Category Uncategorized

Boyd Rankin snuffs out four wickets in tight chase to put an end to Scotland’s unbeaten run in the tournament

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Harare18-Mar-2018Ireland kept their World Cup hopes alive with a 25-run victory over Scotland at Harare Sports Club. They still have an outside chance of making the final if they win their final match against Afghanistan. Should Scotland and Zimbabwe both win their next games, however, the efforts of Andy Balbirnie, in particular, may have been in vain.Put in by Scotland under grey, leaden skies, Ireland were carried to 271 for 9 by Balbirnie, who shared in a 138-run partnership with Niall O’Brien and went on to register his second one-day international century.On a pitch that offered decent pace and bounce and played true throughout the day, Scotland had every chance of chasing down the runs, especially during Kyle Coetzer’s early assault. Coetzer was particularly severe on Boyd Rankin, but the Irish seamer overcame a difficult start to take 4 for 63, securing the victory as the clouds parted and the ground was bathed in afternoon sunshine.Ireland’s day had begun in rather more overcast conditions, and in the knowledge that they had to win this game to keep their qualifying campaign alive. Balbirnie has opened the batting for Ireland before, and was virtually an opener today as Paul Stirling fell to Brad Wheal’s pace, through a bat-pad caught and bowled, in the very first over.He started nervously, playing and missing at a Safyaan Sharif outswinger, but also enjoyed the good fortune of a reprieve from Umpire Paul Wilson when it appeared Wheal had trapped him plumb in front with one that hooped in.Overcoming the early wobble, Balbirnie began to find increasingly fluency through the off side, moving into the 30s with silken boundaries past point in consecutive overs. With Porterfield chopping Wheal on to give the Scotland quick his second scalp in his opening spell, Balbirnie forged an association with O’Brien, their contrasting styles complementing each other. O’Brien was quick to turn the strike over, while Balbirnie soaked up pressure and brought up a 78-ball fifty in the 22nd over.While the pitch generally played true, there were spells during which it was very difficult to get Scotland’s spinners away. Here, O’Brien’s contribution was especially vital, and he collected swept boundaries off Michael Leask and Calum MacLeod’s offspin to keep Ireland’s run rate above four. He brought up his own fifty in the 32nd over, belting his sixth boundary down the ground to reach the mark at close to a run a ball.The pair collected nine boundaries between the 30th and 37th overs, stretching their partnership to 138 (equalling the Irish record for the third wicket), before a confused, stop-start attempt at a single allowed Craig Wallace to run O’Brien out for 70.One O’Brien then replaced another, and Kevin was quickly into his stride, lifting massive legside sixes off Wheal and Leask. Balbirnie reached his hundred – the second of his ODI career, and his second this year after his ton against UAE in January – in the 43rd over. The innings was an important one for the team, and for the man: his previous scores in the tournament were 7, 9, 7 and 2.With two set batsmen at the crease, Ireland might have had eyes on a total close to 300, but Scotland’s quicks returned to stall their charge. Balbirnie and O’Brien fell in consecutive overs, and after they were gone the lower order struggled to reach the boundary. In the last 10 overs, Ireland managed just 68, losing six wickets for 30 in the last five.That finish seemed to shift the momentum Scotland’s way, and it stayed with them even after Tim Murtagh’s three maidens in his opening spell, and his early dismissal of Matthew Cross, thanks mainly to Coetzer’s efforts. The Scotland captain has had a consistent tournament with the bat, registering scores of 2, 41*, 88*, 39 and 43 before today, and once again he got the innings off to a quick start.Coetzer was particularly severe on Rankin, swiping three fours off his first over, and then three in a row in his second, striking the ball with ferocious power through – or over – the off side. To make matters worse, Rankin then dropped Coetzer at third man, an extremely difficult chance as the ball dipped well in front of him.Coetzer ran to a 49-ball fifty in the 18th over, and though wickets had fallen at the other end, while he remained, Scotland seemed to have the chase under control. But in the 24th over, Rankin returned to devastating effect, quickly derailing Scotland with pace and bounce as he took three wickets in 11 balls.First to go was Coetzer, bowled by one that nipped back. A flat-footed George Munsey then presented a regulation catch to the wicketkeeper, and Craig Wallace tapped back a simple caught and bowled chance to a short one that followed him. Richie Berrington and Sharif briefly rallied to put on 55 for the seventh wicket, but when Berrington was bowled swinging across the line at Murtagh for 44, Ireland took control.They never lost it, even as Wheal and Mark Watt refused to surrender with a daring tenth wicket partnership that included five fours and two sixes. Fittingly, it was Rankin who snared the final scalp, Niall O’Brien flying to his right to hold a thick edge off Wheal’s bat.

