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After months of hype, controversy and excitement, the IPL is ready for kick off

The Retropreview by Jamie Alter17-Apr-2020

Big Picture

After months of hype, excitement, controversy and speculation the high-profile Indian Premier League kicks off in Bangalore with the Royal Challengers hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders. “Eight teams, without any players, only warriors” is the maxim for the inaugural tournament and there’s plenty riding on it. Fans from all around the world will zoom in to see players who have squared off on the international level come together to try and trump others, and many, not least the organisers who have gone to town promoting the event, will follow with bated breath. Not since Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket has an event so divided and stirred up the fraternity. It might be too much for a traditionalist but against the backdrop of a cricket-crazy host country, and with plenty of huge names involved, there’s little going against the lucrative tournament.

Watch out for…

After the Chinnaswamy Stadium is plunged in darkness, a spotlight will focus on the rival captains, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. The duo has been solid for India for over well over a decade and would’ve played against each other on the domestic front but this is something completely new.Dravid and Jacques Kallis are champions for their respective countries, one recently going past 10,000 Test runs and the other soon to get there, but they’ve done little of note in Twenty20 cricket. Kallis was unceremoniously axed from the ICC World Twenty20 at home and has only played seven matches; Dravid has played only two domestic matches. Pitted together in the same team, its going to be interesting to see how they adapt.Just 21 years and six first-class games old, young Debabrata Das could be forgiven for being a bit overawed around some of his acclaimed Kolkata team-mates. But with Pakistan’s Salman Butt on international duty, Das finds himself on the verge of playing in the big opener. He’s up against fellow Bengal batsman Wriddhiman Saha, but being a wicketkeeper may go against Saha given that Kolkata have Brendon McCullum. It’s a great opportunity to impress.Not many in India would’ve followed Ashley Noffke‘s career. Ushered in for Bangalore as cover for fellow Australian Nathan Bracken, he can be expected to play the first game. Noffke, 30, has played one ODI and two Twenty20s for Australia, and apart from his skills with the ball he is also a capable lower-order batsman, with two first-class centuries.

Team news

With only four overseas player allowed in a team, its unlikely that Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Cameron White will both play and White’s excellent Twenty20 record puts him ahead. With Anil Kumble ruled out through injury, White is also placed to take the lone spinner’s slot ahead of local lad KP Appanna. Kallis and Mark Boucher were expected to leave for the South African domestic Twenty20 competition but will now stay back but with Dale Steyn absent, Noffke could easily fill in. Misbah-ul-Haq will miss the opening clash because of the ongoing series in Pakistan and Chanderpaul is reportedly carrying an injury so another of the local boys, B Akhil or Bharat Chipli, could come into the middle order.Royal Challengers Bangalore (likely) 1 Praveen Kumar, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Rahul Dravid (capt), 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Cameron White, 7 B Akhil, 8 Mark Boucher (wk), 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ashley Noffke, 11 R Vinay KumarKolkata are without Butt and Umar Gul, in Bangladesh, and that opens up slots for young Das and Ashok Dinda, the Bengal medium pacer. Ganguly has said he will open, which means the explosive McCullum would come in after Ricky Ponting at No. 3. David Hussey and an in-form Laxmi Ratan Shukla strengthen the middle order. Shukla will assist Ishant Sharma and Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik – with Twenty20 experience in England – adds variety with his left-arm spin and handy lower-order batting. Chris Gayle has yet to arrive for the match and so his place in some doubt.Kolkata Knight Riders (likely) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Brendon McCullum (wk), 5 David Hussey, 6 Debabrata Das, 7 Laxmi Ratan Shukla, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Murali Kartik, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashok Dinda.

Stats and trivia

• White has a record 55-ball Twenty20 century on the English county circuit and with a batting average of 43.90 in this format he’s clearly one to watch. He has hit 62 fours and 49 sixes in 546 balls faced in Twenty20 cricket – that’s a four or a six every 4.92 balls.
• The last time Gayle played in the first match of a Twenty20 tournament, he blasted a 57-ball 117 v South Africa in the World Cup; the 10 sixes he struck is the highest in a Twenty20 innings.
• In 21 overs that Kartik has bowled in Twenty20 games, he has only gone at 5.90 per over, taking nine wickets at 13.77.

