Sammy among those critical of Trinidad-based players getting an unfair advantage in terms of preparation

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Aug-2020A week before the 2020 CPL takes off, disgruntlement has been brewing among several franchises who are unhappy with Trinidad-based players and staff, most of whom represent Trinbago Knight Riders, being allowed to remain outside the bio-secure bubble and continue to train while rest of the squads are cooped up in their hotel rooms for more than a week.Among those being critical is Daren Sammy, the St Lucia Zouks’ captain, who said “everyone” should have been part of the bubble from the first day to “guarantee” that the health and safety of all stake holders is not “compromised.”Some of the Knight Riders players who are from Trinidad include internationals Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons and emerging young talent Jayden Seales.On Tuesday, the CPL sent out a media release saying Zouks and Knight Riders were the first two teams to be allowed to train. The release also said the local Trinidad players and staff had cleared the mandatory testing process and would start entering the bubble this week.On Monday, Sammy posted two messages without naming any player or team. “How can everybody else be in a bubble no access to training or practice games while others on the outside in a covid infected area be training and playing practice games. Then allow to join the bubble without self isolation,” Sammy said in his first post.An hour later he put out another tweet, saying: “everyone should have been in the bubble from day 1. That the only way you can guarantee everyone’s health and safety is not compromised. But hey I’m no covid expert.” In addition to Sammy, it is understood even defending champions Barbados Tridents had approached the CPL, raising the red flag about why the local contingent from Trinidad was not asked to enter the bubble and undergo the mandatory week-long quarantine. Rival teams felt that the Knight Riders were getting an unfair advantage in terms of preparation as most of their squad players were not just training but had also played few practise matches.As per the CPL protocol, it is mandatory for all team members coming from outside of Trinidad to quarantine in their hotel rooms for one week. After that, each member will need to report two negative tests before heading into training.Michael Hall, the tournament operations director, said that the CPL has been “extremely careful” about “introducing those who are resident in Trinidad & Tobago into the tournament bubble”.Although the Knight Riders have made no comment, it is understood that they are satisfied that they have broken no rules. It is understood that Trinidad-based players who are part of other teams like Nicholas Pooran, who represents Guyana Amazon Warriors, were also approached to participate in the practice matches, but they refused.One person privy to developments said he found nothing wrong with the local Knight Riders players training, considering the Covid-19 pandemic had not allowed them that opportunity since the country went into a lockdown. As for the unfair advantage, the official said the same could apply to Tridents, some of whose players had been part of the Test series in England, including their captain Jason Holder and Shai Hope.Anyone coming into Trinidad a ‘potential threat’On August 8, Dr. Akshai Mansingh, the CPL’s chief medical officer, sent a note to all teams, explaining the quarantine norms both for team members coming into Trinidad from outside and for locals.With regards to team members resident in Trinidad, Mansingh said in an email seen by ESPNcricinfo, that they “can join the bubble having had a negative test after day 8. Thereafter they must remain in the bubble and comply with the above mentioned guidelines.”While other teams are undergoing mandatory quarantine, Trinbago Knight Riders are stepping out to play practice games•CPL T20/Getty Images

Mansingh said with Trinidad recording eight deaths and less than 300 Covid-19 positive cases until Tuesday, “anyone coming in from outside” was seen “as a potential threat.” The country has closed its borders and the bubble was hence mandatory and would also apply to all incoming people, including Trinidadians travelling home from overseas. As for local citizens, there were no restrictions on their movements. “They have not restricted movements of their citizens as they have not had large community spread,” Mansingh said. “This of course could change in the future.”According to Mansingh, even Caribbean players who were part of the England tour recently would need to undergo the quarantine. “For those of you coming from the English tour, I just want to point out the difference between the two bubbles. When we went to England, we were coming from countries with few cases of Covid-19 into a country where it was rampant. As a result, all that was done was to keep us safe from what was happening outside, and hence people were allowed to move in clusters and meet in rooms etc.”Mansingh pointed out that all teams had to abide by the “law of the land” and the Trinidad Health Ministry was “very strict” that rules applicable to the bubble had to be adhered to. “We understand that this has been taxing physically and mentally for all, but we have to comply with the rules laid down by the Ministry of Health. We continue to be in dialogue with them and represent the realities in the bubble.”

