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Cricket Australia’s development chief Belinda Clark believes pumping a lot more money in will make sure the cricket is made more accessible to local communities

Daniel Brettig30-Aug-2018Australian cricket’s custodians are expectant that a fresh commitment to major strategic funding for the game’s lower levels will be matched – if not bettered – by local, state and federal governments to address a host of infrastructure problems unearthed by a Cricket Australia audit of facilities last year.Broadcast rights revenue and a tightening of the belt at the CA headquarters have reaped an A$35 million windfall for community cricket levels. The seemingly princely sum, however, is a mere fraction of what the governing body’s development chief Belinda Clark believes will be needed over the next decade.Population growth areas in New South Wales/ACT, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia will be served by no fewer than 58 new community cricket staffers employed by state and territory associations. Besides, nearly A$13 million will be pushed directly towards infrastructure projects, registration fees for junior programs will be redirected towards funding clubs, further funding will be pushed towards growing competitions for women and girls, and free level one coaching courses will also be made available to help volunteers.Even with an additional chunk of funding set to be tipped into the grassroots by the Australian Cricketers Association – an offshoot of last year’s fractious pay dispute with CA – the gap between identified needs and the ability to fund them remains substantial. In that sense, it mirrors the shortfall between CA’s burgeoning junior participation numbers and actual paid-up club cricketers, a disparity shown up annually by CA’s own “census” and Sport Australia’s annual survey, which places cricket some way down the list of participation sports. To that end, Clark is hopeful for governments at all levels to match what CA has announced – at least.”That’s been our experience in the past, so there’s been a lot of partnerships formed over the last few years with local councils, state and national governments to make sure that those funds are being put in the right areas and that they serve the local communities that those governments are looking after,” Clark told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s the methodology that’s been used in the past and worked really well, so what we’re doing is using the same structure and framework, but pumping a lot more money in, which means that we’re going to be able to partner with a lot more people to make sure the community has got what it needs.”I think the key thing is that this is money that’s available from cricket to invest in facilities, but facilities are also the domain of local, state and national governments, and that’s the area where you start to partner with people and with other sports to make sure that you can maximise the dollars and make sure they go as far and as wide as possible. It’s a significant increase in the amount of money that cricket itself is contributing to make sure those facilities are ready for kids and adults to play the sport.”It comes from essentially the decisions to spend the money that the organisation has, partly its broadcast deal and partly its savings that have been found within the business in order to redirect our funds into the community, which is what the strategic plan is all about. So it’s a proactive move by the sport to support the community and the funds that are within the organisation’s control, it’s been decided, this is an important thing to spend on.”A young fan with an Australian flag painted on his face looks on•Getty Images

Efforts to ensure that junior participants graduate to clubs are another central part of Clark’s portfolio, reflected in how CA is expecting up to 90% of local competitions to adopt modified junior formats by the end of the summer. “The rollout of new junior formats has been taken up really well in the community,” she said. “So last year there were 65% of associations that had started to implement those formats, and this year we anticipate getting as high as 90% of associations. So step one is to make sure that the game is fun and fast and attractive to kids, so that’s that.”But in terms of making sure the environment’s great, that’s where the free level one community coaching courses come into play, making sure the kids – once they arrive at the club have got good coaches and great experiences. The third bit is providing additional resources – by sharing the revenue from Cricket Blast registration it provides clubs with a revenue stream that previously wasn’t there in order to make sure there’s opportunities to continue to play.”The funding rollout is intriguingly timed for the game, given the fallout from the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal but also the signing up of News Corporation and Seven as new broadcast partners, the two companies contributing to a broadcast deal worth A$1.18 billion over the next six years. Both networks are gambling significant sums of money on cricket’s appeal continuing to grow, rather than being stymied by public ill will towards the national team in particular and the governing body in general.”I think fundamental to the sport has been providing people with opportunities to play and contribute as a volunteer at club or association level,” Clark said. “That hasn’t changed, but I think what we’re in the midst of is being in a position where we’ve been able to invest more heavily into that. So there’s always been an investment into the community but this is a significant increase at a moment in time that allows us to better support people who run the game, week in and week out.”The “war for talent” has been an oft-used catchphrase at CA in recent years, but Clark did not want to get into a field army comparison with other sports in terms of community and junior development positions. However, she forecast better days ahead for clubs and local associations who have often felt left out of the rivers of gold flowing from successive increases in CA’s broadcast rights deals.”We’re looking at this through a lens of supporting the cricket community – that’s our endeavour, whether we’ve got the same number of staff or less than other sports is irrelevant to us,” Clark said. “What we need to do is make sure the support we provide is appropriate and what is being asked by our volunteers. So we’ll be under what those sports possibly are providing, but I’m also really clear on the fact we’ve got a great volunteer network and we’ll extract some great benefits for them and for the sport.”States and territories will be communicating directly with clubs and associations around what the next steps are for them to be accessing the funding. This absolutely is a joint effort across Australian cricket and we’re working very closely with those states and territories to make that happen. From a facilities perspective, there’s a grant application that will be open to everyone.”The people working in the field have been out talking to clubs about the Cricket Blast and the opportunities that provides for them sharing information around level one coaching courses and support for girls’ competitions. So this really is a point in time where, if people have interest, they’ll have a local cricket manager to make contact with and they’ll have all the information to make sure they’re fully briefed on what’s available.”

