All posts by csb10.top

India batter Jemimah Rodrigues has signed with Melbourne Renegades for her maiden stint at the WBBL and will be joined at the club by team-mate Harmanpreet Kaur.Harmanpreet, who missed the recent ODI series against Australia due to injury, produced the iconic unbeaten 171 in the semi-final of the 2017 World Cup and has previous played for Sydney Thunder.They take the Indian tally to six for the seventh season of the WBBL, with the recruitment of Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma (Sydney Thunder) and Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav (Sydney Sixers) announced earlier in the week. ESPNcricinfo understands at least one more Indian signing is yet to be made public by the clubs.Rodrigues, who is part of India’s squad for the ongoing multi-format tour of Australia, was the second-highest run-scorer at the Hundred in the UK, where she made 249 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 150.90. Her form at the competition helped her overcome a disappointing run with India side against England as she played only two ODIs, making 8 and 4, and was dropped for the T20Is altogether.In Australia, she didn’t feature in the ODI leg of the tour and is likely to face stiff competition from Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Punam Raut for a place in the XI of the pink-ball Test starting Thursday. She is, however, is expected to be in the reckoning for a return to the T20I side.Related

• Harmanpreet Kaur wants India 'to go all out' to win Australia series 'at any cost'

• Sydney Sixers confirm India pair Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav for WBBL

• India duo Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma sign with Sydney Thunder for WBBL

“I’m very excited to be here now and to be part of the Renegades,” Rodrigues said. “I think for me, the main goal over here will be just to pull back and play cricket, play some good cricket and enjoy what I’m doing. I know when I do that and when I’m in that headspace, I’m able to give it my best.”The goal is whatever happens, I want to give it my 100 percent each and every time I’m on the field…I’m really looking forward to it and there’s so much that I’m going to learn, I’m sure about that.”Renegades head coach Simon Helmot was hopeful Rodrigues, a top-order batter who can bowl offspin while adding high value as a fielder, can have a big impact on the side’s campaign this season with them having finished seventh in the previous edition.”Jemimah is an immensely talented young player, who is already making her mark on the world stage at 21,” Helmot said. “She was superb recently in The Hundred over in the UK. Jemimah is a dynamic player who can score quickly and to all parts of the ground.”On the addition of Harmanpreet, he said: “Harmanpreet’s record at international level over the past decade speaks for itself. She’s a match-winner and can take the game away from the opposition in a heartbeat. We also see Harmanpreet being an important addition for our group with her experience and leadership.”Rodrigues and Harmanpreet completed Renegades’ overseas signings alongside uncapped English allrounder Eve Jones also joined the club with their whole squad now locked in for what will be Sophie Molineux’s first season as captain.Squad Sophie Molineux (capt), Makinley Blows, Josie Dooley, Jess Duffin, Ellie Falconer, Holly Ferling, Poppy Gardner, Ella Hayward, Eve Jones, Harmanpreet Kaur, Carly Leeson, Rhiann O’Donnell, Jemimah Rodrigues, Georgia Wareham, Courtney Webb