He took four wickets in his first two overs, a blow from which the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots could never recover

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy27-Aug-2020A maiden T20 five-wicket haul from Mohammad Nabi led the St Lucia Zouks to their fourth win in six matches, against the bottom-placed St Kitts & Nevis Patriots who could never recover after their top order imploded on a square turner in Port-of-Spain.The Zouks won the toss and chose to bowl, and Nabi set the tone straightaway with two wickets in the first over of the match, and two more in the third. The Patriots slipped to 38 for 5 at one stage, and even if they recovered to get past the 100 mark, they fell well short of setting a target that could have put pressure on the Zouks line-up.A brief spell of Test cricketThere was some moisture in the Queen’s Park Oval surface early on, and Daren Sammy threw the ball to Nabi straightaway to see if there was any grip for his offbreaks. There was plenty, and Nabi bowled at a slower pace than usual, to try and induce errors by making the batsmen reach for the ball. That plan immediately brought two Test-match-style wickets: Chris Lynn caught and bowled, done in by dip and sharp turn while trying to drive against the turn, and the left-hander Nick Kelly caught at slip while trying to defend.Spin, spin, spinScott Kuggeleijn bowled the second over, but thereafter it was all spin until the end of the 17th.Nabi picked up two more wickets in his second over, with Denesh Ramdin and Evin Lewis both done in by the ball stopping, turning and bouncing while they tried to sweep. From 11 for 4, it was a hard slog for the Patriots to get any sort of total on the board, and even though the Zouks’ other spinners didn’t achieve Nabi’s level of wicket-taking penetration, they were all extremely hard to hit on a pitch where the ball turned big and, by and large, slowly.On such a surface, the sweep remained one of the few run-scoring options, even if it remained a risky shot. Ben Dunk played it often, with a reasonable degree of control, and scored 33 off 39 balls to give the innings some semblance of shape, with no one else in the top six getting into the double figures.Dunk’s only boundaries were a pair of sixes down the ground on rare occasions when Rahkeem Cornwall and Zahir Khan fed him loopy half-volleys. Those two sixes and another early on from Ramdin were, in fact, were the only boundaries in Patriots’ innings until the end of the 17th over – the last of Nabi’s quota, when he came back and dismissed Sohail Tanvir, off another top-edged sweep, to complete his five-for.Rahkeem Cornwall smashes one over long-off•Getty Images

Pace travels the distanceFrom thereon, Sammy went to his faster bowlers to finish the innings. With some pace to work with finally, the Patriots got some big hits away, with Rayad Emrit and Alzarri Joseph hitting a four and three sixes between them – mostly off short balls clubbed over midwicket – off Kuggeleijn and Kesrick Williams. Thirty-seven runs came off the last three overs of the Patriots’ innings, enabling them to set a target of 111.The shape of their innings should have given the Patriots some clue as to which bowlers to entrust with the bulk of their overs. They started with the pace of Sohail Tanvir, however, and the Zouks immediately took full toll. They shaved 20 runs off their target in the first over, courtesy the effortless power of Cornwall, who hit the left-armer for two fours and two sixes – an effortless pick-up shot over square leg and a flat-bat thump over mid-off.Chase, Zadran steer Zouks to victoryCornwall muscled another big leg-side six, off the legspinner Imran Khan, in the third over but fell two balls later to one that shot through low. A brief rain interruption followed, and Imran had another wicket immediately upon resumption as Mark Deyal miscued an unnecessary slog – the required rate at that stage was under five an over.Imran picked up another wicket – Andre Fletcher caught at midwicket – in the seventh over of the Zouks’ innings, but by then they were already nearly halfway home. Roston Chase then played simple, risk-free cricket from one end and Najibullah Zadran took some calculated risks – including a pair of clinical reverse-sweeps off the offspinner Jon-Russ Jaggesar – from the other, as a fourth-wicket stand of 47 put the Zoyks within sight of victory.Zadran fell with just 12 runs required, but only the formalities were left; Zouks had 32 balls to spare when Chase swatted the winning boundary.

Mumbai Indians bowling coach wants his team to exploit KL Rahul’s middle-overs sluggishness

