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Says he will “fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and will fight a legal battle to prove my innocence”

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2022Sandeep Lamichhane has been taken into custody by police in Kathmandu in response to the arrest warrant that had been issued in his name over an alleged case of coercion.Shortly before being arrested, Lamichhane wrote on Facebook that he would “fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and will fight a legal battle to prove my innocence”.”I know I am facing a difficult time of conspiracy and wrongful allegation and the ramification of its effect is something unimaginable. I am sure there must be some mechanism of compensating to the accused who proven to be innocent in our legal system,” he wrote. “I will soon seek legal support against wrongful prosecution and allegation made against me and I am sure I will get the justice and will return to the cricket ground soon to make the name and fame of my beloved country and I pray for speedy trial.”When news of Lamichhane’s arrest warrant was made public, on September 8, he was in the West Indies, taking part in the Caribbean Premier League. Back then, he had said he would leave the CPL and return to home to face the “baseless allegations”.Lamichhane, 22, is by far Nepal’s most high-profile cricketer, and the only one to have played in T20 leagues in most parts of the world, including in the IPL, the BBL, the PSL, the BPL, and the CPL.He is also the world’s second-fastest bowler to 50 ODI wickets and third-fastest to 50 T20I wickets, and last played international cricket in August 2022, in the T20I series against Kenya. After that, he was set to represent Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL but was unable to get involved in the action.Lamichhane was Nepal’s captain at the time of the arrest warrant, a position he has since lost, having been suspended by the board following the surfacing of the allegations. At the time, Cricket Association of Nepal’s acting secretary Prashant Vikram Malla had said that his suspension would remain in place pending a complete investigation.

New Zealand also have many concerns, especially about their powerplay returns with both bat and ball

Himanshu Agrawal21-Nov-20226:03

Jaffer: Hardik is not the sort of captain to play it safe

Big picture

The third T20I between New Zealand and India will be their last game in the format this year, and they would want to head into 2023 with more answers than questions.New Zealand’s inability to gain any momentum with the bat chasing 192 on Sunday further highlighted their lack of assertiveness in the powerplay. In their last five T20Is, they have scored 40 or fewer four times in the period, and have hit only two sixes – both by Finn Allen – despite losing more than two wickets only once.Related

• How do India get the best out of Pant the T20 batter?

• Bal: India's T20 approach needs a reboot, not a refresh

• 'I'm enjoying batting this way' – Suryakumar after his 111* off 51

• Williamson to miss third T20I against India because of a medical appointment

Indications are that Martin Guptill’s time is up, with Allen locked in for the immediate future. But they do need to get the best out of Devon Conway and Kane Williamson to make that top order solid. Williamson, by the way, will miss the third T20I as he has a medical appointment, so no answers on that front on Tuesday.In the bowling department, Trent Boult is out of the picture for the moment, and no more a certain starter. And even when he did play in four of New Zealand’s last five games, they went wicketless in the powerplay thrice. Tim Southee, stand-in captain for Napier, is just days short of turning 34, with the next T20 World Cup one-and-a-half years away. It is probably the best time to look ahead for New Zealand if things don’t start going their way soon.India, too, needed a fresh approach with their top-order batting after the semi-final exit at the T20 World Cup, but they couldn’t achieve it in the second T20I. Hopes were pinned on the opening pair of Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan to get them off to a big start, but Pant struggled to 6 off 13 balls while Kishan took 31 deliveries for 36, despite 26 of those coming in boundaries.

Watch India tour of New Zealand LIVE on Prime Video from Nov 18 to 30

India came into this series happy to experiment with their batting, rejigging their line-up to accommodate those on the fringes. But as has been the story in the recent past, only Suryakumar Yadav really played his part – and how! – with a blazing century.This was a series with comparatively lesser pressure than at a World Cup, and with one more game to go, India would hope the young players take away at least some of the burden from the shoulders of the management, and Suryakumar. After all, no one knows who the next set of selectors will be, and what their plans are going to be.