With a dab through backward point – and the help of four overthrows – Alastair Cook completed a fairytale hundred in his final Test

Melinda Farrell10-Sep-2018Alastair Cook had passed 20 the afternoon before, so finishing with 12,345 runs was out of the question. A shame for members of the Consecutive Numbers Appreciation Society.Then there was the half-century to tick off. He did so on the first ball of the second over of the morning, crisply flicking a Jasprit Bumrah delivery off his pads as the fans were still flooding in. No doubt at least some of them were skiving: who cares about work or the first full day back at school when history is crooking its finger?Next up was Kumar Sangakkara’s position as fifth on the Test run-scorers’ table: Cook needed to reach 76 for that. He got there driving, not cleanly, but an inside edge was enough for a single and the title of highest scoring left-handed batsman in Test history.And then, of course, the century. Cricket has been cruel to many of its greatest proponents. Few get to name the day of their final stand, let alone write the bit about riding off into the sunset and living happily-ever-after. Cook had scored a half-century and a century on his debut against India in Nagpur; surely, 12 years and 161 Test matches on, he couldn’t sign off a tremendous batting career in a home Test the same way? It would be too symmetrical, too .Alastair Cook soaks in the applause of The Oval crowd after raising his 33rd Test century•Getty Images

Okay, so it wasn’t a glorious cover drive or a dramatic slog sweep for six but in a way it was still a perfect shot to sum up Cook’s career: a dab to backward point. He was only on 96 at the time, but the overthrow for four made sure of it and the first to react was Joe Root, who threw both hands in the air. A kid once more, celebrating his idol.Cook completed the run before raising his bat, removing his helmet and beaming his Jane Austen-hero smile at the crowd. No sweat visible, obviously.The ovations that have greeted him throughout this game have been extraordinary but this was unlike any that preceded it. On and on the applause went, circling the Oval like an unending Mexican wave. It rose again each time his face appeared in the big screen. Play couldn’t restart. Eventually, standing at the non-striker’s end, he had to acknowledge it and, almost sheepishly, walked halfway down the pitch with his arms outstretched.Then play resumed and all that is left is the party. England have won the series, they look ever more likely to win this match, and Cook has his farewell century. Everything else is icing.

With India set to field a new-look opening pair in Rajkot, Kohli said that apart from the top order, everything in the Test side ‘looks settled’

Alagappan Muthu in Rajkot03-Oct-20181:44

Prithvi, Mayank, Vihari rewarded for domestic runs, not IPL effort – Kohli

Virat Kohli has distanced himself from the Karun Nair situation, saying it is not his place to comment on a matter the selectors have already offered clarification on.Nair, who scored a triple-hundred in December 2016, was part of India’s squad for all six of their most recent Test matches. But he was never picked in the XI, even at The Oval, where they added an extra batsman in the XI. Upon returning from England, Nair said he had not received any word from the team management or the selectors about why he wasn’t given a chance. It was only after naming the squad for the West Indies series that chief selector MSK Prasad got in touch with Nair and told him to keep scoring runs in domestic cricket.”The selectors have already spoken about it and it is not my place to say,” Kohli said a day before the first Test against West Indies in Rajkot. “There are three selectors who are doing their job and as I say, people conveniently merge everything and make it a circle… where everyone’s given that opportunity or doing their job, not focussing on what’s happening or being spoken on the outside. So if a person has spoken about a certain thing, it should be cleared then. It shouldn’t be brought in here again.”The chief selector has already spoken to the player of what I know. I don’t think I am in a place to comment about that because selection is not my part of the job, it is upon three individuals to do what they are doing. And then as a team, we have to do what we are doing. I think everyone’s doing their job and everyone should be aware of who’s doing what, when their jobs are concerned and I think people should also be aware of that.”It is not a joint thing everywhere, I think that’s the confusion right now that people are combining everything in one space and thinking everything is happening from one place, which is not true.”KL Rahul brought up a fighting century•AFP

