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Player’s management ‘hugely disappointed at treatment by the ECB’

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Apr-2019Alex Hales is said to be “devastated” by his axing from all England squads in the wake of his drugs ban.Hales’ management company, the 366 Group, said they were “hugely disappointed” by the England selectors’ decision to drop him from the England squads for the World Cup and the lead-up matches.”We are hugely disappointed at the treatment of our client, Alex Hales, by the ECB following his ejection from England’s preliminary World Cup squad,” the company said in a statement.”Nobody is seeking to excuse Alex’s behaviour in this instance. He absolutely acknowledges and recognises he made a huge mistake. But as part of the ongoing process, both he and his representatives have been involved in many conversations with senior members of the ECB over the past few weeks where Alex has apologised profusely for his actions.”The ECB insisted on Alex taking certain rehabilitation measures following his suspension. In line with both the ECB and PCA [Professional Cricketers’ Association] guidelines, those measures must remain confidential. However, at every stage, Alex fulfilled his obligations and both he and his representatives were given assurances that any suspension – again under the ECB’s guidelines – could not affect his selection for the World Cup.”ALSO READ: Hales axing opens World Cup can of wormsHales’ management reiterated their client’s belief that the ban would not affect his World Cup berth, saying he “took away the message his World Cup place would be judged on playing merit”.”The fact all those assurances seem to have been rendered meaningless has understandably left Alex devastated,” the statement said. “He will take time to reflect on both his actions and the subsequent decisions but will receive the support from his team he deserves.”Until the matter became public, the ECB had fully observed their own process and guidelines and given Alex the support and guidance laid out in those regulations. It is now disappointing to learn these guidelines seem to have been disregarded while, in this instance, player welfare would also appear to be low on their list of priorities.”While Alex is hurt, the ECB’s decision does not dilute his commitment to the game and he will continue to give everything to Nottinghamshire’s cause. He would also like to wish England team-mates well for the World Cup.”Hales was withdrawn from all England squads after being slapped with a 21-day ban for using recreational drugs. As a result, he will not travel to Ireland for a one-off ODI on Friday in Malahide and has also been removed from England’s squad for the T20I, the one-day series against Pakistan, and the preliminary World Cup squad.Ben Duckett and Dawid Malan were subsequently called up to the squad for the ODI against Ireland and T20I against Pakistan. James Vince, who was already part of the squad for those matches, was also included for the five-match one-day series against Pakistan starting on May 8.According to an ECB statement, Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, and the England selectors, headed by Ed Smith, took the decision to omit Hales after considering what is in the best interests of the England team.”Consideration was given to creating the right environment within the team and ensuring that there are no unnecessary distractions and that the team is in the best position to succeed going into this crucial period,” read the statement.”We have thought long and hard about this decision,” Giles said. “We have worked hard to create the right environment around the England team and need to consider what is in the best interests of the team, to ensure they are free from any distractions and able to focus on being successful on the pitch.”I want to make it clear this is not the end of Alex’s career as an England player. The ECB and the PCA will continue to aid Alex and work alongside his county club Nottinghamshire to give him the support he needs, to help him fulfil his potential as a professional cricketer.”England have until May 23 to finalise their World Cup 15, and so the coming series against Ireland and the Pakistan matches represent a huge opportunity for a replacement batsman to make his case for selection. The current front-runner would appear to be Hampshire’s Vince, who made a career-best 190 from 154 balls against Gloucestershire last week.

With just three days to dust themselves off before taking on India in their opening game, captain needs answers – fast

Andrew Miller02-Jun-2019Faf du Plessis, South Africa’s captain, says that his team will have to cobble together a new strategy to stay alive in the World Cup, after a disastrous defeat to Bangladesh at The Oval was compounded by a hamstring strain for Lungi Ngidi that will keep one of their premier strike bowlers out of action for up to ten days.With Dale Steyn, their iconic attack leader, still inching his way back to fitness following a shoulder problem, du Plessis admitted that “Plan A is gone”, having come into the World Cup with hopes of deploying those two men alongside Kagiso Rabada to form one of the most formidable pace attacks in world cricket.And now, with just three days to dust themselves off before taking on India in their opening World Cup fixture in Southampton on Wednesday, du Plessis said that he was still searching for answers as to why South Africa’s campaign has got off to such a poor start.”I have to believe that we can still win the World Cup,” du Plessis said. “I won’t be South African if I said no.”I’ll go back and try and see how we can lift the spirits in the team. We’re playing a strong team in India in their first game, and our third game, so as a team, we know. We know we’re not good enough at the moment and we have to turn it around.”It’s not like international cricket [is] ‘there you go, there’s a win for you’. The World Cup is set up with strong teams, and we have to win. We have no other choice. We won’t be going back and just falling over, I can promise you that.”Faf Du Plessis of South Africa addresses the media during the Group Stage match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019•Getty Images

