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Former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner has been appointed West Indies team manager for a three-year period and he joined the team for the upcoming Test series against India

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2016Former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner has been appointed West Indies team manager for a three-year period and he joined the squad for the upcoming Test series against India.Garner, 63, had served as West Indies interim manager from 2009 to 2010 which included the World T20. Garner was also a director on the board for West Indies Cricket Board, president of the Barbados Cricket Association and the West Indies A team manager.”I always answer the call in West Indies cricket,” Garner said. “It is always an honour to serve in any capacity in West Indies cricket and I’m pleased to be back with the team as manager to share my knowledge and experience to the team and be an ambassador for West Indies cricket and the region.Garner played 58 Tests and 98 ODIs from 1977 to 1987 and was an integral member of the West Indies team that won the World Cup in 1979.West Indies begin their four-Test series against India in North Sound on July 21.

The BCB’s bowling action review committee has deemed five bowlers as having illegal bowling actions but didn’t suspend them immediately

Mohammad Isam18-Aug-2016The BCB’s bowling action review committee has deemed five bowlers as having illegal bowling actions but didn’t suspend them immediately. Five others were given the clean chit by the committee, three weeks after all ten bowlers, who were reported for suspect actions during the 2016 Dhaka Premier League, completed their assessment in Mirpur.Left-arm spinners Faisal Hossain and Amit Kumar, and off-spinners Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Sharifullah and Asif Ahmed are still allowed to play domestic cricket till November 15 this year, but they must complete the bowling action reassessment by this date to have any chance to play after that. During this time, they are free to play while the BCB will pay for their remedial work and reassessment.But there was good news for left-arm spinners Moinul Islam and Naeem Islam jnr, and offspinner Sanjit Saha, whose actions were found to be legal by the committee, and are eligible to bowl.Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Rezaul Karim has been allowed to bowl all deliveries except his arm ball, while pace bowler Mohammad Saifuddin is not allowed to bowl his slower delivery. If they bowl the illegal variations, the umpire can rule it a no-ball, according to the committee’s decision.

Harvey Hosein scored his maiden County Championship century but Derbyshire were forced to follow on after another impressive performance with the ball by Worcestershire paceman Joe Leach at New Road

ECB Reporters Network22-Sep-2016
ScorecardHarvey Hosein’s wicketkeeping role is under threat [file picture]•PA Photos

Harvey Hosein scored his maiden County Championship century but Derbyshire were forced to follow on after another impressive performance with the ball by Worcestershire paceman Joe Leach at New Road.Wicket-keeper Hosein registered his fourth successive fifty plus score and reached three figures off 240 balls with his 11th boundary – through midwicket off Ed Barnard.It was a perfect reminder of his potential in the week that Derbyshire signed another potential wicketkeeper, Gary Wilson, from Surrey on a three year contract.But Leach followed up yesterday’s century with his fifth five wicket haul of the campaign as Derbyshire were bowled out for 248.Only Hosein and Championship debutant Greg Cork (49) provided prolonged resistance as the Peakites followed on 227 in arrears.Then Leach struck an early blow in Derbyshire’s second innings to remove Ben Slater as the visitors closed on 15 for 1.The 25-year-old all-rounder is having a season to remember and he has now taken 64 Championship wickets to surpass last year’s previous best tally of 59 in addition to scoring more than 600 runs in the competition.Derbyshire resumed on 15 for 0 and were immediately on the back foot after Leach removed Billy Godleman and Tom Wood in the space of five balls.He had Godleman caught behind – an excellent take by Ben Cox diving away to his left – and trapped Wood lbw in the same over.Miguel Cummins worked up a good head of pace and had Wayne Madsen lbw before Charlie Morris made a double breakthrough.Slater edged through to Tom Kohler-Cadmore at first slip and the same combination accounted for Alex Hughes and it became 103 for 6 shortly after lunch when Tom Milnes was caught behind.But Cork, son of former England all-rounder Dominic Cork, joined Hosein to frustrate the Worcestershire attack for 33 overs during a seventh wicket stand of 96.Hosein came to immediate prominence when he made his first-class debut against Surrey at The Oval in 2014.He claimed 11 catches to break the Derbyshire record for the most dismissals in a match by a wicketkeeper. It also equalled the world record for dismissals by a wicketkeeper on debutBut here the 20-year-old showed more of his potential with the bat after scores of 52 not out against Gloucestershire and 83 not out and 58 versus Leicestershire in his previous three knocks.Cork was denied his maiden 50 when he pulled Leach into the hands of Joe Clarke in front of square.Hosein’s march towards three figures was threatened when Ed Barnard trapped Tony Palladino lbw and bowled Will Davis with successive deliveries.He then survived a run out scare on 97 before going to his hundred and reached 108 before Leach claimed his fifth wicket.Slater departed for the second time in the day when he clipped Leach to Tom Fell at midwicket.

