61 from 37, but she was caught trying to take on Hannah Darlington in the penultimate over.Jonassen handed the hosts a late scare, but it wasn’t enough to pull off what would have been the competition’s highest-ever chase.

Sam Northeast cracks 410* as Glamorgan seal unlikely win

Ninth-highest first-class innings of all time sees Leicestershire lose despite posting 584

ECB Reporters Network23-Jul-2022Sam Northeast made an unbeaten quadruple-century before Glamorgan pulled off an astonishing victory on an extraordinary day of records in the LV= Insurance County Championship at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester.Spectators at Leicestershire’s Grace Road headquarters had witnessed one of English cricket’s three greatest feats of batting as Northeast finished with a monumental 410 not out in a total of 795 for 5 declared in reply to Leicestershire’s first-innings 584.Then to cap it all Glamorgan dismissed their opponents for 183 in 59.4 overs to win by an innings and 28 runs.The victory – which lifts Glamorgan to second place in Division Two – capped an amazing day in which Northeast joined Brian Lara, Archie MacLaren and Graeme Hick as one of only four players in the first-class game in England to score more than 400 runs in an innings.The Leicestershire total of 584 is the highest in county cricket by a team that subsequently lost by an innings – smashing the previous mark of 527 scored in an innings defeat against Northamptonshire in 1995 – and is thought to be the highest in first-class cricket to suffer that fate anywhere in the world.Glamorgan’s coach, Matt Maynard, said: “To have a man, Sam Northeast, in your side who has joined only nine other players to have scored more than 400 in an innings is incredible. It was a remarkable feat and he batted selflessly as well, when we needed to up the scoring rate.”A lot of things go into a score like that. You have to maintain a high level of concentration but he never seemed to deviate from his plans until right at the end, when he started to be more aggressive.”I don’t think anyone here will have witnessed a better innings. The way he went from 200 to 300 on Friday, it was as if there were no fielders. Every attacking shot he played went for four. I’ve seen some good players, I’ve batted with some good players, but to see someone maintain that level for so long was just incredible.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Glamorgan won after declaring with a lead of 211 at lunch on the final day. They scored a breathtaking 232 runs in the pre-lunch session, a rate of scoring that left Leicestershire with 65 overs to survive – a task that proved beyond them as Michael Hogan (4 for 43) and Michael Neser (3 for 60) combined with spinner Andrew Salter (2 for 36) and James Harris (1 for 27) to blow them away.Northeast, who had never during his 16-year career imagined making 300 until he did so on Friday, now possesses the ninth-highest individual score in world cricket, behind only Lara’s all-time high of 501 not out for Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 1994 and MacLaren’s 424 for Lancashire at Taunton in 1895 as the third highest in England. Hick’s 405 not out for Worcestershire, also at Taunton in 1988 is nudged down to fourth place.Northeast numbered 45 fours and three sixes, sharing an unbroken stand of 461 in 71.3 overs with wicketkeeper Chris Cooke, who finished unbeaten on 191 – by coincidence Northeast’s career-best before this game.The stand was the eighth-highest partnership in County Championship history and, as far as a sixth-wicket stand was concerned, it was the highest ever recorded in English first-class record and the second highest in history.It was also a record total for Glamorgan, whose total is the ninth highest ever made in the county championship.Leicestershire will not need reminding that Cooke was dropped on just 3 and again on 15 on Friday – both comfortable catching chances – or that they missed Northeast at slip on 96.That error, one of only a handful in the entire marathon innings, seemed a distant memory as Northeast led the players off at lunch with almost every spectator on their feet prior to Glamorgan’s declaration after a morning session that saw 232 runs scored and a string of records set.

Northeast eclipsed Steve James’s 309 not out as the highest score by a Glamorgan player and replaced Kevin Pieterson’s 355 not out for Surrey at The Kia Oval in 2015 as the highest individual score against Leicestershire.Glamorgan passed their highest previous total – 718 for 3 declared in the James match at Colwyn Bay – and the partnership overtook the unbroken 425 by Adrian Dale and Viv Richards against Middlesex in Cardiff in 1993 as the Glamorgan record for any wicket.Cooke completed his hundred off 161 balls, having hit 12 of his 19 fours to reach that mark, later adding three sixes in what would be the second highest score of his career, behind his unbeaten 205 against Surrey last season.Northeast, by nature a classical strokeplayer, reached the cusp of passing 400 having allowed himself the liberty of just one six. Only in the last over before lunch, presumably aware that it would be the last of the innings, did he throw caution to the wind.Related

