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On Thursday, Test captain Pat Cummins confirmed most players were comfortable with the series going ahead

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2022Australia’s first visit to Pakistan since 1998 has received a final all-clear. The tour, which comprises three Tests, three ODIs and a T20I, has been on the cards since November 2021. Both boards have been making steady progress towards the series going ahead, and now after a final pre-trip security briefing Cricket Australia has given its full endorsement.”I would like to thank the PCB and both the Pakistan and Australian Governments for ensuring the tour will proceed for the first time in 24 years,” CA chief executive Nick Hockley said. “This is a historic occasion and important for the global growth and health of the game.Schedule of Australia’s tour of Pakistan 2022•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I would also like to thank the Australian Cricketers’ Association and the players, coaches, support teams, staff and security experts for their collaboration in the planning for the tour. We are looking forward to an exciting series between two world-class teams.”On Thursday, Test captain Pat Cummins confirmed most players were comfortable with the tour going ahead, while understanding and accepting a few may not make the trip.”I think we’ll get close to a full-strength squad,” Cummins said. “There is still a little bit of work to do. We have received a lot of information and it has been great. All the pre-tour security and biosecurity work has been done and it’s been fantastic.”Australia are expected to name their squad early next week. It will be their first overseas Test series since the 2019 Ashes. With matches going on until April 5, some of their players may not be available for the first few days of the IPL due to begin on March 27.

The positive result came from a member of the support staff just hours before the game was due to take place

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2021The BBL match between Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers on Thursday has been postponed due to a Covid-19 case within the Stars’ camp. The positive result came from a member of the support staff on Thursday afternoon just hours before the game was due to take place. All other members of Stars’ squad who had been in contact with the case have since undertaken PCR tests but are still awaiting the results, meaning the game cannot take place at the Marvel Stadium. It was already one of Scorchers’ rearranged fixtures due to the border restrictions in Western Australia.”While regrettable, the decision to postpone tonight’s match was the only option available given the exposures within the Stars cohort,” Alistair Dobson, the general manager of the Big Bash Leagues, said.Related

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“The League has a number of biosecurity protocols in place to keep our participants safe and the competition moving forward. These protocols are regularly reviewed in response to the risks in each state. Safety remains our number one priority, and we will work with the Stars to get their side back on the field as soon as possible.”It is the first time the BBL or the WBBL has been directly hit by a Covid-19 case during the pandemic, and comes amid rising cases around Australia. Sydney Thunder’s Sam Whiteman missed a game earlier in the season due to being a possible close contact.Thursday’s postponed match will be replayed later in the season, although no new date has yet been set; but already, there is very little room for disruption in the BBL schedule.Melbourne Stars General Manager Blair Crouch said: “The staff member is being managed by Melbourne Stars medical staff in consultation with Cricket Australia and we look forward to them being able to return to the group in due course. We have key home matches scheduled on January 2 and 3 in Melbourne so we hope to have more clarity through testing over the next 24-48 hours.”Unlike the men’s Ashes series – which has also been hit by a Covid-19 outbreak in the England touring part as well as to match referee David Boon – BBL clubs travel on commercial rather than chartered planes.Earlier in the season, a Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Victoria was postponed for a day after allrounder Will Sutherland tested positive.The Ashes tour is currently attempting to remain on track despite an outbreak in the England squad which has now reached seven cases, the latest one forcing head coach Chris Silverwood into isolation as a close contact.The first of the cases in the England camp emerged on the second day of the MCG Test but the game was able to continue after the playing group all returned negative rapid test results, with Victoria having a looser definition of close contacts which is now being adopted more broadly.

Fast bowler confirms bid for full fitness is back on track after fiery opening gambit at Hove