South Africa’s performance was fatally undermined when Ngidi left the field after bowling just four expensive overs in Bangladesh’s record ODI total of 330 for 6. He did not reappear, even to bat, and Dr Mohammad Moosajee, the team doctor, confirmed he would be sent for scans after experiencing “sharp discomfort in his left hamstring”.”Look, it didn’t go according to plan,” said du Plessis. “We spoke a lot before the game about trying to be aggressive, but obviously then Lungi got injured and that changed completely.”Now all of a sudden, as captain, I have to bowl 15 to 20 overs of medium to slow or spin or bowling, so then you need to bowl the team out in order to make sure that you don’t have to chase a big score.”But the nature of subcontinent teams is that they do get a big score on the board, they can squeeze you when they have runs on the board, and that’s exactly what happened.”Options for South Africa are thin on the ground going into the India fixture. Dwaine Pretorius is waiting in the wings as a seam-bowling allrounder, and Tabraiz Shamsi could conceivably link up with Imran Tahir in a twin-spin attack. But their ideal scenario, of fast and hostile bowling to cow their opponents into submission, is now to all intents and purposes over.Plan A is gone,” said du Plessis. “It’s gone because Plan A was those bowlers playing together. They haven’t played a game together on this tour.”Initially Plan B was Anrich Nortje, an extra pace bowler that we had lined up for if we had an injury, to have another X-factor bowler that can bowl 145 plus. He got injured, as well.”So now you’re moving into your all-rounder territory. You have two medium pace all-rounders and then you have Chris Morris that like sits in between your fast bowlers and your medium pace bowlers.”So, now, we have to really look at what we can do to try to be effective; is it playing all-rounders together, do we play two spinners. Now it’s reshuffling all our cards and see how best we can deal with it.”Steyn is at least making progress towards his long-awaited return. He practised in the middle after the match, and should be close to consideration for the India game. However, having not played competitively since the IPL in April, and with a possible six must-win matches still to come in the group stages, his realistic return may be deferred until the West Indies match on June 9.”Any captain would say that it’s not easy [managing injuries], but I mean, I can’t complain about it,” said du Plessis. “That’s not going to change anything. I have to find a way. The coaching staff, the team, has to find a way. It’s not going for us from an injuries point of view.”For now, du Plessis’ task is to motivate a dispirited dressing room, and he warned that – whereas there was comfort to be taken in the manner of their opening defeat against India – the Bangladesh loss was a different matter altogether.”From my style of captaincy, has always been there’s a line, and if you don’t perform to that line, then there’s a lot of harsh words,” he said. “I’m certainly not Mr. Nice Guy. There’s times for strictness and there’s times that you see a dressing room needs you to be strong and to motivate them, and that was the previous game when we lost to England the way that we did.”But now, today was not good enough. There’s absolutely no excuses from me. So if the guys think they can make excuses for a performance like today, then they will be challenged. That’s a fact.”At the moment, it’s a skill thing. Our skill is not where it needs to be. It’s got absolutely nothing to do with injuries. You can make excuses, as many as you want. But every single player in our dressing room is not playing to their full potential, and that’s why we’re not putting the performance on. It’s just about making sure you look at yourself in the mirror and see how you can find that answer.”

