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Nadeem Ghauri, the Pakistan umpire, has been handed a four-year ban by the PCB on charges of corruption alleged by a TV sting operation in 2012. His colleague Anis Siddiqui was banned for three years

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2013Nadeem Ghauri, the Pakistan umpire, has been handed a four-year ban by the PCB after its integrity committee found him guilty of being willing to accept money for favourable umpiring decisions. His colleague Anis Siddiqi was banned for three years.The allegations against the umpires first came up after a television sting operation last year. The PCB set up an inquiry committee soon after and passed on its findings to the board’s integrity committee to determine the punishments.The sting, broadcast by India TV, 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. In the sting, conducted in July and August 2012, the reporters claimed to belong to a sports management company and promised the umpires officiating assignments in events of all kinds around the world, largely domestic Twenty20 leagues.A PCB release detailed the decisions of the integrity committee which included PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf. It explained why the board was harsher on Ghauri, who has stood in five Tests and 43 ODIs. “Mr. Nadeem Ghauri being a former Test cricketer and also elevated to the elite panel of umpires of ICC and PCB’s International panel (with 13 years standing) straight away agreed to extend undue favours for material gains.”The ruling on Siddiqi was a bit more lenient. “Mr. Anis Siddiqui being only a domestic umpire with lesser experience of only eight years did not straight away fall prey to the undue suggestions made by India TV Sting Operatives and kept on resisting their undue demands repeatedly, but finally conceded to them on their persistence. Keeping in view his limited exposure to International Cricket and Codes of Conduct, his case is of mitigating circumstances.”The PCB studied the raw, unedited footage of the operation from India TV, besides evidence from the ICC and investigated it with the help of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency .The Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka boards announced investigations following the broadcast of the sting operation in October. The Bangladesh umpire Nadir Shah was handed a ten-year ban by the BCB last month. The SLC began its investigation into the matter in October but hasn’t yet announced their findings.The Pakistan board has endorsed the recommendations of the integrity committee. “The PCB has a zero-tolerance policy for corruption or indiscipline,” the chairman Ashraf said. “We are committed on creating awareness amongst our players and officials with regards to the possible pitfalls, and are determined to adopt all vigilance and security parameters, which are in line with the laid out procedures of the ICC. Today’s decision reiterates the commitment of the PCB to keep our great sport free of all corrupt practices.”

Graeme Smith is expected to recover from bad blow on his elbow in time for the two-Test series against New Zealand early next year

Firdose Moonda09-Dec-2012Graeme Smith is expected to recover from bad blow on his elbow in time for the two-Test series against New Zealand early next year. Smith was hit in the nets while training for the domestic one-day semi-final on Friday and had to sit out the fixture when his discomfort did not ease.”Initially, we thought he would recover in time but because he was in a lot of pain it wasn’t worth the risk, especially because he has to be ready to play Test cricket in three weeks’ time,” Mohammed Moosajee, South African team manager, told ESPNcricinfo. Smith is unlikely to play in the three-match Twenty20 series, which starts on December 21, as he has not been part of South Africa’s recent T20 squads.The rest of South Africa’s team, except Jacques Kallis who is recovering from a hamstring strain, were all available to play for their franchises, five days after returning from Australia. Six of them – Dale Steyn, Rory Kleinveldt, Robin Peterson, Jacques Rudolph, AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel – were in action.That number could have been as many as eight but Vernon Philander and Faf du Plessis were not selected by their respective teams. Philander missed out to Steyn, Kleinveldt and Cobras’ old hands Johann Louw and Justin Kemp.Du Plessis, though, appeared to have been left out because of fatigue. He played for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League opener against Melbourne Stars on Friday. He scored 14 off 17 balls, took a catch and was involved in a run-out.Steyn was also due to take part in the BBL having signed up to play one match for Brisbane Heat. However, Cricket South Africa withdrew his no-objection certificate because the match clashed with the domestic one-day cup final.Meanwhile, JP Duminy, who ruptured his Achilles’ tendon after the first day’s play of the Brisbane Tests, is progressing well. He is able to walk with a moonboot and crutch and is on track with the physiotherapy required to make a full recovery. He is aiming for a return in the Champions Trophy in June 2013.

