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Farooqi took a three-wicket haul to damage Ireland’s chase

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2024
Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 121 off 117 balls beat Harry Tector’s 138 off 147 balls as Afghanistan sealed their fifth successive win against Ireland in ODI cricket, in Sharjah.Gurbaz scored his sixth ODI hundred – the joint most by an Afghanistan player – to set Afghanistan up for a tall total. He had added 150 for the opening stand with Ibrahim Zadran, who had contributed 60.Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (50*) also made a half-century to give his team some late impetus. Gurbaz hit eight fours and six sixes before he was bowled by Theo van Woerkom in the 39th over. Gurbaz had been particularly severe on both van Woerkom and George Dockrell, taking the left-arm spinners for 54 off 35 balls.Rahmat Shah then then fell soon after to Craig Young, but Afghanistan managed to breach 300, for just the ninth time in ODIs.Left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi then produced a double-strike to get rid of Andy Balbirnie and Curtis Campher. Captain Paul Stirling had also departed early to leave Ireland three down in the powerplay.Tector and wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker then steadied the innings and lifted Ireland with a 173-run partnership for the fourth wicket. While Tector hit his fifth ODI hundred, Tucker was stopped on 85 by Farooqi in the 39th over of the chase. That dismissal sparked another collapse as Ireland lost 4 for 42.Tector then fell in the final over as Afghanistan wrapped up a 35-run victory to go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series.

CA unveil domestic summer schedule with A series locked in for August and September in Queensland while there will be six Shield rounds before the first Test against Pakistan

Alex Malcolm14-Jul-2023Australia A will host New Zealand A in two four-day games, including a day-night pink ball match, and three 50-over matches in Queensland in August and September as Cricket Australia unveiled its full domestic schedule for the 2023-24 summer.Australia A toured New Zealand in April for two four-day games, and a return series has been locked in for August and September in Brisbane and Mackay in Queensland. CA also announced there will be a Prime Minister’s XI four-day game against Pakistan at Manuka Oval in Canberra ahead of Australia’s first Test of the home summer against Pakistan in Perth on December 14. West Indies will also play a CA XI in a four-day tour game starting on January 10 at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide before the first Test of a two-Test series against Australia begins at Adelaide Oval on January 17.Related

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The Sheffield Shield season will run from October 3, 2023, until the final on March 21-25, 2024. There will be six Shield rounds before the first Test but the last of those six games begins on November 28 to accommodate the BBL starting earlier on December 7. That may mean that Australia’s multi-format players are likely to go without a red-ball game before the Pakistan Test series with the 50-over World Cup set to run from October 5 until November 19 in India. Australia are scheduled to then stay in India and play a five-match T20I series straight after the completion of the World Cup, prior to the home Test series against Pakistan.Players, support staff and management celebrate another Western Australia title•Getty Images

The Marsh Cup 50-over competition will remain as an eight-game tournament rather than a full 10-round home and away season with some matches also played at neutral venues. Two-time defending champions Western Australia will begin their tilt for a three-peat against Queensland at Allan Border Field on September 24. The majority of the Marsh Cup will be played prior to the BBL with each state playing their final two matches after the BBL has finished in late January. The Marsh Cup final will be played on February 25.The WNCL final will be played the day before on February 24. The women’s domestic season will begin on September 22 at Cricket New South Wales’ new facility, Cricket Central at Sydney Olympic Park. The venue will host WNCL, WBBL, and Marsh Cup matches this summer as well as its maiden first-class game with NSW to host Queensland in the opening round of the Sheffield Shield season. Adelaide Oval will also host a day-night WNCL match between South Australia and Victoria on January 29 as part of CA’s push to get more domestic women’s matches on the bigger international venues.There will also be a Governor General’s XI match against South Africa’s women’s team on January 24 at North Sydney Oval ahead of the women’s multiformat seven-match series against Australia starting on January 27.

“It’s the toughest call I’ve made as a cricketer,” the left hander said

AAP25-Feb-2022Usman Khawaja is leaving BBL franchise Sydney Thunder so he can be closer to his family in Brisbane next summer.Khawaja said seeking a release from his contract with the Thunder was the toughest decision of his cricket career. His wife Rachel is expecting their second child, due in April this year.The 35-year-old, who was contracted by the Thunder until the end of the next BBL season, said he wants to spend more time in the Queensland capital with his family next summer.”It’s the toughest call I’ve made as a cricketer because Sydney Thunder…mean so much to me,” Khawaja said in a statement on Friday. “However, it is for family reasons.”And while I’m leaving, people who know me realise a big part of my heart will always remain with Thunder. I don’t want people to think I’ve cut my ties…because I’ll always care about the club, the players, the entire organisation.”Khawaja’s statement didn’t specify if he wanted to continue his BBL career with the Brisbane Heat.Khawaja, an inaugural Sydney Thunder player, is the franchise’s leading run-scorer with 1818 runs at a strike rate of almost 130.Cricket NSW’s head of male cricket, Michael Klinger, said Thunder had tabled a long-term contract extension to Khawaja.”It’s disappointing … Sydney Thunder and Cricket NSW definitely wanted him to stay and we offered a highly competitive contract,” Klinger said in a statement. “However we appreciate Usman’s decision has been made for his family, and we respect and support that.”Khawaja returned to Australia’s Test team during the 4-0 Ashes series win against England and departs this weekend for a three-Test tour of Pakistan, the country of his birth.

