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Mitchell Johnson has admitted to contemplating retirement after watching several of his mates shuffle out of the dressing room

Daniel Brettig14-Oct-2015As he watched Ryan Harris, Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin shuffle out of the dressing room for the final time, Mitchell Johnson wondered whether he should join them. Seriously drained after a year in which he could not follow up World Cup success with retaining the Ashes, he pondered the possibility of retirement.

‘I don’t think it’s the best preparation’

Mitchell Johnson has questioned Australia’s preparation for the New Zealand Test series, with only a two-day red-ball camp in Sydney offering relevant practice before the squad assembles for the Gabba.
The postponement of the Bangladesh tour means Australia’s Test players are warming up in the Matador Cup 50-over tournament but are then subject to a round of day-night Sheffield Shield matches with the experimental pink ball before the first two Tests of summer are played in daylight with the red ball.
Johnson’s scepticism about the day-night concept is well known. While he hesitated to comment too freely on the Adelaide match at this point, he questioned the wisdom of switching from red to white to pink to red ball again ahead of what is shaping as New Zealand’s best chance to unseat Australia at home since they last did so in 1985.
“I don’t think it’s ideal us playing a day-night Shield game coming into a three-Test series, two with a red ball and one with a pink ball,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it’s ideal, especially guys missing out on Bangladesh, they’re probably needing to bowl with a red ball and we’re playing this now, then going down to Tassie to play with a pink ball.
“I don’t think it’s the best preparation, but I guess that’s why we have this camp as well to get a bit of a feel with the red ball again.”
Earlier in the year Johnson responded to questions about the pink ball by saying: “One thing is I love the tradition of Test cricket, things like the Baggy Green and little things like wearing the woollen jumper. We had an option to change that but we wanted to keep that as a tradition. I think tradition in the game is very important.”

But, in the six weeks since the Ashes have passed, Johnson has found himself feeling the old urge to train, to compete, and most importantly to bowl fast. He is now eager to do so once more, as the senior pro in what has now become a young and much changed team. Johnson has clear ideas on how and how much he should be used, and has set his sights upon matching the wickets tally of his mentor Dennis Lillee.”It definitely has crossed my mind, especially with the guys retiring,” Johnson said at Australia’s training camp in Hurstville. “A lot of those guys I played a lot of cricket with [have moved on] and it definitely makes you question yourself. I definitely have questioned myself in the six weeks I’ve been home, but I had that desire when I saw the young guys out there performing and it really urged me and pushed me to get out there and play. I actually went for a run and was pushing myself.”Brett Lee changed it a little bit because he played for a while longer. Speaking to some other people like Dennis, he seems to think I can go for a few more years as well. It depends on the individual to be honest, I had that year out of the game really with my toe injury, I was a late starter to the game. So I think it’s more mind than anything, my body’s still holding up pretty well.”I’ve had little niggles here and there but i’m able to get through them. It’s more mind. I’m really looking forward to the summer, getting back on fair wickets with a bit of pace and bounce, good for batting and for bowling. I’d love to get a few wickets and get that tally back up again.”At the end of a two-year period in which he played 18 of a possible 19 Tests besides sundry ODIs and Twenty20 fixtures, Johnson’s body was holding up reasonably. But his mind had begun to waver – even though he felt he had stored up enough mental energy for the Ashes campaign, he found himself getting drained midway through the series, not helped by the constant toll of English crowds and batsmen.”I was definitely worn down physically but I think I can always manage physically though,” Johnson said. “It’s more mentally that I felt myself really drained even through the England tour at times. Constantly getting hammered by the crowds does take its toll, but also the long year we’ve had with the World Cup. It was a huge build-up, to win that and then I went to IPL and played there. Was pretty flat throughout that, and then got to the West Indies and started to pick up a bit.”The Ashes always takes it out of you anyway, it’s such a huge occasion, and was definitely great to get back home after that. I personally think if I’d played that one-day series there was a chance of burnout or injury, that’s how I felt within myself. That’s why I missed that one-day series, getting fresh to be ready for a big summer and hopefully be in really good form and play really good cricket.”I know New Zealand are going to be a tough opposition, then we’ve got a few Test matches after that against West Indies then over to New Zealand. So it’s a really hectic time, but the little break I’ve had has definitely freshened me up and I’m ready to go.”There were other issues that had crept into Johnson’s mind as well. The handling of Haddin’s exit from the team rankled, and so did the haziness that often surrounded how Johnson was to be used in the bowling attack. Seldom was he able to simply charge in at top pace and intimidate as he had done against England two years ago, as much for the fact that there was no Harris or Peter Siddle keeping things tight at the other end as anything else.Johnson will be speaking with the coach Darren Lehmann and the new captain Steven Smith about this concept. Already it appears Lehmann understands the need for control as well as pace, stating that Australia will retain an allrounder throughout the Test summer while also picking their most balanced attack to keep the scoreboard tight.”I spoke to Boof about it, it’s something I thought about,” Johnson said. “I think it works best if I bowl short spells and I can bowl that high 140s or mid 140s, then I think that’s the plan we should go with. I’m going to sit down and speak with Boof and Smithy about that and see what they think.”But I’ve always got a plan B and I think I learned that a lot more over in England to have a plan B, just try to use the ball a bit more in certain conditions. You can’t always blast teams out but when that time’s right I’m definitely still putting my hand up for that role.”That sort of outspokenness can be expected more often as Johnson begins the final phase of his career. No longer one of many 30-somethings in the Test team, he is now an elder statesman, a leader and a keeper of tradition. There is much he can pass on to a young team before he is done.

