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Sunday’s match between Nigeria and Oman at ICC WCL Division Five in Jersey marked the first time that multiple female umpires have officiated in a men’s ICC tournament match

Peter Della Penna in Jersey 23-May-2016Sue Redfern of England and Jacqueline Williams of the West Indies created history on Sunday for their roles in Oman’s 181-run win over Nigeria at ICC WCL Division Five in Jersey. Redfern was one of the two standing umpires, working with Scotland’s Alex Dowdalls, in the game while Williams served as third umpire. It marked the first time that two female umpires have officiated in a men’s ICC tournament match.Though multiple female umpires have served in women’s ICC tournament matches – Redfern and Williams were two of four female officials at the Women’s World T20 Qualifier in Thailand last November and filled standing and third umpire roles respectively in a game between Ireland and Netherlands on the opening day of that event – Sunday was the first time it occurred in a men’s ICC fixture. Kathy Cross was the first women’s official to stand in a men’s ICC tournament match, serving at 2014 ICC WCL Division Five and Three, both held in Malaysia that year.Redfern, 38, is a former England Women’s Test cricketer who also works as the ECB’s inclusion and diversity manager. Williams, 40, made history earlier this year when she became the first female umpire to stand in the West Indies domestic 50-over competition, officiating in a Trinidad & Tobago win over ICC Americas on January 15 at Port of Spain.

For the first time in almost a decade and a half, Sharad Pawar, former BCCI and ICC president, will contest an election for the president’s post of his home turf, the Mumbai Cricket Association

Amol Karhadkar09-Jun-2015

List of candidates for MCA elections

• President: Sharad Pawar (Bal Mahaddalkar group), Vijay Patil (Cricket First)

• Vice-pr‎esident (two posts): Dilip Vengsarkar, Aashish Shelar (Bal Mahaddalkar group); ‎‎Lalchand Rajput, Sanjay Patil, Abey Kuruvilla, Rahul Shewale, Pratap Sarnaik (Cricket First)‎; Ramdas Athavale (independent)

• ‎Joint secretary (two posts): Dr PV Shetty, Ravi Savant (Bal Mahaddalkar group); Lalchand Rajput, Dr Unmesh Khanvilkar, Abey Kuruvilla, Sanjay Patil (Cricket First)‎

• Treasurer‎: Nitin Dalal (Bal Mahaddalkar group); Mayank Khandwala, Lalchand Rajput (Cricket First)

• Managing committee (11 posts): Pankaj Thakur, Deepak Patil, Deepak Murkar, Arvind Kadam, Armaan Mallick, Shah Alam Sheikh, Vinod Deshpande, Ramesh Wajge, Ganesh Iyer, Shrikant Tigdi, Navin Shetty (Bal Mahaddalkar group); Nadim Memon, Deepak Jadhav, Iqbal Shaikh, Dawood Patel, Suraj Samarth, JP Gavande, Sangam Lad, Pratap Sarnaik, Rajan Phatarpekar, Pravin Amre, Sanjay Patil (Cricket First)‎

For the first time in almost a decade and a half, Sharad Pawar, former BCCI and ICC president, will contest an election for the president’s post of his home turf, the Mumbai Cricket Association. Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar has returned to the ruling Bal Mahaddalkar panel and has filed nomination papers for one of the two vice-presidents’ posts.On Tuesday, the last day of filing nomination papers, Vijay Patil, an incumbent vice-president and chief of Cricket First, the opposition group in MCA, submitted his nomination for the president’s post against Pawar for the elections to be held on June 17. Patil’s group has been supported by Shiv Sena, the political party that is a part of the state government.With Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party, enjoying a healthy relationship with Patil and Shiv Sena, Patil may withdraw his nominations before June 13, the last date for withdrawals. He would then seek re-election as vice-president for the third term in succession.If Patil withdraws his nomination for vice-presidency and ends up contesting against Pawar, it will be the first time Pawar will be involved in an MCA election since defeating former India captain Ajit Wadekar in 2001. It was when Pawar had entered into the cricket administration fray. Of the seven biennial terms since then, barring the one from 2011 to 2013 when Pawar handed over the reins to another political heavyweight late Vilasrao Deshkmukh, Pawar was elected unopposed every time he filed his nomination papers.Meanwhile, Vengsarkar, who had contested against Deshmukh in 2011 with an agenda of not allowing politicians to run MCA, has joined hands with the Mahaddalkar panel and earned a vice-president’s ticket. Ravi Savant, an incumbent vice-president for the ruling faction, will contest for the joint secretary’s post.Shiv Sena’s open support to Cricket First has resulted in multiple politicians aspiring for major posts. It has resulted in the faction ending up filing multiple nomination papers for the same post. Over the next four days, the group will have to curtail the list and also control the disdain arising out of it.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders match at the Champions League T20

