Warne on old rift with Waugh: 'Felt totally let down when he dropped me'

In detailing the breakdown in their relationship from 1999, the legspinner also tagged his former captain “the most selfish player” he ever played with

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2018Shane Warne has reheated his old feud with Steve Waugh by revealing in a new book that he felt “totally let down” by Australia’s then captain when dropped from the playing XI in the fourth Test against West Indies in 1999. He also described his former Australia captain as “the most selfish player I ever played with, and was only worried about averaging 50”.Heading to the Caribbean, Waugh had just been appointed Test captain with Warne as vice-captain, and Australia had started the series by bowling out West Indies for 51 to win the first Test by 312 runs. However, Brian Lara made two of the finest centuries of his career, 213 in the second Test and 153 not out in the third, as West Indies stormed back. The home side were leading 2-1 heading into the final Test in Antigua, and Warne’s returns in the first three Tests were a poor two wickets at 134.00.

‘Baggy green worship made me want to puke’ – Warne

“All that worship of the baggy green – some of the guys went with it, like Lang [Justin Langer], Haydos [Matthew Hayden] and Gilly [Adam Gilchrist], but it wasn’t for me,” Warne wrote. “They loved it but, to be honest, they made me want to puke with it half the time. I mean, wearing it at Wimbledon! Who wears a green cricket cap to Wimbledon? It was just embarrassing! Mark Waugh felt the same. I don’t need a baggy green to prove what playing for Australia means to me or to the people who watch us.”

In an extract from his book published in , Warne describes the selection meeting before the final Test.”I was vice-captain and bowling pretty ordinary and Tugga [Waugh] opened the selection meeting between the two of us and Geoff Marsh, the coach, by saying, ‘Warney, I don’t think you should play this next Test.'”Silence. ‘Er, right,’ I said. ‘Why?’ ‘I don’t think you’re bowling very well, mate.’ ‘Yes… fair call,’ I admitted. ‘My shoulder [after surgery] is taking longer than I thought but it’s close now. The feel is slowly coming back and then the rhythm will come, mate. I’m not worried.'”Marsh agreed with Warne but Waugh stuck to his guns, which led to an impasse. Allan Border, a selector at the time who was was off duty but there in Antigua, was asked for his views. Warne writes that Border supported him, saying: “I back Warney every time. The situation is made for him. Anyway, we owe him. Think of what he’s done for Australian cricket. We need to show faith.”However, Warne wrote that Waugh once again asserted his authority as captain: “No, I appreciate your thoughts, AB, but Warney’s not playing. I’m going with my gut here. Sorry, guys.”Australia won the Test to square the series, but Warne felt let down. “Disappointed is not a strong enough word. When the crunch came Tugga didn’t support me, and I felt so totally let down by someone who I had supported big time and was also a good friend,” Warne wrote, adding that he didn’t handle his axing from the team that well. “I conducted myself badly, to be honest. I wasn’t that supportive of the team, which I regret.”Looking back, this was probably a combination of the shoulder issue still eating away at me and the pure anger bubbling inside at Steve’s lack of trust. During the first three Tests, at various times some of the bowlers came to me, grumbling about Tugga’s captaincy and field placements and stuff. I said I was backing him to the hilt and if they had a problem with the captain they should go see him direct. Perhaps because of this, I was deeply disappointed that he didn’t back me in return.”Getty Images

Immediately after the West Indies tour, Australia went to England for the 1999 World Cup, where, after starting slowly, they stormed to the title with both Waugh and Warne playing key roles. However, later in the year, when Australia went to Sri Lanka, Warne writes of another altercation before the second Test. In the first match, Waugh had collided with Jason Gillespie on the field, leaving both men with nasty injuries. However, Waugh was adamant he would play in the second Test, while Warne held the opposite view. “I was being a d******* and looking for a bit of revenge. He hadn’t backed me and now I wasn’t going to back him,” writes Warne of the argument, which he eventually lost when Marsh sided with Waugh.Warne says he “never found it easy” with Waugh after the West Indies and Sri Lanka tours, even though they had started off as good friends, with Waugh present at Warne’s wedding and even almost convincing the legspinner to play club cricket for Bankstown in Sydney, with a view to breaking into the New South Wales team.”He became a completely different person when he took over as captain… It wasn’t that he dropped me. I have no issue about being dropped if I’m not performing; if you don’t perform, out you go. But there was more to it than my performances – I think it was jealousy. He started to niggle away, telling me to look at my diet and spend more time on deciding what sort of person I wanted to be in my life, how to conduct myself – that sort of stuff. I said, ‘Mate – worry about yourself.'”