England could end a 44-year wait for the World Cup on Sunday. Here we rate their failed attempts from least-worst to the absolute pits…

Andrew Miller12-Jul-20191992: Lost to Pakistan, FinalHow can you legislate against genius? Wasim Akram’s two-ball demolition job on Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis remains one of the most iconic passages of play of all time. Pakistan did what Pakistan do, and nothing and no-one was going to stand in their way – not even an England team that had spent the preceding weeks making a virtue of their bits and pieces, long before Sanjay Manjrekar turned their methods into a slur. Plus, there was that not-out lbw from Derek Pringle to Javed Miandad – he’d have been Sir Derek by now, had umpire Bucknor done the needful.1979: Lost to West Indies, FinalHow can you legislate against genius, part two? No, not Viv – his century was just run-of-the-mill brilliant that day – but rather Collis King, whose madcap 86 from 66 was so ahead of its time, it might as well have rocked up in a DeLorean, direct from 2009, announcing that something had to be done about the kids. By contrast, England’s reply had more in common with Sunil Gavaskar’s iconic 36 not out from the 1975 event. Boycott and Brearley (honestly, Boycott and Brearley!) opened the innings with 129 in an eternity before the young guns (Gooch! Gower! Botham!) ran out of road. Alas, where England were going that day, they didn’t need roads…1975: Lost to Australia, Semi-FinalScher-wing! Gary Gilmour had played just two ODIs in his life, and none for more than a year. But, faced with slate-grey skies at a forbiddingly grim Headingley, Australia knew a horse for a course when they saw one. Much like Bob Massie’s 16-wicket match at Lord’s in 1972, England had braced for a very different sort of a threat, namely Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson hurling the ball at their heads. Instead Gilmour zipped and slithered on a good length, bowling 12 overs unchanged to claim 6 for 14 with five massive inswingers and one that went away to Tony Greig. Even then his work wasn’t done, as Australia, chasing 94, slumped to 39 for 6. Cue a run-a-ball 28, because when it’s your day, it’s your day.Andy Bichel had the game of his life against England in 2003•Getty Images

2003: Lost to Australia, Group StageCircumstances, circumstances … amid the miserabilia of England’s coloured-clothing World Cup era, the 2003 tournament deserves an asterisk at the very least. They had a side, lest we forget, with a bit of ticker about them – Trescothick, Knight, Stewart, Hussain et al – and they would surely have reached the Super Sixes but for their hanging-out-to-dry over the Zimbabwe issue. As for their eventual exit, well, it was brutal, but there’s a certain poignant what-iffery about Australia’s great escape in Port Elizabeth. Andy Bichel, Jimmy Anderson, that six into the scoreboard … ho hum …1987: Lost to Australia, FinalOkay, so England reached the final in Calcutta and did jolly well along the way – Graham Gooch’s sweep-laden century to break India’s hearts in the semi-final remains one of the great individual feats in the tournament’s history. But of course, England’s memories of this final are tarnished for myriad reasons. Mike Gatting’s reverse sweep with the match at his mercy foremost among them (though England, post-KP, would simply claim “that’s the way I play” and move on from it). But more unforgivably, that shot let Australia off the hook after their most miserable decade of all time, and allowed Allan Border to don his jackboots and embark on a decades-long campaign of Ashes subjugation.England’s 2007 campaign was forgettable other than for Andrew Flintoff falling off a pedalo•Getty Images

2011: lost to Sri Lanka, Quarter-FinalA ten-wicket marmalisation at the hands of Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Not a lot to write home about, right? Well, yes … except the manner of England’s parting was, for once, not the story of their tournament. In scenes not dissimilar to their wild ride to this year’s semis, Andrew Strauss’s knackered band of erratics kept the 2011 tournament interesting, thanks to their extraordinary ability to raise and lower their standards to meet the perceived calibre of their opponents. Cue thrilling defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh, thrilling wins over South Africa and West Indies and an extraordinary tie against India. Oh, and they had just won the Ashes in Australia, so they get a pass for that as well (because no-one cared about 50-over cricket back then, did they?)1983: Lost to India, semi-finalIf West Indies had been paying even a smidgen more attention, rather than presuming their third title in as many tournaments was already in the bag, then India’s performance in their semi-final win over the hosts at Old Trafford might have given them a little insight into what to expect. Batting first, England stumbled to 213 all out on a deck that favoured the sort of accurate, nibbly bowlers of which India had an abundance. England’s quicks, by contrast, came onto the bat rather nicely for the likes Yashpal Sharma and Mohinder Amarnath. India’s comprehensive six-wicket win took them one step closer to that game-changing triumph.2007: Lost without trace, Super EightsMeh… 2007. Did it actually happen? Someone fell off a pedalo, and Paul Nixon played a nifty reverse-sweep against Sri Lanka (but England still lost, of course). Beyond that, Michael Vaughan’s men were so anodyne that it is not actually possible to pinpoint when and where they eventually dribbled out of contention.Rubel Hossain bowls last man James Anderson for a duck to wrap up the game•BCB