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria12-Oct-2012

Match facts

October 13, 2012
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)Kevin Pietersen is part of the dangerous Delhi Daredevils batting trio that includes David Warner and Virender Sehwag•Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images

Big Picture

The first match for the two IPL teams will not only be a tug of war for the first points or an opportunity to work-out their strategies for the tournament; the focus will also be on Delhi Daredevils’ Kevin Pietersen, who is making a return to the field of play after his brief stint as a TV commentator.Kolkata Knight Riders may need a shift from the bowling plans they employed in the IPL to suit the conditions in South Africa. The variations that worked well for L Balaji and Rajat Bhatia in India will need adjustments, and it remains to be seen what tricks they use to supplement their lack of pace. Sunil Narine and Jacques Kallis are the automatic choices, but Brett Lee hasn’t had any cricket since Australia’s ODI tour of England in July, where he managed just two wickets in three outings. His competition to get into the team will be primarily with Shakib Al Hasan. Batting-wise, the team will again look up to their captain Gautam Gambhir, despite his recent patchy form, Brendon McCullum and Kallis.Daredevils, on the other hand, are much more settled. Their four first-choice overseas players – the captain Mahela Jayawardene, David Warner, Kevin Pietersen and Morne Morkel – are likely to play all the matches. Their pace-heavy bowling attack, which got batsmen hopping and ducking on benign pitches in the IPL, doesn’t solicit a change and therefore, the team, on paper, will go into the match as favourites.

Watch out for…

Daredevils’ top order features three of the game’s fiercest hitters – Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Pietersen – and that spells entertainment for the crowd. Pietersen, in his debut season for Daredevils, injected an aura into the team with his explosive batting. He played in less than half of the team’s matches – eight – but was the third highest run-getter for the team with 305 runs at an average of 61. The highlights of his stay were the unbeaten 103 and the 20 sixes he racked up in the tournament. Warner came in after Pietersen left and added another century to his T20 tally, while Sehwag was at his consistent best – scoring five half-centuries in a row – on his way to amass 495 runs in the season.Jacques Kallis was one of the pillars of Knight Riders’ success in the IPL. He played in all the matches to score 409 runs and collect 15 wickets. But he has had a forgettable time after South Africa’s successful tour of England. He failed to contribute with the bat – managing 24 runs in three innings – during the World T20 in Sri Lanka. However, in the familiar climes of South Africa, he will be one of the key players to guide the rest with both bat and ball.

Stats and trivia

• The two teams have played each other nine times and Knight Riders are marginally ahead in terms of wins by 5-4
• Gambhir’s strike-rate in IPL 2012 was 143.55, 18 points above his career figure
• Gambhir led Daredevils to wins over Knight Riders twice when the two teams met each other during the IPL 2009 season in South Africa

Quotes

“There are no favourites in this format, but we have the potential. I look around in the dressing room, and see a lot of greats of the game. If all of us play to our potential, we can go a long way in this competition.”
“This is a different challenge. I was asked to do it and I felt since I captained Kochi and a few matches for Kings XI that I would do it this time.”