Shashank Kishore30-Sep-2020Fast bowlers need to show adaptability – quickly – in the face of changing surfaces in the UAE as IPL 2020 progresses, according to Shane Bond, the Mumbai Indians bowling coach, who has been spending a lot of time with his bowling group as the team looks to rebound after two losses in their first three matches.”We have to adapt as quickly as we possibly can,” Bond said ahead of Thursday’s clash against Kings XI Punjab. “We have a simple theory: we try to bowl seven metres as a fast-bowling group, five metres as a spin-bowling group [from the batsman]. We practise those lengths consistently. Regardless of the pitch and conditions, if you are in those areas, you are in the right slots.”Bond insisted yorkers may not always be the most effective delivery in a given match situation. With the Mumbai Indians having played two games in Abu Dhabi, he feels short deliveries into the pitch, especially at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, which has bigger boundaries, could prove equally effective. In their previous game, Jasprit Bumrah went searching for yorkers at the death but missed his lengths and was dispatched for 14 runs off three balls by AB de Villiers. However, he was able to find the perfect length in the Super Over. When he later switched over to a short ball, de Villiers managed to find a top-edge that flew to the boundary to effectively seal the game. “It comes down to if you have to change your pace, go wide or straighter, depending on the pitch and conditions, the boundaries,” Bond explained. “So we talk about them. I think the yorker is one of the many balls fast bowlers have in their armory. Abu Dhabi has got big square boundaries and the pitches are on the slower side. So you could argue that a length ball or a slower bouncer is harder to hit for six rather than perhaps taking pitch out of play, miss your yorker and get hit back over your head.”It’s definitely not a ball that’s been just ruled out for us. I think you saw Bumrah bowl that at AB de Villiers but missed it and got hit for a couple of sixes. But he went back to it in the Super Over and executed it brilliantly. Look, it’s a tough ball to hit under pressure and also, if you miss that ball, the likelihood that it’s going get hit for a boundary back over your head goes higher.”Mumbai are big on match-ups. They meticulously look at past records, which batsman has fared well or has struggled against what kind of bowling. As he spoke of their plans for Thursday, Bond touched upon KL Rahul’s form and his past record – he scored 100 off 64 balls when the two sides met in Mumbai last year.”From our point of view, we have a whole range of different balls. We look at the batsmen and analyse where they score at the back of the game, what are their preferred zones,” Bond said. “And we try to make it as hard as we possibly can with an element of unpredictability, so that the batsman isn’t quite sure what length or line the bowler is bowling and has a field that gives the bowler options to bowl two or three different balls.”Bond stopped short of revealing Mumbai’s plans for their upcoming game, but identified shortcomings in the opposition line-up they could look to exploit. One such weakness is Rahul’s tendency to slow down against spin once he settles down.Among all the batsmen to have scored 100 or more runs against spin after the powerplay since IPL 2019, Rahul is the slowest to find the fence and has lowest boundary percentage of 35.30. In the record-breaking thriller between the Kings XI and the Rajasthan Royals, Rahul nearly batted through but his sluggishness against spin and in the middle overs was only covered up by Mayank Agarwal’s aggression as the latter brought up his maiden IPL century.”He has got runs against us in the last few games against us as well,” Bond acknowledged. “We know he’s a dynamic player who scores all around the ground. We also know that he takes his time generally through the middle overs, so that’s perhaps an opportunity if he gets that far to create that pressure on him and the batsmen around him. We will have specific ideas about how we’re going to get him out.”In the end, we can’t allow him to score in areas where he’s very strong. He scores well over extra cover, the pick-up over fine leg. We have a quality bowling unit, so we just have to put as much pressure on him and Mayank who have been the two key batters for Kings XI. If we can get those boys out early and put pressure on the middle order early, hopefully we can restrict them or stop them from scoring the runs we can get on the board.”

The Royals have a lot of questions to deal with, their captain’s poor form one of them

Shashank Kishore16-Oct-2020

Big picture

Who would have imagined that Virat Kohli vs Steven Smith would become a bit of a no-contest at the halfway mark of IPL 2020? Kohli started slowly, but has found his rhythm, and is making a difference. Smith, in comparison, has gone off the boil after a promising start, when he hit two half-centuries in winning causes. There’s more to the contest, of course: the Royal Challengers Bangalore are well-placed with five wins from eight games, and the Rajasthan Royals are struggling with three wins from eight games.The Royal Challengers are at the end of a hectic week. By Saturday, they would have played four games in eight days. Their previous outing – against the Kings XI Punjab – made headlines for their tactical mix-ups: the Royal Challengers sent in two left-handers – Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube – ahead of the in-form AB de Villiers to combat two legspinners on a slow surface. Kohli agreed the execution was off.Now, data goes beyond conventional logic. It shows de Villiers may have gotten out to a legspinner, as he has against bowlers of other varieties, but that is no reason to hold him back. If it was M Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi on Thursday, he will have Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia, or maybe even Mayank Markande, coming at him on Saturday. Since the start of 2019, de Villiers has averaged 52.5 against legspin while striking at 135.77. That alone is enough reason to ensure he gets enough time to set himself up, whether they bat first or chase.The Royals have questions over their batting order too. Do they continue opening with Ben Stokes? Or can they do with his insurance in the middle? What do they do with a misfiring Robin Uthappa? Do they bring in a youngster, at a crucial stage, or keep their faith in the veteran? How do they balance out their bowling to ensure Jofra Archer isn’t the lone man standing? There’s more. Like Sanju Samson’s dwindling returns. Saturday could either answer a few of these questions or throw up new ones.

In the news

• The Royals are not fretting over where they are on the points table. “We’ve been in this situation before and have come back from this, so we’re not panicking about this,” Jofra Archer said. “We know it can be done and I believe in this team to do it. There are wins out there and we just as a team need to go out there and get those wins.” Well, last time they played an afternoon game in Dubai, they pulled off a heist courtesy Riyan Parag and Tewatia.
• Mohammad Siraj had an off day in Sharjah. RCB have tactically strengthened their bowling by playing seven options at the smallest ground. In Dubai, it’s possible they could go back to Gurkeerat Singh. If they are willing to look beyond, they could even hand Shahbaz Ahmed a debut. The allrounder bowls Axar Patel-like left-arm spin apart from being an excellent lower-order batting option.