Faf du Plessis has declared himself fit to return to action after a long lay-off due to the concussion he suffered during the PSL in June. du Plessis, who was also forced to miss the Hundred owing to persisting impact of his collision with a team-mate, believes “today is the last hurdle” before he is back playing cricket.”I went over for the first match [in the Hundred] to try and play, but I still suffered quite severe concussion symptoms quite badly and especially with the batting it got worse,” du Plessis, who will lead the St Lucia Kings in the CPL, said. “It’s been three or four weeks since then [during] which I have worked hard in trying to get back to normal with a good rehab programme, and specialists in England helped me with. Today is the last hurdle when [I am] just making sure I pass the full practice at full intensity. And if I do that, then I’ll be ready to play [his team’s CPL opener].”du Plessis stated the injury was a lot more serious that he expected initially, having spent close to three months on the sidelines. “It has been a tough three months,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to take this long and I also didn’t expect it to be quite as severe. But I feel like I am at the end of it, which really is pleasing for myself.”There’s a lot of cricket this year that I still need to play. As I mentioned earlier, missing three months of cricket is not something that is very nice. So I am just really looking forward to getting back out on the field.”The Kings start their CPL campaign against the Jamaica Tallawahs on Friday, with du Plessis happy to be banking on his team-mates for a word or two of advice – especially former captain Daren Sammy, who stepped down from his position earlier this year to join the backroom staff.”On the field, I would rely a lot on the other players to help me,” he said. “I am generally a guy that asks a lot of questions. In any way, I ask for help and guidance along the way. Daren Sammy is one of those guys, he is a very experienced leader within the side so we will tap into his plan a lot. Andy has worked with the side as well, so we’ll tap into his brain a lot. And then on the field, you rely on your experience as a captain to make those instinctive, gut decisions that you would need to make when you know it is so hard in the middle.”After the CPL, du Plessis will reunite with the Chennai Super Kings for the second half of the IPL season in UAE. Having opened the batting for them in each of the seven matches during the first half, he had piled up 320 runs to be the third-highest run-getter, including hitting four half-centuries. du Plessis hoped to continue the consistent run while also insisting the change of venue would suit his side’s balance.”I think our squad at Chennai is better balanced for the Dubai leg than it was for the previous [half of] IPL,” he said. “Second thing [is that] we had been playing some really good cricket in the first half of the IPL, so I hope that form is something that can hopefully continue – similar to myself, [I] had a really strong first half of the IPL. So I’d like to continue [from] where I left off. But for now, it is just about getting back to playing cricket.”As I said, it’s been a really tough three months. I didn’t expect it [the recovery] to take that long. I think in general we cricketers don’t know too much about concussion. Normally, [you] get hit on the helmet and then someone checks you out – then you either continue batting or you are ready in about a week’s time! So my expectation was that it was going to take anything between two and four weeks, which obviously it’s been triple of that. It has been a tough for me, but thankfully I am at the end of it now.”

ScorecardThisara Perera took three wickets [file picture]•Getty Images

Gloucestershire moved level on points with south group leaders Hampshire after beating NatWest T20 Blast rivals Kent Spitfires byeight runs in a low-scoring thriller in Canterbury.Michael Klinger’s unbeaten side fielded tigerishly and caught superbly to defend a modest total of 138 for nine on a spin-friendly pitch andcomplete a T20 Blast double over Spitfires as well as their third successive short-form win on Kentish soil.Set to chase at almost seven an over for victory, Kent’s in-form opener Daniel Bell-Drummond played out a David Payne maiden beforecrunching 12 off the second over from Matt Taylor, including a leg-side six by Joe Denly and Bell-Drummond’s crisp off-drive forfour.Thisara Perera, the experienced Sri Lanka all-rounder, concededsuccessive boundaries from his first four deliveries of the night as Bell-Drummond raced to 25, but the right-armer struck back by pinningthe Kent opener lbw with a quicker, low full-toss as Kent ended their Powerplay on 45 for 1.Fresh from a career-best 116* at The Oval on Friday, Denly was, on this occasion, guilty of tossing away his wicket by driving a TomSmith delivery straight into the hands of long-off to spark a dramatic Kent collapse.Sam Billings opened his shoulders with a back-foot force off Chris Liddle and a pulled six off the same bowler, but his skipper Sam Northeast miscued to extra cover off the wily Benny Howell to leave his side on 68 for 3 after 10 overs.Jimmy Neesham needlessly slog swept high to mid-wicket to gift the slow left-arm spinner a second wicket then, to Smith’s next delivery,Billings was snaffled low down by Klinger at short extra – a catch confirmed on review by third umpire Michael Gough.Alex Blake plundered the biggest six of the night over mid-wicket to raise Kent’s 100 as Smith completed his spell with 3 for 28.Needing 38 off the last 30 balls, Spitfires lost Darren Stevens caught and bowled to a slower ball as Howell finished with anexcellent 2 for 12.In the dash for late runs Matt Coles was superbly caught on the run at deep mid-wicket by Jack Taylor, who then held another steeplingcatch at long-off that accounted for Alex Blake.James Tredwell was skittled in the final over as Spitfires crashed to their second defeat in four starts.Bowling first after winning the toss, Kent defended their long boundaries well to restrict the visitors to only 13 fours and three sixes.Neesham struck with his third delivery by having Phil Mustard spectacularly caught off a sliced drive at cover point. On the run and diving forward, Bell-Drummond came up with the ball to make it 18 for one.Klinger showed his class with the first six of the night in Neesham’s next over, a leg-side clip with barely any bat pick-up that sailed over the mid-wicket ropes. He blotted his copybook soon after however, cracking the first ball of the night from Mitch Claydon to Stevens who held an overhead catch at mid-off to send Gloucestershire’s dangerman packing for 25 as the visitors reached 42 for 2 at the end of their Powerplay.Kent turned to spin at both ends in England off-spinner Tredwell and Imran Qayyum, a rookie slow left-armer making only his second Blastappearance. The pair bowled well on a dry pitch, turning the occasional delivery and restricting the boundary count.Qayyum span one past the outside edge as George Hankins ran down the pitch looking to drive only to be stumped by Billings.Tredwell finished his four with creditable figures of nought for 25 then, in his last over, Qayyum deceived Ian Cockbain (40) in theflight to have the visiting top-scorer caught at extra cover and finish with 2 for 19 – a stint that included 11 dot balls.Gloucestershire raised their hundred in the 16th over as Matt Coles wrapped up with nought for 31, but Jack Taylor upped the tempo bytaking six and four off successive Neesham deliveries before chipping a Claydon slower ball to mid-off to go for 21.Perera clubbed to long-on to give Neesham 2 for 30 then, in the final over, Smith, Matt Taylor and Howell were all run outrisking second runs into the deep.Victorious captain Klinger said: “It’s slightly easier to be captain when your bowlers perform so well and we fielded like we did. I feltthat over all we probably gave a wicket or two too many away in our Powerplay, but our spinners and change of pace bowlers came backreally well on a wicket that was quite tough to bat on.”We talked about 145 to 150 being a par score on that wicket because it was holding and turning, but we’ve made a name for ourselves overthe past few years for being able to strangle batting sides in those positions and luckily enough that’s how it worked out for us today.It’s always nice to win some tight ones, especially early in the tournament.”Kent skipper Sam Northeast said: “I thought we did really well in the field to keep them below 150, which was our target. We knew it wouldbe tough through those middle periods with the bowlers they have in Howell and Smith. We felt we had enough batting calibre to chase thatdown and maybe we could have gone harder in the Powerplay, or we could have chosen better options through the middle. It wasn’t the greatestpitch in the world but you have to adapt as a team.”

