Pune finally snap losing streak

Pune Warriors finally ended their horror run of seven defeats by limiting fellow stragglers Kings XI Punjab to 119 in Mohali, a target which didn’t tax their batting too much

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran08-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Wayne Parnell took 2 for 12 to help restrict Punjab•AFP

Pune Warriors finally ended their horror run of seven defeats by limiting fellow stragglers Kings XI Punjab to 119 in Mohali, a target which didn’t tax their batting too much The defeat means Punjab are now putting together a losing streak to nearly match Pune’s – having gone five games without a win. Legspinner Rahul Sharma was once again the standout bowler for Pune, with South African fast bowler Wayne Parnell and Bhuvneshwar Kumar aiding him in shackling Punjab.Preity Zinta was back to cheer on her side, and the Mohali crowd had something to shout about early on as Paul Valthaty repeatedly crashed the ball through cover for boundaries. Adam Gilchrist came into this game on the back of two ducks, and he couldn’t find his timing today either, swinging Rahul to deep midwicket for 3 off 8 balls. Valthaty was cramped by the lack of room, and when he was given some, he cut at it but Rahul’s extra bounce meant it resulted in a top edge to backward point.Shaun Marsh has been Punjab’s best batsman this tournament, and he showed why with some lovely hits. Yuvraj Singh was dispatched over long-on, Rahul was eased through cover for four, and his younger brother Mitchell was pulled for a boundary. Dinesh Karthik wasn’t as fluent, but in the company of Shaun, the pair guided Punjab to a reasonable 71 for 2 in ten overs.That platform was wasted though as neither batsman went on to make a big score on a slightly sluggish track. A Bhuvneshwar Kumar slower ball accounted for Shaun, who dragged the ball onto the stumps, and a couple of overs later Punjab’s most expensive acquisition, David Hussey, nicked to the keeper. They were floundering at 94 for 4.Karthik couldn’t quite hit top gear and there was a wicket in almost each of the final six overs as the innings fell apart to a series of attempted big hits.Punjab’s bowlers needed to be accurate and incisive if they were to stand a chance, and they began well, with a maiden from Praveen Kumar. The next three overs, though, were plundered for 30 runs, and in a match where the fielding standards were shoddy, Jesse Ryder was given a let-off by Valthaty in the fourth over. There was more fortune for Pune as Manish Pandey survived a dead-on lbw shout in the fifth over, bowled by Bhargav Bhatt, two balls after Ryder was dismissed.Robin Uthappa came out swinging, and though they were several fresh-air swishes, he found the boundary three times to whittle down the target with a quick 22. Pandey was dismissed after a relatively quiet 28, which had two of his trademark forehand smashes down the ground. If the wickets of Pandey and Uthappa gave Punjab some hope, Yuvraj extinguished that by clubbing Bhatt for two sixes and two fours in an over.

Pakistan women win historic gold at Asian Games

An allround performance from Nida Dar propelled Pakistan women to a 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh women in the final of the inaugural women’s cricket tournament in the Asian Games in Guangzhou

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2010An allround performance from Nida Dar propelled Pakistan to a 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the final of the inaugural women’s cricket tournament at the Asian Games in Guangzhou,China. This is Pakistan’s first gold medal in the tournament and has already been welcomed by their supporters at a time when the men’s game is reeling from a succession of controversies and the country is battling the fallout of devastating floods that affected 21 million people this summer.”We are excited and happy,” Sana Mir, the captain said. “Pakistan must be proud of us. The way the women’s team has played and the way they have handled themselves on and off the field is really wonderful for Pakistanis living in Pakistan and abroad. There are lot of good things happening in Pakistan and this is one of them.”Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari hailed the team’s win, describing the performance as “as a gift to the nation riding on a series of crises”.In what turned out to be a one-sided final, Pakistan chose to field and their bowlers, led by Dar’s offspin, ran through the Bangladesh batting line-up. Only Rumana Ahmed (16) and Salma Khatun (24) managed to reach double figures as Bangladesh were bowled out for 92 off their 20 overs. Dar picked up three wickets, conceding just 16 runs in four overs.Pakistan made short work of the chase as the openers, Dar and Javeria Khan, reached the target in just under 16 overs. Dar raced to 51 off 43 deliveries with seven fours while Khan made a more sedate 39 with three boundaries.Dipu Rai Choudhury, the Bangladesh coach, was disappointed with the loss, but was still pleased with the team’s overall performance in the tournament. “If we had won today, we would have been heroes here. But we are still heroes,” he said.The bronze medal was won by Japan, who beat China by seven wickets. China were restricted to 65 for 6 off their 20 overs before Japan reached their target with four balls to spare.Japan captain Ema Kuribayashi, who plays club cricket in New Zealand, top-scored for her side with a steady, unbeaten 24. “We fought with calmness and concentration. We just tried to avoid getting out. We were focusing on doing our jobs,” she said, adding that the win would be a major boost to the sport in Japan.