Paul Edwards13-May-2021
When Jofra Archer last played a first-class match at Hove he was not a World Cup winner nor had he played in an Ashes series. The game took place in September 2018 and was memorable for the final first-class centuries of both Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell. Trott’s hundred satisfied the technicians; Bell’s pleased the aesthetes and brings them comfort still. Archer had played 10 IPL games for Rajasthan Royals and was plainly England’s next big thing. But his four late wickets against Warwickshire hardly disturbed the universe and certainly nobody gave a monkey’s what he did with his fish tank apart, one assumes, from the fish. The age of aquaria had not yet dawned.That era is upon us now, though, and so Archer is perhaps fortunate that he is based in Brighton, where other-worldliness is an asset and where shredding your finger cleaning up after your piscine pets is something that could happen to anyone. Even more than Britain’s metropolises this city is a shrine to the outré and the baroque. Archer is thus an extraordinary cricketer in a city filled with extraordinary people and maybe he enjoys the camouflage, even if such concealment is not always available. The news that he had recovered sufficiently from a right-elbow injury to be named in Sussex’s squad for this game against Kent brought extra photographers and journalists to the County Ground and in the first half an hour of the day we could all see why.In Archer’s third over Daniel Bell-Drummond was beaten for pace and bounce; the catch went very fast to second slip where George Garton made it look laughably easy. Next over, though, Archer over-pitched and Zak Crawley helped himself to four runs past wide mid-on. We settled down for a duel between a couple of England’s Test cricketers, only for it to end two balls later when Crawley could do nothing with sharp lift and movement off a length except nick the ball to Ben Brown.”Usually I bowl to Zak n the [England] nets and I have done that quite a bit,” observed Archer when our day’s cricket was done. “Obviously, you’re never out in the nets so it was good to get him out here, with umpires.”Related

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Thereafter, though, the bowler upon whom some Ashes strategies may rest blended into the background of what became a fine day for Sussex. He bowled two spells of four overs and then one of five that was bridged by rain. The speed and steepling bounce will have reassured the selectors but Archer bowled no better than Ollie Robinson, with whom he may yet open England’s bowling in a Test match during this most unpredictable of seasons. Robinson nags at a batsman’s technique much as an abscess might plague the nerves beneath a tooth; extraction is often the inevitable consequence.Such relentless discipline appeals to England’s selectors and Robinson was more responsible than anyone else in Brown’s attack for Sussex dismissing Kent for 145 on a cloud-strewn, shower-threatened day when the decision to bowl first cannot have required much thought. In the over after lunch he bowled Jordan Cox through the narrowest of gates for 24 and then returned in the evening to have Kent’s top scorer, Jack Leaning, taken at slip by Aaron Thomason for 63 when nibbling at a ball outside the off stump. “More of a chomp than a nibble,” observed Sam Keir, Sussex’s Media Executive, a man with a good memory for confectionery. One saw his point. It was a thickish edge.By then, though, Leaning’s studious, three-hour innings had become an exercise in damage limitation. In the morning session he and Cox had piloted their side to 68 for 2 only to see such comparative affluence frittered away by the haemorrhage of five wickets for 42 runs in the afternoon. Cox was the first to go but that misfortune was followed by the loss of three batsmen in the space of 15 balls. Garton took two of the three and may even have benefitted from his irritating habit of mixing many distinctly good balls with occasional dross. The saddest departure was that of 20-year-old Tawanda Muyeye, whose maiden first-class innings lasted just eight balls before Robinson’s third leg-before appeal against him in the same over received a grim assent from David Millns, a decision with which Muyeye could have no complaint.And the debutant had at least got a run to his name, a distinction not shared by Darren Stevens, who flashed at a wide one. The same error was committed a few overs later by Marcus O’Riordan and both edges were taken by Thomason at first slip. The showers returned and Kent took tea on 113 for 7. Jack Carson picked up a couple of cheap wickets to end the innings but even that skill adds to a spinner’s growing reputation. Adil Rashid could tell Carson that.Having been assisted by the relatively dry weather during the bulk of the day, Sussex were helped by the return of bad light when 14.3 overs remained to be bowled. At that stage Brown’s batsmen had reduced the deficit to 94 runs but only for the loss of Tom Haines who feathered a catch behind off Stevens and Thomason, whose booming drive off Nathan Gilchrist was snaffled by O’Riordan at cover point. It was a careless end to what had been a pleasing three sessions for Thomason and his team but Brown would have settled for this state of affairs this morning, when the captain of Sussex arrived at the ground on his scooter and saw a tiny murmuration of starlings feasting on grubs in the wet earth.

