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Sreesanth’s attempt to seek court intervention to lift the life ban imposed on him by the BCCI, for his alleged involvement in the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, has failed. A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday ruled that the BCCI ban cannot be overturned or reduced, thereby negating a judgement issued by the same court in August, which had asked the board to lift the ban.In a series of tweets after the judgement was made public, Sreesanth called Tuesday’s verdict “the worst decision ever”, and said he would continue to challenge the ban. Sreesanth and two other Rajasthan Royals bowlers – Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila – were given life bans for their alleged involvement in the 2013 corruption and spot-fixing scandal in the IPL.In August, Justice A Muhamed Mustaque of the Kerala High Court, had accepted Sreesanth’s writ petition, filed in February, and told the told the BCCI it had no “incriminating evidence” and hence the ban should be “quashed”.In his petition, Sreesanth told the court that in 2015, a trial court had dropped the criminal charges filed against him by the Delhi Police and hence the BCCI, too, should lift the ban. Sreesanth was among 42 individuals chargesheeted by the Delhi Police under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).Last month, the BCCI challenged Justice Mustaque’s order, saying the criminal proceedings established by the Delhi Police had no bearing on its own investigation, which had been carried out by Ravi Sawani who was chief of the board’s anti-corruption unit at the time. Sawani had prepared two reports – preliminary and supplementary – having questioned Sreesanth in person and having taken a written undertaking from the player.In its petition, the BCCI also asked whether a writ court could “sit in appeal” and “alter the quantum of penalty imposed” against the findings of the board’s disciplinary committee. A writ is an application filed in the court asking it to enforce some right against an authority or against an order against which there is no statutory remedy.The BCCI said that its decision was in “accordance” with the principles of natural justice and asked the court to decide whether Justice Mustaque’s order was “contrary to law and to principles of justice, equity and good conscience and ought to be set aside?”On Tuesday, in an oral order, a two-judge division bench, comprising Justices Navaniti Prasad Singh and Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan, ruled that a writ court could only scrutinise if the BCCI’s investigation process was fair, but could not challenge the merits of the punishment. The writ court, the division bench pointed out, could not overstep its brief and become an “appellate” power over BCCI; doing so would be “exceeding the limits of judicial review”.The division bench also rejected Sreesanth’s argument that he had been denied natural justice. It said Sreesanth had actually violated the BCCI’s anti-corruption code, having failed to inform the anti-corruption unit about the illegal activities despite receiving education from the ACU. The division bench also agreed with the BCCI that the decision of the Delhi trial court could not be equated to the life ban as desired by Sreesanth.Sreesanth expressed strong resentment towards the court order immediately after the judgement was made public and questioned why he was being singled out when the BCCI had allowed Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals – the two IPL franchises suspended following the 2013 scandal – to return to the fold. “Special rule for me? what about real culprits? What about chennai super kings ? And what about Rajasthan?” he tweeted.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Gayle set the agenda with a traditionally six-laden cameo, while his heir apparent, Evin Lewis, lived up to his lofty billing with 51 from 28 balls, as West Indies withstood a chilly autumnal evening, and a spirited England fightback with the ball, to seal victory by 21 runs in the one-off T20 at Chester-le-Street.On a night that could not have been further removed from the balmy, barmy circumstances of their previous T20 encounter, in the World T20 final in Kolkata 18 months ago, West Indies choked England’s ambitions, first through the spin twins of Sunil Narine and Ashley Nurse, and then through a canny spell of pace-off-the-ball from Kieron Pollard, Kesrick Williams and Carlos Brathwaite, at precisely the moment when it seemed their own resolve was about to crack in the inhospitable conditions.After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, West Indies served up the definitive innings of two halves. At the halfway mark they had rampaged to 106 for 1, with Gayle and Lewis crunching seven sixes between them in a freewheeling partnership, but they were restricted to 70 for 8 thereafter, as Liam Plunkett’s deck-hitting aggression, allied to another wily spell of legspin from Adil Rashid, looked to have kept their target well within manageable proportions.With the weather beginning to deteriorate as quickly as the temperature, the contest seemed to have swung decisively in England’s favour – the first-ball dismissal of Jason Roy notwithstanding – when Alex Hales smashed 43 from 17 balls to launch their pursuit in a fusillade of boundaries. But when, in the sixth over, Hales missed a loose drive to be bowled by a gleeful Brathwaite, England’s usually power-packed middle order could produce no adequate substitute for his sublime ball-striking.Joe Root, often so adept at working the gaps to allow his team-mates to clear the ropes, this time turned in a stodgy innings of 17 from 19 balls that came to an end with a low catch at short cover as Nurse struck with his third delivery. And spin continued to apply a tourniquet to England’s run-rate, as Eoin Morgan ducked and dived against Narine to no avail. After three consecutive dot-balls, Morgan reversed his hands for flick through backward point, but picked out the fielder to depart for 2 – his seventh consecutive single-figure score in all T20 innings.Eoin Morgan picked up another low score•Getty Images