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It paid off as he whacked Roman Walker over long-on for six to go to 402 and a place in the top 10 highest scores of all time, followed by another over long-off to move up another notch by taking down Hick’s 405.Leicestershire looked downcast in the field for much of the morning and misfielded several times on a parched and bumpy outfield.Glamorgan’s declaration at 211 in front gave them 65 overs to conjure a result and arrived sooner than they had expected, according to Maynard. “The original plan had been to bat on after lunch. But we just scored so quickly that we had the 210-lead at lunch that we thought would take us until 20 minutes or so afterwards. I thought it was perhaps a one in 30 chance of winning.”The pitch was still offering precious little help to the bowlers. But Salter dismissed Rishi Patel and Lewis Hill after Hogan had removed opener Louis Kimber via a fine catch by Northeast at second slip. When Hogan had Colin Ackerman and Joey Evison caught behind in the same over, Glamorgan sensed an opportunity with Leicestershire five down, still 83 behind and 27 overs remaining.Wiaan Mulder and Harry Swindells put on 42 over the next 14 overs, which seemed to tip the balance towards Leicestershire surviving, only for the momentum to swing back Glamorgan’s way as Neser dismissed Swindells and Ben Mike in the space of three balls, both leg-before.A fine catch at cover by Kiran Carlson accounted for Walker as Harris claimed a wicket before Hogan found some away movement from a ball 56 overs old to have Mulder caught behind and Neser produced a perfect yorker to bowl Wright to finish the match.

Bangladesh fight back in final session after Jomel Warrican three-for puts West Indies in front

Bangladesh rebuild from 134 for 4 to end the first day at 242 for 5

Hemant Brar03-Feb-2021Stumps The West Indies bowlers did well to keep Bangladesh in check for the most part of the opening day of the first Test in Chattogram before the home side wrested back some control in the final session. After being 140 for 4 at tea, Bangladesh added another 102 for the loss of one more wicket in the evening to finish the day on 242 for 5, the unbroken sixth-wicket stand between Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das worth 49. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican was the most successful bowler for West Indies, picking up three wickets.The day started with Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel struggling to get their lengths right and erring consistently on the fuller side after Bangladesh opted to bat on a placid pitch. The first ball of the match, a half-volley from Roach, was driven through the covers for four by Shadman Islam. Two overs later, Roach presented a similar opportunity to Tamim Iqbal and the batsman didn’t miss out.The lack of assistance from the pitch meant West Indies were a bit conservative with their field placements too – Gabriel got a couple to bounce a bit, but the slow nature of the pitch meant there wasn’t enough sting in them. Given those conditions, Iqbal would be disappointed with himself – he was on 9 when a Roach delivery came in from the around-the-wicket angle and found the gap between bat and pad to clatter into the stumps.Related

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Like the two openers, Najmul Hossain Shanto too opened his account with a boundary off Roach. Islam and he batted calmly and added 43 for the second wicket before a misunderstanding led to Shanto’s run-out. Islam worked Kyle Mayers towards the right of fine leg and called for two but Shanto hesitated before taking off. Roach fired in the throw to wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva, who relayed it to the bowler to catch Shanto well short.West Indies made further inroads in the second session as Warrican picked up the wickets of Mominul Haque and Islam in a passage of play where both teams looked happy to play defensive cricket.The West Indies bowlers were much tighter with their lines and lengths after lunch. They also deployed in-out fields, which meant that on the rare occasions when the bowlers presented scoring opportunities, the Bangladesh batsmen couldn’t really cash in. Except for the one Mayers over, when the bowler lost his length and gave away two easy boundaries, the runs didn’t come easy for the hosts. Their approach of not trying to rotate the strike enough also didn’t help.Liton Das scored some quick runs in the last hour to hurt the West Indians•AFP via Getty Images

