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Under the ICC playing conditions the third umpire is meant to monitor the front line and relay any no-balls

Andrew McGlashan09-Dec-2021Ben Stokes denied himself a wicket in his first over back in Test cricket when he bowled David Warner with a no-ball. It soon transpired that he had overstepped on the first three deliveries of the over as well – but a broken system meant they weren’t called by the third umpire under the new protocols.It was later confirmed that the technology put in place to allow the TV official to monitor the frontline had gone down before the match started so this Test is being played under the previous playing conditions where only wicket-taking deliveries are checked. Host broadcaster Channel Seven later showed that in Stokes’ first five overs there had been 14 no-balls with only one called on field.Warner was on 17 during the second morning when he played around a full delivery but Stokes almost aborted his celebration, as if fearing that he was over the front line. Shortly after the non-dismissal the host broadcasters replayed footage of the start of the over and Stokes had no-balled each time.England bowler coach Jon Lewis said after the day’s play that it was frustrating that Stokes had not had the opportunity to adjust his delivery when he initially overstepped. It was the first time since an ODI in 2014 that Stokes at played at the Gabba.”Would be the first time he’s run-up from that end for eight years so he’ll need some feedback from the umpires as to understand where his feet are to then make an adjustment,” Lewis said. “If you don’t know where your feet are it’s very hard. Would have been nice for the first no-ball to be called then he’d have made the adjustment and from there he would have been behind the line because he knows where his feet are landing.”The ICC first trialled the use of the TV umpire monitoring the front line every delivery in 2019 and it was used for the first time in Test cricket when England played Pakistan in 2020.The ICC playing conditions for the World Test Championship state: “The third umpire shall review television replays of the bowler’s front foot landing and, if he/she is satisfied that any of these three conditions have not been met, he/she shall immediately advise the bowler’s end umpire who shall in turn immediately call and signal No-ball.”Joe Root maintained a diplomatic stance when speaking briefly to Fox Cricket during the drinks break. “Slightly frustrating but we can’t let that get to us,” he said.This is Stokes’ first Test match since March following his break from the game and he has had very little proper preparation leading into the series due to the poor weather in Brisbane.During the 2013-14 Ashes, Stokes was denied his first Test wicket when he had Brad Haddin caught behind off a no-ball in Adelaide.On England’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2018, broadcasters counted as many as 12 no-balls missed by the umpires during one five-over spell. In the 2019-2020 Australia-Pakistan series, Channel Seven tallied up to 21 had been missed during two sessions on the second day in Brisbane.

The Test continued but very few were able to follow it for part of the morning session

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2021A major power outage at the Gabba resulted in television coverage of the fourth day’s play going off air during the morning session as the opening Ashes Test continued be hampered by technical issues.The world feed – which is taken by all broadcasters with coverage of the match – went down midway through the session leaving the majority of viewers in the dark. Channel Seven, who share coverage with Fox Sports in Australia, were able to provide some pictures with their own cameras at the venue but that, too, was interrupted for a period.Occasionally there was a view provided from just one end of the ground as broadcasters scrambled to get pictures back on air. The DRS was also unavailable during this time. After a 25-minute period of disruption, power was restored shortly after the drinks break and full coverage resumed across networks.Related

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Radio commentary was able to continue during the blackout as Australian broadcaster ABC has a presence at the venue.”We’ve very sorry,” Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley told reporters in Sydney. “It hasn’t been ideal. These things happen. My understanding of the situation, and we will get full details and a full report, is it was an issue with one of the generators.”Very appreciative of everyone who worked very quickly to get the feeds and signal back up and running. We can only apologise to the fans.”There have been technical difficulties throughout this match, with the technology that allows the third umpire to adjudicate front-foot no-balls unavailable while Snicko has not been working as part of the DRS.Both of those problems emerged shortly before the match with Queensland border restrictions meaning further support could not be brought to the ground while technicians who are at the venue were not allowed to leave.The lack of Snicko came to the fore on the third day when Australia thought Dawid Malan had edged behind. The absence of the no-ball system only became apparent on the second day when Ben Stokes dismissed David Warner but had overstepped, with replays then showing his first three deliveries had all been no-balls.Broadcasters have been working with severely scaled-back production staff at the Gabba due to the restrictions put in place by the Queensland government. The full DRS is expected to be available in Adelaide.