Bess snares five-for, Leach three as hosts lead by 92 runs

Paul Edwards at Taunton 08-Jul-2019″What news of Essex?” It sounds like the opening line from a scene in one of Shakespeare’s history plays but perhaps that is fitting. This might be a dramatic summer in the West Country. “Not good, my liege,” the line might be completed. “The varlet Westley doth our cause confound.” It is only July, for heaven’s sake, but the anxiety-meter is already high among Somerset supporters. By far the most carefree citizens on the County Ground this lunchtime were the thousand or so children who trooped happily round the perimeter as part of the county’s schools day.Those who had turned up to watch a full day’s cricket already had the worry beads out. Many Somerset supporters were fretting their side had taken only one Nottinghamshire wicket in the morning session. That fell when Ben Slater, having helped Jake Libby put on 35 for the first wicket – a stout effort for Nottinghamshire openers this season – attempted an inelegant thrash at a short ball from Jamie Overton but only skied a catch to Tom Abell at cover.So Nottinghamshire were 91 for 1 when supporters in the Colin Atkinson Pavilion tucked into their enormous carvery lunches. But that score worried visiting fans, too; they knew it was too good to last. And they were dead right mi’ duck. For even after they had got to 189 for 2 at tea, Nottinghamshire’s batsmen were still vulnerable; and those weaknesses were exploited to the unalloyed delight of home supporters in one of the most rapid confloptions seen at Taunton in recent seasons.After looking as though they might bat only once in this game, Steven Mullaney’s side lost seven wickets for 40 runs in 21.1 overs, all seven falling to the spinners, Dom Bess and Jack Leach, who finished the innings with 5 for 59 and 3 for 79 respectively. By the close Somerset’s unexpected 85-run lead had been extended to 92 for the loss of Tim Groenewald, who had opened to protect Azhar Ali. Somerset folk who gathered in the Stragglers’ Coffee House to hear Vic Marks talk about the county’s glory days could bask in their fresh memory of one of their own. They had just seen the sort of session which helps win titles.No one, except those who have watched their cricket at Trent Bridge this summer, had seen the visitors’ disintegration coming. Near the midpoint of the day Libby and Chris Nash were batting serenely against spinners who were struggling to find the right pace or length to bowl on this pitch. Their partnership neared a hundred. Even the diehards on Gimblett’s Hill were subdued and they can normally be relied upon for raucous encouragement or frank suggestions. This seemed a quiet day at home for Somerset; summer at half mast, some thought. The only entertainment Bess had provided came when he performed a handstand on the outfield. “We’re going though ’em like a butter through knife,” said one supporter.But having failed to make a breakthrough in a conventional fashion Somerset removed Nash from the game by whacking him on the head with the ball. Predictably, Overton literally did the damage, bowling a delicious bouncer which the batsman neither ducked under nor swayed away from. The blow did not immediately appear serious but the Notts physio quickly led the player from the field. Nash received a consoling pat from Overton and Ben Duckett replaced him. Somerset hoped it would destabilise their opponents at a time when normal methods had never threatened to. Eventually it did.Yet such fond aspirations seemed optimistic in the extreme when Duckett took 14 runs off four balls from Leach with three varieties of sweep – conventional, slog and reverse – and then whacked Bess into the Somerset Stand next over. As so often, though, Duckett wasted a promising start by attempting to cut a ball from Bess that was far too close to him. He had flirted with the same danger a couple of overs earlier and now he had gone for 38.That dismissal seemed to refresh Somerset’s bowlers. Both Bess and Leach gave the batsmen more problems in the six overs before tea than they had in the twenty previous and there was slight cause for home supporters to hope that the evening’s cricket would rescue their day.And suddenly Nottinghamshire collapsed like a hyper-sensitive drama queen. First to go was Libby, caught at slip by Lewis Gregory off Leach for a fine 77. Then Mullaney pulled a long hop to midwicket and Tom Moores was taken at short leg by Tom Banton off Leach. The same combination accounted for Liam Patterson-White, who having spent his first day as a first team cricketer laid low with tonsillitis spent his second getting a four-ball duck. Welcome to the county circuit, Liam. It really does get better.Bess took the last three wickets, the first of them being R Ashwin, who was bowled when attempting to reverse sweep a full toss. News filtered down that Samit Patel would play as a concussion replacement for Nash, although it is not yet known if he will be allowed to bowl his left-arm spin. That was really the only encouragement visiting supporters could take from this glorious evening in the West Country. Their cricketers must try to wrench a victory from somewhere and perhaps they will do so in the next 48 hours. But Somerset are in the seven-and-six seats in this game and another victory is beckoning, Their supporters will be worried about that.

