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The India captain defended MS Dhoni emphasising the latter’s fitness despite his age, and his contributions and importance to the side

Vishal Dikshit in Thiruvananthapuram08-Nov-20172:08

‘Happy for the fans that they saw us play’ – Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli has spoken out in support of MS Dhoni, pointing to his importance in the team and emphasising on Dhoni’s fitness despite his age. Questions were raised about Dhoni’s strike rate and his inability to being able to clear the boundary the way he used to, after a 37-ball 49 in the second T20 in Rajkot where India were unable to chase down 197 on a flat track. Kohli himself scored a fighting 65 off 42 balls but Dhoni could not strike at a similar rate.”First, I don’t understand why are people only pointing him out, I’m not able to understand this,” Kohli said on Tuesday after the third T20I against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram. “If I fail three times, no one is going to point fingers at me because I’m not over 35. The guy is fit, he is passing all the fitness tests, he is contributing to the team in every way possible, tactically on the field, with the bat. If you look at the series against Sri Lanka and Australia, he did really well and in this series he hasn’t got much time to bat.”Questions have also been raised about Dhoni’s batting position. He usually bats at Nos 5 or 6, giving him less time to build a knock in the latter half of an innings. In the second T20I in Rajkot, Dhoni walked out at No. 6 when India were 67 for 4 and needed 130 runs in just under 11 overs. Kohli believed the criticism against Dhoni for that innings was unfair as the asking rate had already shot up past 11 an over when he came out to bat.BCCI

“You have to understand, the position in which he comes out to bat, even Hardik [Pandya] could not score in that game,” Kohli said. “Then why are we only pointing out one man? Hardik also got out in the last T20 that we played in Rajkot. We are conveniently targeting only one man which is not fair. We also have to look at the fact that by the time he comes in, either the run rate is already eight-and-a-half or nine-and-a-half and the wicket is also not the same when the new ball is bowled.”Also, the batsmen who are set from the top, they find it easier to strike the ball straightaway compared to the guys who come lower down the order. And the kind of wicket that we have played on, the wear and tear has been much more in the latter half. You have to assess everything.”As team management and players, we understand the situations in which he goes out to bat. We don’t get emotional and excited by the opinions of people who are looking at things from a different point of view. If you are playing, you know how the wicket is and what the situation is like. So, I think he is doing absolutely fine. He understands his game, he understands his role, but it doesn’t come off every time. He hit a six in Delhi and it was shown five times in the post-match show. Everyone got really happy. And suddenly he doesn’t score in one game and we are after his life. I think people need to be a bit more patient. He’s a guy who understands various cricketers. He’s a very smart guy. He understands where he stands with his body, with his game. So I don’t think anyone else has the right to decide that for him.”

George Dobell in Adelaide03-Dec-2017England hope Mark Wood will be available to play for them in the two-day warm-up match in Perth ahead of the third Test.While Wood is not currently part of the England squad, the Test team’s chronic lack of pace and variation has been shown up in the early days of an Ashes series in which England have only taken 18 wickets.As a result, the England management are planning on adding Wood to the squad – subject to fitness tests – and seeing how he bowls in the
match at Richardson Park (on December 9 and 10) with a view to selecting him for the Perth Test.Wood, currently a member of the England Lions squad, has struggled with a series of ankle injuries in recent times. He bowled with
impressive pace in the Lions match against Queensland, however, and is seen by the England team management as a point-of-difference player for them.If the addition of Wood – a man who reckoned he was only bowling at around 80 percent of his optimum a couple of weeks ago – might seem a little desperate, it is probably no coincidence.But there are injury doubts about most other pace-bowling options. Liam Plunkett has been struggling with a hamstring problem, Steven Finn has just undergone knee surgery, Jamie Overton is still recovering from a stress fracture
and George Garton endured a miserable game for the Lions where he proved eye-wateringly expensive (10 overs for 86) and delivered three beamers.