If Ben Duckett was looking for an immediate pick-me-up on the England Lions tour of Sri Lanka after his disheartening time in India, he discovered that life can sometimes be less accommodating than that

David Hopps in Dambulla02-Mar-2017
ScorecardDuckett scored a double-hundred in Lions colours last summer, but found his trial by spin to be a tougher proposition•Getty Images

If Ben Duckett was looking for an immediate pick-me-up on the England Lions tour of Sri Lanka after his disheartening time in India, he discovered that life can sometimes be less accommodating than that. The teething problems against high-quality spin that abruptly stilled his Test career were again in evidence as Sri Lanka A strolled the first of five one-day matches.Sri Lanka’s 47-run win on a DLS calculation came in mildly farcical circumstances when play was suspended for bad light with England nine-down and still 60 short with five overs remaining. Vikum Sanjaya bowled a bouncer at the Lions’ last man, Josh Poysden, the light meters came out and that was that. It was a predictably unsatisfying end after no overs had been removed when the match had started half-an-hour late after overnight rain.Whether Duckett breaks into the Champions Trophy squad this summer will not entirely depend on his fate over the next 10 days or so – England in June does not bear too much relation to the challenges on subcontinent pitches and he has too much natural talent to be subdued for long – but England will want to see evidence on this tour that he has suffered no lasting effects from his exposure against Ashwin and co.Instead, first up was an uncomfortable reminder of his India issues. This time the off-break bowler was Danushka Gunathilaka, who might not have Ashwin’s reputation – indeed, he has five international wickets in 21 appearances – but who unpicked the Northants’ left-hander efficiently enough. Duckett was 17 when he advanced down the line of leg stump to strike Gunathilaka over the off side only to be stumped by a distance.England have given him every chance to get into one-day mode, omitting him from the four-day leg of the tour as if to stress that they want his rehabilitation to come with a strong one-day bias. They want the Lions players to feel the scrutiny, despite the tiny crowds, and even after one game he will know what they mean.It was Duckett’s prodigious form for the Lions last summer, backed by heavy run-making for Northants, which catapulted him into England reckoning. Four innings brought 448 runs at an average of 224, including an unbeaten 220 against Sri Lanka A in Canterbury. Not that Sri Lanka were likely to suffer any ill effects from those memories with only Thisara Perera, a veteran in A-team terms at 27, surviving from that XI.The presence not just of Thisara Perera, but Kusal Perera too, amplified the difference in experience between the two sides. Sri Lanka had 10 players with international experience, the Perera twosome accounting for more than half of their 400-plus caps. The Lions could point only to a handful of caps for Duckett and the captain, Keaton Jennings, all of them won in recent months.Jennings habitually got out when set in the two four-day matches, so his adept 64 from 70 balls to underpin England’s pursuit of 290 in 48 overs represented an improvement. A top-edged sweep against the round-arm offspin of Shehan Jayasuriya caused his downfall, the first of four Lions wickets to fall for 15 runs in 28 balls and, at 133 for 7, effectively sealed their fate.Sri Lanka’s winning margin was trimmed thanks to a defiant eighth-wicket stand of 73 in 11 overs between Liam Livingstone, who was on the back of two hundreds in a match in Pallekele, and Craig Overton, who had done little else than sit and watch them. Overton’s first match of the tour was an impressive one: an unbeaten 60 from 45 balls – his first List A half-century – plus two top-order wickets in Sri Lanka A’s 278 for 7, an innings ended 11 balls early because of rain. As a youngster, he was a batsman who bowled and to be carded at No 9 here is something that should cause him to aspire to better things.With Sri Lanka A fielding seven left-handers in the top eight, the Lions were grateful not just for Overton’s lead with the ball but also for Livingstone’s sound stint of offspin, only 28 conceded in a spell that allowed little width and, after he dismissed Sandun Weerakkody in his final over, caught at the wicket, rounded off with two legspinners to the incoming right-hander.But the Lions’ seam attack lacked variety, James Fuller had an off-day and Poysden dropped his legspinners repeatedly short and suffered as a consequence. Half-centuries from the openers Kusal Perera and Gunathilaka in an opening stand of 123, plus a hard-hitting unbeaten 56 off 35 balls from Thisara Perera, gave Sri Lanka A dominance they never relinqushed.Outplayed in England last summer, they are a different proposition here. Duckett is not alone in recognising that.