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.

Javed Khan plays despite father's death

Javed Khan took two England XI wickets the day after his father had died during open-heart surgery

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2012For most of the Mumbai A players, the first-class game against England XI is an opportunity to push for Ranji Trophy selection. For 22-year-old medium-pacer Javed Khan, however, it was more than that as he took the field on the first day. Javed’s father, Mohammad Jayish Khan, had died the night before while undergoing an open-heart surgery.Javed, who played two Ranji Trophy games for Mumbai in 2010-11 but has been ignored by the selectors since then, skipped his father’s burial and decided to turn up for the game at the Dr DY Patil Stadium on Saturday. He had a fruitful day, dismissing Jonathan Trott and the centurion Jonny Bairstow. He was not required to bowl on Sunday morning.”By 5 am, we advised him to play the match. He was crying the whole night and was in a state of shock,” Javed’s coach Raju Pathak told . “But this match against England was a big opportunity for him. His father was keen to see him bowl against England. So he did what his father would have wanted him to do.”Most of his teammates in the dressing room did not know that Javed had lost his father. And those who knew didn’t want to talk about it because they thought it would affect Javed. It was very brave of him to come out and play today.”

'We're going to miss Murali terribly' – Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara rued not being able to give Muttiah Muralitharan the perfect send-off in what was his final international appearance for Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2011Kumar Sangakkara rued not being able to give Muttiah Muralitharan the perfect send-off in what was his final international appearance for Sri Lanka and admitted the team would “miss him terribly.” Sri Lanka were beaten by six wickets in the World Cup final by India in Mumbai and Murali, on one of his rare off days, went wicketless in eight overs and conceded 39 runs.”It’s one of those rare days when he hasn’t really done the job for us, but it happens maybe once in a 100 games,” Sangakkara said. “We’re going to miss him terribly. Unfortunately we couldn’t give him a great send-off but that’s the way it goes. We were outplayed and we have to accept that.”Sri Lanka had done well after winning the toss, posting 274 thanks to a superlative century from Mahela Jayawardene. They were in command when Lasith Malinga dismissed India’s openers, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, early in the chase. But the Indian middle order stepped up with Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni reviving the innings with match-winning half-centuries.Murali was dealt with easily by Gambhir and Dhoni, who hit him repeatedly to the extra-cover boundary. Murali had come into this game with a groin injury, and while it was considered a risk to play him, the game was just too big to leave him out. Sangakkara, however, said fitness didn’t affect Murali’s performance.”He’s our best bowler, even if half-fit,” Sangakkara said. “But he was fine, he was almost at full fitness when he played today. I don’t think it was an issue.”Murali had ended his Test career on a high, picking up a wicket with his final delivery to win Sri Lanka a game against India last year. And while that perfect ending eluded him this World Cup, Sangakkara summed up what he meant for Sri lanka. “Murali is the icon of Sri Lanka,” he said. “As a champion on the field and off the field. As a human being and a cricketer, I don’t think there is anyone to match him.”