That reduced the contest to a battle of attrition, in which Haque was the first to blink. The Bangladesh captain skipped down the pitch against Rahkeem Cornwall and Warrican only to miscue the shots over mid-on. The next time he tried to do it, against Warrican, the ball dipped, Haque failed to keep his attempted whip down, and John Campbell held on to a juggling catch at short midwicket.Islam brought up a measured half-century before falling to Warrican in the penultimate over before tea. The batsman went for the sweep only to miss and be struck in front of middle and leg. He had a chat with his partner, Mushfiqur Rahim, about whether to review or not, but decided against it. Had Islam reviewed it, the decision would have been overturned as replays showed the ball was spinning past the leg stump.At that point, Bangladesh were placed precariously on 134 for 4. That, however, didn’t deter Rahim and Shakib to bat positively in the final session. The first four overs after tea produced 20 runs as the two experienced batsmen hit four boundaries. They didn’t hesitate in taking quick singles either and suddenly West Indies were just looking to plug the flow of runs. With the ball getting soft, West Indies opened up the field and the singles were available easily. But Shakib and Rahim were alert to quick singles as well. When Kraigg Brathwaite brought himself on, Rahim was his usual adventurous self, going deep in the crease to manufacture the desired length and even scooping him to the fine-leg boundary.Shakib and Rahim had added 59 for the fifth wicket when Warrican dismissed Rahim against the run of play. Having moved to 38, Rahim looked to defend Warrican only to edge to first slip where Cornwall took a low catch.Das could have been on his way back soon after but debutant Nkrumah Bonner failed to latch on to a sharp chance at forward short leg off Cornwall. That was on the last ball of the 80th over and West Indies opted for the new ball straightaway. That worked in Bangladesh’s favour, though, as they took 40 runs from the last ten overs of the day, with Das scoring 32 of them.

BCB confirms Under-19s tour of New Zealand

The tour is significant as it is the first time a Bangladesh team will travel to New Zealand following the Christchurch attacks

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2019Ahead of the Under-19 World Cup next year, Bangladesh will have an opportunity to gain match time when they play New Zealand in five Youth ODIs. The tour is significant given this will be the first time a Bangladesh team will travel to New Zealand following the terror attacks in Christchurch in March.Back then, members of Bangladesh’s senior side were “about 50 yards from the mosque” – one of two in Christchurch – where a gunman opened fire. They managed to escape through Hagley Park and the tour was called off shortly after.ALSO READ: ‘There’s shooting here, please save us’All the matches on the U-19 tour will be hosted at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln. The matches are scheduled for September 29, October 2, 6, 9 and 13. This series was slated for April, but New Zealand Cricket cancelled the tour at the time. They had felt sending an age-group side to the country affected by the tragedy at that point would be “insensitive and inappropriate”.Bangladesh U-19s, led by Akbar Ali, have had a busy year so far. This tour comes hot on the heels of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, where they lost to India by five runs in a low-scoring final.Bangladesh Under-19 squad: Akbar Ali (capt), Tawhid Hridoy, Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Rakibul Hasan, Asadullah Hill Galib, Shoriful Islam, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Mahmudul Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Avishek Das, Shamim Hossain, Anik Sarker, Hasan Morad

Adam Finch claims eight-wicket haul as England U-19s fight back to win

England Under-19s produced a brilliant performance to clinch their series against South Africa by winning the second unofficial Test by four wickets