MS Dhoni has said Rohit Sharma’s half-century was a timely innings and one that would give the batsman confidence after a succession of low scores

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2013MS Dhoni has said Rohit Sharma’s half-century in the fourth ODI against England was a timely innings and one that would give the batsman confidence after a succession of low scores at international level.Rohit opened in India’s chase of 258 and contributed significantly to India’s series-clinching victory in Mohali. He made 83 off 93 deliveries in the five-wicket win.”I am glad he scored runs because he is one of the most god-gifted talents that is around,” Dhoni said after the game. “Of course an innings like this was very much needed for him. It will give him a lot of confidence and also time at the top level. Personally I am very happy for him.”Rohit had not played in the previous three ODIs against England, with India choosing to give Ajinkya Rahane a run in the side. But after several unconvincing performances, Rahane was left out and Rohit was asked to open for only the fourth time in his ODI career.”We all felt he is someone who can be a really good opener, in the sense he cuts and pulls really well,” Dhoni said. “Also, with two openers, you want one of them to be slightly more aggressive than the other. I think he accepted the challenge, he also felt he got into the side because Manoj [Tiwary] was unfit. So it was an opportunity for him. The good thing was he took it as a challenge.”Rohit anchored the first half of India’s chase, forming half-century stands with Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, before his dismissal in the 32nd over. When asked what might have happened had Rohit not performed today, Dhoni said it was a difficult question to answer. “It’s very important to think and go in one direction, not only as coach and captain but also with the selectors because at the end of the day, mutually we decide who is the best available talent and you have to give those guys a bit of a rope.”I don’t know what would have happened if Rohit had not scored runs or in any other scenario. The best that we could have done was give him another chance in Dharamsala and then see, because we are not playing too many ODIs after that. We all felt he is very talented, he got an opportunity in the last series in Sri Lanka where he got a few good deliveries.”

Jon Culley at New Road28-Apr-2012
ScorecardAneesh Kapil scored 41 to go with the three wickets he took on the first day•Getty Images

If the Met Office is to be believed, spectators still determined to attend the final day at New Road should come equipped with sou’westers and wellingtons, and possibly even access to a boat, so all of what happened on day three may be academic after Worcestershire blocked off Nottinghamshire’s attempt to secure what appeared to be the only realistic route to a positive outcome.Having reduced Worcestershire to 66 for 6 on Friday evening, before poor light soon afterwards deprived them of the chance to make further inroads, Nottinghamshire needed to stop them reaching the 94 required to avoid the follow-on and then seek to bowl them out a second time.Their plan was foiled, though, in no small part thanks to a young allrounder who is putting another feather in the cap of Worcestershire’s academy director, Damian D’Oliveira.Aneesh Kapil, an England U-19 from Wolverhampton, who joined fellow academy products Matt Pardoe, Jack Manuel and Neil Pinner in the senior squad last season, had already justified his selection by taking three wickets with his whippy fast-medium in Nottinghamshire’s first innings.Yet he is clearly capable of making his name in either discipline, as he demonstrated by making a composed and stylish 41 to help steer Worcestershire out of trouble and ensure, in all likelihood, that this match ends in a soggy draw.Not 19 until August, Kapil returned to first-team action having been blooded with some promise last summer, when his highlights included figures of 3 for 9 from four overs against Northamptonshire in Twenty20 and a half-century on his first-class debut against Sussex at Hove.He shared a partnership of 39 with James Cameron for the seventh wicket that enabled Worcestershire to steer a course into safe waters then helped Richard Jones add useful late-order runs, clipping Nottinghamshire’s lead to 86.It was a measured innings spanning two hours that included four boundaries, including one sumptuous off-drive off Harry Gurney. He succumbed finally to Andre Adams, consistently Nottinghamshire’s most dangerous bowler, although not before smacking the New Zealander’s opening delivery after lunch over extra cover for a one-bounce four.Adams, who took five in an innings seven times last season, more than any bowler in Division One, gained revenge when the youngster was leg before two balls later, completing his first five-wicket haul of the season.Harry Gurney also justified his selection by taking four wickets, the pick of them with a ball that drew Cameron into a push outside off stump that he edged to wicketkeeper Chris Read. Nottinghamshire will have Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann available to face Lancashire at Old Trafford next Wednesday but may find it difficult to leave out Gurney in favour of Luke Fletcher on this evidence.With such poor weather in prospect, Nottinghamshire may not have a chance to set up a run chase, which would be their normal course of action after closing on 88 for 2, a lead of 174.With Alan Richardson off the field nursing a minor side strain, Worcestershire gave Jones and David Lucas the new ball. Jones made an early breakthrough as Alex Hales clipped tamely to square leg, and Lucas appealed successfully for leg before against Michael Lumb, even though the ball looked a touch leg side.Neil Edwards, who was dropped by Daryl Mitchell, the captain, at second slip off Lucas on nine, went on to pull Jones for six just before the last of several interruptions for bad light. He finished unbeaten on 49.