Nadeem Ghauri, the banned Pakistan umpire, has criticised the PCB’s decision as “one-sided”

Umar Farooq14-Apr-2013Nadeem Ghauri, the Pakistan umpire banned for four years by the PCB, has criticised the board’s decision as “one-sided”. Ghauri was punished after the PCB’s integrity committee found him guilty of being willing to accept money for favourable umpiring decisions.The allegations against him, Ghauri said, were baseless. They surfaced during a television sting operation, broadcast by , last year, which claimed to have “exposed” several first-class umpires from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan who were allegedly willing to give decisions favouring players for a fee. Ghauri and his umpiring colleague Anis Siddiqui were banned for four and three years respectively by the PCB’s integrity committee.”It’s a one-sided decision and I am not happy with it,” Ghauri said during a press conference at his residence. “I didn’t compromise my integrity and didn’t even enter any deal with them but still they have slapped me with this ban. They [PCB] didn’t give me a chance to [explain] my version properly. I will request the chairman and will appeal that I should get justice.””I don’t think it’s true,” Ghauri said of the claims made by the sting operation. “I was actually referred by Nadir Shah (a Bangladesh umpire) with regard to a cricket league in Sri Lanka. They were offering me a lucrative package for umpiring and I brought everything to PCB’s notice.”I was not under any contract with the PCB and we were trying to make some money through these leagues for livelihood without knowing that I am actually being trapped.”Both umpires, as a result of the bans, cannot officiate in any form of cricket and will not be considered for any role in Pakistan’s regional associations. The bans took effect on October 11, 2012, the day the PCB began its investigation.Ghauri, 50, played one Test, against Australia in Sydney in 1990. He also played six ODIs and 147 first-class games. He was part of the ICC’s Elite Panel of Umpires and the PCB’s international panel in an umpiring career that spanned 13 years. “I have 10 clean years between 2000 and 2010, before being demoted from the ICC panel,” said Ghauri, who was also among the injured during the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore in 2009. “I have served my life for Pakistan and the PCB should have taken my past into account before making the judgement.”I am waiting for the documents. I will send an appeal to the chairman and will ask him to show me the videos, there should not be a one-sided decision,” Ghauri said, adding that, during the sting operation, he was only sharing his experience as an umpire over Skype.”And in two minutes you can’t compromise your integrity. They trapped us by offering a contract in the Sri Lankan league. This league did happen but their own umpires supervised it in Sri Lanka.”