Clive Lloyd has said the World Twenty20 winning West Indies team should now aim for the “next level” by targeting the No.1 ranking in ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2012Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain, has said the World Twenty20 winning West Indies team should now aim for the “next level” by targeting the No.1 ranking in ODIs. “The win suggests that we can be a good ODI outfit. This is the start, the impetus that we needed to excel in the longer version,” he told .Lloyd, who led West Indies to World Cup wins in 1975 and 1979, said he expected the team to do well in Sri Lanka, as it had explosive batsmen and decent bowlers who are capable of performing the same way in longer formats.”Out of the 15 big hitters in the world, six belong to our team. They are all phenomenal strikers,” he said. “It gives them impetus on the field. They know they can go out there and dominate. That’s what they must do in the longer version too. Apart from Chris Gayle, we have [Marlon] Samuels who’s growing in confidence in both Tests and ODIs. We have a couple of good spinners and decent fast bowlers, basically an attack that can dislodge any opponent. We’re close to being quite a balanced side.”Lloyd added the team needed to identify its players for different formats. “Someone like Kieron Pollard can do the kind of job Andrew Symonds did for Australia. Pollard is explosive and can be a handful down the order. We have enough bowlers to choose from – both pace and spin.”At least we have two spinners who are able to confuse the batters,” Lloyd spoke of Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree, both of whom played important roles in Sri Lanka. “In the longer format, we’ll know how good they are. In the one-day game, I don’t think too many people will attack them and be successful.”West Indies’ T20 title was their first major international success since the 2004 Champions Trophy, but Lloyd said the current team appeared stronger than the 2004 winners. “They are gelling together. They seem to be quite happy when they go out there. Nothing seems to faze them. And they’re showing purpose. You have got to give credit to the captain.”Lloyd said he was happy to see Gayle back in the team, as he was a “decent fellow” to work with. “Chris just wanted to be back. He looks a really happy soul. Once he is happy, I’m happy. He creates that force and sort of generates the warmth needed for team spirit. I don’t think he’s giving the establishment any problems. They had one little spat.”

The relationship between the PCB and the BCB is likely to suffer if Bangladesh do not go ahead with the proposed tour to Pakistan in April because of security concerns, ESPNcricinfo has learnt

Umar Farooq19-Mar-2012The relationship between the PCB and the BCB is likely to suffer if Bangladesh do not go ahead with the proposed tour to Pakistan in April because of security concerns, ESPNcricinfo has learnt. An implicit deal had been reached by the two boards, according to which the PCB backed BCB president Mustafa Kamal as the nominee for the ICC vice-presidency and Bangladesh would tour Pakistan in 2012.”Ultimately, its Bangladesh’s loss if they don’t send their team,” Zaka Ashraf told ESPNcricinfo. “We are helping them and want to have a positive relationship not only with Bangladesh, but all the nations. We want to strengthen our relationship. We have been sending our players to feature in their leagues and we expect them to respect our positive approach, after all everything is on reciprocal basis.”The ICC executive board is set to consider Kamal’s nomination as its next vice-president, and president in 2014 after Alan Isaac’s term. And though there have been constant doubts over whether Bangladesh will tour Pakistan, the PCB is optimistic that the drought of international cricket in the country since the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team in March 2009 will come to an end.ESPNcricinfo understands that the BCB, despite being satisfied by the proposed security arrangements for the tour to Pakistan, is seeking some support from other countries, but none has been forthcoming. A nine-member delegation, headed by Kamal, had been sent on a two-day visit to Pakistan to observe a demonstration of the security plan for the series, and Kamal had said he was positive about the tour going ahead.The ICC, however, introduced a special dispensation to be made in exceptional circumstances in order to ensure bilateral series take place even if the ruling body determined it unsafe to appoint its officials for such series. It would allow such series to be manned by “non-neutral match officials.”Kamal then put the future of the tour in doubt by saying, “We won’t go if everything doesn’t happen within the standard practice, which is the allocation of match-referees, umpires and all things by the ICC.”While the PCB did not respond to Kamal’s comments, a board official said the BCB was being leaned on by another country. “We are informed of a third-country pressure on BCB,” a PCB official told ESPNcricinfo. “We understand most of the member boards aren’t keen to support our move, but we are very much clear of what would be required to give Bangladesh the confidence to come to Pakistan. And we did exactly what we have to do – we have engaged the government at the superior level to satisfy Bangladesh with the security arrangements.”Since the attacks, Pakistan have played their home bilateral series at offshore venues such as New Zealand, England and the UAE but the PCB saw no commercial advantage in hosting Bangladesh at such venues. The PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf, who will be in Dhaka for the end of the Asia Cup, will make a final attempt to allay any doubts Bangladesh might have. The PCB also ruled out the possibility of talks with the BCCI. “There’s no use of asking India any further,” Ashraf said. “Their board doesn’t want to play us and that’s clearly understood.”Edited by George Binoy