Australia women’s captain Meg Lanning has declared why her team is staying united with male players in the current pay impasse with Cricket Australia (CA), despite the board’s offer of massive pay increases for both international and domestic females in their current MoU offer.Ahead of the team’s departure for a World Cup campaign which will end after the June 30 expiry of the existing pay deal, Lanning said that Australia’s female players shared the view that a fair deal for all cricketers was key to the resolution of the dispute, even if pay rises for her group sounded attractive at face value. Women have not previously been included in the MoU, and have been paid separately by CA.CA’s proposal features average increases of A$79,000 to $179,000 for centrally-contracted female players, with average pay for domestic female cricketers to rise from $22,000 to $52,000. However, only international players – both male and female – have been offered any of the game’s blue sky above fixed rates of pay, rather than the fixed revenue percentage that has been at the core of agreements between CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) for two decades. Lanning said the players had no desire to be divided along these lines.”All the players are behind a revenue share model for all cricketers, and we’ve been able to stay really strong and we’ll continue to do that and hopefully there’s a resolution pretty soon,” Lanning said. “I think CA and the ACA are talking at the moment, so as players we just want to play cricket and we’ve left the rest of that to the ACA and CA. We’re looking forward to getting to the World Cup and playing, and we’ll leave it to the ACA to negotiate on our behalf.”[Pay rises are] certainly a step in the right direction, but it’s a whole player [group] agreement and we’re fully behind all players, male, female, state, international so that’s where we’re at. It’s about every player playing the game and grassroots as well. We’re not going to individualise any players or teams, male or female, it’s about all the players moving forward and getting a result that’s good for the game.”At the start, we came out with what we wanted and where we wanted to go and we’re pretty clear on that.”Lanning’s squad is due to depart for England at the end of the week, and all players have been handed short-term contracts for the duration of the tournament in acknowledgement of the fact it will conclude after the MoU deadline. While admitting the dispute was a topic of frequent conversation, Lanning insisted the players would forge on with clear minds when they begin their campaign to defend the title won in India four years ago.”It’s definitely been spoken about, it’s not something you can hide away from,” she said. “But as a squad once we get over to the UK we’re very keen on just playing cricket and our job and priority is to go over there, play really good cricket and win games. We won’t be distracted by it at all, everything’s in place contract-wise, so we’re just going to focus on playing and winning games.”These words arrived at a time when members of CA and the ACA negotiating teams have resumed talks after some weeks. Knowing this, the players were perplexed to be sent another package of graphics and video from the board’s lead negotiator Kevin Roberts on Wednesday, in which the fixed revenue percentage model was again challenged.”The latest attempt by Cricket Australia to directly communicate with Australia’s cricketers has undermined current behind the scenes efforts to break the impasse for a new Cricket MoU,” the ACA said in a statement. “It is also a mischaracterisation of the true position regarding grassroots investment which every Australian male and female cricketer is passionate about.”The video comes a day after productive talks for a ‘without prejudice’ process for attempting to rebuild trust and break the current impasse. [It] is another attempt to directly communicate with players who have asked for the last 6 months to be left alone to concentrate on cricket. As has been the case with CA throughout the negotiation it is 2 steps forward and 3 steps back. This latest effort exposes what the ACA have been dealing with.”One member of the Australian squad particularly eager to get on the field will be allrounder Ellyse Perry, who had the latter part of her Australian summer curtailed by a hamstring injury suffered during the WBBL. Despite a lack of recent cricket apart from training, Lanning was confident Perry would be able to deliver her best in England.”She’s 100% fit, it was a pretty major injury she sustained in the WBBL, so she’s had some time to get over that and she’s been in full training now with the squad,” Lanning said. “She’s a very key member of our team, an important player for us, and looking forward to having her back on the park.”