Quotes

“The opening ceremony is expected to only be a short function. I don’t think it will affect the game that follows. Kolkata has a good side and we are prepared with strategies for them.”
“There is no clear favourite in the shortest version of the game. Difference between teams lessens in the T20 format as the contest is too short. I consider this event as a contest between state sides with world-class players.”
Sourav Ganguly“Sourav is a very cool-headed captain. He is very experienced. We expect him to lead from the front.”

It hasn’t been an entirely smooth route to England’s final 15-man squad, but it’s a vast improvement on past campaigns

George Dobell at Lord's21-May-2019There are some things – flights, cups of tea, and your heartbeat, for example – you want should be predictable.And perhaps it is the same with squad announcements. Squad announcements for global tournaments, anyway.Selectors have had four years to plan. They have had four years to ensure that every player knows their role and every player knows what to expect from their team-mates. At this stage, squads should be settled and predictable.England have achieved that pretty well. Yes, David Willey is unfortunate. Yes, Joe Denly will be disappointed. But, for the first time in many, many years, England are going into a World Cup with a relatively settled, well-balanced side that has a realistic chance of victory. The position that provoked most debate and discussion on Tuesday was that of reserve spin bowler. It’s a detail, really. An important one, but nothing compared to what we have seen before.Perhaps, to appreciate how smooth this process has been, it is worth comparing it to the chaos with which we have become accustomed. In 2015, for example, England sacked their captain, Alastair Cook, a few weeks before the tournament. Then, on its eve, they changed the new-ball attack (demoting Chris Woakes to first-change) and fiddled with the batting order (swapping Gary Ballance and James Taylor at No. 3 and No. 6). In the tournaments before that, it became customary for them to change their wicketkeeper (2007 and 2011) or opening partnership (1999) at the last minute. Indeed, in 1999, they dropped their captain (Adam Hollioake) and their opening batsman (Nick Knight) shortly before the tournament and prepared for a home event with a training camp in… Lahore. You could hardly make that up.And, even if England did go into a tournament with their best side, there was usually some crisis (the Zimbabwe affair of 2003, for example) or late change of approach that threatened to derail their progress. They rarely had a chance to define plans or develop well-rehearsed strategies. In a format in which role-definition and planning is so important, England have invariably gone into World Cups hoping it would all come together on the night. It rarely has done.Mark Wood and Jofra Archer both returned to the starting line-up•Getty Images

It doesn’t feel like that this time. While the introduction of Jofra Archer has come at a late stage, anyone taken by surprise simply hasn’t been paying attention. While England would, in an ideal world, like him to have played more than three ODIs – and, indeed, more than 17 List A matches – the experience he has of playing in high-profile, high-pressure T20 leagues suggests he has the talent and temperament to succeed. His range of skills – not least his well-controlled pace – are a huge asset to a team that, Mark Wood apart, can look a little pedestrian. They were, remember, thrashed for sixes by Chris Gayle every 8.10 balls he faced in the recent series in the Caribbean. Archer’s batting and fielding are also more than useful. He is British, he is eligible, and he is very good. His is not, at this stage, a remotely controversial selection.Nor is Liam Dawson. He is, quite simply, a more experienced, more reliable spin bowler than Denly. And while Denly is almost certainly a better batsman, Dawson’s average of 45.33 in the Royal London Cup is proof that he’s no mug either. Besides, the role essentially demands that the occupant can come into the side at short notice and fill the hole left by injury to either Moeen Ali or Adil Rashid. Dawson is a better fit for that specific job. Denly may console himself with the knowledge that he now has the opportunity to return to county cricket and score heavily in the Championship with a bid to securing a place in the Ashes. He is the man in possession of the No. 3 spot in the Test side, after all.Willey could yet win a recall mid-tournament. While he is not officially on any reserve list, it stands to reason that he – and perhaps Chris Jordan – would be next in line should one of England’s seamers suffer an injury. His left-arm variations, the swing he can generate with the new ball and the control he demonstrates at the death, are all attractive qualities. But it was his ill-fortune to be competing for the new ball, in particular, with Archer, Wood and Woakes. Leaving him out was a tough decision, but it was also probably right.Again, in an ideal world, England might have liked Dawson to have been with them throughout the Pakistan series. Or at least for the final couple of games, when it became apparent the selectors were not in total agreement over the suitability of Denly for the role. But at least Dawson was playing cricket rather than running drinks on for his colleagues, and it is not as if he is a stranger to either the environment or the players.There have been other bumps on the road. The loss of Alex Hales – who may be remembered as the Pete Best of cricket if England go on to win the trophy (Denly may be remembered as the Jimmie Nicol) – might have destabilised some squads. Equally, the introduction of Archer might have unsettled the bowlers and provoked reasonable concerns about talent pathways in both England and the Caribbean.But, whatever feathers within the squad were ruffled by Archer’s arrival have long since been patted back down – not least by evidence of his obvious ability and his amiable, equable nature – while Hales has simply been left behind. This team, like kids cramming ahead of important exams, no longer had time for the class joker. Damning though it sounds, his absence has hardly been mentioned in recent times.So England go into this tournament confident, settled and united. Their squad has bite with the ball, punch with the bat and balance through the depth provided by the allrounders. This may well be the best World Cup squad they have ever assembled; it certainly represents their best chance to win in many years.

