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Rohit Sharma’s fifth ton in this World Cup has put him on another level – and he has helped KL Rahul click, too

Nagraj Gollapudi in Leeds06-Jul-2019Dhananjaya de Silva tossed an offbreak on fourth stump. The ball was in the slot. Rohit Sharma stood his ground and hit an inside-out six high over extra cover. Effortlessly. It was a full-blooded stroke as the ball banged the advertising board and rolled back on to the playing turf. Two balls later Rohit charged Dhananjaya, without even bothering about the line of attack, disposing the ball high over the sightscreen at the Kirkstall Lane end. The ball hit the railings on the second tier and bounced back on to the turf.In those two massive hits, Rohit destroyed Dhananjaya’s plans and confidence. Sri Lanka had elected to bat thinking the pitch would become far slower in the afternoon and take turn, thus bringing the spinner into play. In a matter of minutes, Rohit threw Dhananjaya out of the equation.The sound of ball hitting Rohit’s bat is sweet. It does not reverberate possibly the same way as the sound of the ball hitting Virat Kohli’s bat. Kohli’s batting looks definitive due to his electric body language. It’s preciseness. It’s compactness. It can be robotic.Rohit’s languid body movements make his strokes flow. You admire the quality of Kohli’s strokeplay. Rohit’s strokes give a realisation that his artistry is simple but unattainable. Yet, there is this instant delight they bring, along with an instant affection for Rohit.WATCH on Hotstar – Rohit’s fifth ton of the World Cup (India only)Ten runs short of becoming the first batsman to make five hundreds in a World Cup edition, Rohit lined up to face Lasith Malinga, playing his final World Cup match. Malinga flung a low, straight full-toss, wide of off stump. Rohit was static. Having read the line, he calmly brought the bat down, opened the blade and punched a square drive that beat the three-man net cast exactly to block such a stroke. The only thing the three fielders – two points and the short cover – could do was stare in disbelief. The only thing you, as a fan, can do is exclaim: “Shot.”The man has six centuries in World Cup history, the same now as the great Sachin Tendulkar, who played half a dozen editions to achieve that incredible feat. This is Rohit’s second World Cup, having sorely missed India’s triumph at home in 2011. He does not want to lament or regret anymore what might have happened. What matters, he says, is being a good head space, something his good friend Yuvraj Singh advised him before this World Cup.Rohit Sharma became the leading scorer at this year’s World Cup during the course of his hundred•Getty Images

Before the 2011 edition of the tournament, Yuvraj was not scoring fluently and was worried. This IPL, Rohit, too, was not striking fluently and the big scores were absent. But by being in a “good space”, Rohit has managed to get over his insecurities and doubts. Being in a good space has allowed him to create a good energy in the dressing room. It has allowed him to help his new-found opening partner KL Rahul settle down.Both men were brought together in the needle contest against Pakistan for the first time. Rahul scored a half-century, Rohit a century, the pair setting up the highest opening stand in India-Pakistan contests in the World Cup. Then against Afghanistan, in the following match, they barely managed to get double digits in the first half of the first Powerplay segment. Their lack of intent forced even Tendulkar to question their approach. Against Bangladesh, Rohit and Rahul scored 69 runs in the first Powerplay, India’s best start. Against Sri Lanka was their second-best, as India made 59 in the first 10 overs.Rahul maintained an even tempo as he constructed his maiden World Cup century. It took him a lot of belief, a lot of frustration, a lot of patience. He did it eventually. His reaction – just like Rohit’s – upon reaching the century, was solemn: a wave to the dressing room and the fans. The start-stop-stutter routine prevalent in his previous innings was not repeated.WATCH on Hotstar – KL Rahul’s 118-ball 111 (India only)Rahul was thankful to Rohit, when he spoke to former India batsman VVS Laxman during the post-match chat with Star India. The beauty of his senior opening partner’s success was in the “ease” with which he has been able to score the runs. “The way he has been able to change his gears, the way he has been able to manoeuvre and hit gaps is just outstanding to see. It just takes the pressure off me.”The vulnerability of the lower order must have been on the Rohit’s mind, considering he did not accelerate as fluidly as in the past, where he would end up with massive scores. Against England, where India chased for the second time, Rohit scored a century, but it lacked the oomph and the command. Worse, he could not carry on till the end.But in the last two matches, both openers have finally established the chemistry that openers need. Both Rohit and Rahul have alternated to pile pressure on the opposition. The runs have flowed. The middle order worries have not vanished, but subsided. Amazingly, the openers’ success – including Shikhar Dhawan, who scored a half-century and a ton in the two innings he played before injury ruled him out – has not allowed Kohli to get enough batting time on several occasions. Kohli will not lose sleep as long as his men are performing their roles.Rohit and Rahul were clinical in the chase as they flattened Sri Lanka. Even Malinga, magical against England, was rendered ineffective. As Rohit said later, it was important India keep ticking all the boxes they wanted to before the semi-finals where they could not afford many mistakes.At a personal level, the biggest success for Rohit this World Cup has been his discipline. His hunger.Talking to Sanjay Manjrekar during a post-match chat with the host broadcaster, Rohit described that hunger nicely. “I come out thinking that I have not played any ODIs,” he said. “I have not got any hundreds in the tournament. It is just the first game in the tournament.”Chris Gayle keeps telling the world he is the Universe Boss. He once was. Rohit Sharma is the true Universe Boss in ODI cricket. And when he bosses around, India boss around.