Previous meeting

The Royals huffed and puffed to 154 after Yuzvendra Chahal applied the brakes with a three-for. The Royal Challengers hardly broke a sweat as they cruised home by eight wickets, with Devdutt Padikkal and Kohli hitting half-centuries.AB de Villiers smacks one through the leg side•BCCI

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Devdutt Padikkal, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Chris Morris, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Navdeep Saini, 10 Mohammad Siraj/Shahbaz Ahmed, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal Rajasthan Royals: 1 Jos Buttler (wk), 2 Ben Stokes, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Robin Uthappa/Manan Vohra, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Shreyas Gopal/Mayank Markande, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Kartik Tyagi

Strategy punts

• Why fix something that isn’t broken? Kohli held Washington back for Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran, the two big-hitting left-handers, on Thursday and it backfired. At the first sign of attack, Washington was taken out of the attack. In all other games, he’s bowled superbly in the powerplay, conceding at just 4.5 runs an over. He’s also dismissed quality batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis. Kohli might want to go back to the tested formula, irrespective of whether Stokes opens or bats in the middle.
• Padikkal likes pace on the ball, but against spin, especially early on, he has tended to lose his shape at times while playing the big shots. Aaron Finch, meanwhile, has been out to spin five times this season, the most for a top-order batsman, while only averaging 16.8 against it. Perhaps there’s a case for the Royals to give the Royal Challengers a taste of their own medicine and getting their spinners bowl in the first six.

Stats and trivia

• RCB haven’t lost a game when they have picked up a wicket in the powerplay this season.
• After the first ten balls, de Villiers’ strike rate zooms from 122 to 224, and he finds the boundary once in three balls.
• Shreyas Gopal has struggled this IPL, but now he’s up against his favourite team. He has taken 13 wickets against the Royal Challengers, almost double of what he has taken against any other team. He also concedes at less than six an over against them. He even has a hat-trick against them.
• Halfway into the tournament, Archer is the only bowler to bowl 100 dot balls. This is more than 50% of the balls he has bowled, the highest for anyone.

With David Warner injured, Pucovski has firmed to open the batting for Australia in Adelaide

Andrew McGlashan04-Dec-2020A likely Test debut. Filling the shoes of David Warner. Forming a new opening partnership with Joe Burns. Tackling the pink ball. Facing Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and the rest of the India attack. While that may read like a daunting list, Will Pucovski is keeping it all perspective ahead of a fortnight that, barring some unlikely events, will see him open the batting for Australia at Adelaide Oval.”It’s still just another ball coming down at you,” was a common refrain from Pucovski as he spoke two days out from the Australia A match against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval.Until Warner injured his groin in the second ODI at the SCG last week, it was looking unlikely that Pucovski would debut at the start of the Test series despite back-to-back double hundreds in the Sheffield Shield. A host of names including the national selection Trevor Hohns, coach Justin Langer, captain Tim Paine and Warner himself had vouched for the incumbent Burns despite his lean start to the season.ALSO READ: Joe Burns rediscovers the fundamentals of opening ahead of David Warner’s absenceNow, however, with Warner seemingly scrubbed from at least the opening Test of the series with what is expected to be a four-week recovery, Pucovski is set to walk out alongside Burns to open Australia’s innings.Pucovski had not been paying any attention to talk of a “bat-off” between him and Burns in the Australia A match – instead, he is training at Junction Oval in Melbourne and enjoying some trips down the coast after the Shield hub finished – and the fact a Test debut is now far more realistic is not changing much.”Selection, injury and stuff like that is out of my control,” he said. “Obviously, you never want anyone to be injured, especially such a good player and as a group, we would love to be available for the first Test. If I play in Adelaide, I play; if Dave gets up and I don’t play, it’s just one of those things. Hope he gets better as fast as possible.””If you are in the 17-man [Test] squad you know you are pretty close either way. It’s not a huge difference, to be honest.”One of the reasons Pucovski was appearing unlikely to debut before Warner’s injury was the successful opening stand formed between the latter and Burns in which they have an average partnership of 50.55 across 27 innings.”Joe and I get along really well, which is obviously a good start,” Pucovski said. “We haven’t batted together heaps, but that’s cricket, you end up batting with people you don’t bat with very often – so long as you know how to bounce off each other, get each other going or know what each other requires that’s all that matters. We’ve had a few conversations, just about little things, to help each other through.”Depending on how the opening Test plays out, there is a chance that Australia’s openers will have to combat the most challenging period of a day-night Test during dusk as the lights take hold into the final session. Pucovski has played two day-night first-class matches, against England in 2017-18 and Pakistan last season, with scores of 4, 5 and 1 but is currently a player riding a wave of form and confidence.”It can be a bit different, but it’s pretty cool and pretty fun especially once it gets into that dusk evening time,” Pucovski said. “It’s one of those things growing up you never really thought would happen but that’s part of Test cricket now and it’s an unbelievable atmosphere.”I haven’t been playing in a Test with a crowd and the pink ball, but just watching, when Australia played New Zealand at Adelaide two or three years ago, I just happened to be in Adelaide and we went down for an hour or two and it was an incredible atmosphere.”Neither is Pucovski overthinking the step up in class when he faces the Indian attack. “Obviously they are very good bowlers, but I’ve faced a lot of very good bowling in first-class cricket. At the end of the day, I look at it as it’s just a ball coming down and you and I just have to do my best to react in the best way possible.”Overall, there was excitement in Pucovski’s voice about what lies ahead. “It’s pretty cool, you watch these blokes on TV dominating around the world and never think that could be me facing them one day,” he said. “But it could become a reality.”