Matthew Maynard, the former England assistant coach, said the chief reason for England’s rise to World No.1 in Tests is the unselfishness of their players

Firdose Moonda13-Sep-2011Matthew Maynard, the former England assistant coach, said the chief reason for England’s rise to World No.1 in Tests is the unselfishness of their players. Maynard, who captained and coached Glamorgan, worked under Duncan Fletcher in the England setup from 2004 to 2007 and grew close to many of the current England players.”The big thing is that they really and truly enjoy each other’s success,” he told ESPNcricinfo in Centurion, where he has started his new job as head coach of the Titans franchise. “It was like that to an extent when I was there but not collectively like it is now. There were one or two players then who still had that little bit of jealousy when someone else did well, but those guys are gone now.”Rather than go into detail about the players whose influence was less than favourable, Maynard preferred to reflect on the members of the team who have excelled and blossomed since his time with the squad.”Ian Bell has really stood out for me. He has proven what a quality player he is. He has got much tougher as he has matured. Batsmen at the age of about 29, as he is now, start to play their best cricket and understand how much hard work is required of them.” Bell was England’s second-highest run-scorer in the recent home series against India, with 504 runs including a double-century in the fourth Test.Maynard heaped praise on England’s bowlers, singling out Graeme Swann as a major factor in the team’s success. “James Anderson really leads that attack and Tim Bresnan is an important component as well, but the player that has really changed them is Graeme Swann. If you look at all the best international sides in history, barring West Indies when they had that great pace attack, they have had a world-class spinner, not just a good one.”The 2005 Ashes triumph was the highlight of Maynard’s tenure, and he said while that was an important turning point for them there were lessons to be learned from the slump that followed that series win. Seven of the next 13 series were lost, two drawn and just four were won.Maynard said part of the reason they failed to establish continuity after that Ashes victory was because they genuinely did not know how to. “It was the pinnacle for us and we hadn’t really looked beyond that series at what we were going to do after that. It was as if we had reached the top of the world.”The real summit was only mounted this summer when a 4-0 whitewash of India allowed England to be crowned the best in the world. It was a process that Maynard believes was possible because of the way Andy Flower has crafted the England squad, which is substantially different to the squad that Maynard worked with, under Fletcher.”After that Ashes win, we had a few injuries. We lost Marcus Trescothick, Ashley Giles and Steve Harmison. What Andy Flower has done is tried to develop cover for everybody so that if something happens to anyone, someone else can step in. Instead of having just a top XI, he has a squad of 18 or 19 players. The only position he does not have cover for is that spinner’s spot.”