Two-Test tour falls outside of World Test Championship, and therefore offers a chance to avoid player burn-our

George Dobell29-Jul-2019England may use the New Zealand tour later this year to rest players and coaching staff as they seek to reduce the dangers of “burn out”. That could raise the possibility that they may tour with an interim coach and a temporary replacement as Test captain.England are scheduled to play two Tests and five T20Is in New Zealand during a tour that starts in late October and ends in early December.But with those Tests not counting towards the World Test Championship and England also scheduled to undertake tours to South Africa – where they will play four Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is – and Sri Lanka – where they will play two Tests – during the winter of 2019-20, Ashley Giles has admitted there may be a temptation to rest the busiest players and coaches.”We’re not trying to lessen the importance of that series, but it’s not in the World Test Championship,” Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, said. “We’ve got a lot of cricket this winter and we need to be careful with some of the workloads. It isn’t part of the Test Championship so we’ll use that series as we see really.”The World Test Championship (WTC) is launched this week in the hope the added context will increase interest in the longest format of the game. But the series in New Zealand was arranged before the announcement of the WTC and results in it will not accrue points.Avoiding the burn-out of his players and coaches is likely to be an important feature of Giles’ role at the helm. He admits there is little he can do to change the schedule – financial realities necessitate an almost never-ending tour for England – but reasons that resting individuals can extend their careers.”We play more home cricket than anyone,” Giles said. “And while there may be some things you can do with the schedule, there are other pressures – money pressures, TV pressures – that make it a very tricky balance. We’ll probably have the same number of fixtures but more rotation of players.It was a tough day for Joe Root and his team•Getty Images

“That puts more focus how we care for players and make sure we don’t get any burn-out. We’ve got to be flexible with the players otherwise we’re going to lose them.”There was undoubtedly a hangover from the World Cup during the Ireland Test. After the emotional and physical strain of that seven weeks and particularly the final… I worried how we would pick the players up if we lost. Fortunately we didn’t, but heading into a Test match against Ireland a week later was difficult for them.”England could also go to New Zealand with an interim coach. While Giles admits he has had “some very relaxed conversations over a coffee or the phone” with prospective candidates, he has been keen not to overshadow the World Cup or Ashes preparations with speculation about the new head coach so has delayed a formal beginning of the process.”It might be a caretaker coach, yes,” Giles said. “I’ve always said if you looked at the World Cup and the Ashes it was far more important for me to have some stability now and less noise and chatter around the new head coach than worrying about someone going in who’s babysitting the New Zealand tour. I’d rather that than everything going on now.”That caretaker will not be Bayliss, who has already booked his flight home. “I think Trev’s done and I mean that in the nicest possible way,” Giles said. “He may always seem relaxed on the outside but he cares a lot and he’s had some sleepless nights through this summer. He’s a good guy and I think he’s done it the right way. He’s set himself a goal of getting to the end of this Ashes and then letting someone else take over.”One man who could be rested from the Test side is the captain, Joe Root. Root’s appetite for the game – and, in particular, his desire to re-establish himself as a T20 player – have rendered him hard to leave out and he has played every game (expect one World Cup warm-up match) this year.And assuming he is not another player in line for a rest, that would mean that Ben Stokes, who has been reappointed as the side’s vice-captain, could lead the team in the nation in which he was born.That would sustain an impressive comeback for Stokes, who missed the previous Ashes series after the ECB decided he should not be selected ahead of his trial for affray. He was subsequently found not guilty and capped a successful return to the side by being named player of the match in the World Cup final.”I take pride in being vice-captain,” Stokes said. “I love having that responsibility and it is something that I thoroughly enjoy doing. Being part of that think-tank is pretty cool. Playing in an Ashes series is always special and they don’t come around that often.”I am very good friends with Joe as well, off the field, and as much as I can do to help him through his career, not just as a captain but as a player as well, I am really looking forward to that challenge. Being named vice-captain again was very good words to hear when I got the call.”