England’s one-day renaissance has hit the buffers. Two defeats against Australia with the series wrapped up were forgiveable, but their five-run loss against Bangladesh should come as a real shock to the system.

Andrew McGlashan in Bristol10-Jul-2010England’s one-day renaissance has hit the buffers. Two defeats against Australia with the series wrapped up were forgiveable, but their five-run loss against Bangladesh should come as a real shock to the system. England looked off the pace throughout the match at Bristol and were caught out by a resurgent visiting team that finally found a way to finish off a match.That England got as close as they did, to the point that Ian Bell limped out with a broken foot at No. 11, was down to Jonathan Trott’s determined 94 that almost pulled them over the line. However, the fact that one batsman dominated in the chase is a pattern that has emerged this season for England. Eoin Morgan was the man in the first two wins against Australia, then it was Andrew Strauss at Old Trafford.Two days ago at Trent Bridge Bell made a stylish 84, but still batsmen gave their wickets away. It is a by-product of the way England now express themselves in one-day cricket that batsmen will make mistakes, but to be successful on the subcontinent at next year’s World Cup England can’t rely on a handful of batsmen.”We weren’t at the races today, it’s as simple as that,” Strauss said. “Our bowling was okay but our fielding was poor and our batting, chasing 237, was a particularly poor effort if I’m honest. We’ve only got ourselves to blame but we also have to give credit to Bangladesh for the way they defended that total. They were able to take wickets throughout the innings and keep the pressure on.”We’ve had starts at the top of the order, 20s, 30s but we’ve not had enough big scores,” he added. “Fair play to Belly coming in in the last game and Jonathan Trott in this one coming in and showing the rest of us what we should be doing on a more regular basis. You need two or three of your top six to be doing that regularly if you want to win consistently.”[Paul] Collingwood and [Eoin] Morgan getting out when they did gave Bangladesh a much better chance of winning the game but it was the constant loss of wickets and a lack of major partnerships that cost us the game.”This isn’t a time to panic for England, Andy Flower is not that type of coach and Strauss has been in worse situations as captain, but it is a good time to reassess where the team have reached. Some of the shots from the middle raised questions about the suitability for pressurised roles while the lack of early wickets means England have to keep clawing innings back.”Getting bowled out for 51 in Jamaica was worse than this but it’s not fun to stand up here after losing in this fashion,” he said. “All we can do now is go forward and make amends.”They were going to beat us at some stage and we were just hoping it would be some stage in the future,” he added. “They thoroughly deserved their victory but for us it’s about going away, licking our wounds and making sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes again on Monday.”All of a sudden, that game at Edgbaston has far more riding on it that anyone would have imagined.