A round-up of the opening day of Group A matches in the fourth round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2016

Group A

Fourteen wickets fell in Dharamsala in the fourth-round clash between Bengal and Railways. Railways’ bowlers vindicated their captain’s decision to field by dismissing Bengal for 205. But their batsmen couldn’t hold on to the advantage as they slipped to 37 for 4 by the close.Four of the five bowlers used by Railways picked up wickets, with Anureet Singh’s 4 for 66 leading the way. Right-arm medium pacer Amit Mishra picked up 3 for 38, while Karan Thakur took two wickets and Karn Sharma one. Bengal’s innings featured two partnerships of note. First, Sudip Chatterjee, the No. 3 who top-scored with 85, added 52 with Sayan Mondal for the second wicket. He then combined with Agniv Pan for a fifth-wicket partnership of 66. Ashok Dindachipped in with a 26-ball 30, before Bengal’s innings was wrapped up in 69.5 overs. Dinda got the wickets of Saurabh Wakaskar and Mrunal Devdhar early in Railways’ reply. Amit Kulia and Sayan Ghosh also joined in with a wicket each to compound Railways’ woes.At the Feroz Shah Kotla, Deepak Hooda was in sight of his maiden first-class double century as his career-best 190 not out headlined Baroda’s day of dominance against Punjab. Baroda piled on 358 for 6 in 90 overs, despite a four-for from Sandeep Sharma, who had rocked them early in the day with the wickets of their openers.With Baroda reduced to 11 for 2, Dhiren Mistry and Hooda compiled 178 for the third wicket to offset the early stumble and lay a solid platform. Mistry made 76 before being caught behind off Siddharth Kaul. Hooda added 80 more for the fourth wicket with wicketkeeper Pinal Shah. Sandeep removed Pinal for 42 and Yusuf Pathan for a second-ball duck, while Vishnu Solanki also fell cheaply. But Hooda stayed dominant and ended the day with 16 fours and three sixes, having struck at 88.37 per 100 balls.Elsewhere, at the DRIEMS Grounds in Tangi, Tamil Nadu put behind twin early jolts to recover to 262 for 4 on the opening day against Madhya Pradesh. Tamil Nadu lost both their openers for ducks inside the first two overs, after being put in. They were then lifted through half-centuries from Kaushik Gandhi (71*) and Dinesh Karthik (95).Gandhi and Karthik got together with the score at 54 for 3 and added 144 in 46 overs for the fourth wicket. Karthik struck 15 fours in his 153-ball knock, before being caught off Chandrakant Sakure, the right-arm medium pacer, five short of a century. B Indrajith and Gandhi then joined hands for an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 64. Indrajith was unbeaten on 44. Sakure ended the day with 2 for 47, while Ishwar Pandey and Ashwin Das, the new-ball duo, dismissed the Tamil Nadu openers.At the Palam Grounds in New Delhi, right-arm medium pacer Imtiaz Ahmed’s 4 for 48 helped Uttar Pradesh fight back against Gujarat, who squandered a strong start to end the day on 276 for 8. Gujarat’s openers Samit Gohel and Priyank Panchal laid a solid platform through a 122-run opening stand. Both batsmen made scores of 60, before Imtiaz dismissed both. But none of Gujarat’s other batsmen could make a noteworthy contribution, with the exception of Parthiv Patel, the captain, who also scored 60. Chirag Gandhi, the No. 6, was not out on 33 when stumps were drawn.