Tendulkar and Raina keep India afloat

Sachin Tendulkar led India’s attempt to stay alive in the series on an attritional day at the SSC

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya28-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Sachin Tendulkar made his 48th Test century•Associated Press

Sachin Tendulkar led India’s attempt to stay alive in the series on an attritional day at the SSC, battling his way, supported by VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina, to a determined century that took India closer to avoiding the follow-on. This, after Sri Lanka’s spinners brought the Test back to life just when it seemed the bat would dominate for the third successive day.The conditions on Day 3 were still batsman-friendly but the Sri Lankan bowlers varied their pace and lengths with greater skill than their Indian counterparts to create chances. However, India survived a couple of nervy moments that helped turn the third day, if only slightly, in their favour. When on 29, Tendulkar attempted to upper-cut Dilhara Fernando and was dropped by wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene. And an appeal against Raina was turned down in the final session when he was struck on the pads by a straighter delivery from Tillakaratne Dilshan; replays suggested the ball would have gone on to hit leg.Charged, yet again, with the responsibility of reviving the Indian innings, Tendulkar batted with assuredness amid the pressure. The spinners didn’t extract much turn though they did generate good bounce, but Tendulkar adapted well, opting to deal with the length deliveries outside off with caution while treating the ones that were pitched short harshly. He struck Suraj Randiv for eight boundaries through the off side – point, cover and past slip – and comfortably picked off deliveries bowled on his pads for a couple more. The one time he did step out to the spinners was when he brought up his half-century, a clean strike over long-on.Tendulkar played the ball late on a slowish track, and targeted Randiv while approaching his century, reaching the landmark, his 48th in Tests, with a sweep through square leg. He also ensured a steady flow of singles with Raina, whose strokeplay masked the nerves of a batsman making his first Test appearance.

Smart stats

  • Sachin Tendulkar’s unbeaten 108 is his 48th Test hundred, and his 94th in all international cricket. It’s his fifth Test century in Sri Lanka; among overseas countries, only in Australia has he scored more hundreds (six).

  • Suresh Raina is the second Indian batsman to score more than 50 in his debut Test this year – S Badrinath had scored 56 against South Africa in Nagpur. Virender Sehwag is the only other Indian to achieve this feat since 2000.

  • Sehwag became only the third batsman to be dismissed stumped on 99. It’s also the eighth instance of an Indian being dismissed for 99.

  • The 165-run stand between Sehwag and Murali Vijay is the fourth instance of a century stand for the first wicket by India in Sri Lanka. It fell six runs short of equalling the record, between Navjot Siddhu and Manoj Prabhakar, in 1993.

