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Still no movement on club cricket, in wake of Prime Minister’s comments in Commons

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2020The ECB has confirmed that the delayed 2020 county season will get underway on August 1. However, there is still no update on the status of the recreational game in England and Wales, despite reports that the government was preparing to give the sport the go-ahead for a return in early July.As yet, there is no confirmation of which formats will be played in the truncated county season. With the Vitality Blast sure to be restored as the most financially important form of domestic cricket, the first-class counties were recently split 14-4 as to whether to play Championship or 50-over cricket as well, and a revised fixture list will be released following a meeting in early July.”It is a significant step for our game that we are able to approve the start of the men’s domestic season for 1 August and one which will be welcomed by everyone connected with County Cricket,” said Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive.”It follows extensive consultation between the 18 First-Class Counties, the Professionals Cricketers’ Association and ECB and has only been achievable thanks to the significant hard work that continues to occur as we prepare for a domestic season unlike any the game has faced before.”Harrison added that the first priority throughout the discussions had been the “safety of our players, staff and officials”, and that government guidance would “continue to shape our planning and preparation”.In preparation for the official start of the season, Durham and Yorkshire have announced they will contest a two-day red-ball warm-up at Emerald Headingley on July 27 and 28, behind closed doors, and with a live stream for club members. Last week, Surrey and Middlesex confirmed their own plans for a similar fixture at the Kia Oval.The ECB have also committed to ensuring that some form of women’s domestic cricket is able to take place this summer in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, but added that it “may differ from the planned rollout of the new women’s elite domestic structure”.ALSO READ: ‘Clubs are desperate for cricket, just to stay alive’ – Mark WoodLast week, 25 domestic retainers were announced across the eight regions that comprise the new-look women’s domestic scene.The first season of the Women’s Hundred has already been postponed until 2021, but subject to a final decision on recreational cricket from the UK Government, the Vitality Women’s T20 County Cup could still form part of the 2020 calendar.”Planning for the return of the women’s domestic game remains ongoing, but our commitment to women’s domestic cricket is unwavering and we look forward to sharing further news shortly,” said Harrison.”Our strong preference is that the women’s new elite domestic structure starts this summer and we will work hard to ensure that happens. For this to be achieved, brand new infrastructure still needs to be rolled-out, alongside imperatives we need in place when playing competitive cricket during a pandemic.”Our first choice remains to do everything we can to start this year and build on the fantastic momentum in the women’s game. In the event that proves impossible, we will explore other options for play to enable our women’s players to enjoy competitive domestic cricket in 2020.”We will continue to work closely with both the men’s and women’s domestic game to ensure necessary safety measures are in place to protect the wellbeing of everyone involved.”The ECB remain optimistic of confirming the return of recreational cricket in the near future, in the wake of comments from the prime minister, Boris Johnson, that a cricket ball is a “natural vector of disease”, but in the meantime Ben Stokes has echoed Mark Wood’s call last week for an immediate reinstatement.”For club cricket to be put back but pubs back open on Saturday is a bit strange to comprehend,” Stokes said. “I know that people are absolutely desperate. I have friends who play in the leagues in the north East and Cumbria who are just dying to get back out on the field.”Everybody needs something and for people who love cricket they are just desperate to get back on the field and start playing. The quicker that happens the better. I just don’t really see why it can’t happen, especially when you see the other things that are allowed to happen.”

Mayank Agarwal and Rohan Kadam make blazing half-centuries as Karnataka equal Kolkata Knight Riders’ streak of 14 consecutive wins

Shashank Kishore14-Mar-2019Karnataka trounced Maharashtra to clinch their maiden domestic T20 title in Indore. In doing so, they extended their T20 winning streak to 14 matches, the joint-highest winning streak for an India-based side along with Kolkata Knight Riders.The IPL franchise, incidentally won their second IPL title in 2014 during this run after Manish Pandey struck a match-winning 94 then. Incidentally, it was Pandey at the forefront for Karnataka, leading them to their first domestic title since they won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2017-18.While this was in no way a balm to sooth their disappointment of crashing out of the Ranji Trophy in the semi-finals stage for two seasons back-to-back, the emergence of a young batting group would please the team management, headed by former Karnataka and Railways strongman Yere Goud and former fast bowler S Aravind.While it was Mayank Agarwal, who capped off a relatively lean tournament with a sparkling unbeaten 85 in the final to make a mockery of a 156 chase – Karnataka won by eight wickets and nine balls to spare -it was rookie Rohan Kadam who led their batting charts all through.PTI