Nair’s exclusion wasn’t the only talking point when the selectors announced India’s Test squad. Another was Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah being rested.Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, wasn’t too pleased with the move.”India resting both Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah is a surprise, for it shows that Test matches don’t seem to matter for the selectors,” Gavaskar wrote in his column on Wednesday. “Were both the bowlers asked if they wanted a break? If a break has to be given do that in the limited-overs internationals, but not Test cricket, for if Test cricket is to survive it needs the best players available all the time.”Kohli himself is coming off a period of rest – he sat out the recently concluded Asia Cup – and he spoke about the need to understand players’ workloads given India’s packed schedule ahead of next year’s World Cup. Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah are among India’s first-choice fast bowlers in all three formats.”People usually talk about workload, but they don’t understand the concept of workload. They refer to workload as number of games played, which is not workload,” Kohli said. “If I get zero in a game, that is not workload. If I bat for six hours, that is workload. So I think a lot of things are taken in a different way, and people don’t want to go into the detail of what exactly the term means when the trainer and the physio take a decision, because as you saw, someone like Hardik [Pandya] broke down [during the Asia Cup], but people cannot anticipate that.”So from the outside you can never tell what the person is like with their bodies, so I definitely needed the break because my back went once in South Africa, then it went once again in England. Looking at the World Cup I think these things are very important to consider, to give players ample rest and opportunity to train well and come back stronger, because you don’t want guys breaking down at very important stages.”Kohli was far more comfortable discussing other matters that affected the team, like India’s search for solidity in the top order. Although they had been a highly successful pairing, M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan have been dropped. Neither player got to 50 in their last 10 innings, played in the tough conditions of South Africa and England, but with another tough tour of Australia coming up next month, India are eager to try out their bench strength. The 18-year old Prithvi Shaw is set to partner KL Rahul in Rajkot on Thursday. Mayank Agarwal, the other opener in the squad, is uncapped.”If you look at sides who win Test matches, contributions on top and contributions in the lower order are more crucial than the guys who bat in the middle because whatever happens in the middle is connected to either what the top order or the lower order does,” Kohli said. “The reasons why England won against us is because their lower order scored more than us and we realise that.”Over the last two years, India’s batsmen from No. 6 and below have hit 50 or more 19 times while playing at home. That’s second behind England’s 22, and so Kohli isn’t worried about that department. His concern is with finding solidity at the other end of the line-up.”I think apart from the top of the order getting cemented, I don’t think with these two Test matches there’s a lot that we’re looking at. Rest of the things feel quite settled. Just that at the top of the order these guys are new, so they’ll take some time getting set, but they definitely have the skillset and from what we’ve seen of them, they’re supremely talented.”And the lower order, it’s all about contributions. There’s no change needed there because [R] Ashwin, [Ravindra] Jadeja…Rishabh [Pant]’s new so he’s obviously got a lot of opportunities but Ashwin and Jadeja have done it for so many games in India, it’s just about replicating that when we go to other countries.”

Hanuma Vihari, Parthiv Patel, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw enjoyed productive outings

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2018Ajinkya Rahane walks back after being dismissed•Associated Press

Four batsmen struck half-centuries for India A on the first day of the four-dayer against New Zealand A in Mount Maunganui, but M Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane missed out, scoring 28 and 12 respectively, as the visitors went to stumps at 340 for 5.Of those part of the Test touring party to Australia, middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari top-scored with 85, before being dismissed off the fourth ball of the 90th over, which proved to be the last ball of the day. Vihari and wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel shared the most lucrative stand of the day for India, adding 138 in 199 balls for the fifth wicket before Vihari fell to the medium-pace of Kyle Jamieson.India began well after choosing to bat, with openers Vijay and Prithvi Shaw adding 61 before Vijay was bowled by Blair Tickner, who was the pick of the New Zealand A bowlers on the day. Shaw, the more dominant opening partner, went on to score an 88-ball 62 and added 50 with Mayank Agarwal before falling to the left-arm spin of Theo van Woerkom. This was the fifth time in his last seven innings that Shaw was dismissed by a spinner.Agarwal added another 73 runs with Vihari before becoming Tickner’s second victim, for 65. Rahane got off the blocks with a boundary off just his third ball but there wasn’t much joy for India’s vice-captain thereafter, as Doug Bracewell cleaned him up for a 19-ball 12, leaving the match delicately poised. But the Vihari-Parthiv stand helped India seize control again and finish the day on top.