Form guide

New Zealand LLWLW
India WLWWL

In the spotlight

James Neesham‘s last five scores in T20Is read 0, 16*, 0, 6 and 5. The fact that he has batted at No. 6 and comes in with little time means he has often had to go slam-bang from ball one. That makes his job tough, sure, but it’s what he has to do, and hasn’t been able to. Like Boult, he has opted out of a central contract too, and might need to do something big to stay in contention.Across 20 innings this year, India have tried Rishabh Pant four times as opener, where he sparkled briefly only twice. Two of those four innings came with India testing him at the top, including in Mount Maunganui. If India feel his best place in the XI is as opener, he now has Kishan to compete with. Nevertheless, once Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli return, the question will still stand even if Pant goes big in Napier: what do India do with him?

Team news

New Zealand can at best level the series, something they will have to attempt without Williamson. Southee is set to lead, with Mark Chapman likely to find a slot in the side.New Zealand (probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway (wk), 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 James Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Tim Southee (capt), 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Adam Milne, 11 Lockie FergusonKane Williamson will miss the third game, and Tim Southee will be in charge of the team•Associated Press

India might not want to tinker with their XI even if that would mean multiple players don’t get a chance in the T20Is. If that does happen, Shubman Gill will have to continue to wait for his debut in the format, and Sanju Samson for his next opportunity with the national side, despite scoring 2*, 30* and 86* in his last three innings for India, though in ODIs.India (probable): 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 Rishabh Pant (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Pitch and conditions

The match starts at 7.30pm local time, and it is expected to be pleasant and cloudy in Napier in the evening, with some rain around. The last T20I at McLean Park was washed out, and scores batting first have functuated in the four completed games. The highest of those was England’s 241 in 2019.

Stats and trivia

• Suryakumar scored 54 runs off 16 balls in the last four overs in Mount Maunganui, despite not facing a ball in the final over. Only Yuvraj Singh with 58 has scored more for India during that phase in a T20I.
• Three wickets – all of them part of a hat-trick – in the second T20I took Southee to 132 wickets, four ahead of Shakib Al Hasan, the next highest wicket-taker in T20Is.
• This will be India’s first T20I in Napier, having played seven ODIs and two Tests there in the past.

Quotes

“Everyone watched some of his shots in amazement. We have had a few discussions already, and will have some more tomorrow morning before the game around how we can combat him.”

Pakistan lose eight wickets on second morning as middle order collapse

Andrew Miller10-Dec-2022England 281 (Duckett 63, Pope 60, Abrar 7-114) and 202 for 5 (Brook 73*, Stokes 15*) lead Pakistan 202 (Babar 75, Shakeel 63, Leach 4-98) by 281 runs What’s a team to do when its plans for dominance come to fruition too soon? After their toil for wickets in Rawalpindi, interspersed with manic bursts of batting that bought them time to turn the screw, England found themselves in the polar opposite scenario on the second day in Multan.The day dawned with an eight-wicket surge in the morning session that was beyond their wildest dreams, and after that came two sessions of batting consolidation – or at least the closest thing that this high-octane line-up can muster, featuring a brace of even-tempo-ed half-centuries from Ben Duckett and Harry Brook, two wildly ill-judged run-outs from Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, and a further burst of wickets for the mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed that took his debut tally to ten and counting.The upshot was, that by the close of day two, England had the match – and the series – at their mercy on a surface that promises only to get more challenging as the contest unfolds. After bowling Pakistan out for 202 on the stroke of lunch, a lead of 79, England had extended their advantage to 281 with five wickets remaining by sunset, and with Brook unbeaten on 73 from 106, his third score of real substance of this breakthrough tour.Overall England pressed along at a purposeful rate of 4.12 an over, faster than any of Pakistan’s three innings of the series to date, but their progress was still significantly more watchful than their first-day 281 had been. And yet, to judge by the early signs of England’s reply, such relative reticence perhaps hadn’t been the original gameplan for this second innings.After Crawley had taken on Abrar’s arm at mid-on and lost – a fair sign of a team still in a hurry – Will Jacks strode out to bat at No. 3, a position in which he had never before batted in first-class cricket. Watching on from the Sky Sports studio, Stuart Broad speculated that “Lumberjacks” had been promoted to “chop down” the attack, but the ploy didn’t quite pay off. As Abrar entered the attack for the seventh over, he took his match tally to eight wickets with his sixth ball of the innings, as Jacks climbed into a slog-sweep and had his stumps rearranged.Jack Leach and Ben Stokes celebrate the wicket of Saud Shakeel•Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

