All posts by n8rngtd.top

He was arrested for drink driving in Colombo on Sunday morning after he was involved in an accident that put the driver of a three-wheeler in hospital

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Apr-2019Dimuth Karunaratne has described his own behaviour as “utterly unbecoming of a Sri Lankan national cricketer” on the day he had his driving licence suspended for suspected drink driving.ALSO READ: Karunaratne arrested over drink driving after injuring a motoristHaving been involved an accident in the Borella neighbourhood of Colombo early on Sunday morning, Karunaratne was arrested and subsequently bailed, while a driver of a three-wheeler was admitted to hospital with minor injuries.The injured driver has since been discharged, but Karunaratne has assured officials and fans that he will fulfil his “moral obligation” to the injured person in an apology made on his facebook page, on Monday. Hours earlier, he had had his driving licence suspended at the Fort Magistrate in Colombo.His apology, in full:Dear Friends / Fellow SL Team members / Cricket Fans World Over / All those at Sri Lanka Cricket and each and every Sri Lankan:You may be aware of some disturbing news which occurred last morning! The vehicle I was driving back home unfortunately met with a minor accident in Colombo.I firstly need to apologize to the owner of the other vehicle who had a few very minor injuries and was absolutely decent in his manner to very amicably sort out the matter directly with me.As I type i am very pleased to note and would like to inform all of you that he has been discharged from hospital where he was under precautionary observation and is now resting at home.Rest assured that my moral obligation towards his betterment and well been will be well looked after and that’s guaranteed.This morning I produced my self in court and did follow the due Legal process of Sri Lanka and did abide by all formalities therein required . I shall continue to assist / follow with what ever Legal obligations are necessary from my end.I am very much aware that perhaps my actions were utterly unbecoming of a Sri Lankan National Cricketer and I do apologize to all of you for this incident.Thank you for your understanding on this matter during this tough time I am currently going through.Sincerely Yours
Dimuth KarunaratneBeyond whatever legal consequences Karunaratne faces, Sri Lanka Cricket may also impose their own punishments, perhaps after the legal process has concluded.Karunaratne had not only led Sri Lanka to their historic Test series win against South Africa in February, he was also being talked about by the national selectors as a prospective World Cup captain. Whether the fallout from this incident will do his World Cup chances ill remains to be seen.

Beer and Laurie Evans post half centuries as Sussex clinch win with one ball to spare

ECB Reporters Network30-Apr-2019Will Beer brilliantly shattered his best score for Sussex to hand his side a nervy one-wicket victory with one ball to spare in their Royal London One Day Cup match against Essex.Leg-spinner Beer arrived at the crease on 94 for 6 before he produced a superb 75 in a three-figure stand with Laurie Evans. Beer’s previous best was an unbeaten 45 against Durham in 2014 as he helped the Sharks on their way to an incredible win.The gutsy victory was secured when No.10 and No.11, Danny Briggs and Mir Hamza, scored the required seven off the last over to send Sussex to their fourth victory in five outings.Essex won the toss and elected to bat on the same pitch on which they beat Hampshire on two days earlier.Alastair Cook and Varun Chopra, who returned from a quad injury, put on Essex’s best opening stand in the competition so far as they reached 73 without loss.Chopra was given a life on 15 when he was dropped at first slip by Phil Salt but failed to scored a third successive format century when he was lbw to a huge George Garton in-swinger.Cook chopped onto his stumps four balls later before Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence set Essex about their total. Both were forced to be patient in their quest to find runs, firstly against a moving ball and then on a slow pitch.Other than a well-struck six straight down the ground, Lawrence appeared particularly risk averse as he reached his fourth fifty of the competition from 69 balls, shortly after Westley passed the milestone off 54 deliveries.Essex’s second mini-blip saw Westley caught on the heave to third man, having put on 104 with Lawrence, and then Ravi Bopara edged behind 13 balls later. Lawrence fell between 50 and 60 for a fourth time in an enigmatic season when he departed in an almost identical manner to Westley on 54.Ryan ten Doeschate (35), Robbie White (21) and Matt Coles (16) chipped in to take the hosts to 283 for 7 – as David Wiese ended up as the pick of the Sharks bowlers with 3 for 54.In reply, Jamie Porter struck in his third over as he used the new ball to his advantage when he jagged a delivery into Salt’s middle stump.Former England all-rounder Luke Wright passed 5,000 List A runs when he reached 25 but only scored another five runs before chipping to Chopra at short extra cover and Garton was castled by Bopara for 38.Coles, who took four wickets on his first appearance of the season against Hampshire, then entered to dismantle the Sussex middle-order.Harry Finch mistimed to Chopra in the covers before the former Kent man took the wickets of Wiese and Ben Brown in consecutive balls.Both Wiese and Brown were tempted to tickle at the ball outside the off stump to edge to Middlesex loanee Robbie White – leaving Sussex 94 for 6, having lost four wickets in 15 balls.Evans and Beer resuscitate the innings with a century stand off 126 balls. The record partnership for the seventh wicket for Sussex against Essex ended on 121 when Evans, having reached a half-century in 55-balls, steered to Coles at short fine leg off ten Doeschate.Beer, who had passed fifty for the first time in one-day cricket from 79-balls, continued his destruction with two maximums, but played one shot too many as he picked out Coles at cow corner.Abidine Sakande was run out by Porter but Hamza and Briggs held their nerves with a 24-run stand for the final wicket to secure an epic victory.

