Gloucestershire all out for 76 in first innings, in trouble in second

ECB Reporters Network23-Aug-2020Tom Abell and Tom Lammonby hit unbeaten centuries as Somerset set Gloucestershire an unlikely victory target of 385 on the second day of the Bob Willis Trophy match at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.A day totally dominated by the home side saw Gloucestershire bowled out for 76 from an overnight 13 for four, Craig Overton claiming 4 for 25 and Josh Davey 3 for 21.That gave Somerset a first innings lead of 161. Skipper Abell and Lammonby then both finished 101 not out after an unbroken second-wicket stand of 211 had guided their side to 223 for one when Abell declared, aware of the forecast of rain on the final two days.It was 20-year-old Lammonby’s maiden first class century to follow his maiden first class wicket in Gloucestershire’s first innings. The visitors were left with a tricky eight overs to negotiate, losing Ben Charlesworth, Chris Dent and Tom Lace before closing on 14 for three.Gloucestershire were under pressure from the opening delivery of the day, having already lost four first innings wickets. Davey made the first breakthrough with the total on 29 when nightwatchman Matt Taylor was caught at point for 12.The heat of battle between the two West country rivals was turned up when Jamie Overton thought he had George Hankins caught behind for six with the score 48 for five.Umpire Paul Baldwin disagreed and Overton showed his displeasure, first by crouching with head in hands and then unleashing three successive bouncers at the Gloucestershire batsman.The final ball of the over saw Hankins edge a low catch to Craig Overton at second slip and Somerset felt justice had been done.Lace, who showed better technique than a number of team-mates, was bowled by Jack Brooks for 21, attempting to drive, with the scoreboard showing 56 for seven.Gareth Roderick fell lbw to Craig Overton and Gordon Scott was caught behind off Lammonby’s left-arm seam before Ryan Higgins was last man out for 15.With a commanding lead, Somerset were able to approach their second innings positively. They suffered an early setback when Eddie Byrom chipped a catch to mid-wicket off a leg-side delivery from David Payne.But from then on Lammonby and Abell took control, looking increasingly assured in a partnership that had added 81 by tea, which was taken at 93 for one. Suddenly, batting appeared straightforward on a pitch that had never looked to have any demons in it.The final session saw Abell score more fluently to begin with, producing some textbook drives. Left-hander Lammonby, who had never scored even a half-century in first class cricket, moved cautiously to that landmark, having faced 122 balls and hit five fours.Abell was first to his ton, with two to third man off Ben Charlesworth. It was his second hundred of the competition and was made off 153 balls, with 17 boundaries.Lammonby was forced to hit out in a bid to reach three figures before the declaration and did so to great effect. Twice he cleared the ropes and a pulled four to fine leg off Scott took him to his century off 160 balls.After one more delivery Abell called a halt and soon his seamers were cutting through Gloucestershire’s batting as they had done in the first innings.Davey had Charlesworth caught behind with a ball that lifted and bowled Lace with the first ball of the final over after Craig Overton had pinned Dent lbw. Only the weather would now appear to stand between Somerset and a third win from four Bob Willis Trophy games.

Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering 79 and Bumrah’s four-for pushed Mumbai to top of the table

Deivarayan Muthu06-Oct-20202:19

Should Bumrah start to take the new ball again?