Following a blitz that all but sealed the deal for New Zealand, Sophie Devine collected both the Player-of-the-Match and the Player-of-the-Series awards

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2017
ScorecardSophie Devine clobbers a sweep over the midwicket boundary•Getty Images

New Zealand completed a 4-0 whitewash over Pakistan in the T20I series, winning by seven wickets in their final match on the tour of the UAE. Their bowlers came to the fore in the final game, led by medium-pacers Hannah Rowe and Holly Huddleston, who strangled Pakistan with wickets in the middle overs. Sophie Devine then led New Zealand’s charge with the bat, smashing a 17-ball 41 to take the visitors home comfortably – with nine overs to spare.Pakistan on the other hand had crept to 89 for 8 in their 20 overs, with only Javeria Khan showing any resistance with the bat. She scored a 38-ball 36 and was the eighth batsman out in the 19th over. But the rest of Pakistan’s batting faltered; they had started off decently, but from 51 for 2 after 9.2 overs, Pakistan could add only 38 runs off the next 64 balls.Devine smashed seven fours and a six in her 17-ball blitz, before being bowled in the fifth over. By then, New Zealand had already taken 56 runs off the target. Satterthwaite then took over with five fours in her 31-ball knock of 35. She fell in the 10th over, with the team needing eight to win. Suzie Bates was out three balls later – both batsmen dismissed by Aiman Anwer – before Maddy Green (8*) and Katey Martin (1*) sealed the deal.Devine collected the Player-of-the-Match and the Player-of-the-Series awards. She finished with a series tally of 158 runs in four T20Is.

A round-up of the seventh round of Ranji Trophy’s Group B matches on December 15, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2012
ScorecardHaryana’s Mohit Sharma moved one wicket behind leader Sandeep Sharma of Punjab with his third five-for of the season, against Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow. Haryana asked UP to bat and Mohit made the initial breakthroughs, sending back the openers for not much. The allrounder Joginder Sharma marked his return following an accident last year by having Mohammad Kaif caught behind to reduce UP to 63 for 3. Suresh Raina (49) and Parvinder Singh (32) staged a mini-recovery before Harshal Patel dismissed the duo. Mohit cleaned up the tail to finish with 5 for 47 as UP were bowled out for 227. Ankit Rajpoot sent back Abhimanyu Khod in the fourth over of Haryana’s innings which closed on 32 for 1 at stumps.
ScorecardYo Mahesh was another quick bowler who picked up a five-for but Baroda’s last-wicket pair salvaged the innings to some extent against Tamil Nadu. The hosts were sent in to bat on a Moti Bagh pitch which aided seam movement and lost regular wickets to be limping on 128 for 9 at one stage. Ambati Rayudu, the Baroda captain, was the only specialist batsman to make a score of note, his 54 taking Baroda past 100. The Nos 10 and 11, Murtuja Vahora and Bhargav Bhatt, added 63 runs in a stand stretching over 21 overs to take Baroda towards 200.
ScorecardDelhi’s five-man all-seam attack ran through the Maharashtra line-up at the Roshanara Club ground. Sumit Narwal led with three strikes while Pawan Suyal and Pradeep Sangwan picked up two each after Delhi chose to bowl. Ankit Bawne was the only man to get a half-century while Shrikant Mundhe contributed 42 down the order. Samad Fallah produced two beauties to get rid of Unmukt Chand and Mohit Sharma cheaply when Delhi came out to bat after tea. Shikhar Dhawan, the Delhi captain, ran himself out attempting a tight single and it was left to Mithun Manhas and Vaibhav Rawal to carry Delhi to 60 for 3 by stumps.
ScorecardLokesh Rahul, the former India Under-19 batsman, made his maiden first-class century in Mysore as Karnataka posted a commanding 308 for 2 against Vidarbha. The wicketkeeper CM Gautam made the most of a promotion in the order to get a hundred himself. Karnataka shrugged off an indifferent beginning as Rahul and Gautam put on an unbroken 256 for the third wicket. Vidarbha, who used as many as nine bowlers, were left to rue their decision to field. Both batsmen came together after Robin Uthappa and Ganesh Satish fell cheaply. The duo scored at similar rates and put Karnataka on top.