The trio, who were part of the recently concluded India A T20 series against Bangladesh and the domestic Challenger Trophy, have been included in the 16-member squad that will play three ODIs in South Africa in February

Annesha Ghosh10-Jan-2018

India women ODI squad

Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-capt), Sushma Verma (wk), Ekta Bisht, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav, Punam Raut, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jhulan Goswami, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Mona Meshram, Pooja Vastrakar, Veda Krishnamurthy, Taniya Bhatia (wk)

India have named three uncapped players in their 16-member squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series in South Africa as part of the ICC Women’s Championship (2017-2020), starting February 5, in Kimberley. Mumbai batting allrounder Jemimah Rodrigues, Madhya Pradesh seam-bowling allrounder Pooja Vastrakar and Punjab wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia – who were all part of the recently concluded India A T20 series against Bangladesh and the domestic Challenger Trophy – have earned their maiden national call-ups.Vastrakar and Bhatia have replaced the injured medium-pacer Mansi Joshi and back-up wicketkeeper Nuzhat Parween from the World Cup squad that finished runners-up in July 2017. Rodrigues, meanwhile, has thrust her way into the squad on the back of a prolific domestic season in which she scored 1013 runs at an average of 112.56 in the inter-state Under-19 tournament, including an unbeaten 202, and snared 19 wickets with her offspin. She followed it up with 90 runs and a wicket in the three one-dayers against Bangladesh A and a half-century in her solitary T20 innings against the same opponents, before notching up scores of 84, 52 and 43 in the Challenger Trophy.”I was almost in tears when Punam [Raut] called me up to share the news earlier this morning,” the 17-year-old Rodrigues told ESPNcricinfo. “Last year, I had had low scores in the Challenger, but this season, I wanted to keep the momentum going after a good Under-19 and the Senior tournaments given how close the South Africa tour is to our domestic calendar.”This call-up is as much an effort of mine as it is of my parents, my Mumbai Cricket Association family and all my coaches, including Tushar [Arothe, the India head coach] and Biju [George, the India fielding coach] sir.”Much as 18-year-old Vastrakar’s selection has been founded on bolstering India’s quick-bowling department with a third seamer – apart from Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey – her formidable fielding skills are likely to have strengthened her case. Vastrakar effected three run-outs and took two catches in the three T20s against Bangladesh A before dislocating her thumb – one among a string of injuries she has suffered – in the Challenger opener last week, having bowled only 7.4 overs. She missed the second game in the tournament but returned to play the final, in which she bowled two overs for 11 runs and caught a set Punam Raut – on 88 – short of her ground to tip the scales in India Blue’s favour during their unlikely title victory.”I have been plagued with injury through my career over the years,” Vastrakar said. “But despite the injury in the Challenger opener, I held on to my hopes of making it to the squad [for the South Africa tour] given the swing I was generating both ways in that game and also in the final. My fielding, I take pride in that, and with Smriti [Mandhana, who captained her in the India Blue team] and other team-mates commending my efforts on the field, I knew I could be in with a chance. Glad the thumb injury didn’t come in the way this time around.”Bhatia was among the six wicketkeepers, including the capped Sushma Verma, who were part of a special training camp – under former India wicketkeeper-batsman Kiran More’s supervision – at the National Cricket Academy in November. Even though her performances with the bat have not been of note in the run-up to the selection, Bhatia’s agility behind the stumps may have given her the edge over Parween.”Both Tushar and Biju sir had been very encouraging all through about my wicketkeeping,” Bhatia said. “I’ve played with Harmanpreet [Kaur] for roughly three years when she used to represent Punjab, and with and against other members of the Indian side. However, sharing the dressing room with them abroad and getting a feel of the international environment will help me grow.”The trio, along with the other players – barring Veda Krishnamurthy and Kaur who are currently playing in the Women’s Big Bash League – will be featuring in the domestic T20 tournament, starting January 13, in Mumbai (Elite Group B), Goa (Elite Group A), and Chennai (Plate Group C), before assembling in Mumbai on January 17 for a preparatory camp prior to leaving for South Africa a week later. The squad for the five-match T20I series will be announced later, a press release from the BCCI stated.

The fast bowler has revealed his impending wedding, which is scheduled for April, and a desire to focus on the Sheffield Shield, were the reasons behind his sitting out this year’s IPL auction