An inventive 79 not out off 47 balls from Suryakumar Yadav – his highest score in the IPL – carried the Mumbai Indians to 193 for 4, setting up their fourth victory in six matches this IPL. In pursuit of a tall target, the Rajasthan Royals lost three wickets in the powerplay, including that of their captain Steven Smith and Sanju Samson. Jos Buttler then slugged a 44-ball 70, threatening a comeback, but the Royals were ultimately dismissed for 136 in 18.1 overs.The 57-run victory – which also featured a fearsome Jasprit Bumrah spell (4-20) – meant Mumbai climbed to the top of the points table followed by the Delhi Capitals, who have played one match fewer, at No.2.After Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma sped away to 49-run opening stand, Yadav, in contrast, got off to a slow start – he was on 12 off 11 balls at one point. He watched Sharma and Ishan Kishan hole out off successive balls. He then watched Krunal Pandya, who was promoted to No.5 ahead of his younger brother Hardik and Kieron Pollard, struggle to 12 off 17 balls. However, Yadav’s wide range of strokes ensured Mumbai still took 68 from their last five overs and finished very strongly.Sharma, de Kock quick off the blocks
De Kock, who regained form with 67 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sharjah, set the tone in Abu Dhabi, too, with a crisp four off the first delivery from Ankit Rajpoot, who was picked ahead of left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat. The ball slid onto the bat in the early exchanges, with Sharma also using the extra pace of Rajpoot to his advantage. After launching him into the Royals dug out over the long-off fence, he sat back, waiting for the short ball and cracked it away to the left of sweeper cover.Smith used as many as five bowlers in the powerplay, but it was 19-year old debutant Kartik Tyagi who produced the breakthrough when he bounced out de Kock for 23. Sharma progressed to 35 before legspinner Shreyas Gopal had him caught at long-on with a wrong’un. His first delivery to Kishan, too was a wrong’un, which he spliced to extra-cover. Mumbai were 88 for 3 in the 10th over. A scoopful of Surya
After using his long reach to get to a pitch of a Gopal legbreak and pump it over extra-cover, Yadav hung back and placed Tyagi either side of third man for fours. Another great piece of placement – late-cut between the keeper and short third man for four brought him a fifty off 33 balls.The Royals had reserved two overs of Jorfra Archer for Pollard and Hardik at the death, but in the end Pollard wasn’t needed at all. While Hardik forced Archer down the ground for four, Yadav unfurled his ramps and scoops to pepper the ‘V’ behind the wicket. Thirty seven of his 79 runs came in that region. It was quite fitting that he helped finish the innings with a ramped four. Hardik did his bit in the unbroken 76-run stand with Yadav off six overs, contributing 30 off 19 balls.Buttler or nothing for Royals
Trent Boult found swing with the new ball once again, removing Yashasvi Jaiswal for a duck in the first over of the chase. Then, in the next over as Bumrah opened the bowling for the first time this season, Smith fell swiping wildly for the third time in three matches. When Boult drew a top-edged pull from Samson to mid-on, the Royals were 12 for 3 in the third over.Buttler played himself in, getting to a run-a-ball 24 before exploding against the slower bowlers. He claimed 49 off 24 balls from Krunal, Rahul Chahar and Pollard.It needed a spectacular catch at the long-on boundary from Pollard – another special from the specialist T20 outfielder that will likely break YouTube – to get rid of Buttler in the 14th over. Royals lost their last five wickets for 38 runs and their third game in a row. The punches weren’t done yet. Long after the game was done, the IPL fined Smith INR 12 lakh for slow over-rate.

ESPNcricinfo understands the change is likely to happen as early as Pakistan’s upcoming tour of New Zealand in December