‘Don’t you accept the challenge of playing England in overcast conditions in their country?’ the offspinner asked. ‘If we could take up that challenge why not pink-ball cricket?’

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-20187:18

Gloves Off: Were India right to refuse to play with the pink ball?

Harbhajan Singh has asked India to embrace day-night Test cricket on a day when top BCCI officials said they declined to play a day-night Test in Australia to give India the best chance of winning the series. Administration and former players in Australia and believe India have rejected the offer to deny a potential advantage to an Australian team already weakened by bans to their two best batsmen, Steven Smith and David Warner.”I believe every team wants to win the series and that’s why we want to give our team the best possible chance,” the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai said at an event in Delhi. “What’s wrong in us wanting to win all the matches? Any team that steps out on a pitch wants to win. Thirty years back they said India play Test matches only to draw but they don’t say that anymore.”Harbhajan was also present at the function, but speaking on the sidelines he chose to differ with the opinion of the administrators. “I don’t know why they don’t want to play day-night Test matches,” he said. “It’s an interesting format and we should try it. I am all for it. Tell me what’s the apprehension of playing with pink ball? If you play, [then only] you can adjust. It may not be as difficult as it seems.”India’s team management is believed to look at this tour as their best opportunity to win a series in Australia. Australia have already played four day-night Tests, which gives them a big advantage according to India, who have played none so far.”So what if you get out?” Harbhajan said. “We have fast bowlers to trouble them. And what makes us think our batsmen can’t take up the challenge of facing Aussie pacers? It’s a challenge, and what’s the harm in taking up the challenge? When we were new to Test cricket, we had only learnt how to bowl with SG Test ball and then slowly learnt to bowl with Kookaburra and Dukes.”Don’t you accept the challenge of playing England in overcast conditions in their country? Isn’t that a challenge? If we could take up that challenge why not pink-ball cricket?”The board’s CEO Rahul Johri held a different view, though. “Who we play, when we play, where we play and how we play is our prerogative,” Johri said. “We will back everything for the Indian team to play to win.”Technically India are well within their rights to not play the day-night Test. The playing conditions in bilateral series state that both sides have to agree for a day-night Test to take place. However, once the Test championship kicks in, India might not have that choice. The host side can schedule up to one Test under lights without needing the consent of the touring side.Harbhajan was not the only one in disagreement with the administration. India are believed to have learnt their lesson from the defeat in the Test series in South Africa, and are travelling to England a month in advance, but former opener Gautam Gambhir is not impressed. Most of that month will go in playing ODIs and T20Is, and India will go into the Test with one tour game with Duke balls behind them. Gambhir believes playing the white Kookaburra on flat limited-overs surfaces is no preparation for Test cricket in England.”Playing with red Dukes in Test is completely different from playing white-ball cricket,” Gambhir said. “The three T20s and three ODIs isn’t an indicator of how well you are prepared for the Tests.”At the function, Gambhir asked the board to focus less on limited-overs formats to ensure the primacy of Test cricket.”I don’t think BCCI has marketed Test cricket as well as they have done with ODIs and T20s,” Gambhir said. “I remember a Test match at Eden Gardens against West Indies [in 2011-12]. India batting on the first day and there were [just] 1000 people. Imagine Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman playing and there are only 1000 people.”

The Bangladesh allrounder said there was no point playing “for the sake of match fees and salary” when he couldn’t handle the expectations of international cricket