It’s time to get the calculators out. The permutations throughout the penultimate round of Championship matches have been many and varied but now some numbers really need to be crunched

Andrew McGlashan at Liverpool09-Sep-2011
ScorecardPaul Horton again missed his hundred but his innings was just what Lancashire needed•Getty Images

It’s time to get the calculators out. The permutations throughout the penultimate round of Championship matches have been many and varied but now some numbers really need to be crunched, especially for Lancashire and Hampshire as they try to keep themselves in touch at either end of the table.Events at Edgbaston – where Warwickshire forced Nottinghamshire to follow-on – are also vital and Lancashire need to at least match the result of the hosts otherwise they’ll be a distant third-favourite in the race for the pennant. Hampshire, meanwhile, are still in with a chance of maintaining their Division One status but they really need victory here to put pressure on Worcestershire. They will need to chase whatever target is on offer and Lancashire can decide what that is after closing 202 ahead following a superb final session.Their hopes for a significant first-innings lead were dented by Sean Ervine’s fine 128 which helped the visitors to keep the gap to seven runs. It left four-and-a-half sessions for either side to manoeuvre a position and Lancashire made the advances as Paul Horton, who fell in the 90s for the fourth time in the campaign, and Stephen Moore added 168 for the first wicket, the team’s best opening stand of the season.There was clear intent from the pair in the hour prior to tea as they scored at four-an-over but without taking risks although Horton was given a life on 25 when he was dropped at slip off Danny Briggs on his way to fifty off 76 balls. Progression wasn’t quite as brisk during the start of the final session as Dimitri Mascarenhas bowled his first nine overs for eight runs but the pace picked up again later.Horton, though, continued to lead the way including a well-struck six over deep midwicket and also used the reverse sweep when Briggs tried to nullify scoring options by coming over the wicket. However, three figures again eluded him – he has also been stranded in the 90s twice in the CB40 – when he picked out deep square-leg.Moore had played second fiddle with a half-century off 122 balls, but Lancashire showed their intent as Glen Chapple came in at No. 3. They will need to decide overnight exactly what they want to set Hampshire. An aggressive hour of batting in the morning will push the lead towards 300 although it will be hard work to bowl a side out.Hampshire began the day still 159 behind, but Ervine and Michael Bates took their sixth-wicket stand to 88 to frustrate Lancashire. The new ball had been taken first thing despite the impact of the spinners, yet Chapple and Kyle Hogg both bowled well enough to be deserve a reward with numerous deliveries missing the edge.With a view to Hampshire’s future it was an important innings from Bates who is an excellent gloveman yet doubts remain over his batting. The county tried to sign James Foster to replace Nic Pothas but it would be good to think they are willing to invest in a talented young player who can develop. Bates certainly didn’t look out place during his near two-hour innings which ended when he was superbly caught at short cover.It was spin that had again provided the breakthrough as Gary Keedy struck in his first over. Despite the breakthrough, though, Lancashire ran out of time for a full hand of batting points as Hampshire reached the 110-over mark on 309 for 6 with Ervine remaining firm having reached his first hundred of the season from 169 balls. Slowly wickets fell at the other end as Dimitri Mascarenhas edged to second slip and Keedy claimed his fifth when he clubbed to mid-off.At that point, shortly before lunch, Lancashire still had a chance of a lead of around fifty but Briggs then provided valuable support to Ervine in a stand of 59. The relative ease with which Briggs batted showed that, while help was offer from the surface, it remained good for batting. However, he was dropped at slip on 10 which cost precious time. He became the first, and only, wicket of the innings to fall to pace when he drove Chapple to cover and the innings ended when Ervine picked out long on.

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s one-day captain, said that his team had considered filing a police complaint against Jonathan Trott after his altercation with fast bowler Wahab Riaz