Umar Farooq22-Oct-2020Just 12 months after Azhar Ali replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed as Pakistan’s Test captain, there could be another change on the way, with increasing murmurs in the executive corridors of the PCB’s headquarters about a younger replacement. ESPNcricinfo understands Mohammad Rizwan and current limited-overs captain Babar Azam are at the top of the list of potential replacements for the Test captaincy, with the change likely to happen as early as Pakistan’s upcoming tour of New Zealand in December.The PCB confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Azhar’s annual appraisal is being carried out, and CEO Wasim Khan had already met him. The final decision, however, hasn’t been made yet as constitutionally, the prerogative to name or dismiss a captain rests with the PCB chairman – who is due to meet Azhar in the next 10 days.Babar lies in wait as something of an obvious replacement. He is one of the few Pakistan players guaranteed a place in all three formats, and, as Pakistan’s vice-captain in Test, was considered as an eventual replacement for Azhar Ali anyway. Rizwan’s stock, meanwhile, has never been higher. After being frozen out of the side for two years while Sarfaraz was Pakistan’s first-choice wicketkeeper and captain, Rizwan has firmly established his place, particularly in the Test side. He scored a half-century in his first Test since returning to the side in Australia last year, before returning a Player of the Series performance in a three-Test series in England earlier this year, where he topped the run charts for Pakistan and won high praise for his wicketkeeping abilities. Just last week, he led his T20 franchise, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to the National T20 Cup title, doing his leadership reputation no harm.Azhar, 35, has struggled for form over the past two years, and found himself in a sustained slump until he scored a hundred in Karachi late last year, followed by a fighting century in a rain-hit draw against England in Southampton in August. The innings looked to have bought him time, though it was notable that his ability as captain was openly questioned by television commentator Wasim Akram – also a member of the PCB cricket committee. “It will hurt the Pakistan team and the cricket lovers in Pakistan,” Akram, a former captain had said on . “Winning and losing is part of cricket, but I think our captain missed a trick quite a few times in this game, as far as his leadership is concerned.”Azhar is presently is the most capped player in the Pakistan side with 81 Test matches in a career that started in 2010. He was appointed ODI captain following both Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi’s ODI retirements after the 2015 World Cup, when he hadn’t been part of Pakistan’s ODI plans. Following poor results in England and Australia during his tenure, he was axed from the captaincy in January 2017, but remained in the squad until 2018 before losing his spot to younger players.He refused an offer to take up Test captaincy in 2017 after Misbah and Younis Khan retired from the longer format, with the PCB deciding to hand over the captaincy in all formats to Sarfaraz. While his limited-overs replacement Babar looks more secure than ever, Azhar’s stint as Test captain may well be drawing to a premature close.

A cautious approach will continue to be taken with the allrounder’s bowling workload

Alex Malcolm03-Dec-2020Australia debutant Cameron Green was “taken aback” by some unusual words of encouragement from an unlikely source when he arrived at the crease for the first time in international cricket.Green, 21, was visibly nervous as he entered batting at No. 5 in the 23rd over with Australia needing 186 to win against India in the third ODI in Canberra, having never previously batted higher than No. 7 in just eight List A innings for Western Australia.After negotiating Shardul Thakur’s over Green revealed that KL Rahul had a conversation with him during Ravindra Jadeja’s next over.”I was actually taken aback by how nice KL Rahul was behind the stumps,” Green said. “I think he asked me if I was nervous or not and I just replied saying ‘yeah obviously a little bit nervous’ and he just said ‘go well, youngster’. I thought it would have been the opposite. I think Virat [Kohli] was trying to be pretty loud at the time.”I was a bit taken aback by how nice that was. I’ll remember that forever.”ALSO WATCH: Watch – Thakur’s match-winning spell (Indian subcontinent only)
Green made 21 off 27, eventually falling to an excellent catch by Jadeja at deep backward square. He was initially just 3 off 12 balls but said captain Aaron Finch helped him through a tricky start.”Obviously early I was a bit scratchy…it took me a few balls to get used to it a bit but unfortunately in that situation you had to get yourself in quickly”I had Finchy down the other end who was absolutely awesome. I think every ball he came up to me and said ‘good job youngster, keep going, you’re batting well, you’ve got plenty of time’. Having him at the other end was pretty special for a guy who has played…someone with that experience at the other end helping you out when you first start, I can’t thank him enough.”Green’s debut had plenty of hype around it after he made a huge impact with both bat and ball in Sheffield Shield cricket in his first three years as a professional, but he acknowledged the jump up to international level was enormous.”They’re class bowlers, especially their spinners,” Green said. “I haven’t faced quality like that. Jadeja is just a beautiful bowler who knows exactly what he’s trying to do. Trying to spin a couple away from you and dart one back in. It was class bowling. You can do as much research and watch as much footage as you can, which I did, to get a better understanding of how they bowled, but it’s a different beast when you’re actually facing them out in the middle. It took me a couple of overs to get used to it. But I take a lot out of it.”Green also bowled four overs which cost 27. He has been on workload restrictions for both Western Australia and Australia as he continues to rebuild from multiple stress fractures in his back. He has only been bowling six overs in training every second or third day and was only going to bowl a maximum of six against India if required.Cameron Green bowling on ODI debut•Getty Images