ScorecardFile photo – Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan failed to make runs in the practice game•Getty Images

Pakistan had a poor outing in their only warm-up game in the lead up to the first Test against West Indies, their batsmen conceding a large first-innings lead and their bowlers unable to make swift inroads into the West Indies President’s XI.The home team chose to bat at the Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica and made 419 in the first innings, a score built on half-centuries from Shimron Hetmyer and Kieran Powell, and an unbeaten hundred from Vishaul Singh, all of whom were eventually rewarded by a call-up to the West Indies squad for the first Test. Mohammad Amir claimed 3 for 66 in 22.1 overs, while Yasir Shah sent down 37 overs for his two wickets.Hasan Ali strained his groin while fielding in the first innings, but the PCB remained hopeful that he would recover in time to play a role in the Test series.The hosts were dismissed in 126.1 overs, on the second day, and Pakistan did not begin their reply well. Apart from Ahmed Shehzad, who made 55, none of the top five made it to 20, with Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq scoring 7 and 8 respectively. Sarfraz Ahmed made a brisk 50 to shore up the innings but Pakistan were shot out in 68 overs for 192, trailing by 227.The West Indies President’s XI opted to bat again, though, and Powell made another half-century as the match ended in a draw. Pakistan were able to take only two second-innings wickets in 42 overs, as the hosts posted 152. Ali did not bowl in the second innings.The first Test between West Indies and Pakistan begin in Kingston on April 21.

New Zealand have done themselves a disservice by not trusting their seam strength, according to Dane Piedt. The South African offspinner joined the squad on Sunday, as a reinforcement in the spin department for the Hamilton Test, and said he was surprised by New Zealand conditions.”I think they have shot themselves in the foot. They didn’t back their seamers to do the job, and I thought their seamers bowled pretty well in South Africa. They bowled us out for 263 in Durban on quite a sporting deck,” Piedt said. “I didn’t expect that New Zealand would play two spinners in the first Test and when they left Tim Southee out I was also surprised. Just the fact that two series before that, Bangladesh and Pakistan were here and they played on surfaces that were quite sporting for the seamers. I expected it to be the same, but obviously with the type of seam attack we have they thought they would be under pressure.”In the four home Tests before this series, in which New Zealand were victorious in every one, their quicks contributed heavily to their success. They bowled Pakistan out four times out of four – twice under 180, twice under 240 – and bowled Bangladesh out three times out of four – twice under 180. In the Pakistan series, Tim Southee topped the wicket charts, followed by Colin de Grandhomme and Neil Wagner. In the Bangladesh rubber, Trent Boult topped the bowlers’ list, with Southee and Wagner next.Piedt can’t be blamed for expecting conditions to be prepared to favour those players but a combination of wet weather and slower venues have prevented New Zealand from tapping into that. Instead, they have gone the other way and two of the three surfaces for this series – Dunedin and Hamilton – are the complete opposite of seamer-friendly. Still, it was in Wellington, the greenest and bounciest of the tracks, that New Zealand succumbed to a spin threat they may have underestimated, which didn’t even include Piedt.They lost a dozen wickets to Keshav Maharaj and JP Duminy which selector Gavin Larsen called the “most disappointing thing” about their eight-wicket defeat. “You couldn’t call that Basin deck a raging, turning deck. Maharaj, to his credit, bowled nicely with control and put the ball in the right areas but I don’t think it was overly threatening. To allow a spinner like him to take 6 for 40 is unacceptable,” Larsen said. “When you come to a deck that might turn a little bit more, you might argue it’s going to present even more challenges.”Will South Africa change a winning combination to include Dane Piedt?•Getty Images