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2010Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s one-day captain, has said that his team had considered filing a police complaint against Jonathan Trott after his altercation with fast bowler Wahab Riaz in the nets before Monday’s fourth ODI at Lord’s.His version of events, however, drew a strong response from Angus Porter, the chief executive of the PCA, who told ESPNcricinfo that the incident had been “six of one, and half a dozen of the other”, and that to portray Trott as the sole aggressor was inaccurate.In a visible sign of the tensions existing between the two teams in the wake of Ijaz Butt’s allegations against the England team, Trott and Wahab squared up on the nursery ground before the start of play, with the two players eventually being separated by the England batting coach, Graham Gooch.Although the details of the incident were sketchy at the time, Afridi later gave his version of events to the Pakistan news channel, Geo TV. “When Riaz was returning after warming up Trott called him a ‘match-fixer’ and that he [Riaz] was up to harming Test cricket and hit his face with the pad,” Afridi was quoted as saying. “It could have been a police case because it is a crime to hit someone. But we showed a big heart and did not press for it.”Afridi also confirmed that Pakistan had considered a making a protest in the wake of the confrontation. “There was talk of not going in for the toss because of the incident,” he said. “But better sense prevailed because we wanted to play the match and we want this series to end properly.”The match referee [Jeff Crowe] called both players and Trott apologised for his remarks and the matter ended there as far as we are concerned.”Porter, however, did not wish Afridi’s take on the incident to go unchallenged. “It is not only unfortunate that Shahid Afridi spoke out on a matter that the match referee described as minor, but we wish to place on record that his version of events is not one that we subscribe to,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “A line has now been drawn under the incident, but that does not mean we do not wish to set the record straight. Afridi has attempted to come across as magnanimous, but that is not how we understand the issue to have played out.”Riaz is one of four Pakistan players, along with Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, to have been interviewed by police following the allegations of spot-fixing that arose during the Lord’s Test last month. The ECB chief executive, David Collier, described the incident as “regrettable” but “fairly minor in nature”.

Questions over whether Marsh will retain his place in Adelaide or perhaps play as a specialist batter only have been floating around after he pulled up sore following the Perth Test

Andrew McGlashan04-Dec-20241:31

Lyon: ‘I’m very clear about my role within the team’

Nathan Lyon is confident Mitchell Marsh will be able to play a role with the ball in Adelaide but is ready to take up any extra workload that comes his way should that not be the case.Marsh’s fitness has been one of the key watching briefs around the Australia side after he pulled up sore following Perth. Uncapped allrounder Beau Webster is part of the squad but it appears likely that Marsh will retain his place regardless of how much he can bowl. Since returning to the side in last year’s Ashes, Marsh is the only incumbent batter to average over 40 which appears set to keep him in the side.”I honestly think we’ll see Mitch Marsh bowl,” Lyon said on Wednesday. “I’m not concerned about Bison’s fitness if I’m being honest. He’s been brilliant for us since he’s come back in. He came [back] in that game in Leeds during the Ashes and [has] really dominated so got full confidence in Bison. Happy to bowl his overs.”Related

• Cummins hopes for more proactive Labuschagne in pink-ball Test

• Marsh 'hopefully right and ready to go' but questions over bowling

• Webster bolsters Australia squad amid Marsh concerns

• Hazlewood ruled out of second Test; Abbott, Doggett in

• Perth report: India hand Australia 295-run thrashing

While in recent times Lyon has been part of an Australia attack that has featured either Marsh, Cameron Green or sometimes both, he has also featured in a considerable number of sides that have not had a genuine allrounder, instead using the four frontline bowlers with some part-time overs from members of the top order.Lyon’s ability to be both an attacking and defensive bowler means he can play a key role in balancing the bowling unit in the absence of a genuine fifth bowler where, if needed, he can look to control the run rate in the first innings before searching more for wickets as the game develops.”I’m very clear on my role within the team,” Lyon said. “Nothing really changes with me…if I can get the opportunity to bowl more overs, I’ll jump at it.”Lyon expects the Adelaide pitch – which will start with 6mm of grass – will take turn as the game develops. In day-night Tests at the ground, spinners average 24.72 on the third day and 22.91 on the fourth, compared to 113.25 on the first and 60.60 on the second.Lyon was economical in India’s hefty second innings in Perth although was largely nullified by the top order before having Rishabh Pant stumped when the lead was already considerable. This Test brings Lyon back to the ground where he has had most success in Test cricket with 63 wickets at 25.26 from 13 matches, seven of which have been day-night encounters.2:13