New Zealand women produced another solid performance while South Africa women suffered another collapse as the visitors won the last ODI by 126 runs to seal the series 5-2

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2016

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Katey Martin struck her second ODI and consecutive half-century•IDI/Getty Images

New Zealand women produced another solid performance while South Africa women suffered another collapse as the visitors won the last ODI by 126 runs in Paarl to seal the series 5-2. Fifties from Amy Satterthwaite and Katey Martin propelled New Zealand to 273 for 7 which proved too stiff for the hosts, who scored a little over half of their target.New Zealand opted to bat and were led by Martin and Satterthwaite after openers Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest fell for low double-digit scores, leaving them on 86 for 2 in the 21st over. Satterthwaite fell for 53 and Martin then upped the run rate with her second straight fifty, off 49 balls, in the company of Maddy Green. Martin and Green put on 81 for the fourth wicket before Green was run-out for a 47-ball 46, studded with seven fours. Martin and Sam Curtis injected more power in the innings by scoring 55 in the next nine overs, 40 of them by Martin, to take the score past 250. Martin’s 81 off 72 balls featured 10 fours and ensured they reached a competitive score.Opener Lizelle Lee got South Africa off to a strong start, putting on 35 in six overs with Andrie Steyn. But the rest of the line-up was unable to put on any sort of resistance as legspinner Erin Bermingham and offspinner Satterthwaite ran through the middle and lower order. South Africa collapsed to 84 for 7, three of those taken by Bermingham. Satterthwaite took the last two wickets, after brief resistance, to bowl the hosts out for 147. Bermingham finished with 10-2-18-3 while Satterthwaite took 2 for 15 from her 4.5 overs.No South Africa batsman could score more than 22 and the seven-match series had only three half-centuries from them. New Zealand, on the other hand, managed nine fifties – three by Satterthwaite, who also finished the series as the top run-scorer (344) and the joint-highest wicket taker (11) with South Africa medium-pacer Ayabonga Khaka.

A wrap of day two of the eighth round of Ranji Trophy Group B matches

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2016Odisha bowled Maharashtra out twice on the second day to win by an innings and 118 runs, and win with a bonus point, in Wayanad.Odisha batted for 2.4 overs and folded for 319, having begun the day on 311 for 9. Maharashtra’s Anupam Sanklecha (5-75) took the last wicket to complete yet another five-wicket haul – his fourth in three games.
In reply, Maharashtra struggled against Odisha’s medium-pacers – Suryakant Pradhan (4-34) in particular – as they were bowled out within 26 overs for 94. Basant Mohanty and Deepak Behera took three wickets each. After being asked to follow on, they fell to 45 for 7, before an eighth-wicket partnership of 55 between Vishant More and Sanklecha delayed their embarrassment; they eventually folded for 107. Biplab Samantray took a career-best 4 for 34, while Pradhan added a further 3 for 36 to his match haul.With their twin collapses on a tricky wicket, Maharashtra lasted only 376 balls across both innings – a record low for the past ten seasons among matches in which they were bowled out twice.Table-toppers Karnataka conceded the first-innings lead for the second match in a row, thanks to Saurashtra batsman Prerak Mankad’s maiden first-class century in Patiala.Karnataka removed Sheldon Jackson early in the day, reducing Saurasthra to 34 for 3 in response to Karntaka’s 200 all out on the first day. But the overnight batsman, opener Snell Patel, put on 72 with Jaydev Shah(39) to stabilise the innings. He then put on 57 with Mankad, to bring Saurasthra to within five runs of taking the lead, before falling to Abrar Kazi (2-66) for 87.Mankad struck at a strike-rate of nearly 80, and finished the day unbeaten on 100 off 126; in contrast, his partner, Kamlesh Makvana batted 119 balls for his unbeaten 30. The pair’s 101-run partnership took Saurasthra to 297 for 6 at the end of the day. Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar took 4 for 43.Jharkhand bounced back from an early collapse on the day to skittle out Assam for 126 in Vizianagaram. Medium-pacer Rahul Shukla, playing his first first-class game since February, took 4 for 48 for Jharkhand.Jharkhand were 251 for 4 when the day began. Having survived the opening hour, overnight batsman Ishank Jaggi fell seven short of a century, when he was dismissed with the score on 276. Medium-pacer Krishna Das (4-65) removed Ishan Kishan shortly after, and triggered a collapse that had Jharkhand fall from 291 for 5 to 316 all out.In reply, Assam suffered two collapses – 4 for 18, and 5 for 26 – on either side of a 29-run stand for the sixth wicket to be bowled out for 126. Pallavkumar Das (30) and Arun Karthik (27) were the only batsmen to get past 25.Left-arm spinner Manan Sharma scored an unbeaten 82, his career best, to help Delhi overcome a first-session collapse and move into the lead against Vidarbha in Chennai.Delhi, who had bowled Vidarbha out for 183 on the first day, lost four wickets within 19 overs of the second day to be reduced to 74 for 5. Medium-pacer Rajneesh Gurbani (4-62) did the bulk of the damage, before Lalit Yadav (3-79) removed Nitish Rana (27) and Delhi were reduced to 102 for 6. But Manan and Milind Kumar (37) put on 63 for the seventh wicket to bring Delhi close, before an unbroken partnership of 72 for the eighth wicket between Manan and Vikas Tokas (28*) took them past 183 and to 250 for 8 at stumps.