Raina was uncertain early on against the round-the-wicket line bowled by the two spinners, failing to pick a legspinner from Mendis and leaving a straighter one from Randiv. But, unlike Tendulkar, it was against the length deliveries that he was most comfortable. He stepped out to both spinners to drive them through mid-on, and struck Dammika Prasad for consecutive boundaries. He was equally solid in defence, offering the full face, and eased towards his maiden half-century with a couple of delicious cover drives off the spinners.Tendulkar began India’s recovery after Virender Sehwag’s swipe on 99 triggered a rush of wickets that undermined a strong start. Facing Randiv’s first delivery of the day, Sehwag stepped out and swung hard towards cow corner, missed and was stumped to become the offspinner’s maiden Test victim.The wickets that followed were a consequence of some crafty bowling from the spinning pair. Mendis snared opener M Vijay with a googly that he failed to pick after erroneously opting to play the length delivery off the back foot. Rahul Dravid was trapped in front with a ball that skidded on before Laxman joined Tendulkar to rebuild the innings.Laxman was edgy during his stay and was troubled by Randiv as he played inside the line while expecting more turn. He got the leading edge twice and edged one to slip on the bounce. He appeared far more comfortable against Mendis, capitalising with a couple of boundaries when he was generous enough to stray on the pads. But his concentration wavered and he didn’t read Mendis’ wrong ‘un and was struck in front of leg stump. His wicket at the stroke of tea shifted a see-saw day Sri Lanka’s way, but Tendulkar and Raina, with a bit of fortune, put India’s survival plans back on track.

Johnson dreams of WACA speed

Mitchell Johnson is crossing his fingers that the WACA pitch will return to its bouncy ways as he plays a rare game on his home ground

Cricinfo staff13-Dec-2009Mitchell Johnson is crossing his fingers that the WACA pitch will return to its bouncy ways as he plays a rare game on his home ground. Johnson moved to Perth from Brisbane a couple of seasons ago but still hasn’t appeared in a match with Western Australia, although he is back each year to play in the Test.Last year he stormed through South Africa with 8 for 61 in the first innings and is chasing more rewards when the third game against West Indies begins on Wednesday. “It’s been a while since I’ve bowled there, but I’m looking forward to it and hopefully it can be a fast, bouncy one for us,” Johnson told AAP. “We’re hoping for a faster, bouncier wicket and that will suit us more than them.”West Indies have Kemar Roach, who is capable of speeds above 150kph, while the hosts have Johnson, Peter Siddle and Doug Bollinger in their line-up. Siddle has been struggling with a hamstring complaint and Clint McKay, the other fast man in the squad, should come in if Siddle is ruled out.Johnson is not like Glenn McGrath, who targeted specific batsmen, but he has developed a list of key wickets. “It’s always nice to get their top guys out like Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan,” he said. “Nash would probably be in there as well being a mate of mine. He’s done exceptionally well for himself and I was glad I got him out before he got his 100 [in Adelaide]. He was a little upset with it, but I’ll be looking to do the same thing.”

Ashleigh Gardner rips Test Australia's way after Sophie Ecclestone's ten give England hope

England need 152 on final day with five wickets standing after gripping fourth day at Trent Bridge

Valkerie Baynes25-Jun-2023Another five-wicket haul, and ten for the match, from Sophie Ecclestone set England up for an enticing final-day pursuit at Trent Bridge before Australia roared back via their own game-changer, Ashleigh Gardner, who claimed three key wickets on the fourth evening to turn the Women’s Ashes Test on its head.England were left needing to pull off the highest successful run-chase in Women’s Test history, well beyond Australia’s 198 for 3 in the 2011 Ashes, and surpass their own record for the highest fourth-innings score of 245 for 9 during last year’s draw with Australia in Canberra after they were set a target of 268.Their hopes were dented when Gardner, Australia’s off-spinning allrounder who predicted on the third evening that the tourists could use a pitch displaying some cracks to their advantage on day five, had England’s first-innings double-centurion Tammy Beaumont caught at slip for 22 and removed Nat Sciver-Brunt to a mistimed pull either side of Tahlia McGrath’s lbw dismissal of Emma Lamb.Gardner then trapped Heather Knight lbw as she took three wickets for nine runs in the space of 17 balls to leave England floundering on 73 for 4. Just as Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt had started to steady things for England, Kim Garth had Dunkley caught behind and by the close England still needed 152 runs with five wickets in hand.England had missed six chances against their opponents, who built a 267-run lead firstly on the back of partnerships worth 99 between openers Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield and 50 between Mooney and Ellyse Perry before Alyssa Healy discovered some timely form – and luck – to put on 59 for the eighth wicket with Alana King. That limited the damage as Australia went from 149 for 1 to 257 all out in their second innings, thanks largely to Ecclestone’s 5 for 63 which gave her match figures of 10 for 192.Making Ecclestone’s achievement all the more remarkable was her relentless toil during Australia’s first innings, when she bowled 46.2 overs, 28 of them on the trot, for 5 for 129, her maiden five-for haul in Tests. This haul came from fewer overs, 30.5, but that was still close to double England’s next hardest-working, seamer Kate Cross with 17, and Ecclestone was operating as the hosts’ sole frontline spinner, with Knight sending down five overs in Australia’s second innings and fellow part-time spinner Sophia Dunkley just two in the first.Litchfield had added just one to her overnight score of 41 when she hit an Ecclestone delivery to Cross, who failed to hold on at cover. But Cross was smiling again when she had Litchfield out leaving for a second time in her maiden Test, this time with one that jagged back in sharply from a good length and crashed into the top of off stump four runs shy of a half-century.Related