Clarke: Mitch Marsh needs to be bowling

“We understand that we didn’t play our best cricket in Perth and India totally outplayed us,” he said. “But with all the other stuff, it’s been quite humorous in a way looking at how much has been said and the reactions of so many different people after one loss.”The beauty of a five-match Test series…is you get the opportunity to turn that around and that’s the challenge of what we face right now. We are coming up against a world-class India side that played an exceptional game of cricket over in Perth but that’s been nine days or so ago now, so come Friday we go again which I’m excited about.”We are humans, we are going to make mistakes, but if we can go out there and try and learn along the journey then we are going to put ourselves in a better position come our next fixture. We’ve got a great record here, playing at one of the best venues in the world on a great wicket, so looking forward to that.”He expressed surprised that both R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were left out in Perth with India preferring Washington Sundar. “[It] more than surprises me,” he said. “That’s the quality of Indian cricketers they have in that squad. You’ve got Ashwin with 530-odd wickets [536] and then Jadeja over 300 wickets [319]. It’s pretty remarkable to see the quality of players sitting on the bench.”In an encouraging sign for Australia, Josh Hazlewood was doing some gentle run throughs of his action alongside the other bowlers during the evening training session on Wednesday after he was ruled out of the second Test with a mild side strain. Scott Boland is expected to be his replacement for this Test.

Sri Lanka have won their last 11 ODIs, but their Asia Cup campaign could end if Afghanistan win – and win big

Madushka Balasuriya04-Sep-2023

Big picture

Sri Lanka have played one game in the Asia Cup so far, and won it. But if things go awry against Afghanistan on Tuesday, they very well could be out of the tournament; such is the nature of it. But for that to happen, Afghanistan need to win – and win big. How big will depend on the precise match situation, but hypothetically speaking, if they were to score 275 runs batting first, they would need to win by a margin of at least 68 runs, or chase down any target in 35 overs or less.Suffice to say this gives Sri Lanka a pretty nifty buffer, especially on a Lahore surface that has been positively greedy for runs. This will also be, you imagine, quite a relief for Sri Lanka’s batters, who have over the past month – primarily during the LPL – been subjected to far less batter-friendly tracks.That said, the toss is likely to play a pretty major role. While the team bowling second might have to contend with dew, it’s an arguably rougher deal for the side bowling first as they would have to do so in the searing Lahore heat. Indeed, speaking post match on Sunday after their win against Afghanistan, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan brought it up unprompted as one of the key reasons they won that match, pointing out that it wouldn’t have been easy for Afghanistan to bat after fielding in that heat for 50 overs.Related

• Rain could force Asia Cup matches out of Colombo

• Shining, shimmering, splendid – the rise of Matheesha Pathirana

• Mehidy, Shanto power Bangladesh into the Super Fours

Match conditions aside, Sri Lanka facing Afghanistan should be a fairly even contest. Of the last five completed ODIs between these two sides, Sri Lanka edge it 3-2. And this is now a Sri Lanka side without pretty much their entire first-choice bowling attack. These sides, however, don’t tend to have too many nail-biters, with four of those five games ending in pretty dominant wins.If you’re of Afghan persuasion, that’s a promising sign; but you have to imagine the odds are still pretty heavily stacked in Sri Lanka’s favour. Against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka showed that even with injuries, they still possess enough firepower and nous to take ten wickets in a match, while Afghanistan still have to disprove the notion that their batting is a soft touch once you get past the top order.

Form guide

Afghanistan LLLLL (last five ODIs, most recent first)

Sri Lanka WWWWWRahmanullah Gurbaz has the propensity to either go big or go home•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been a part of every single edition of the LPL, so the Sri Lankans will be quite familiar with his game. Which means they’ll know that if allowed to proceed unchecked, he is a genuine match winner. Gurbaz also has the propensity to either go big or go home; in his last ten ODI innings, he has scores of 145 and 151, even as five others were in single digits. His highest score in that period aside from his centuries is 22. A firing Gurbaz is a must if Afghanistan are to complete this escape act.The nature of Lahore’s pitch means that any result is pretty much a shootout between each side’s respective batters, but in Maheesh Theekshana, Sri Lanka possess a secret weapon. Theekshana is as consistent as they come: in 23 ODIs, he has grabbed at least one wicket in all but five matches, while his economy rate has breached the five-runs-per-over mark just five times. The only caveat is that he has played all these matches either at home or in Zimbabwe, both providing conditions that have suited him quite nicely. In Lahore, he won’t have that luxury, but it’s a test he will most certainly relish.