Kadam, a 24-year old left-hander whose batting style elicits comparison with Mumbai stalwart Abhishek Nayar, set the tempo at the top to make a destructive 39-ball 60 in a 92-run second-wicket stand with Agarwal off just 61 deliveries. Kadam finished the competition as the highest run-getter: 536 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 129.78. In all, he stuck five fifties and a century in his first full tournament for Karnataka.It was a comeback of sorts for him, given he was nowhere in the state reckoning after making 17 in his only List-A appearance two years ago. In KL Rahul and R Samarth’s absence, he played the role of an enforcer at the top, providing momentum for the middle order. Pandey, handed Karnataka’s captaincy full-time, aggregated 331 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 171.5.It wasn’t just their batting that clicked. The bowling, with the presence of experienced R Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun – who have missed the IPL bus after being unsold at the auction – provided early breakthroughs time and again. In a relatively high-scoring final on a tired surface that has hosted two weeks of cricket, Mithun’s contribution of 2 for 24 was invaluable.The scalp of Ankeet Bawne in particular, to break an 81-run stand with Naushad Shaikh, after Maharashtra were wobbling at 55 for 3, prevented a final kick. Mystery spinner KC Cariappa too, bowling with the new ball, didn’t do his credentials too much harm, finishing with a frugal 1 for 26 off his four overs.Karnataka were immensely benefited by the presence of a third pacer to back their experienced duo. With Prasidh Krishna, who made a name for himself with Kolkata Knight Riders last season, playing a sporadic role, V Koushik made use of his opportunities to finish as Karnataka’s highest run-getter: 17 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 13.13 and economy of 6.36. While his figures in the final were a modest none for 31 off his quota, he’d left a considerable impression on the team, with Pandey singling out his efforts during the tournament at different times.For Maharashtra, this was a game of what-ifs. Shaikh, their only batsman in the top 10 run-getters in the tournament, impressed with his six-hitting prowess, as did Nikhil Naik, fast becoming a T20 only player for them.In fact it was Naik, who brought them into the title clash on the back of a destructive 95 not out in the semi-finals against Railways, single-handedly converting a sub-140 score into a match-winning 177. His 58-ball knock had four fours and eight towering sixes, two of which were sent over the roof. Incidentally, it was these big-hitting qualities that earned him a bid from Knight Riders for IPL 2019. In Naik and Shaikh, Maharashtra may have found some consolation as they were made to reflect on another tale of being ‘so near but yet so far.’

The U-19 coach is happy to have a squad that features some first-class experience heading into the showpiece junior event in New Zealand

PTI27-Dec-20171:58

‘Great to have players with first-class experience’- Dravid

India Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid’s aim is to see a few of the World Cup-bound players included in the A team within the next six to eight months.”The World Cup is an exciting challenge and provides a good opportunity for all these guys. There is a process now in place in Indian cricket: U-19 cricket to first-class cricket and then to India A and then the India national team, when the opportunity arrives,” Dravid said before the U-19 team left for New Zealand.”I have been talking to these players about other formats as well. If they can make it to the India A team in six-eight months, it will be great. We see this [World Cup] as a stepping stone.”The current India U-19 captain, Prithvi Shaw, has already played for the India A team during warm-up games against touring New Zealanders in October this year.Dravid refused to predict who among the current batch has the potential to make it big at the senior level. “I have learnt a lot in these years as coach of the U-19 and A teams. These boys are from a different generation and their thinking is different. They have to adapt to all three formats. It’s a huge challenge. The game has changed a lot.”I can’t say who can go on and make it or who cannot. All of them have the potential to play for their state and India in future.”On India’s chances in the upcoming global event in New Zealand, which starts on January 13, Dravid exuded confidence. The key would be adjusting to the conditions quickly, he said. “The conditions would provide a unique challenge in that no one in the team has played in New Zealand before. The key would be in adapting to the conditions well. We have tried to replicate the conditions in the Bangalore camp to the extent possible but it’s not possible to do it completely.”The squad is set to leave for New Zealand on Thursday morning. Three-time previous champions India, who finished runners-up in the previous edition, are in Group B alongside Australia, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea.The squad has a few players – like captain Shaw of Mumbai, Shubman Gill of Punjab, Himanshu Rana of Haryana, Ishan Porel of Bengal – who have been playing first-class cricket, which the coach termed as a plus for the side.”It’s always good to have players in team with some first-class cricket experience. This team too has a few. The team is similar to the one we had the last time, with only one major difference – that in the previous team there were people with more experience of having played the U-19 World Cup.”This team too has a good pace attack, good spin bowlers and a good batting unit like the last one.”Shaw was happy to have practice games to help the team get into the groove. “We are going to play a few practice games before the World Cup. That will help us. Playing first-class cricket will be of help to me in the World Cup,” Shaw, who already has five first-class hundreds to his credit, said.”It’s a great opportunity and as captain I want to take the whole team with me. Everyone in the team knows his role. I want to win the World Cup.”