The underdogs’ roar was heard all around The Oval as Bangladesh outplayed South Africa in their World Cup opener

The Report by Liam Brickhill02-Jun-2019
As it happened: Bangladesh v South AfricaThese teams seem to bring out extremes in one another. In previous World Cups, that has meant one-sided games, in which one side completely dominated the other – as South Africa did with a 10-wicket thumping in their first encounter in Bloemfontein in 2003. Four years later, it was Bangladesh’s turn to bring the pain as an array of left-arm spinners sent South Africa spiralling to a 67-run defeat at Providence. The pendulum swung back when Bangladesh wilted to 78 all out under lights in Mirpur in 2011. And now it’s swung once more, Bangladesh excelling to soar to a 21-run win.That result would make this officially the closest South Africa-Bangladesh match in ODI history, but on a day when South Africa were outplayed in all departments, that wasn’t saying much. This was Bangladesh’s second ever World Cup win over South Africa and, hinting at the momentum they have behind them, their fifth win in their last five completed ODIs.South Africa’s fast bowlers huffed and they puffed, but they couldn’t blow Bangladesh’s house down. In fact, it was quite the opposite, as Bangladesh’s batsmen studded their innings Manhattan with skyscrapers.ALSO READ – Shakib, the quickest to 5000 runs and 250 wickets in ODIsAlong the way, Bangladesh’s achievements, collective and individual, were both many and noteworthy. Shakib Al Hasan became the first Bangladeshi – and fastest cricketer – to the double of 250 wickets and 5,000 runs in ODIs, getting there quicker than the likes of Shahid Afridi and Jacques Kallis. Bangladesh reached 330 for 6, their highest total in ODIs, smashing their previous best against South Africa by 52 runs.That they soared so high was thanks mainly to a 142-run stand between Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim, which is also Bangladesh’s highest in World Cups. Together they built on the solid early efforts of Soumya Sarkar, who took on the short ball with gumption, showing echoes of his early outings against the South Africans at home way back in 2015, when he ramped and hooked his way to 205 runs in three innings to help his team to a 2-1 series win.Today, he got his team off to an excellent start with a fluid 60-run opening stand with Tamim Iqbal. South Africa clearly had a plan with the ball, and Faf du Plessis said as much at the toss, telegraphing his intentions by saying: “We’re playing the extra seamer today so we want to try and attack Bangladesh with some extra pace.” But once Bangladesh showed they were happy to take the short ball on, South Africa floundered for a back-up.There was much fanfare about the potential in South Africa’s bowling attack before this tournament. Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi and Imran Tahir are all match-winners in their own right, and having all four in the same line-up was South Africa’s Plan A. But Steyn is yet to recover from the shoulder flare-up that cut short his IPL jaunt, Ngidi limped off with a tweaked hamstring after bowling four wicketless overs in which he leaked seven boundaries, and Rabada endured one of his rare off days, conceding 0 for 57 in his ten overs.Worse still, South Africa had one of their worst days in recent memory in the field. The trouble started as early as the fifth over, when a regulation edge flew right between du Plessis and Aiden Markram in the slips, gifting Sarkar a second life. Then, as the partnership between Shakib and Mushfiqur grew, South African shoulders sagged and their energy in the field flatlined.Misfields aplenty – and most egregious of all, Chris Morris’ amateurish effort at short fine leg when Mushfiqur swept a ball from Tahir almost straight to him in the 20th over – eased the pressure whenever it started to build. Shakib was first to his fifty, getting there in the 26th over, Mushfiqur following him to the mark three overs later. Neither could kick on to three figures, but Mahmudullah ensured their efforts were not wasted, and Bangladesh’s innings crescendoed as 54 runs came from the final four overs.South Africa’s batting was equally rudderless. Quinton de Kock, so vital to South Africa’s success at home last summer, was dismissed inside the Powerplay, and though Nos. 2 to 6 all scored 38 or more, and got themselves in, none was able to kick on, bat through, and see their team home. Every time they needed one, Bangladesh were able to conjure a wicket. The final result might suggest this was the closest match in these two teams’ shared one-day history, but the reality was that there were very few moments when South Africa were not left chasing the game.