At 25 for 2, England were in slight danger of throwing away their morning dominance, but Joe Root’s arrival at No. 4 signalled a reversion to more traditional tactics in spinning conditions – watchful strike rotation and calm partnership building, as he and Duckett carried their third-wicket stand to 54 from 80 balls.After his tour de force in Sri Lanka and India two winters ago, Root’s fluency in spinning conditions is a fairly reliable gauge of the challenge of any given surface. And once again, he was not in total command of his brief in making 21 from 35 balls, even though it took a stunning piece of reaction fielding at short leg to prise him from the crease. Crouched beneath his helmet, Abdullah Shafique tracked Root’s positioning for a pre-meditated sweep, then grasped the chance straight off the face of the bat in his outstretched left hand, inches from the ground.When Brook – Gilbert Jessop’s nemesis at Rawalpindi – opened his latest account with four runs from his first 26 balls, it did seem for a time that England were reformed characters. But inevitably, that staid tempo wasn’t going to suit Brook for long. After drilling Abrar straight back down the ground for his first boundary, he picked off a further seven fours and a six in making 69 runs in his remaining 80 balls before the close.At the other end, Duckett too stepped up his urgency, though seeing as his second dexterous fifty of the match had come from a perfectly brisk 68 balls, perhaps he had no need to go into overdrive. He had already been egregiously dropped by Babar Azam at midwicket on 69 when his previously disciplined knock ended with a further loss of concentration ten runs later, as he rocked back to pull another Abrar long-hop but was bowled as the ball kept low.Even when playing within themselves, it seemed England couldn’t fully divorce themselves from drama, as shown when a skittish Pope – down at No. 6 after his wicketkeeping duties – became the second run-out of the innings as he was sent back for a non-existent single to cover. But Ben Stokes quelled his own more expansive urges to reach 15 not out from 24, and the relative lack of jeopardy reflected England’s comfortable dominance of the match situation, having ripped through Pakistan’s first innings to claim their remaining eight wickets for 95 in the morning session, including a pre-lunch flurry of three for none in six balls.After a misleadingly serene first six overs of the day, in which Pakistan’s overnight pair of Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel had added 35 runs to take their third-wicket stand to an ominous 91, the dismissal of Babar in Ollie Robinson’s first over of the match was the earliest sign of the unsettled display to come.Shakeel followed soon afterwards for 63, handing Jack Leach his 100th Test wicket in the process, and when Pakistan’s other kingpin, Mohammad Rizwan also fell to Leach for 10 – having taken 28 deliveries to open his account in a deeply cagey display – the lower middle-order fell away, with Root’s lesser-spotted offspin claiming two wickets in his first five balls of the day.Robinson, the Player of the Match from last week’s Rawalpindi victory, had been a notable absentee from England’s attack on the first day, but made his presence felt from the moment he entered the fray in the 35th over of the innings. Reverse-swing had been a feature of his match-winning spell in the first Test, and sure enough, his second delivery bent back appreciably as Babar leaned into an ill-conceived drive, and crashed into the middle and off stumps.Related

• Jack Leach takes the risks, earns the rewards in embodiment of England's new world