Afghanistan will play two ODIs in Edinburgh as part of their build-up to the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2018Afghanistan will play two ODIs against Scotland as part of their build-up to the 2019 World Cup. The matches will be held on May 8 and 10 at the Grange in Edinburgh.The two sides last met at the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe at the start of the year, with Scotland recording a seven-wicket victory; however, it was Afghanistan and West Indies who came through the competition to take the final two World Cup places.”Our win versus Afghanistan earlier this year was for me the highlight of 2018, as we played them at their own game,” acting head coach Toby Bailey said. “It was very pleasing to watch the team manage their world-class spin attack with the skills we had been developing throughout the winter.”Scotland have already arranged two ODIs against Sri Lanka, to be played on May 18 and 21, and will take part in a quadrangular T20 tournament with Oman, Ireland and Netherlands in February. After beating No. 1-ranked side England at the Grange in June, they complained about the lack of fixtures in the 2019-2023 FTP.”It is fantastic to have attracted two Full Members for our summer internationals and we are delighted to be playing Afghanistan in May,” Cricket Scotland CEO Malcolm Cannon said.”With our quadrangular series in February and the new ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 starting in July, 2019 looks set to be a busy year for the men’s international team.”

After the Melbourne defeat, the Australia captain bluntly admitted that the team has been unable to fill the hole left by the duo

Daniel Brettig in Melbourne30-Dec-20182:10

#AskChapelli: Smith and Warner would’ve made a difference

In the shadows of a defeat that left the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Indian hands, Australia’s captain Tim Paine made his bluntest admission that the national team is in dire need of Steven Smith and David Warner to return from their Newlands-scandal bans to fill the gaping hole they have left in the batting order.That gulf was something ruthlessly exposed by India on an MCG pitch that required methodical, consistent cricket beyond the home side’s means, underlining the fact that next to all the noise and hand-wringing about whether or not Smith and Warner can be reintegrated successfully, the cold and unavoidable calculation is that Cricket Australia and Paine’s team quite simply have no choice but to do so.While there are other questions in Paine’s mind, about wider systemic issues in Australian cricket that he has discussed with the players’ association, and also about the preparation of pitches for international cricket that do not suit his team’s preferred exploitation of pace and bounce they saw in Perth in particular, he had no qualms about admitting that Smith and Warner could not be adequately replaced for the hosts to compete with the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara.ALSO READ: Warner reintegration unchanged by Smith, Bancroft words“I think that’s pretty clear. I think if you took Pujara and Virat out of India’s side I think you’d have the same conversation,” Paine said in Melbourne. “If you’ve got world-class players that aren’t in your team, are they going to add to our team? I think they will. So while at the moment it’s challenging and everyone’s frustrated, it is what it is.4:04