Harmer back in the wickets after Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom Westley build Essex lead

David Hopps at Chelmsford08-Jul-2019″It’s not all about me,” Simon Harmer might have pleaded on a day when others contributed significantly to Essex’s commanding position at Chelmsford. But at least symbolically it was because when Harmer had Tom Kohler-Cadmore lbw with a sharply turning short ball minutes before the close it emphasised the extent of the challenge that lies ahead for Yorkshire.Kohler-Cadmore out on the pull should not be a surprise for all those vaguely aware of the WhatsApp group which found such disfavour with the ECB (he was fined £2000 and given a retrospective ban last week).But Harmer has been plucking wickets all season with the craving of a blackbird tearing at a cherry tree. Feeding time will resume around 11 o’clock in the morning.When he made good use of his four overs at the tail-end of the day, drawing regular turn from a dry surface, it left Yorkshire 38 for 3 at stumps, still 82 runs behind, and needing somehow to add substance to the expected platitudes that they can still win the game.Essex have outdone them in all aspects. They have also fielded the more impressive pace attack. Peter Siddle chipped out two new-ball wickets – swinging one through the gate to bowl Will Fraine and then having Gary Ballance caught at the wicket, the excellence of the ball only outdone by the quality of Adam Wheater’s diving catch in front of first slip. Jamie Porter is forever dangerous at Chelmsford and the young livewire Aaron Beard is in the best form of his career, swinging the ball away at a fullish length and a decent pace.They also batted with far more resilience than Yorkshire to build a first-innings lead of 120. Tom Westley’s 81 was his highest score of the season and Ryan ten Doeschate’s unbeaten 70 was only his second Championship score of note this season.Ryan ten Doeschate played a counterattacking hand•Getty Images

Yorkshire’s short-term overseas signing, the South Africa left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, faced a formidable challenge in having to rival Harmer’s exploits. He rounded up Essex’s first innings with two wickets in two balls. The dismissal of Beard, bowled for 41, and Porter, caught at slip first ball, gave him highly respectable figures of 36-11-93-3. In exerting such control, he had done a job that no other Yorkshire spinner could do. It is just that you could argue that it was the wrong job.He succeeded more as a holding spinner not an attacking spinner and on the sort of pitches Essex seek to create for Harmer, an attacking option is what you need. If you exclude one of ten Doeschate’s two straight sixes, which was a bit offside-ish, Maharaj did not concede a single boundary on the off side. He conceded eight more leg-side boundaries as Essex milked the region throughout the innings without much threat to their outside edge.Where Yorkshire had played skittishly in making 208, adopting the attitude that they must make their runs while they could, Essex approached their task in a more disciplined fashion.The challenge of Essex’s batsmen is to make runs on a home turf that is proving so problematic for opposing batsmen. Sir Alastair Cook has led the way in that this season. Westley, who has resisted overtures from Kent to sign a new three-year contract, came good and Rishi Patel deserved commendation for the way he sweated 124 balls over 35.It was a circumspect morning. Essex added only 71 runs in 32 overs and Westley needed nearly half-an-hour to add to his overnight 52. But Essex’s serious intent was apparent. They ground out a stand of 68 in 38 overs, at which point Patel placed Matt Fisher into the hands of short midwicket who had been placed there for that eventuality.Even so, Yorkshire make inroads with the second new ball – Westley had fallen lbw to Duanne Olivier just before it was due – and at 22 for 7, a 14-run lead, Essex were vulnerable. It was then that ten Doeschate delivered. He had been struggling for runs since his century against Surrey at Kia Oval in the second round of matches and his regaining of form is yet another reason to anticipate that Essex will push Somerset deep into September – perhaps until the last match at Taunton – for the title.