Will be available for the first half of the Championship season and the group stages of the Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2022Naseem Shah, Pakistan’s teenage tearaway fast bowler, has signed for Gloucestershire to play in the County Championship and T20 Blast as an overseas player.Naseem, 18, has played nine Tests since his debut against Australia in November 2019, the most recent coming against New Zealand 12 months ago.He is one of Gloucestershire’s three confirmed overseas signings for 2022, with two permitted in each playing XI across competitions. Marcus Harris, the Australia opener, has signed an all-formats deal, while Naseem’s compatriot Zafar Gohar will be on a pay-as-you-play deal for the early months of the season before moving to a full contract after Naseem’s departure.Naseem is due to be available for the first half of the Championship season and the group stages of the Blast, which are expected to run until early July. He could return earlier if called up for Pakistan’s rescheduled ODI series against West Indies in June, which is due to impact the availability of several players with county contracts for 2022 including Shaheen Shah Afridi (Middlesex) and Mohammad Rizwan (Sussex).”I’m extremely happy to be joining Gloucestershire and can’t wait to experience playing in English cricket for the first time,” Naseem said. “I’m excited for what we can achieve as a team next season and will use all my skills to help Gloucestershire challenge for silverware across all formats.”Gloucestershire are due to play in Division One of the Championship for the first time since 2005, following their promotion in 2019 which has been delayed for two years by the Covid-19 pandemic. They recently announced the appointments of Steve Snell and Dale Benkenstein as their performance director and head coach respectively, and are due to appoint a new captain in the coming months.”Naseem Shah is a fantastic talent and we’re thrilled that he’s decided to come and join us for next season,” Snell said. “Naseem will bring further depth to our pace-bowling department and will provide exciting competition for places in our seam-bowling ranks.”I have heard fantastic things about Naseem’s attitude and his willingness to stand up in the tough moments in games. I’ve got no doubt that Naseem, with the quality he has, will give us a great chance of achieving success.”

Imran Tahir and Shahnawaz Dahani picked up three wickets each as Zalmi crumbled against the scoreboard pressure

Danyal Rasool05-Feb-2022The last few days have seen the six PSL teams split down the middle, and this was another instance of the top three pulling away. Multan Sultans made it five wins in five with a demolition of Peshawar Zalmi, amassing 222 batting first. There was yet another masterclass from Mohammad Rizwan, who struck a classy 53-ball 82, and yet another knock of brute force from Tim David, who bludgeoned an unbeaten 51 off 19 balls to rocket his side to the second-highest score of the tournament. The scoreboard pressure meant Zalmi were never really in the chase, and as the asking rate climbed in the middle overs, Wahab Riaz’s side imploded. Almost invariably, Imran Tahir sliced through Zalmi in the middle overs, his three wickets helping keep Zalmi to 165 and inflict a 57-run defeat.Wahab had said he might bat first after winning the toss, but put in that position, he opted to insert Sultans in. Four of the first six overs saw two boundaries scored each as Shan Masood and Rizwan powered their side to 61 by the end of the powerplay. When Shoaib Malik finally had Masood carve to backward point, Sultans had built the perfect platform with 85 in nine overs. It gave the incoming batters the freedom to attack from the get-go, but Sohaib Maqsood’s little cameo was only a warm-up act for what David was about to unleash.A six and a four off the first two balls set the tempo, and when he mauled Wahab into the sightscreen, forcing the bowler to go around the wicket, the skies were darkening around the men in yellow. Rizwan was now the support act, and within a blink, David had surged to 50 off 18 balls, the joint-fastest in this year’s PSL. Even Rizwan’s dismissal in the penultimate over brought little respite to Zalmi as Khushdil Shah took Wahab to the cleaners with three successive sixes in the 20th over as Sultans smashed 127 in the last nine overs.For the briefest time – the first five overs to be specific – it appeared we might have the semblance of a game on as Hazratullah Zazai and Haider Ali got off to a brisk start. Shahnawaz Dahani – who had a splendid comeback game after being dropped earlier in the season – struck early to remove Kamran Akmal. But Haider Ali took a shine to Anwar Ali, smacking 17 off his second over. He even targeted Dahani with a couple of blows but last year’s leading wicket-taker had the last laugh, getting his outside edge as he attempted an uppercut. Despite 55 runs after five overs, the two wickets meant Sultans had had the better of the opening stages.The runs dried up through the following overs as Tahir and Abbas Afridi applied the brakes, and like a boa constrictor, Sultans were squeezing the life out of the opponent. That made Zalmi frantic, and in that chaos, Tahir invariably shone. Malik holed out to long-on before Tahir got two off successive balls in the following over, sending Sherfane Rutherford and, more importantly, Zazai with some beautiful variations of flight.It was left to Ben Cutting to restore some measure of respectability to the scoreline, in addition to getting his form back. A nasty blow to the head by Dahani was followed up by smashing his last three legal deliveries for six, ruining his figures as he surged towards a 29-ball half-century. But to claim that as a positive for Zalmi would be to clutch at straws on a night when the side from Peshawar was little more than fodder for the Multan juggernaut.