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2018Kane Richardson has decided to prioritise the longer format of the game over the IPL. The fast bowler has revealed that his decision to opt out of this year’s player auction – which turned a number of his Australia team-mates into millionaires – was motivated by two reasons: his impending wedding, which is scheduled for April and could thus clash with the early matches of the IPL, and a desire to focus on Sheffield Shield cricket in a bid to push for a Test place. Richardson has played 15 ODIs and five T20Is, but is yet to wear the Baggy Green.Richardson was sold to Pune Warriors for USD 700,000 in 2013, despite having played just six first-class matches until then. He has since gone on to play for Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, and has picked up 18 wickets in 14 matches over three seasons. He took seven wickets in four matches for Royal Challengers in 2016, and was released by the franchise ahead of the 2017 season.Richardson feels he has a lot of time left in him to pursue his financial ambitions.”It’s a hard decision because of the financial rewards,” he told . “Not a lot of guys do it. I experienced it (the IPL) as a young bloke and made a little bit of money over there so that makes it easier having had that happen. I’m still only 27 next so hopefully, I can get over there a few more times.”I’ve put in a little bit more of a goal to play more Shield cricket and I thought if I play upwards of seven Shield games, the body is going to need a fair bit of a rest.”Richardson had a successful Sheffield Shield campaign in the 2016-17 summer with South Australia, picking up 32 wickets at an average of 25.93 before he was struck by injury towards the end of the season, which kept him out of the final against Victoria. He has nine wickets in two games in the ongoing 2017-18 season, at 26.33.Considering the demand for Australian quicks this year, Richardson is likely to have earned a lucrative deal at the IPL auction. As someone who mostly bowls in the Powerplay and death overs, his Big Bash League record of 49 wickets at 26.08 and an economy rate of 7.9 would have caught the eyes of the franchises.”I’m still a long way away from playing Test cricket but it’s still a goal to play,” Richardson said. Whether or not (missing) the IPL helps that, I’m not sure.”Richardson is a part of Australia’s attack in the ongoing Trans-Tasman T20 tri-series, and has picked up one wicket in the first two matches while conceding 6.88 runs per over.

The fast bowler has ‘bone oedema in his vertebrae’, and Cricket Australia has pulled him out of the tournament to ensure he does not aggravate his condition, given his history of serious back injuries

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-2018Pat Cummins, the Mumbai Indians fast bowler, has been ruled out of the 2018 IPL season with a back issue. Cricket Australia has said Cummins has “bone oedema in his vertebrae”, and that he will sit out the tournament to ensure he does not aggravate his condition any further.Mumbai signed Cummins for INR 5.4 crore (USD 831,475 approx) at the IPL player auction in January. He did not feature in the team’s season-opener against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.”Pat experienced some back soreness during the fourth Test in South Africa. Follow-up scans have confirmed that he has bone oedema in his vertebrae,” said Australia physio David Beakley. “It is important that Pat has time off bowling, to prevent the injury becoming more serious and consequently we have made the decision to rule Pat out of the IPL.”Pat will now undergo a period of recovery and rehabilitation and we will look to re-scan him in a few weeks to assess the healing. Following this we will be in a better position to decide on Pat’s return to play timeline including participation in the limited-overs tour of the UK.”Australia are scheduled to travel to England in June to play a bilateral series of five ODIs and a one-off T20I.Cummins has a history of stress fractures in his back, which kept him out of Test cricket for nearly six years between his debut in November 2011 and his second Test in March 2017. Since his comeback on the 2016-17 tour of India, however, he has been a regular in Australia’s bowling attack, featuring in 13 successive Test matches.Cummins is just coming off a four-Test series in South Africa, where he was Australia’s highest wicket-taker with 22 at 21.45 apiece. Since making his return to Test cricket in March 2017, Cummins has bowled 594.5 overs. Only Nathan Lyon (690 overs) and the currently injured Kagiso Rabada (644.4) have bowled more.

The 18-year old offspinner isn’t worried about the need to develop variations just yet and is focussed on delivering in the Powerplays

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2018Washington Sundar doesn’t feel the need to stress too much on variations so early in his career, but understands the importance of not being too predictable either.Now set to play in his second IPL season, this time with Royal Challengers Bangalore, Washington can tap on the experience he has gained from the previous season, where he had the best economy for Rising Pune Supergiant, as well as his Man of the Series-winning performance in the recently concluded T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka.”Obviously, offspinners with mystery balls have an advantage,” he said. “But when you don’t have those mystery balls, you have to stick to your strengths and believe that you can perform in crunch situations with whatever you already have. I haven’t had to look at options (such as mystery balls) because I think it’s too early in my career to be looking at these things.”He, however, clarified that he wasn’t averse to learning new tricks. “I do want to try things and add new things to my bowling, but it’s also important to know exactly what works at this moment in my career. I believe that I can keep bowling this way for a long time,” he said. “It’s important to not be predictable.”When an offspinner is bowling, as a batsman you know that most of his deliveries are going to come at around 100 kmph. It’s important to bluff the batsman at times, and it’s important to ensure that ball lands in the right spot. Flighting the ball in this format is very difficult so when you’re trying it, you should be absolutely sure of being able to execute it. That’s what I try to do and that’s how I practice too.”Washington’s approach and thought process also left his senior colleague impressed. Yuzvendra Chahal, key to RCB’s spin plans since 2014, has for a while manned the powerplay overs to give Kohli breakthroughs. Last season, he went at close to 10 an over in the first six. Washington’s presence could mean he could be relieved of those duties for the time being, a prospect he didn’t seem too disappointed about.”We played in the Nidahas trophy. He [Washington] bowled in the powerplay, and I got to bowl in the middle overs. So I have more options now,” Chahal said. “In earlier seasons, I was bowling in powerplay and had just two overs left. So now at least someone is there who can bowl in powerplay and I can bowl in middle-overs. So we have more options.”