The BCCI will make its decision by December 2 after seeking opinion from the states

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2020The 2020-21 Indian domestic season could be limited to just white-ball cricket as several state associations have told the BCCI that they prefer to play the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. A final decision is expected to be made by the BCCI soon after it seeks opinion from the states by December 2.With the Indian domestic season failing to start on time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the BCCI sent out an email on Sunday, asking state associations to pick their preference from four options by Wednesday. The options included: only Ranji Trophy, only Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, both the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Ranji Trophy, or only the limited-overs tournaments – along with tentative dates for each, in the timeframe between December 20 and March 18.ESPNcricnfo understands several states, including defending Ranij Trophy champions Saurashtra, domestic heavyweights Mumbai and Tamil Nadu, along with Baroda and Punjab, are all in favour of playing primarily the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare tournaments.The outliers among those contacted by ESPNcricinfo are the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) along with the Andhra Cricket Association and the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA), who have chosen the option of playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy followed by the Ranji Trophy.The BCCI had listed December 20-January 10 as the window for the domestic T20s. The Ranji Trophy would span 67 days starting January 11 through March 18. The Vijay Hazare Trophy has been proposed between January 11 and February 7.The major concerns that the states have expressed are centered around preparation and team selection. While some states have gradually begun to restart operations, training camps, and local tournaments over the last few months, the majority of them will be forced into a hurried pre-season based on BCCI’s current proposed dates.According to Shah the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy should also be conducted “group-wise” and preferably in the same zones to avoid travel hurdles amid the pandemic. Most states associations also pointed out that based on the conduct of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and the state of the pandemic in the country at the time, the BCCI could look at staging the Ranji Trophy thereafter.Rohit Pandit, chief executive officer at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, said that the central Indian state was “more or less okay” with the BCCI’s proposed dates. Given that cricket in the state has been ongoing since July, he pointed out that logistical challenges aside, the team should be ready.In a press release, the KSCA said they were pushing for all kinds of cricket – men and women, across age groups – to resume to safeguard the welfare of those who are involved in the game. They are also understood to be willing to play hosts, with at least eight first-class standard grounds available in the state.”We, KSCA, have suggested to the BCCI to conduct T20 and Ranji Trophy, and later Vijay Hazare Trophy,” the release said. “We have further suggested to conduct all tournaments for both men and women, for all age groups for the season 2020-21. We have further said, if need be, skip the Duleep Trophy, Irani Trophy and Deodhar Trophy. We have said in case the activities are not held, then all the direct stakeholders including players, especially the age-group category cricketers, umpires, scorers, video analysts, coaches, support staff and others will stand to lose substantially on the cricketing front as well monetary front.”Bengal, who finished runner-up in the Ranji Trophy last season, are in favour of playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Ranji Trophy. The Cricket Association of Bengal, which is currently headed by Avishek Dalmiya, has also expressed keenness to be one of the six bio-secure venues for the forthcoming domestic season.A senior office bearer at Mumbai Cricket Association said that it was “it was a difficult ask which BCCI has to handle” and hence in its response the MCA had not put any conditions, including when the tournament should begin.Incidentally, the MCA is yet to resume cricketing activities and Mumbai are currently without a selection committee as well as a head coach. VCA has also asked the BCCI to facilitate resumption of cricketing activity in Maharashtra in order for players to get ample time for preparation.Some states like Tamil Nadu have already set the ball rolling and have called for a selection meeting later this week to pick a longlist of probables. Most states have asked the BCCI to make their decision soon and provide the tournament dates so that they can pick the teams accordingly. They have also sought details of the bio-secure hubs, where the teams would be based during a domestic tournament, and quarantine requirements.