The PCB have rejected his accusations, calling his behaviour “reprehensible” and declaring he would not be a part of future PSL drafts

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2022James Faulkner has left the Pakistan Super League abruptly over a payment dispute, alleging that the PCB hasn’t honoured his contract and has instead “continued to lie” to him. The PCB, in response, lambasted Faulkner’s conduct as “reprehensible”, announcing the Australian would be banned from future PSL drafts, and accused him of misbehaving with immigration authorities and letting his side down.Faulkner, who has not played Quetta Gladiators’ last three games, was understood to have grown increasingly agitated over the matter and had been negotiating with the PCB over the issue. Things became so heated on Friday, however, that he threw his bat and helmet from the lobby floor balcony onto a hotel chandelier after a discussion with a PCB official before leaving for the airport. He paid the hotel for damages before leaving.He posted two tweets apologising to Pakistan cricket fans and calling his treatment at the hands of the PCB and the PSL “a disgrace”.James Faulkner threw his bat and helmet onto a chandelier after a discussion with a PCB official

“I apologise to the Pakistan cricket fans. But unfortunately I’ve had to withdraw from the last 2 matches and leave the @thePSLt20 due to the @TheRealPCB not honouring my contractual agreement/payments. I’ve been here the whole duration and they have continued to lie to me. It hurts to leave as I wanted to help to get international cricket back in Pakistan as there is so much young talent and the fans are amazing. But the treatment I have received has been a disgrace from the @TheRealPCB and @thePSLt20. I’m sure you all understand my position.”The PCB released a joint statement with Quetta Gladiators, calling Faulkner’s allegations baseless and expressing dismay at his “reprehensible behaviour”. The statement said Faulkner’s agent sent UK bank account details to transfer fee payments to, before sending revised bank account details the following month, this time for a bank account in Australia. By this time, the PCB had already transferred 70% of the money owed to the players, including Faulkner. ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB told Faulkner the payment could not be made again to a different account until the initial payment was reversed.Whether Faulkner is paid the remaining 30% is unclear yet. The PCB believe Faulkner to have breached his contract, and say it is a matter they will review.”In the seven years of the HBL Pakistan Super League, no player has ever complained about the nonfulfillment of the PCB’s contractual obligations,” the PCB said. “In spite of the money being transferred and received in his account, Mr Faulkner continued to insist that a second duplicate payment of the same amount be made to his account in Australia. This meant Mr Faulkner would have been paid twice. He further threatened and refused to participate in his side’s match against Multan Sultans on Friday afternoon until his money demands were met.”The PCB, as a responsible organisation, engaged with Mr Faulkner early Friday afternoon in an attempt to reason with him. Despite his reprehensible and insulting behavior during the conversation, Mr Faulkner was assured that all his grievances would be addressed. He refused to reconsider his decision to take the field in a crucial match for his side, let his team down and demanded that his travel arrangements be immediately made.”Prior to his departure on Saturday morning, Mr Faulkner caused deliberate damage to the hotel property and as a result had to pay damages to the hotel management. The PCB later also received reports and complaints from the immigration authorities that Mr Faulkner had acted inappropriately and abusively at the airport. It has been unanimously agreed by the PCB and the franchises that Mr James Faulkner will not be drafted in future HBL Pakistan Super League events.”Faulkner played six PSL games this season, taking six wickets and scoring 49 runs.

Perth Scorchers skipper tasked with turning club’s Blast fortunes around

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2022Durham have pulled off the signing of Ashton Turner, Perth Scorchers’ BBL-winning captain, who will lead their T20 side in this year’s Vitality Blast.Turner, who has won 27 limited-overs caps for Australia, played alongside Durham’s director of cricket, Marcus North, for Western Australia in the early years of his career and will be making his first appearance in county cricket at the age of 29.He joined forces with Laurie Evans and Colin Munro in a destructive Scorchers middle order in the year’s Big Bash, averaging 32.45 with a strike rate of 153.87 and hitting 54 off 35 balls in the final against Sydney Sixers to take his team to the trophy.”The Blast is a competition that I’ve watched with a keen interest from afar and I’m really excited to be able to take part in it this summer,” Turner said. “I’m excited to achieve some success with the club and no doubt we will have some fun along the way.”Related