Report from day 3 at Edgbaston

George Dobell at Edgbaston14-Apr-2012If Somerset go on to win this game, Jim Troughton will surely rue a remarkable, uncharacteristic error in the field. Troughton, the Warwickshire captain and a fielder of some repute, spurned a simple catch at mid off that allowed Somerset, for perhaps the first time in the match, to seize the initiative. It was the sort of chance that Monty Panesar might have taken with one hand behind his back. While balancing on a ball. Blindfolded. In the dark.Buttler was on just seven at the time and his partnership with Nick Compton worth 12. Mistiming a drive off Keith Barker, Barker saw the ball go straight to Troughton at groin height only for the fielder to inexplicably put it down. The pair subsequently extended their sixth-wicket partnership to 167 with Buttler contributing a fluent 93. It could prove the turning point of this game.Not that Warwickshire are out of it yet. Set 259 to win, they have made excellent progress through a third-wicket stand of 80 between William Porterfield and Ian Westwood. Porterfield, in particular, has impressed with his shot selection and calculated aggression. He has not scored as heavily as he would have liked since joining the club from Gloucestershire ahead of the 2011 season – he averaged only 25.34 in the championship last year – but this could well prove to be his best innings for Warwickshire.It would be foolish to presume anything, though. This intriguing game has been characterised by its ebbs and flows with neither side able to take their opportunities. It is sad to report, then, that so few have seen it. While there is much debate over the need for championship cricket on Saturdays, there remains very little evidence that there is a market for it. Over the last few years, Saturday attendances for championship cricket have been pitiful. The coverage in Sunday papers is hardly extensive, either.Those that were at Edgbaston for the third day witnessed a demonstration of the considerable talents of 21-year-old Buttler. While he is nowhere near the finished article – a propensity to flirt outside his off stump would be exploited at Test level – he plays strokes that hint at something quite special. He sweeps and slog-sweeps unusually well and hits his cover drive with eye-catching force. He fell seven short of a third first-class century when he played across a straight one.Compton, by comparison, has more prosaic charms. In an age when most batsmen look to go forward and dominate, he is happy to go back, across and defend. He cuts particularly well, though and, having taken 61 balls over his first 50, showed his patience by taking a further 128 over his second. This – the 13th first-class century of his career – was an admirable innings that frustrated the Warwickshire attack immensely and earned his side a decent chance of victory.Buttler’s dismissal sparked a decline, however. Somerset lost three wickets for five runs in 12 balls, with the deserving Chris Wright winning reward for his line and persistence as Compton, back instead of forward, was bowled. Adam Dibble, inevitably nicknamed ‘Officer’ and another in the abundant stream of young Somerset talent, added a brisk 43 to the total, but won little support. It will have been a painful irony to Warwickshire that Vernon Philander’s innings was ended when Troughton, running back from mid off, took an outstanding, diving catch.Warwickshire, opting to take a positive approach and bludgeon some of the shine from the new ball, promoted Neil Carter to open their second innings. It worked, too, with Carter carving successive fours off Steve Kirby and surviving a tough chance to Arul Suppiah, at long off.The introduction of spin brought immediate reward, however, as Carter drove to cover and, when Kirby was brought back on for the next over, he dismissed Varun Chopra off an ambitious top-edged pull. At that stage, with 216 more required and a top-order that was far from prolific last year, Warwickshire were in some trouble.But Porterfield, driving beautifully through the covers, pulling powerfully and using his feet to negate the spin of George Dockrell, revived the home side and has set up a fascinating final day. Troughton may well have a chance to redeem himself.

Carlton Baugh has replaced Devon Thomas as the wicketkeeper in the West Indies squad for the first two one-dayers against Pakistan in St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2011Carlton Baugh has replaced Devon Thomas as the wicketkeeper in the West Indies squad for the first two one-dayers against Pakistan in St Lucia. Thomas has been diagnosed with chicken pox. Baugh will join the squad in Barbados for the ongoing pre-series camp.Baugh’s call-up is another setback to Denesh Ramdin’s hopes of mounting a comeback. Baugh was part of West Indies’ World Cup 2011 squad but had to pull out of the tournament with a hamstring injury sustained during the warm-up game against Sri Lanka. His place was taken by Thomas who played all of West Indies’ seven games in the tournament. Thomas was also part of the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka last year as second-choice wicketkeeper behind Baugh.West Indies meet Pakistan in the first two games of the five-match ODI series at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia on April 23 and April 25.