Middlesex plunged to a 111-run defeat following another batting failure by
Andrew Strauss in the County Championship Division Two match against
Worcestershire at New Road

11-Apr-2010

ScorecardDawid Malan batted well for 69 but couldn’t prevent Middlesex’s defeat•PA Photos

Middlesex plunged to a 111-run defeat following another batting failure by
Andrew Strauss in the County Championship Division Two match against
Worcestershire at New Road.The England captain, who resumed on 10, fell for 15 after making only a single
in his first innings. His rapid exit started a steady decline by Middlesex who, despite a battling 69 from Dawid Malan, were all out for 169 in their pursuit of a victory target of
281.Strauss, warming up for his return to England duty, spent just three quarters of an hour at the crease during a match in which he faced 38 balls. His failure to get into full flow gave Worcestershire an opportunity to open their season in fine style after being unable to register a victory during last year’s grim relegation campaign.The last time they won a Championship match was in August 2008 when they
overcame Essex by six wickets at Colchester. Their previous triumph in the competition at New Road was in July of the same year when they beat Glamorgan by 10 wickets. After 19 games without a Championship win, Vikram Solanki’s men scented overdue success when the visitors started to subside after resuming on 12 for one.Strauss added only a four and a single before being trapped lbw when he left alone a delivery from his former Middlesex team-mate Alan Richardson, who marked his Worcestershire debut with a four-for-35 haul. Strauss’ quickfire dismissal, after an innings spanning 27 balls in which he hit a couple of fours, led to Sam Robson joining nightwatchman Iain O’Brien in what was a brief partnership. Paceman Richard Jones made sure of that when he fired in a delivery which reared up at O’Brien who fended a catch to Daryl Mitchell at second slip.His departure brought together Robson and Malan who added a further 42 before Worcestershire struck again to have Robson, prodding forward to Gareth Andrew, caught behind by Ben Scott who is on loan from Middlesex.Shortly afterwards the hosts spurned a chance to get rid of Malan when he was
put down while on 31 at second slip by Mitchell off Chris Whelan. The escape allowed him to move on to 46 before losing the companionship of Adam London who, going for a second run, was run out by a direct throw from third man by Richardson. John Simpson then fell to Jones for a duck before Malan completed his half century soon after with nine fours off 78 balls.Gareth Berg was dropped by Scott off Jones for 18, but added only four more
runs before being lbw to Richardson. Shaun Udal survived a spilled slip catch to Moeen Ali before Malan finally departed after hitting 11 fours off 122 balls to leave Worcestershire to quickly polish off the final two wickets for a three-day victory.

KL Rahul, who hasn’t played competitively since May 1 this year, has made a comeback to international cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-20231:57

Kumble: Have to be a bit circumspect about Shreyas Iyer

Two matches after his comeback following a back surgery, Shreyas Iyer has picked up a back spasm during warm-up before the India-Pakistan Super Four match at the Asia Cup, which ruled him out of the contest. KL Rahul, also coming back from an injury, was drafted in at the last minute.At the toss, Rohit Sharma called it a “forced change” for the team, and that was reflected in the team sheet, which had Iyer marked at No. 4, with Rahul as the 13th man. The numbers were crossed out before the sheet was released, with the two swapping places.Rahul’s usual batting position in ODIs, however, has been No. 5. It was also not clear if he would be fit enough to keep wicket, but India have Ishan Kishan in the XI as well.Related

• How Shubman Gill took down Shaheen Shah Afridi to hand round one to India

• Rahul vs Kishan: Who will India's first-choice keeper be?

• Rahul in sharp touch during indoor training session

• Iyer opens up about back injury: I was in excruciating pain

Both Iyer and Rahul are returning from injuries.Iyer hadn’t played since the home ODI series against Australia in early March, and missed the IPL altogether, as he recovered from a back condition that required surgery. He was picked in the Asia Cup squad – as well as in the squad for the ODI World Cup starting next month – after being declared fit by the medical personnel at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, and was in the India XI for both their group-stage games at the Asia Cup, scoring 14 against Pakistan. He didn’t need to bat against Nepal as India won by ten wickets.While the extent or seriousness of his latest injury are not known, it could be a cause for concern for the India team management with the World Cup not far away.Rahul hadn’t played for India since March, and was out of action altogether after tearing a tendon in his right thigh during the IPL. He was selected in the Asia Cup squad following extensive rehab at the NCA. He was, however, ruled out of the first two matches after picking up a fresh niggle.In Rahul’s absence, Kishan, playing for the first time at No. 5 in ODIs, rescued India’s innings in the washed-out match against Pakistan.