Stuart Clark, the former Australia pace bowler, has been named the general manager of the Sydney Sixers, one of two New South Wales-based teams in the forthcoming Twenty20 Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2011Stuart Clark, the former Australia pace bowler, has been named the general manager of the Sydney Sixers, one of two New South Wales-based teams in the forthcoming Twenty20 Big Bash League. At the same time John Dyson has been unveiled as the GM of the Sydney Thunder, to be based at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium while the Sixers set up camp at the SCG.Dyson will step down from his present role as the New South Wales state talent manager and chairman of selectors in order to take the position, though Clark is yet to formally announce his retirement from first-class cricket. A week ago Clark had said he was “leaning towards playing cricket”, but in the end decided the administrative role was too attractive to pass up. Clark has been preparing for life after cricket for quite some time, studying commerce to bolster his previous experience in real estate.”I am thrilled to have this chance to be part of the Sydney Sixers and the Big Bash League,” Clark said. “Twenty20 is about embracing new fans and I believe it has the potential to grow cricket in the same way that one-day cricket did. It is the way forward.”Dyson, the former West Indies coach, was similarly enthusiastic about the chance to take a key role in the establishment and growth of a new team, after Cricket Australia’s decree that the T20 league required a marked shift away from traditional state-based identities. As finalists in the 2010-11 domestic competition, the New South Wales side will take a final bow as a T20 entity at the Champions League later this year, alongside the tournament winners South Australia.”I am extremely honoured to have this opportunity,” Dyson said. “There are a lot of challenges ahead for everyone to get this competition up and running. This is a very exciting time for Australian cricket and I am looking forward to a successful inaugural season for the Big Bash League and Sydney Thunder in 2011-12.”Concerns that the league’s organisation is lagging behind will likely be addressed at a Cricket Australia board meeting in Melbourne on Thursday and Friday, after which negotiations should resume with the Australian Cricketers Association over the terms of the new memorandum of understanding for player payments.CA and the ACA met in Melbourne on Tuesday for informal discussions about their differences, though a CA spokesman said the positions of the two bodies remained “180 degrees different from each other”.

Ross Emerson, the Australian umpire who no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan during an ODI against England in Adelaide in 1999, insists the offspinner doesn’t deserve his record of most wickets in Tests and the 50-over format

Cricinfo staff08-Jul-2010Ross Emerson, the Australian umpire who no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing, including in an ODI in Adelaide in 1999, insists the offspinner doesn’t deserve his record of most wickets in Tests and the 50-over format.”I haven’t changed my view in 15 years – he doesn’t deserve the record,” Emerson told Sydney’s . “You couldn’t compare his record to Shane Warne’s – no one ever doubted the legality of Warne’s action. Murali was a great competitor and a great bowler but a lot of the time he just didn’t bowl within the limits of the law.”Murali will retire from Tests following the first Test against India in Galle that starts on July 18. He was first no-balled for “throwing” by Darrell Hair in the MCG Test in 1995 and it was almost ten years later that the ICC amended the rules pertaining to suspect bowling actions, permitting all bowlers to straighten their bowling arms by up to 15 degrees.Hair, unlike Emerson, had no problems with Murali holding the record, but didn’t regret his decision to no-ball him. Instead, he argued, the ICC’s decision to change the rules vindicated his actions. “I have no angst over him holding the record but the fact that the rules had to be changed to handle bowlers like that vindicated my actions and the actions of other umpires who called him,” Hair said.”Once they changed the rules and made it legal for bowlers to bend their arm to 15 per cent they gave an advantage to a couple of bowlers who could get something extra from that rule. I would rather see the rule as it was where you couldn’t bend your arm at all. That would mean everyone was the same.”Emerson, who later stood down and was not reappointed to the umpires panel, claimed he had been asked to no-ball Murali by an Australian official and was ignored once the incident became a major issue. “I was called to a meeting with him and, knowing that I had called some other players, he told me I had set standards in certain areas which I should uphold in Adelaide,” Emerson said. “Yet everything blew up after I called Murali and when I saw him again he wouldn’t even look at me.”Darrell Hair and I were called the controversial ones yet the rule change proved us right. The controversial ones were the umpires who thought he was a chucker yet weren’t brave enough to call him. A lot of umpires agreed with what we did but didn’t have the courage to call him.”Murali, meanwhile, said he had proved his action was legitimate after being cleared by a series of Tests conducted by the ICC. “I have no regrets at all of being called a controversial bowler,” he told reporters in Colombo. “I have proved everything by use of technology. I don’t regret anything. My talent is God’s gift.”Nowadays, we use technology for everything. Those who criticise must give bowlers a chance to be tested, not treat them as criminals.”