A round-up of the fourth day’s play from the third round of Group B matches in Ranji Trophy 2016-17

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2016Jharkhand overcame a stubborn 87-run partnership for the ninth wicket from Rajasthan batsmen Chetan Bist and Aniket Choudhary to complete a 42-run victory in Vadodara. Their second win in three matches hauled Jharkhand to the top of Group B, after they bowled Rajasthan out for 237.Rajasthan resumed their chase of 280 from an overnight score of 67 for 3 but soon slumped to 137 for 8, losing wickets to left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and offspinner Sunny Gupta. Bist and Choudhary then resisted for 27.3 overs, hauling the score past 200 before the stand was broken. Eight overs after Choudhary was dismissed for 32, Jharkhand broke Bist’s defiance, with the batsman falling for a 136-ball 77 which included six fours and a six. Nadeem, who had taken two wickets on the third day, completed his five-for, taking his match haul to 12 for 168.Assam salvaged a draw, reaching 73 for 2 in their second innings after Vidarbha enforced the follow-on on the final day in Thumba. Resuming on 98 for 3 on Sunday, Assam were bowled out for 227 as left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate ran through the middle and lower order, taking 5 for 72. Assam’s batsmen got off to starts but the top score, of 44 not out, came from Swarupam Purkayastha at No. 9. Having taken a 189-run lead, Vidarbha asked Assam to bat again and the pair of Rahul Hazarika and Amit Verma saw the side through after they lost two wickets.Saurashtra required eight wickets on the last day to register an innings win against Maharashtra, but a debut century from Murtaza Trunkwala and a stubborn lower order ended the match in a draw in Vizianagaram. Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja took four wickets, but Saurashtra could only take six of the eight wickets they needed as Maharashtra ended on 345 for 8.Resuming their second innings on 114 for 2, after following-on, they were led by Trunkwala’s 117 before he fell in the 33rd over of the day. Further contributions from the middle order, led by No. 4 Ankit Bawne’s 60, helped them hang on and salvage one point compared to Saurashtra’s three. Maharashtra were 230 for 5 when Bawne was bowled by Jadeja, with over 50 overs left in the day, but Chirag Khurana (44), Vishant More (39) and Shrikant Mundhe (24) led them to the draw even as Jadeja ended with a match haul of 9 for 105.

A sparkling all-round performance from Nasir Hossain proved match-winning as he led Bangladesh A to a 65-run win against India A in the second one-dayer to level the series 1-1

The Report by Vishal Dikshit in Bangalore18-Sep-2015
ScorecardNasir Hossain’s five-for included the wickets of Suresh Raina and Unmukt Chand•PTI

A sparkling all-round performance from Nasir Hossain led Bangladesh A to a 65-run win against India A in the second one-dayer, helping them level the series 1-1. Coming in at 82 for 5 in the 19th over, Nasir pulled Bangladesh A out of troubled waters with an unbeaten hundred, his third in List A matches, to lead them to a competitive 252 for 8 and then took five wickets, including those of Unmukt Chand and Suresh Raina, to make the win comfortable in the end.The India A chase looked on course when they were 119 for 1 in the 28th over, with Chand on 56, and even when Raina smacked Rubel Hossain for a six three overs later with the hosts needing 116 runs from 19 overs. But Nasir had Chand caught behind down the leg side, and had Raina and Karun Nair stumped within four balls to leave India A struggling at 146 for 5.Bangladesh A captain Mominul Haque brought Rubel back into the attack immediately from the other end, and the bowler did the needful by removing Sanju Samson for a golden duck and Karn Sharma for 2. Nasir then knocked over Rishi Dhawan’s off stump, also for a duck, thwarting India’s chance of a win.