Irish batter available under updated Covid protocols following negative test

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2022Paul Stirling is set to become Islamabad United’s second high-profile surprise return in two days, this time for Friday’s eliminator against Lahore Qalandars. If Islamabad win tonight, they will have brought back the opening pair that lit up the opening stages of the season, for the PSL final on Sunday. Multan Sultans will be awaiting the winner of tonight’s game.A tweak in the PCB’s Covid-19 policy for the tournament that allowed Alex Hales to return for Thursday’s win over Peshawar Zalmi will see Stirling immediately eligible to compete. The franchise confirmed in a tweet on Friday that he had returned a negative PCR test. Before the amendment to the protocols, agreed upon by all franchises, anyone arriving from outside Pakistan would have had to quarantine for three days before being allowed to play.Stirling played the first five games of the PSL for United before leaving for international duty with Ireland. He took part in a T20 quadrangular series in Oman and then in the T20 World Cup qualifiers in which, though Ireland lost in the final to the UAE, they qualified for the World Cup in Australia. Stirling’s performances in Oman were not spectacular – he averaged just over 23 with a strike rate of 111 across five games. In the five games he did play for Islamabad, however, he was averaging 37.40 with a strike rate of 181.55. With Hales in tow, the pair were the most destructive opening pair during that first leg, especially in the Powerplay.Hales had also departed the season early, though in his case he cited the mental fatigue of bio-bubbles as his reason for doing so. But he returned for Thursday’s eliminator against Peshawar, with his 49-ball 62 – his third fifty of the season – helping set up United’s successful chase. The innings earned him the player of the match award.As with Hales, Stirling is expected to follow the same distancing protocols and will be kept apart from the team as much as possible, including not having access to the team’s dressing room, staying in a separate area of the hotel and traveling in a separate car to the stadium.

All 26 players who were part of the 25-day prepratory camp have been named in the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jun-2021The PCB has announced a 26-member squad for the women’s white-ball tour of the West Indies, from which the line-ups for the senior Pakistan Women team and the A team will be selected. Experienced batter Javeria Khan continues to lead the senior side, while spinner Rameen Shamim and wicketkeeper-batter Sidra Nawaz will captain the A sides for the one-dayers and T20s respectively.The senior side will play West Indies in three T20Is and five ODIs, and the shadow side will play West Indies A in three one-day matches and three T20s. All 26 players will be available for selection for all 14 matches, the PCB explained. The tour runs from June 30 to July 18. All matches will be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Pakistan Women’s tour of West Indies schedule

• June 30: 1st T20I and A teams’ T20

• July 2: 2nd T20I and A teams’ T20

• July 4: 3rd T20I and A teams’ T20

• July 7: 1st ODI

• July 9: 2nd ODI

• July 10: 1st A teams’ one-dayer

• July 12: 3rd ODI

• July 13: 2nd A teams’ one-dayer

• July 15: 4th ODI

• July 16: 3rd A teams’ one-dayer

• July 18: 5th ODI

“The Caribbean tour presents a phenomenal opportunity to our core group of cricketers to showcase their performances and further cement places for the 2021-22 season, which promises to be an exciting one for women’s cricket,” Urooj Mumtaz, the chairperson of the national women’s selection committee, said. “These 26 players have been involved in all our high-performance camps over the past nine months and have put in the hard yards under the national coaching staff led by David Hemp. The group has prepared with high intensity and purpose.”Mumtaz added that the limited-overs games for the A side would be an opportunity for the second string of players to “stake a claim in the national side as exceptional performances will be rewarded by players getting bumped up” to the senior side. “I am hopeful that there will be quality cricket on display as we aim to further improve our world standing and continue to push to become top contenders on the world stage,” she said.As part of the team’s preparation for the upcoming assignments, including the 50-over World Cup qualifiers in Sri Lanka in December, the same 26-member contingent had a 25-day preparatory camp in Multan from May 29, before moving to Karachi on June 9 when the temperatures soared in Multan.The PCB said in a statement that the 26 players and support staff had arrived in Lahore on Monday morning and would take pre-departure Covid-19 tests in the afternoon. The touring party will leave for Antigua via London in the wee hours of June 23, and be tested twice in five days thereafter, and then serve a four-day quarantine (room isolation) before beginning training.Pakistan Women have been out of action since their aborted tour of Zimbabwe in February where they won the first ODI before the remainder of the series was called off. Before that, the team had toured South Africa where they lost the ODI series 3-0 and won the third and final T20I to deny the hosts another series sweep.Pakistan Women squad: Javeria Khan, Rameen Shamim, Sidra Nawaz, Aliya Riaz, Aiman Anwar, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Jaweria Rauf, Kainat Imtiaz, Kaynat Hafeez, Maham Tariq, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wk), Nahida Khan, Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Saba Nazir, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah.