He nudged speeds of 145kph and produced prodigious bounce that surprised Kohli at times. But he also got an education from the India captain who took Green for consecutive boundaries in his first over.”Fourth ball I tried to bowl a bumped to Virat and he was back on it so quick. He had so much more time than what I had seen before,” Green said. “Obviously it’s a pretty big step up than what I’ve seen.”Green will continue to be cautious with his bowling with Australia’s strength and conditioning staff monitoring his workloads extremely carefully. If he were to make his Test debut in the upcoming Test series it would be unlikely he would bowl a lot of overs.”[My] body is feeling really good,” Green said. “[We’re] being very slow. I’m not trying to bowl too many balls. I’ve started to try and do a 20 to 30-minute stretch daily. Something I haven’t really done before, just to feel that little bit better leading into games. But the coaches in WA have been talking to the Australia guys to keep similar plans to what I’ve had previously, just to not bowl too much.”I think when you get chucked into the Australian team you’re probably going to try and bowl a bit harder than you probably would before. So just restricting that high intensity will definitely help.”There was a chance Green was going to be released to play for Australia A in the three-day tour game against India A at Drummoyne Oval as preparation for the Test series, but he will remain with the T20 squad and will be pushing to make his T20I debut during the three-match series.Team-mate Glenn Maxwell was full of praise for Green’s debut performance including how relaxed he had been after being told he would be playing.”It was seriously impressive, and he’s impressed a lot of people with the way he’s gone about it,” Maxwell said. “Not just with the ball, but the way he bowled to Virat in that little spell, the way he fielded was exceptional. Even the way he went about his batting, he took the game on and it was unfortunate to get out the way he did.””I asked him how he’d slept and he said he still got nine hours sleep which is probably more than most of us got before our debuts. But he seemed pretty relaxed and I know he would have been pretty nervous when he first went out to bat, as everyone is.”Your feet feel heavy, the bat feels a ton but the way he got into his innings, he was able to get through that little bit of nervous energy at the start and then show he’s got a touch of class about him. So it’s good signs for Australian cricket.”

Shane Bond, though, believes Ferguson could bring “intimidation factor” to New Zealand’s red-ball attack

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2020Six New Zealand players who were involved in the IPL and will also feature in the upcoming series against West Indies are currently training in a managed isolation facility in Lincoln. With them are Shane Bond and Brendon McCullum, who were part of the coaching staff at the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders respectively, with New Zealand roping them in as guest coaches during the quarantine period.Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson is one of the players in this bubble, and he’s thrilled to spend time with Bond, whom he describes as “a hero of mine while growing up”.”We had a tour to the UAE with the New Zealand A side two years ago,” Ferguson said in a virtual media interaction. “He was the coach there and that’s the biggest stint I’ve had with him. [We have] similar ways of bowling – obviously he was super impressive. But we’ve had some great chats there. He was even asking [about] one of the plans, [which] was coming around the wicket so much and bowling short to guys. He asked me why I wasn’t doing it as much as I used to. So he remembers it as well. It’s been great to have him to bounce ideas off and get some notes on West Indies.”Ferguson will feature in the three-match T20I series against West Indies, but he isn’t part of the squad for the two Tests that follow. Ferguson is keen to make a return to the longest format, having had to endure a rough first stint in whites. Making his Test debut against Australia in Perth last year, a calf strain curtailed his bowling output to just 11 first-innings overs and ruled him out of the rest of the tour as well as the subsequent home Tests against India.While Ferguson was away, the towering Kyle Jamieson made his debut for New Zealand, picking up nine wickets across two Tests against India, including 5 for 45 in a Man-of-the-Match performance in Christchurch, while also contributing runs down the order. But Ferguson isn’t bothered by the competition, and is instead looking forward to “keep doing the work in the background”.”I think it’s a fantastic time to be playing for the Black Caps,” he said. “You see the depth – Kyle Jamieson, one of my good mates, coming through and taking his opportunity [and] playing very well. [This] puts pressure on all bowlers to perform well and he’s started the [domestic] season very well this year – he’s taken five-fors pretty much every game, so I think it’s great. For me, that means I’ll have to work hard to get an opportunity and have a chance in the side. And if that opportunity comes, I’ll do what I can to take with open arms.”… [Jamieson] certainly deserves a spot in that side. But having said that, the Test side is a tough team to make – there’s so much depth and obviously our big three (Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner) have been so successful for a long period of time. But you can only take it game by game – tough to look too far ahead.”Kyle Jamieson reacts after his five-for in Christchurch•AFP