Foul April weather leaves Middlesex’s captain searching for solutions as the Championship encounter with Glamorgan surrenders to rain and bad light

ECB Reporters Network30-Apr-2018
ScorecardMiddlesex captain Dawid Malan wants the ECB to experiment with a pink ball in the County Championship to prevent more early season washouts.Only 58 overs were bowled during Middlesex’s Division Two clash against Glamorgan at Lord’s, with rain on the final morning ensuring the match was abandoned as a draw.

Sophia Gardens returns

The home of Glamorgan Cricket is to be renamed Sophia Gardens Cardiff after its partnership with its title sponsor SSE ended earlier this year. Sophia Gardens Cardiff, which echoes the name used by the venue from 1967 to 2007 will be used immediately, with the ground currently undergoing a rebranding process.

But Malan feels it could have been a different story with a pink ball in use on the second day, when no play was possible due to overcast conditions – although the Lord’s floodlights were switched on.”We could have had a full day we’d had a pink ball because there was no rain around,” said the Middlesex skipper. “We were literally sitting around for four hours of bad light.”We’re lucky that we’ve got lights now – we never had them before – but we still got hardly any cricket in. It might be worth the ECB looking at using pink balls this time of the year.”If you have a ball you can use under lights in the pitch black it probably makes sense to use it at that time of the year when you’re probably going to lose more cricket, instead of the middle of summer.”We’ve been experimenting quite a lot in county cricket over the last eight to nine years, so we might as well throw another one in.”If it’s something that’s going to get you on (the field) and it’s not an unfair advantage to the bowlers, I think it’s worth trying and seeing what happens. You might not lose so much cricket.”

Paul Horton has been named as his replacement across all formats

ESPNcricinfo staff and ECB Reporters Network25-May-2018Michael Carberry has been removed as Leicestershire captain with immediate effect following a review by head coach Paul Nixon and will take a small break from the game. Paul Horton has been named as his replacement across all formats.Carberry was named captain in October having joined the club late in the 2017 campaign but has not lasted half a season in the role despite Leicestershire securing their first Championship win since September 2016 when they beat Glamorgan by three runs earlier this month.When the announcement was made, a brief statement said there would be no further comment but after the Royal London Cup match against Derbyshire, in which Carberry was absent and Leicestershire lost by five runs, Nixon expanded on the outcome.”It was a huge decision, the toughest decision of my career but the management team felt Michael was just slightly more reactive than proactive,” Nixon said. “Michael is a fantastic man with great integrity and is a massively valued member of this team and we are desperate to get him back. He’s going to have a little break, get his head clear and round it, and maybe it was us asking too much of him in the first place.”But he’s taken this club forward already with the things he’s done and his attitude and it was a very tough decision to make but we think the right one moving forward.”Carberry has averaged 32.16 in four Championship matches this season.

The Pakistani batsman gave up on the fight to save the United Bank Limited team from being disbanded, and announced his resignation as both captain and player