Team news

Afghanistan’s bowlers struggled against Bangladesh, with the seamers in particular taking some stick. Noor Ahmad is an option to replace one of Karim Janat or Gulbadin Naib, while Riaz Hassan could also come in to freshen up the middle order.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Najibullah Zadran, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Gulbadin Naib 8 Karim Janat, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiIf Sri Lanka play Kusal Perera, he could replace one of the two openers•AFP/Getty Images

Sri Lanka will likely head in with an unchanged XI, though if they were to include Kusal Perera in the side, one of Dimuth Karunaratne or Pathum Nissanka could make way. Dushan Hemantha also provides a wristspin option.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 8 Dushan Hemantha/Dunith Wellalage, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Kasun Rajitha 11 Matheesha Pathirana

Pitch and conditions

Scores of 300 are par for the course in Lahore, with Bangladesh hitting 334 last time out without much trouble. The weather too is expected to be hot and humid, with highs touching 37 degrees potentially, although it should settle around 26 degrees by evening. Winning the toss and batting first seems a no-brainer.

Stats and trivia

On Joe Root’s threat, the fast bowler says New Zealand have “had some conversations about how we want to attack him”

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2022Losing one close game does not mean New Zealand are a poor side. Losing a fourth Test out of seven since becoming world Test champions, though? Two losses in one home summer, after just one loss in the previous five?A bit of a rough patch probably covers that, though two days out from the second Test with England at Trent Bridge, there is still no reason to panic according to Kyle Jamieson.Jamieson was the outstanding New Zealand bowler at Lord’s, the one most likely to bring England down in their chase of a daunting 277. And even if it is possible to argue that this New Zealand attack should have defended that target, the bowling still feels the more settled component of their team.Those results in some part are a result of a period that has acquired a transitory feel. The retirements of Ross Taylor and BJ Watling, as well as the injury-enforced absence – and then underwhelming return – of Kane Williamson have all had a hand in disrupting what has been, for years, a pretty tight batting unit.”It’s not just that game or those series,” Jamieson said recalling last year’s summer in England when New Zealand won the bilateral series as well as the WTC final. “This team has done such a good job over a long period of time, we’re not going to panic after just one game.”We certainly know there were moments in that game we could’ve seized and been better in. We know if we do that it will go a long way in trying to win this game and this series.”Seizing those moments – such as Colin de Grandhomme bowling Ben Stokes off a no-ball – but also finding a way past Joe Root. It’s not as if Root has a poor record against New Zealand. But of the teams he’s played at least 10 Tests against, he averages less than 50 against only two: Australia and New Zealand.”He certainly batted pretty well,” Jamieson said. “He was probably the difference in the game in the end. We’ll certainly go away and make some plans. We’ve already had some conversations about how we want to attack him but also attack the rest of the batting as well. It’s not about focusing on just him, you know, we’ll try and take 10 wickets, take 20 wickets, we’ll just go about trying to do that.”Jamieson’s six wickets at Lord’s continued a sterling start to his career, cemented by a rise to third place in the ICC’s Test bowlers’ rankings. He’s now the highest-ranking of four New Zealand fast bowlers in the top 13. Not that it matters much.”No, not a huge amount to be honest,” he said. “I’m just trying to learn and grow as a cricketer and whatever those numbers spit out, they do. I’m just happy to be part of the side. Trying to play my part and just win Tests for this team. I think for me that’s the main driver, the main focus and whatever that ends up as, it does.”I’m reasonably realistic about where I am with my game. I don’t necessarily think that numbers always give you the correct indication of where you’re at, at a certain point in time. I’m just trying to grow, trying to get better, trying to improve my game, contribute to wins for the side. Those rankings will come out as they do.”