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Durham have struggled in T20 cricket since their last Finals Day appearance in 2016, and have only qualified for the knockout stages once in the past five seasons. The Blast captaincy has been a poisoned chalice: Paul Coughlin, Tom Latham, Stuart Poynter, Peter Handscomb, Nathan Rimmington and Cameron Bancroft have all taken on the role, but five out of those six players left the club after their respective seasons in the role and the other, Poynter, has since been released.”We’re extremely pleased to welcome Ashton to Durham this summer to lead us out in the Vitality Blast,” North said. “In addition to his powerful batting performances, Ash is a proven leader having captained the Scorchers and Western Australia to multiple championships in recent years and will be a great addition to Durham.”Turner was overlooked in Monday’s draft for the Hundred after registering his name without a base price, but a strong season would put him in contention to become one of the £50,000 ‘overseas wildcard’ that teams will pick towards the end of the Blast’s group stages.

Uncapped Luke Wood and David Payne among five left-arm seamers involved

Matt Roller31-May-2022David Payne and Luke Wood are in line to make their England debuts against Netherlands in Amstelveen next month after being included in a 14-man ODI squad which features five left-arm seamers.The three-match series, which runs from June 17-22, takes place between England’s second and third Tests against New Zealand, meaning players involved in the Test squad were unavailable for selection.Sam Billings is the most notable omission from the squad having averaged 56.00 in eight ODI innings since the 2019 World Cup. Billings was available for selection but overlooked, with Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt included as the batting options who were not part of the squad for that tournament.Related

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Eoin Morgan is fit to captain the side despite suffering a “groin twinge” while playing for Middlesex on Sunday in the T20 Blast, an injury which raised concerns about his fitness record with a T20 World Cup approaching.Morgan was part of the selection panel for the squad along with Rob Key and Matthew Mott, the new white-ball head coach, and England have opted to pick the strongest side available to them for the series, rather than experimenting. They have limited the squad to 14 names, seemingly to avoid pulling players out of their T20 Blast commitments only for them to run the drinks.Payne, the Gloucestershire seamer, has been part of two England squads before – for the T20I tour to Barbados in January and as a last-minute call-up for the emergency squad for the Pakistan ODI series last summer – but is yet to debut, while Wood is called up for the first time.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Luke Wood deserves his call-up,” Mott said. “He has been consistent for Lancashire over the past 12 months and we have been monitoring his progression. If given a chance to play, I’m sure he will make the most of his opportunity.”They are two of the five left-arm seamers involved in the squad along with Reece Topley and allrounders David Willey and Sam Curran, who returns after a lower-back stress fracture ruled him out of England’s winter tours and the IPL.Brydon Carse, the Durham fast bowler, is the only right-arm seamer while Livingstone, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are the spin options. Matt Parkinson, the Lancashire legspinner, is another notable absentee, along with other recent white-ball caps Tom Banton, Liam Dawson, George Garton and James Vince.”I’m very excited to be coaching a strong squad for my first series in charge,” Mott said. “We have tremendous depth with a blend of youth and experience. We want to continue to play in an expressive style and let our players showcase their skills and firepower.”The ODI side has had limited opportunities and last played in July. However, with about 18 months to the next ICC 50-over World Cup in India, our preparation will start ramping up with nine matches over the summer and a busy winter ahead against strong opponents.”Netherlands are yet to name a squad but are without their county-contracted players for their three-match ODI series against West Indies, which started on Thursday; Kent’s Fred Klaassen was initially named in their squad for that series but was not involved in the first ODI.England squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, David Payne, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Willey, Luke Wood

He said he had never spoken to anyone about taking the England job

AAP25-May-2022Justin Langer has hit out at the “bull**** politics” within Cricket Australia, taking particular aim at interim Cricket Australia chairman Richard Freudenstein.Langer quit as coach of Australia in February after being offered an insulting six-month contract extension despite guiding the team to T20 World Cup and Ashes glory.A rumoured breakdown in the relationship between Langer and a core of senior players led to CA’s move to push the 51-year-old towards the exit.A host of Australia’s greatest Test players, including Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden and the late Shane Warne, lambasted CA for the way it treated Langer.Related