Allrounder Kainat Imtiaz was recalled in the touring party of 17 for the three ODIs and T20Is each

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2020Pakistan have named Javeria Khan as the stand-in captain for the South Africa tour next month after regular captain Bismah Maroof pulled out for “family reasons”. A 17-women squad was announced for the three ODIs and as many T20Is, as Pakistan prepare for the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in July 2021 for the main event in early 2022 in New Zealand.Twenty-eight-year-old allrounder Kainat Imtiaz, who has been in an out of the team since 2010, was recalled after an impressive show in the domestic circuit. She averaged 111 from four games with a half-century and also picked up three wickets with her medium pace. Iram Javed, who was part of the squad for the T20 World Cup earlier this year, was dropped as the selectors recalled Ayesha Zafar, Kainat, Nahida Khan and Nashra Sandhu.As many as 27 players had been training for the tour in a biosecure bubble in Karachi in the lead up to the tour. The upcoming series will be Pakistan Women’s first after a gap of 10 months.The selections were broadly based on the performances in the recent National Triangular T20 Women’s Championship, played from November 22 to December 1 in Rawalpindi, and also took into account the form and fitness of the players in the recent camp. Nahida, 34, finished the Women’s Cricket Championship as the leading run-scorer with 154 runs at an average of 51, and Zafar was the fourth-best batter with a tally of 111. Muneeba Ali (with two hundreds and a fifty) and Omaima Sohail (one hundred) were retained in the squad because of their current form.”We have seen significant improvement over the last three months in the intent and mindset of the players and the team is shaping up well for the upcoming series,” chief selector Urooj Mumtaz said. “The squad is well balanced and possesses a good blend of youth and experience for what promises to be an exciting tour.”Javeria Khan is an experienced campaigner and has the desired understanding of the game which is necessary to lead the national women’s team. She has undertaken this responsibility in the past and I am certain she will rise to the occasion and inspire the players. Our last tour to South Africa in 2018 produced high-quality cricket and we are looking forward to yet another competitive tour, which will be instrumental for the new head coach David Hemp as well as in our preparations for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.”The selected squad will continue to stay in Karachi and depart for Durban on 11 January. They will start training and play intra-squad matches from January 13 before the ODIs begin on January 20, followed by the T20Is, with the tour finishing on February 3.Squad for ODIs and T20Is: Javeria Khan (capt), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Syeda Aroob Shah

Former India opener also finds support from Irfan Pathan, Manoj Tiwary and Dodda Ganesh

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Feb-2021Former India captain Anil Kumble has led the support from the Indian players’ fraternity to former team-mate Wasim Jaffer after senior officials at Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) reportedly alleged Jaffer was creating a religious and communal divide in the dressing room. Along with Kumble, others who backed Jaffer included former Indian and Baroda allrounder Irfan Pathan, India and Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary and former India and Karnataka fast bowler Dodda Ganesh.”With you Wasim,” Kumble said in a tweet posted on Thursday. “Did the right thing. Unfortunately, it’s the players who’ll miss your mentorship.” Incidentally, both Kumble and Jaffer are part of the Kings XI Punjab coaching staff; the former is the director of cricket operations and the latter is the batting coach.The allegations, which were published by Hindi newspaper on Wednesday, quoted the CAU secretary Mahim Verma stating that Jaffer was trying to “break the team through religious activities”. Navneet Mishra, the Uttarakhand team manager, also alleged that Jaffer had also changed the team slogan from ” to ”.Meanwhile, the CAU has asked Mishra to submit a report on the matter. “After looking at the seriousness of the incident related to the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand and Wasim Jaffer, the association has asked men’s senior team’s manager Navneet Mishra to submit a report on the matter,” Verma said in CAU release. “The further course of action will be decided after Mishra submits his report.”We are already questioning the manager about the biosecure bubble breach and will take action against any person/support staff responsible for the same as players’ safety is paramount for us.”On Wednesday, Jaffer denied all the allegations, calling them “baseless” and “petty”. Pathan agreed, saying in a tweet today, that it was “unfortunate” Jaffer had to “explain this”.Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan, Dodda Ganesh and Manoj Tiwary tweeted in Jaffer’s support•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Incidentally, the allegations emerged a day after Jaffer sent in his resignation as Uttarakhand head coach on February 8 citing “interference in selections”. In an e-mail to senior CAU office bearers and officials, Jaffer singled out Verma for interfering in the team selections and it was the CAU’s secretary’s “laidback and unprofessional approach” which had caused him to “move away”.Last June, the CAU had appointed Jaffer as the head coach for the 2020-21 season. With the pandemic delaying the start of the Indian domestic season, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was Jaffer’s first assignment as he arrived in Dehradun for the preparatory camp on December 22. Immediately, Jaffer said, he noticed Verma having a say in cricketing issues including selection for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.”Things had started to get sour between me and Mr. Mahim Verma when I was pressurised in the last team selections for Syed Mushtaq Ali, where Mr. Verma had been pushing the names of players for selection in the team, who were not at all deserving,” Jaffer wrote in the February 8 e-mail. “I had made it very clear then also that for the betterment of cricket in the state going forward, I am not going to entertain such interference in the team selection.”Related

• Jaffer steps down as Uttarakhand coach

• Wasim Jaffer denies reported 'communal' allegations after quitting as Uttarakhand coach