ECB Reporters Network18-Jul-2018
ScorecardEngland Under-19s produced a brilliant performance to clinch their series against South Africa by winning the second unofficial Test by four wickets at Emirates Riverside.The home side were bowled out for 133 in their first innings, trailing the Proteas by a sizable margin. However, the bowlers responded as Adam Finch led the way with four wickets, while Jack Plom and Sam Connors struck twice to dismiss the tourists for 90.There was still work ahead for the batsmen to chase down 167 to win the contest. Early wickets put the pressure on the middle order, but contributions from Tom Banton, Jack Haynes, George Lavelle, Harrison Ward and Jack Davies allowed England to seal the win to secure the Test series.England resumed day three on 121 for 9, and Finch found the boundary on a couple of occasions. However, the innings was ended when Connors was caught behind off the bowling of Gideon Peters, with the home side still 76 runs behind.The Proteas made a solid start to their innings, taking their lead beyond 100 runs before Plom produced a brilliant over to bring the home side back into contention. First the Essex seamer produced a superb delivery to remove Joshua Richards’ middle stump.Louis van Schalk fell first ball courtesy of a suicidal run out as Plom had time to run to the stumps and whip the bails off at the keeper’s end. The collapse continued as Wandile Makwetu edged behind to Davies to hand England their third wicket in three balls. The bowlers kept the pressure on the Proteas and Connors claimed his first strike when Jacob Miltz was caught behind.South Africa lost their fifth wicket on the stroke of lunch when Sinethemba Qeshile attempted to sweep Ward, but missed the connection and was out lbw for 14. After lunch, Connors returned from the Lumley End and nipped one back off the seam to pin Jason Niemand, putting the pressure on the tail.Finch came into the attack to remove Jade de Klerk, who was caught by Lavelle. His dismissal sparked a collapse in the innings as the Worcestershire bowler wrapped up the tail cheaply. Thando Ntini was the first to fall before Mondli Khumalo and Kgaudisa Molefe were out in within the space of four deliveries.England’s reply got off to a bad start in their chase of 167. Ntini clean bowled Ollie Robinson in the second over, while Ben Charlesworth followed his opening partner back to the pavilion for four as Gideon Peters produced a good delivery. Skipper Banton turned the momentum back in his side’s favour, hitting 17 off a Peters’ over before the tea break.Banton continued to make progress, but was then out lbw attempting a reverse sweep off Molefe, ending a stand worth 61 with Haynes. Ntini returned for a second spell from the Lumley End and in his fifth over he removed Haynes, who was caught behind for 27. Lavelle upped the ante with five boundaries to try to put the pressure back on the tourists. However, his dismissal for 25 to Khumalo offered a South Africa hope of snatching the victory.Ward and Davies held their composure to reach their fifty partnership off 126 balls, and although Ward fell to Peters, England were still able to close out the victory.

Taijul's six wickets spin Rupganj out for 84

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier League matches played on May 5, 2017

Mohammad Isam02-May-2017Taijul Islam’s six wickets spun out Legends of Rupganj for 84 as Mohammedan Sporting Club clinched a low-scoring encounter by 51 runs at the BKSP-4 ground in Savar.Known more as a Test specialist, left-arm spinner Taijul got his second six-wicket haul in List-A cricket as Rupganj were skittled out in 32.4 overs in reply to Mohammedan’s below-par 135.Rupganj’s innings saw only Yasir Ali, Naeem Islam and Mosharraf Hossain reaching double figures. Apart from Taijul’s six wickets, Sajedul Islam took two wickets.Earlier left-arm spinner Asif Hasan took four wickets while Mohammad Sharif and Jalaj Saxena took two wickets apiece as Mohammedan were bowled out for 135 runs in 39.4 overs. Captain Raqibul Hasan top scored with 24 as the rest of the batting line-up had plenty of starts but no big score.Abahani Limited got back to winning ways with a six-wicket win over Kalabagan Krira Chakra at the BKSP-3 ground in Savar.Kalabagan were constrained by Shuvagata Hom’s accuracy as the offspinner took four wickets. One of his scalps was that of Tushar Imran, who top scored with 36. Mohammad Saifuddin and Manan Sharma took two wickets each as Kalabagan were bowled out for 156 in 45.5 overs.Saif Hassan struck 61 off 62 balls with six fours and a six as the defending champions reached the target with 19.4 overs to spare.A 123-run third-wicket stand between Shahriar Nafees and Marshall Ayub eased Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club to a seven-wicket win over Prime Bank Cricket Club at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium.Both batsmen made fifties with Marshall making 62 off 85 balls with six boundaries while Nafees struck an unbeaten 78. He hit five fours and a six in his 125-ball knock.Earlier batting first, Prime Bank were bowled out for 180 in 49.5 overs. Zakir Hasan reached his third List A fifty but it was a pain-staking effort as he tried to keep the crumbling innings together. He struck two fours and a six in his 103-ball innings. Farhad Reza and Delwar Hossain took three wickets each for Prime Doleshwar.

Injury-crippled Hampshire turn to Young

Ireland’s seam bowler Craig Young has joined Hampshire on a short-term loan deal in their first response to a crippling early-season injury crisis