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The anger Langer felt about his treatment from CA was still evident on Wednesday when he recalled the conversation he had with Freudenstein the day after he quit as Australia coach.”The first thing he said to me was, ‘It must make you feel so good that all your mates are supporting you in the media,'” Langer told a Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA event in Perth.”I said, ‘Yeah it is, acting chairman, but with all due respect, those mates are also the all-time greats of Australian cricket. They are the fabric of Australian cricket. They are Australian cricket. They also work all around the world in cricket. So yeah, I’m glad my mates are looking after me. Imagine if you had have’.”Ironically, the last six months of my coaching career were the most enjoyable period of 12 years of coaching. Not only did we win everything, but I had energy, and I had focus, and I was happy – besides the bull**** politics.”Australia have since appointed Andrew McDonald as Langer’s replacement. After resigning, Langer’s name was immediately linked to the England coaching position. Langer, whose pride and passion for Australia is renowned, made it crystal clear he never considered the role.”I’ve never spoken to English cricket,” Langer said. “The thought of coaching England (shakes his head fervently)…mate!”Langer talked openly about the tough lessons he learnt as coach, with the stress of trying to do too much eventually taking its toll on his physical and mental health.”For three or four years I was concentrating on the politics, the media, the sponsorship; I was trying to do everything – I was trying to be everything to everyone,” Langer said.”It’s no wonder you get tired. It’s no wonder your health suffers; your mental, your physical health. You’re trying to please everybody. The great lesson I learned was…I cleared my desk, and all of a sudden instead of having everything on my table, I had two things on my desk. One was winning and the second thing was my people.”Having support – one thing Langer lacked from CA and a number of players towards the end of his coaching tenure – was also one of the most important things to him.”If you know people have got your back, you can achieve miracles,” Langer said. “If they haven’t, it’s a very lonely place. Leadership can be very, very lonely. But it’s not lonely when you know people have got your back.”Langer is unsure what his next move will be, but said staying in Western Australia with his family is his priority.”I love WA. I love being home. I haven’t been home for 31 years,” he said.

Dawid Malan scores 22-ball fifty but Yorkshire lose for second game in a row

ECB Reporters Network31-May-2022Wayne Madsen’s unbeaten 39 off 21 balls saw Derbyshire to a nine-wicket victory over Yorkshire in his 400th appearance for the county as Falcons chased 84 in an eight-over Vitality Blast fixture at Headingley.Australian overseas allrounder Hayden Kerr set Derbyshire on their way to a second North Group win in three games with two wickets in the first over of the match, which started at 8.35pm following rain, and the left-arm seamer was excellent in returning 2 for 18 from two overs as the Vikings were restricted to 83 for 3.Having been inserted, opener Dawid Malan’s 50 off 23 balls underpinned their innings. But the England left-hander’s second successive half-century was given little support, and that was key to a second defeat in four games.Madsen, 38, is the 14th Derbyshire player to play 400 games across all formats. He came to the crease at 15 for 1 at the start of the third over, hit his first ball for four and top-scored. He shared an unbroken second-wicket partnership of 69 with Shan Masood as victory was secured with three balls remaining.Play was delayed by two hours and five minutes due to rain. Derbyshire then made the perfect start when Adam Lyth chipped the first ball of the match, from Kerr, to mid-off before Shadab Khan was caught behind trying to scoop five balls later as the score slipped to 2 for 2.But Yorkshire recovered to reach the end of the powerplay – 2.2 overs – at 21 for 2, including Malan pulling Sam Conners into the Western Terrace for six. Shortly afterwards, he pulled Kerr over midwicket for a flat six as the score moved to 36 for 2 in the fourth over.Malan’s innings was more muscle than finesse, though he did cheekily ramp Scotland left-arm spinner Mark Watt for four as he closed in on a fifty off 22 balls. However, Watt had him caught at deep midwicket next ball as the score fell to 65 for 3 in the seventh over.It was not only the second time in as many games that Malan had fallen for exactly 50 – he did so in defeat against Leicestershire here on Sunday – but also the second time he had departed the ball after reaching his milestone.Having been 55 for 2 after five overs, the Vikings would have hoped for more. But they only hit two fours and a six in the last three overs, and a four and a pulled six from Will Fraine came with the last two balls of the innings from George Scrimshaw.In Derbyshire’s reply, Luis Reece was run out coming back for two to deep square-leg following a mix-up with opener Masood at the start of the third over. But Madsen was quickly into gear, whipping his first ball for four against seamer Matthew Revis.Pakistan left-hander Masood crashed Jordan Thompson for six over long-on to take his side to 44 for 1 after four overs and slog swept Adil Rashid over midwicket shortly afterwards.However, this was milestone man Madsen’s night. He sliced Haris Rauf for six over wide third and, with eight needed from the last over, reverse swept Rashid for six with the final over’s first ball.