Bond believes it won’t be long before Ferguson is back in the Test side despite having fallen behind in the queue.”He’s sitting in behind – you’d argue – three, maybe four or five [bowlers], with Matt Henry around as well,” Bond said. “I think everybody is more than aware of what he can do in terms of pace. He offers an intimidation factor, he’s just part of our wider Black Caps bowling squad. So when he gets his chance to play four-day cricket for Auckland, it’s just [about] continuing to bowl well and put in good performances. And either through retirements, injuries or his own performances, he’ll get his chance sometime in the future perhaps.”What Ferguson can bring to the Test attack, Bond says, is the “intimidation factor”, which can be especially useful against the lower order.”I think we’ve seen that in Australia over the past period of time, where they really do clean up the tail through using their fast bowlers and intimidating sort of from [number] eight down,” Bond said. “Because no one wants to face the sort of pace that Lockie bowls, particularly when he loves to bowl around the wicket as well, it’s pretty horrible.”Ferguson, Bond says, could be especially useful on the flatter pitches in New Zealand, particularly in the second innings.”Wickets in New Zealand are flat, they’re generally green at the start, they flatten out, they don’t turn, they become a sort of run fest in the second innings in particular, so if you use him in those short, sharp spells, then he can come on and create some chaos through the middle there, and particularly in the back end where people just don’t want to face that stuff, that can make life easier for the rest of the order. “Bond also credited the New Zealand management for investing in Jamieson.”I thought last season he was sensational,” Bond said. “He’s certainly taken his game to another level, and I think that’s a sign of the investment New Zealand Cricket have put in him – the value of those A tours, programs, what he’s learned about travelling and what’s required to be at the top.””And then the second part is the credit to Kyle himself for going away and continuing to improve on areas that he had to to be successful. So he’s a hugely exciting talent, obviously offers multi-skills, and just offers that point of difference with his height and his bounce as well.”Despite Jamieson yet to make his T20I debut, Bond already foresees an IPL opportunity for him and is looking forward to him playing T20 cricket.”I’m looking forward to see how he goes in T20, and there’s always opportunities in the T20 game as well,” he says. “With another IPL around the corner, who knows what can happen. Things in this game can change pretty quick, so looking forward to seeing what he can do.”While New Zealand’s IPL contingent have cleared two Covid-19 tests, they will need to take a third one before being allowed to join the rest of the squad ahead of the T20I series starting November 27.