‘There are holes in India’s batting as well’ – Paine

“Everyone is working as hard as they possibly can and we’re getting guys who are getting experience of high-pressure situations in Test cricket and learning on the job. At times you’re going to get inconsistency from guys that are in that situation. The silver lining is that we have got world-class players that are available soon to come back into this side and clearly when they do it will make a huge difference.”The level of noise around Smith, Warner and the third banned player Cameron Bancroft enveloped the Australian team on Boxing Day, and though Paine said the distraction had not been significant, he was adamant that the conversation around the trio needed to move on from recriminations for Cape Town to detail on their returns. “I’m sure guys went home that night and listened to them and had their own thoughts on it but it certainly wasn’t discussed during play,” Paine said. “What’s happened has happened.”We’re getting towards the end when those guys are coming back. That’s what the conversation should be around now. It’s all been out there. People have had their say and the guys have nearly finished their bans and done their time so I think it’s time we started focusing on the fact they’re coming back and from that there are real positives.”Into the eighth year of the Big Bash League, Australia’s players, coaches and selectors are into the familiar jumble between Test squads and an unrelenting parallel T20 schedule that has seen the dropped batsman Peter Handscomb go off to play for Melbourne Stars before returning to the squad, while Peter Siddle will do likewise for Adelaide Strikers on New Year’s Eve and then return to long-form duty ahead of the SCG Test from January 3. Paine said discussions with the Australian Cricketers Association were ongoing, though it must be noted that the players’ union already had a higher degree of input into this season’s schedule via a standing committee shared with CA that was part of the 2017 MoU negotiation.ALSO READ: Australia’s MCG meltdown the best PR for Smith and Warner“It’s out of our control. As players our job is to play cricket and turn up where we are supposed to turn up. We don’t do the programming and can’t help it at this stage,” Paine said. “We’re having conversations with the ACA on how we can do it better down the track and Cricket Australia and the ACA will work through that. At the moment you can’t use change of format as an excuse. We’re not playing well enough under pressure when it matters – that’s a fact whether it’s Twenty20, one-day cricket or Test cricket. It’s happening through all three formats at the moment.Steven Smith and Tim Paine react in the field•Getty Images

“It’s modern day cricket, you’ve got to be able to switch between formats, do it really quickly and we’ve got some players who aren’t available and because of that some guys are getting an opportunity before they would have.”There’s been a hell of a lot of talk about our batting and our top six, but we’ve seen if we can get Virat and Pujara out there’s some holes in the opposition batting as well. We’ve just got to be able to score enough runs to give our bowling attack a chance to line them up. We’re not scoring a lot of runs but I don’t think India are [either] and part of the reason for that is both attacks are really good as well.”Paine reserved perhaps his sharpest words in the wake of the Melbourne defeat for a general critique of pitches in Australia. “We prefer to see wickets that have got a bit of bounce and carry on it,” Paine told ABC Radio. “Our strength in Australia is our pace and it’s very rare you go to India and get a green wicket, and it’s been disappointing at times we’ve produced wickets that have played into their hands a little bit, albeit they’ve outplayed us in these conditions anyway.”The wicket was always going to be a bit of a grind. it was going to be slow and at times that can expose a bit of a gap between sides – but i just think you have to give India credit. they won the toss, batted really well and kept us out there [in the field] for two days. After that we were behind the 8-ball and it’s pretty hard to come back from that. i just think plain and simply we were outplayed and India deserved to win this Test.”The Melbourne Cricket Club’s chief executive Stuart Fox rounded off a week in which the MCG surface was heavily criticised on days one and two before the game began to move more quickly, reiterating that longer term plans to dig up the central concrete base for drop-in pitches, replacing them with a pylon system favoured in Adelaide and Perth, was going ahead regardless of the result and whatever pitch rating is subsequently determined by the match referee Andy Pycroft.”Really we just reflect on day one,” Fox told SEN Radio. “We don’t know why [it was so dull], we’ll do a lot of work over the coming weeks to work out why, but rest assured we’re in a probably three to five year programme. Work started last year and we’re going to aggressively make changes in coming years. The message is it takes time, you can’t just rebuild a pitch and a number of pitches and have them ready for next year.”As it is for the MCG pitch, so it must be for Australian cricket’s batting stocks, though the returns of Smith and Warner will provide short-term relief.

Vidarbha offspinner Aditya Sarwate ran through Saurashtra’s top order, also accounting for Cheteshwar Pujara for just 1

The Report by Saurabh Somani in Nagpur04-Feb-2019Stumps Aditya Sarwate broke the Ranji Trophy final wide open for Vidarbha, striking thrice in the second session on the second day. The last of those strikes, in the final over before tea, accounted for Cheteshwar Pujara for just 1.Offspinner Akshay Wakhare would then strike twice after tea, as Saurashtra limped to 158 for 5 at stumps, trailing by 154 runs. It was a remarkable reversal of fortunes after Vidarbha had struggled to 200 for 7 on the opening day. But a well-thought out bowling plan and perfect execution meant the defending champions had surged ahead on Monday.

Pitch not that difficult to bat on – Snell, Sarwate

Both Saurashtra opener Snell Patel and Vidarbha left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate felt that batsmen could get runs on the pitch for the Ranji Trophy final, and it was no minefield.
“It’s not that difficult, it seems difficult but once you settle it become easier,” Snell said. “If you are set, and you trust your defence, you can defend , it’s not that you have to just attack. We are very much still in the match. You never know, cricket is a funny game. If we have a partnership tomorrow morning, just like they had one, who knows.”
“It’s not a rank turner, there is something for batsmen too,” Sarwate said. “Snell Patel, is playing well. Yes, there is help for spinners, and there will be more. He is playing the ball on merit. His batting and approach is simple. And he’s playing with soft hands, which is helping him.”