Batsman took supersition to the extreme for fear team’s innings would go down the pan

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2019Stories of superstitious cricketers not moving round the dressing room during tense moments are not uncommon, but Joe Denly took the fear of bad juju to extremes when he found himself confined to to the loo during Ben Stokes’ historic knock at Headingley.Denly said while some of his team-mates were enjoying the best seats in the house as Stokes and Jack Leach carried England to the most unlikely of victories, the only throne available to him was of the porcelain variety.”I’m not a very good watcher of cricket when I get out,” Denly told BBC Radio 5 Live. “The first 10-15 minutes is sulking and reliving how I got out. That last hour I was stuck in the urinal – toilet area of the changing room.”There were a few guys out back in the physio room, a few guys in viewing area and we all stayed in our position and patrolled our area for the final hour. I felt every time I sat down and watched a bit of cricket we seemed to lose a wicket. I took myself off to the lovely urinals and paced around there for the last hour.”Denly confirmed he would open the batting in place of Jason Roy, who will drop down to No. 4, as reported by ESPNcricinfo last week.”I got a call from Joe Root after a bit of time off and he said he’d like me to go at the top of the order and try to get us off to a good start,” Denly said.”Obviously Jason is going to bat four and that’s great for English cricket. With Jason Roy in the team we are a better team and with him coming in at four, hopefully with the new ball worn off and myself and Rory Burns doing our job at the top, it allows him to come in and play his way. He’s a great player to have there.”Denly was England’s top-scorer with 12 in their woeful first innings of 67 all out while his 50 in the second innnings was overshadowed by Stokes’ match-winning 135. But Denly didn’t mind.”Obviously it was a proud moment but as any top-order batter you come off after getting out wanting more runs,” Denly said. “Having made 50 it would have been nice to go on and get a bigger score, but thankfully we had ‘King Stokes’ coming in and finishing it for us.”I don’t think it’s going to sink in for a while. It was a remarkable day and one that will be remembered forever, so to be part of it was very special.”

The Sri Lanka spinner has twice failed a biomechanics assessment inside a two-year period

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2019Sri Lanka spinner Akila Dananjaya has been banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months because of an illegal bowling action.Dananjaya’s suspension is a result of the ICC’s automatic penalty for bowlers who have twice failed an assessment inside a two-year period. The offspinner can, however, bowl in domestic cricket conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket, with the consent of the board.Dananjaya was assessed after he was reported for a suspect action for the second time in ten months following the Galle Test against New Zealand last month. He subsequently underwent an independent assessment on August 29 in Chennai, which found his bowling action to be illegal.ALSO READ: Akila Dananjaya: Resilience, guile, and a bit of elbow grease, by Andrew Fernando”As the latest report constitutes the player’s second report within a two-year period, the first of which led to a suspension, he is automatically suspended from bowling in international cricket for a period of 12 months,” an ICC release said. “Dananjaya will be entitled to approach the ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling action after the expiry of this one-year period.”Dananjaya was initially suspended from bowling in November 2018, before undergoing remedial work which allowed him to resume bowling earlier this year.Since Dananjaya was not as effective in ODIs when he returned after the suspension, he missed out on a World Cup berth in the summer. The Galle Test in August was his first since his suspension last year and he took an impressive 5 for 80 in the first innings. He did not feature in the second Test against New Zealand but played the subsequent T20Is, taking 2 for 28, 3 for 36 and 1 for 30 to finish as the second-highest wicket-taker in the series, behind Lasith Malinga’s tally of seven wickets.The suspension is a big blow for Sri Lanka as they are scheduled to play their next five Tests in Asia.

Azhar Ali takes charge of Test team, Babar Azam named captain of T20I side

Osman Samiuddin18-Oct-2019Pakistan’s customary post-World Cup clearout is complete after the PCB sacked Sarfaraz Ahmed as the Test and T20I captain ahead of the November-December tour of Australia. To add to his woes, Sarfaraz has also been dropped from both the teams following a run of poor form in the two formats. In his place, Azhar Ali has been named the Test captain and Babar Azam leader of the T20I side. A decision on the ODI captaincy has been put on hold, as Pakistan’s next 50-over assignment isn’t until July next year – logic would suggest it is highly unlikely Sarfaraz will retain that captaincy either.Sarfaraz’s removal means Pakistan now have a new coach, new chief selector and new captains after the 50-over World Cup, where they narrowly failed to reach the semi-finals; Mickey Arthur and Inzamam-ul-Haq are long gone as head coach and selection head, Misbah-ul-Haq having taken over both positions. Azhar, whom Sarfaraz replaced as the white-ball captain in 2016, has been appointed Test captain for the 2019-20 World Test Championship matches, which begin with a two-Test series in Australia next month. Babar will be in charge of the T20I side till at least the men’s T20 World Cup in Australia late next year.ALSO READ: Should Pakistan worry about Sarfaraz Ahmed’s form?The case for Sarfaraz’s dismissal had been building steadily for a while now, predicated as much on his own form as Pakistan’s results under him. Just last week he had stood down from leading Sindh in the National T20 Cup, though continued playing for the side. But he has overseen a dismal run for the Test side, currently at No. 7 in the rankings. In their most recent Test series, they were swept 3-0 in South Africa in December-January, and, prior to that, had lost a three-Test series in the UAE 2-1 to New Zealand – that was a second loss in three Test series (including one to Sri Lanka the season before) in the UAE, as near a fortress as Pakistan had until Sarfaraz took over the captaincy.It is the decision to remove him from captaincy in the shortest format that will hurt Sarfaraz the most. Although they suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at home earlier this month in Lahore at the hands of a Sri Lanka side without a number of their top players, Sarfaraz’s captaincy has led Pakistan to be the leading national side in the world in the format.Results this year have been poor, but their run since the disastrous showing at the 2016 World T20 – after which Sarfaraz took over – had been outstanding. And the loss to Sri Lanka had as much the imprint of Misbah on it, with his selections for the series, as any other player – indeed it is believed Sarfaraz was not happy with Misbah’s decision to recall Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal to a side that didn’t need such drastic selections.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