The conditions were never easy for West Indies’ fielders – the cold and damp combined to create a funereal over-rate as well as regular protests about the slippery out-field. But with the umpires adamant that the show must go on – and the hardy Durham crowd certainly never lost the faith in that regard – West Indies found a second wind as England’s innings dribbled through the middle overs.If anyone was going to reignite the run-chase, it was Jos Buttler, whose mere presence was a reminder that nothing could be taken for granted. But with little pace to work with, he was unable to risk his habitual dinks over the keeper’s head for fear of holing out behind square, and he had been limited to two boundaries in a 27-ball stay when a Williams short ball induced a spliced pull to Rovman Powell at deep midwicket.Williams – who had borne the brunt of Hales’ earlier onslaught, when pace on the ball had equalled pace off the bat – then made it two in the over as a skittish Rashid gloved an attempted ramp to the keeper. Narine returned for his final over, that included the stumping off David Willey for 1, before Jonny Bairstow – England’s final, final hope – capped a collapse of 4 for 11 in 14 balls when he shovelled a Brathwaite slower ball to backward square leg.Fittingly, it was the captain Brathwaite – remember that name? – who put the seal on the victory as Plunkett missed a slog across the line with three balls of the innings remaining. England were all out for 155, done in by some canny bowling and a classy outfit who proved, as if it needed reiterating, that their World T20 triumph was no fluke.In the final analysis, however, it was West Indies’ flying start with the bat that proved the decisive difference between the sides. And fittingly, given that what little hype in the build-up to this contest had centred around the master and the apprentice at the top of West Indies’ order, it was Gayle and Lewis who shared top billing.Gayle, who got off the mark first-ball with an edged four through third man, soaked up a handful of sighters with that exaggerated caution that has so often been a feature of his game, before crunching from first gear to overdrive in the waft of a bat. His seventh ball, from Willey, was spanked over midwicket to bring up the 100th six of his T20 international career, and he celebrated that landmark in emphatic style one ball later, an arcing flog down the ground and over the sightscreen as Willey was once again punished for feeding Gayle’s strengths on a full length outside off.At the other end, Lewis – whose last act in West Indies’ colours had been a matchwinning 125 not out from 62 balls against India – slipstreamed his senior partner with poise and maturity. He avoided falling for the ego-trap that had done for Gayle (and his predecessor as opener, Johnson Charles) in the World T20 final, when Root was tossed the ball for the second over of the Powerplay for tidy over of darting offbreaks, and instead saved his change-up for the introduction of Tom Curran, whom he cracked for four, six, four, six from the first four balls he faced.West Indies finished the Powerplay on a daunting 72 for 0, but England – to their credit – found a means to claw back into the contest. The catalyst came with the introduction of Plunkett in the seventh over, as Gayle was pushed onto the back foot by a lifter outside off, and was slow to set off as Roy’s shy from backward point was sharply gathered by the bowler to pull off a tight run-out.Lewis’s half-century then came to an end as he smashed a Plunkett slower ball into the midriff of Root at mid-off, and when Plunkett followed up with two more major scalps – Marlon Samuels, caught at midwicket off a cramped pull for 10, and Pollard – expertly plucked at fine leg by a stretching Curran – England had found a means to restore their foothold in the game.Rashid, who’d been teasing out a tidy line and length in his mid-innings holding role, then dragged one down for Chadwick Walton to flog a top-edged pull out to Willey at deep midwicket, then did for Brathwaite and Narine in quick succession as an untimely rain interruption – with seven balls remaining – further disrupted West Indies’ flow. But, just as had been the case on that famous night in Kolkata, West Indies would not be denied. The prize on this occasion was rather more low-key, but with their big names back on parade after a low-key Test leg of their tour, it was a notable return to the colours nonetheless.