With Australia set to tour Pakistan in February-March next year, PSL looking at a likely window in April and May

Umar Farooq12-Jul-2021The PSL is facing a scheduling challenge for the 2022 season, as Pakistan hope to welcome a landmark home series against Australia in the window usually occupied by the T20 competition. The PSL has been conducted between February and March since its inception in 2016, but with Australia’s visit in mind, April-May is being considered as a window. That means it could be played at the same time as the IPL.The current FTP was negotiated for Pakistan by the previous board administration and during the time it was being worked on, concerns had started to emerge about the league and its scheduling impact on Pakistan’s international season. But the board was balancing a return to Pakistan for all its international cricket with the needs of a young league at the time. Australia’s visit is an especially significant one in the board’s efforts to play all its home cricket in Pakistan, because they have not toured since 1998-99.Related

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The board needs around 47 days to stage the entire season and there is, potentially, another window available from December 25 to February 15. But that could hurt foreign player participation since those from the top-five countries will be busy with national duty.Another reason the PCB is not keen on this option is a limited availability of venues. Karachi will be the only city suitable to play cricket during those months while Punjab and three other venues in Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi will experience extreme fog, which has left the board looking for a window past the month of March.At the same time, the board and the six PSL franchises remain locked in trying to agree on a tournament financial model that both sides are happy with. They have already been at loggerheads over it with the franchises taking the board to court, claiming that it is getting richer while they keep losing money.The Lahore High Court had made both parties sit together and directed PCB to “formally redress the grievances of all franchises” and “revise the model of PSL in accordance with its statutory mandate and make it financially viable”. Currently, all six teams, even though their annual rights fees range from USD 1.1 million to USD 6.35 million, get an equal share of the revenue every season.ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB has formed a panel with an independent consultant and a retired judge in Tassaduq Hussain Jillani – who is also a former Chief Justice of Pakistan – to resolve this issue. The judge has already got the work started by sending all six franchises a lengthy questionnaire assessing their finances, with a deadline of Friday. Jillani will then submit a report with his recommendations to the PCB.The PSL is also set to reassess the value of its assets this year before selling its commercial and broadcasting rights. The last three-year cycle for the TV and digital streaming rights, worth approximately USD 36 million, has come to an end this year.The PCB is set to hire an independent consultant to evaluate the value of the brand and to sell the rights. In the previous cycle, PCB had managed to secure a 358% rise in their new broadcast deal.

Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim also gained after Bangladesh’s sweep of West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2021Bangladesh offspinner Mehidy Hasan and Ireland batsman Paul Stirling have made notable gains in the ODI rankings for bowlers and batsmen, respectively, after the latest round of bilateral engagements. Shakib Al Hasan, who returned to international cricket after a one-year ban during Bangladesh’s series against West Indies, also moved up two places to No. 13 among bowlers.Mehidy, who was the highest wicket-taker against West Indies with seven strikes – including a career-best 4 for 25 in the second ODI – has climbed up nine spots to No. 4, while Stirling’s three centuries in his last five ODIs against the UAE and Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi helped him rise eight steps to No. 20 among batsmen. His 131 not out against UAE was followed by scores of 128 and 118 against Afghanistan, though all three knocks came in losses.ICC ODI Bowling Rankings•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shakib, meanwhile, was just behind Mehidy with six wickets against West Indies – four of which came in the first ODI. In other gains for Bangladesh, left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman – who also claimed six wickets in the three matches – has jumped 11 spots to No. 8 among bowlers, while wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, captain Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Mohammad Saifuddin also made slight gains in the charts.Though West Indies comprehensively lost all three ODIs against Bangladesh, Alzarri Joseph moved up by 11 places up to No. 34 among bowlers.

Logie takes over the role from former Barbados batsman Henderson Springer

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2019Gus Logie, the former West Indies batsman, has been named the head coach of West Indies Women on an interim basis as Cricket West Indies begins their recruitment process for a full-time head coach.Logie takes over the role from former Barbados batsman Henderson Springer, who will continue to assist CWI’s coaching education programs.Logie, who has been the assistant coach of the women’s team since 2017, will guide the side’s preparations for India Women’s tour of the West Indies next month. India are scheduled to play three ODIs and five T20Is from November 1 to November 20, with matches to be played in Antigua, St Lucia and Guyana.”Gus has a long history with West Indies cricket, both as a player and as a coach,” Jimmy Adams, the CWI director of cricket said via a press release. “He has been a part of the women’s team for the last two years and knows the players’ techniques and skillsets. I have no doubt he will continue his hard work in preparing the team for India Women and then the T20 World Cup next year.”We are extremely grateful to Hendy for his contribution to the women’s program over the last two years and we will continue to exploit his prior experience within coaching education.”Apart from that, Evril Betty Lewis was named the new team manager of women and girls’ cricket after interim manager Anne Browne-John was appointed the lead selector for the outfits.