2015: Lost to Bangladesh, Group StageAbject, abject, abject. The pits, the nadir, the data that was late (err?)… The only saving grace of 2015 – and to be fair, it gets some serious brownie points for this – is that Eoin Morgan, England’s belatedly appointed one-day skipper, was able to say “never again” after a clutch of GOAT humiliations, and someone in authority (Team Director Strauss, in fact, the man who had probably said similar to no-one in particular four years earlier) was in a sufficient position of authority to formulate a plan for world domination …1996: Lost to Sri Lanka, Quarter-FinalWhen your pinch-hitter being sick on the pitch is more memorable than any of his actual pinch-hitting (sorry, Neil Smith, but really…) you know you’ve hit a bum note on the world stage. All things being equal, the 1996 campaign was in fact England’s most abject of all time, in that they had no idea how far off the pace they had slipped – the world had turned on its axis since 1992, and England’s reliance on three Texaco Trophy matches a season (always in May, always 55 overs, always 3-0 to the home team) was a denial of the sport’s new realities. When Sanath Jayasuriya tore them a new one with his 82 from 44 in that legendary quarter-final in Faisalabad, England at least knew what sort of a corner they’d backed themselves into, even if they had no idea where or how to turn …1999:Lost to India, Group Stage… and if 1996 was hubris, then 1999 was nemesis. As we all know, it’s been 20 long years since England last hosted the Men’s Cricket World Cup, and that’s an awfully long time to have to sit and stew and wonder what might have been. The lack of planning, the lack of preparation, the lack of recognition that a tournament that had cut its apron-strings in 1983 and had grown beyond all recognition on its trips to India (1987), Australia (1992) and back to Asia (1996) was suddenly rather A Big Deal. And the manner of England’s exit was especially miserable. A rain-delayed defeat on a sparsely attended second day against India at Edgbaston, set against the gnawing dread caused by Zimbabwe’s shock defeat of South Africa. Fittingly, England didn’t even see the threat of elimination (or the opportunity of progression) until it was gone. And the less said about the World Cup anthem, the better.

Allrounder wanted Jason Roy to face crucial Super Over, after admitting anger at failing to win in 50 overs

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2019Ben Stokes has said that redemption “is not a word I’ll ever use”, in the wake of his starring role in England’s triumph in the World Cup final against New Zealand on Sunday.Stokes was named Player of the Match in the final at Lord’s, after guiding England’s run-chase with an unbeaten 84 from 98 balls, as well as adding a crucial 8 from 3 in the decisive Super Over.But speaking to BBC Sport, Stokes said that he did not view the events of Sunday as his public redemption, following his high-profile court case and subsequent acquittal following a fight outside a Bristol nightclub in September 2017.”That’s not a word I’ll ever use,” he said. “I’m an athlete, a cricketer, and it’s what we are paid to do, win trophies.”However, speaking to Good Morning Britain, Stokes went into greater detail on the events of that tumultuous final, saying that his initial reaction on levelling the scores in the 50th over was “anger” at not getting the job done, before suggesting that Jason Roy ought to be Jos Buttler’s partner for the crucial Super Over.After rescuing England’s innings in partnership with Buttler, Stokes was left needing two runs to win the match in normal time off the final ball of the 50th over, bowled by Trent Boult.Despite being served up a knee-high full-toss, Stokes chose to play a measured shot along the ground, mindful of what had happened to Bangladesh against India in similar circumstances in the World T20 three years ago, when a succession of batsmen had taken the aerial route. Though he pushed hard to come back for the second, his partner Mark Wood was run out, leaving the scores tied.”I was annoyed at myself, I was angry, I thought I’d thrown it away,” Stokes said. “But when I went upstairs I had to give myself five minutes because Morgs [Eoin Morgan] wanted me to go back out and do the Super Over.”I said that we should send Jos [Buttler] and Jason [Roy] out but Morgs said we need a left [-hander] and right because it’s a small boundary.”I had to go out the back into the shower room and give myself five minutes. I never want to be involved in one ever again.”ALSO READ: Legacy-maker Stokes rewrites his own introStokes struck one four in the three balls that he faced in the Super Over, as England posted a challenging total of 15.”To go out there and have the pressure on you batting first, to get as many runs as you can, it is a scary place to be especially in a World Cup final,” he said.”But I think I’d rather be out there in the middle than having to watch because that’s the worst place to be is when you’re watching and you know you can’t influence what’s going on out in the middle.”It’s not one of the things I ever want to be involved in again just because of the stress.”England’s task was not finished, however. They still had to prevent New Zealand scoring 16 in their Super Over, which was fewer runs than Stokes himself had conceded in the final over of the World T20 in Kolkata, when he was struck for four consecutive sixes by West Indies’ Carlos Brathwaite.The burden this time fell on Jofra Archer, the least experienced member of England’s World Cup squad, and Stokes admitted: “I know exactly how he would have been feeling in that moment. I just said: ‘Whatever happens here this isn’t going to define your career.'”Obviously how he did it, it has [now] because he defended a Super Over and won England the World Cup. But I was more coming from a point of view of if it doesn’t go well, because I know what it’s like to go through things like that.”The winning moment, replayed countless times since Sunday afternoon, came when Buttler whipped off the bails to run out Martin Guptill, and Stokes admitted that the immediate aftermath was chaotic.”I slipped, fell over and starfished on the ground,” he said. “I had Mark Wood’s glasses on and think I broke them on the ground. It was pandemonium.”I got emotional there at the end and that was probably the culmination of lots of things – happiness that we’d won it but maybe subconsciously thinking and remembering back to what I went through.”