• Pakistan, and the curious case of collapsing on flat tracks

• England seek to sweep away the mystery

• Duckett: 'No real mystery' to Abrar's spin

• Abrar: come for the mystery, stay for the legspin

It was a hammer blow to Pakistan’s hopes of converting their overnight 107 for 2 into a dominant position, and Rizwan’s response to the setback was an innings of deep retrenchment. At the other end, Shakeel at least converted his overnight 32 into a 65-ball half-century, his second in three innings in his fledgling Test career, but with England drying up the runs, his eventual dismissal was an aberration that opened the floodgates.A fine drive through long-off off Leach seemed to have signalled an upping of Shakeel’s tempo, but it gave way, one ball later, to an awful hoick through the line, as Anderson at mid-on rushed round to his left to cling onto an skewed outside edge. And two overs later, Rizwan was gone as well, beaten by a dipping ripper from Leach that turned and bounced into the top of middle and off from round the wicket. At 165 for 5, the innings was suddenly in freefall.In theory, the recall of Mohammad Nawaz had added some substance to Pakistan’s lower-middle order. In practice, his response to the mounting crisis was an impetuous skip to the pitch and a scuffed drive to Robinson at mid-off to give Leach his fourth of the innings.Ollie Robinson celebrates after cleaning up Babar Azam•Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

By this stage, Pakistan’s innings had lasted more balls than England’s first-innings total of 281 all out in 51.4 overs, but the lack of intent in their approach had created a level of pressure over and above anything England had felt, even while wickets were falling with greater frequency in their innings.One delivery later, Root returned to the attack with instant success, as Agha Salman popped a gently looping offbreak straight to Ben Stokes at short mid-on, and Root had two in five balls when Mohammad Ali snicked to Crawley at slip, the chance looping off his back pad as he pressed forward with no conviction.At 169 for 8 and with lunch approaching, Stokes was in no mood to let up the pressure. Back came Wood for what could have been the final over of the session, and with his very first ball, Zahid Mahmood was smashed on the pad and sent on his way lbw for the third duck of the innings. Abrar then hung around with Faheem Ashraf for a last-wicket stand of 23, but Wood’s return to the attack induced an airy flick to deep midwicket from Ashraf, to wrap up a session that might yet have set up England’s series.

“We’re confident that she got through the session today and did everything she needed to do,” Troy Cooley says

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2023India’s vice-captain and opener Smriti Mandhana is set to return to action against West Indies, after being ruled out of the team’s T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan on Sunday with a finger injury. India’s bowling coach Troy Cooley is hopeful that Mandhana will be fit to play against West Indies on Wednesday.”I think, yeah, she [Mandhana] has been working very hard,” Cooley said. “And I think from today, it’ll obviously be assessed after today, but she did everything she was needed to be done today. And I think, yeah, from us, we look at how she pulls up. But we’re pretty confident that she got through the session today and did everything she needed to do.”Related

• WPL auction: Mandhana gets the biggest bid

• Injured Mandhana ruled out of Pakistan game

Mandhana had also missed India’s second warm-up game, but stand-in coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar confirmed that there was no fracture.Despite the absence of Mandhana, India kicked off their World Cup campaign with a successful chase against Pakistan. Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh helped them chase down 150, with an over to spare, after early hiccups. India are currently placed second on the Group 2 points behind, behind England, who have won both their matches so far.A day after India beat Pakistan, Mandhana got the biggest bid at the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction in Mumbai, going to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 3.4 crore (USD 415,000 approx).

Troy Cooley backs ‘exceptional’ Deepti Sharma

Meanwhile, Cooley also backed India’s “key player” Deepti Sharma, who had an off day against Pakistan, conceding 39 runs in her four overs for just one wicket.”Well, as you know, she [Deepti] is an exceptional player and she bowled three overs in the powerplay, one at the death with three fielders out. So, we know that those are high-pressure times, but you know, who better to give the ball to than someone like Deepti? The conversations are really, you know, did you bowl the ball you want? Did you have the field you wanted? And away you go. So, you know, we let things go as much as we can, but the girls are very good at reviewing their own performances.”We have some good conversations with them. If we find something that we need to add, we will add it. And they’re very open to input. So a lot of growth in the girls, of course, but Deepti is one of the key players and she’s going to go for a few runs some days. That’s just the nature of this T20 game. But she bowled in the high-pressure situations and we believe she did a good job.”