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2016Ireland’s seam bowler Craig Young has joined Hampshire on a short-term loan deal in their first response to a crippling early-season injury crisis.Young, 26, will get an outing in Hampshire’s Second XI Championship match against Somerset at the Ageas Bowl, starting on Monday, in the hope of forcing himself into contention for the home Championship match against Middlesex on May 1.Young was previously on the books at Sussex but had a frustrating time with injuries and never graduated beyond 2nd XI cricket. He has played 24 times for Ireland across three formats.Ireland coach John Bracewell said: “Craig will continue his progression as one of Ireland’s front-line bowlers after a very good spell, especially over the last 12 months.”With the North-West Warriors not having any championship cricket until late May and Ireland not in action until June, we feel the timing is ideal for Craig and hope he can aid Hampshire’s significant injury problems.”Young said: “The request has come from completely left field. But it’s great to be given a chance, which I hope I can grab with both hands.”Two years ago, he suggested that he had the pace and bounce to fill the void left for Ireland by Boyd Rankin. He took five wickets on ODI debut, against Scotland, and was Ireland’s top wicket-taker on a World Cup acclimatisation tour in Australia and New Zealand.Hampshire’s current injury crisis includes fast-bowler Fidel Edwards, who suffered a fractured ankle at Headingley this week whilst fellow seamers Reece Topley, Gareth Berg and Ryan Stevenson are all still not available for selection due to injury.Hampshire’s director of cricket Giles White told The Echo: “Craig comes as a recommendation from John Bracewell and, in light of the current injury problems we have, this gives us a good opportunity to take a closer look at him.”

Sreesanth ban 'against principles of natural justice'

Sreesanth’s legal counsel has called the life ban imposed by the BCCI “bizarre”, against the principles of natural justice and unlikely to stand legal scrutiny

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Sep-2013

‘Life ban too harsh for offence that wasn’t really committed’ – Chavan’s counsel

Kishore Gaikwad, Ankeet Chavan’s counsel, termed the life ban on Chavan as a “harsh decision”. “It is a harsh penalty. As of now, we are convinced that Ankeet hasn’t played a part in any of the mischievous activities. Even the telephonic conversations reveal that perhaps someone else made use of him without his knowledge. But since it was a breach of a few clauses in the players’ code of conduct, we were expecting a suspension of, at the most, five years; a life ban is too stringent a punishment for an offence that wasn’t really committed.”
Gaikwad felt Chavan was “made a scapegoat” since he was among the first three players arrested. However, he clarified that the question of challenging the BCCI decision legally does not arise for now. “It is an internal decision and since the charges were framed after the players were arrested, we will first have to wait for the court to pronounce its verdict,” Gaikwad said. “Once the court verdict is announced, we can consider whether to challenge the BCCI ban or not.”

Sreesanth’s legal counsel has called the life ban imposed by the BCCI “bizarre”, against the principles of natural justice and unlikely to stand legal scrutiny, and said the player would challenge the ban in court once he received a copy of the order. A day after Sreesanth was handed the ban by the BCCI’s disciplinary committee, his counsel Rebecca John said the biggest flaw was the report drew heavily on the police findings in the criminal case, which itself is yet to reach a verdict.The sanctions were based on the report compiled by the board’s anti-corruption commissioner Ravi Sawani.”The [BCCI] order is completely against the principles of natural justice,” John told ESPNcricinfo. If Sawani had relied so heavily on the findings of Delhi Police, she said, then the least he and the BCCI should have done was wait for the final verdict by the Patiala House Court in Delhi, which is hearing the case.”It has based its findings on personal interactions with members of Delhi Police as well as taken material from the chargesheet that has been filed by the police before a sessions court. If that is so then they should have waited for the court to determine whether or not any of this holds up in legal proceedings. They just picked up conversations they had with members of Delhi Police where they said Sreesanth and other members of the cricketing community confessed before them. It is a very, very loose report with little or no substance in it,” John, who was hired by Sreesanth as soon as Delhi Police arrested him on corruption charges during the IPL in May, said.She pointed out that the evidence produced by Delhi Police against all the Rajasthan Royal players was found to be insufficient to keep them in custody – the sessions court has granted bail to all of them, including Sreesanth. “The fact is that the sessions court has released players on bail and said none of this adds up as a case. [The court said] it is very, very tenuous – the link between whatever bookie you are saying had a role to play and the players, particularly Sreesanth, and granted him bail. And then this BCCI’s one-man committee says that Sreesanth is guilty of spot-fixing and hands over a life sentence to him. Not only is it is excessive, it is completely contrary to all principles of natural justice.”John said that from what she had read of his report on the internet, Sawani’s findings, especially on Sreesanth, never added up to a case. “How does he come to a conclusion? By having personal conversations with police officials. And you are basing your findings on these?”In his report Sawani had noted that he listened to and read the transcripts of audio tapes in possession of Delhi Police of conversations between Sreesanth and the alleged bookie. “If you want to read these audio tapes, which are part of the Delhi Police [evidence] in a criminal trial, the link is so tenuous. You will believe it only because the Special Cell of Delhi Police is saying you will have to believe it in a particular way. In any case these are allegations which have to be assessed, processed and a finding has to be determined by a court of law,” John said.According to John Sreesanth is on bail only because “prima facie” Delhi Police had not managed to press a foolproof case against him. “The only reason the life ban was imposed – Mr Srinivasan was very keen to tell the public and the people of India he was treating [the issue] with a heavy hand and some people had to be made scapegoats,” John said.”What is more annoying from the point of the view of the players is that they have let the big fish get away. What happens to Mr Srinivasan. He is owner of Chennai Super Kings and there is a case of conflict of interest pending in the Supreme Court against him. The Bombay High Court recently had called the two-member committee illegal after it cleared Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra [part of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals] from corruption charges.”Now when the BCCI, of which Srinivasan is the de facto or de jure head, conducts itself in this kind of fashion and then it hands over these sentences to players, who are soft targets, it is a little bizarre,” John said.