The Indian income-tax department is believed to be acting on information of certain IPL players receiving illegal payments from their employers

Ashok Malik23-Apr-2010The Indian taxman’s scrutiny of the mess surrounding the IPL is not necessarily limited to the league’s officials, franchise owners/managers and partner companies. It is understood the income-tax department is also acting on information of certain players receiving illegal payments from their employers.A specific episode under assessment goes back to August 2009, when the IPL announced an amnesty scheme for players linked with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL). Former ICL players who had no international cricket experience were allowed to be signed on by IPL franchises for an annual fee of between Rs 8-20 lakh ($18,000-45,000).There are reports that at least two franchises breached this salary cap and paid individual players in excess of IPL stipulations. The extra payment was made in cash. It is believed in some cases the quantum of ‘black money’ payments was substantial and almost doubled the cricketer’s fee.The IPL imposes salary caps on various categories of cricketers. The ICL amnesty scheme is one example. Players from the Indian squad that won the 2008 ICC Under-19 World Cup were also restricted in what they could earn in a season, depending on their first-class or international experience.Yet, as became evident during the recent Ravindra Jadeja investigation, this regulation was not considered sacrosanct. The Rajasthan Royals cricketer admitted to negotiating with two franchises to play IPL’s third season for a fee of Rs 2 crore ($450,000). Under the IPL rules, he was entitled to only Rs 40 lakh ($90,000). It is unclear how the incremental payment would have been made, had the deal gone through.Suspicions of a tax dodge by cricketers, with the active collaboration of their franchises, may only be the tip of the iceberg. The issue of salaries and salary ceilings is likely to enmesh the IPL in greater controversy in the coming months. In some respects, it is a microcosm of all that is wrong with the manner in which the league has been run. There are perceptions of the law having been broken – as in the case of the cricketers under scrutiny – as well as conflict of interest issues. Whether irregularities or merely angularities, the IPL will need to address these.When the IPL began in 2008, each team was allowed to spend $5 million a year to hire cricketers. For the 2011 season – and beginning with the big auction planned for October 2010, which will see franchises populate their squads for the 2011-13 period – this limit has been raised to $7 million.The idea behind a salary cap was to equalise competition and not give an opportunity to any one franchise, with extensive cash resources, to buy out the best players and use money power to dominate the tournament.The logic was strong and the precedent of the English Premier League (EPL) was there to learn from. In the EPL, teams like Aston Villa and Fulham tend to do well and finish in the first half of the table – but they never win. On the other hand, a Manchester United and a Chelsea are in serious contention for the title year after year. The difference between the two sets of teams is their bank balance.At least in the early years of the IPL, the league authorities were concerned about games or even a full season becoming lopsided and final positions predictable. Today this ‘equalisation’ principle is in danger of being subverted by not just cash payments – over and beyond official salaries – but also other perquisites offered by some franchises to key cricketers. This has been particularly so in case of franchises wholly or largely owned by business corporations.BCCI officials have been worried about instances of regular ‘jobs’ being offered to cricketers by the mother company of their franchise. Earlier this week, another conundrum was thrown up when England batsman Kevin Pietersen was announced as the ambassador of the Whyte & Mackay brand of whiskeys.At one level, this is a perfectly understandable endorsement arrangement. Pietersen is one of the finest cricketers in the world. He has name recall in India, is of South African origin and plays for England. All of these are markets Whyte & Mackay executives said they were focused on, and the Pietersen stamp would help.However, Pietersen bats for the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL. The Bangalore IPL franchise has been bought by the same business group that owns Whyte & Mackay. Is there a conflict of interest here?It’s a tricky question and it is plausible that the two motivations – hiring Pietersen as a player for a cricket team and as an ambassador for a whisky brand – are different.Nevertheless the IPL is also at the cusp of fervid inter-season lobbying and negotiation as teams try and retain talent and persuade star cricketers to possibly drop out of the October auction and stay on with the old franchise. Salaries will be discussed; the equivalent of loyalty bonuses and golden handcuffs could figure in the conversation.How does Pietersen’s endorsement of a sister brand of the Royal Challengers fit into this? Will it give other cricketers and other franchises ideas? How does it square up with IPL’s ‘equalisation’ norm? At some stage before Season IV, those questions will have to be clarified.

