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CWI will be initiating a “comprehensive recruitment process to select the next CEO”

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2024Johnny Grave’s role as chief executive officer of Cricket West Indies (CWI) is set to end in October 2024. Grave had taken up the position in February 2017, before which he served as commercial director at the Professional Cricketers’ Association [PCA] in England for nine years.”It has been an absolute privilege to have been CEO of CWI since February 2017,” Grave said in a CWI press release. “Having just hosted a successful T20 World Cup and delivered significant surpluses for CWI for the third consecutive year, I do feel it is the right time for me and my family to seek a new challenge.”I have received tremendous support from so many people since becoming CEO and I’d like to thank everyone, especially the staff and the players, particularly during the difficult pandemic, for their trust in me and their commitment to West Indies cricket. I have put everything into this role, and now is the right time for someone new with fresh energy to lead the organisation and continue this important work and build on the strong foundations that are now in place.”Related

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Grave had assumed the position vacated by Michael Muirhead. During his time at the helm, he oversaw three World Cups hosted in the West Indies: the 2018 women’s T20 World Cup, the 2022 Under-19 World Cup and the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup co-hosted with the USA. He was also the T20 World Cup CEO for the event in June this year.Grave had also earlier this year sounded a warning to the ICC that its revenue-share model was “completely broken” and urged the board of India, Australia and England to work with the ICC to change the economics of Test cricket.”Johnny’s efforts, particularly through challenging times such as the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as successfully hosting three World Cups including have made a lasting impact on CWI,” Kishore Shallow, CWI President said. “Appreciably, the organisation has taken many positive strides during his tenure. A standout achievement is the acquisition and full ownership of the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG), which is now our headquarters and home to our Men’s and Women’s Academies.”The CWI release also further stated the board will be initiating a “comprehensive recruitment process to select the next CEO.””The organisation is dedicated to ensuring a thorough and transparent selection process,” the release stated. “Details regarding the recruitment process will be announced shortly and will be published across various media platforms to keep stakeholders informed.”

He was given a reprimand and a demerit point after an argument over a dead ball not being called

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2024Matthew Wade has escaped a fine from the ICC following a heated on-field argument with umpire Nitin Menon during Australia’s 36-run win over England in Barbados in the T20 World Cup 2024, though he has been handed an “official reprimand” and one demerit point.Facing Adil Rashid in the 18th over of Australia’s innings, Wade backed away to the leg side as the bowler was in his action, and dead-batted the ball back down the pitch. The ICC said in a press release: “[Wade] expected it to be called a ‘dead ball’ by the umpire. When it wasn’t, Wade then argued with the umpires over the decision.”Wade exchanged words with Jos Buttler, England’s wicketkeeper, and continued to argue with Menon after taking a single off the following delivery. He accepted a Level 1 breach of the ICC’s code of conduct but avoided the maximum penalty of a 50% match fee fine, instead having a demerit point added to his record for the next two years.Related

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Buttler suggested he could have intervened, but said that Wade had backed away “very late”. He said: “[I’m not sure] whether I should have said, ‘I don’t know if he pulled away and let’s just carry on’. But the umpire seemed to be like, ‘well, because he played it, it’s a dot ball’… he seemed ready, and then pulled out very late.”Adam Zampa, who took 2 for 28 in Australia’s win, said that Wade had been fired up by the incident. “Wadey is a fiery guy, super competitive, and something ticked him over a little bit. That’s what we love about Wadey… having him behind the stumps, so competitive, you can hear his voice and that makes a huge difference.”If you’ve got a wicketkeeper who’s quiet, whose body language is the opposite to someone like Wadey, you can feel that as well. I love playing with Wadey. He’s so competitive… He backed away and he played that shot, and I think he felt like it was basically the same as letting it hit him in the leg, kind of a dead ball. But yeah, it doesn’t take much to fire Wadey up.”Zampa was also critical of England’s body language in the field, suggesting that they let their frustrations get the better of them – particularly when bowling to Travis Head and David Warner. “They were under the pump and it showed,” he said. “It’s so hard to bowl to those two in the powerplay.”If your bowlers aren’t summing up the conditions quickly, I guess it can be frustrating, and Heady and Davey took advantage of it. We try not to be like that. We speak about it a bit. Our leadership isn’t like that. They are very calm, and I think that helps us as bowlers as well.”