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2018Former Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has never been afraid to say what he feels, with that trait showing so sign of abating even as he stands retired from international cricket. Angered – and seemingly hurt – by his domestic franchise United Bank Limited’s decision to disband the cricket team, Younis announced his resignation as both captain and player, and that 11 July 2018 was “his last day”.Younis, who signed for UBL in 2015, had continued to play for the side since retiring from international cricket. However, he has struggled for form this season, crossing double figures just twice in six innings. Even so, he was one of the most vocal opponents of shutting down the side. His letter, and notice of resignation today, appeared to be an official indication that that battle had been lost.
Younis posted the letter on Twitter, saying that he had met UBL’s president Sima Khalil, and was unable to change her mind on the decision. He apologised, saying he had “tried my best, but I let you all down”.UBL’s decision to do away with their cricket team had been in the offing for a few weeks. Financial considerations are believed to have been the main reason, with the bank re-evaluating the extent to which they were willing to continue investing in sports. This also means UBL will lose their representation at the PCB’s governing body.It won’t be the first time the organisation has cut its ties with cricket. They left domestic cricket in 1997, and were absent for 14 years until their comeback in 2011. Upon return, UBL re-established itself as one of the most prolific departments on Pakistan’s domestic circuit, finishing runners-up in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy in 2015-16. Earlier this year, they had romped to the Departmental One Day Cup title, winning all nine matches they played.Since being established in 1975, UBL have won the QEA four times, the Pentangular Cup three times, and the Patron’s Trophy once, in addition to several limited-overs titles. UBL have invested significantly in its cricket department, contributing around PKR 50,000,000 (USD 432,000 approx) each season towards the domestic franchise across all formats in the country. They were also the title sponsors of the T20I World XI series in Lahore last September.Addressing the fans, Younis said: “I will always be grateful to you and the entire UBL team. Many thanks for your understanding.”

Miles Hammond led the run chase with his maiden T20 fifty while Michael Klinger and Ian Cockbain also played their part

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2018
ScorecardMiles Hammond’s quickfire first T20 fifty and an unbeaten 32 from Ian Cockbain eased Gloucestershire to their sixth Vitality Blast victory of the season in a top-of-the-table clash with Kent at Canterbury.There was also a typically calm and responsible 43-ball 46 from their captain Michael Klinger as Gloucestershire chased down Kent 160 for 5, in which Joe Denly played an almost lone hand with a superb 99 not out from 63 balls, with five sixes and seven fours.Benny Howell, too, played his part by following up his 2 for 29 with 20 not out from 13 balls, including the winning four struck over mid-off from the second ball of the final over, bowled by Adam Milne, with the scores level.Left-hander Hammond had scored 51, with three sixes and five fours, when he hit the 31st ball he faced, the first of Calum Haggett’s second over, to wide deep midwicket to end an opening stand of 76 with Klinger.Hammond uppercut Haggett for a remarkable six over cover point in the third over, and then also clubbed leg spinner Denly and seamer Ivan Thomas for sixes.Klinger, content to play a supporting role, nevertheless seized on a high full toss from left-arm spinner Imran Qayyum at the start of the 11th over to smash a six over long leg. The over, which also contained five wides when Qayyum speared a ball down the leg side, ended up costing 18 runs and left Gloucestershire requiring just another 57 from the last nine overs.To their credit, Kent’s bowlers made the visitors work hard for the win, with Klinger departing in the 16th over when he tried to reverse-hit Qayyum but could only pick out Denly at backward point.Cockbain and Howell held their nerve, however, and the result was never in doubt once they had plundered 18 from the 18th over, bowled by Marcus Stoinis until he went off injured after bowling five balls, leaving Qayyum to finish it.A six by Cockbain over midwicket was followed by Howell driving a powerful four and then taking another four, through backward point, from Qayyum’s final ball.Kent reached 50 without loss in the six-over Powerplay, with Denly the initial aggressor with square cut and lofted off-side fours in the third over, bowled by Matt Taylor, and a six swung over wide midwicket against David Payne.Daniel Bell-Drummond, starved of much of the early strike, got going in the sixth over by pulling Taylor for six and then lofting the next ball over mid-off for four. On 19, however, he was perhaps unfortunate that a thigh-high full toss from Benny Howell was not called as a no ball as he mis-hit to deep midwicket.At halfway Kent were 84 for 1, with Denly hoisting Howell for six in his second over, and Heino Kuhn contributed a brisk 18 before being bowled sweeping at Graeme van Buuren’s left-arm spin in the 11th over.Successive sixes by Denly off van Buuren in the 13th over, the first straight and the second over the head of the long on fielder, provided Kent with some much-needed acceleration but Sam Billings found it hard to get going and it was no surprise when, on 7, he hit his 13th ball straight to long-on to give Howell his 100th T20 wicket.Stoinis offered one meaty blow, a lofted four off his fellow Australian AJ Tye, before hitting the same bowler to long off where Howell ran to his left to hold a good catch.Denly finished that same over by driving Tye wide of Howell for six but at the start of the next over Alex Blake was leg-before for a first ball duck trying to work David Payne to midwicket and the only boundary conceded by Payne and Tye in the last two overs came from the final ball of the innings, which Denly crashed through square cover to end up a frustrating one run short of a fifth T20 century.