Test captain prefers to stay available for England as he seeks to re-establish himself in shortest form of the game

George Dobell26-Feb-2019It’s emerged that Joe Root had declined the opportunity to rest during the T20I series against West Indies as he “loves playing cricket for England”.

England fined for over-rate offence

The ICC announced on Tuesday that England had been fined for a slow over-rate in the second ODI in Barbados.
The team as a whole were fined 10% of their match fee, with Eoin Morgan, the captain, fined 20%. While that may seem a minor issue now – indeed, it is defined by the ICC as ‘a minor over-rate offence’; England were deemed to be only one over short – it could lead to a suspension for Morgan if repeated in ODIs in the next 12 months.
That does not apply to the World Cup, however, where ICC regulations state that “all Team Captains will be treated, for the purposes of the ICC Event only, as having not committed any Minimum Over Rate Offences within the previous twelve month period.”

With a relentlessly busy year of high-profile cricket looming for England, the team management has been keen to ensure their key players – and Root certainly fits into that category – were kept as fresh as possible. As a result, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes were rested for the three-match T20I series, with Moeen Ali belatedly given the chance to join them. However, Root, who has struggled with a back problem at times, preferred to stay with the squad.While Root does not have quite the same demands on his time as Buttler and Stokes, who are both expected to feature prominently in the IPL, he has given himself very little time off in recent months. He spent the Christmas period in between the tours of Sri Lanka and the Caribbean in Australia playing in the BBL, and has now forgone the extra ten days he may have had at the end of this tour.The cynical explanation for such a move is that Root is keen to make his name in T20 cricket so he can pick up more lucrative franchise offers. He has, at present, had little interest from that market and was not picked up in the IPL auction.The more realistic interpretation is that Root’s enthusiasm for cricket – and his desire to continue to develop and improve as a batsman – drives him on to take every opportunity he has to play; particularly with a World Cup this year and a T20 World Cup in 2020. He has not always won selection for England’s T20I side and is keen to cement his place in the team.”Why did I not want to miss the T20 games? Because I love playing cricket for England, simple as that,” Root said. “And I’ve not had much opportunity to play T20 cricket in the last couple of years.”I don’t want to miss out on opportunities to play when I’m fit and I feel I’m in a good place to help the side to win and be part of a squad that has a very exciting couple of years ahead of it. After that three-match series we have a good chunk of time at home. I’m sure I’ll spend some time with Yorkshire, which will be nice as well. I’m very aware of when those gaps will be in the next year or so. I feel this is a good opportunity to play.”Joe Root clips one off the legs•Getty Images