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Mooney brought up her fifty sweeping Ecclestone to the boundary and survived on 55 when Sciver-Brunt entered the attack having sent down just five overs in Australia’s first innings due to a knee issue but couldn’t hold a firmly struck return catch on her follow-through.Lauren Filer, the young quick, turned things back in England’s favour with two wickets in four balls when she had Perry out chopping on to a short ball and then produced another, fuller, ball that seamed in again to beat McGrath’s flick and deflect off the front pad to peg back off stump.Filer kept the Australians under pressure with her pace and movement, but it was left-arm spinner Ecclestone’s variation in speed which accounted for Jess Jonassen, a quicker ball that was too full for her attempted slog sweep and skidded low under the bat into the stumps. It was the second time Ecclestone, the No. 1-ranked bowler in both white-ball formats, had dismissed Jonassen this match.Annabel Sutherland was promoted to No. 6 after her unbeaten century from No. 8 in the first innings and she received a life on nought this time when she swept Ecclestone hard and low to square leg where Wyatt shelled the opportunity. But then Ecclestone got one to turn in a long way and Mooney edged onto leg stump to fall for 85.Danni Wyatt leaps into Sophie Ecclestone’s arms after taking a catch•Getty Images

When Gardner walked out ahead of Healy – who was staring down the prospect of a double pair in Ashes Tests – the tension mounted, and threatened to boil over when Cross had Gardner pouched at second slip on the third ball she faced. Then Cross fired one in that looked to have missed Healy’s bat by a hair’s breadth first-ball before striking the bottom of Amy Jones’ gloves only for Ultra-Edge to show Healy had got a feather to it and another, albeit difficult, chance had gone begging for England.Healy faced four more balls before she was off the mark, bisecting slip and gully and from there she seemed to settle gradually into her innings, her stunning off-drive to dispatch Filer’s fuller ball down the ground for four proved it. She needed to after Wyatt made up for her earlier blunder when Sutherland spooned Ecclestone to her at square leg, Australia having lost four wickets for 20 runs in the space of 33 balls.Filer was able to exploit one of the cracks Gardner had mentioned when she got one to spit up into King’s back as she took evasive action and, after Healy brought up her fifty with a single towards cover, King edged Lauren Bell to slip.Healy perished spooning a full toss from Ecclestone straight to midwicket and Ecclestone sealed her five-for when she trapped Darcie Brown lbw for a third-ball duck.There hasn’t been a result in a Women’s Test since 2015 when Australia defeated England at Canterbury, but this match is now poised to break a run of six stalemates.

Dawid Malan hits 98 not out as unbeaten Trent Rockets gun down 190 target

Malan atones for early drop off Phil Salt as Manchester Originals slip to third straight defeat

ECB Reporters Network13-Aug-2022Dawid Malan’s sensational 98 not out freewheeled the Trent Rockets to a record-breaking men’s win over Manchester Originals as the Hundred shone on a glorious day at Emirates Old Trafford.Rockets won their third game in a row – leaving Originals with three defeats from three – as they chased a record 190 to triumph by eight wickets with six balls remaining.Malan was powerful to leg and classy through the off side as he replied with gusto to Originals’ 189 for 3 – at the time, the second-highest score in Hundred history. The left-hander hit nine of the 24 sixes in the match, facing 44 balls.Related

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Phil Salt hit an unbeaten 70, but his 46-ball innings was dwarfed in front of a 14,207 crowd in the baking Manchester sunshine.Salt and captain Jos Buttler, who had lost the toss, shared 84 for the first wicket in 51 balls, the England white-ball skipper contributing an entertaining 41.Salt was the bystander in a 34-run partnership for the third wicket with Tristan Stubbs, who took on his compatriot Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wristspinner, with four consecutive sixes in his 27 off 10.