Don Shepherd, a giant of Glamorgan cricket and widely regarded as one of the best county cricketers never to play for England, has died, aged 90.Shepherd was one of the great servants of county cricket, a source of huge pride for all cricket-lovers in Wales, as he totted up 668 first-class matches between 1950 and 1972. Born in Port Eynon on the Gower Peninsula, he began life as a fast-medium bowler but in his vintage years was highly respected for his slow-medium offcutters.He died only a week after celebrating his 90th birthday after complications set in following a heart operation.John Arlott, the great broadcaster and cricket writer, termed it “inexplicable” that Shepherd never played for England, and, especially on responsive pitches, he would doubtless have made the grade. But he was never seriously considered and was up against some fine practitioners – the Surrey pair of Jim Laker and Tony Lock in the fifties, and by the likes of Raymond Illingworth and Fred Titmus later in his career.At the end of it all, he had 2218 first-class wickets, all of them genially claimed, and the most ever taken by a player who failed to represent England. It left him 22nd on the all-time list. He was a shrewd analyst of a batsman, with deceptive changes of pace and flight and his contentment in his work made him a captain’s dream.The lack of England recognition did not overly bother him. In a BBC interview to mark his 90th birthday, Shepherd recalled: “It never worried me. There were so many terrific offspinners around towards the end – Fred Titmus, David Allen, John Mortimore, Ray Illingworth – and they could bat, while I was a bit of a slogger. I was happy enough doing what I did and what happened to me through my life.”Glamorgan endured many lean years during his career, but there was achievement, too, in the winning of the 1969 county championship, which they finished unbeaten. Shepherd took the final wicket, and, to add to the happy coincidence, had taken his 2,000th first-class wicket earlier in the game. He took five or more wickets in an innings on 123 occasions.Victory against the 1964 Australians at Swansea, when he took 9 for 93 in the match, was quite a turn-up for the tourists who had only lost to one county side, Surrey, since 1912. To swell the outpouring of Welsh pride, the national Eisteddfod – a traditional Welsh festival of music, literature and performance arts – was being held a mile down the road and both teams accepted an invitation to attend one evening. Shepherd and Jim Pressdee, who between them had bowled out the Australians in the first innings on a rain-freshened pitch, were given a huge ovation.Shepherd later recalled: “After going up on the stage, we were so full of that there was no way we were going to lose that match.”Glamorgan followed up with another defeat of the tourists in 1968, this time with Shepherd standing in as skipper for Tony Lewis. Some put the victory down to Shep’s “guile and cunning”, a tribute he would treat with characteristic modesty. No wonder Australia always regarded him highly.He had few pretensions as a batsman, and called himself “a walking wicket”, although his rustic hitting brought much pleasure, and said he was able to empty “bar and beer tent in five seconds flat”. There was nothing better than his 51 in 11 scoring shots against Australia at Swansea in 1961.Glamorgan had collapsed to 94 for 8, undone by the legspin of Richie Benaud and left-arm wristspinner Lindsay Kline, who both benefited from a dry and dusty surface, tailor-made for Shepherd. His 50 came in 15 minutes and off 21 balls, equalling the world record. Famously, Benaud termed it “the greatest bit of sustained hitting that I have ever seen in my life”.Shepherd would often reflect: “Most things used to happen at Swansea”, and, as his home town, that made things all the more pleasurable.As a fast-medium bowler, he took 155 wickets in 1952, winning his county cap, but he lost his form in the mid-1950s, and, after advice from senior players including wicketkeeper Haydn Davies, converted to bowling offcutters as a result. In the first season of this change – 1956 – he took 168 wickets, and he exceeded 100 wickets 12 times in all. Lean and crinkly-haired, canny and persevering, he became one of the county game’s most reliable figures.The nearest he got to an England call-up was a match for MCC against the West Indians at Lord’s in 1957 and a tour of Ceylon and Far East with MCC in 1969-70. He was named one of ‘s Cricketers of the Year in 1970, a tribute he marked by taking 106 first-class wickets that summer, more than any other player in first-class cricket.He was a hugely popular figure on Glamorgan grounds after his retirement, a shrewd and respected bowling coach who acted as a mentor for many years for Robert Croft, a Glamorgan offspinner who go on to play for England.He was also a genial commentator on BBC Radio Wales, where his melodious and affable judgments were much prized, and where his double act with fellow commentator Eddie Bevan was the very essence of cricket in Wales. After the broadcast was over, he would generally lean against the bar and chat about the game some more, in generous and forgiving tones which made him a wonderful representative of the game he cherished.