Strauss retires from all cricket

Andrew Strauss has announced his retirement from professional cricket, ending a 10-year career at international level for the last three of which he was England’s Test captain

Andrew McGlashan29-Aug-2012Andrew Strauss has announced his retirement from professional cricket, ending a 10-year career at international level, the last three of which he was England’s Test captain. Alastair Cook, the one-day captain, will take on the Test job.His decision comes after a week of soul-searching during a family break following the 2-0 loss against South Africa which meant England lost the No. 1 Test ranking and also comes at a time when Kevin Pietersen’s exile from the team has dominated the agenda.Strauss played down the significance of the current Pietersen situation in his decision saying it “was not a factor at all” and retiring was on his mind before the series against South Africa started. He did, though, admit that his lack of runs had played a major part.Strauss’ decision ends a career that began in 1997, an international career that started in 2003 and captaincy reign that began early in 2009 in the wake of the Pietersen-Peter Moores fall out.”After much thought over the last few weeks, I have decided to step down as England Test captain and announce my retirement from all forms of cricket,” Strauss said. “It has clearly been a tough decision to make, but I believe that it is both in the best interests of the England cricket team and myself to step down at this stage.”There are too many people who have helped me on this incredible journey to mention them all by name, but I would like to thank all the Middlesex and England players I have played alongside, as well as the phenomenal coaches and support staff with whom I have been fortunate enough to work.”Particular mention has to go to Andy Flower and Duncan Fletcher in that regard. It would also be remiss of me not to thank Middlesex, the ECB and the PCA for their support and guidance over the years.”No one can play international cricket for any length of time without having an incredibly strong support network around them, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family for going through it all alongside me over the course of my England career.”I am extremely proud of everything I have achieved as a cricketer, and I have found myself very fortunate to play in an era when some of English cricket’s greatest moments have occurred. I have loved every minute of it. All that remains is for me to wish Andy, Alastair and the rest of the team the very best for the coming months. I will be an interested spectator.”Strauss, 35, played his 100th Test at Lord’s against South Africa and after the loss he said he still had “a lot of desire” but did not categorically declare his intention to continue leading the side. Strauss said at the time he was keen to take a break and then discuss the future with the coach Andy Flower.ESPNcricinfo were the first to suggest immediately after the Test that perhaps Strauss was
considering resignation.The South African series was a difficult one for Strauss, who not only had to deal with the ongoing Pietersen saga but also his own struggle for runs – his best score during the three Tests was 37. Cook, who took on the ODI captaincy last year, will now step into the Test role and will start with the tour of India later this year.Cook said: “Andrew’s contribution to England cricket in recent years is evident to everyone who follows the sport but only those of us who have been lucky enough to share a dressing room with him are fully aware of his immense contribution to our success.”He has been a fantastic captain, has led from the front for three and a half years and is a true ambassador for the game. To have played 100 Tests for your country is a phenomenal achievement and I want to congratulate him on a superb career. I know this can’t have been an easy decision for him and everyone in the dressing room will be sad to see him go.”I’m very excited by this new challenge, it is a huge honour to be appointed Test captain and am very much looking forward to captaining the side in India this winter and beyond, but my immediate focus is on this current NatWest one-day series. Once the series is over I will turn my attention to the Test captaincy and building on the work Andrew has started.”David Collier, the ECB chief executive, said: “On behalf of the ECB and everyone involved in cricket I’d like to thank Andrew Strauss for his outstanding contribution to the game.”Andrew has been a highly successful captain and opening batsman for Middlesex and England, who will be remembered for leading the side to two Ashes victories and to the top of the Test rankings. He has shown tremendous integrity, dedication and commitment both on and off the field and under his leadership the side has grown immeasurably and reached new levels of professionalism.”Andrew’s calmness and authority when dealing with some of the most difficult moments in our sport in recent times should be applauded and I have no doubt that his contribution as an ambassador for the game will be recognised by anyone who has had an opportunity to spend time with him. His legacy within the game will be felt for many years to come and we now need to continue to build on the progress we have made under his leadership.”Strauss made his debut for England in 2004, scoring a century against New Zealand at Lord’s in a performance that was enough to push former captain Nasser Hussain into retirement, and his most recent Test against South Africa was his 100th Test. When talking recently to mark the occasion he spoke about his desire to continue but events of recent weeks, including the controversy surrounding Pietersen, appear to have changed his mind.As captain, Strauss led England to new heights, including back-to-back Ashes triumphs in 2009 and 2010-11 plus the No.1 Test ranking which they held for a year before losing the series against South Africa. That was the first home Test series England had lost under Strauss’ leadership and just the third of his entire stint.However, the runs had largely dried up for Strauss in recent years. The two hundreds he scored against West Indies earlier this season hinted that he could recapture some of his best form but reality hit home against South Africa when he scored 107 runs in six innings. Having started his time as captain with three hundreds against West Indies in 2009 he managed just four more. He will finish with 21 Test centuries, one behind the England record held by Geoff Boycott, Colin Cowdrey and Wally Hammond.In his 100 Tests Strauss has scored 7037 runs at 40.91 and in the 50 Tests he captained (which included four before being appointed fulltime captian, against Pakistan in 2006) he won 24 of them.Strauss is the third England captain to resign either during or after a series against a South Africa side led by Graeme Smith. Hussain stood down early in the 2003 series and Michael Vaughan ended his time as captain after South Africa won the 2008 series with victory at Edgbaston.