Coach plays down speculation about Henry Nicholls moving to top of the order

Melinda Farrell27-Jun-2019Gary Stead is backing Colin Munro and Martin Guptill at the top of the order as New Zealand aim to bounce back from their first loss of the World Cup, against Pakistan.The openers have struggled to make runs since their first match of the tournament and there has been speculation that one of them could make way for Henry Nicholls against Australia at Lord’s on Saturday.But Stead played down the chances of any changes, pointing to Nicholl’s relative inexperience opening the batting. Nicholls has batted in the middle order for most of his ODI career, although he opened in four matches earlier this year against India and Bangladesh.”He’s definitely an option but Henry hasn’t done a lot of [opening] either,” said Stead. “But Henry’s definitely an option we’ll consider.”We’ll review it again when we get down to London but there are only 15 players here and you pick people to do certain roles as well. We have to balance up current form with, I guess, the roles that we are trying to play with the guys.”An unbroken Guptill and Munro partnership successfully chased 137 against Sri Lanka at the start of New Zealand’s campaign but since that match the returns have been comparatively slight. Guptill has made two ducks and a total of 65 runs in five innings since that and Munro’s numbers have been similar; one duck and 67 runs.”Look it’s no secret, Colin and Martin got away to a great start in the Sri Lankan game and runs have been a bit scarce since then,” said Stead. “But they’re not the only openers in the competition that haven’t got runs and we only have 15 players in the squad. So you start weighing up what does that look like in terms of changing too much in the team and that’s something we certainly don’t want to have, wholesale changes everywhere in our order.”There is no disputing Guptill’s value at the top of the order – he averages a tick under 43 in 175 ODIs – and while Munro averages a more modest 24.92, his explosive hitting in the Powerplay has given New Zealand rapid starts in the past.”There’s no doubt that if he does do that then he can change the game really quickly,” said Stead. “So again that’s part of our thinking and our hope that can be the case. You saw against Sri Lanka what Colin and Martin can do if they get in.”It’s getting later on in the tournament and it hasn’t happened regularly but that’s cricket. We can’t have everything go our way, the way we want, because if they batted very well you wouldn’t be able to see the skills of Kane Williamson on order either.”That last comment was made with tongue-in-cheek humour, of course, but New Zealand have relied on Williamson and Ross Taylor to shore up the innings after early losses several times throughout the tournament. Stead said the openers weren’t trying to be overly aggressive rather than set up a solid base.”We are trying to do that we are trying to get a base,” said Stead. “But sometimes you get good balls or you’re a little bit out of form and those things happen in cricket.”Colin hasn’t got off to lightning starts in any of the games, he’s just trying to play good cricket shots and that’s just all our guys try and do all the time.”New Zealand has yet to cement a semi-final berth and next face Australia, a side very much on a roll, before taking on what could be a desperate England side, fighting for a place in the top four.”I never expected we’d go through the whole tournament, play and be unbeaten,” said Stead. “There’s only one team that’s like that at this stage and that’s India and they are a very good team as well so I think when you play nine games in a round robin and you look at the numbers, there’s maybe five or six games you need to win, that’s ultimately our target first up.”A defining feature of Australia’s victory over England at Lord’s was their decision to play and open with two left-arm quicks, a masterstroke that paid off with Jason Behrendorff taking five wickets and Mitchell Starc collecting four. Stead expects Australia will also take note of Pakistan’s successful tactic of opening with left armers Mohammed Amir and Shaheem Afridi, who bowled a particularly destructive new-ball spell.”In some ways it’s good because Pakistan had three seamers against us and we probably expect, after Behrendorff’s success at Lord’s as well, that he’s likely to play again,” said Stead. “We certainly won’t take that for granted but we’ll plan to have two left armers play against us. But it’s good we’ve had that, I guess, exposure to left armers, in the last game. But this is a completely new wicket and a different surface and part of what we try to do is adapt to different situations and hopefully we can do that in this next game.”I also think that our bowlers have done a really, really good job for us so far and the talk here before we came into this tournament was that they were all going to be 350 wickets and we haven’t had one close to that so I think your bowlers are the guys who will keep us in the game and if we play well as a team then we think we are every chance against Australia.”