How will teams level on points be separated, what’s the call on over-rate penalties, and other key questions answered

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2019Separating teams level on points
If at the end of the group stage, two or more teams are level on points, the team with more series wins will take the higher spot on the table. If they are level on that front, runs-per-wicket ratio – defined as runs scored per wicket lost, divided by runs conceded per wicket taken – will be factored in.Abandoned matches
An abandoned match will be treated as a draw. But if the match is abandoned because of an unfit pitch or outfield, the home team will be penalised, and points for a win will be awarded to the visiting side.ALSO READ: All you need to know about the 2019-21 World Test ChampionshipOver-rate calculations
Over rates will be calculated the same way in which it is currently used, with an expectation of 15 overs per hour. However, the playing conditions have introduced some new exclusions for when a team bowls out a side quickly or does not bowl more than 60 overs in the match.

• When a side is bowled out in 60 overs or less, and the bowling team has not exceeded the over-rate limit, that innings will not be included in the bowling team’s match over-rate calculation.
• When a side bowls out the opposition twice, and in doing so does not complete more than 120 overs in total, that team will be exempt from any over-rate penalties.
• When a team doesn’t bowl more than 60 overs in a match, that team will be exempt from any over-rate penalties.

Over-rate penalties
As previously announced, captains will no longer bear a bigger brunt for slow over-rates than the rest of the members of his team, and there will be no danger of suspension for being behind the required rate. Instead, all players will face equal fines, and teams will lose WTC points if they are found to be behind the rate.

• For each over a team is found to be short, a Penalty Over will be incurred
• For each Penalty Over, there will be two WTC points deducted from the team’s total
• All players will be fined the same as the captain for over-rate offences – 20% of their match fee per Penalty Over, up to a maximum of 100%
• There will be no escalation in penalties for repeat offences

Concussion substitutes
As revealed earlier this month, teams will be able to replace players who suffer concussions on the field of play with a like-for-like replacement. For this to happen, the following conditions must be met.

• The player must be diagnosed with a concussion suffered on the field of play by a team medical representative
• A request for a substitute is put in within 36 hours of the incident
• Teams must name a like-for-like replacement, to be approved by the ICC match referee
• Once replaced, the concussed player may take no further part in the game

Like-for-like replacements will be at the discretion of the match referee, to ensure a team doesn’t change the balance of their team through a substitution. For example, a fast bowler should replace a fast bowler, except when the team only has a batting innings remaining, where a spin bowler of similar batting ability would be considered a like-for-like replacement. The match referee may place restrictions on the role a substitute can play. For example, if an allrounder replaces a batsman in the side, the replacement will not be allowed to bowl.Decision Review System
DRS will be mandatory for all matches.The final
The World Test Championship final will be played from June 10-14 2021, with a reserve day available. If the final is tied or drawn, the title will be shared.The full World Test Championship Final Playing Conditions will be announced in early 2021.