Trent Copeland produced a stunning debut with seven wickets, but Queensland were boosted by Lee Carseldine’s century as they reached 9 for 335

Cricinfo staff29-Jan-2010Queensland 9 for 335 (Carseldine 109, Swan 55*, Copeland 7-92) v New South Wales

ScorecardTrent Copeland was in outstanding form on debut as he knocked over seven Queenslanders•Getty Images

Trent Copeland produced a stunning debut with seven wickets, but Queensland were boosted by Lee Carseldine’s century as they reached 9 for 335 on the first day. Copeland, a 23-year-old fast bowler, got his chance due to the state’s injury-hit stocks – and Josh Hazlewood being at the Under-19 World Cup – and he showed the same form that he displays for his grade side St George.He struck in batches, taking two wickets early in the day and another two shortly before tea, and came back in the third session to add three more. Copeland walked off with 7 for 92 in 28 overs, currently the third best return for the Blues on debut, and was the first to grab a five-wicket haul in his opening game since Glenn McGrath in 1992-93.Carseldine, the No. 4, was the main problem for the Blues as he registered his third first-class hundred, moving to 109 with 15 fours when he was Copeland’s sixth victim. The seventh came with Luke Feldman’s exit shortly before the end and he will chase an eighth on the second morning. He will have Chris Swan, who is unbeaten on 55, and Scott Walter (0) to aim at.Carseldine and Chris Hartley revived Queensland from 4 for 89 with a 108-run stand before Copeland intervened. He picked up Hartley for 38 and followed up with Chris Simpson before tea and Ben Cutting after the interval.Queensland started well after being sent in on a green surface, with Nick Kruger (32) and Ryan Broad (28) taking the score to 69 before they went in consecutive balls. Broad gave Copeland his first wicket when he was lbw and Kruger was taken at second slip off Grant Lambert, who quickly backed up by having Wade Townsend caught behind. The Bulls had lost 4 for 20 when Glen Batticciotto was taken by the wicketkeeper Daniel Smith, one of four catches to him, as Copeland continued his outstanding entry.

Pujara batted for both sides, while Jadeja and Iyer batted twice in the same innings

Sidharth Monga25-Jun-2022Day three of the Indians’ practice match against Leicestershire turned into an open net with Cheteshwar Pujara batting for both sides, and Ravindra Jadeja and Shreyas Iyer getting two digs in the same innings. A lot of the bowling was done by India’s net bowlers Navdeep Saini, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and R Sai Kishore, but Jasprit Bumrah got in a spell each in each session and Virat Kohli, batting at No. 7, scored a breezy half-century. Scoring a fifty in his third innings of the match, Jadeja didn’t consider it important enough to merit his trademark sword-wielding celebration.There was still time perhaps for a grandstand finish or an outright result on day four as the Indians went to stumps leading by 366 runs. Like Jadeja and Iyer, Pujara might want a third innings himself; if Rishabh Pant decides to bat too – unlike Rohit Sharma, who decided one innings was enough for him – we might even get a low-key reprise of the final-day drama at Sydney and Brisbane early last year.Low-key is exactly what the third day was despite a biggish Saturday crowd at Grace Road. The first spells of bowling didn’t lack intensity, though. There was not a single loose delivery in the first half hour. Overnight batter Hanuma Vihari once again looked like he didn’t have a lot of scoring options before edging right-arm seamer Will Davis behind. Saini produced a testing spell in which he had KS Bharat on the hook before getting Jadeja out for the first time with an edge through to slip.Eventually, Kohli came out to bat, piquing the crowd interest both at the ground and on the livestream provided by Leicestershire. Bumrah vs Kohli sparkled, especially when Bumrah bowled short of a length outside off. Kohli doesn’t play the orthodox square cut, but he found a way with the flashy punch. One of them even went for a six over the short off-side boundary. Eventually, though, the shot proved to be his undoing with a catch at square gully.A rare event occurred when Cheteshwar Pujara was stumped off the bowling of Sai Kishore. Pujara has been out in this fashion in first-class cricket only three times. Sai Kishore managed the difficult task of beating Pujara in the air and then turning the ball past his edge.Jadeja and Iyer then saw through most of the rest of the day before a casual flick from Iyer gave Nagarkoti his second wicket, the first being that of the No. 6 Shardul Thakur.

Assistant coach Estwick confirms that WI’s IPL players will fly to Netherlands once their franchises’ seasons have ended.