Broad ‘absolutely’ expects to play Test cricket with new-ball partner again

George Dobell in Manchester02-Sep-2019James Anderson has “a lot of cricket left in him,” according to his long-term new-ball partner, Stuart Broad.Anderson was forced to admit defeat in his attempt to battle back from a calf injury to play in the final two Tests of the Ashes series. But despite his age – Anderson is now 37 – and the fact the injury has lingered longer than most expected, Broad says he “absolutely” expects to play Test cricket with him again.Anderson originally sustained the injury while representing Lancashire at the start of July. Having missed the Test against Ireland, he was recalled for the first Test of the Ashes series but was forced off the pitch having bowled just four overs. After bowling 20 overs in the first innings of a second XI match for Lancashire in recent days, there was hope he would be fit for a recall for the fourth Test in Manchester. But he experienced a recurrence of the problem while bowling in the second innings and was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season. That means he will finish this season without a Test wicket in an English summer for the first time since 2006.Given Anderson’s age, it was inevitable that such an episode would provoke discussion over his future. Most fast bowlers have already retired by the time they are Anderson’s age but, such is his long-term fitness record and his desire to continue to represent England, few involved with the Test side expect him to retire at this stage. England play Test series in New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka over the 2019-20 season.”He has a lot of cricket left in him,” Broad said. “From the conversations I’ve had with him, he’s looking at the winter and getting fit and wanting to be on that trip.”I had in my mind the idea that it was almost written in the stars that he would be back and open the bowling at the James Anderson End and bowl us to victory. But that’s not going to happen.”I called him straight away when I heard the news on social media. He said, ‘I just need to get it right for the winter tours now’.”He’s obviously very disappointed. He’s put his heart and soul into getting back to full fitness. He’s done everything he possibly could. So he’s frustrated. He’s going to have a period of time of ifs and buts – what if I’d done this; could I have done that – but also it’s important for him to have a bit of a break and look forward to future challenges. I think he’s realistic.”It’s not impossible Broad and Anderson could play together in New Zealand. While England had originally planned to rest their top players from the New Zealand Test series, which is not part of the World Test Championship (WTC), there is now more thought towards resting players from the T20I series that precedes it and playing something like a full-strength side in the Tests. This would not only underline the side’s new prioritisation of the red ball game – something that may become a feature of Ashley Giles’ tenure as director of the men’s side – but ensure they are well prepared ahead of the four-match Test series against South Africa that follows soon afterwards.Either way, Broad felt that the cycle of change that has tended to coincide with the end of the Ashes series – they have marked the end of many careers – may be altered by the introduction of the WTC.”It’s quite exciting with this World Test Championship,” Broad said. “It doesn’t feel like the Ashes series is the new cycle anymore, it feels like that World Test Championship Final is the new cycle. I know a few of the older players are looking more towards that than an Ashes series.”England’s training on Monday was curtailed by rain in Manchester. With Graham Thorpe absent with a back injury, Jonathan Trott filled in as a batting coach – he is with the team for the two training days ahead of the match – with Mark Chilton, one of the Lancashire coaches, and Ant Botha, one of the Nottinghamshire coaches, also helping out. Several fringe Lancashire players bowled to both sides in the nets, with 18-year-old left-arm spinner Jack Morley impressing while bowling to Steve Smith.

They have decided not to participate in any cricket activity until their demands for improvement of the game in their country is met

Mohammad Isam21-Oct-2019Bangladesh’s cricketers have decided not to participate in any cricket activity for the foreseeable future until their demands for the improvement of cricket in the country are met. The immediate impact of their action will be on the National Cricket League first-class tournament, currently in progress, the training camp for next month’s tour of India, and possibly the tour itself.ALSO READ: BCB takes charge of next edition of BPL after fallout with team ownersThe players released a list of 11 demands, including a reversal of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision last month to abandon the Bangladesh Premier League’s franchise-based model. Those present at the press conference, at the National Cricket Academy in Dhaka, included Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah.”Everything is included,” Shakib said, when asked specifically about the pre-tour camp. “Apart from the Under-19s and the other age-group teams, all first-class and national teams are included. From today. From the National Cricket League to first-class, national team preparations, internationals… everything is included.”ALSO READ: ‘BPL not the place to make a player’ – ShakibNizamuddin Chowdhury, the BCB chief executive, said the board would react only once the demands are presented to them formally and they know the details.Asked what response they anticipated from the board, Shakib said solutions would be found when the demands were met or discussed. “When the demands are met, normal service will resume,” he said. “All of us want cricket to improve. Some of us will play for another ten years, some for four-five years, but we want to create a good environment for the players who will come after us, so Bangladesh cricket can move forward.”The state of cricket in the country had triggered simmering discontent among the players, which led to a number of them coming together and putting together a list of demands/grievances, which are as follows:

• The leadership of the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh must step down immediately, as the president and vice-president are both BCB directors. The players will vote to elect the next committee
• The Dhaka Premier League must go back to its former avatar, where players had the option of choosing the teams they wanted to play for and could negotiate their salaries with the clubs
• The Bangladesh Premier League must return to its earlier franchise-based model, and local players must be allowed to have similar base prices as overseas players
• The salaries in first-class cricket are too low; they must be increased to Tk 1 lakh (US$ 1200 approx.) per match [a hike of around 300%]
• Gyms, indoor nets, grounds, etc must be improved across the country, and the teams should have round-the-year coaches and physios. Quality of balls and daily allowances to players must also improve, and the team hotels must be above one- or two-star standards, with gyms and swimming pools
• The number of centrally contracted players must be increased to 30, and the retainers should go up too
• Salaries of groundsmen, local coaches, umpires, physios and trainers must be raised to professionalise the system
• There are two domestic first-class tournaments, but one each for one-day cricket and T20 cricket; one more one-day and T20 tournament must be introduced
• A proper calendar for domestic tournaments must be put in place
• The pending payments from the Dhaka Premier League should be cleared by the stipulated time
• When free of national or domestic duties, players must be allowed more than two NOCs to play in overseas franchise leagues