While Root did not enjoy an especially successful time at the BBL – he failed to pass 26 in seven innings for Sydney Thunder – he insists the experience was beneficial and did not take too much out of him. He married right before leaving for the competition and was able to take his family with him to Sydney.”It was a new adventure,” he said. “I’ve not played any franchise cricket before, so it was very eye-opening and I learned a lot about my own game. And when you have your family with you, it does make life a lot easier.”It’s easy to come away from a tournament not having scored many runs and not saying I got something out of it. But genuinely I feel like there was a big development in that side of my game. More than anything, we’re looking at breaking the score down and how best to approach it. And how best to approach it with who you bat with at any given time. If that can transfer over into 50-over cricket as well, that will be fantastic. And it feels like it has in a way. With those T20s coming up, it will be great to see some of that going into those games.”While Root does not have the outrageous power of Chris Gayle, for example, his range of stroke is so great that he actually reached his century in the first ODI quicker than Gayle (96 balls compared to 100) and in scoring just 36 in boundaries (nine fours) compared to Gayle’s 66 (three fours and nine sixes). Their career strike rates are also almost identical (Root’s is 86.77 and Gayle’s 86.00), though Gayle’s career started in a different era of ODI cricket and they bat in different positions in the order.”Just because I don’t hit as many sixes as others might do, I still feel I can score as quickly,” Root said. “I can’t hit it over the stands like Chris can consistently unless there is a gale-force wind and I’ve got a top edge off a 95mph bowler. You have to play to your strengths and advantages. You’ve always got to look for ways to get better but ultimately getting the best out of yourself is the main thing.”I am quite settled in the way that I play. Having that understanding of your own game is important. I don’t hit four or five sixes every time I go out, but I like to feel I can strike at a similar sort of rate if I needed to. It’s an area I’m always trying to get better at. If I can add that to what I’ve got already, I’d like to think you’ll see even more improvement.”

He secured over 96% of the votes in his constituency as part of a landslide victory for Awami League

Mohammad Isam31-Dec-2018Mashrafe Mortaza has secured the Narail-2 seat in Bangladesh’s national elections, winning over 96% of the votes in his constituency. His result is part of Awami League’s landslide victory, their third consecutive win in the country’s general elections. He becomes the first active international cricketer to be a member of parliament in his country.Mashrafe had started campaigning on December 22, later than most candidates during this election, as he was nursing a hamstring injury after the Bangladesh-West Indies ODI series ended on December 14. He will now shift his focus back to cricket, with the 20-over Bangladesh Premier League set to begin on January 5 next year. He will be leading defending champions Rangpur Riders in the competition.Immediately after the BPL, Bangladesh will travel to New Zealand for three ODIs and three Tests. Bangladesh will then play an ODI tri-series in Ireland as part of their build-up for the World Cup in England.Mashrafe had officially entered politics in November when he received confirmation of his nomination from Awami League. Besides Mashrafe, Naimur Rahman, Bangladesh’s first Test captain, and BCB president Nazmul Hassan also won seats in Manikganj-1 and Kishoreganj-6 respectively for Awami League.

His 127-run stand with No. 9 Saifuddin set the tone for a competitive score before their spinners applied the choke

The Report by Mohammad Isam21-Oct-2018Bangladesh 271-8 (Imrul 144, Saifuddin 50, Jarvis 4-37) beat Zimbabwe 243-9 (Williams 50*, Mehidy 3-46) by 28 runsImrul Kayes raises his bat after reaching a hundred•AFP