That would be Hamilton, where Faf du Plessis expects a “dustbowl” and although Larsen clarified that New Zealand have not specifically asked for one, it may be what they get. “The history would suggest that this season, in particular, it has turned up there. If you’re asking if we’ve ordered the pitch to turn, no we haven’t,” he said. “The reality is that that’s the way it has been panning out in Hamilton and we’ve picked our team accordingly, similar to Dunedin where we thought it would be dry.”And so, Piedt has his best chance of making a Test comeback after being discarded following the home series against New Zealand last August. Although Piedt had not done much wrong, the South African selectors felt they needed someone with a little more control and Maharaj provided that. In previous interviews, Piedt admitted to his ability taking a knock but he has nothing but praise for the man who ousted him.”He’s shown that he’s in unbelievable form and he’s done that in domestic cricket so I can only be happy for him. I spoke to him last night and I told him how impressive it’s been to watch him bowl on the international stage. It’s never hard feelings. It’s about spin bowlers coming through and being able to show their skill to the rest of the world,” Piedt said. “His changes of pace and the angles he bowls at are impressive. The shape of his ball is really good as well. If you’re bowling consistently in the same sort of area you’re always going to be rewarded, like he has. He’s quite a patient guy so he does it for long periods of time.”While Maharaj, a left-arm spinner, “doesn’t need a lot of tricks” according to Piedt, who cited Rangana Herath and Ravindra Jadeja as examples, Piedt has been working on a few variations that he may bring out if selected. “There’s always something I’m trying in the nets. I’m bowling to the old dogs like Andrew Puttick and Dane Vilas, and I’m trying new things all the time,” he said.But will South Africa tinker with a winning combination that Piedt himself believes is “the superior team at the moment”? Perhaps not.”I had just got onto the plane and I saw JP had taken four wickets, and I told myself even if I don’t play at least I’m getting recognised again. I think that’s the most important thing,” he said. “I’ve had quite an up-and-down Test career. I made my debut in 2014, had a freak shoulder injury and came back from that. So there’s been a lot of frustration and thinking will I ever play for South Africa again. Just to be here again is a privilege.”

England allrounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes and their limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan are among the seven players who have listed themselves at the highest base price of INR 2 crore (approx US $298,000) for the IPL player auction scheduled in Bangalore on February 20. India seamer Ishant Sharma, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, and the Australian fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Pat Cummins are the rest of the players in this set.

Also in the top bracket

INR 1.5 crore: Jonny Bairstow, Trent Boult, Brad Haddin, Nathan Lyon, Kyle Abbott, Jason Holder

*INR 1 crore = INR 100 lakh = INR 10000000 = USD 149 thousand approx
INR 1 lakh = INR 100 thousand = INR 100000 = USD 1490 approx

A total of 799 players were part of the initial roster which would be pruned once the franchises submit their choices before the deadline this weekend. There were 160 capped players from eight countries – leaving out Bangladesh and Pakistan – and 639 from India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies. Of the 24 capped Indian cricketers, everyone barring Ishant has listed their base price at INR 30 lakh.Considering they will have to put a majority of their players back into the auction in 2018, some franchise officials said they would not be too aggressive in buying players this season. However, they did agree that there would be considerable interest in the English players.Although the IPL is yet to decide on the retention rules, franchises expect the right-to-match option to be available. This allows franchises to buy back a specific number of the players they have released for the auction, by matching the highest bid those players attract; if they match the bid they win the player.With the impressive all-round skills he showed during England’s recent tour of India, Stokes tops the list of marquee players that several franchises have said they would like to have.0:47