Shakib clarified that women cricketers were not included in the developments but added that they were welcome to join. “We haven’t been able to include the women cricketers here, because it was done in a rush,” he explained. “If they have any demands, they are most welcome to join us. I am sure they have grievances too. If they come to us and join us, we will be able to put forward their demands too.”BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus seemed amenable to the players’ wants but was worried about how everything has played out.”Is this a step to destabilise our cricket? This is also a question now. The whole scenario is a surprise to us,” he told . “Most of their demands are logical — with none being such that cannot be met. And most of their demands have or are already being implemented. For instance, their demand for BPL to go back to being a franchisee-based league, is already being implemented as we already mentioned that this edition of BPL is a special edition [with the tournament run by the board without any franchises]. And all their other demands are also negotiable.”However, this whole 11-point demand came as a surprise and a shock because they never came to us [the BCB] with the demands before; instead they went straight to the media with an ultimatum which is quite alarming for Bangladesh cricket.”

Bravo backed Pooran following his ball-tampering ban, saying the youngster is “far from that type of player”

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2019Former West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo has called Nicholas Pooran’s attempts at altering the condition of the ball during West Indies’ third ODI against Afghanistan a “silly mistake”.”I know Pooran since he was 17 years old and he is not that type of player,” Bravo said on Thursday in Abu Dhabi where he will be playing in the T10 tournament as Maratha Arabians’ captain. “Yes, that (ball-tampering) happened, the evidence is there. But deep down inside he doesn’t mean anything [bad] to cheat or anything.”ALSO READ: Dwayne Bravo hints at international comebackPooran was banned for four T20Is after video footage showed him scratching the surface of the ball with his thumbnail. He admitted to the offence, a breach of level 3 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct, and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad.In his defence, the young batsman said it was an “isolated” incident, which would not be repeated as it was an “extreme error in judgment” on his part.Pooran will now miss the ongoing three-match T20I series against Afghanistan and the opening match of the subsequent exchanges against India.Bravo said Pooran needed to be given time to understand his mistake. “It is just a silly mistake on his part,” Bravo said. “He accepted it. But I know the individual personally, and that is not something he will ever do or encourage anyone to do. It is just a simple mistake, he gets caught, he accepts it, but he is far from that type of player.”

Faf du Plessis agrees that while the set-up needs inputs from past players, the board cannot always afford them

Firdose Moonda26-Oct-2019Cricket South Africa (CSA) needs deeper pockets if it wants former international players to be involved in their structure and programmes, according to captain Faf du Plessis. In the aftermath of what he called the “toughest part of my captaincy journey”, which has included a poor World Cup, a drubbing in India, and several high-profile retirements, du Plessis explained that while an inexperienced South African set-up need inputs from past greats, they cannot always afford them.”It’s obvious that we need to make more use of our ex-players and especially our experienced players, but it also comes with challenges,” he said. “I know for a fact that we have tried to get them involved, but I suppose it always comes down to a financial point of view. The financial thing is a hurdle at the moment but if that wasn’t a hurdle, most definitely.”ALSO READ: Du Plessis calls on CSA for certainty over director of cricket, team directorWhile he did not specifically name the players who had been approached, ESPNcricinfo understands that both Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock were spoken with, but had declined offers. There are also several other players scattered around the scene, who could have been of use. Former captain Graeme Smith was part of the commentary team in India, while recent retiree Hashim Amla was an analyst for the South African broadcaster . He was joined by Makhaya Ntini and former national coach Eric Simons. Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and Morne Morkel, who have all retired in the last 18 months, have not been involved at all.All these names form part of the group of experienced players that du Plessis has called on to help lift South African cricket out of its current situation. “We need experience in the team right now and that comes from ex-players. It’s great that there are three franchise coaches now that have played international cricket: Robin Peterson, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher. That’s a great thing,” du Plessis said, though he missed naming Imraan Khan, who coaches the Dolphins and played one Test in 2009. “We need to make sure that the experience and knowledge in our country – we use it to the best of our ability.”Interim CSA director of cricket Corrie van Zyl echoed du Plessis’s thoughts, saying the “door is open” to former players, not just with the national team but at the levels below. “We would like to go to players like Hashim and say if it can’t happen at Proteas level, can you help with high performance [teams]?” Van Zyl said.Enoch Nkwe, the interim team director, agree, but like du Plessis, indicated that former players were not always available.”How do we get those ex-players, those great minds involved in the game? Not only at national level. We’ve seen it with England where Ian Bell is working with the under-19s. I know the likes of JP Duminy are interested in working with lower levels, where they feel they can make an impact and get young players prepared,” he said. “It is a direction that CSA wants to take but it’s a matter of are those individuals available, because they also have other commitments.”Ashwell Prince was in India overseeing a South African spin camp•Getty Images