Mohammad Isam12-Sep-20172:51

Five times Shakib saved Bangladesh

Shakib Al Hasan felt he deserved a break from the expectations of performing consistently in Tests for the last ten years. He said he had informed his family last month about his plans of asking the BCB for a six-month break after the home series against Australia.The BCB granted him a shorter break, during which he will miss the two Tests against South Africa later this month, Bangladesh’s first in the country since 2008. Akram Khan, the BCB’s cricket operations chairman, said Shakib had the option of playing the second Test “if he wants”.”I have been thinking about taking the break for quite some time now,” Shakib said. “I have spoken to my family and friends ahead of this series about this break. I think this will help me. Since I play a lot, I can’t focus on my fitness or even try to be mentally fresh. I have been playing for 10-11 years, so I think I deserve a break.”In Test cricket, my role is such that I have to contribute in all four innings. If I am contributing half the time, I won’t be able to meet the team’s expectations. I think it is best to play when I know I can give my best in all four innings. It is not important to me to just play for the sake of match fees and salary. This is my job, for sure, but I started playing out of interest, passion and love for the game. If that’s not there, I don’t see the point in playing.”Shakib said he was surprised by the criticism that came in the wake of his request.”I don’t react to those [criticisms]. I know how much my body goes through. I am surprised when people question why I am not resting from limited-overs matches or other T20s. There are really no pressures when playing those T20 matches. It seems like a holiday to me, with a bit of experience and of course, it is financially important too.”Shakib said it wasn’t too hard convincing the BCB to grant him the break since they realised that it was going to help him in the future. “I will be taking a break of around a month if I go [to South Africa] after the two Tests. I haven’t had such a break in the last three or four years.”I thank the BCB for understanding how big a deal this is for me. They said it was a good idea after hearing me out. At the end of the day, I know my body better than anyone. I have to manage it. I didn’t ask for anything unethical. I think that’s why they accepted it and it wasn’t a lot of hard work to convince them.”Shakib also urged other members of the Bangladesh team to speak up about taking breaks if they felt they couldn’t handle the expectations of international cricket. Currently, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim are just behind Shakib in terms of days spent in the field in the last ten years.”If anyone feels that he or she needs a break after having played too much cricket, they should be open about it. It will be better for their career.”

The confidence boost Sri Lanka gained from their T20 series victory did not carry over into the start of the one-day internationals as they were trounced by eight wickets in Port Elizabeth

The Report by Andrew McGlashan28-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsImran Tahir sliced through Sri Lanka’s middle order•Gallo Images/Getty Images

The confidence boost Sri Lanka gained from their T20 series victory did not carry over into the start of the one-day internationals as they were trounced by eight wickets in Port Elizabeth. A masterclass of limited-overs legspin by Imran Tahir snuffed out the middle order as they limped to 181, which proved a scant challenge for South Africa’s full-strength top order.Tahir finished with 3 for 26, including the scalp of top-scorer Kusal Mendis for 62, and did not concede a boundary in his 10 overs to ensure South Africa always held control after choosing to bowl first. Wayne Parnell had made swift work of the openers, before a stand of 72 for the third wicket between Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal steadied the innings, although it was laborious progress against probing bowling from South Africa’s quartet of seamers. It meant that when Tahir made his inroads, with three wickets in 15 balls, Sri Lanka had little to show for the consolidation and the innings frittered away.An opening stand of 71 in 13 overs between Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla, two of the senior South Africa players rested from the T20 series, broke the back of the chase and the target was knocked off with more than 15 overs to spare.For the eight teams taking part, all one-day internationals at the moment lead towards the Champions Trophy in June. While Sri Lanka appear to have many questions to answer, South Africa’s squad for this series is probably not far from what they will take to the tournament, but some players are still in need of performances to cement their positions.

Smart Stats

• 94 Balls remaining in South Africa’s victory. This is their fifth quickest win against Sri Lanka. Four of these wins have come at home.

• 2 Number of lower scores for Sri Lanka against South Africa in South Africa while batting first than the 181 they scored. Previously they scored 128 at the Wanderers in 2002 and 105 at Bloemfontein in 1998.

• 8 Number of half-centuries for Kusal Mendis from 17 innings. He is yet to convert these scores to a century. He has scored more than fifty in his last three ODI innings.