“It does affect each person. And anyone who says that doesn’t affect them at all, I’m sure is lying”

Sidharth Monga27-Dec-20234:01

Rahul: Huge luck factor for me in scoring runs here

KL Rahul has spoken of his struggle with online abuse and how it had begun to change him as a person. After he capped off his international comeback with a superlative century, his sixth away from Asia out of eight in all, this one with the added responsibility of keeping wicket, Rahul spoke of the work he put on his mind during the injury break just before the World Cup.”It is difficult obviously,” Rahul said of handling what is said about him. “You have your own personality, personality traits, characteristics. When you play international cricket, they all get challenged. As a person, as a cricketer, as an individual, you are challenged each day, each moment. Social media is a pressure. Today I have scored a hundred so people are singing praises. Three-four months ago, everybody was abusing me. It’s part of the game, but I can’t say it doesn’t affect you; it does. The sooner you realise that staying away from it is good for your game and your mindset the better it is.Related

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“You can perform or you can be in a better mindset if you slightly know where to draw the line. Nobody’s that great that they can completely avoid what has been said and the criticism they’re getting. It does affect each person. And anyone who says that doesn’t affect them at all, I’m sure is lying. But each person has to find their way. And for me, when I was injured and was away from the game for such a long time, I worked on myself. I tried to go back to the person that I am, and worked on how I don’t change myself by getting affected by these things. It is difficult to remain true to yourself and true to your personality with so much happening. It is the hardest thing.”But like anything else in cricket, like anything else in life, there’s, there are ways to work on it. There are people who can help you if your mind is open. So that’s what I did when I was out of the game. I worked on myself and then worked on remaining calmer, and taking care of my head. And what happens inside as well.”Rahul said there was never any point retaliating because those who want to abuse carry on regardless. He said that the only way to keep negative comments away as a public-facing professional was to keep performing, but what he spoke about his innings also suggested that he perhaps appreciates the role of luck much more now. That when the runs are not coming, it is not necessarily your fault, that you do need luck in this sport. Interestingly, it came through in his acknowledgement of luck in this innings, a sensational 101 off 137 in a team score of 245 in testing conditions.Rahul was answering a question about batting in Centurion, where he has now scored two consecutive hundreds, when he brought up luck. “I’ve quite enjoyed playing here,” Rahul said. “The wicket really keeps reminding you that you need to focus throughout, and you’re never really set. You’re never really in or you’re never really out of the game. It’s a fast outfield. The minute you time the ball, you get boundaries and there will be times when you can score your runs really fast and there will be times when you can’t get a run at all. So that’s quite challenging.”And I enjoyed doing that here in Centurion, and I guess I just got lucky twice. Did a few things right, but also it was a huge luck factor. Played and missed a lot of balls. So yeah, that’s it.”Rahul, and most cricketers, knows that on another day an early play and miss resulting in an edge doesn’t necessarily make them a bad player, but that needs to be reinforced once in a while because people eventually judge you on the results.Having scored this century, Rahul retained the calmness that should naturally follow as the other side of the coin. He said he was humbled that Sunil Gavaskar called it one of the 10 best centuries of all time by Indians. He also confirmed what has been said about him: that middle order is perhaps the better place for him because there he just needs to react to situations rather than create situations when opening the batting.”Batting in the middle order, what I’ve realised is that you can’t really plan your innings all that much,” Rahul said. “When you walk in, there’s a situation in front of you. The game tells you how you need to play and what you need to do in that time and in that moment. That’s what I try to do. I try to walk in with a very free and very empty mindset when I’m batting in the middle order, and then see what the game demands of me and then try and do my best in that moment.”