Quick Facts: IPL 2017 Auction

After Andrew Strauss took over as the ECB director of cricket last year, he has allowed England players the freedom to play in domestic T20 leagues like the IPL to gain wider exposure. Morgan, who has played for three different teams, Jos Butler (Mumbai Indians), Sam Billings (Delhi Daredevils), Chris Jordan (Royal Challengers Bangalore) have all commented on the positive influence of playing the IPL.Many England players who attended media briefings during the six-match limited-overs series in India last month spoke about the attraction of the IPL. Wicketkeeper batsman Jonny Bairstow (INR 1.5 crore), hard-hitting opening batsmen Alex Hales and Jason Roy (INR 1 crore) and fast bowlers Jordan and Tymal Mills (INR 50 lakh) have put their names up for auction.Franchises retained a total of 140 players and released 89 ahead of this IPL auction. Among those released and now trying to make a return are Johnson (Kings XI Punjab, INR 6.5 crore), Mathews (Delhi Daredevils, INR 7.5 crore), Ishant (Rising Pune Supergiants, INR 3.8 crore) and Morgan (Sunrisers Hyderabad, INR 1.5 crore).ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Former South Africa fast bowler Kyle Abbott, who recently moved to Hampshire as a Kolpak player, has listed his base price at INR 1.5 cr. Abott was bought by Kings XI in 2016 for INR 2.1 crore but was released in December. Another player attempting to make a return is New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult, who was hired by Sunrisers in 2015 for INR 3.8 crore. Boult has now listed his base price at INR 1.5 crore.West Indies ODI captain Jason Holder has also kept his price at INR 1.5 crore. He was with Kolkata Knight Riders, who had bought him for INR 75 lakh in 2014, until last season. India left-arm spinner Pawan Negi, who was the second-most expensive player bought at last year’s auction by the Daredevils for INR 8.5 crore comes into the auction with a base price of INR 30 lakh.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshell
A blistering 78-run knock from Islamabad United opener Sam Billings neutralised Quetta Gladiators’ impressive spinners Mohammad Nawaz and Hasan Khan and ensured the defending champions inflicted the season’s first defeat upon Quetta. In the first game of this season’s PSL at the Sharjah Stadium, the 25-year-old England batsman combined clean timing with explosive power-hitting to keep his side on course throughout the chase.Quetta had earlier managed a slightly under-par 148, thanks to a disciplined bowling display from Misbah’s men. It centred around 18-year old legspinner Shadab Khan, who was extremely difficult to read as he spun the ball sharply both ways. Each of the bowlers bowled according to their strengths; Mohammad Sami consistently found the inswinging yorker – one of which accounted for Kevin Pietersen’s second successive golden duck – and Shane Watson’s short deliveries and pace variations were just as hard to dispatch as they have been all tournament. Quetta’s innings never really took off as wickets fell regularly and the scoring rate stayed below seven for much of the first 15 overs, before a late partnership between Mahmudullah and Thisara Perera took them near 150. It was to be competitive, but not match-winning.Where the match was won
Quetta’s middle-order pairing of Sarfraz Ahmed and Rilee Rossouw – the PSL’s top scorer thus far – got them over the line against Karachi in their last game. So when Ahmed Shehzad got off to a quick start with Pietersen and that duo lying in wait, Quetta might have looked set for a total nearer 200. However, they reckoned without a fiery Mohammad Sami having one of his better days. He beat Shehzad for pace, forcing him to pull right down midwicket’s throat, before a 146 kph yorker crashed into Pietersen’s pads and pinned him lbw.Shadab and Shane Watson then took charge of the middle overs, strangulating Quetta, and continuing to push the run rate down. In the ten overs that began with Shehzad’s dismissal, Quetta managed only 56 runs, and lost four wickets. Powerplays and death overs might make for better talking points, but these middle overs were what handed Islamabad the two points today.The men that won it
Billings seemed to be batting on a different surface to his fellow team-mates, finding the gaps regularly in the first six overs and clearing the ropes periodically thereafter. It wasn’t all guns blazing, either; he was content to show respect where it was due, taking the singles off left-arm spinners Nawaz and Hasan, while unleashing his ire on the pace attack. Perera bore the brunt of Billings’ buffeting, going for 40 in 3.1 overs. It was a mark of Billings’ dominance that by the end the 17th over of the Islamabad innings, no other batsman had a strike rate above 100. Billings, meanwhile, was coasting along at 150.Shane Watson removed Asad Shafiq and Rilee Rossouw•PCB

The drop v the missed stumping
When Rilee Rossouw was on 5 in the first innings, he charged down the track to the young Shadab, missing the ball completely. Haddin, however, fluffed an easy stumping chance, and must have feared the worst after reprieving the South African. Next over, however, Rossouw holed out to deep midwicket. In contrast, when Watson joined Billings with their side wobbling at 72 for 3, he nicked Mohammad Nawaz behind before he had got off the mark. It popped right out of Sarfraz’s hands, and from thereon, Quetta’s fate was sealed. The pair combined for what turned out to be a match-winning 63-run partnership, Watson contributing 36 in 27 balls. He, unlike Rossouw, made the opposition pay.The moment of the match
Hasan, singled out by Moin Khan as the most promising of Quetta’s youngsters, might have been on the losing side, but there was a moment the 18-year old is unlikely to forget. He had been bowling a tight line to opposition captain Misbah-ul-Haq, not hesitating to follow him when he attempted to make room. So when Misbah stepped inside the line to sweep the teenager over fine leg for four, Hasan appeared to be under pressure. Two balls later, he bowled a similar delivery, except he had slid it in with the arm. Misbah attempted the same shot, but he was too late. The ball struck him on the thigh and the umpire raised the finger. Hasan, more than 24 years his junior, had out-thought Pakistan’s most successful Test captain.Where they stand
This result means both Quetta and Islamabad now have two wins from three games. They occupy second and third position respectively on four points each, with Quetta ahead on net run rate.

The Supreme Court has put on hold, for at least a week, the appointment of a committee of administrators which it said would supervise the BCCI until the board amended its constitution as per the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.

Court to pick BCCI rep for ICC board meeting

The Supreme Court has asked the BCCI to submit the names of three eligible office bearers from which it would pick one as the board’s representative at the next round of quarterly ICC Board meetings in Dubai from February 2.
On Tuesday, the court told the BCCI legal counsel that the board would need to submit the three names by January 27 for it to make a final decision on the January 30 hearing.
This round of ICC meetings is significant because a raft of global issues that would affect the game, and thus the BCCI as well, are up on the agenda. There is expected to be progress on the vast governance changes ICC board members have been working on, changes that undo much of the administration and revenue distribution measures that were put forth by the Big Three in 2014.
There will also be continued discussions on the shape and format of international cricket in the future. As the board with the biggest financial sway in the game, the BCCI would ordinarily have expected to be a key influence during the meeting.

The court has now sought a fresh list of candidates from the BCCI, as well as from state cricket associations run by the federal government, which stepped into the long-standing case for the first time last week. The new names will have to be submitted in a sealed envelope by January 27. The court has convened the next hearing of the matter on January 30. The case is being heard by a three-judge bench of Dipak Mishra, A M Khanvilkar and D Y Chandrachud.On January 2, after removing the BCCI president Anurag Thakur and board secretary Ajay Shirke, the court had said a committee of administrators would take charge of the BCCI until fresh elections are held. On January 20, nine names were suggested by amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium and senior counsel Anil Divan in a sealed envelope.At that hearing, the three-judge bench was curious over why there were a few people over the age of 70 on that list. The Lodha Committee had placed a cap of 70 for administrators as one of its recommendations which the court had approved in its primary judgement on July 18 last year. On Tuesday, the court made it clear it would not consider any 70-year-olds among the names suggested by Subramanium and Divan.The court also rejected a request from Mukul Rohatgi, the attorney general of India, who asked the order appointing the committee of administrators be delayed by two weeks. Rohatgi told the court that the Indian government was considering formulating a new bill that would provide more autonomy to sports associations.Rohatgi’s original request was for the July 18 order, which had made the implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations mandatory across the BCCI, to be reviewed but the court said, “Once we pen an order, it is clear as day that it will be implemented.”Justice Mishra was particularly stern on the counsel from the respondents when they sought to dispute and delay the formation and composition of the committee of administrators.He asked the attorney general why he had not been present through the six months of hearings and arguments over the Lodha recommendations between January and July 2016. “Where were you when SC passed the orders [on appointment of the Lodha committee]?”We are not trying to destroy the autonomy of sports bodies. We are removing the impure elements from them, so that they gain autonomy.”At one point in the hearings on Tuesday, when Kapil Sibal, counsel for some of the state associations, appealed for the BCCI to make its own recommendations for the COA, Justice Mishra pointed out that on January 2, the BCCI had been asked to make its suggestions but had not responded in any manner. He then had Sibal read out loud to open court a section from the January 2 order which stated: “We request the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the parties to also place their suggestions before the court so as to facilitate a considered decision.”When attorney general Rohatgi asked the court to defer a decision by two weeks, stating that the Centre was “mulling” over bringing in a sports code to make sports bodies more autonomous, Mishra who was dictating his order responded by saying, “you are only mulling over it.[]”