India A captain Unmukt Chand on…

Squandering the start after Bangladesh A were 82 for 5
“We could not capitalise on the early wickets between the 20th and the 40th overs, we probably could have had more intensity on the ground.”
If complacency crept in while batting
“If there was any scope of complacency, it was in this match and we were a bit complacent, to be honest. We’ll probably come back stronger in the next match.”
Reasons for losing the match
“On wickets like these, it is important to hang in in there. It’s just a matter of staying there and letting the partnership flourish. I got out, then Manish got out, then all of us got out in quick succession. We didn’t have partnerships and that was the reason we lost this match.”
If 253 was chaseable
“Of course it was achievable on this wicket and with this outfield. In the last match also we saw runs are possible here and we were 120 for 1. But there were soft dismissals and this shows you what cricket is all about.”

Mayank Agarwal had given the chase an attacking start with three fours within the first four overs but fell to Rubel’s pace while going for a drive, for 24. Chand then took charge, alongside a circumspect Manish Pandey, and hit three fours in the ninth over off Shafiul Islam to push the run rate towards five. He was dropped on 21 by Liton Das off Rubel, and cashed in to cross 50 and take his team past 100. With things not going Bangladesh A’s way, Mominul used seven bowlers by the 27th over in a bid to break a partnership that grew to 88.It worked when Chand edged one off Nasir and Pandey made room against Rubel three overs later only to find his middle stump scattered. Rubel and Nasir combined to take six wickets for 20 runs and Gurkeerat Singh was the only batsman to hang on, scoring a 30-ball 34, before he ran out of partners.Earlier, put in to bat, Bangladesh A were thrown off track by double blows from Dhawan and legspinner Karn after they lost Rony Talukdar early. Soumya Sarkar and Anamul Haque had just started to push the throttle after a watchful and edgy fifty-run stand for the second wicket when Dhawan struck. Sarkar, who had been dropped twice, dragged one onto his stumps for 24 and Dhawan got Mominul’s edge in his next over. Three overs later Karn took a return catch off Anamul for 34 and struck Sabbir Rahman’s middle stump, after the batsman stepped out and missed, to leave the side at 82 for 5.The innings was resurrected by two crucial stands – the sixth-wicket partnership between Liton and Nasir for 70 runs, and seventh-wicket one between Nasir and Arafat Sunny for 50. Liton led the first partnership, collecting four fours between the 18th and 21st overs, and the two batsmen had just settled down when Dhawan came back for his second spell and Liton pulled him straight to the deep square leg fielder for 45.It was a Nasir Hossain show from there. The pitch seemed better for batting and he farmed the strike in the company of Sunny, Shafiul and Rubel. Soon after he brought up his fifty with a sweep in the 37th over, he smashed Karn over long-off like a confident top-order batsman for six. After Sunny and Shafiul fell within 16 balls, Nasir provided a strong finish by smacking Raina for three fours in an over – a slog sweep and two cover drives – to race from 76 to 88. With three overs still to go, he reached the three-figure mark off 94 balls and took his team single-handedly past 250, collecting 41 runs in the last five overs with the tail-enders

Kumar Sangakkara has challenged Thirimanne, Chandimal and Mathews to score 35 to 40 Test hundreds each