Praises Pant, Ashwin, and Vihari for chipping in ‘for the team’s cause’ amid raft of injury concerns

Sidharth Monga11-Jan-2021To Ajinkya Rahane, who remains unbeaten as India’s Test captain thanks to the amazing rearguard to bat out 131 overs in the fourth innings of the SCG Test, the draw is as good as a win. India had to fight great odds as they started with an already depleted side but then Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin sustained injuries during the Test.”For me this is as good as winning a Test match,” Rahane said. “When you come abroad and play a match like this, it was really special. Credit to [Hanuma] Vihari, [R] Ashwin, the way he batted, [Cheteshwar] Pujara, Rohit [Sharma] at the start and also Rishabh [Pant]. I think everyone chipped in for the team’s cause but credit to those two guys who batted almost two-and-a-half house till the end.”In the end, with five wickets still in hand, the match might not have reached the thrilling crescendo some of the great Tests do, but Rahane said the afterglow of this draw will be bright. “I am extremely proud of the way we played and I think the whole nation would be proud of us with the way we have played after Adelaide,” Rahane said. “Melbourne and today, these were different games, we made a good
comeback with a win.”If we have to talk about today, Australia was dominating in the first innings but from 200 for 2, they were all out for 330. Credit goes to our bowling unit for taking the last eight wickets in 130-odd runs. Obviously they batted well in the second innings but I think today will end up being one of the most memorable days in Indian cricket. Perhaps we cannot get the magnitude of today’s achievement right away but possibly after the series we will realise it.Rahane: ‘Perhaps we cannot get the magnitude of today’s achievement right away but possibly after the series we will realise it’•Getty Images

“It was a special day for me as a captain. I believe that we cannot really control the result but it’s imperative to fight till the end. That’s the main thing I’ve learnt in cricket, to keep fighting till the end. This Test match was almost similar. That’s why the result is as good as a win for us. When we play overseas and save such a match, it’s a special feeling and I am proud of everyone, the players and the management.”One of the moves Rahane made as captain was to promote Pant ahead of Vihari to partner with Pujara. Rahane said it put a right-left combination and also split two batsmen who rely more on defence. “About Rishabh’s batting number, we discussed and had that strategy and that paid off but credit to him,” Rahane said. “Going out there at No. 5 – the captain or the team management can make strategies – but in the end it’s up to that individual to actually go out there and deliver for your team and Rishabh did that for us. The way he counter-attacked, the way he actually managed his innings throughout the day was really good to see.”About his character, we know that he can actually win games for us from any situation. We have that belief in any him. I think he is improving day by day as a cricketer, which is a very good sign.”Vihari, who batted at No. 6 because of the move, ended up injuring his hamstring but batted out 161 balls to see India through to safety. “We knew Vihari was batting well throughout the last three Test matches,” Rahane said. “Unfortunately he couldn’t get those big scores. Today, we all saw a special knock. I thought his knock was more special than his hundred. The way he batted after getting injured, to show that motivation, that hunger, to hang in there for your team was really good and that’s what we want from each and every individual.”To show that character on the field, because it’s all about what the team wants. Credit to him, the way he handled himself. There was pressure, yes, but the way he managed his batting, his injury, it was really special to see.”

He missed Rishabh Pant’s record by five balls but powered Kerala to their first-ever win over Mumbai in any format