Rohit Sharma’s team are clear favourites, although they will know not to underestimate a World Cup opposition

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Oct-20224:01

Kumble: ‘Not fair’ to leave Ashwin or Axar out against Netherlands

Big Picture

Thursday will be the first instance of India and Netherlands contesting in a T20 international. While India will enter as clear favourites, they will also be the first to point out the danger that Scott Edwards’ team poses. Netherlands are the only Associates in the Super 12s. They have worked hard to earn their place and now their players want to enjoy playing alongside the big boys, a long-cherished dream. India, Pakistan and South Africa are in their group, and the Dutch want to ensure they push themselves to create an upset.Exposure – that has been the catchphrase Associate coaches and players have holding up outside the gates of the ICC and bigger countries. Playing better teams will make them better has been the punch line. And Netherlands have proved that this season: in 2022 they have played ODI series against England, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies and Afghanistan along with the twin T20Is against New Zealand as well as the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe before arriving in Australia.Related

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Equipped with that experience, Netherlands believed they could beat Bangladesh in their first Super 12 match on Monday and nearly achieved that aim, if not for a couple of unnecessary run-outs, the reason behind the eventual nine-run defeat. Netherlands know India are on a whole other level and on an almighty high after a dramatic win against Pakistan. While their bowlers have executed the plans every match, Netherlands’ batting has been a virtual one-man show named Max O’Dowd. He needs support from Vikramjit Singh, Colin Ackermann, Tom Cooper and Edwards.The Netherlands captain could tell his players, ‘we have nothing to lose so let’s just enjoy’. Such an attitude, Paul van Meerkeren, Netherlands’ strike bowler, said, has the potential to help players raise the performance bar. And given their history of shocking big teams at T20 World Cups – England in 2009 and 2014 – India will want to be on high alert.Bas de Leede has been turning a lot of heads at the T20 World Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Form guide

India WLWWW
(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Netherlands LLWWL

In the spotlight

As a captain Rohit Sharma has been loud, clear and fearless. He is one of the best tacticians in the game and is more than capable of thinking on the fly too. But Rohit the batter has been flying low recently: in his last five T20Is, Rohit has scored just 64 runs including two ducks at a strike rate of 103. This dip in form is in contrast to the stroke-filled 46 he hit against Australia in the rain-shortened match in Nagpur which earned him the Player-of-the-Match award. His last fifty came in a losing cause, seven matches ago, against Sri Lanka, in the Asia Cup. Rohit knows he needs to dictate with the bat and show consistency.Multiple World Cup-winner Ricky Ponting likes to keep an eye on young talent and he thinks Netherlands allrounder Bas de Leede has something special about him. Ponting feels de Leede has the tools to grow bigger, and his local BBL team Hobart Hurricanes could be thinking about having him on their roster. Other T20 franchise scouts have also tracked de Leede, who was recently picked up by MI Emirates for the inaugural season of the International League T20, starting in the UAE from January 2023. De Leede, who is 22, was also Player of the Match in Netherlands’ two victories in the first round of this World Cup and their second-highest run-maker in the World Cup Qualifiers that preceded it.

Team news

With just one left-hander in the Netherlands’ top eight, India could be tempted to bring in Yuzvendra Chahal, but their bowling coach Paras Mhambrey pointed out on Wednesday that they prefer the balance R Ashwin brings to their batting and may continue playing with him.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Mohammed Shami, 9 R Ashwin/ Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Arshdeep SinghIndia are coming off a massing emotional high from their last game•ICC via Getty Images

Netherlands, too, are unlikely to tinker but remain concerned by the injury to Roelof van der Merwe. Edwards said a final call on would be taken based on how the left-arm spinner holds up after the training on Wednesday.Netherlands (possible): 1 Max O’Dowd, 2 Vikramjit Singh. 3 Bas de Leede, 4 Colin Ackermann, 5 Tom Cooper, 6 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 7 Tim Pringle, 8 Timm van der Gugten, 9 Fred Klaassen 10 Paul van Meekeren, 11 Shariz Ahmed/Roelof van der Merwe

Pitch and conditions

New Zealand blasted 200 in the tournament opener at the SCG on Saturday. So it is fair to expect runs to flow once again. There was some threat of rain, but it looks pretty clear on match eve.