Imrul Kayes’ career-best 144 powered Bangladesh to a 28-run win over Zimbabwe in the first ODI. The visitors squandered a golden opportunity to control the game when they had the home side cornered at 139 for 6 in the 30th over. Imrul and Mohammad Saifuddin chose that moment to put on a record 127-run seventh-wicket stand to pull Bangladesh to 271-8 in 50 overs, before the spinners applied the choke in time-honoured fashion, as the home team took a one-nil lead in the three-match series.Imrul was involved in three crucial stands, the last of which was a rescue act that turned a difficult position into a dominant one. Bangladesh had lost two wickets in the first six overs when Liton Das and debutant Fazle Mahmud fell in the same Tendai Chatara over. Imrul and Mushfiqur Rahim then added 49 runs for the third wicket to revive the innings.After Mushfiqur fell in the 15th over, Imrul and Mohammad Mithun batted in a higher gear to add 71 runs for the fourth wicket. Mithun struck three sixes and a four in his 37 off 40 balls but then Kyle Jarvis, bowling his third spell, removed Mithun, Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan in the space of 13 balls.The 2 for 3 collapse should have been the end of Bangladesh’s positive approach but Imrul and Mohammad Saifuddin did not consume too many deliveries to first steady the innings, and then up the ante, in the last ten overs that saw the home team add 85. Saifuddin’s maiden ODI fifty included three fours and a six and came off 69 balls. Imrul, on the other hand, chose his moments to buckle down and attack.He reached his half century in 64 balls but picked up pace thereafter, getting the next 50 at a run-a-ball. His last 44 runs came even quicker, at a strike-rate of exactly 200, which was a consequence of the five fours and three sixes he hammered during that period.For Zimbabwe, Jarvis led the way with the ball, finishing with four for 37, while Chatara took three wickets. Till the 40th over, Zimbabwe had done splendidly but all the good work came a cropper in the final ten, not helped in the slightest by a couple of dropped catches and misfields on the boundary.With 272 to get, Hamilton Masakadza and Cephas Zhuwao gave Zimbabwe early impetus. Zhuwao struck three fours in the first five overs before he slammed Mehidy Hasan for a massive six that landed well beyond the long-on boundary. But with his first ball, Mustafizur Rahman forced his way through Zhuwao’s defensive prod, ending his cameo on 35.In the face of consistent bowling from the home side, Zimbabwe imploded thereafter. Either side of Masakadza’s needless run-out, Nazmul Islam produced stunning deliveries to dismiss Brendan Taylor and Sikandar Raza.With a classic left-arm spinner’s delivery that pitched on off and middle, Nazmul hit Taylor’s off stump as the batsman pushed forward to defend. Raza was undone by a ripper that turned sharply, beating him on the back foot, and hitting his off stump as well. Both wickets were followed by the customary serpentine celebration.By this time, the match had all but slipped out of Zimbabwe’s grip. Bangladesh continued to dictate terms as Zimbabwe lost more wickets and fell so far behind the required run-rate that even a 67-run ninth wicket stand between Sean Williams – who remained unbeaten on a 58-ball 50 – and Jarvis was not enough to save them from a 28-run defeat.

Steven Smith is desperate to complete a 5-0 whitewash over England but there could be a tricky decision to make over the fitness of Mitchell Starc

Daniel Brettig in Perth18-Dec-20172:04

‘We’ve kept our foot on the throat’ – Smith

Australia’s captain Steven Smith broke down in tears in the dressing room immediately after regaining the Ashes, but he and the selectors have a decision to make on Mitchell Starc as they set their sights on emulating the teams of 2007 and 2014 by shutting out England 5-0 over the final two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.Starc has a bruised heel, which he bowled through on the final day in Perth, but with a four-match assignment in South Africa in March next year, much debate will now be had off-camera as to whether or not to keep the same bowling attack for the remainder of the series or ensure the injury does not deteriorate. Australia’s team was unchanged throughout 2013-14 but has already been tweaked this time around with the inclusion of Mitchell Marsh for Pete Handscomb. The same squad of 13 has been named for Melbourne.”Having seen him just there he just said ‘I’m playing’, whether he has a choice in the matter I’m not sure,” Smith said of Starc. “But he wants to play. I think he was a little bit sore, he said it didn’t get any worse when he was bowling. But that’s something we have to sum up. We’ve wrapped the series up here and we’d love to win 5-0 and have the big three going all the time.”But we’ve also got an important tour to South Africa after this series, which we’d love to have him available for. A few things for us to sum up, and we’ll see how he pulls up over the next couple of days. I’m sure that’ll determine which way we go.”Though the hosts always looked likely to roll England’s last six batsmen with enough time to spare to beat the intermittent rain that swept across the WACA Ground for much of its final day as an Ashes venue, there was still plenty of joy and emotion at the moment Pat Cummins claimed the day’s final wicket.For Smith, who has experienced the pain of Ashes defeat three times in 2010-11, 2013 and 2015, the sense of achievement in winning a series at home as captain was palpable. There was relief, too, for securing the result expected of everyone associated with Australian cricket, not just the 11 players who huddled tightly in the middle of the ground after Chris Woakes fell.”Playing in Australia we expect big things of ourselves,” Smith said. “We know these conditions really well and whether we’re playing against England or anyone else, we’re expected to go well and we ourselves expect to do a good job as well.”I’d love to do that [win 5-0]. I was part of the series obviously back in 2013-14 when we did that and it was amazing part of my life and everyone else’s who was involved as well. I’d love to do that again but we’ll just take it one step at a time at the moment and first of all enjoy the success we’ve had over last couple of weeks and have a good celebration tonight and we’ll move on from there.”We’ll talk about Melbourne when we get there, the Boxing Day Test match is an amazing occasion, particularly an Ashes Test match. We’ll talk about that when we get there but right now just really satisfied with what we’ve achieved in these first three Test matches. Been remarkable and look forward to having a good celebration with the boys this evening.”Mitchell Marsh roars after hitting his maiden Test hundred•Getty Images