Misbah plans to quit international cricket next year

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan middle-order batsman, plans to quit international cricket at the end of next year if the selectors continue to ignore him for the national squad

Cricinfo staff27-Jul-2010Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan middle-order batsman, has plans to quit international cricket at the end of next year if the national selectors continue to ignore him. Misbah was dropped for the ongoing tour of England in favour of rookie players like Azhar Ali and Umar Amin, and his central contract with the PCB expires in December.”I know luck is not favouring me these days and with the youngsters making their way into the squad, I was forced to think again,” Misbah told the . “As a player, I feel sad to make such a decision but one day I had to decide when to call it a day.”I am 36 and feel fit enough for the international arena. I’m seeking an opportunity to play the 2011 World Cup in a bid to end my international cricket on a high note. But if I’m unable to find a place in the national squad, I always have an opportunity in the domestic circuit to do so.”Misbah made his Pakistan debut in 2001 but he wasn’t a regular fixture in the squad till the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, where he emerged as a dangerous Twenty20 batsman. A loss of form through 2009 led to him being dropped, initially, for the tours of New Zealand and Australia. He was however flown in midway through the New Zealand tour to shore up an inexperienced batting order. In the interim, he struck form in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Pakistan and that prompted the then captain, Mohammad Yousuf, to push for his recall. He last played for Pakistan in the World Twenty20 in the West Indies before being dropped for the Asia Cup and the England tour, a decision that had upset him.”My performance in the last 12 months hasn’t been up to the mark but my passion for the game remains,” he said. “Therefore, I have planned a time frame to my cricketing career and decided to quit cricket at the end of 2011.”

Gujarat Giants face bogey team Mumbai Indians in bid for final spot

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

Joe Cracknell's 88 clinches Middlesex win at Beckenham

Kent manage only 204 as Middlesex bowlers chip away with regular wickets

ECB Reporters Network04-Aug-2024Joe Cracknell hit 88 as Middlesex coasted to a five-wicket win over the Kent Spitfires in the Metro Bank Cup at Beckenham.Cracknell blitzed the Spitfires with an 82-ball innings included two sixes and ten fours and Robbie White chipped in with 50 as the visitors eased home with 8.4 overs to spare, finishing on 206 for 5.Earlier Kent were bowled out for 204 in 44.4 overs, with Josh de Caires, Henry Brookes and Nathan Fernandes all taking two wickets.Marcus O’Riordan was Kent’s top-scorer with 58, but when he was gone they struggled to put any meaningful partnerships together until Hamid Qadri and Matt Parkinson nudged them over the 200 mark.Kent chose to bat but lost Beyers Swanepoel in the second over, caught behind off Ishaan Kaushal for just 2. Although O’Riordan clouted 20 off the fourth over from Kaushal he was the only Kent batter to score freely.De Caires had Joey Evison lbw for 14 with his second delivery and O’Riordan went in the next over, trapped in front by Luke Hollman trying to reverse sweep. Jaydn Denly tried to slog sweep De Caires and was caught by Cracknell for 10 and Ethan Bamber had Harry Finch lbw for 23.Charlie Stobo had made just 2 when he tried to charge Fernandes and was stumped by Jack Davies and Fernandes then got Jack Leaning for 28 after a sharp diving catch by Sam Robson. Kent’s last realistic hope of a par score went when Grant Stewart edged Henry Brookes behind for 11.Brookes’ next delivery hit Parkinson on the helmet, but after a six-minute delay he was ruled fit to continue. His stand of 40 with Qadri at least gave Kent something to defend, but when the latter went for 25, caught by Fernandes off Brookes, there were still 5.5 overs remaining and as Nathan Gilchrist was run out by a direct hit from de Caires three balls later, Parkinson was stranded on 17 not out.Aside from an early blip when Stewart took two quick wickets, the chase was devoid of any serious drama. Middlesex’s openers had raced to 25 without loss in the third over when Stewart had Fernandes caught by Stobo at first slip for 8.In Stewart’s next over Stobo took another slip catch to remove Sam Robson for 3 but Cracknell responded with an innings of control and aggression that took the game away from the home side. He looked set for a century, only to fall 12 short when he lofted Parkinson to Swanepoel at long-off, but by then Middlesex only needed another 71 for victory.Jack Davies didn’t hang around, cracking 35 before he cut Jaydn Denly to O’Riordan and although Parkinson had White caught behind, a convincing win was sealed when Mark Stoneman drove Parkinson for four in the 32nd over.