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2021Kerala’s Mohammed Azharuddeen smashed the second-fastest century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 tournament, as he reached the landmark in 37 balls against a Mumbai attack led by Dhawal Kulkarni at the Wankhede Stadium. Azharuddeen missed Rishabh Pant’s record by five balls but it was still the joint-third-fastest T20 century by an Indian. It was also the first hundred by a Kerala batsman in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and sealed their highest-ever chase in the tournament as they beat Mumbai for the first time in any format.Kerala were chasing 197 after 40s from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Aditya Tare and handy cameos from Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube. Azharuddeen started the innings with Robin Uthappa, who was sedate only in comparison, and the two put on 129 runs in 9.3 overs before Uthappa a 23-ball 33. Soon after, Azharuddeen got to his century off left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar. Pant’s record of 32 balls, which came for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in 2017-18, though was never really under threat.After being on 89 in 31 balls, Azharuddeen slowed down, scoring 1, 1, 0 and 1 to get to 92 in 35 balls before a six off Mulani and a two took him to the landmark. He remained unbeaten on 137 off 54 balls, with nine fours and 11 sixes, as Kerala cantered to victory by eight wickets in 15.5 overs.Azharuddeen, the 26-year-old, got off the mark off the third ball of the innings – his first – with a boundary off Kulkarni, and took a special liking to Tushar Deshpande, the other new-ball bowler. In the second over of the innings, bowled by Deshpande, Azharuddeen hit one six and two fours as 20 runs were scored. Deshpande went off the attack but returned in the sixth, and Azharuddeen hit him for two fours and two sixes as the over went for 23, taking his score to 65 at the end of the powerplay.The most noteworthy aspect of Azharuddeen’s innings was his pull shots, but he did play more than a few pleasing drives too, and found his runs off Ankolekar and Shams Mulani primarily in the V, even as he slapped the experienced Kulkarni over his head for two sixes, both off the back foot.The record for the quickest T20 century is in the name of Chris Gayle – he got to the mark off just 30 balls when he hit 175 not out off 66 balls for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Pune Warriors India in IPL 2013. Then comes Pant’s effort. Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball ton against Sri Lanka in a T20I ranks second among Indians, while Azharuddeen has pulled level with Yusuf Pathan, who hit a 37-ball century for the Rajasthan Royals against the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2010.Azharuddeen has never featured in the IPL before, but this century is a timely step in that direction, given the IPL 2021 auction is scheduled for February.

“Washington has been doing really well for us, so you can’t have two players of the same discipline playing in one squad”

Deivarayan Muthu11-Mar-2021There is no room for R Ashwin in India’s T20I squad unless the incumbent offspin-bowling allrounder Washington Sundar has a “drastically horrible season,” according to captain Virat Kohli.Ashwin last played white-ball cricket for India in July 2017, with the team management veering towards the wristspin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav following the defeat against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final. Sundar, who made his T20 debut in the IPL that year, has now grown into India’s first-choice offspinner in T20Is.Related

• Kohli: We weren't aware of what we had to do on that pitch

• India to shed caution for aggression, says Virat Kohli: 'I see us being much more positive from now'

• Spin questions for England as India try on new big-hitting avatar

• Rohit to Suryakumar and Kishan: 'Enjoy the moment'

• Gollapudi: Who will be Rohit's opening partner?

With Ashwin and Sundar offering largely similar skills-sets, Kohli said that India can’t fit both of them in the squad as they plan for the T20 World Cup slated to be held in India later this year.”Washington has been doing really well for us, so you can’t have two players of the same discipline playing in one squad,” Kohli said at a virtual media conference, a day out of the T20I series opener against England in Ahmedabad. “Unless, Washi has a drastically horrible season and things go south for him….the question has to be asked with some kind of logic as well. You suggest where you would add Ash and play him in the team when someone like Washington already does that job for the team. So, it’s easy to ask the question but you should have a logical explanation to it yourself.”Earlier in February, former India opener Gautam Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo that he was surprised at Ashwin’s continued omission from India’s white-ball sides.Since IPL 2017, Ashwin has picked up 48 wickets in 52 T20s at an economy rate of 7.59 to add to 277 runs with the bat at a strike rate of just under 126•BCCI