Plenty of criticism was directed at the national selectors for a series of courageous calls at the outset of this series, whether it was recalling Shaun Marsh after stripping him of his CA contract earlier in the year, picking the Tasmanian Tim Paine as wicketkeeper when he was not the first choice for his state, or choosing Mitchell Marsh so soon after he had returned to bowling in the wake of shoulder surgery. Smith said Trevor Hohns’ panel deserved due credit.”I thought they were really good selections,” Smith said. “Painey’s been mentioned as the best keeper in the country for a long period of time and the way he’s kept has been exceptional, the way he’s batted has been exceptional as well. We’ve had some very valuable runs from him at No. 7 and also Shaun Marsh.”I know Justin Langer was saying for a while that Shaun was in the best form of his life and he’s come in and done a terrific job. The way he’s batting, just watching him in the nets facing all three of our quicks, you get a pretty fair gauge of how the batter are going if they’re playing them really well and he’s looked incredibly comfortable against them. We’ve seen every time he’s gone out to the middle he’s looked good and done a terrific job.””A lot of people came out and said they were some very bold selections at the start of the series, and the selectors get criticised quite a lot but I think they’ve done a terrific job with the squad we picked at the start and everyone that’s come in has done an exceptional job, so a lot of credit’s got to go to the selectors.”In contrast to the teams of 2007 and 2014, Smith’s side is far more youthful, with the prospect of largely staying together for some years to come. To win an Ashes series away from home in 2019, something not achieved by an Australian side since Steve Waugh’s successful tourists in 2001, is high on Smith’s long-term agenda.”We have conversations here and there, myself and Boof and selectors about certain things we could do over there, but still a fair way away,” Smith said of 2019. “Right now I just want to enjoy what we’ve done over the past couple of weeks, to be up 3-0 and have the Ashes back, it’s been quite remarkable and almost a dream come true. You never know with injuries and form and things like that but I think the guys that have played in this series have done a terrific job.”Everyone has contributed in some part and the performances we’ve put up have been outstanding. I’d like to hope this team can keep growing and getting better and keep working our way up the rankings and just try and get better as a team and keep gelling as a team and trying to have the successes we want to have as a team. We’ve still got a long way to go but this has been an incredible couple of weeks and one I’m sure we’ll look back on in time and just be so proud of what we’ve achieved.”

Rising Pune Supergiants have signed up Australia batsman Usman Khawaja as a replacement player, following injuries to Kevin Pietersen and Faf du Plessis