Nathi Mthethwa wants more people of colour in leadership positions both in the board and in the team

Firdose Moonda20-Jun-2020Cricket South Africa has come under severe criticism from the country’s minister of sport, art and culture Nathi Mthethwa who questioned the organisation’s commitment to transformation at a parliamentary briefing on Friday. Despite CSA exceeding their transformation targets on the field for the 2018-19 season, Mtethwa was concerned that several senior positions since an overhaul of the board last year were occupied by white men.In December 2019, CSA CEO Thabang Moroe was suspended on allegations of misconduct. His case is ongoing and Dr. Jacques Faul has been in the position of acting CEO since. Under Faul, Graeme Smith was appointed director of cricket, replacing Corrie van Zyl, who occupied the post in interim capacity but was also suspended.Van Zyl has since returned to work, under Smith, who named Mark Boucher the national men’s coach. Boucher displaced Enoch Nkwe, who was working as interim team director and took the South African squad to India, where they were whitewashed 3-0. Nkwe was named as Boucher’s deputy. Boucher also brought in Jacques Kallis as batting consultant and Paul Harris as spin bowling consultant, in addition to Charl Langeveldt (bowling coach) and Justin Ontong (fielding coach).At the parliamentary briefing, CSA President Chris Nenzani was asked if the appointments of Faul, Smith and Boucher represented a regression of the board’s transformation policy given that two of them had replaced black African employees. Nenzani’s response was that the appointments had been made on merit.”I felt insulted with your [Nenzani’s] intervention when you said you only take people on merit,” Mtethwa said. “When we talk of cricket and going to the heart and core‚ you look at the CEO‚ you look at the director of cricket and the coach; you’ll find the deputy being an African.””You look at the batting specialist and you come and say to the nation that there’s nothing wrong and there’s no regression in transformation. I feel particularly insulted. It says that there’s a particular posture that has been taken that says Africans can be elsewhere in other areas that are not core ones. There’s no core area above the top five. It’s only one and that person is the deputy to the coach. I’m not going to be smiling at that kind of statement.”Mtethwa found it incredulous that CSA could not find black African candidates to fill senior roles when it has been 26 years since the official end of Apartheid (1994) and almost three decades (1991) since the country’s black and white cricket boards were unified. “Does it mean that after 26 years‚ there hasn’t been anybody who hasn’t been able to fill one of these positions? The only people with merit are white. I take exception to that.”Since readmission, CSA have had two black African CEOs, Gerald Majola and Thabang Moroe and six (of eight) presidents of colour including Krish Mackerdhuj, Percy Sonn, Norman Arendse, Ray Mali, Mtutuzeli Nyoka and now Nenzani. Apart from Nkwe’s brief stint with the national team, they have had only one other home-grown head coach of colour, Russell Domingo, and only one permanently appointed national captain of colour, Hashim Amla.Although there will be no sanctions against CSA at this point, earlier this month, Mtethwa met with the Eminent Persons Group expressing similar concerns and proposed legislation to address the pace of transformation. “The Minister raised his concern on the leadership and governance matters that have consistently undermined the development and transformation of sport in the country. He highlighted the urgent need for a fundamental discussion of re-imagining sport in the country, a major part of that being transformation,” a sports ministry press release from June 5 said.CSA have long-stated their commitment to transformation and “welcomed” the EPG report when it was released, noting the areas that still needed improvement, especially at school level. “The participation of senior schools from townships (previously disadvantaged black residential areas) amounts to 515 schools of the 1023 participating high schools. The participation of girls in senior schools’ cricket is growing. This growth will accelerate in the foreseeable future,” a CSA statement said.However, the concern lies more at the top where big changes have been made in response to the chaos that engulfed CSA late last year, In the space of a few weeks, their major sponsor Standard Bank opted not to renew their arrangement, three board members resigned and the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) voiced continued unhappiness with the CSA CEO. On December 6, Moroe was suspended, and 10 days later Nkwe was demoted and new appointments made. At the time, an organisation called the Black African Cricket Clubs accused CSA of a whitewash at senior level but Smith responded by providing an assurance of his commitment to transformation.