Suranga Lakmal picked up four wickets in an innings for only the second time in a 32-Test career as South Africa ended the first day of their Test series against Sri Lanka at a vulnerable 267 for 6

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:26

‘Bold move to bat first on this wicket’ – Duminy

Suranga Lakmal picked up four wickets in an innings for only the second time in a 32-Test career as South Africa ended the first day of their Test series against Sri Lanka at a vulnerable 267 for 6. It was a strange, seesawing day in which it was hard to say if South Africa failed to make full use of good batting conditions or if Sri Lanka’s bowling attack was too reliant on Lakmal to fully exploit a greener-than-usual St George’s Park pitch. It may need South Africa to bowl on this surface for a complete picture to emerge.Faf du Plessis trusted history, which said this was among the slower surfaces in South Africa, over the appearance of the pitch, and conditions proved to be a mixed bag. South Africa’s openers added 104 and all of their top five got starts, but none of them carried on beyond 63. None of them were really at fault for their dismissals apart from JP Duminy, who top-scored and gave his wicket away in one of the hinge moments of the day.Perhaps Sri Lanka could have had South Africa in a worse position had Lakmal enjoyed better support from the two other frontline quicks. It was instructive that when Sri Lanka took the second new ball – as soon as it became available – it was Angelo Mathews who shared it with Lakmal rather than Nuwan Pradeep or Dushmantha Chameera. It was also instructive that Sri Lanka’s second-most successful bowler on the day wasn’t a seamer but the ageless Rangana Herath, whose dismissals of Duminy and Temba Bavuma, both against the run of play, changed the complexion of the day.When Duminy decided to sweep Herath in the 71st over of the day, South Africa were 213 for 3. Duminy was batting on 63 and was looking in the form of his life, driving like a dream through mid-off and extra-cover. The ball wasn’t the safest to sweep. It was pitching outside off stump, but not far enough outside off stump for the batsman to be able to use his front pad as a second line of defence if it turned past his bat. Duminy missed, Herath hit front pad, and DRS could not save the batsman when he reviewed the on-field decision.Four overs later, Herath hurried one on with the arm to beat Bavuma’s back-foot defensive. This time the on-field decision was not out, and the ball looked like it may have been sliding down leg. Herath didn’t look convinced himself, but with only 5.1 overs left for the reviews to be reset, Sri Lanka chanced their arm, and ball-tracking returned three reds and sent Bavuma back. South Africa had slipped from 213 for 3 to 225 for 5.Each of Suranga Lakmal’s four wickets was either caught behind or in the slips•AFP