Salt also shared an unbroken 52 in the last 20 balls of the Originals’ innings with fourth-wicket partner Laurie Evans (26 not out). Alex Hales aside with three catches, the Rockets weren’t great in the field. Malan dropped Salt at deep square leg on 29.Samit Patel’s 2 for 20, including the wickets of Buttler and Andre Russell caught at long-on and long-off by Hales, stood out in an otherwise expensive attack. But the Rockets came out with an ‘Anything you can do, we can do better’ approach to their chase.Hales took Fred Klaassen for a trio of boundaries in the first set of five, while Malan creamed three of the first four sixes over leg as the score raced to 79 without loss after 35 balls.Phil Salt crashes through the off side•Getty Images

Runs continued to flow – a polar opposite to the morning women’s game. When Hales, for 38, chipped Matt Parkinson’s legspin to cover – 85 for 1 after 38 – the bulk of the damage had been done.The shoddy Originals failed to hold either line or length, but Malan was unerring. He did not miss a chance to punish on his way to the Hundred’s second-highest individual score behind Will Smeed’s 101 for Birmingham Phoenix earlier this week.Malan hit three sixes in as many balls off Parkinson and Sean Abbott, by which time there really was no way back for the Originals at 134 for 1 after 56 – just 56 more runs required.Malan backed up his unbeaten 88 in Tuesday’s victory over Superchargers at Headingley, and the loss of Tom Kohler-Cadmore (30) lbw to Tom Hartley’s left-arm spin with 29 required was nothing more than consolatory.

Daniel Vettori and Andre Borovec appointed Australia men's assistant coaches

Former New Zealand captain will still be able to coach in franchise cricket

Alex Malcolm and Andrew McGlashan24-May-2022Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has been appointed an assistant coach of the Australia men’s team alongside Andre Borovec as head coach Andrew McDonald builds his new team.The duo will take up their roles for the Test series against Sri Lanka which starts at the end of June with Borovec, who has worked with the team over the last year, also coaching the Australia A portion of the trip.Vettori, who worked with Australia during the limited-overs leg of the Pakistan tour earlier this year, will continue as coach of Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred this season after leading them to the final last year in an interim capacity while McDonald was away with Australia duties.”I was really impressed with what I saw of the group in Pakistan in the way they approached preparation, planning and playing,” he said. “It’s a very strong and unified group which has the potential to have a very rewarding and hopefully successful period ahead.”McDonald and Vettori have a longstanding relationship having played together and coached together at Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL where McDonald worked as an assistant under Vettori. The pair were set to swap roles in the Hundred last year before Vettori stepped in when McDonald was unavailable.Andrew McDonald, Dirk Nannes and Daniel Vettori at a Royal Challengers Bangalore net session•Getty Images

Vettori has previously been a spin bowling consultant with Bangladesh. His franchise coaching resume also includes head coaching stints with Barbados Royals in the CPL, Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash, Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and Middlesex in the Vitality Blast.His brief will be similar to McDonald’s in overseeing Australia’s bowlers including their preparation, plans, and workloads as both individuals and a collective, as well as working in with the overall strategy of both the Test and white-ball teams. It also includes communicating with Australia’s domestic bowling coaches regularly around the various bowlers whenever they come from or head back to their state teams.There are no concerns within Australia’s hierarchy regarding Vettori’s credentials working with the pace bowlers as well as spinners given his experience as a head coach and as an international captain working with his fast bowlers in New Zealand.The Hundred does not start until August 4 and finishes on September 3 which could overlap with a proposed white-ball series against Zimbabwe to be held in Australia’s northern states, but Vettori will be available for the team’s T20 World Cup build-up which is set to include a 10-day three-match T20I series in India just prior to the World Cup.Related