Stafanie Taylor had figures of 4 for 5 from her four overs•Getty Images

A superb individual performance from Stafanie Taylor gave Western Storm lift-off in the Kia Super League as they defeated Loughborough Lightning by five wickets in front of the Sky TV cameras at Taunton.Taking centre stage ahead of Somerset’s NatWest T20 Blast fixture against Kent, the West Indies allrounder returned startling figures of 4 for 5 in four overs and effected a game-changing run out as Lightning were restricted to 108 for 9 after being put in. Trounced by defending champions Southern Vipers in their opening match, Storm chased down their target with five balls to spare to register their first victory in this season’s domestic women’s T20 competition, Taylor top-scoring with 34.Amy Jones afforded Lightning’s innings early impetus, raising 21 from 12 balls, before chipping Freya Davies to Claire Nicholas at mid-on with the scoreboard on 30. But the visitors still managed to accrue 38 runs from the Powerplay with overseas star Ellyse Perry to the fore.The Australia allrounder clubbed the first six of the match off Jodie Dibble and was moving up through the gears when she attempted a risky single to midwicket and was brilliantly run out by Taylor’s direct hit. Having scored 25 from 28 balls, Lightning’s inspirational opener walked while the third umpire was still studying the TV replay, and Lightning’s chances of posting a challenging total went with her.The leading run-scorer and wicket-taker in the inaugural KSL 12 months ago, the irrepressible Taylor picked up where she left off. She claimed three wickets in five balls in her first over to reduce the Lightning innings to rubble and fundamentally alter the complexion of the match.Propelling offbreaks from the River End, the West Indies allrounder pinned Lightning captain Georgia Elwiss lbw with her second ball to strike a crucial blow for the home side. She then lured Sonia Odedra into a front-foot indiscretion, enabling Rachel Priest to execute a smart stumping, before trapping Thea Brookes in front of the stumps without scoring to reduce Lightning to 59 for 5 at the halfway stage.Any prospects of last season’s beaten semi-finalists recovering were stifled by Taylor, who had Paige Schofield caught behind for 15 in the act of cutting, leaving Marie Kelly and Lucy Higham to attempt a rescue act from the wreckage of 73 for 6 in the 14th over.Determined to prove a point after experiencing a torrid debut at the Ageas Bowl two days earlier, New Zealand pace bowler Holly Huddlestone knocked back Kelly’s off stump to register her first wicket in KSL, while Higham was run out in the penultimate over and England’s Beth Langston holed out to long-on as Storm exerted a vice-like grip.Priest departed for a duck in the first over, skipper Heather Knight was run out for 24 by Higham’s excellent pick up and throw from point and Georgia Hennessey, having scratched 23 from 29 balls, drove Elwiss to Perry at midwicket as Storm struggled to 62 for 3 in the 13th over.When England international Fran Wilson fell in the 16th, that was the cue for the ubiquitous Taylor to break the shackles. She helped herself to five boundaries and played the lead role in a fifth-wicket stand of 30 with Taunton-born Sophie Luff (18 not out) to calm any nerves.