Du Plessis and Quinton de Kock saw off Lakmal’s first over with the second new ball, and when de Kock flicked and slashed him for two fours in the second over of his spell – his 20th of the day – it seemed that the day’s efforts might have been telling on the fast bowler. But he was still more than capable of bowling the wicket-taking ball: de Kock took a single to bring du Plessis on strike, and out came the perfect line to pin du Plessis to the crease, the perfect line to make him poke, and a bit of outswing to graze his edge through to first slip.The same ingredients had contributed to his first three wickets as well. All three came at the start of new sessions. South Africa went to lunch 92 for 0. Lakmal shaped one away from the right-handed Stephen Cook, then shaped another away from the left-handed Dean Elgar, and suddenly Dinesh Chandimal had two catches behind the wicket and South Africa were 105 for 2. Duminy and Hashim Amla then added 78, before Lakmal struck in the third over after tea, angling the ball into Amla and then moving it away to find his edge through to Chandimal once again.Amla fell for 20, and his average dipped below 50 for the first time since November 2012. It had been a strange innings, his strike rate 26.31, made stranger by Duminy’s fluency at the other end.The left-handed Duminy scorched the very first ball he faced to the cover boundary, while the right-handed Amla took 56 balls to hit his first four, stepping down the track to whip Rangana Herath wide of mid-on. Duminy flowed onto the front foot and got his head over the ball at every opportunity, while Amla was often crease-bound after making that big back-and-across trigger movement. Duminy found the gaps without even trying, while Amla timed drives and punches sweetly but straight to fielders.Still, it took a peach of a delivery to dismiss him. Lakmal always looked capable of delivering one. Less so Nuwan Pradeep and Dushmantha Chameera, who were wayward through the day, and released the pressure on South Africa’s openers with a steady stream of deliveries at their pads in an otherwise quiet first session.Aside from the odd flirt outside off stump, the shuffling, fidgety Cook showed an excellent understanding of his own game. He took full advantage of anything remotely near his pads, and scored the bulk of his runs – 41 out of 59 – through the leg side, primarily through flicks and glances as well as one sweep in front of square against Rangana Herath.Elgar showed excellent judgement outside off stump, leaving 39 of the 86 balls he faced from Sri Lanka’s three seamers, but was quick to pounce on anything overpitched, timing his drives sweetly through mid-off and extra-cover. Cook took the bulk of the strike during the opening partnership, facing 125 balls to Elgar’s 89.

Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett, both of whom opened for England on the recent Test tour of India, have been named in MCC’s squad to face Middlesex

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2017
Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett, who were part of England’s Test squad for the tour of India, have been named in MCC’s squad to face Middlesex, the champion county, in the traditional curtain-raiser to the 2017 English season.Haseeb, who missed the latter stages of the India series after breaking his hand during the third Test in Mohali, is expected to have returned to full fitness by the time the four-day fixture gets underway in Abu Dhabi on March 26.The fixture will once again be played with a pink ball under the lights at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, match conditions that will be of particular significance this year, given that England are due to play their first day/night Test against West Indies at Edgbaston in August.

MCC squad to face Middlesex

Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire), Tom Alsop (Hampshire), Sam Northeast (Kent, capt), Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire), Ben Cox (Worcestershire), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Matt Coles (Kent), Matt Fisher (Yorkshire), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Jack Leach (Somerset)