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle08-Mar-2013On the first day of a series aimed at regenerating Sri Lanka’s Test side, Kumar Sangakkara has laid down a challenge for the young batsmen who are now set for an extended stint. Sri Lanka fielded four batsmen with fewer than ten Tests’ experience, including a debutant, all of whom are yet to score a Test hundred. Angelo Mathews, who was recently appointed Test captain, has a solitary century to his name.Of the young players, Lahiru Thirimanne finished unbeaten on 74 at stumps, having negotiated comfortably both seam and spin, alongside Mathews who was 25 not out. Dimuth Karunaratne had earlier made 41, having resumed his innings after retiring hurt when he was hit on the elbow.”For guys like Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo, their target should be to score 35 to 40 hundreds by the time they finish,” said Sangakkara, who made his 31st Test hundred on day one. “They’ve got the ability to do that. Thirimanne batted beautifully today and Dimuth’s [dismissal] was unfortunate. Angie [Angelo] is looking really good. When you look at these younger guys, you see that they’ve got so much to offer Sri Lanka cricket.”You can say there is a selfish element in getting runs and scoring hundreds, but if you keep doing that, you and your side benefit. When individuals keep pushing themselves to go beyond others, I think that’s a really good atmosphere.”Sangakkara moved into tenth position on the all-time run-scoring list with his 142, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar. He had said earlier in his career that 30 hundreds and 10,000 Test runs was his career goal. He has reached both targets comfortably, but says there is still more he would like to accomplish in the game.”Gavaskar was a fantastic batsman, and I’m very privileged to have had a career where I am able to go past him. Still I am three centuries behind him, but hopefully I can go beyond him on that count too. I’d still like more runs and more wins. I think that’s what motivates all the guys who play.”Sri Lanka finished day one at 361 for 3, and Sangakkara said his side would aim to push on in the first session in day two, to set up a position from which they are unlikely to lose. Rain is unlikely to make a major impact for the remainder of the Test, but there have been short afternoon rains on each of the past three days in Galle. Sri Lanka are likely to want the game to progress quickly, to give themselves the best chance of going 1-0 up in the series.”My idea after getting 100 was that the bowlers were tired and I wanted to get past 300. If we are able to pass 300 on day one, that makes it easier to make a declaration, after a session or so in the second day. Lahiru was batting really well, and my job was to try and accelerate and score runs quickly, so that the team was in a good position. 361 is a good score and it gives us a position to first bat one session [tomorrow], and then Angelo can decide when he wants to declare.”Sangakkara also paid tribute to Thilan Samaraweera, who retired earlier in the week after not being picked for the series. “Thilan was a magnificent servant of Sri Lankan cricket. He never had the limelight or the fame that he probably should have. I remember his debut against India – he scored almost a run-a-ball hundred, and was averaging in the 50s. Suddenly he had to stop playing cricket for two years because Aravinda de Silva made a comeback into the side. That’s been the way [throughout] his career. Whenever the team wanted a shift or anything, Thilan was the easiest guy to move up or down, or in or out.”I just hope that there will be other cricketers out there who will come in and do the kind of service that is unnoticed and unrecognised only [until] when they retire, [so they] can see what an amazing career they’ve had.”

Duronto Rajshahi have finished top of the Bangladesh Premier League table after winning what ended up being a tense match against Dhaka Gladiators in Mirpur

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2012
ScorecardDwayne Smith’s 103 not out is the second-highest score, so far, in the BPL•BPL T20

Dwayne Smith scored the third hundred of the Bangladesh Premier League, setting up an easy win for Khulna Royal Bengals against Sylhet Royals in Mirpur, in the tournament’s final group match. The victory places Khulna at No. 2 on the points table, meaning they will play the third-placed Dhaka Gladiators in the semi-finals on Tuesday.Khulna was asked to bat and faced an early set-back, losing opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul early. From there on, though, they dominated, first through Herschelle Gibbs – who made 41 off 28 – and then Smith. Smith, batting at No 3, finished the innings unbeaten on 103 off 73 balls with six fours and six sixes, splitting his West Indies team-mate Chris Gayle’s tournament-record scores of 101 not out and 116.That meant Khulna set Sylhet a stiff target of 187, and they never really seemed to seriously threaten it. Sylhet slipped to their eighth loss in ten matches, with no one scoring more than No. 8 Sohail Tanvir’s 26 not out. Eventually Sylhet folded for 117 in 16 overs, handing Khulna a 69-run win. While the Khulna bowlers rather evenly shared the wickets around, left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak finished with the best figures of 2 for 8 in two overs.