Apparently, Jaffer’s riposte did not deter Verma. According to Jaffer, he spoke to Verma on January 30, regarding the selection of the squad for the forthcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament. Jaffer wanted to finalise the squad along with the Uttarakhand selection panel head Rizwan Shamshad, the former Uttar Pradesh fast bowler. Jaffer told Verma he “wanted our team to go and play at least 4-5 practice matches with other association so I can observe the performances of the players and temperament in conditions away from Dehradun”.On February 3, Verma told Jaffer in an e-mail that Shamshad’s panel had been asked to pick the squad by February 1. “I had e-mailed a team of 22 players to the secretary, selection committee and CEO on 7th Feb night as my recommendation and feedback but I did not receive even a reply or a call and the team was announced on 8th Feb which I being the Head Coach received on 8th Feb late evening. I had been continuously in touch with the CEO since my appointment was done and had been smoothly coordinating with Mr. [Aman] Singh in regards to all cricketing requirements but even on that front I was asked by Mr. Verma to directly coordinate with him as he is the secretary of the association and going forward this has also resulted in many delays and no plan of action was discussed ever.”According to Jaffer, Shamshad had “not even once” contacted him before finalising the Uttarakhand squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. “Being the Head Coach and being with the team continuously for the last 3-4 months I expect at least some feedbacks to be taken.”Jaffer, 42, retired from cricket having played for more than two decades during which he played 31 Tests for India, won eight Ranji Trophy titles with Bombay and two more with Vidarbha, for whom he played as a professional. Jaffer said he had turned down offers from overseas including the batting coach role at Bangladesh to focus on Uttarakhand. But the episode had left him “disheartened”.”I feel really sad for the players as I genuinely think that they have lot of potential and can learn so much from me but are denied with this opportunity because of so much interference & bias-ness of selectors and Secretary in the selection matters for non-deserving players. If the Honorary Secretary of CAU would want to inculcate such kind of work environment while not letting me take certain decisions pertaining to the team’s welfare and performance. Then I don’t think there’s any valid reason for me to continue as Head Coach of Men’s Senior team of CAU.”I had an offer of becoming batting coach of Bangladesh test team, Head Coach Sri Lanka premier league, Head Coach Dubai T10 and Head Coach offers from other reputed state associations but I refused them all because of my commitment to CAU that I had made. I had put in a lot of efforts into shaping up the Men’s team keeping in mind the future aspects of the state and its players but such a laid back & unprofessional approach from Mr. Verma has forced me to move away from CAU. It is really very disheartening to see that so much talent in the state is being wasted just because of such approach.”

He says giving some younger players chances hasn’t produced “consistent” results

Madushka Balasuriya03-Mar-2021Blooding young talent in the national side at the expense of consistent results has not proven to be a winning strategy, West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said on the eve of the first T20I against Sri Lanka. Pollard further said it was about time the team started winning matches on a regular basis.Since their T20 World Cup triumph in 2016, West Indies have won just 16 of their subsequent 50 T20Is, losing 30 of them. According to Pollard, the team needs to “get back into the habit of winning,” and bringing senior players back into the fold is one way in which they hope to achieve that.”You look at some of the younger guys that have gotten the opportunities when we started off around 2019, and it hasn’t really produced the results on a consistent basis,” Pollard said.Related

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“As a team we need to start winning cricket matches, win series. Because we can go down the line of saying ‘we need to blood this talent, blood this talent’, but some of you same guys will start talking about the results as well. So we have to strike that balance [between youth and experience], we have to start winning T20 matches, we’re the defending champions, and we have to get back into the habit of winning. And if that means getting a couple of senior guys in to start that process, so be it.”Recalls for Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards, 41 and 39 respectively, raised more than a few eyebrows, but head coach Phil Simmons had earlier stated both players had earned their spots in the side by virtue of their strong performances in franchise cricket. Pollard echoed this view, adding that he views a blend of youth and experience as very much the way forward ahead of the T20 World Cup in India later this year.”These guys continue to perform despite their age. And one that thing that has been said throughout is that once you show that you can perform at the highest level, such as franchise cricket from the T20 point of view, the opportunity is still there.”The way to go forward is having that sort of mixture in the team, youth and experience. The youthful guys can learn from the experienced guys, and these are some of the things that have been missing. From 2016 till now can we safely say we have put forward our best T20 team to go to any series or anything like that?”With a hectic T20 schedule ahead in the coming months, Pollard also urged players in the domestic system to “stick your neck above the rest” to be selected.”We have to start somewhere and this is a starting point for us. We have 18 games plus a whole CPL tournament before the World Cup, so guys can get opportunities and we can see where we need to be come October.”[Fringe players must] continue to work hard and continue to churn out the numbers, and stick your neck above the rest.”But you have to continue to do it. If you have to pick between guys scoring 150-200 runs all the time, and there’s no one sticking out their head – I’m just talking in general, that figure is not relevant – scoring above that, then it just boils down to who you think is the best person at that point in time. And if the guys keep doing that then the opportunity will present itself.”Look at young Kevin Sinclair, he’s been economical in the couple of games he played in the Super 50 in the last couple of years for the emerging team, even this year as well in CPL. He gets an opportunity now. The opportunities are there, opportunities are going to come, things are being seen. You just have to be as consistent as possible, and not just walking around doing and saying things with a sense of entitlement.”In terms of the players that have missed out on the Sri Lanka tour, particularly Shimron Hetmyer – widely considered to be among the most talented batsmen in the West Indies set-up – Pollard refused to be drawn into the conversation, though he did say Hetmyer’s absence left a “big void”.”He knows exactly what he needs to do, he knows the reasons why he’s not here. And again we need to sometimes be open and honest and straightforward with each from different points of view, rather than just try to pamper certain situations all the way through. You’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t in certain aspects, but he has left a big, big void.”