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-20162:06

Usman Khawaja was the second-highest run-getter in BBL 2015-16

Rising Pune Supergiants have signed Australia batsman Usman Khawaja as a replacement player, following injuries to Kevin Pietersen (calf) and Faf du Plessis (finger).”One of our mainstays du Plessis has injured his finger during the course of the last match and has returned to South Africa for further treatment,” Supergiants coach Stephen Fleming said in a statement. “We are glad to have roped in Usman Khawaja in the team. His presence will definitely be an advantage to the team and could be pivotal in bolstering the position of the side in the tournament.”Khawaja had a highly productive 2015-16, in which he scored 1006 runs in 15 international matches at an average of 62.87. He was the leading run-getter for Australia in the World T20 with 143 runs in four matches at an average and strike rate of 35.75 and 137.50.Despite playing only four matches in the Big Bash League, Khawaja had scored 345 runs for Sydney Thunder, including two centuries, at an average and strike rate of 172.50 and 163.50. Khawaja’s average was the second best by a batsman in any T20 series with a minimum of 300 runs. He also became the second batsman to make more than one century in a BBL season after Craig Simmons of Perth Scorchers (2013-14).”His imperious form for the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League victory last season and being the leading run-scorer for Australia, for the recently-concluded World T20, has made us sit up and notice,” Fleming said. “His style of play is perfect for the T20 format.”Given his top form leading into the IPL 2016 auction, he was expected to be one of the big buys there, but went unsold. Khawaja has not played a competitive match since Australia’s World T20 game against India last month but said he was confident of performing immediately for the franchise.”I’m not the kind of guy that needs to hit a lot of balls to feel good,” Khawaja told . “I hit a few balls today, I’ll hit a few balls again and I’ll be ready to go.”Even during the season I don’t hit a lot of balls. At training I’m usually out (of the nets) pretty quick. I do all my bulk training out of season. I didn’t feel too much different. That’s a good thing – I was still whacking them, I still felt good. I’m pretty confident (of performing immediately). At the end of the day you’ve just got to watch the ball.”Supergiants have struggled early in their debut IPL season, winning two games of their first six matches.

Chittagong Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal said that a missed run-out chance and a dropped catch cost the side dearly in their 33-run loss to Barisal Bulls on Monday

Mohammad Isam30-Nov-2015Chittagong Vikings captain Tamim Iqbal said that a missed run-out chance and a dropped catch cost the side dearly in their 33-run loss to Barisal Bulls on Monday.Ziaur Rahman was involved in both incidents, in the 14th and 16th overs of Barisal’s innings. He first bungled a run-out chance against Mahmudullah, who was on 27 at the time; Mahmudullah went on to score 51. Ziaur appeared to have disturbed the stumps just before the throw hit the stumps, but the TV replays were inconclusive in determining if the bowler had broken the bails.

Cooper pleased with Barisal’s team effort

It was expected that much of Barisal Bulls’ strength would come from Chris Gayle, who is scheduled to arrive later this week, but they have won three out of four games without him, which led Kevon Cooper to highlight Barisal’s bench strength.
“We don’t have the big-name players yet but we are still playing good cricket,” Cooper said. “Hopefully when Chris games for the next games, the guys embrace him and we bat better and go on to win this competition.”
Cooper also praised captain Mahmudullah, whose 51 kept Barisal afloat after they lost three early wickets.
“I am around a great bunch of guys. [Mahmudullah] Riyad is a great leader. I played with him in Chittagong a few years ago. He has the dressing-room, the guys respect him.
“His innings was very important for us. Myself and Sami hit a couple of sixes in the end but it was important for him to steady the ship. He is a guy that I look up to in terms of leadership. He bats for the team. He has improved a lot as a player.”

Two overs later, he dropped Seekkuge Prasanna on 22, and parried the ball for six at long-off. Naeem Islam, did a similar thing a few deliveries later, conceding a six over long-on. Chittagong’s overall cricket was also sloppy – Elton Chigumbura bowled a nine-ball over and Kamran Akmal was run-out for a duck after he failed to slide his bat in while attempting a single.”We made a beautiful start, especially in the first six overs but then it was the same old story. We missed a simple run-out of Mahmudullah and Prasanna survived an easy catch. And they took the game away from us in that Elton [Chigumbura] over. But I don’t want to take the credit away from Mahmudullah and Barisal,” Tamim said.Chigumbura had already given away 16 runs in his first over when Tamim recalled him in the 19th over. He gave away 22 runs, which included a four that was hit off a no-ball and was followed by two wides.”We have some plans in the team meeting,” Tamim said. “We knew that [Kevon] Cooper loves to hit over cover and straight. When Elton was bowling, I was trying to tell him to bowl in such a way that he hits towards square-leg or the midwicket area, where he had a better chance to get a wicket or give away singles as it was the larger side of the ground. But, unfortunately, he bowled the wrong line.”Tamim said that Akmal’s dismissal was a “schoolboy error”: “All I can say is that Kamran’s run-out was a schoolboy error. All of our foreign players know what to do. They can improve. I really don’t have an answer for Kamran’s run-out. If someone like Dilshan, a batsman rated as high as Chris Gayle in T20s, did the job with bat and ball, we would have been in a good position. We depend a lot on them, which they have to understand.”