But it hasn’t helped that Sarfaraz’s form has been poor across all formats. He hasn’t made a Test century in five years and in his most recent Test assignments in South Africa, he made three ducks in six innings. Since the day he scored an unbeaten 61 to get Pakistan through to the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final, Sarfaraz has led Pakistan in 44 ODIs, averaging less than 29 – and that includes 18 games in which he has not batted or finished unbeaten for under 15. In a further 12, he’s managed fewer than 15 runs, and scored just three fifties. His productivity in T20Is has been much the same post-captaincy; if his average was slightly down (26.6 from 28) his strike rate was up (134 from 126 previously).Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, acknowledged the decision to sack Sarfaraz from the two formats had been a “difficult” one. ESPNcricinfo understands Sarfaraz was given the option to resign and announce it in a press conference, but he chose not to.”It has been a difficult decision to drop Sarfaraz Ahmed, who has performed well as a player and a leader,” Mani said in a statement. “But, his loss in form and confidence is visible and, in the best interest of the team, it has been decided to leave him out and provide him the opportunity to reflect and regroup himself and try to reclaim his form away from international cricket.”Sarfaraz Ahmed’s contributions are second to none and being the gutsy cricketer and fighter that we all know he is, I have no doubts he will be back in Pakistan colours at some stage.”ALSO READ: Pakistan left with ‘lots of questions to answer’ – Misbah-ul-HaqPakistan did win five of their nine games at the 50-over World Cup in England and Wales this year, and only failed to qualify for the knockouts because of New Zealand’s superior net run-rate, and have since beaten Sri Lanka 2-0 in a three-ODI series in Karachi, results that have helped Sarfaraz hold on to the job in the format.”It has been an honour to lead Pakistan at the highest level. I want to thank all my colleagues, coaches and selectors who have helped me in this journey. My good wishes are with Azhar Ali, Babar Azam and the Pakistan cricket team, and I hope they will continue to grow stronger and stronger,” Sarfaraz said.Azhar is not a surprising choice, given his status as the team’s most reliable Test batsman, although there had been talk about Shan Masood as a potential option. But Azhar is a safe appointment, now 73 Tests old and in good domestic form: he is second on the list of highest run-getters in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He also had an immensely successful series in Australia the last time Pakistan toured in 2016-17, his 406 runs in the three Tests including an MCG double hundred.”There is no bigger honour than to captain the Pakistan national cricket team in the pinnacle format of the game,” Azhar said. “I feel humbled, excited and privileged, and with the support of the team, look forward to justifying the faith that has been entrusted upon me for the World Test Championship.”I am not only targeting wins, but also aim to provide opportunities to players to grow in stature and express themselves so that Pakistan cricket can resume its journey to the top.”Babar, meanwhile, also has a tough job in his hands despite being handed the reins of the No. 1 side in T20Is – he is the No. 1 batsman in the world in the format too – but he called the elevation “the biggest thing” to have happened in his career.”To be named captain of the No. 1-ranked side in the world is the biggest thing that has happened to my career to date,” he said. “I am ready for this challenge and also willing to learn more in the process. I feel it has been a natural progression for me and I am delighted that the PCB has put faith in my capabilities.”

The Australia captain says his team has got eyes set firmly on the Test championship final in June 2021