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Meanwhile, Borovec, who has no professional playing background, is another with close links to McDonald having worked alongside him in a batting and strategy role while McDonald was head coach of Victoria and Melbourne Renegades. He will be joined by Australian women’s team assistant coach Ben Sawyer and Sunny Kaliyar for the A tour which includes two one-day matches and two four-day games.”Andre has been fantastic for the group when he has been involved as an extremely skilled and experienced high-performance coach. He is a great fit culturally and brings the skills to complement our high-performance specialists,” McDonald said.”I have worked with Daniel previously and could not speak more highly of his approach, work ethic and rapport he brings. His experience and balanced style are well documented. He is a great fit and will bring an enormous amount of knowledge to the team.”Michael Di Venuto remains the full-time batting coach and looks likely to step up for certain lower priority white-ball series when McDonald needs to rest. Other consultants could be called in for short-term assignments, as happened under Langer.McDonald, Di Venuto, spin coach Sri Sriram and former Australia quick Clint McKay will coach the T20 and ODI squads in Sri Lanka.There is set to be an increase in Australia A tours in the coming years with CA’s high-performance investment shifting permanently away from funding a national academy to providing playing opportunities for top-end talent at Australia A level. Development of young prospects will be left to the state programs, with the exception of the Under-19s programs.A tours will provide further coaching development opportunities for those within Australia’s senior men’s and women’s coaching panel as well as giving international exposure to some of the top-performing domestic coaches when the schedule allows it.CA has also added long-time Western Australia and Perth Scorchers physio Nick Jones to the men’s set-up as the replacement for David Beakley whose tenure controversially ended prior to the Pakistan tour.They are also looking to appoint a full-time team manager role following the departure of long-time manager Gavin Dovey. Simon Allport will fill the role for the tour of Sri Lanka having worked under Dovey as the men’s team operations and logistics officer.

Walton's quick 89*, yorker-filled last over from Mehidy take Chattogram over the line

Khulna Tigers go down by seven runs to crash out of the tournament

Mohammad Isam14-Feb-2022How the match played out
Mehidy Hasan Miraz settled a seesaw contest with an excellent last over, conceding just eight when 16 runs were needed for Khulna Tigers to win, to help Chattogram Challengers clinch the BPL Eliminator by seven runs. Khulna had a well-set Andre Fletcher and the usually marauding Thisara Perera at the crease for the last over. But offspinner Mehidy hit the blockhole with great regularity, leaving Fletcher and Thisara with little option but to club the ball straight to midwicket several times.When Fletcher struck a four off the fourth ball, Mehidy upped his accuracy even more, and Perera fell to a skier off the last ball. Mehidy accepting the catch gleefully.Khulna would consider themselves slightly unlucky as Fletcher and Yasir Ali had brought them close to the 190-run target in overs 17 and 18, which went for 13 and 19 runs respectively. Yasir was the one doing the most damage, hitting four sixes. But he fell in the penultimate over to Shoriful Islam, caught at deep point where Benny Howell took a smart low catch. That left Fletcher with too much to do.Earlier, Chattogram were propped up by Chadwick Walton’s unbeaten 44-ball 89, which took them to 189 for 5 after they had been asked to bat.Big hit
Walton arrived at the crease when Chattogram were in a bit of strife at 16 for 2 in the third over. He added 38 runs for the third wicket with Kennar Lewis, back in the line-up to replace the indisposed Will Jacks. Lewis, who had made 46 runs in six previous innings for Chattogram, bludgeoned six boundaries including two sixes through square-leg, in his 39 off 32 balls.Walton had had a pretty barren BPL until this innings. He struck five of his seven sixes down the ground, the other two over square-leg. He also hit seven fours. Walton added 115 runs for the fifth wicket with Mehidy, who also got back among the runs with a 30-ball 36.Khulna couldn’t really take advantage of a good start with the ball – they had Chattogram at 66 for 4 at the halfway mark – but Chattogram added 113 in the second half, including 58 runs in the last five overs. They took 22 and 20 in two separate overs.Fletcher almost played a lone hand when Khulna chased, after they lost Mahedi Hasan and Soumya Sarkar cheaply within 4.1 overs. He added 64 for the third wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim, who struck four sixes in his 29-ball 43.His dismissal in the 13th over slowed Khulna down, before Yasir hammered his 24-ball 45 to bring them back in the game. Fletcher struck 80 off 58 balls.Big miss
Mushfiqur leaves another BPL campaign without a trophy. He made a single half-century this season, as Khulna, despite a good side on paper, couldn’t quite bring it together.Mushfiqur kept wickets and captained the side, but there were moments when his mood frayed. After a match in which Fletcher and Soumya batted slowly, Mushfiqur blamed them in the post-match presentation. Then, when Khaled Ahmed dropped a catch, Mushfiqur expressed his anger towards the bowler.