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2022Shimron Hetmyer has not made an international appearance since the T20 World Cup last year, but West Indies remain hopeful that he will make himself available for future tours.Hetmyer has missed all of West Indies’ bilateral series in the last six months, either because of personal reasons or on fitness grounds. He has returned to the IPL for the final stages of the season after leaving the tournament’s bubble to be present for the birth of his son, but made himself unavailable for their upcoming tours to the Netherlands and Pakistan in order to spend time with his family.Related

• No Holder, Evin Lewis or Hetmyer for West Indies' ODI tours of Netherlands and Pakistan

• West Indies coach Simmons: Hetmyer 'keeps letting down himself and his team-mates' with his fitness

“We got the email from Hetty saying that he is unavailable for selection because of the birth of his child,” Desmond Haynes, West Indies’ lead selector, said earlier this month when the squad for the upcoming tours was announced. “That is all the information we received so we acted that way; we had considered him for selection and the note stated he was unavailable.”Roddy Estwick, West Indies’ assistant coach, said on Friday that Hetmyer “will be missed” on the twin tours after his excellent IPL season for Rajasthan Royals. Before their game against Chennai Super Kings on Friday, he had scored 291 runs at a strike rate of 166.28, but Estwick said that the squad selected would have to cope without him.”If someone like Hetmyer’s not playing, you’re obviously going to miss his talent,” Estwick said. “He’s having an outstanding season for Rajasthan Royals. He’s doing very, very well. He’s playing well.”He will be missed, but at the end of the day, he’s not there. He’s asked not to be selected for this tour so we have to get on without him and we hope that he will make himself available for future tours.”Estwick also confirmed that West Indies’ IPL players would fly straight to the Netherlands once their respective franchises’ seasons have ended.Nicholas Pooran and Romario Shepherd [both Sunrisers Hyderabad] will travel after the group stage, Kyle Mayers [Lucknow Super Giants] and Alzarri Joseph [Gujarat Titans] will both be involved in the playoffs, while Rovman Powell’s itinerary will depend on whether Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians in their final group game on Saturday.”Our expectation is to win all three ODIs [in the Netherlands] but it’s not going to be easy,” Estwick said. “Remember, a lot of the players won’t have played in conditions like the ones we’ll encounter in the Netherlands.”It’s about how quickly we adjust to conditions. We’ve only got a couple of days’ practice before we go into the first ODI so it’s all about adjusting and getting used to the conditions and then executing plans as well as possible.”West Indies’ series in the Netherlands comprises three ODIs in Amstelveen on May 31, June 2 and 4, while the tour of Pakistan involves three ODIs in Rawalpindi on June 8, 10 and 12.

Shreyas Gopal and Prasidh Krishna had limited South Africa A to 231 before Manish Pandey posted an unbeaten 95 to take India to a comfortable victory

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2018An unbeaten 95 from Manish Pandey powered India B to a 30-run win against South Africa A at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur. Chasing 220 in 45 overs in a rain-affected game, India B were just six runs short of a win with 4.3 overs left before rain ended play, and they were adjudged to be well ahead via the Duckworth/Lewis method.India B’s pacers mowed down South Africa A’s top order after sending them in to bat. With the visitors reduced to 57 for 4, the No. 5 Farhaan Beherdien struck a 104-run partnership with Senuran Muthuswamy to save South Africa A from a collapse. But legspinner Shreyas Gopal came in to cause more damage in the middle, picking up three wickets – including that of Behardien and Muthuswamy – in the space of eight balls to leave South Africa reeling at 164 for 7. Medium pacer Prasidh Krishna came back to dismiss the tailenders and finished with figures of 4 for 49.In their chase, India B lost Mayank Agarwal and Deepak Hooda within six overs to Dane Paterson, but an 88-run stand between Pandey and opener Shubman Gill ensured they kept the scoring well above the asking rate. Following a brief rain stoppage which called for a shortening of the match, Pandey stitched partnerships together with the middle order to set India B up for a comfortable win.