“He is such a great bowler that people don’t talk about his batting,” Gambhir said of Ashwin.” And it amazes me that he doesn’t play white-ball cricket. So how much is he doing to surprise all of us? It’s actually a shame that he hasn’t played white-ball cricket for the last two years after winning what nine Man-of-the-Series awards [in Test cricket].”People have made comebacks into Test cricket with white-ball performances, which is probably not the right way because white-ball cricket is different to red-ball cricket. But, a bowler who has done phenomenally well in red-ball cricket has not made a comeback in the last two years in white-ball cricket. And he does perform in the IPL as well – he bowls with the new ball, he bowls with the old ball, he bowls at the death. He bowls at every stage of the game.”Since IPL 2017, Ashwin has picked up 48 wickets in 52 T20s at an economy rate of 7.59 to add to 277 runs with the bat at a strike rate of just under 126. In comparison, since his IPL debut in 2017, Sundar has had the benefit of playing more T20s, taking 67 wickets in 87 games at an economy rate of 6.61.During this period, Sundar also emerged as a powerplay spinner for Rising Pune Supergiant and more recently Royal Challengers Bangalore. And in T20I cricket since his debut in December 2017, Sundar has grabbed 13 wickets in the powerplay in 21 matches at an economy rate of 6.64. Only six other bowlers, among Full-Member nations, have more wickets than Sundar in the first six overs during this phase, with New Zealand’s Tim Southee leading the list with 21 strikes in 38 matches.With the bat, Sundar is a bit of an unproven talent in the IPL and T20Is although he has made some match-winning contributions for his state team Tamil Nadu and his TNPL sides. Sundar recently showed his batting chops in Test cricket, twice coming close to a century in the home Test series against England and even impressing his coach Ravi Shastri.As for the upcoming T20I series against England, the Indian team management may have to make an immediate choice between Sundar and Axar Patel – the two fingerspin-bowling allrounders in the squad. It remains to be seen whether the presence of a long list of left-handers in England’s potential XI – Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran – works in Sundar’s favour.

The South Africa board now runs the risk of ministerial intervention

Firdose Moonda20-Mar-2021Cricket South Africa runs the risk of ministerial intervention after its Members’ Council – the decision-making arm of the organisation, which is made up of provincial presidents – rejected the interim board’s proposal for a majority independent board.At a meeting on Saturday, the members’ council advised the interim board that eight of its 14 participants voted against an independent board. This means the interim board is unable to complete one its most pressing tasks as directed by the country’s sports minister Nathi Mthethwa: to lay the framework for a new board in line with the 2012 Nicholson Commission. The interim board and minister are expected to address the public on further steps in the coming days.The reluctance of the Members’ Council to implement an independent board dates back to the time that the Nicholson report was presented to them. Part of the reason the Members’ Council continue to appoint non-independent directors is to please the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), the umbrella body under which all sports federation in this country operate – SASCOC does not approve of a majority of independent directors. That means cricket’s is mostly run by people who are involved in the domestic structures and not outsiders from the corporate world or elsewhere.Under the non-independent board, CSA has been steeped in administrative chaos that has seen several senior staff suspended for alleged misconduct and resulted in severe financial losses. Currently, CSA is still working to avoid debt that could run into hundreds of millions of Rands as a result of the failure to secure broadcasting rights for a domestic franchise T20 tournament, the Mzansi Super League, among other things. The South African Cricketers Association has previously called the situation CSA is in “an existential crisis”, something the sports minister has recognised and acted on.It was on Mthethwa’s insistence that the interim board was put in place after he threatened to step in at CSA following 18 months of headline-making over questionable governance, which led to the suspension and eventual sacking of CEO Thabang Moroe. CSA is still without a permanent CEO, and is on its third acting head, and is also without a board or a framework for how to appoint one, which essentially puts it back where it was six months go – on the cusp of government intervention.Mthethwa can act according to the country’s National Sport and Recreation Act, which gives him the power to intervene “in any dispute, alleged mismanagement or other related matter that is likely to bring a sport into disrepute”. He can also take away funding from CSA and may no longer recognise it as a national federation.

Recent heavy rain had left the outfield at Ian Healy Oval saturated

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2021The Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and South Australia at Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane was abandoned without a ball bowled.Although the weather for the last couple of days had been fine, previous heavy rain had left the outfield saturated and it had not dried enough to allow any play.It would have been the first first-class match held at the ground, the match shifted back there from Allan Border Field due to the improved drainage following redevelopment.The last six days of Sheffield Shield cricket in Brisbane have been abandoned after there was no play on the last two days of Queensland’s previous match against Victoria. Between the two four-day fixtures, a Marsh Cup game was also called off.The abandonment means Queensland stay top of the table with one game remaining – against New South Wales over Easter – as they aim to secure hosting rights for next month’s final.