Ben Stokes quashes England captaincy speculation and backs Joe Root to continue

Stokes insists under-fire Chris Silverwood retains dressing room’s support

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2022Ben Stokes has insisted that he has never held any ambition to be England’s Test captain on a permanent basis and that Joe Root and Chris Silverwood retain the “thorough support” of the dressing room.Root enjoyed a remarkable period with the bat in 2021, breaking England’s record for most runs in a calendar year, but has come under fire for his captaincy during the Ashes with Geoffrey Boycott, Michael Atherton, Ian Chappell and Ricky Ponting among his more high-profile critics.Stokes, England’s designated vice-captain, led the Test side against West Indies in July 2020 when Root was on paternity leave and stood in as ODI captain against Pakistan last summer following a Covid-19 outbreak. He is widely seen as the only viable candidate to replace Root, but insisted that he had no intentions of doing so.Related

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“I’ve never really had an ambition to be a captain,” Stokes told reporters in Sydney. “That’s totally Joe’s decision. He shouldn’t be forced into doing it. I’m sure Cooky [Alastair Cook] felt the same way. He did it for so long. When he knew his time was up, his time was up [but] those discussions haven’t been entered anywhere near Joe.”I don’t sense that at all with Joe. He’s brought this team a long way. He’s done some great things. Obviously this series hasn’t gone too well – not from a captaincy point of view but from a team and results point of view. Unfortunately, the captain and coach bear the scrutiny for that but there are 10 other guys out there in the field beside the captain.”Captaincy is more than about setting fields, picking the team, making decisions out there in the middle. A captain is someone you want to go out and play for. Joe Root is someone I always want to play for.”Stokes also threw his support behind Silverwood, who on Sunday became the latest confirmed Covid case in England’s touring party and is self-isolating in Melbourne with his family. Silverwood looks likely to pay for England’s crushing defeat with his job but Stokes insisted that he retained the players’ support.”At the end of the day, the most important people’s opinions are those guys in the dressing room and they’ve got our thorough support,” he said. “Chris Silverwood… he’s a real players’ coach. He stands up for you as individuals and players as well.”All the hype in the media recently about their futures, it’s your [the media’s] job to write that. But they know full well they have the support of everyone in there and that’s all that matters.”Chris Silverwood is under growing pressure•Getty Images

Stokes has struggled to make an impact on his return to the Test side after missing the summer series against New Zealand and India due to a finger injury and then a mental health break. He has managed only 101 runs across six innings and has taken four wickets at 62.25, and described his own series as “pretty average”.”I look at things from a team point of view and obviously coming into the fourth game 3-0 down, there’s not a lot of positives when you say it like that,” he said.”Just getting back out there from a personal point of view – being back out amongst the lads has been great. I’d much rather the results were going our way and obviously they haven’t been. But you’re representing your country, representing England in an Ashes series, so you take the rough with the smooth.”We’ve shown in small stages that we’re capable… but we’ve not done it for long enough or consistently enough and Australia have managed to get through those periods where we’ve had the upper hand. It’s about doing it for longer than that and putting some pride back into the badge.”