Cricket Association of Bengal to host Bengal Pro T20 – for men and women – in June this year

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2024The Cricket Association of Bengal [CAB] has announced the launch of the Bengal Pro T20 tournament, with a men’s event and a women’s event, in June this year.If and when it gets off the ground, the women’s event will be the first full-fledged women’s franchise T20 tournament in India to be run by an association. There is the BCCI’s Women’s Premier League [WPL], of course, and there have been women’s exhibition T20 matches slotted around the men’s T20 leagues in Karnataka and Maharashtra, but not something along the lines of the many men’s tournaments in the country.Snehasish Ganguly, the president of CAB, provided the basic details of the two leagues at a press meet at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, which are as follows:

• The tournament will take place over a 21-day window in June, with eight teams in both the men’s and women’s events
• Men’s teams will have 17 players, and women’s teams will have 16 players, and all the players have to be from Bengal, as must be the coaches
• The men’s matches will be held at Eden Gardens, and the women’s at the Jadavpur University ground, which is also a regular venue for senior domestic games
• Every day is a double-header day: women’s matches will be held in the morning and the afternoon; men’s matches will be held in the afternoon and the evening
• All rules, including in matters of corruption, will be based on those in use in the IPL

“All the eight teams will be franchises-owned, which will be a first [in India for a state association-run tournament]. We have still not finalised the franchises, which will be announced at a later date,” Ganguly said. “The teams will be completely owned by franchises and all players will be paid as per the salary cap. CAB will not incur any expense for the league.”PTI reported that CAB has been in talks with Kolkata Knight Riders, the group that owns Lucknow Super Giants, Bandhan Bank, Shrachi Group, and Rashmi Cement, among others to own the teams.”For long, there had been criticism that Bengal cricketers were not getting opportunities like the ones from Tamil Nadu or Karnataka,” Ganguly said. “This will be the answer to it. Bengal has a lot of talent but they did not have a proper platform till now. This will be a perfect launch pad for them.”It is understood that the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association [TNCA] has also been planning a women’s T20 league along the lines of their men’s Tamil Nadu Premier League, but it is understood that it will not get off the ground this year.

The home side did not enforce the follow-on after stubborn resistance from Tasmania

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-2023Tasmania 236 (Webster 75*, McDermott 50, Abbott 3-40, Zampa 3-41) and 0 for 6 need 281 more runs to beat New South Wales 8 for 417 dec and 1 for 105 dec (Hughes 63*)A desperate and winless New South Wales gambled with a generous declaration late on day three as the Sheffield Shield heavyweights chase a much-needed win over Tasmania at the SCG having declined to enforce the follow-on.Adam Zampa had earlier given a glimpse of what he could achieve in red-ball cricket with three wickets and shaped as a crucial figure on the final day.With some showers predicted on day four in Sydney, NSW declared late in the third session to set the visitors a relatively modest victory target of 287.Daniel Hughes again led the way backing up his career-best 178 in the first innings with 63 not out.Hughes struck six boundaries in his 78-ball knock as the hosts scored at just over four an over.Tasmania successfully held up NSW’s push thanks to some determined defiance from Ben McDermott and Beau Webster.The pair chewed up 148 and 150 balls respectively, with NSW needing 104 overs before dismissing Tasmania for 236 and a 181-run lead on the first innings.Zampa, who has previously spoken about his disappointment at missing the Test squad to tour India and was again overlooked when cover was needed for Mitchell Swepson, took 3 for 41 from 18 overs. He had McDermott well caught at mid-on, trapped Jarrod Freeman on the back foot and pushed a slider through Nathan Ellis.NSW are marooned at the bottom of the table without a victory after six rounds but are only two wins shy of second. Tasmania sit in fifth but are one of four states with two wins this season.