Stats and trivia

• Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene is the only batter to have scored 1000-plus runs in T20 World Cups. Jayawardene scored 1016 runs in 31 innings across five World Cups. But that record is set to be surpassed by Kohli, who is 73 runs adrift of the 1000-run mark.
• Kohli, who is playing his fifth T20 World Cup, is currently the third-highest run-maker, but has the highest average 84.3 (min. seven innings played) alongside 11 half-centuries (a tournament record). Oh, and the SCG is his favourite venue when it comes to T20Is as no batter has scored more than his 236 runs which have been cracked at an average of nearly 79 and a strike rate of 146.
• Van Meekeren needs one more wicket to go past Pieter Seelaar to become Netherlands’ leading T20 wicket-taker. Currently, van Meekeren has 58 wickets in 52 innings with an average of 21.5 and economy rate of 6.9

Quotes

“The discussion we always had was every game in a tournament like this is important. Yes, the first game [was against Pakistan and] we knew the hype around it. We knew it’s always going to be a high intensity and big clash, but having such games done and dusted in the first phase itself, it’s good. Had this game been maybe the third or fourth game, it would really sometimes take that effect on the following games, but having this game out of our group, it’s good.”
“Yeah, it’s huge. You always dream of playing World Cups, and the SCG is one of the most famous grounds in the world. And then add in you’re playing against arguably one of the best teams in the world, yes, it’s pretty surreal. The boys are looking forward to it.”
on how keen his team is to face India.

“If the ball is moving around 140-145 clicks that has to be more challenging than somebody bowling at 85-90” – Ashwin

Matt Roller14-Feb-20213:57

Manjrekar – I don’t think anyone in his right mind will call this a good pitch

Ben Foakes said that conditions in Chennai were “obviously extremely tough, and probably not going to get any easier” after keeping wicket for 113.5 overs and batting for nearly two hours across the first two days of England’s second Test against India.With Jos Buttler at home in the UK as part of the ECB’s rotation policy for multi-format players, Foakes has been backed by England to keep wicket in the final three Tests of this series, and took his chance in India’s first innings with an accomplished display with the gloves: England did not concede a single extra, while Foakes took two catches off Olly Stone’s bowling and completed a stumping off Moeen Ali.Related

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He then performed creditably with the bat, compiling an unbeaten 42 from No. 7 after coming in at 52 for 5 to drag England up to 134 all out, though his keeping was less polished at the start of India’s second innings, as he missed a stumping chance off Moeen’s bowling to dismiss Rohit Sharma and also conceded five byes.”It was extremely difficult,” Foakes told the host broadcaster, Star Sports. “Obviously they [India] are a pretty high-quality spin outfit and the pitch was playing a few tricks, so all in all it was a really tough day. We have just got to try to apply ourselves [in the] second innings.”It’s obviously extremely tough and it’s probably not going to get any easier. Balls are going to spit past us, balls are going to keep low, and so we have to play within our own gameplans, our own limits, and try to put pressure on the bowlers where we can but also back our defence, too.”Foakes highlighted the lack of any moisture in the surface, which he suggested had made the pitch particularly difficult to bat on.Ben Foakes held up his end for a long time for England•BCCI