Daniel Brettig in Brisbane20-Nov-2019Australia captain Tim Paine believes the return of Steven Smith and David Warner to Test cricket down under will give the hosts the horsepower they need to mount a genuine challenge for the World Test Championship title. Paine said that the series against Pakistan would give them a chance to reel in some of India’s enormous lead at the top of the table.Under the idiosyncrasies of the inaugural Test championship, a two-Test series offers the possibility of collecting 120 points for a 2-0 sweep, a result that would vault Australia from fifth to second position on the WTC table behind Virat Kohli’s side.Apart from that, Joe Burns has returned at the top alongside Warner, while Marnus Labuschagne’s formative last summer reaped strong rewards in England, a trend that Paine is looking to continue.”Hopefully a huge one with runs,” Paine said of the impact he was looking for from Smith and Warner. “We’ve enjoyed having them back last winter and certainly Steve has added a hell of a lot of runs, a hell of a lot of know-how and experience and Dave is the same. I touched on it a lot last summer, it’s really critical that our young players spend a lot of time with those guys, learn from them as much as we can and try and emulate the things they’ve been doing.”We would like to support Steve a lot more this summer, Davey is certainly one of those guys who is really keen to get amongst the runs and just watching him the last few days in the nets, he looks as good as I’ve seen him for a long time, which is a great sign for us.”Warner gave a strong sign that he would rebound from a horrific Ashes series by sculpting a high-quality century for NSW against Queensland at the Gabba early in the season, and Paine said he had seen further evidence to back that up this week.”He hasn’t lost any of his appetite to score runs, he’s still working as hard as I’ve ever seen him work,” Paine said. “Just watching him in the last few days, he just looks like he is back to his best, the ball is making a different sound off his bat again, he looks like he is in great positions most of the time when he’s batting in the nets.”But the best and most pleasing thing about Davey was during the whole Ashes when he was probably in the worst form of his career, he didn’t change one bit. A lot of players would. He has got unbelievable self-belief, which is his main strength. Obviously, he didn’t put the runs on the board he would like, but I still know he believes and we believe he is a world-class opener, he has played nearly 80 Tests and averages 45, so I’d be expecting that to be back up over 50 by the end of this series.”Coach Justin Langer has noted the boom-and-bust tendencies of the Test team under Paine’s leadership, only once – against Sri Lanka last summer – putting two successive wins together in the same series. It will be essential for Australia to do so to contend for the championship.”That’s the key to being a good Test team, being able to do it consistently,” Paine said. “We touched on it this week as well with the importance of the Test championship. You can’t afford to be playing a Test match at the end of a Test series as a dead rubber, there’s no such thing, and our team has got our eyes set firmly on that Test final in June 2021. That’s one of our team’s goals.”It just adds to the importance of every Test match, every Test series, so for us to be playing consistent cricket both home and away and in all types of conditions, is something we’re certainly striving for. I think through that difficult period last year what we did was get some guys some exposure to Test cricket that probably wouldn’t have got it beforehand. So we’ve started to build some real depth around our squad. With depth, I think that’s when you start to get that consistency because guys know they have to perform to keep their spot.”We’ve had some really good players in this series that have been left out of the Australian Test squad, which is disappointing for them, but really good for our side in the fact we’re building that depth and with the depth, we’re hoping we’ll get that consistency of performance.”As for Labuschagne and Burns, Paine reckoned their Queensland experience would provide a useful head start to the top order. “At the moment, in the near future, the No. 3 spot is his to nail down,” Paine said of Labuschagne. “I thought he did a wonderful job in England, and he is someone we think can certainly fill that hole at No. 3. He’s had a terrific start to his Test career, he has got good technique, good character, good temperament, and a good No. 3 needs all those. We’re certainly excited by what he can do in that role.”We know what we’re going to get from Burnsy, he is a hardened first-class opening batter and he bats at the Gabba a lot where it’s hard to score runs, particularly at the top of the order. He knows his game really well, he is really confident in it, and I think he has been picked now when he has come into the prime of his career and he is playing as well as he ever had. Similar to a Matthew Wade, we’ve just picked those guys now at the right time and they’ll make the most of this opportunity.”

Joe Denly top-scored with 74 but England were lacking a defining contribution on a sedate day at Mount Maunganui

The Report by Alan Gardner20-Nov-2019England’s Test team came to New Zealand seeking a fresh start after the angst and drama of the Bayliss era. There are few more tranquil locales in which the longest format can unfold and, on a sedate opening to life as a Test venue at Mount Maunganui, a succession of English batsmen gave notice that they were prepared to adhere to the traditional disciplines favoured by the new head coach, Chris Silverwood.While England’s innings was perhaps lacking in definitive statements, there were encouraging signs aplenty from a revamped top order. In keeping with the team’s new mantra, Rory Burns and Joe Denly both compiled watchful half-centuries, from 135 and 136 balls respectively, while Dom Sibley, the debutant opener, was party to a 52-run opening stand as England made a useful start in benign conditions.That none was able to go on will give New Zealand satisfaction after a day of manful toil from their four seamers. Pre-match suggestions were that this pitch would be accommodating to batsmen and it looks as the Bay of Plenty will live up to its name; Kane Williamson is foremost among the home XI unlikely to miss out given similar opportunity.