ScorecardNathan Lyon claimed his first Championship wicket•Associated Press

Nathan Lyon made his first mark in the County Championship on another frustrating day for Derbyshire and Worcestershire in the Division Two match at Derby.The Australian Test offspinner claimed his maiden first-class wicket for Worcestershire by removing Alex Hughes for 53 before a storm forced play to be abandoned at 5 o’clock.Luis Reece had top scored with 59 before he and Billy Godleman were dismissed in the space of 10 balls early on the second morning but Hughes and Daryn Smit added 78 in 21 overs to take Derbyshire to 200 for 6.Worcestershire bowlers could have taken more than three wickets on the first day and they soon had two more with Jack Shantry tempting Reece into pushing at a ball he could have left and Tom Kohler-Cadmore took a good low catch at first slip.Joe Leach claimed a second victim when Billy Godleman edged behind which left Derbyshire to regroup and Hughes and Smit showed good judgement to bat through 10 overs before rain held up play until early afternoon.The break appeared to have disrupted the Worcestershire bowlers who struggled for consistency and Hughes took advantage, cutting a short ball from Ed Barnard for his seventh four to move to 50 from 56 balls.Lyon had looked like a bowler whose last first-class appearance was in the fourth Test against India in the Himalayan city of Dharamsala in late March but he was celebrating before the rain returned.Hughes moved across to try and work him to leg but was pinned lbw and that was the last action of the day as a downpour left large pools of water on the outfield.”It’s tough to just try and block him because he’s so good he will get you sooner or later so you have to try and put a bit of pressure on him,” Hughes said.”I enjoy playing against spin and it’s a good test against someone you’re used to watching on the TV, especially in India, and do well against even though he’s now got me out twice in two games.”The action he gets on the ball is very different to the average spinner, he gets a lot of revs on it and a lot more bounce. He doesn’t bowl many bad deliveries and if this pitch gets dry and I think he could be a tough prospect if we have to bat in the third innings.”Leach said: “I don’t think we got our just desserts with the ball, I feel we bowled quite a bit better than 200 for 6 so hopefully that will change and we can knock them over really cheaply in the morning.”It was good for Nathan to get his first wicket, he bowled very well again today so it was a good reward for him to get off the mark and hopefully he will have a bigger part to play in the rest of this game.”

ScorecardAlex Wakely’s unbeaten hundred fashioned an excellent run chase•Getty Images