Those “other commitments”, if you read between du Plessis’ lines, are the opportunities to make money elsewhere. Smith, Pollock and Amla are believed to be paid more by broadcasters than CSA can afford. Similarly, du Plessis indicated money could be the reason players who retire don’t stay in the domestic set-up, where they can mentor the next generation.”Unfortunately, in South Africa right now, players that retire from international cricket are not going to stay and play domestic cricket. They will either play overseas or retire completely,” du Plessis said. “To have players like Hashim Amla and those guys, you can’t expect them to go back and play four-day cricket because they won’t. They won’t do that, they’ve been in the international game for so long, they are either going to move on to different pastures – not necessarily greener pastures – or they will completely stop.”I don’t think it’s a real expectation to have, to say those guys must go and play domestic cricket because I don’t think it’s a reality that will most likely ever be met.”None of Amla, Steyn, Duminy or Morkel play four-day cricket in South Africa, neither does Imran Tahir, who remains available for T20I selection. That leaves South Africa’s domestic system without a wealth of experience, a problem that remains even when the current crop of internationals are available. They rarely play franchise cricket because of the demands of their schedules and, in the immediate term, the need for time out after a tough tour.”I do believe in the national players going back and playing domestic cricket as well and the conversations do take place, but it’s also about the international player. The guys who play ten months of the year on the road, it’s also important for them to have a break and have some mental freshness,” du Plessis said.”Some guys will play in the four-day games now but some are not, because what’s required now is a bit of time away from the game. India was a really tough tour, mentally, and to just say to them ‘now you have to go and play’ won’t be the right way to go about it. If a guy doesn’t want to go and play, what’s the point of him playing? There will be no benefit.”Still, Rory Kleinveldt has called for du Plessis himself to lead from the front and play in the round of first-class fixtures which begin on Monday. That is unlikely, not least because Cape Town resident du Plessis continues to be associated with the Pretoria-based Titans’ team, which is laden with national players already.Dean Elgar, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen are the other batsmen with the Titans and it could be argued that at least two of them – de Bruyn and Klaasen – need more game time than du Plessis. And all four cannot be included anyway because of transformation requirements.The complicated requirements of South Africa’s selection also make it difficult for former players to find a spot, which was CSA’s argument behind expanding the top tier to 12 teams, which South Africa Cricketers’ Association is opposing in court. Du Plessis admitted he “does not know a lot about domestic structures, because I don’t spend a lot of time in domestic structures” but said if more teams meant more playing positions, he would be in favour of it.”The most obvious is that you are getting more players playing the game and that’s ideally a good scenario. The bigger the pool that we as the Proteas can pick from, the better.”Actually, the opposite will happen. Currently, South Africa’s domestic scene has space for 66 cricketers to play each week in the six franchises and 143 players in the 13-team provincial structure, which also has first-class status, though it is a second-tier competition. That’s a total of 209 players in action every weekend and does not take into account the few dozen on the sidelines.Collapsing the franchise and provincial structure into one tier, which is CSA’s intention, will reduce the total player number to 132, which means 77 fewer active cricketers. While du Plessis genuinely may not know the intricacies of this system, or may have disregarded the provincial system in his initial calculation because it is lower tier, the impact of the domestic restructure is clear: South Africa will have a thinner pipeline, something it can ill-afford from a playing point of view but needs to do financially.Lest we forget, CSA are still estimating debt over the next four-year cycle as being at R654 million (approx. US$ 44.8 million) and are looking to cut costs wherever they can. And that speaks to du Plessis’ first point that CSA’s pockets are not deep enough for their former players. But it also speaks to a less obvious issue, that perhaps the former players themselves are wary of becoming involved at CSA. This is a subject that is spoken about in hushed tones and in off-the-record conversations, but it is starting to show its head. Jacques Rudolph has blamed the administration for the current decline. While CSA tries to put out legal fires on several fronts, they are losing credibility among the very people who are their strongest currency: the players. And that is something they cannot afford at all.