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And while the English rank and file did their level best, there was disappointment for the captain, Joe Root, who was only able to muster 2 from a laboured 22-ball stay. A typically punchy fifty from his deputy, Ben Stokes, ensured England would retain hope of building a match-defining position on day two.Recent white-ball encounters between these two sides have been marked by their explosive potential, but Test rhythms quickly asserted themselves at the Bay Oval. Colin de Grandhomme’s medium pace applied an effective tourniquet as England were kept to a scoring rate well below three an over, and only while Stokes was at the crease and flexing his tattooed biceps during the evening session did pulses go much above resting rate.Having lost two wickets in quick succession shortly before tea, Stokes and Denly took some time to retrench before swelling their fourth-wicket stand to 83. Denly reached his fourth fifty in as many Tests with a crisp cover drive off Trent Boult, then began to open up as he attacked the under-utilised spin of Mitchell Santner, lofting over extra cover and then depositing a straight-driven six down the ground.His previous Test innings, opening the batting at The Oval in September, saw Denly fall six runs short of a maiden hundred; he did not get that close this time, but may again rue a chance missed after falling to the second new ball for 74, fencing at Tim Southee as he angled a delivery in from wide of the crease.While New Zealand were admirably persistent, their bowlers’ efforts were undermined by several notable lapses in the field – the most glaring of which came a few overs before the close, as Stokes was gifted a life having thrashed Boult for fours down the ground, through midwicket and then cover. The next delivery found his outside edge, only to burst through Ross Taylor’s hands at slip and disappear for a fourth consecutive boundary.New Zealand might also have removed Burns before he had established himself, failing to review for caught behind after a half-hearted appeal in the fifth over. Burns put that behind him to help see off the new ball and take England to a promising position at 113 for 1, despite rarely looking fluent. However, Root was unable to take advantage of coming in with the shine long gone, taking 21 balls to get off the mark and then falling tamely to Neil Wagner’s next delivery, steering an edge to second slip.Wagner pounded the pitch manfully, engaging in an entertaining tussle with Denly and striking Burns a blow on the helmet that seemed to contribute to the opener losing his composure. Twice Denly pulled Wagner for two fours in an over, but in between times the bowler had the better of things, seeing edges fall short of gully and slip.Burns also edged Southee between first and second slip on 37, with Taylor and Tom Latham unmoving, and then survived a marginal lbw appeal on umpire’s call when New Zealand did turn to the DRS. He went to his fifty in Boult’s following over, clipping off his legs for a sixth boundary, before finally succumbing to de Grandhomme via a thin edge to the keeper.It was also de Grandhomme who made New Zealand’s initial breakthrough, a teasing away-nibbler finding Sibley’s outside edge after the new man had compiled 22 from 63 balls in his maiden outing. If it was a regulation dismissal for an opener, drawn into an off-stump push and well held by Taylor at first slip, Sibley had at least made New Zealand work hard for it, leaving the ball well and giving England an ideal start after Root had won the toss and chosen to bat.Having come into the game with a reputation for obduracy, Sibley promptly clipped his first ball in Test cricket to the midwicket boundary; but he was soon living up to his billing, absorbing another 22 deliveries before producing his second scoring shot.The Burns-Sibley axis soon settled into an unhurried groove, in keeping with the relaxed atmosphere on the grass banks for those fans attending Bay Oval’s Test debut. Both captains took the view that the pitch would be good for run-scoring, despite a greenish tinge, and that was borne out. Burns had an escape on 10, HotSpot confirming a thin outside edge to a regulation Boult outswinger, while Sibley was forced to dive for his ground to complete a quick single but otherwise the openers were untroubled, as New Zealand found some gentle swing but little pace from a docile surface.

Mohammad Nabi threatened to pull off a steep chase but Ellis held his nerve in the final over in a game where Sam Harper was subbed out for concussion

Report by Daniel Brettig21-Jan-2020A blistering start by Matthew Wade and a cool-headed finish by Nathan Ellis delivered Hobart Hurricanes the victory they needed over the Melbourne Renegades to keep in touch with a place in the Big Bash League finals, in a thrilling affair at Docklands Stadium.On an excellent pitch, Wade helped the Hurricanes hammer 78 from their opening powerplay, before Mac Wright ensured this platform was not wasted. The Renegades’ pursuit had three significant contributions from Shaun Marsh, Beau Webster and Mohammad Nabi, but from a position where they needed 12 from nine balls, the Hurricanes defended grandly, capped off by Ellis conceding just five runs off the final over after he had gone for 20 in the 18th.Mac Wright batted through the Hurricanes innings•Getty Images