The MCC side will be captained by Kent’s Sam Northeast, and also includes the England Lions trio Joe Clarke, Tom Alsop and Lewis Gregory.Jack Leach, the Somerset left-arm spinner who was omitted from England’s Test plans this winter after doubts surfaced about his action, has also been selected alongside fellow the Hampshire legspinner, Mason Crane.”It’s special for me to be selected to play for MCC, as someone who came through the MCC Universities scheme,” said Leach. “I’ve got a lot of happy memories of my time at Cardiff, and it played a big part in my cricketing development.”There is a call-up, too, for the promising Yorkshire fast bowler, Matt Fisher, who is about to lead England Under-19s in India.”Having worked closely with the England selectors to assemble this group, I am very pleased with the fantastic talent we have at our disposal,” said John Stephenson, MCC’s Head of Cricket.”Haseeb Hameed, Joe Clarke and Ben Duckett are three of the most exciting young batsmen in the country at the moment, and I’m looking forward to seeing them. We’ve also selected a youthful and varied bowling attack which I’m sure will pose problems for the Middlesex batsmen. The facilities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai remain excellent for first-class cricket and we’re looking forward to a competitive match.”Last season’s MCC team overcame 2015 County Champions Yorkshire by four wickets, thanks to impressive performances from Ian Bell, Jake Ball and James Tredwell.

It is understood that both Gautam Gambhir and KP Bhaskar have agreed to the creation of an independent panel that will enquire into their spat

Arun Venugopal10-Mar-2017The DDCA will set up an independent enquiry committee to investigate into the spat between Gautam Gambhir and Delhi coach KP Bhaskar. Gambhir had accused Bhaskar of “creating an atmosphere of uncertainty” among the team’s youngsters.It is understood that both parties agreed to the creation of such a panel after retired Justice Vikramjit Sen, the DDCA administrator, met with Gambhir, Bhaskar and Delhi manager Shankar Saini on Friday morning at the Feroz Shah Kotla.The composition of the committee was not known and no time-frame was given for the completion of the enquiry. Bhaskar refused to elaborate on the spat but said he was not the first person to be at the “receiving end”. “There have been eight other instances which have happened. It’s unfortunate that I was at the receiving end this time,” Bhaskar told ESPNcricinfo.” I respect Justice Sen and I have full trust in his judgment and wisdom.”While Gambhir admitted to having an argument with Bhaskar after Delhi’s Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh on Monday, he denied that he had abused the coach as had been stated in a few news reports. Gambhir was particularly critical of Bhaskar’s handling of the exclusions of batsmen Unmukt Chand and Nitish Rana during the Vijay Hazare Trophy.”If protecting a youngster is a crime, I am guilty. If making 20-22-year-olds feel secure in an insecure environment is a crime, then I am guilty. But I could not have let this man (Bhaskar) play with careers of young players like Unmukt Chand and Nitish Rana,” Gambhir had told PTI on Tuesday.Gambhir had also said he was trying to provide security to the youngsters, and that he didn’t want them to face the insecurities he did. “There has been a culture in Delhi cricket about making players insecure. I have myself faced that when I was a youngster. When I got into the Ranji Trophy team, I was made to feel insecure. Then only I had decided, if I ever take charge I will never make young boys feel insecure.”

A Broward County Parks official has told ESPNcricinfo that CPL officials have requested two sets of week-long time frames to be blocked off for possible use by the CPL in the month of August

Peter Della Penna24-Feb-2017The Caribbean Premier League is in the process of making plans to play another round of matches at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida for the 2017 season. A Broward County Parks official has told ESPNcricinfo that CPL officials have requested two sets of week-long time frames to be blocked off for possible use by the CPL in the month of August.The CPL made its Florida debut in 2016, playing six matches to end the league phase from July 28 to 31. The games were the first revenue-generating cricket to come to the Lauderhill ground in four years, sparking renewed interest in utilising the venue as India and West Indies played a pair of T20Is there just one month later. Though the hurricane season in Florida runs from July through November, not a single over was lost across the four days of play, with the only interruption being a 50-minute lightning delay that pushed back the start of the final match of the weekend, between St Lucia Zouks and Jamaica Tallawahs.Tropical weather did make an appearance four weeks later though in August when India played West Indies at the same venue. The first match between the two sides finished without any problems but the second ended with no result after a brief thunderstorm exposed poor drainage at the facility.CPL organizers have been bullish about bringing more games to the USA, with talks of holding games at other venues outside of Florida. However, the Central Broward Regional Park remains the only ICC-certified ODI- and T20I-approved facility in the country.