Carter, who has twice been assistant coach to the men’s team, replaces Haidee Tiffen who opted not to reapply for her role

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2019Bob Carter has been named coach of the New Zealand Women’s team with a contract that will take him up to the end of 2021 Women’s World Cup on home soil.Carter, who has twice been assistant coach to the men’s team, replaces Haidee Tiffen, who stood down from the tour of Australia earlier this year following a review that was put in place after New Zealand’s disappointing T20 World Cup, before deciding not to reapply for her position.Carter initially took temporary charge of the team on the Australia tour. He will now work on preparing for the home season, which involves a visit by South Africa ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.”I see a lot of potential in this particular group of cricketers,” Carter said. “We have a good blend of youth and experience that we can build from and I feel very positive about this next chapter of White Ferns cricket.”It’s an exciting time to come on board with two big world tournaments on the horizon. We have a number of senior players who have been performing at the top of the international game and remain committed to working hard in bringing success. With two ICC World Cups coming up and the women’s game growing at all levels, it’s a great time to be involved.”NZ’s head of high performance Bryan Stronach said that a number of candidates had been interviewed for the position with the process involving representatives from the players.”We’re delighted to have Bob signed on and working with our top female cricketers,” he said. “The recent Women’s MOU has been a good development for the women’s game but with the added funding and support comes an added professional responsibility. The players have endorsed Bob as a coach and enjoyed working with him in Australia.”

Current player identification lead will take over role vacated by David Parsons in July

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2019Mo Bobat, the man whose analytical approach helped to change the way that England’s squads are selected, has been named as the ECB’s new Performance Director for men’s cricket.Bobat, who is currently the board’s Player Identification Lead, will take charge from David Parsons, who left the post in July. He will work closely alongside Chris Silverwood, the newly appointed head coach, and Ed Smith, the national selector, to support the delivery of performance plans and selection strategy.A 36-year-old former PE teacher from Leicester, Bobat studied sports science and management and is also in the process of completing a Masters in sporting directorship. Prior to joining the ECB in 2011, he worked as a lecturer and teacher in Leicester, augmenting his experience as a Level 4 certified cricket coach.”I am delighted and honoured to be appointed Performance Director, at what is an exciting time for English cricket,” said Bobat.”I am looking forward to working closely with both Chris Silverwood and Ed Smith, and in doing so, supporting the performance needs of our England teams and moving us closer to achieving our aim of being the most respected team in the world.”Developing strong relationships with our counties to enhance the size and quality of our talent pool will be paramount. I aim to ensure that our highest potential players receive individualised support and international-specific experiences.”It is a hugely exciting role and the vision is that the strength of our counties and our high-performance system delivers deliberate and sustained success across all formats.”Commenting on the appointment, Ashley Giles, the managing director of England’s Men’s Cricket, added: “The position of Performance Director is a critical post in the development of our long-term strategy for elite performance. Mo demonstrated through his knowledge and experience that he has the attributes to take us forward in this area.”He will be responsible for identifying our highest potential players and leading programmes that will bridge the gap between county and international cricket helping us to deliver successful, respected and inspiring England players and teams.”The Performance Director will work closely with our network of counties to enhance the size and quality of our talent pool and ensuring that we’re jointly making decisions in each player’s best long-term interests.”We have to develop a long-term strategy that identifies the best players in the country that can step up and excel in the international cricket arena. We will expose them to learn and perform in all conditions around the world.”

While ICC playing conditions provided scope to reduce the innings break, the CA version left far less room for manoeuvre