Goodwin stars in Sussex triumph

Murray Goodwin made the second Twenty20 hundred of his Sussex career to help his side reach the quarter-finals for the third successive year

15-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Murray Goodwin made the second Twenty20 hundred of his Sussex career to help
his side reach the quarter-finals for the third successive year. Goodwin scored an unbeaten 100 off 59 balls as the Sharks, after scoring 178 for 8, beat Surrey Lions by 11 runs in front of a 6,500 sell-out crowd at Hove to secure a last-eight home tie against Lancashire Lightning.The 38-year-old struggled physically and needed his inhaler at one stage after suffering from breathlessness. He barely had the strength to raise his bat to the crowd when he reached his
hundred off the third ball of the last over but his stroke-play and placement were outstanding.Goodwin had to lead a rebuilding job after Sussex lost Luke Wright and Lou Vincent in the second over of this Friends Life t20 clash. Sussex were a modest 20 for 2 after four but Goodwin cut loose by taking 17 off the fifth over from Stuart Meaker.Goodwin added 76 from 49 balls for the third wicket with Matt Prior and even when the England Test wicketkeeper holed out in the 10th over for 26 Sussex were able to maintain momentum as Chris Nash and Goodwin added a further 42 from 26 balls. Sussex lost some impetus towards the end of their innings when four wickets fell in the space of seven balls, but their total always looked competitive on a sluggish, two-paced pitch.Not surprisingly, Goodwin did not field during the Surrey innings and the visitors looked to be in charge as openers Jason Roy and Steven Davies launched their reply with 75 in eight overs.
However, Sussex had the happy knack of taking wickets at important times, with Roy holing out shortly after reaching 50 from 42 balls – striking four boundaries and two sixes in the process – while Nash picked up Zander De Bruyn (16) on the long-on boundary in his solitary over.Surrey might still have fancied their chances of scoring 40 off the last four overs with seven wickets in hand, but Sussex’s leading wicket-taker Chris Liddle picked up three wickets in two overs including former team-mate Rory Hamilton-Brown.Surrey needed 27 off the last over and although Tom Maynard hit 14 off the first three balls from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistani foxed him with his slower ball and Sussex were on their way to a home tie against Lancashire.

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