Iyer and Pant had given India a good total to defend, but Hetmyer’s aggression and Hope’s composure won the day

The Report by Sidharth Monga15-Dec-20193:01

Hope drops anchor, India’s top order flops

Shimron Hetmyer played one of the great innings in a chase against India in India to rattle the hosts, who had assumed West Indies had made a mistake asking them to bat first. It was a bittersweet day for India as Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant rescued them from an early wobble, showing signs of a stable middle order beginning to form.However, India’s lack of penetration – Ravindra Jadeja was their fourth specialist bowler – in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah was exposed brutally by Hetmyer, who hit 11 fours and seven sixes in his 106-ball 139. At the other end, Shai Hope walked the tightrope between the kind of innings that binds a chase and one so slow that it puts undue pressure on the other batsmen. He came out unbeaten on 102 off 151, emphatically stating which side of the rope he was on.The two sides read the conditions completely differently. India were happy to bat first on a “dry” surface that Virat Kohli felt would be broken up by spikes. India’s approach, though, remained confounding as they played debutant Shivam Dube and Kedar Jadhav as their fifth bowler. They ended up conceding the highest successful chase at Chepauk. It would appear the pitch kept getting quicker as it dried from the extra moisture left to keep the pitch together.Sheldon Cottrell caused serious damage while the moisture kept the pitch slow. This was the first time since the World Cup semi-final exit that none of India’s top three scored a half-century. Two of them went down to Cottrell who kept bowling cutters with the new ball. Both KL Rahul and Kohli fell in his fourth over, Rahul getting a leading edge and Kohli uncharacteristically falling into the trap of a free single to third man and playing on. India 25 for 2.After Cottrell’s first spell of 5-3-12-2, some of the pressure was released by the erroneous Hayden Walsh. That is why Rohit Sharma will be more disappointed that he fell to the slowness of the surface after getting himself in for a 56-ball 36.Unlike the World Cup semi-final, India had cause for optimism in the way Iyer and Pant rebuilt the innings from 80 for 3 without going into their shells for too long. Pant in particular played a seemingly restrained innings but still finished with a strike rate of over 100. Tortured by taunting calls of “Dhoni, Dhoni” all over India, Pant now had Dhoni’s “home” crowd of Chennai chanting “Ree-shabh Pant, Ree-shabh Pant”.It was Pant’s urgency after a start of six off 16 that allowed Iyer to go about his business. Neither of them took any outrageous risk as they stepped up the run rate. They added 114 at better than a run a ball after scoring just 12 off the first 33 balls they faced. Pant was 27 when Iyer got to 45; the two got to their half-centuries in successive overs. As they looked to kick into the next gear, both fell to aerial shots, underlining some of the trickiness remained.Rishabh Pant gets down on one knee to sweep over backward square leg•BCCI

West Indies bowled smartly into the surface towards the end of the innings, conceding just 71 off the last 10 overs despite the returning Jadhav scoring 40 off 35.India’s last bit of joy on the night came through the early dismissal of Sunil Ambris. This pitch had quickened up noticeably, and Hetmeyer batted with scant respect for a limited attack. After the first two boundaries off the edge, the rest was mostly clean and sensational hitting.Once the new-ball bowlers had bowled their four-over spells, Hetmyer began to prey on the toothlesness of India’s attack. He hit boundaries in each of Dube’s first two overs, which went for a combined 15, and then hit Jadhav out of the attack with two fours in what turned out to be his only over. Now he went to put Kuldeep Yadav under pressure, unfurling the slog sweep. Against Jadeja he sat back and waited for the eventual drag-down, and hit them for successvie sixes in the 22nd over. It was particularly frustrating for spinners to bowl to Hetmyer because he used the crease expertly to late-cut even good-length deliveries. The ball to drag him onto the front foot had to be half-volleys, which he easily scored off.India needed wickets, but all they could turn to was Dube and Jadeja. This went against India’s philosophy of the last two years when they packed their attack with bowlers who could take wickets in the middle overs. They had done the same in the deciding T20I earlier in the week, but now they were forced to go back to Shami. And Hetmyer was disdainful of him, hitting him for a four and a ferociously pulled six.West Indies were now 149 for 1 after 26 overs, Hetmyer was 90 off 70, and the chase looked all but done. India received a lucky break when Hetmyer came down with painful cramps in the next over. Eight overs went by with no boundaries. While the asking rate still remained under six for the last 16 overs, there might have been that itch for release. Amid that, Chahar, the only bowler to have gone at under a run a ball against Hetmyer, produced a mistimed pull, but Iyer dropped it at long-on.That proved to be India’s last chance as Hetmyer went on another assault, picking apart Jadeja with successive sixes and Dube with a six and a four off successive balls. After Hetmyer fell, leaving West Indies 59 to get off 68 balls, Hope made sure there were no hiccups. He knew he would have at least four overs from Dube or Jadhav to feast upon, which meant Kuldeep’s last two overs for four runs failed to preoduce any pressure.