A well-crafted unbeaten century by Northants Steelbacks’ captain Alex Wakely piloted his side to their first win in this year’s Royal London One-Day Cup and condemned Lancashire Lightning to their third successive defeat, a position from which they will find it immensely difficult to qualify for the quarter-finals.Needing 325 to win this 50-over match at Aigburth, the Steelbacks reached their target with 20 balls to spare and with six wickets in hand. Wakely was 109 not out when the win was confirmed by Adam Rossington’s four and six off Liam Livingstone and never during their pursuit of Lancashire’s target had the visitors appeared seriously discomfited.That this was so was partly due to Richard Levi, who bludgeoned twelve boundaries in his 46-ball 62, and helped Northants reach three figures inside 15 overs. When Levi had holed out to mid on Ryan McLaren off Jordan Clark, Rob Newton continued the assault but was caught by Alex Davies off Tom Bailey for 44 when the score was 125.With Josh Cobb having been Anderson’s first victim in the second over of the innings, Northants’ reply was interestingly poised but Wakely and Rob Keogh then put the game beyond Lancashire’s reach with a 152-run fourth-wicket stand in 23 overs.Wakely survived a stumping chance on 24 when Davies failed to gather the ball and was also dropped by the Lancashire keeper when he inside-edged a very difficult chance off Anderson, the resulting boundary taking him to his 42-ball fifty.From then on it was the plainest of sailing on the calmest of seas for the Northants batsmen as they put Lancashire’s total into perspective on a very hard, very true pitch. Wakely reached his century having hit 12 fours and faced 92 balls. Keogh played on to Anderson when he had made 69 five overs before the close but that was of little more than statistical importance. The game had been all but settled long before.Earlier in the day four batsmen had made fifties in Lancashire’s total and the most crucial was that of Jordan Clark who finished the innings with 76 not out off 51 balls and took 24 runs off Nathan Buck’s final six balls. Clark’s fine knock included eight fours and two sixes and it placed on the finishing touches to a recovery which saw Lightning recover from 94 for 5 in the 19th over when Steven Croft was superbly caught at the wicket by Rossington off Muhammad Azharullah for 19The fightback was begun by Dane Vilas and McLaren who put on 86 for the sixth wicket before Vilas cut Ben Sanderson to Newton on the point boundary and departed plainly angry with himself despite having batted with considerable responsibility for his 47-ball 61.Vilas and McLaren’s partnership was a List A record for Lancashire’s sixth wicket against Northamptonshire and a similar mark was established for the seventh wicket by McLaren and Clark’s 108-run stand, which was only ended when McLaren hoisted Azharullah high to long on where Steven Crook took a fine running catch.Some of the Northants’ bowling figures hardly reflected the merit of their earlier efforts, most notably in the first twenty overs of the innings when Lancashire lost five prime wickets. That early period in the game was marked by Karl Brown’s stylish 58 off 47 balls and including 11 boundaries, but it also saw Davies caught at the wicket for a first-ball nought off Sanderson in the opening over and Haseeb Hameed caught at backward point by Graeme White off Buck for nine.When Livingstone fell into Azharullah’s none too subtle trap and hooked a short ball straight to substitute fielder, Saif Zaib at deep backward square leg Lancashire were 77 for 4 and a total in excess of 300 appeared a distant objective. Azharullah was the most successful Steelbacks bowler with three for 55 but White sent down ten overs of left-arm spin at a cost of 47 runs and Sanderson took two good wickets before coming in for some late punishment.

Jason Mohammed, one of the only bright spots to emerge from a series whitewash by England, has been called up to the West Indies T20I squad for the first time. The 30-year old batsman struck back-to-back fifties earlier this month and could be vital to a team missing some of its biggest players.

West Indies T20I squad

Samuel Badree, Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Jonathan Carter, Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams
In: Jonathan Carter, Jason Mohammed, Veerasammy Permaul, Lendl Simmons
Out: Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran

Chris Gayle has not played international cricket since the 2016 World T20. On top of that, Dwayne Bravo’s hamstring injury and Andre Russell’s ban took away two of the world’s best allrounders from Carlos Brathwaite’s side.But there was good news on Friday, when it was learnt that Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Samuel Badree and Lendl Simmons were picked for two of the four T20Is against Pakistan from March 26. A WICB release listing the 16-man squad on Saturday confirmed all four men were available to play the entire series.Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul also has the chance to be capped for the first time in T20Is. He picked up 12 wickets from eight List A matches in January and February and will likely be the understudy to legspinner Badree and offspinner Narine, both in the top 10 of the ICC bowlers rankings in the shortest format.Batsmen Jonathan Carter, who has recently become a regular in ODIs, and Rovman Powell, whose power-hitting has invoked comparisons with Russell, pushed the number of uncapped players in the squad to four. The experience of Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder could offset that, although Holder has not played a T20I for West Indies since 2015.