Amir, Fakhar, Imad signed up by new CPL franchise Antigua & Barbuda Falcons

Seventeen-year-old local batter Jewel Andrew also on Falcons’ books as initial squad of 12 named ahead of player draft in July

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2024The Pakistan trio of Mohammad Amir, Imad Wasim and Fakhar Zaman will turn out for new franchise Antigua & Barbuda Falcons at CPL 2024. Falcons have also signed Australia offspinner Chris Green and Afghanistan allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai for their debut season.West Indies’ Brandon King and Fabian Allen were also signed, along with 17-year-old batter Jewel Andrew, who played the Under-19 World Cup for West Indies earlier this year.In all, Falcons have signed 12 players so far, which means they will need to sign five more players at the draft in July to round-out their squad.Related

  • CPL 2024 FAQs: New team, new players, new intrigues

  • CPL 2024 draft: St Lucia Kings sign USA star Aaron Jones as teams finalise squads

  • Antigua & Barbuda Falcons unveiled as new CPL franchise

  • Trinbago Knight Riders sign Tim David and Jason Roy for CPL 2024

  • Royals bring back Theekshana, Patriots sign Hasaranga and Stubbs for CPL 2024

Other big signings for CPL 2024 so far have included Tim David and Jason Roy (Trinbago Knight Riders), Heinrich Klaasen (St Lucia Kings), and Wanindu Hasaranga and Tristan Stubbs (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots).Antigua & Barbuda Falcons, the new franchise, replaces Jamaica Tallawahs at the CPL. Antigua had previously hosted a CPL franchise named Antigua Hawksbills in the first two CPL seasons, but that was replaced by St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in 2015.The 2024 edition of the CPL will take place from August 28 to October 6 with games taking place in Antigua for the first time in ten years. Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago are the other venues. The National Stadium in Providence, Guyana, will host the final.

Antigua & Barbuda Falcons squad list

Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman, Brandon King, Fabian Allen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Amir, Chris Green, Hayden Walsh Jr, Shamar Springer, Kelvin Pitman, Jewel Andrew, Joshua James

Cricket sees path to pay parity for domestic players

Women’s retainers are currently at 70 per cent of their male counterparts

AAP04-Apr-2023Cricket is in the box seat to become the first major Australian sport to achieve pay parity at a domestic level, after a landmark deal to significantly increase the earnings of female players.Women emerged as the biggest winners in cricket’s pay deal on Monday, with an extra AU$53 million in the player pool over the next five years and a pay rise of 66 percent.Those winnings will be felt most significantly at domestic level, where the average pay packet will sit at AU$151,000 for players with state and WBBL deals.The majority of dual-format female players will also earn six figures for the first time, with minimum state contracts set at around AU$60,000 and the lowest-paid WBBL player on close to AU$20,000.

How Australian women’s cricket is winning

  • Top women’s CA contract holder with a WBBL deal now able to earn AU$800,000

  • Next six contracts potential to earn on average AU$500,000

  • Minimum and average CA women’s contract increases 25%

  • Number of contracts rises from 15 to 18

  • Average domestic earnings for a player with WNCL and WBBL contract now AU$151,019

  • WBBL salary cap doubles to AU$732,000

  • Top WBBL player can earn AU$133,000; average retainer doubles to $54,200

  • Two additional state (and ACT) contracts per team

Match payments have also been brought in line with men’s, with a touch over AU$2000 paid per day played, topping up the salaries to the biggest in women’s sport.The figures leave women’s retainers in state contracts at 70 per cent of their male counterparts, with genuine belief parity can be reached in future deals.”We’re on a journey,” Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said. “We have seen an overall 26 percent increase in player pay, but a 66 percent increase in payments to our female players.”We are on a path, we are not there yet. But we have taken a major step forward in closing the gap.”Both CA and the players’ union will put a focus on trying to further commercialise the game, with a doubling of the WBBL salary cap to AU$732,000 aimed at keeping the best overseas talent.”If we unlock commercialisation, that’s the key,” former Australian star Rachael Haynes said. “If we do that, I think we will get parity.”Enabling players more time to invest in themselves and their game, naturally that will help them get better.”Officials are also predicting multiple female players could crack the AU$1 million mark, when combining their national salaries, WBBL deals and overseas contracts.While national contracts are well below their male counterparts, the top-earning female will now earn AU$800,000 combined from their Australian and WBBL deals, while the next six will average AU$500,000.”I think we’ll have a few of millionaires in the next few years,” Australian Cricketers Association CEO Todd Greenberg said. “And so they should because they’re the best in the world at what they do.”