Scotland will host Kenya for a five-match series between June 30 to July 10, and the teams will play two World Cricket League matches, two T20 matches and one Intercontinental Cup match

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2013Cricket Scotland has announced that Kenya will tour Scotland for a five-match series between June 30 to July 10. The teams will play two World Cricket League (WCL) Championship matches, two T20 matches and an Intercontinental Cup fixture. All matches will be played at the Mannofield ground in Aberdeen.

Scotland v Kenya 2013 Fixtures

30 June: 1st WCL match
2 July: 2nd WCL match
4 July: 1st T20
5 July: 2nd T20
7-10 July: Intercontinental Cup game

The WCL matches are important for Scotland and Kenya. The teams are currently placed third and fifth respectively, behind leaders Ireland and Netherlands after five rounds of the seven-round tournament.The top two teams will automatically qualify for the World Cup in 2015, and Kenya and Scotland will look to win both matches to better their chances of finishing in the top two.Teams ranked between third and eighth in the league have another shot at qualifying for the World Cup as they will play the qualifiers in New Zealand in February 2014, to compete for the last two spots.Scotland will play their final round of matches against Ireland in September, while Kenya will play Afghanistan in their last two matches of the WCL.

Peter Moores has been accepted on to UK Sport’s Elite Programme for world-class coaching development

George Dobell05-Mar-2013Peter Moores has been accepted on to UK Sport’s Elite Programme for world-class coaching development. The Lancashire head coach is one of only 10 coaches to be accepted on to the programme and one of only two from non-Olympic sports.As part of the role, Moores will share knowledge and expertise with leading coaches currently working in British sport during a three-year programme which was announced by UK Sport last November. The programme is designed to help ensure Britain’s leading athletes can continue to benefit from top-quality coaching as part of UK Sport’s wider planning for the next Olympiad in Rio in 2016. It will not affect his role with Lancashire.There may be a few raised eye-brows at the appointment. Moores endured some disappointing results in his tenure as England coach in 2007 and 2008 and, along with the captain Kevin Pietersen, was sacked after it became clear that the pair’s working relationship had deteriorated to an unsustainable level.His record at domestic level is exceptional, however. He coached Sussex to the first Championship title in their history in 2003 and, having moved to Old Trafford, took a Lancashire side some thought the weakest in many years to a well-deserved Championship title in 2011.While relegation followed in 2012, Moores’ reputation among most players at both clubs and within the England set-up is excellent. He was largely responsible for recognising the international potential of Graeme Swann and Matt Prior and was the man who decided to install James Anderson and Stuart Broad as the leaders of England’s attack. Andy Flower, the current England coach, has always been quick to credit Moores for his foundation-laying role with the side and, when the PCB wanted an independent review of its domestic cricket structure conducted last November, they appointed Moores for the task.”Peter has always been at the forefront of our ongoing efforts to ensure that cricket can learn and share best coaching practice with other sports and I am delighted that he has been chosen to be part of such a prestigious and innovative programme,” Hugh Morris, the ECB’s managing director of England cricket, said. “It is a tremendous personal honour for him and will undoubtedly be of long-term benefit to our game.””I am proud and honoured to have been selected for this fantastic programme,” Moores said. “I have always thrived in elite coaching environments and to be working with top coaches from other sports will be an incredible experience. I continue to have very strong ambitions for my coaching career within cricket and I see this as a great marker in that path. I’d like to thank Lancashire CCC and the ECB for their support throughout this process.”Lancashire’s Cricket Director Mike Watkinson added: “We are delighted that Peter has been accepted to be a part of this world class coaching programme. Despite his successes and achievements as a coach he always strives to improve personally and create a challenging environment for himself and his players. This will be a great opportunity to further develop and share knowledge and experiences across the various sports.”