Wellington were denied the chance to move closer to the top of the table by a defiant Otago lower order at the Westpac Stadium. Otago’s eighth-wicket pair of Sam Wells (118) and Nathan Smith (59) added 141 as their team survived having been made to follow-on. They began the final day 59 for 4 in their second innings which became 135 for 7 – still a deficit of 69 – but Wells and Smith repelled Wellington for the next 53 overs. Wells made his fourth first-class hundred and when he fell there was enough resistance from the last two wickets – Smith batted for three and a half hours – to ensure Wellington would not have time for the chase. On the opening day Michael Papps had become New Zealand’s first century maker against the pink ball. Hamish Bennett then helped conjure the chance of a result after the second day was washed out as his 4 for 19 skittled Otago for 98 – the last eight wickets falling for 44 – but despite the continued effort of Bennett, alongside Brent Arnel, they were thwarted.Canterbury remained leaders after their match against Auckland at Eden Park turned into a quest for bonus points following the middle two days being washed out. On the ground set to host the floodlit Test against England next year, Canterbury slipped to 25 for 4 before they were rescued by fifth-wicket stand of 183 between Ken McClure (92) Andrew Ellis (103) which lifted them to 305 for 8 after the opening day. The next two days were lost and on the last Auckland made 333 as wicketkeeper Ben Horne (93) fell just short of a maiden first-class hundred. Legspinner Todd Astle finished with 5 for 75. There had been a first-class debut for Glenn Phillips, who made his New Zealand T20 debut against South Africa last month, while it was Mitchell McClenaghan’s first first-class outing since December 2015.Rain also ruined the match-up between Northern Districts and Central Districts in Hamilton, but Ish Sodhi and Seth Rance achieved significant personal success. On the opening day Sodhi, who was left out of the Test squad to face South Africa, claimed 7 for 107 as Central Districts fell from 176 for 2 to 272 for 9 when they declared in the night-time session. The move worked a treat as Rance ripped through the Northern Districts top order, ending the first day with 4 for 6 and a career-best 6 for 31 overall. Adam Milne, also making a first-class comeback after 15 months, bowled 14 wicketless overs but scored an unbeaten 51. Northern Districts remained second and Central Districts bottom with three rounds to play.