Daniel Brettig11-Nov-2019Playing conditions for the BBL and future T20Is in Australia are under review following the SCG rain farce that cost the hosts the No. 1 ranking in the format against Pakistan.Australia – who won the series 2-0 – were denied a victory in Sydney and therefore a tilt at the top spot as a result of a modified Cricket Australia playing condition that overruled the ICC match referee’s usual discretion to reduce the innings break to make up time.While it was widely reported that the match referee Javagal Srinath simply decided not to exercise his own judgment to reduce the break from 20 minutes to 10 minutes, CA had in fact introduced a modification to standard playing conditions that dictated that the length of the interval could not be shortened unless rain delays were so severe as to mean the first innings of a minimum five overs could only be completed if the break was reduced.CA has indicated it will review the playing condition and also look at those for the forthcoming BBL, where the standard innings interval time is 15 minutes.”The interval between innings will be of 20 minutes duration, and shall not be shortened even if the innings of the team batting first concludes after the scheduled cessation time for the 1st innings,” the revised T20I playing condition states. “The interval can only be reduced in the event of lengthy delays or interruptions, if reducing it will allow the minimum number of overs to constitute a match to be played. The minimum interval shall be 10 minutes.”There was no allowance for further delays later in the match, preventing Srinath from reducing the length of the interval. Only 3.1 overs were possible in Australia’s chase as a result, fewer than the minimum five overs required, so that even though the hosts were 0 for 41 and powering towards their target, the game was abandoned. An extra 10 minutes would have been sufficient time to complete the minimum overs.This outcome resulted in a wave of criticism directed at Srinath and the officiating umpires, with the Fox Cricket commentator Mark Waugh labelling the apparent inflexibility as “stupid”. “Well that [a 20-minute break] would be absolutely ridiculous. We’ve been sitting around for an hour doing nothing, so it should just be 10 minutes,” Waugh said on the broadcast. “Then you’ve got 10 minutes where you can bowl another over each potentially. Unusual is not the right word. Stupid is the right word. I know there’s rules and regulations but you need some flexibility.”Playing conditions are devised in consultation between CA, commercial partners, the host broadcaster and the touring team. Adjustments to the ICC playing conditions are permitted for bilateral matches as the home board’s requirements ultimately supersede the authority of the independent match officials.Australia’s captain Finch and his deputy Alex Carey both appeared to be under the impression that the interval could have been reduced. “If you’re cutting overs off the game and you still have a 20-minute break, it doesn’t make much sense to me,” Finch said in his post-match TV interview. “When you lose a few overs and then you still have a 20-minute break… I thought that was really interesting. But it’s part of the rules and you can’t do much about it.”Carey added: “We asked the question, what the changeover would have been, and it remains the same so we were aware of that and can’t change it…the spectators would have liked a result, but we understand it. Good or bad, it’s part of it.”The ICC’s playing conditions, which allow far more latitude, will hold sway during next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. “Following a lengthy delay or interruption prior to the completion of the innings of the team batting first, the Match Referee may, at his discretion, reduce the interval between innings from 20 minutes to not less than 10 minutes,” the ICC playing conditions read.”Such discretion should only be exercised after determining the adjusted overs per side based on a 20-minute interval. If having exercised this discretion, the rescheduled finishing time for the match is earlier than the latest possible finishing time, then these minutes should be deducted from the length of any interruption during the second innings before determining the overs remaining.”Before the tournament begins, the ICC’s cricket committee will also discuss various parameters around rain interruptions, including the lengths of intervals and also cut off times. The SCG is equipped with floodlights, but the match was abandoned during daylight hours having been deemed a day fixture.

Sri Lanka collapse for 117 before hosts cruise to the target in just 13 overs

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando30-Oct-2019At least there were no unwanted records this time. At least the team total broke through to triple figures. And at least two batsmen made more than 20. Having been thumped by 134 runs on Sunday, these were the only minor improvements for Sri Lanka in the second T20I. Yet again, however, they were emphatically outplayed from the very beginning. A slow start, replete with regular wickets, coalesced into a total of 117 all out by the end of the 19th over. An imperious Australia then flew to their target with nine wickets in hand, and 42 balls remaining.As had been the case on Sunday, David Warner led Australia with the bat, reeling off 60 not out off 41 balls, while Steven Smith hit 53 not out off 36 in his first international innings on home soil since the ball-tampering ban. But it had been Australia’s intense bowling and fielding effort that defined the game, Billy Stanlake [playing in place of the unavailable Mitchell Starc], Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa all took two wickets apiece.David Warner drives through the off side•Getty Images