“I think it’s just spitting so much,” he said. “It’s obviously so dry on the top that a lot of balls are taking the top and really turning, and then you’re getting the odd ball shoot low as well. All in all, it’s quite a difficult pitch to bat on.”I was just trying to play for the ball that wasn’t going to rag, try to play within my limits, and play the ball late, basically – not get too far outside my bubble.”Because the ball is taking the top of the surface, it’s spitting quite a lot, so it was almost [a case of] accepting that if one hit me on the glove or something then it was fair enough. Otherwise, I just tried to stick to my gameplan as if it was a normal sort of wicket and react if possible.”R Ashwin, who took 5 for 43 to help roll through England in their second innings, said that batsmen needed to be “very patient” on the Chepauk surface, but suggested that the pitch was no more challenging than one which would offer bounce and carry for fast bowlers.”I think it’s about being very patient, like when you play on a seaming wicket,” Ashwin said. “You have to dive through the initial phase, and get over it and then put runs on the board. When it comes to spin, unfortunately people don’t expect… they want conditions in their favour, driving, cutting, everything needs to happen. But when it comes to a seaming wicket, you can’t do all those things when you start playing on that kind of a wicket in the morning. The same benchmark needs to be set when you play spin on a challenging wicket as well.”I do not know if they [England] have complaints. If they do, it is quite natural for people to come up against adverse conditions and then feel taken aback by it. In all honesty, the seven days of cricket that they have played so far, they have played really well, competed really well. I haven’t seen any of them complaining or anything like that.”But time and again there are conditions that will challenge, be it spin or seam. The only comparison I can say is if the ball is moving around 140-145 clicks [kph] off the deck, that has to be more challenging than somebody bowling at 85-90. Clearly, the challenges are way greater when you come up against seam. Just the same way when you come up against spin, you have to give it to the bowler, bide your time, and then probably cash in a little later. It is another art. As simple as that.”Graham Thorpe, England’s assistant coach, said that the toss had been an important factor – as it had been in the first Test of the series – and played down any concerns about umpiring. Rohit Sharma survived a review for lbw in the final half-hour after a ball from Moeen struck him outside the line and would have hit middle stump. Umpire Virender Sharma’s ‘not out’ decision was upheld after he had judged that Rohit had attempted to play a shot, despite appearing to hide his bat behind his front pad, which left Joe Root visibly frustrated.”It’s incredibly challenging on that surface on day two,” Thorpe said. “They’re a very skilled spin attack in their own conditions and it was a very good toss to win. Even in the first Test, we believed it was a good toss to win. I think this was just as important. We know that pitches deteriorate here as the game goes on, and this one has gone a little bit quicker.”It’s obviously a canny bit of play by Pujara [Rohit]. The umpire has to make that decision. He has to decide at the time whether he thinks a player has played a shot at the ball and you have to accept it. The on-field umpire has to make that decision and that’s the one he came down on: he thought Pujara [Rohit] was playing a shot.”

Mason Crane has created a good impression in Australia, but on his English county form his selection would represent a considerable promotion

George Dobell in Sydney01-Jan-20181:57

‘Dreamed of playing in Sydney’ – Stoneman

Mason Crane looks set to make his Test debut in the final match of the Ashes series in Sydney.Crane, the 20-year-old leg-spinner, is set to come into the team in place of either Moeen Ali or Tom Curran as England take the opportunity to blood a new player with the series already decided and the whitewash averted.While it remains possible that Moeen could retain his place if it seems conditions will justify the selection of two spin bowlers, it appears Crane will be first choice if England go in with only one slow bowler.The selection would continue a remarkable journey for Crane. Just over a year ago, he was in Sydney playing Grade cricket for Gordon in a bid to gain experience. So well did it go – he claimed four five-fors and three seven-fors on the way to becoming the leading wicket-taker in New South Wales premier cricket – he was selected for New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield side. That made him their first overseas player since Imran Khan in 1984-85, and their first English player since William Caffyn in the 1960s. He performed admirably, too, with five wickets in the match.But his selection for a Test would be a huge promotion. He claimed only 16 Championship wickets in 2017 – at a cost of 44.68 apiece – and was far from an automatic piece in Hampshire’s side. On this Ashes tour, he has claimed five wickets in first-class matches at a cost of 58.29 apiece.

MacGill backs Crane debut

Stuart MacGill, the former Australia legspinner and a mentor of Mason Crane, is adamant that his Test career should have got underway earlier in the Ashes series.
“I think England’s missed a trick by not playing him earlier in the series to be honest, particularly seeing the bowling hasn’t had the penetration they could have hoped for,” he said.
“One of the big differences between me and Mayso, he’s very resilient. When I was young, it took me a long time to be able to cope with getting smacked around a bit.
“I know this guy has got what it takes to cope with a bad day. I’m a big believer in that being a real guide whether or not a slow bowler will make the grade – and Mayso can.”