Chief among those is Parnell, and he made the perfect start when he trapped Niroshan Dickwella lbw first ball. He soon followed that with the wicket of debutant Sandun Weerakkody, who had only arrived in the country yesterday after a delayed flight, when he had a waft outside off which smacked of jetlag.Sri Lanka knew they had to avoid further early losses, so caution was the watch-word for Chandimal, although Mendis showed greater inclination to attack, twice taking two boundaries in an over off Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo. Mendis was given lbw on 48, but the decision by Richard Kettleborough was overturned when replays showed an edge off his sweep, and he reached his fifty from 74 balls.But it wasn’t long before Tahir started to unpick the innings. Chandimal, who had taken 47 balls to find the boundary, was beautifully set up by a series of leg-breaks, before Tahir tossed a googly wide which spun back between bat and pad. Two overs later, he removed Mendis, lbw, playing back to a delivery that spun enough to beat the outside edge, and this time the review brought no reprieve.Upul Tharanga, captaining this side in Angelo Mathews’ absence, continued in the middle-order role he had in last year’s tri-series in Zimbabwe despite his 13 hundreds coming as an opener. He could not lift his side, however, when he drove limply to cover, although Tahir deserved credit for switching his line to around the wicket.Sri Lanka’s problems were compounded by a mix-up between Dhananjaya de Silva and Asela Gunaratne, which saw the latter run out after a relay throw from the deep via Quinton de Kock to Parnell at the bowling end.Nuwan Kulasekara clubbed a couple of lusty shots, including the one six of the innings, before edging Kagiso Rabada. With nine overs remaining, there was little choice but to try and see out the innings. They failed by nine deliveries as Parnell and Chris Morris removed the final three wickets. From the start of the 43rd over, they had not scored more than one run off a delivery.South Africa’s top order is daunting with all the big-guns back, and it would have taken a remarkable effort from Sri Lanka to defend the total. Suranga Lakmal’s first ball took de Kock’s outside edge, but the ball fell short of the slips. De Kock could have been run-out from mid-off on 21. However, the way the openers imposed themselves on Sri Lanka’s wrist spinners – Jeffrey Vandersay and Lakshan Sandakan – showed their intent for a ruthless performance.Sandakan, who had claimed 4 for 23 in the second T20, was taken for 10 in his first over, and Vandersay, a late call-up to the one-day squad, 14 off his first. Although Sandakan struck against the run of play, when de Kock drove to cover, boundaries came regularly. Amla barely broke sweat in bringing up his fifty off 56 deliveries, and Faf du Plessis was able to enjoy an extended net after his brief down time following the Test series.While Amla’s slightly soft dismissal, as he lobbed a return catch to Gunaratne, was a disappointment for him, it gave the crowd what they wanted – AB de Villiers at the crease. To chants of “AB, AB”, he played within himself but did loft one over the boundary. Back as captain, in his first one-day international since last June, the day could not really have gone any better.

Reece Topley, the Hampshire left-arm seamer, has been ruled out for the entire international season having been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back

George Dobell24-May-20162:03

Topley suffers another injury blow

Reece Topley, the Hampshire left-arm seamer, has been ruled out for the entire international season having been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back.Topley, a member of England’s limited-overs squads, was injured on his Hampshire debut when he was struck on the hand while batting.
But he reported pain in his lower back while training and has now been told he will have to rest for at least three months.”Reece Topley has been diagnosed with a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine and will require a significant period of rehabilitation,” an ECB spokesman said. “He will miss the next three months and aim for a return with Hampshire before the end of the season.”Topley has still not managed to bowl a ball for Hampshire having joined from Essex. “I was completely devastated to hear the news,” he told the Hampshire website. “I just want to play for Hampshire and contribute to their cricket.”Topley suffered his first back injury during the 2013-14 winter – believed to be caused by over-bowling as a 19-year-old when he emerged rapidly onto the county scene – and, during the 2014 season, fell victim to it again. In 2015, his last season with Essex, he played just two Championship matches as his workload was managed.It was when he was called up to bowl at an England net session during the New Zealand one-day series that he impressed the coaching staff and he was named in the T20 squad to face New Zealand, before making his debut later in the summer against Australia. He was part of the World T20 squad in India although was left out after the opening two matches.This latest injury is understood to be slightly different to the previous two he has suffered and is not a complete fracture.There was better news of David Willey and Mark Wood. Wood’s rehabilitation following ankle surgery is said to be “progressing well” and he is expected to start some gentle bowling this week.Willey, meanwhile, has been diagnosed with a small abdominal tear. It is hoped he will return for Yorkshire’s second NatWest Blast T20 fixture against Worcestershire at New Road on June 2.