Kane Richardson was the only bowler to go wicketless, but it was he and Stanlake, who together set the tone with the new ball, conceding no more than nine from the first three overs of the innings – the pressure they built also producing the run out of Kusal Mendis. Although Sri Lanka threatened to break the shackles soon after, with Danushka Gunathilaka hitting a four and an outrageous scooped six in Stanlake’s next over, they never really managed to unhook Australia’s claws from their flesh. By the end of of the Powerplay, Sri Lanka were 36 for 2 – Stanlake having bowled Gunathilaka in the final over of the field restrictions.The middle overs were even more difficult for Sri Lanka as, while repeatedly failing to find the boundaries that might defibrillate the innings, they also lost Avishka Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera and Dasun Shanaka for 22 runs in the space of 22 deliveries. At 6 for 75, they were in serious danger of falling short even of their total of 99, from Sunday.In the end, some modest contributions from the lower-order batsmen, who batted with a mix of resignation and desperation, managed to push Sri Lanka to a less embarrassing score. But on a surface that always seemed full of runs – the reason why Lasith Malinga opted to bat first – this was nevertheless a glaringly meagre total.Aaron Finch nicked Malinga down the leg side third ball to depart for a duck, but that was about as difficult as the chase got for Australia. Smith leapt into T20 mode with successive fours off Nuwan Pradeep in the second over, first sending him scorching past point, before clipping him over midwicket.Warner didn’t score a boundary in his first ten balls, but when that first one came, also against Pradeep, the fours arrived in a torrent. The fifth over, bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga, went for 17 runs, as Warner slapped, cut and bludgeoned him for four boundaries, three of which were consecutive. By the time the Powerplay was done, Australia were almost halfway there, at 58 for 1.There were occasional close calls. Warner could have been run out for 55 in the 11th over had Lakshan Sandakan hit the stumps direct. Pradeep raised a confident lbw shout next over, also against Warner, but the ball was shown to have pitched outside leg stump. But the game had long since slipped by Sri Lanka by then.Australia now go to the third match, in Melbourne, having sewn up the series – the first time in four attempts they’ve beaten Sri Lanka in a T20I series at home. Sri Lanka’s wildly unpredictable year continues.

Soumya Sarkar has come in to bat after 17.4 overs in both games, and faced exactly five balls on both occasions

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2020Bangladesh’s difficulty in finding big-hitters forced them to send Soumya Sarkar down the order, according to coach Russell Domingo. So far neither has the left-hander made an impact in the slog overs, nor has Bangladesh capitalised on their batting heavy line-up, having already gone down 2-0 in the three-match T20I series.Bangladesh has scored only 41 and 48 in the last five overs in the two T20Is so far, despite having opener Tamim Iqbal settled at one end in case of the latter. Soumya came to bat after 17.4 overs in both games, having faced exactly five balls on both occasions. Domingo said that they had some interest in seeing Soumya’s ability to clear the ropes, although he had settled into a top-order role during the BPL this season, where he played for the BCB-managed Cumilla Warriors.”Soumya had a lot of opportunities in the top of the order,” Domingo said. “I think he is a fantastic player. But we are definitely trying to find some guys who can hit the ball out of the ground in the back end of the innings. Bangladesh always seem to be short of some power-hitters at the back end. Liton normally opens the batting, but he is batting at No. 4 here. Probably out of his position and it showed a little bit.”Soumya usually opens or bats at No. 3, but we have a whole host of openers. So we are looking at different combinations to see if they can take up those roles. A guy like Soumya, fantastically talented batter, we wanted to see if he can do it in the back end of an innings and hit the ball out of the ground.”Domingo acknowledged that while some big players were missing from the usual T20I line-up, particularly Mushfiqur Rahim, who opted out of the tour due to security concerns, it remains an opportunity for the other players who have taken their place.”We are probably missing three first-choice players. Saifuddin takes the new ball and bats at No 8. Shakib and Mushfiqur are also not here. But it is a great opportunity for these younger players, and to test the depth. Those players won’t be around forever. It hasn’t worked out but a guy like Naim showed in the first game and with that 81 against India, that he has the potential to be a good international batter.”If those guys played, we might not have unearthed a player like Naim. Whilst the result hasn’t been great, it has been great learning for all of us, and especially those young players. How far they still need to go to get to the likes of Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez,” he said.Domingo said that Pakistan’s bowling strength influenced them to bat first in both games. “It doesn’t look like an easy wicket. It showed in the first game. We got 141, and they got it with one or two balls to spare. We know how good Pakistan is when they defend a score, particularly their death bowling.”We have an inexperienced batting line-up so we tried to get some runs on the board, and squeeze them with the ball in the second innings. It hasn’t worked out,” he said.Domingo said that the difference two sides was too stark, and Bangladesh still has some way to reach Pakistan’s standards. “I am disappointed with today. I thought we challenged them much more in the first game. It wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on. I think the average game was 155. In the first game we were 15 runs short, and maybe we were 25 runs short today.”That’s why they are ranked No 1, and we are No 9. At the moment there’s a big difference in terms of experience and skill. We have a long way to go, to catch up to them,” he said.