Moeen has endured a grim tour, however. As well as claiming just three wickets in the first four Tests at a cost of 135 apiece, he has looked devoid of confidence with the bat and averaged just 19.42. That miserable run culminated in a reckless, frantic innings of 20 in 14 deliveries in Melbourne that suggested he had lost faith in his defensive game against both spin and pace and ended with a catch in the covers.Now, with the Ashes gone and England deciding that Moeen may benefit from a spell out if the firing line, Crane looks set to win his Test debut.But while Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, admits that Moeen has had a miserable tour, he remains confident that, in the “long term” he will again prove himself a top England player.”There’s no time like the present to find out if Mason is ready,” Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, said. “We think he’s a guy that has got the goods and the more he plays at this level the better he will get. You have got to start somewhere.”Like any player, you go through highs and lows. The number of runs and wickets makes it one of his lows. But just a couple of months ago we were singing his praises as one of the best all-rounders in the world. Conditions are a bit different here and it’s taken him longer than he would have liked to feel comfortable; there’s not a lot of spin.”He’s different to Nathan Lyon, who gets over-spin. Mo doesn’t and things don’t happen as quickly, without the bounce that Lyon gets. Mo is a free spirit and one or two shots or wickets and he will be off and running. So I’m not concerned long term.”The fact that Australia have called up slow left-armer Ashton Agar suggests they, too, feel that the pitch will spin. And, if England are of the same mind, it seems inevitable they will want both spin options in the side.Mason Crane in action in an England practice session•Getty Images

“The type of wicket we play on might play a part too,” Bayliss said. “Normally that you can easily play two spinners but looking at the wicket it looked like it had a decent covering of grass.”I think it will still spin towards the end of the game – it’s still the same soil – but we will just have to take a look. There’s been no decision right now. And with the series lost it gives us an opportunity to look at some different people.”Meanwhile England confirmed that Saqlain Mushtaq and Stuart MacGill – both spin bowling consultants – would be working for England in the coming weeks. Saqlain, who has worked for England in a part-time capacity for some time, has recently signed a new contract committing him to more hours than ever in 2018, while MacGill, who worked with Crane when he was playing Grade cricket a few months ago, will join the squad ahead of the Sydney Test.

Cameron Bancroft’s first experience of county cricket proved to be a galling one after he was penalised under the ECB’s discipline code for dissent on his Gloucestershire debut

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Apr-2016Cameron Bancroft’s first experience of county cricket proved to be a galling one after he was penalised under the ECB’s discipline code for dissent on his Gloucestershire debut.Bancroft showed his displeasure after he was adjudged caught at the wicket off Essex’s pace bowler Jamie Porter for a third-ball duck – his second single-figure score of the match while opening the batting in Gloucestershire’s opening Specsavers Championship match.He was reported by umpires Michael Gough and Jeff Evans for a Level One breach of the code (showing dissent at an umpire’s decision by word or action).Although Bancroft escaped with a reprimand, the penalty remains on his record for a period of two years and the accumulation of nine or more penalty points in any two year period will result in an automatic suspension.Bancroft, the Western Australia wicketkeeper-batsman, has signed for Gloucestershire for the first two months of the English season. He made his Australia debut in the final T20 against India in Sydney earlier this year.He is one of three Western Australia players signed by Gloucestershire. Michael Klinger, captain in limited-overs cricket, returns towards the end of May, alongside the T20 specialist Andrew Tye.Surrey’s Tom Curran was also reported by umpires David Millns and Tim Robinson for a Level One offence during Surrey’s Championship match against Nottinghamshire.