If you thought for a moment that this was like any other win for Australia, think again. It was so special, so rare, that Steven Smith knew the length of the drought his men had broken. “We haven’t won a game here for 4502 days,” he said after Australia’s triumph in Pune. The number rolled easily off his tongue in every interview. It might be imprinted in his brain forever.When Australia last won a Test in India – in late 2004 – Smith was 15 years old, Matt Renshaw was an eight-year-old English boy living in New Zealand, Mitchell Starc was a 14-year-old wicketkeeper, and Steve O’Keefe was a 19-year-old yet to make his first-class debut.Here, Smith made a century he will remember for the rest of his life, Renshaw scored more runs than any Indian batsman, Starc scored more runs than any Indian batsman (to go with a couple of important wickets), and O’Keefe gained better figures than any visiting spinner had ever before achieved in a Test in India.And all of this on a pitch that should have suited India. “It was one of the most difficult wickets you’ll bat on,” Smith told ABC radio after the win. “This was, from day one, the driest surface and most inconsistent sort of spinning surface that I’ve ever seen. It’ll be interesting to see what they’ll come up with [for the second Test].”Yet for all of that, Australia outperformed India in every facet of the game, more than doubling India’s total in each innings. Their batsmen found ways to score, their bowlers created more chances, their fielders snapped them up. Australia’s frontline spinner, Nathan Lyon, took five wickets for the match, but the stand-out was O’Keefe, who claimed 12.Compare this to India’s two lead spinners: R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja managed “only” 12 wickets between them. Smith said the result was credit both to the way O’Keefe adjusted his bowling to suit the Indian conditions, and to the way Australia’s batsmen resisted the urge to chase deliveries that might turn away.”A lot of our right-handers – and left-handers – got beaten on the outside edge of the bat,” Smith said. “Those guys are big spinners of the ball, and generally it’s the one that goes straight that gets you in a bit of trouble. It’s great the guys are learning and actually playing for that straight one and allowing the other one to spin past the bat. That has been a big learning curve for us as a team for a while.”It’s great that we were able to implement the things that we’ve practised and talked about in the game. In regards to our spinners, I think SOK [O’Keefe], compared to Jadeja, probably goes a little bit wider of the crease and a little bit more side-arm, so potentially doesn’t have to get the ball to straighten quite as much to find the outside edge. It’s really smart bowling and you reap the rewards for that.”In the first innings, O’Keefe picked up three of his wickets through outside edges and one from a stumping that beat the edge; in the second, five of his six wickets came from attacking the stumps for lbw or bowled dismissals. His match haul of 12 for 70 was second only to Ian Botham’s 13-wicket bag in Mumbai in 1980 for a visiting bowler in India.”I love SOK’s willingness to learn, and try different things and adapt to different conditions,” Smith said. “He’s able to bowl differently to what he does back home. Back home he gets over the top of the ball a lot more, and here he comes around it and changes his seam positions and gets the most natural variation out of the wicket – very similar to Jadeja.”O’Keefe was Man of the Match, but Smith’s contribution was also significant. In the second innings, he came to the crease at 10 for 1 and soon Australia were 23 for 2; they had a healthy lead already, but a collapse could have handed the momentum back to India. Smith had some fortune, dropped three times, but went on to make 109. Among Australians, only Mark Taylor and Damien Martyn had previously made second-innings hundreds in India.”I obviously rode my luck throughout the innings and had a few lives, but you need a bit of luck on a wicket like that,” he said. “I was pleased with myself to score a second-innings hundred here in India and formulate some different sort of plans than how I normally play and problem-solve on the spot. From that aspect I’m pleased with myself and it was great we were able to get such a big lead.”That Australia emerged with a win in India for the first time in 4502 days was a remarkable achievement, and Smith was understandably proud of his men. But he was also at pains to note that much work remained in order to win the series – although as the holders of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy one more victory would be enough for Australia to retain it.”It’s only one game,” Smith said. “It’s a four-match series, and we’d like to win the series. For us it’s about taking it one day at a time.”

India fast bowler Sreesanth had been trying to play league cricket in Scotland this year but the BCCI, which had imposed a life ban on him following his alleged involvement in the IPL spot-fixing scandal of 2013, has refused to give him the necessary permission.Sreesanth had been hoping to play for Glenrothes CC and had asked the BCCI for a no-objection certificate, however a board official confirmed that they had not obliged his request. Sreesanth, though, claimed he has not received any word from the BCCI. “I don’t know… I still haven’t got any letter from BCCI,” he told ESPNcricinfo in a text message and revealed a similar request last year had gone unanswered.In May 2013, Sreesanth and two other Rajasthan Royals bowlers – Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila – were arrested for alleged fulfilling of promises made to bookmakers. All three players were later banned for life by the BCCI.In 2015, Sreesanth was cleared of spot-fixing charges by a Delhi trial court due to insufficient evidence under the MCOCA act, a special law passed by the Maharashtra state government to tackle organised crime syndicates and terrorism.”I will try to start training properly as soon as possible,” Sreesanth had said then. “I wasn’t allowed anything… Hopefully I can get permission from BCCI to use their facilities so that I can get fit and come into the selection process.”But the BCCI’s investigation in 2013, handled by the board’s then anti-corruption unit chief Ravi Sawani, only needed to focus on the conduct of the players and not their alleged connections to organised crime syndicates. The BCCI’s decisions were therefore “independent to any criminal proceeding” and “based on its independent disciplinary action, shall remain unaltered.”Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila were found guilty of match-fixing, seeking or offering a bribe as a reward for match-fixing, underperforming for a reward, ensuring the occurrence of an event during a match, knowing it is the subject of a bet, receiving payment or gift for the possibility of bringing cricket into disrepute, failing to report an approach by bookmakers to fix a match to the BCCI anti-corruption unit.