Although Snell Patel was batting on a well-crafted 87, Vidarbha were firmly in front, with not only the prospect of a sizeable lead, but also the cushion of bowling fourth on a VCA Stadium surface that has already seen a number of deliveries turn sharply.The key passage of the day lasted a mere 20 minutes – from the time Pujara walked in just before tea, to the time he got out, in the final over before the break. Sarwate bowled ten balls to Pujara, off which one of the best players of spin bowling in world cricket didn’t get a single run.On nine of the ten balls he faced from Sarwate, Pujara had to contend with a forward short leg, a silly point, and a slip. The sustained pressure of being mindful of both inside and outside edges, combined with Sarwate’s pin-point delivery, eventually consumed Saurashtra’s talisman. The field placing was one Vidarbha employed for Sarwate to other batsmen too.Pujara’s dismissal had left Saurashtra 81 for 3, but without the man who was best equipped to tackle good spinners on a helpful deck, they were already well behind the game. As Wakhare’s dismissals of Arpit Vasavada and Sheldon Jackson illustrated, big turn was difficult to negotiate.Snell alone showed some command of the pitch and bowlers among Saurashtra’s batsmen, with no one else having scored more than 20 so far. He was assured in his shot-making and defence, though even he had a slice of luck. On 75, he appeared to have deflected a ball from Wakhare onto pad, which was then caught by short leg, but the umpire didn’t uphold Saurashtra’s vociferous appeal.But he was the only bright spot for Saurashtra, with even the bowlers having a below-par outing in the first session. Vidarbha found plucky resistance in Akshay Karnewar and Wakhare with the bat. Karnewar, more famous for being one of the few ambidextrous bowlers in the world, played confidently and showed a range of shots, giving notice of what he could do in the longer format too. He put on 78 for the eighth wicket with Wakhare.Karnewar was the only one to hit a half-century for Vidarbha, while Wakhare contributed a valuable 34.Saurashtra’s bowlers, who had been disciplined on the first day, lost their plot a bit on the second. While Karnewar and Wakhare were batting at Nos. 8 and 9, they have both got first-class half-centuries earlier, and showed they were good enough to capitalise when the bowlers erred. The dampness in the pitch that was there on the first morning also seemed to have abated, making it a more batting-friendly surface.The eighth-wicket stand was finally broken when Chetan Sakariya got one to seam in beautifully between Wakhare’s bat and pad. Karnewar, already past 50 then, began to hit out more, and took Vidarbha past 300.

Ahmed Shehzad’s 46-ball 73 set Quetta Gladiators up for a convincing 43-run win over Islamabad United

Danyal Rasool05-Mar-2019How the game played outQuetta Gladiators sealed their place in the top two with a crushing 43-run win over Islamabad United, leaving the scrap for the final two qualification places wide open. Put in to bat after losing the toss, they dispelled the notion they could only win a game while chasing. Ahmed Shehzad led the way in an innings expertly paced right up till the last two overs, his 46-ball 73 keeping Quetta on track for a total even a Luke Ronchi-led Islamabad would struggle to hunt down. Shane Watson’s cameo had got the side off to a flyer, Umar Akmal’s breezy stay at the crease kept Quetta chugging along, and even a remarkable collapse towards the close couldn’t prevent them from reaching a daunting 180.Ronchi did score 64 off 43 in response, but Islamabad weren’t quite as devastating in the Powerplay as they have been before. Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Nawaz kept them gagged during the Powerplay, and when they were threatening to cut loose, Fawad Ahmed came in for a devastatingly masterful display of spin bowling to gut the Islamabad top order. In Mohammad Hasnain and Dwayne Bravo, Quetta had more than enough skill to keep Islamabad well away from an ever-rising asking rate. It leaves Islamabad sweating ahead of the playoffs, with the loss as well as the margin of defeat doing little to help their chances.Turning point

• After a sluggish Powerplay, Islamabad had begun to establish a foothold in the chase. By the end of the eighth over, they had reached 61 without losing a wicket, having scored 32 off the past three. But an over from Fawad changed all that. The wickets of Cameron Delport and Phil Salt within four balls hugely dented Islamabad’s chances, and Nawaz struck to dispatch the dangerous Asif Ali for a duck the next over.