“If the ball is clipping the stumps, it should be out – whether you like it or not you lose the review”

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Mar-20215:41

Kohli: Soft signal a grey area with not enough clarity

Virat Kohli stopped short of saying that the contentious umpire’s call rule should be scrapped from the game, but did call for a relook at the rule because it creates “a lot of confusion”. The final decision on the matter lies with the ICC’s cricket committee, which recently deliberated on the matter, and has submitted its recommendations to the global body.According to Kohli, there should not be any debates on what percentage of the stumps the ball is hitting when a decision is reviewed.”Look, I have played a long time when then there was no DRS, right? If the umpire made a decision, whether the batsman liked it or not, it stayed like that; vice-versa if the umpire gave him not out and it was out it stayed like that whether it was marginal or not,” Kohli said on Monday at a media briefing in Pune ahead of the fist ODI against England. “According to me, umpire’s call right now is creating a lot of confusion. When you get bowled, as a batsman you don’t expect the ball to hit more than 50% of the stumps to consider yourself bowled. So when the ball is shown as clipping the stumps, the bails are going to fall.Related

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“So, from basic cricket common sense, I don’t think that there should be any debates on that. If the ball is clipping the stumps, it should be out – whether you like it or not you lose the review. And that is how simple the game has to be: if it hits the stumps or it misses the stumps, it doesn’t matter how much it is hitting and those kind of things. Because it is creating a lot of confusion.”The umpire’s call is used in cases of the ball’s impact with pad and then the stumps, reliant on ball-tracking technology and as a concept is rooted, essentially, in the on-field umpire’s original decision retaining the benefit of doubt.According to the current ICC protocols, for “a Not Out decision to be overturned more than half the ball now has to be impacting the pad within a zone bordered by the outside of off and leg stumps (formerly the centre of off and leg stumps), and the ball needs to be hitting the stumps within a zone bordered by the outside of off and leg stumps and the bottom of the bails (formerly the centre of off and leg stumps, and the bottom of the bails)”.Ever since the ICC introduced the umpire’s call, a DRS tool that has been updated gradually, it has remained a tetchy topic and divided the cricketing fraternity. Recently the MCC said some members on its World Cricket Committee, comprising former international captains and match officials, echoed the exact sentiment expressed by Kohli, saying the umpire’s call was “confusing to the watching public, particularly when the same ball could either be Out or Not out depending on the on-field umpire’s original decision”.6:14

Does cricket need to rethink the soft-signal rule?

‘Soft signal, another grey area’
Kohli remained unconvinced about another hotly debated decision-making tool, the soft signal, which he said along with the umpire’s call was a “serious” issue the game’s lawmakers needed to tackle.The debate over the validity of an on-field umpire making a soft signal for a low catch in the outfield was reignited last week after Suryakumar Yadav was caught by Dawid Malan in the deep in the fourth T20I of the India vs England series.KN Ananthapadmanabhan, the on-field umpire, gave the soft signal as out even as Virender Sharma, the TV umpire, remained unconvinced. Although the rulebook gives the TV umpire the authority to overrule the soft signal, Sharma upheld his on-field colleague’s decision.After the match Kohli reacted strongly, saying he failed to understand why there was no “I don’t know” option the on-field umpire could use for cases where the evidence was not conclusive.On Monday Kohli felt controversial dismissals like Yadav’s also had the potential to trigger the spirit of cricket argument. “One more factor that needs to be considered is how the fielding team responds to a dismissal that is claimed is also somewhere you know defining soft signal as well,” he said. “Again, you have to question what the spirit of the game is and what those guidelines are. Because if things like that happen with the Indian cricket team overseas, then you are talking about a totally different conversation about spirit of the game, and so on and so forth.”Look, it is a serious, serious thing that needs to be considered because there is a lot at stake in future, there are big tournaments. And you don’t want some grey areas factors of the game which leave you with no clarity to be the defining factors of those big tournaments and big games.”