Players restricted to hotel-ground loop but allowed to mingle in the team room at the hotel

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Jan-2021Making the bed. Cleaning the toilet. No room service. Ordering food on apps. No access to the swimming pool. Not only will Ajinkya Rahane’s India have to deal with the mounting injuries on the field, they will also have to contend with new house – and housekeeping – rules on the final leg of their Australian journey. And it has rankled the Indian camp, which – along with the Australians – landed in Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon for the final Test at the Gabba, starting Friday.India were very reluctant to travel to Brisbane because of a combination of factors. The big one was the fear of being restricted in their hotel rooms when not at the ground, reminiscent of the two-week hard quarantine the visitors observed upon landing in Sydney in November.However, through lengthy deliberations over the past few weeks, Cricket Australia has assured BCCI that the Indian squad would not have to deal with a hard quarantine. As an example, though their movement would still be restricted between the hotel and the Gabba, they would be able to mingle in the team room. That finally paved the way for India agreeing to travel to Brisbane.What annoyed the squad, though, was discovering on their arrival at the team hotel that there would be no housekeeping. More than one person in the Indian camp said they had never been told about the DIY life at the hotel. Although they were not allowed to roam freely in Sydney during the third Test either, they had the room service and housekeeping facilities at the hotel. Here, not so. “There is a gym, a basic one,” one person said. “No pool, no room service, no housekeeping.”Related

• Down but not out: India hoping against hope in final battle at Australia's fortress

• Bruised and abused, Indians make their own luck at the SCG

• WATCH: Ishant to Jadeja, India's long injury list going into Gabba Test

• Ajinkya Rahane: Draw at SCG 'as good as winning a Test match'

There is no in-house food or beverage option at the hotel either. It is understood that an external contractor has been hired to provide catering to the two teams but they cannot order anything customised. They do have the option, though, of ordering via food apps.One reason behind the absence of housekeeping and other hotel staff could be that the BCCI had told CA it would want the Indian squad to fly out of Brisbane immediately after the Test. To ensure maximum safeguards, it is possible CA agreed to having the bare minimum hotel staff to avoid unnecessary contact with a person outside the bio-secure environment.However, the Indian camp is not satisfied with the arrangements, especially considering there are some players traveling with families.The other major point of irritation for the Indian camp is the ban on using the hotel pool. Several players with niggles or injuries, including key bowlers – Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin – would want to utilise the swimming pool as part of the recovery process. However, the pools are off limits because of the fear of community spread of the Covid-19 virus.The Indians were also afraid of being asked to isolate for a further two weeks on their return to India from Brisbane because of one reported case of a person being infected by the new UK-strain of the virus in Brisbane. That would have affected their plans for the home series against England, starting February 5. As of now, though, there is no bar on travelers flying in to India from Brisbane.

Abbas and Musa took two wickets each but Naseem was the most expensive bowler on show

Alex Malcolm16-Nov-2019Pakistan head into the first Test in Brisbane having only claimed seven wickets against an inexperienced Cricket Australia XI in their final two-day tour match in Perth which ended in a draw.Just four days after bowling out some of Australia’s leading first-class players for just 122 at Perth Stadium, the bowlers struggled to make significant inroads against a very young CA XI batting line-up in 40 plus degree heat on a flat WACA surface. CA XI did slump to 2 for 6 early but half-centuries to Victorian Jonathan Merlo and West Australians Matthew Spoors and Bradley Hope ensured the youngsters survived 79.5 overs before the players shook hands. Merlo and Spoors put on 122 in nearly a session and a half of batting while Hope finished unbeaten on 50.Back after missing the Australia A game, Mohammad Abbas bowled with typical frugalness taking 2 for 22 from 14 overs, including CA XI’s most credentialed player Jake Doran. Muhammad Musa also bowled tidily claiming 2 for 32 from 14 overs.But after Naseem Shah created a flurry of excitement with his burst against Australia A, he found the going much tougher at the WACA. He went wicketless in 12 overs and conceded 58 runs to be Pakistan’s most expensive bowler in terms of economy rate. Spinners Kashif Bhatti, Yasir Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed each claimed a wicket but unsurprisingly did not find much purchase on the day two WACA strip.Imran Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi did not bowl after their strong performances against Australia A.