Star of the dayThis might be the league where the local fast bowlers are the star attraction, but the one-time local, Fawad, has arguably been the spin sensation of the tournament. Now an Australian international, Fawad continued to impress, taking three wickets for 26 runs. He’s embarrassed left-handers with the perfectly disguised googly so often that it has almost become a trademark and yet Delport still didn’t see it coming. Then a legbreak that Shane Warne would have beamed at put paid to Salt. The focus may be on the other Australian, Watson, but with the PSL moving to Pakistan now, Fawad will be key to Quetta’s chances of a maiden title.The big missWith a strike-rate close to 170 this season and an average over 33 until today, Asif Ali was always going to be pivotal to Islamabad’s chances if they were to chase what was a well-above par Quetta total. He had scored a 27-ball 36 the last time these two had faced off, and with Ronchi at the other end, this had to be the partnership to catch up with an asking rate that was nearer 12 than 11 by the tenth over. But he was out second ball; a stunning delivery from Nawaz. The dew might have been overbearing today, but Nawaz lander one on middle stump, and as Asif stepped forward to meet it, it gripped and spun away. It caught the outside of off stump, leaving just about everyone bamboozled. For Islamabad, the problem would amount to more than momentary confusion.Where the teams standThe win guarantees Quetta a spot in the top two come playoff time, which means they will get two chances to qualify for the PSL final. Islamabad, with four wins in nine, continue two compete for one of two qualification places with Karachi and Lahore.

The ACU’s allegations are generally in line with the charges Lokuhettige had already received from the Emirates Cricket Board in November

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Apr-2019Former Sri Lanka allrounder Dilhara Lokuhettige has been slapped with three fresh corruption charges – these by the ICC’s own Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) – five months after the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) had also charged him.The ACU’s allegations are generally in line with the charges Lokuhettige had already received from the ECB. The ACU has charged him with:

• Fixing, contriving or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to any agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any International Match
• Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach the Anti-Corruption Code
• Failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received by him to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code

Lokuhettige was provisionally suspended by the ICC in November when the ECB laid its charges. The November allegations relate to the 2017 T10 tournament, to which Sri Lanka had sent a team. The ACU has not indicated whether their own charges relate to the same tournament.However, the “provisional suspension [from November] remains in full force and effect and he has additionally been provisionally suspended under the ICC Code pending the determination of these new charges,” an ICC release said. Lokuhettige has 14 days to respond to the new charges.Although not in the direct employ of SLC, and currently lives in Australia, Lokuhettige is understood to have strong contacts with coaches within the Sri Lanka system, having played at a high level in Sri Lanka between 2000 and 2016. Lokuhettige’s reputation had also been in question since the May 2018 Al Jazeera documentary on corruption on cricket, in which he was seen to be allegedly talking about a fix.Lokuhettige is one of three Sri Lanka players to be charged under the Anti-Corruption Code, alongside former fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa and former allrounder Sanath Jayasuriya. In February, Jayasuriya was banned for two years over the charges.

The selectors decided to stick to the original 15 once they were told Jadhav had been batting in the nets without any discomfort

Nagraj Gollapudi20-May-2019Kedar Jadhav has been pronounced fit to take part in the World Cup, meaning that there will not be any changes to the provisional squad named earlier. Jadhav’s position had become uncertain after he hurt his left shoulder during IPL 2019 while diving in the field during Chennai Super Kings’ match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali in the first week of May. Jadhav left the field immediately, and was subsequently out of the rest of the IPL season.The injury took place on May 5, a month before India’s first league match in the World Cup, against South Africa, on June 5 in Southampton. Given the time available for recovery, the Indian selectors did not rush into naming a replacement after receiving a favourable initial report from team physiotherapist Patrick Farhart.ESPNcricinfo understands that Farhart gave a final nod to the selectors a few days back. The selectors eventually made up their minds once they were told Jadhav was also batting in the nets without any discomfort in his injured shoulder.If Jadhav had failed to recover, the selection panel, led by former Indian wicketkeeper MSK Prasad, would have picked a replacement from the five standbys: Rishabh Pant, Ambati Rayudu, Ishant Sharma, Axar Patel and Navdeep Saini.