Wasim Khan steps down as PCB CEO four months before contract ends

PCB chairman Ramiz Raja has called in the board of directors for a meeting on Wednesday afternoon to take up the matter

Umar Farooq29-Sep-2021Wasim Khan, the PCB CEO, has resigned from his position four months before the end of his contract, the third big exit since the arrival of Ramiz Raja as the new chairman of the board. Wasim follows the departures earlier this month of head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis, both of whom left after Ramiz’s formal appointment.”When I arrived in 2019, there was a real need to build relationships and restore and enhance the global image and reputation of the PCB and Pakistan cricket,” Wasim said in a statement. “With decisive and strategic decision-making, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, we succeeded in earning the goodwill and respect of the global cricketing family, which I am hopeful will lead to increased international cricket being hosted in Pakistan in future.”With a five-year strategy in place, new domestic structure in its third season and the investment in women’s cricket in an upward direction, I feel it is the right time to move on and reunite with my young family. They have sacrificed a lot so that I could fulfill my dreams of contributing to Pakistan cricket, which will always remain very close to my heart.”Related

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Wasim’s departure continues a period of uncertainty for Pakistan, with the new chairman starting to settle down, and the pullouts of New Zealand and England. That has affected Pakistan’s on-field preparations for the T20 World Cup; without the New Zealand and England T20Is, Pakistan will have played one out of the 12 games they had scheduled in the run-up to the event.Wasim had four months left on his current contract, though he had been verbally offered another three-year term by Ramiz’s predecessor, Ehsan Mani. He was, however, thought to be undecided about whether he wanted to take that up, primarily because he was unsure how secure his role would be should Mani move on. Ramiz’s arrival has brought with it considerable change already, not least in his more hands-on steering of the board than Mani’s.Ramiz has been the more prominent face of the PCB’s response to the fallout from the tour cancellations and has held multiple meetings with players of the men’s national team, as well as PSL franchises. Wasim is also believed to not have had any input in the appointments of Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander on to Pakistan’s coaching staff – all situations and decisions in which a board CEO would ordinarily play a role.All this would’ve been a drastic change to the role Wasim had been in over since early 2019. Though the revamp of Pakistan’s domestic cricket was forced upon the board by the Prime Minister Imran Khan, Wasim was tasked with its implementation. He oversaw a difficult dismantling of the previous mix of departmental and regional cricket by implementing the provincial-team model – difficult because, in the shrinking of the player pool, a large number of first-class cricketers were overnight in danger of being bundled out of their careers and livelihood.After the New Zealand and England pullouts, Pakistan will have played one out of the 12 T20Is they had scheduled in the run-up to the World Cup•Getty Images

But, by revamping the PCB’s domestic cricket department and combining it with National Cricket Academies and turning it into a high-performance centre, more roles were created for some of the more established and senior first-class cricketers. Positions were also found for other players in the second XI sides of provincial teams as well as in newly-built city associations.Wasim was also a key figure in improving Pakistan’s status as a venue that is safe and welcoming for touring teams. But for the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan would have staged two entire PSLs in the country and under his tenure, there was also the return of Test cricket to the country. It could be argued that the groundwork for these developments was laid by the board administration before Wasim’s arrival, but the key move under him was that the PCB was not luring teams to visit by paying them extra money.Wasim’s personal relationship with key figures, especially in England, was instrumental in convincing teams to tour Pakistan. But, with New Zealand and England both pulling out – and with Wasim so closely associated in ensuring that Pakistan visited England in their time of need and in convincing players to undergo especially tough isolation in New Zealand – the fallout is bound to have reflected poorly on the progress he had made.Though his role was often curtailed by events and factors beyond his control, Wasim was the first CEO to be operating under a new board constitution in which the role actually had some influence. Previously, board chairmen have been all-powerful but under this constitution, the CEO held more say in the day-to-day management of board affairs.The chairman, as is becoming clear with Ramiz, still holds considerable power, but more at policy level. The chairman, according to the constitution, holds no final say in the selection of national teams for any series or event or has the power of naming a captain and vice-captain, with the CEO overseeing that responsibility and the chairman only allowed the final say, for which the chairman will be briefed by the CEO.But PCB will not name a replacement – permanent or interim – for Wasim at the moment. His departure is not expected to impact any operational matters and all signs point towards Ramiz, as chairman, taking on more of the role.

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