Eoin Morgan largely exonerated his batsmen despite a record-breaking collapse at the start of the third ODI against South Africa

George Dobell at Lord's29-May-2017Eoin Morgan largely exonerated his batsmen despite a record-breaking collapse at the start of the third ODI against South Africa.England were 20 for 6 after 30 deliveries – the first time in history a side has lost six wickets in the first five overs of an ODI – as they struggled against a fine attack in conditions offering assistance to bowlers. While Jonny Bairstow engineered a partial recovery, he could not prevent England slipping to their first defeat in nine ODIs.But Morgan, the England captain, felt the wicket was more to blame than the batsmen and praised South Africa’s seamers – Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell – for harnessing conditions expertly.Suggesting the pitch was not suitable for ODI cricket, Morgan hinted that the toss – which was won by South Africa’s captain, AB de Villiers – was disproportionately important and went a long way towards deciding the game.”I’d be disappointed if we did come across surfaces like that in the ICC Champions Trophy,” Morgan said. “To win or lose the game on the toss in a major tournament is hard to take. Any side batting first has the potential to lose the game.”I don’t think it was an ODI wicket. It makes it one-sided which I don’t think is good for anybody. There was a lot of live, green grass on the wicket.”We saw the shots they played when they batted. We couldn’t play shots like that early this morning.”But South Africa bowled beautifully. They did not give us anything to hit and if they did we managed to nick it. Credit goes to South Africa, they came back really well.”While Morgan did accept that England might do well to reflect on the platform they built at the start of their innings in the second ODI in Southampton – they were 42 for 1 at the end of the first 10-over Powerplay- he did not think his batsmen had taken an overly aggressive approach in conditions that might have necessitated a more calculated game plan.”You earn the right to play positive cricket,” he said. “And we do need to keep our feet on the ground. But we didn’t play too aggressively. A lot of our shots were defensive shots. When it moves around like that, you nick the half-volleys.”The good news for England is that they can expect much more batting-friendly conditions on the grounds used for their Champions Trophy game. But there may be some disquiet in the camp if they find themselves inserted on an overcast morning on a pitch showing any sign of moisture.Still, Morgan is unlikely to admit any such fears at this stage – his team has been built on a commitment to attacking cricket that will only be inhibited by doubts – and will instead hope his batsmen can put this reverse out of their mind and continue to play the fearless cricket that has served them so well in recent months.Morgan also hinted that England will keep faith with Jason Roy in their Champions Trophy side.Roy endured a miserable series against South Africa, scoring just 13 runs in three innings. And with Bairstow continuing his fine run of form with another half-century – his third in his four most recent ODI innings – there might be a temptation to bring him into the side in place of Roy.But despite admitting telling Bairstow he was not selected was “the hardest thing,” Morgan remains committed to selecting Roy for the start of the Champions Trophy and agreed that last minute changes to the side – something of a characteristic of England going into global tournaments in recent times – might send out an unhelpful message.”It’s the hardest thing telling Jonny he’s not playing when he’s done nothing wrong and he scores a huge amount of runs,” Morgan said. “I’m very, very impressed by him. He never lets us down. Whenever he comes in he scores runs and he continues to bang on the door.”But as regards selection, Jason is the No.1 pick at the moment. Him and Alex Hales have been our 1 and 2 for quite a long time. They have had ups and downs but ultimately they have played in the fashion that we have played as a team and they have been very important to that.”England remain confident that all the first choice players who missed this match will be fit for Thursday’s opening Champions Trophy encounter against Bangladesh. Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes could, according to Morgan, have played on Monday if required, while the seamers, Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett, were just rested to ensure they remain fresh. Chris Woakes, too, was said to have “pulled up really well” with Morgan anticipating he will be “fully fit for Thursday.”Whether, in the case of Stokes, that means as an allrounder or a specialist batsman remains to be seen. Such is his long-term importance to England, they will be loathe to risk his fitness.”He can run around in the field like a mad man,” the coach, Trevor Bayliss, told Sky Sports. “And when he got his hundred over the weekend, he didn’t even feel it. I’s just when he’s bowling at full tilt. Hopefully that means it’s not much and hopefully an extra day or two and it’ll come good.He’s a very important part of the team. He brings energy to the team. And, as we saw, he can hold his position in the team as a batter as well, so I’m sure he’ll be there on Thursday.”