Sunil Narine, the West Indies offspinner, has been reported for bowling with a suspect action during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2015Sunil Narine, the West Indies offspinner, has been reported for bowling with a suspect action during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.Narine finished with figures of 0 for 24 in the Pallekele ODI, which Sri Lanka won by 19 runs based on the Duckworth-Lewis method. The match officials’ report, handed to the West Indies team management after the game, cited concerns about the legality of Narine’s deliveries.Narine will need to undergo testing on his action within 14 days, and will be permitted to continue bowling until the results of his testing are known.This is the first time Narine has been reported in an international game, though he has undergone scrutiny of his action during the IPL and the Champions League T20. He was reported twice in two matches during the 2014 edition of the CLT20, forcing him to miss Kolkata Knight Riders’ final against Chennai Super Kings.Though he was free to bowl in international cricket, West Indies withdrew Narine from their tour of India to allow him “the opportunity to have his action assessed and plan his return to cricket”. West Indies left him out of all their subsequent international assignments until they picked him for the 2015 World Cup. Though he had remodeled his action in the interim, Narine pulled out of the tournament, saying the return would be “a little too much too soon”.Narine endured further trouble with his action during the 2015 IPL – he was first cleared to bowl in the tournament, reported and sent for a re-test, banned from bowling his offbreaks, and then cleared again, with a “final warning”.The Sri Lanka tour was Narine’s first international tournament since August 2014. He picked up four wickets at an average of 18.00 in the three ODIs, while conceding 3.34 runs per over.

The ICC has fined Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, over his comments that Stuart Broad had blatantly cheated in failing to walk when he edged Ashton Agar during the first Test

Brydon Coverdale22-Aug-2013The ICC has fined Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, over his comments that Stuart Broad had blatantly cheated in failing to walk when he edged Ashton Agar during the first Investec Test at Trent Bridge. Lehmann has been fined 20% of his match fee for the final Test over the interview with the Australian radio station Triple M this week, in which he also said he hoped spectators would “give it to” Broad during the upcoming Ashes series in Australia.Lehmann pleaded guilty to breaching Article 2.1.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “public criticism of, or inappropriate comment in relation to an incident occurring in an international match or any player, player support personnel, match official or team participating in any international match.”The ICC chief executive, David Richardson, laid the charge and on Thursday night, Lehmann admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by the match referee Roshan Mahanama, who is overseeing the ongoing Test at The Oval.”Whilst noting the context and nature of the comments made, showing mutual respect for one’s fellow professionals – including for coaches, players and match officials – is a cornerstone of how we play the game,” Richardson said.During the radio interview, Lehmann was asked about the incident from the first Test in which Broad edged and the catch was taken at first slip after deflecting off the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Lehmann said it was a case of cheating on the part of Broad.”Certainly our players haven’t forgotten, they’re calling him everything under the sun as they go past,” Lehmann said in the interview. “I hope the Australian public are the same because that was just blatant cheating. I don’t advocate walking but when you hit it to first slip it’s pretty hard.”

The two-member panel, which was formed to look into the involvement of the owners of two IPL franchises in corruption during the tournament, has found “no evidence of any wrongdoing” against Raj Kundra, the Rajasthan Royals team and India Cements

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2013A two-member panel has found “no evidence of any wrongdoing” against Raj Kundra, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals, the Rajasthan Royals franchise, and India Cements, the owner of Chennai Super Kings. The panel, comprising former high-court judges, was formed to look into the involvement of the owners of two IPL franchises in corruption during the tournament.The BCCI working committee met in Kolkata on Sunday and Niranjan Shah, a BCCI vice-president, said that the report submitted by the two retired judges, T Jayaram Chouta and R Balasubramanian, will now be forwarded to the IPL governing council.”There is no evidence of any wrongdoing found by the judges against Raj Kundra, India Cements and Rajasthan Royals,” Shah said. “The report will now be forwarded to the IPL governing council which will take a final decision when it meets on August 2 in New Delhi.”Meanwhile, Joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy said, “The BCCI had written to us asking for the investigating officer to depose before the board. We wrote back a month ago, seeking clarification on the legal provisions of their request. But they have not replied.”The investigation into Gurunath Meiyappan, a top Super Kings official and BCCI president N Srinivasan’s son-in-law, India Cements, Kundra and Rajasthan Royals’ owner Jaipur IPL Pvt Ltd was sanctioned after Meiyappan was arrested by Mumbai Police and Kundra reportedly confessed to betting in IPL matches.When asked if India Cements – the company of which Srinivasan is managing director and vice-president – has been given a clean chit in the report, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the interim BCCI chief, said: “The final call will be taken in the IPL governing council meeting. The governing council will examine the report and accordingly will take a decision. The copy of the report will be made public in due course.”Dalmiya also said that Srinivasan, who stepped aside from his duties till the investigation was complete as it included the probing of his son-in-law, will decide who will chair the governing council’s meeting on August 2. The question arose because Rajiv Shukla had resigned as the IPL governing council’s chairman on June 1. However, Dalmiya said he had not accepted that resignation. “I have requested him to continue,” he said. “I have not accepted Shukla’s resignation.”He conceded that BCCI Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chief Ravi Sawani’s findings on the Rajasthan Royals players accused of spot-fixing was discussed on Sunday, but since one of the three players involved – Ajit Chandila – was still in police custody, he could not be spoken to and so the probe is as yet incomplete.”We will wait for some time and then proceed accordingly,” Dalmiya said. “Sawani is currently on leave because of his son’s marriage. Let him come back.”Regarding the controversy over MS Dhoni’s conflict of interest because of his involvement with player management company Rhiti Sports, Dalmiya said “nothing will be swept under the carpet”.”I had said nothing will be swept under the carpet, many were asking what happened to that,” he said. “We have changed our mode of working. The players will have to declare their interest in sports management companies.”
By Sharda UgraThe BCCI’s working committee meeting in Kolkata has turned an important step of “Operation Clean-Up” into something resembling “Operation Cover-Up”.BCCI vice-president Niranjan Shah said the two-member probe panel had found “no evidence of wrongdoing” against Raj Kundra, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals, and India Cements, the owner of Chennai Super Kings. Interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya announced that the panel’s report would be formally tabled at another meeting five days later in Delhi.These facts spin out a series of questions.Does “no evidence of wrongdoing” erase the fact that Gurunath Meiyappan, who went from being “team principal” of Chennai Super Kings to an “enthusiast” and happens to be the son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, was arrested and questioned by Mumbai Police, and that Kundra was called in for questioning by Delhi Police?The arrest of a top-ranking team official and the questioning of a team owner about his association with bookmakers are not routine for any self-respecting sporting league. The damage caused to the IPL’s credibility by these events is as much of a “wrongdoing” as the arrest of and allegations against the three Rajasthan Royals players. Both Gurunath and Kundra were in positions of authority, with access to inside information.The next question that arises is with regards to the still-amorphous nature of the two-member probe panel that was set up to investigate the Rajasthan and Chennai honchos. To begin with, its appointment took place without a formal meeting of the IPL governing council. After the resignation of BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale, who was originally named on the panel, it was neither disbanded nor was there a third member chosen to replace him. It is not known whether either Gurunath or Kundra deposed before the panel and who else was questioned. Had help been sought from the Mumbai or Delhi Police, whose investigations had a two-month head-start over BCCI’s own probe panel? The bazaar says the panel did approach Mumbai Police, but were refused help. Mumbai Police says that it had asked the panel a question, but nobody replied. So, what were the panel’s questions and where did their answers come from?Two conclusions emerged from Kolkata: Rajasthan Royals will benefit from the fact that they share the dock with Chennai Super Kings, the IPL’s best-connected and most powerful team. If Super Kings owners are to be spared, regardless of the arrest of a key official, so will Royals’. Even though the Delhi Police chief said that Kundra had confessed to betting in the IPL. Secondly, the probe panel’s report is now in the hands of the BCCI’s one-man disciplinary committee, Arun Jaitley. The other two members are Srinivasan, whose company India Cements is under investigation, and Shah.The report will then pass on to the IPL’s governing council, which will meet on August 2 in Delhi, home turf for Jaitley and Rajiv Shukla, whose resignation as IPL chairman, Dalmiya said, has not been accepted.With the IPL’s standing eroded, the ground beneath the BCCI’s feet is merely becoming shifting sand.