Wading into itIn a match the Hurricanes had to win to keep in touch with the competition’s top five, they had the advantage of first use of a pitch that did not play quite as slowly as the Renegades’ captain Dan Christian might have expected when he won the toss and bowled. Wade was certainly quick to find the ball skidding obligingly onto the bat, going after Nabi’s opening over and quickly getting into a rhythm that saw plenty of decent balls go to the boundary and anything loose disappearing well over the Docklands Stadium rope.An Andrew Fekete long-hop was dispatched with a pull shot whose sound reverberated around the arena, while not even Christian’s usually parsimonious offerings were immune to being taken for the maximum. The upshot of all this was a powerplay worth 78, the Hurricanes’ best ever in BBL history. For Wade, this might have been the platform for a spectacular century, but he was not to last much longer, dragged wide of the off stump as he miscued Cameron Boyce to gully for 66 from a mere 29 balls.The Wright stuffAmid Wade’s early attack on the Renegades, with their captain Aaron Finch watching from the boundary on the day he returned home from an ODI tour of India, Wright’s innings was a more measured affair, playing in his captain’s slipstream and then steadily accelerating across the innings. One cover driven boundary off Boyce, where he danced down to get to the pitch of a leg break, was delectable, and he otherwise gave the impression of a player who should remain a fixture in the Hurricanes’ side from here.Nevertheless, the Hobart innings did not quite maintain the rage of its early passages, meaning that although the Renegades only claimed three wickets, they were happy to restrict the Hurricanes to only 112 from the final 14 overs of the innings – despite leaking 20 from Samit Patel’s left-arm spinners in the 19th over.Matthew Wade turned it on at the top of the Hurricanes innings•Getty Images

Harper’s heavy hitDocklands Stadium was built primarily as an Australian football venue, and the manner in which Sam Harper was ruled out of the rest of the match – after getting to six from five balls – was more familiar to many of those who had seen countless marking contests on the west Melbourne turf. Running towards the non-striker’s end, Harper collided with Nathan Ellis and was sent tumbling heavily onto his back and neck as the bowler braced.Harper had previously been the victim of a heavy and traumatic concussion in February 2017 when Jake Lehmann had accidentally hit the Victorian wicketkeeper with his bat, being confined to hospital in Adelaide for some weeks afterwards, and his early movements after this collision were decidedly wobbly. He was submitted to a concussion test on the field of play, and the results did not satisfy medical staff enough to allow Harper to continue. He walked off with a consoling word from Wade and was ultimately sent to hospital, to be subbed out for Tom Cooper – the first such instance in BBL history.Ellis holds the lineHaving lost Harper, the Renegades did not fall too far behind due to some of Marsh’s cleaner hitting for the tournament, accompanied by a supporting innings from Webster that kept the innings at a steady pace. Marsh’s exit for 56 arrived at a time when the game was starting to tilt towards the hosts, but the required rate was allowed to balloon out beyond 15 per over as Webster and Nabi struggled momentarily to find the boundary.However, the third over delivered by Ellis, who had previously conceded just 12 runs from two, offered up enough deliveries in the hitting slot for Nabi to get into the sort of hitting mode that has made him one of the world’s best T20 players. No fewer than 20 runs accrued from the over, and when Nabi nailed two more sixes off Clive Rose, the Renegades suddenly needed a mere 12 from nine balls. Rose, though, slowed up his pace and defeated Nabi, while not conceding another boundary. Ellis, defending 10 runs from the final over, conceded only five.

Government official wants board to discuss conflict charges filed by Sanjeev Gupta, among other issues