Women's IPL: Viacom 18 wins media rights, to pay INR 7.09 crore per match

The deal is for five years – 2023 to 2027 – with the company committing INR 951 crore overall

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-20230:28

Perry: ‘Everyone in world cricket is excited for the WIPL’

Viacom 18 has won the media rights for the inaugural women’s IPL for a period of five years following the auction in Mumbai. The company will pay INR 951 crore (USD 116.7 million approx.) for the period – 2023 to 2027 – which BCCI secretary Jay Shah called “massive” while making the announcement on Twitter.ESPNcricinfo has learned that only two of the eight parties that had bought the tender had turned up for the auction: Viacom 18 and Disney Star*. The winning bid was for both linear TV and digital and were sold globally, including India.Shah said the winning bid amount meant a per-match value of INR 7.09 crore (USD 866,000 approx.) over five years. The men’s IPL, in comparison, fetched a five-year deal of INR 48,390.5 crore (USD 6.2 billion approx. at the time) in June last year with a per-match value of INR 58 crore (USD 7.43 million approx.).”After pay equity, today’s bidding for media rights for Women’s IPL marks another historic mandate,” Shah said on Twitter. “It’s a big and decisive step for empowerment of women’s cricket in India, which will ensure participation of women from all ages. A new dawn indeed!”

Shah further said the deal would “revolutionise women’s cricket” globally. “I am really thrilled that we have had such an encouraging response for a league that will revolutionise women’s cricket not just in India but across the globe,” he said in statement. “This is a commitment I had made to the board and our women cricketers and today we have taken one big leap. The broadcasters play a key role in taking the game to a wider audience and their active interest in the league is a clear indication that the Women’s Indian Premier League is headed in the right direction.”The per-match value of INR 7.09 crore was calculated for 22 matches per season across the first three years, followed by a possible increase to 34 matches from 2026 when the BCCI, based on the performance of the women’s IPL, could look at adding a sixth franchise.”Women’s cricket has been on the up since a few years and the recently concluded bilateral series against Australia is a great testament to how popular women’s cricket has become in India,” BCCI president Roger Binny said in a release. “It was only apt to get our own women’s T20 league and give the fans more of women’s cricket.”The two major differences between the sale of the men’s and the women’s media rights were that the women’s rights did not have a base price unlike the men’s, and that the men’s rights were split across multiple categories and regions in an auction process that spanned three days.The inaugural women’s IPL will take place in March this year•BCCI

The inaugural women’s IPL is expected to have five teams, which will get 80% of the central commercial pool, of which the media rights constitutes a major part.The BCCI has shortlisted a pool of ten cities from across India and the five teams will be associated with a city each.ESPNcricinfo had earlier reported that the owners of men’s IPL teams Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans were among those to have submitted bids for a team in the women’s IPL. The BCCI has set January 23 as the deadline to submit the technical bids for evaluation. As compared to the media rights, the rights to own teams would be for a ten-year period (2023-32).The five winners will be announced on January 25. The bids from the groups hoping to own teams are currently with the BCCI, in sealed envelopes.Though official dates are not out yet, it is understood that the first season of the women’s IPL will run from March 5 to 23 – before the men’s edition starts. The first three seasons (2023-25) are set to have 22 matches each. Each of the five teams will play the other twice (a total of 20 matches) in the league stage, followed by an Eliminator between the teams that finish second and third, and then a final between the winner of the Eliminator and the table-topper. From the 2026 season, the WIPL will feature 33 or 34 matches.Viacom 18 had also secured the digital rights of the men’s IPL for the subcontinent region (for INR 23,757.5 crore or USD 3.04 billion) and both the TV and digital rights across three global regions – Australia + New Zealand, the UK and South Africa – (for INR 1058 crore or USD 135.49 million) last June.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus