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Neil McKenzie, the former South African batsman and batting coach, has joined the Jozi Stars as a mentor and consultant for the remainder of the Mzansi Super League (MSL) season. The Stars, who are the defending champions after winning last year’s inaugural event, have lost all four of their matches so far.McKenzie, a stalwart in his playing days for the Johannesburg-based Lions, worked with the South African team during Russell Domingo’s tenure as head coach. He was not retained when Ottis Gibson took over in September 2017, with the job going to Dale Benkenstein, and McKenzie has most recently been in the Bangladesh camp, where he was part of their 2019 World Cup preparations.McKenzie is one of 10 former internationals involved in a management role at the MSL, at a time when South African cricket is desperate for their expertise and experience. That means all the MSL franchises have former national players involved. Ashwell Prince, Paul Adams and Hashim Amla (albeit in short-term capacity) are at the Cape Town Blitz, Mark Boucher is head coach of the Tshwane Spartans, Robin Peterson is Eric Simons’ assistant at the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, and Gary Kirsten is the head coach of the Durban Heat. Paarl Rocks do not have a former international at the helm but are coached by Adrian Birrell, the former national assistant coach, who also worked under Domingo, and count Justin Ontong and JP Duminy among their backroom staff.While McKenzie’s appointment will allay fears that South Africa’s former greats are being sidelined, especially in the aftermath of Graeme Smith pulling out of the race to become the first director of cricket, it is also much-needed for the ailing Stars. Their batting has got worse as the tournament has progressed as they went from a promising 198 for 5 in a narrow 15-run defeat in the season-opener against the Blitz to being bowled out for 108 by the Giants last Saturday. Not only has their line-up has been overly reliant on Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks, but their other senior batsmen, Chris Gayle and Rassie van der Dussen, have barely contributed and their game plan needs work.The Stars were forced to find a new coach after last season’s successful manager, Enoch Nkwe, was promoted to the role of South Africa’s interim team director, a new position created to replace the traditional coach’s role. Nkwe was assigned to take the team to India, where they drew a T20I series and lost the Tests 0-3, and even though it is not confirmed whether he will continue in the role, he was replaced at the Stars. Donovan Miller, who assisted Nkwe last season, has taken over but had a difficult start, and will hope McKenzie can help him turn things around.

Before we get to what happened on the field in Durban, let’s take a moment to appreciate that something actually did happen at all. After two washouts, at least two tornados, and heavy rain for much of the last two-and-a-half weeks, Kingsmead was dry and cricket was played. The Heat weren’t able to give their home crowd a victory but provided ample entertainment, as they fell 11 runs short of a competitive target of 175.Ackerman shows the Heat what they missed Marques Ackerman was named Kwa-Zulu Natal Cricket Union’s player of the year in May after his first summer in Durban in 2018-19. Still, he was not picked up by his home team, the Durban Heat, in the MSL draft, and he showed them what they are missing out on. Ackerman was the joint top-scorer in the Blitz innings, with 43 off 34 balls, the shot of his innings a slog-sweep off his Dolphins team-mate Keshav Maharaj that went for six.Bowl it wideThe Heat’s plan to limit the Blitz’s big-hitters was to bowl wide of off stump but it didn’t always work. They bowled nine wides in the innings, seven to Asif Ali, including three from Andile Phehlukwayo in his third over. Kyle Abbott controlled his line a little better, especially at the death. He only bowled one wide and his last two overs cost just 12 runs, to ensure the Blitz were kept under 175.Chances gone beggingWihan Lubbe’s 83 held the Heat’s chase together but not without some luck. He sent the ball aerial several times and evaded Liam Livingstone twice. When he was on 25, Lubbe’s miscued pull off Sisanda Magala teased Livingstone at midwicket but landed safely, costing just one run, and then when he was on 44, Lubbe lashed out at Anrich Nortje and sent his shot to deep midwicket, where Livingstone ran to his left and stuck out one arm but couldn’t get his fingers to it and the shot went for four. Lubbe made his chances count and went on to add 39 more runs to his total and put Heat in a position to push for victory. Livingstone’s day didn’t get any better when he dropped Ravi Bopara in the final over, at deep point.Gregory Mahlokwana can bowl with both his hands•Cape Town Blitz

Right-arm, Left-arm Ambidextrous Gregory Mahlokwana may be the find of the Blitz’s campaign and he showed off both his offspin and left-arm spin in Durban. Best of all, he was rewarded in both disciplines when he had Sarel Erwee caught at extra cover off an arm ball delivered with the right arm and switched to left-arm spin which he used to bowl Dane Vilas. Mahlokwana delivered it quicker, Vilas moved outside his leg stump to make room, and his middle stump was pegged back.Steyn’s alive Dale Steyn is still available to play for South Africa in white-ball cricket and is making a strong claim to be considered for next year’s T20 World Cup. He is the joint leading wicket-taker in the tournament so far with six sticks at 19.33 and stepped up when most needed in this match. Steyn accounted for the early wicket of Alex Hales, caught at mid-on for a duck, and the late breakthrough of Lubbe, who pulled to short fine-leg, and finished with figures of 2 for 23 in his four overs. Steyn set up the win before Magala defended 20 off the final over to put Blitz top of the points’ table.De Kock’s poker face Phehlukwayo’s finishing skills made him the man who could take the Heat home, even though they needed 34 runs off the last three overs. They scored just six in the first five balls of the 18th over when Phehlukwayo tried to push for a second run off the last ball and was tricked into thinking he would get there. As Phehlukwayo ran towards the striker’s end, Quinton de Kock put on a blank look, pretending the ball was not coming to him. Phehlukwayo didn’t run his bat in, thinking he was home safe, when the ball arrived and de Kock broke the stumps to send him on his way.

A flat surface had been expected at Karachi. Instead the first day delivered 13 wickets, eight of them in a manic final session, as Pakistan first nosedived to 191 all out, losing their last six for 24 runs, before Sri Lanka limped their way to 64 for 3 at the close.The day belonged to all manner of bowlers – speedsters, seam-bowling wizards, ambling spinners – but if one stood out from the crowd, it was Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Kumara. He touched 150kph at times in the morning, and kept his pace up all day, sending down hostile bouncers in stretches, and teasing the outside edge at other times. He had most success going full, straight and fast, however, nailing Abid Ali and Yasir Shah lbw, and cleaning up Mohammad Rizwan with an inducker on his way to 4 for 49 from 18 overs.Lasith Embuldeniya, the left-arm spinnner, was the perfect foil, recovering from a wayward first session to settle into an alluring rhythm later on. He had excellent drift from the outset, but once he’d settled into his work after lunch, he had flight, dip, bounce and spin at his command as well. He took the vital wicket of Babar Azam early in the second session, getting one to spit past the face of his bat as he ran down the pitch at him, Niroshan Dickwella completing an easy stumping. Just before that middle session finished, Embuldeniya also trapped Haris Sohail in front of the stumps with another sharply-turning delivery. Taking two tail-end wickets as well, he finished with 4 for 71.Their middle and lower orders having collapsed abysmally either side of tea, Pakistan’s bowlers were then called upon to haul their side back into the game. Hunting as a pack in the dying light, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah both delivered searing pace – Naseem the quicker of the two, frequently breaching the 145kph mark. Shaheen made the first breakthrough, nicking off Oshada Fernando in the seventh over with a full delivery outside off stump that prompted a fatal drive.Mohammad Abbas had perhaps been a little underwhelming in his first spell, sharing the new ball with Shaheen, but was at his conniving best in the second. He angled one across Dimuth Karunaratne before jagging it back off the seam – Karunaratne managing only to drag the ball back onto his stumps after attempting to cut. Abbas’ next dismissal – the one to round off the day – was superbly characteristic of his best bowling. He sent a length ball just outside off stump at Kusal Mendis, who is especially vulnerable in that area, wobbled it away, and drew an outside edge that flew low to second slip.Barely 90 minutes previous, Pakistan had been reeling, after their sudden surrender with the bat. By the end of the day, they could see a path back into this game.The collapse had been partially the result of good Sri Lanka bowling, but perhaps it did not need to be quite so dramatic. Pakistan had seemed to be building a decent score, at 167 for 4, when Haris was nailed in front by Embuldeniya. Then first thing after tea, Kumara delivered the over of the day to really set Pakistan’s decline in motion.He sneaked a ball between bat and pad to rattle Rizwan’s stumps, then next ball hit Yasir Shah on the boot to effect a plumb lbw. Sri Lanka would lose a review trying for a third wicket a few balls later, but Kumara nevertheless completed a double-wicket maiden that transformed the outlook of the game. From then on, it was a question of how many Asad Shafiq would manage to squeeze out in the company of the tail. It would turn out it wasn’t many.Shafiq, who made 63, was day one’s top scorer, and was the only other half-centurion after Babar had lit up the morning with 60 off 96 balls. Through those early sessions, Pakistan’s batsmen looked largely comfortable, and there didn’t seem to be much to fear from the surface. Babar drove majestically as usual, and ran down the pitch once to clobber Embuldeniya over long on for six. His dismissal was almost certainly the result of telegraphing another advance against Embuldeniya, who saw the batsman coming and slipped in a shorter ball that spun.When Sri Lanka’s third wicket fell with about 15 minutes to go till stumps, Embuldeniya came out as the nightwatchman. He will have Angelo Mathews for company when play resumes on day two.

Big picture

Test series these days – ones between sides at close to full strength – start along predictable lines. Home sides are usually so dominant that they are overwhelming favourites or they are so weak that strong sides such as India can steamroll them. Draws are hardly a possibility either. Rarely comes along a series where a proper victory march comes across a fortress that has stood tall for years without looking that formidable once.In New Zealand over the next two weeks, anything is possible: 2-0, 0-2, 1-0, 0-1, 1-1, 0-0. For two excellent pace-bowling units, the conditions will remain a challenge, making draws a distinct possibility. Don’t go by New Zealand’s annihilation in Australia, these sides are pretty evenly matched. If India have arguably the best all-conditions bowling attack, New Zealand’s quicks know how to get wickets at home better than anyone else. The same bowlers that seemed pedestrian in Australia where you need to bash the hard length will be effective with their kiss-the-surface swing. Or at least they won’t suffer in comparison with the opposition quicks as much as they did in Australia.ALSO READ: Why Test cricket in NZ is unlike anywhere else in the worldThat doesn’t mean India don’t have the attack to take wickets in New Zealand. Just that in these conditions, their added advantages over a slightly limited New Zealand attack will not be apparent. It is in the second innings that their familiarity with the conditions has tended to trump their opponents. Test cricket in New Zealand is played in the reverse with batting getting progressively better on pitches that don’t break up, and it is in those second innings that New Zealand’s bowlers have found ways to dismiss oppositions. This is when New Zealand bowlers have managed to average in the mid-20s since December 2013, but one of the key components of that attack, Neil Wagner, will be missing for the season opener at Basin Reserve as he awaits the arrival of his child, and the other, Trent Boult, has had no competitive cricket since breaking his right hand in Australia.In most other places, India would start as favourites, but at home, New Zealand have lost just two Tests in their last 14 series, a record second only to India’s at home. Then again, India haven’t lost a series anywhere since the 4-1 reverse in England in 2018. Let there be no further ado then.

Form guide

New Zealand LLLDW
India WWWWW

In the spotlight

Since December 2013, when this New Zealand team started coming together, Trent Boult has been the second-best to Wagner in second innings. The importance of a successful return for him cannot be overstated for New Zealand. These are the series you play for, he has said, to get players such as Virat Kohli out.If you want to identify a point of difference, look no further than Jasprit Bumrah. In his brief Test career, Bumrah has tended to get the better of every challenge the conditions have thrown at him. He has the hyperextension, he has the deceptive pace, he has all the other bowling tricks, and he has a sharp bowling mind.

Team news

Kyle Jamieson will become New Zealand’s 279th Test player as he replaces Wagner. By leaving Matt Henry out of the XII, New Zealand have made it clear they are looking for a Wagner-like point of difference in the second innings. Jamieson brings those hard lengths and extra bounce with his height. Depending on what they read of the pitch of the morning of the match, New Zealand will choose between Daryl Mitchell and Ajaz Patel, the lone spinner in the squad.New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Tom Blundell, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Daryl Mitchell/Ajaz Patel, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Jamieson, 11 Trent BoultRishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari could both feature in the XI•AFP / Getty Images

As you would expect with visiting teams, equations are not simple for India. However, there is great news for them in the sooner-than-expected return of Ishant Sharma after he had torn a ligament in his ankle in December. After a long bowling session in the nets two days from the Test, Sharma didn’t bowl in the nets on match eve; instead he was put through a fitness test. Clearly, India want to be sure. If he doesn’t make it, Umesh Yadav is the favourite to take his spot.India seem to have settled with the opening combination of Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal. With fewer vagaries in New Zealand pitches, India seem to be going with the batting prowess of Rishabh Pant ahead of the wicketkeeping purity of Wriddhiman Saha. Unlike New Zealand, India are sure to play at least one spinner. If they do play only one, R Ashwin is the favourite from the trends in the warm-up game and in the nets. He could use the wind to his advantage.Given how difficult it is to pick 20 wickets at Basin Reserve, there might be temptation to play both the spinners and form a second lower middle-order of Ravindra Jadeja, Pant and Ashwin, but this India is slightly different from the one that used to take such risks in the first Test of a series.India (probable): 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ishant Sharma/ Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

The novelty of telling the pitch apart from the outfield in New Zealand has long worn off. The 15-18mm of grass makes for a menacing look, but the pitch should become friendly after early exchanges. Except for the general windiness, perfect weather conditions for Test cricket have been forecast after two days of intermittent rain in the lead-up to the match.

Stats and trivia

• In 28 Tests in New Zealand since December 2013, teams have decided to field after winning the toss on 25 occasions. They have won 12 and lost eight of these Tests. In the rest of the world, over the same period, teams have decided to field in 58 out of 253 Tests.
• Kohli averages 66 against Boult, and 46.5 against Southee in Tests. His average against Wagner, who is missing the first Test, is 20.
• Ross Taylor will become the first player to 100 matches in each international format.

Quotes

“It’s about bringing the focus to the smaller steps rather than some of the loftier goals that can be achieved, but you do need to take care of the next moment rather than you getting too far ahead of yourselves. As a unit, it was a tough series [in Australia] in terms of a result to swallow but you know you can’t change the past but you can use it definitely to improve as individuals and as a team.”
Kane Williamson looks to bounce back from the sweep in Australia“It doesn’t matter how much patience the opposition has. Then we obviously have to show more patience than them. We can’t prepare in a manner that New Zealand might be more patient than other teams and then put pressure on us. Our fitness levels are such and concentration levels are such now that we can compete against anyone and anywhere in the world.”
Virat Kohli on a possible battle of attrition

Less than 24 hours after it said the remainder of the home ODI series between India and South Africa would be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, the BCCI on Friday decided to call off the matches in Lucknow (March 15) and Kolkata (March 18) for now. A BCCI statement said both they and CSA had decided to “reschedule” the series and that South Africa would visit India at a later date to play three ODIs, with a revised schedule.”The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Friday announced to reschedule the ongoing ODI series in view of the Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) outbreak,” the BCCI said in a media release on Friday. “Cricket South Africa will visit India at a later date to play 3 One-day Internationals. The BCCI-CSA will jointly work out the revised schedule.”The statement seemed to suggest that the two teams would play a fresh set of three ODIs even though technically the first ODI had been completed in this series, though it was a washout without a ball being bowled in Dharamsala.Rescheduling the ongoing series was the second significant decision about Indian cricket that the BCCI made on Friday, having earlier deferred the IPL until April 15.The rescheduling of the ODI series is likely to have come as a surprise to even the Indian and South African teams, considering the BCCI had sent out the practice schedule for both teams for Saturday less than an hour before the board’s decision. As per the training schedule, India were to have an optional training session between 10.00 am to 1.00 pm in the morning, with South Africa’s session from 2.00 pm in the afternoon.In a later release, CSA said chief executive Jacques Faul and interim director of cricket Graeme Smith had both personally been in contact with the BCCI and “expressed their gratitude for their understanding and cooperation in arriving at this very responsible decision”. Faul added that CSA was also doing a risk-assessment of its ongoing domestic season.”Our view is that this decision is both necessary and a precaution that had to be taken in the interest of cricket and the sustainability of the game,” Faul said. “We are monitoring the situation with the virus and are in constant consultation with medical and virology experts. We will apply our minds to the input of experts and act in a way that reflects our duty of caring for our players. We are currently doing a full risk assessment on the influence of the virus on our operations, including the current domestic season.”On Thursday, the BCCI had said that it had consulted the Ministry of Health & Social Welfare as well as the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports before deciding to conduct the last two ODIs without spectators. The Health Ministry and the Indian government had said they were strongly against mass gatherings of any kind, including at a sporting event such as a cricket match. On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government, the state of which Lucknow is the capital city, also endorsed those guidelines.In the first ODI washout, a healthy crowd had turned up despite government authorities asking fans not to attend mass gatherings in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Australia booked themselves into the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup with a comprehensive Duckworth Lewis affected 48 run win against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, another clinical performance that will only enhance the aura of invincibility that now surrounds Ricky Ponting’s side.Sri Lanka had their moments, making Australia’s top order struggle on the sluggish St George’s pitch at Port Elizabeth, but Australia once again wriggled free of trouble, posting a respectable 212 for seven after an unbeaten half-century from Andrew Symonds, before grabbing an iron-like grip on the game with the ball.Mid-innings the match may have looked evenly poised, but that was before the main contest of the day: speedster Brett Lee versus Sri Lanka’s pace-shy top order. Lee won the contest in convincing fashion, shrugging off the handicap of a turgid surface to take three wickets as Sri Lanka slumped to 76 for seven.Kumar Sangakkara (39*) and Chaminda Vaas (21*) provided some resistance, adding 47 runs in 13.5 overs for the eighth wicket, before rain forced the players from the field with Sri Lanka on 123 for seven after 38.1 overs, well behind the run rate according to the Duckworth Lewis machinations.No further play was possible, meaning Australia, who now have a record 16 successive World Cup wins under their belt, will face either India or Kenya in the tournament final at Wanderers on Sunday.The Sri Lanka innings had started brightly enough with the inform Marvan Atapattu (14) stroking three boundaries but Lee was cranking steadily up through the gears. The disappointment of a spilled catch at cover pushed him to full throttle and a thunderbolt yorker, clocked at a staggering 160.1 km per hour, rearranged his stumps.Sanath Jayasuriya (17), a shadow of his former self after being roughed up and maimed by Lee at Centurion, was snared by Lee’s new ball partner Glenn McGrath, swivel-pulling lamely into the hands of Symonds at backward square.Lee quickly mopped up Hashan Tillakaratne (3) and Avishka Gunawardene (1), both of whom wafted edges behind, before Andy Bichel sealed Sri Lanka’s fate with the brilliant run out of Aravinda de Silva, the last man capable of carrying Jayasuriya’s side to victory.De Silva, playing his last international game, had already signaled the threat he posed with two boundaries when Kumar Sangakkara nudged to mid-wicket and called for a quick single. Bichel, the bowler, quickly chased down the ball and threw down the stumps with de Silva yards out of his ground.The out-of-form Mahela Jayawardene, included in the side in place of paceman Dilhara Fernando earlier in the day as Sri Lanka packed their side with batting, extended his World Cup aggregate to 21 in seven innings before being caught off pad and glove.When Russel Arnold, Sri Lanka’s last recognised batsman, top edged a sweep to deep back square, having spent 27 balls scratching out his three runs, Sri Lanka dead and buried on 76 for sevenEarlier, after Australia had won an important toss, Symonds, a controversial selection when Australia’s World Cup squad was first announced, produced his second match-winning performance of the tournament, scoring an unbeaten 91 from 118 balls.The zinc-lipped right-hander, who would have been stumped on 33 had Sangakkara not spilled a straightforward take, rescued the Australian innings with a 93 run partnership for the fourth wicket.Australia had made a galloping start, racing to 34 off the first five overs as Pulasthi Gunaratne was smacked for 20 runs in his first two overs.But de Silva, called into the attack in just the sixth over, broke through with his second off-break of the day as Gilchrist edged an attempted sweep onto his pad to offer Sangakkara a simple catch. Had the 29-year-old stood his ground then he would have been reprieved by a doubting Rudi Koertzen but, in an act of rare Australian chivalry, Gilchrist walked.Vaas, who produced another skillful display, then claimed a brace of wickets as Ricky Ponting (2) mistimed a drive to be caught at mid-off and Matthew Hayden (20) clipped a stinging catch to mid-wicket. The left-armer extended his record World Cup tally to 23 when he had Lee Harvey caught at the wicket with a jagging off-cutter.Symonds and Lehmann then steadied the innings, never scoring easily against Sri Lanka’s quartet of slow bowlers, but preventing a Sri Lankan rout and laying a solid enough foundation for their bowlers later in the day.Eventually, Jayasuriya broke through with a well-flighted delivery that Lehmann chopped onto his stumps. The spinner had a chance of claiming a hat-trick when Michael Bevan (0), the hero during Australia’s previous two matches at Port Elizabeth, edged a catch behind.Brad Hogg (8) survived the hat-trick ball but did not last long before being smartly stumped by Sangakkara. After Harvey’s dismissal Australia were 175 for seven but Sri Lanka could not finish them off as Symonds and Bichel added 37 runs in the final 6.1 overs.

Cricket South Africa has terminated the contract of Clive Eksteen, its former head of sales and sponsor relations, after finding him guilty of “transgressions of a serious nature”. Eksteen was suspended in October last year, alongside then interim director of cricket Corrie van Zyl and COO Naasei Appiah and faced charges of dereliction of duty relating to unpaid commercial rights fees for players during the inaugural edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL).Van Zyl has since been cleared and has returned to work at CSA, under new director of cricket Graeme Smith while both Eksteen and Appiah were found guilty of wrongdoing and appealed the outcome of their cases. Eksteen’s is now concluded, but Appiah’s appeal continues.That means CSA still has two ongoing cases from the seven it accumulated in 2019. Appiah and suspended CEO Thabang Moroe, who attempted to return to work this week, are both unresolved while Eksteen, financial manager Ziyanda Nkuta, procurement manager Lundi Maja, and administrator Dalene Nolan, have all been dismissed.Moroe’s case is the most high-profile with the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) claiming CSA’s board is deliberately delaying the matter and lack the will to move forward on it. CSA has denied this, citing its incomplete forensic audit as the reason Moroe’s disciplinary proceedings have not progressed. Moroe faces, among other charges, allegations of credit card misuse. There is no indication as to why Appiah’s case remains open.This was the second instance in which Eksteen was suspended from CSA, after previously becoming entangled in an episode of reputational damage. He was involved in the Sonny Bill Williams mask saga during Australia’s tour to South Africa and suspended in March but returned to work in May of that year. Eksteen’s role at CSA was particularly important in maintaining corporate relations, something the organisation is desperate to rebuild in the face of a financial crisis.At the end of April, CSA lost a major sponsor in Standard Bank, whom they have yet to replace while its other big backer, financial services company Momentum, had previously indicated they wouldn’t review their relationship with CSA if the current president, Chris Nenzani, remains in his role. Nenzani has served two terms as CSA’s president, the second of which was extended by a year, but he is set to step down in September. Both SACA and several sponsors lay the blame for the administrative upheaval the organisation has faced in recent months at Nenzani and the board’s door.

In its most high-profile move against age fraud, the BCCI has proposed an amnesty scheme accompanied by a system of punishments for offenders. Under this, registered players will get an opportunity to voluntarily declare any age fraud and avoid suspension if they provide their actual date of birth, but face bans if they are found to have breached this.A press statement from the board on Monday said that if the BCCI discovered such a fraud after the deadline of declaration – September 15, 2020 – the players could be banned for two years and barred from any age-group tournaments even after the ban ended. That rule would be both applicable both at the India and the state levels.ALSO READ: Indian cricket’s age-fraud problemAge fraud, as the BCCI said, has been a “menace: in Indian cricket for long specifically at age-group level: Under-16, Under 19 and Under 23 (both men women categories).” ESPNcricinfo understands that in the last two years itself, the BCCI has suspended 236 players – 210 men and 26 women. A total of 159 players were detected to have committed age fraud in 2019-20 season.Rahul Dravid, the former India captain who is now director of cricket at the National Cricket Academy, has long considered age fraud as “seriously detrimental” to the culture of Indian cricket. Dravid reiterated that stance in the media release on Monday.”Age fraud is a serious matter and is detrimental to the health of the sport,” Dravid said. “Many youngsters who are supposed to be playing in a particular age group fail to make it owing to age fraud. With the BCCI taking stern actions to curb this, it is only advisable for the players to come forward and abide by the directives issued by the board.”Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, has underlined his commitment to “providing a level-playing field across all age groups”. “The BCCI has been taking steps to counter age fraud and are now introducing even stricter measures from the upcoming domestic season. Those who do not voluntarily disclose their misdemeanour will be punished heavily and will be banned for two years,” he said.How does the age verification process work?As part of the age verification process, at Under-19 level, the player has to submit his birth certificate along with as many documents concerning his school/college educational reports. For the Under-16 category, the BCCI conducts a one-time TW3 (Tanner-Whitehouse3) bone maturation test at the Under-16 level only. The TW3 test, adopted by the BCCI in 2012, allows accurate estimation of a player’s age by the analysis of x-rays of the lower end of the player’s forearm.Going forward, from the 2020-21 season, the BCCI said only players aged between 14 and 16 will be permitted to register for the Under-16 level. For the Under-19 category, if a player’s birth certificate has a date two years after his actual date of birth, there will a cap imposed on the number of years the player can feature at that level.Nonetheless, players have managed to bypass these rules. Last year, the BCCI banned Rasikh Salam, the Jammu & Kashmir pace bowler who represented Mumbai Indians in one IPL game, for two years for submitting a faulty birth certificate when registering with the board. At the time, he was part of the India Under-19 side to play a triangular one-day series in Bangladesh.ALSO READ: Age-fudging no different from fixing – Rahul DravidThe BCCI introduced a 24-hour helpline last year (see footnote) to report age and domicile fraud. Upon receiving complaints, the BCCI has launched investigations that reach out to the players’ schools, hospitals of birth, local municipalities and panchayats etc. to verify the documentation provided.Domicile fraudThe voluntary disclosure scheme will not apply to domicile fraud, which also carries a two-year ban. The number of such cases might have gone up with newer states qualifying to play Ranji Trophy in accordance with Lodha reforms. So, a player qualified to play for a more established state might find it easier to get selected for newer states.The BCCI also said players under the age of 14 would not be allowed to play in Under-16 tournaments. And those whose birth was registered more than two years after the date of birth would be allowed to play only a certain number of years in the Under-19 events. It didn’t spell out the restriction.

17 overs per sideThere was rain, rustiness and a remarkable display by a bonafide T20 great, as Trinbago Knight Riders overcame a stumble to win the opening game of CPL 2020 against Guyana Amazon Warriors. With most players getting back to cricket after layoffs longer than they’ve ever had before, the cricket was patchy in parts – but that didn’t apply to Sunil Narine. With ball in hand he showed off new tricks, and with the bat, proved just how valuable he could be for a team with the license to go for it at the top of the order.Persistent rain meant the game began 90 minutes after the scheduled start, and was reduced to 17 overs a side. A cloudy sky and a shortened match made it a straightforward decision for Kieron Pollard to bowl first on winning the toss, but he and the Knight Riders would have hoped to chase a bit less than the 144 for 5 that the Warriors got, riding on the back of Shimron Hetmyer’s 63* off 44. However, Narine – who had taken 2 for 19 in four overs – came back out to slam 50 off 28 in the chase, which provided enough of a buffer to account for a late collapse as the Knight Riders won by four wickets, with two balls to spare.The return of Narine, the mystery bowlerHe has apparently spent the Covid-19 enforced lockdown perfecting new skills, because Narine unveiled a new bowling action in his first match back. He did away with any sort of load-up, instead hiding the ball behind his hip as he ran in to bowl and delivering from there itself. He had not been easy to read for batsmen in any case, and now proved even more difficult. Crucially, he didn’t lose any bite or accuracy with the new action. He bowled two overs in the Powerplay (reduced to five overs) and then two in the middle, getting the important wickets of opener Chandrapaul Hemraj and a resurgent Ross Taylor. Narine gave up runs at 4.75 an over, and no other bowler went below 7.Hetmyer carries WarriorsWarriors had a tepid start, with Hetmyer walking in to bat in the first over itself after Brandon King had fallen for a duck. He took his time settling in, preferring to knock the ball around rather than go for big shots. The pitch too wasn’t one where it was easy to start rapidly. Hetmyer assessed that and gradually started stepping on the pace, eventually finishing with a flurry that took Warriors to a more than competitive total. Taylor had provided the initial impetus after two early wickets, which allowed Hetmyer to bide his time. Importantly, he made it count.No rustiness for NarineIn the first four overs, Narine faced only four balls as Lendl Simmons ate up deliveries and was unable to get on with it. There was nothing to show that the mounting rate and not feeling bat on ball affected Narine in any way though, as he blazed merrily away once Simmons fell. As with several Narine top-order innings, this one had its share of balls not always middled, but it also had some amazingly struck shots. Narine gave the Knight Riders enough impetus with his half-century that despite some late strikes by Imran Tahir and an impressive Naveen-ul-Haq, they had the chase within reach at all times.

The PCB has withdrawn Faisal Iqbal, the Balochistan first XI head coach, from the upcoming National T20 Cup after his NOC was delayed from his parent organisation, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). ESPNcricinfo understands the reason for the delay is becasue he is presently facing an inquiry about discrepancies between his date of birth and his name in the matriculation certificate from the one he had submitted for his employment with PIA in 2003.Iqbal was staying with his team in Muridke in a biosecure environment, a protocol for all teams playing domestic cricket. On the last day of quarantine, he, along with his assistant coach Wasim Haider, violated the protocol only to have their stay extended by five days. They were to be tested twice over and required to return negative both times before being allowed to join the team in Multan. After withdrawing Iqbal from the rest of the squad, the PCB named Haider as interim head coach for the tournament scheduled to start from September 30 in Multan.Unlike last year, all players, support staff and match officials who were offered contracts were asked to fulfill the stipulated term to obtain the NOC from their respective organisations. Unlike Iqbal, PIA has issued an NOC to their regular employees Ghulam Ali (head coach of Sindh Second XI) and Aizaz Cheema (Southern Punjab First XI), while other coaches in the system have understandably submitted their NOCs.ALSO READ: Salman Butt refuses to play National T20 Cup after Central Punjab demotes him“It would be unfair on Faisal Iqbal as well as on his side – and on the tournament – if he competed in a major domestic tournament until he had resolved and settled the matter with his parent organisation,” the PCB said in a statement. “Faisal Iqbal would be reintegrated with his domestic side as soon as PIA gave him a clean chit along with a No Objective Certificate (NOC). Until such time, Wasim Haider will act as the Balochistan cricket team’s interim head coach.”This year, the PCB had made substantial changes to the domestic set-up, bringing in new coaches with Iqbal being handed over the charge of Balochistan’s first XI team. However, there were as many as 16 coaches who lost heir jobs, including Azam Khan, Arshad Khan, Ijaz Ahmed Jnr and Kabir Khan. Abdul Razzaq is supposed to replace Kabir at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while Basit Ali, the former SNGPL coach, will take over the reins from Azam at Sindh. Shahid Anwar is in charge of Central Punjab while both Abdur Rehman (Southern Punjab) and Mohammad Wasim (Northern Punjab) were retained. All six domestic coaches will also act as national selection committee members to assist Pakistan national team coach-cum-chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq.Iqbal, 38, had a prolific career at the junior level since making the Under-15 side. But his time with the seniors has, for the most part, been marred by allegations of nepotism. His career coincided with Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq being at their prime, and thus Iqbal was never able to cement his place in the team.His domestic figures are impressive with 12,685 runs at 39.64 in 225 matches to go along with 5,979 at 42.10 in List A games. Iqbal turned his attention to coaching since he retired from all cricket in 2018, having served as the Karachi Kings’ batting coach for the last two seasons of the PSL.