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Jan-2020The BCCI has been asked to convene a meeting of its Apex Council at the earliest by Alka Rehani Bharadwaj, the nominee of the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG), to look into the conflict of interest complaints filed by Sanjeev Gupta, a life member at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA). The Apex Council is one of the most powerful committees of the board. It is tasked with the governance of the BCCI and ranks second after the general body.According to , on Monday, Bharadwaj, who was appointed by the CAG to be part of the BCCI’s Apex Council in December, sent an email to all the board’s five office bearers, including president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah, along with Rahul Johri, the chief executive officer.Ganguly, Shah and the other three office bearers – Arun Dhumal (treasurer), Jayesh George (joint secretary) and Mahim Verma (vice-president) – are part of the Apex Council along with Bharadwaj, two representatives from the Indian Cricketers’ Association (Aunshuman Gaekwad and Shanta Rangaswamy) and an elected representative nominated by the general body. The Apex Council has met just once (November 30) since Ganguly’s administration took charge in October, and as per the board’s constitution, it is supposed to meet every three months.In the email, Bharadwaj reportedly listed five different conflict charges Gupta had filed since Ganguly’s administration was elected. In his latest complaint, filed on Monday with the BCCI Ethics Officer, Gupta has said former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir is ineligible to be part of the cricket advisory committee (CAC), which is tasked with picking the men’s selection committee. The BCCI recently approached Gambhir, along with former India seamer Madan Lal and former India women’s cricketer Sulakshana Naik, to be part of the CAC which has been defunct since last November.In his complaint Gupta said Gambhir, being a Member of Parliament, was ineligible as per the rules listed within the BCCI’s constitution. It is not known whether that complaint is on the shortlist of conflict charges that Bharadwaj wanted to discuss with the rest of the Apex Council.One complaint that Bharadwaj did point out concerns the appointment of the former MPCA secretary Milind Kanmadikar as the team manager of the India A team, currently in New Zealand.Gupta said that Kanmadikar was ineligible because he had served as MPCA secretary until October 2019, and hence had to serve the mandatory cooling off period of three years as per the rules which were approved by the Supreme Court in 2018. As per the rules, an office bearer or an administrator needs to serve a three-year cooling off period after serving two consecutive terms (6 years).”Mr Kanmadikar is in compulsory cooling period ( he was Office Bearer of MPCA for 7 years in succession from Aug 2012 till 1 Oct 2019 ),” Gupta had said in his complaint, sent on January 9. “He stands disqualified to occupy any post whatsoever till he completes his cooling period on 1 Oct 2022 , including post as Team Official of Indian A Team.”Kanmadikar’s appointment was made by the BCCI, but Bharadwaj wanted to know the details because, as she pointed out, the office bearers did not have the power to do it themselves without discussing the matter at the Apex Council. “In terms of BCCI Rule 8 and 15, there is no provision through which either BCCI AGM or BCCI Apex Council can delegate their powers to BCCI office-bearers,” Bharadwaj said in the email, according to .Bharadwaj said she had already sent two other emails to the office bearers in which she had also asked for the minutes of the November 30 Apex Council meeting to be sent to her in addition to uploading the annual reports of the previous two years on the board’s website. “Thus, as requested on 7 January 2020, I again request for early convening of Apex Council meeting. Request you, as per my earlier mails dated 20 December 2019 and 3 January 2020, to share and also upload the Annual Reports for last 3 years on BCCI Website, in compliance with Rule 37(5) & (6) of the Constitution.”You are also requested to share the Agenda, Explanatory notes, Minutes of Apex Council meeting of 30 November 2019 and also [IPL] Governing Council meeting, last held.”Bharadwaj’s email is a significant development. The RM Lodha Committee had recommended that the CAG representative needed to be part of the Apex Council to help provide transparency and accountability in the world’s richest cricket board. The BCCI opposed the move when it was suggested, with former board president Anurag Thakur (Dhumal’s brother) controversially suggesting the CAG nominee appointment could not be allowed. Thakur was later sacked by the court for failing to implement the reforms.

He will take charge at the end of the current South African domestic season

Firdose Moonda18-Feb-2020Allan Donald has been appointed head coach of the Knights franchise, a job he will start at the end of the current season. Donald’s tenure with the team, which is based in Bloemfontein where his own career began, will start on May 1, well in time for the 2020-21 season.”We felt that the Knights needed someone with extensive international coaching experience, who has coached at the highest level of the game to take the team to the next level,” Wayne Schonegevel, Knights’ selection convener, said in a statement. “Allan is one of South Africa’s greatest-ever cricketers and someone the players look up to, coupled with the fact that he has his roots in the central region, makes him the ideal person to achieve this goal.”Donald’s appointment brings the number of former internationals in charge of domestic franchise teams to four, after Ashwell Prince (Cobras), Robin Peterson (Warriors) and Imraan Khan (Dolphins). Donald, the former South Africa quick and bowling coach, will take over the baton from Alan Kurger, who succeeded Nicky Boje on a one-year contract last April.The 53-year-old has accumulated a wealth of coaching experience since retiring from the game in 2004, having worked with Sri Lanka and New Zealand, apart from South Africa, at the international level as well as Warwickshire, Kent, the Mountaineers, Pune Warriors India and Royal Challengers Bangalore. His most significant role in the South African system was as bowling coach in the Russell Domingo era between 2013 and 2015, while his most recent post was at Kent, where he worked as assistant coach for two years. Donald has since returned home to South Africa, where he worked with Free State Cricket as a consultant first, before taking over the Knights’ role. This will be Donald’s second stint as the head coach of a team after he had led the staff at the now-defunct Pune Warriors India in the IPL in 2013.*”I have wanted to do this coaching position for a long time and I look forward to this challenge,” Donald said. “It is a big challenge. We have not had the best of seasons in the past years in terms of consistency and winning games, and most of all winning trophies. I have had a sneak peek in most international dressing rooms, and I want to bring that international language to the Knights dressing room.”Significantly, Donald’s appointment suggests that at least one franchise – Knights – expects the domestic structure’s status quo to remain in place for the coming season after the proposed restructure was rescinded by the Member’s Council 11 days’ ago. Last April, the 14 provincial presidents who form the highest authority in South African cricket put forth a plan to eliminate the franchise tier of the domestic game and put in place a 12-team provincial structure in its place. The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) claimed they were not consulted about this and took Cricket South Africa to court over the changes. SACA withdrew their case when the plans were scrapped.While there has been no formal announcement about the way next summer’s domestic fixtures would be played, it appears that the four-day and one-day franchise tournaments will go ahead alongside the three-day and one-day Provincial Cup. The future of the Mzansi Super League, the franchise T20 tournament that has cost CSA more than Rand 100 million [US$ 6.6 million approx.] in each of its two years due to unsold broadcast rights, is yet to be decided.