Sri Lanka Cricket will be the only home board to directly receive the participation fee for the Champions League Twenty20, tournament technical committee member Sundar Raman has said

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Aug-2013Sri Lanka Cricket will receive the participation fee for the Champions League Twenty20 directly, tournament chief executive Sundar Raman has said*. Most other participants are either club, provincial or franchise sides, but the Kandurata Maroons, who will represent Sri Lanka, are effectively an extension of SLC. As such, the board will be paid the US $500,000 fee.”We are not concerned about whether it’s a club or a franchise or the board, we will make that payment to whoever sends the representative team,” Raman said. “In this case the board will receive it.”Sri Lanka Cricket had earlier planned to send the winning SLPL franchise to the Champions League qualifier, but after that tournament failed to materialise this year, a four-team provincial league was organised. The teams, captains and coaching staff for the eight-day tournament were appointed by the national selectors.Kandurata players Kumar Sangakkara and Nuwan Kulasekara are also with IPL teams who have qualified for the Champions League. SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga, however, said the board would attempt to retain its players – Kulasekara in particular – for its own representative team.”The preference is for them to play for their country,” Ranatunga said. “The players are only entitled to play for their other teams if we release the players. If that call comes, we will try to get Nuwan to play for the Kandurata team.”If either cricketer plays for his IPL franchise, the IPL team must pay US $150,000 to the player’s local team, and this money would also likely go to SLC. In 2011, Lasith Malinga and Suraj Randiv were required by their IPL teams, and did not play for their Ruhuna province, which also qualified for the tournament.

Kane Williamson hopes an improved performance with the ball and in the field in St Kitts will be the catalyst for a turnaround in the side’s fortunes

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2012New Zealand’s stand-in captain Kane Williamson hopes an improved performance with the ball and in the field during Wednesday’s victory in St Kitts will be the catalyst for a turnaround in the side’s fortunes for the rest of their Caribbean trip. But despite the 88-run win over West Indies, Williamson conceded New Zealand’s batting still needed to lift in order for them to escape with a series win, with West Indies ahead 2-1.Williamson said he was hopeful that captain Ross Taylor, who missed the start of the series due to a shoulder injury, could be considered for the fourth ODI on Saturday, which New Zealand must win to stay alive in the series. Even if Taylor is not passed fit, they should regain Brendon McCullum, who was originally to be rested for the one-day internationals but flew in to join the squad on Tuesday, although he didn’t play in the victory.Those potential inclusions will be tempered by the loss of BJ Watling, who suffered a leg injury during his innings of 40 and did not take the field during the West Indies innings. Watling was one of several men who made contributions for New Zealand, along with Rob Nicol (59) and Nathan McCullum (50), but Williamson said bigger scores would be needed in the remaining two games.”It is promising but I think the batting is an area we need to look at in terms of turning those fifties, which are really starts, into bigger scores to make the difference in an innings,” Williamson said. “That’s somewhere that we’re looking to improve on looking forward. It’s nice to have Brendon in the camp and hopefully Ross is looking good for the next one. It was a real shame to lose BJ, who has been our stronghold in the batting order down at six.”New Zealand posted 249 for 9, having been sent in by Darren Sammy, and a solid performance in the field, including three run-outs and some sharp catching, meant West Indies were bowled out for 161 in the chase. McCullum, Jacob Oram and the debutant Trent Boult took two wickets each, and Williamson said it was a much improved effort from the side.”It’s a great shift in momentum, hopefully,” he said. “Putting a few things into practice, lessons from the other games. It’s nice to get a win in such a crucial game. I think the bowling performance was a little bit better executed in terms of the plans and what we wanted to achieve. Things went our way and hopefully that’s the momentum shift we needed in the series.”Those sort of matches where you must win and we showed that fight today, which was really important. It was nice to step up and win this match and keep the series alive through a really strong fielding and bowling effort.”Sammy said that having sent New Zealand in, he was happy with a chase of 250 at the halfway mark of the match, and he credited New Zealand’s fielding as the key reason they claimed the win. However, West Indies can still wrap up the series if they win on Saturday, and Sammy said the players were already looking ahead to their next opportunity.”New Zealand played really well. It was an off day for us,” Sammy said. “We’ve already put it behind us and we’re looking forward to Saturday, to get back to our winning start in the series. We’ve been playing some good cricket. We won’t let one game dampen the spirit of the boys.”They outfielded us today and they were much more positive in their approach. The guys felt we could restrict them to a low total. Chasing down 250 here, we should have gotten it. But they seemed to execute their plans much better today and they were really good in the field.”