Ed Joyce has embarked upon a novel job-sharing deal by continuing his county career at Sussex while accepting a role as batting coach and mentor for Cricket Ireland during the inaugural season of their first-class competition.Joyce’s availability for Sussex sounds tenuous at best, as he also intends to play in Ireland’s inter-provincial competition, but the county are reluctant to abandon links with an influential former captain who remains one of the mainstays of their batting.Sussex’s coach Mark Davis referred to Joyce as “cover for our full-time squad”, but it is highly unlikely that they would not select him automatically in the Championship, even at 38, if and when he was available, considering his Championship average of 64 last season, including a career-best 250 against Derbyshire, and first-class career average approaching 50.Joyce is one of ten players to agree a central Category A contract with Cricket Ireland and his commitment not just to Ireland but the Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Series is a fillip as Ireland attempt to arrest a recent decline and advance their claims to become a full-fledged Test nation.He will be based in Ireland, training with the national squad, and will also take up a specialist batting and leadership coaching role, working with the Shapoorji Pallonji National Academy and Ireland youth squads as well as mentoring some national performance squad players.”Coming back to play full-time for Ireland and also play in the Inter-Provincial series was a big decision but also quite an easy one in the end,” Joyce said. “Test cricket is the pinnacle for any cricketer. Ireland has a huge opportunity in the next few years to play at the highest level and I want to be part of the team that plays Ireland’s first Test match.Joyce has 81 caps in the two limited-overs formats for Ireland and England but never realised his ambitions to play Test cricket before reconfirming his commitment to the country of his birth.”With Ireland’s fixture list growing year on year it makes sense to come back at this stage,” he said. “Also now that the Inter-pros have first-class and List A status, I wanted to be involved right from the start and lend my experience to that competition. It’s a really exciting time to be an Irish cricketer and I can’t wait for the 2017 season to get going.”We’re at the stage where we need to be more consistent and competitive as an international side and we also require the Inter-pros to improve and provide a steady stream of players ready to perform well for Ireland. My focus in the next few years while I’m still playing is to help us achieve both of these goals.”Ireland have ODIs in 2017 against New Zealand, Bangladesh and West Indies on home soil, as well as playing England at Bristol and Lord’s.Cricket Ireland performance director, Richard Holdsworth, welcomed Joyce’s decision to play a full role in the coming season, saying: “It has been one of our strategic objectives to bring players back home from England and for Ed to be the first is very appropriate. He has given great service to Sussex as an outstanding batsman and leader, and we are grateful for their support to Ed’s Ireland career over those years.”Sussex put a brave face on Joyce’s decision, suggesting that he would be available for part of their Specsavers Championship campaign.He joined them in 2009, assuming the captaincy three years later. He skippered Sussex to two successive third-placed finishes in the first division, the highest place that the county has finished since being crowned champions in 2007.”Ed is still one of the best domestic players in the country, and for us to be able to call upon his talents as cover for our full-time squad is fantastic news,” Davis said. “The sheer volume of runs he has scored in recent seasons makes him such an important player for us.”Ed will be a cover player for us and depending on his availability with Ireland, we will have the option of selecting him. He has moved with his family back home to Ireland as his commitments to international cricket with Ireland grow, but to have him available to call upon is a real boost for us.”