WACA chief executive Christina Matthews discusses the old and the new, plus her desire to continue in the role

Tristan Lavalette15-Mar-2023During a Rolling Stones tour of Australia, legendary drummer and noted cricket enthusiast Charlie Watts followed the well-worn trail of many tourists in Perth. He had his photo taken in front of the WACA ground.”He was on the corner outside of the ground taking a photo because he didn’t think he would be allowed in,” chuckled WA Cricket chief executive Christina Matthews in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.The rather amusing anecdote underlines the global reverence of the WACA, the old warhorse entrenched in cricket lore due to its fast and bouncy pitch which has conjured some of the sport’s most visceral images.”The name is our unique selling point of the ground and the thing that makes it world famous,” Matthews said. “The name and what’s happened out in the middle is something that you can’t buy. They’re the things we’ve got to protect.”Related

• Rocchiccioli relishes the graft of bowling offspin at the WACA

• Inglis ton, Agar five-for power Western Australia to Marsh Cup title

• Rahul 74 in vain as India lose to WA XI on fast WACA pitch

• Australia's Test return to Perth likely to prove a tough sell

During the recent Men’s T20 World Cup, many visitors and international media members trekked the Matagarup Bridge linking the shiny 60,000-seat Optus Stadium to East Perth, where the WACA is located.What they saw was an ageing ground undergoing a major redevelopment with the renowned Prindiville Stand demolished and the grass banks under the iconic scoreboard now resembling a construction site.The WACA is set to transform into a multi-sport community facility, marked by a public swimming pool, playground and café, while boasting 10,000-15,000 seats for events.The project was initially pegged at AU$115 million, but has blown out due to increased construction costs since the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing war in Ukraine.About $32 million is still needed, Matthews says, with the funds hoping to be derived from the Western Australian government’s budget, which will be handed down in May.If all goes to plan, the redevelopment will be completed by the backend of 2025 – one year after the initial timeframe.On the field, Western Australia is having remarkable success•Getty Images

“I’m pretty confident we’ll get there. If we don’t, we just have to review it,” Matthews said. “It would be a genuine community destination that happens to have as its foundation first-class cricket.”Even though parts of the ground are an eyesore, the WACA has continued to host men’s and women’s domestic cricket while several matches of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup were played there.But men’s international cricket and the Big Bash League have not been held at the WACA since 2017-18 and there has been uncertainty over whether Test cricket will return to the venue.Matthews confirmed that higher-profile Tests involving England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and possibly Pakistan would likely be permanently fixtured at Optus Stadium with others set for the redeveloped WACA.But carving out a perennial date in the calendar has proven difficult for Perth with Tests since 1997 having been played in every month from October-February.It’s in contrast to the other major cities which have built a tradition around their Tests to create consistency and become a drawcard for fans.”There are three Tests that have significant stakes in the ground; Sydney has New Year and the Jane McGrath day, Melbourne has Boxing Day and Adelaide is the first-choice day-night match,” Matthews said. “Brisbane and us kind of just float…although Brisbane often starts the Test summer.”We want a bit more security around our Test. Is there something we can do so the people of Perth know they are going to something more than just a cricket match? What does our Test stand for?”Matthews believed mid-December was the optimal time for a Perth Test match with WA Cricket pushing to host Pakistan next summer during that slot.”We strongly believe that having the Test match before Christmas is ideal for us,” she said. “Given the route [to Perth] from England and other places…and then off to the east coast for Boxing Day and New Year [Tests], it’s practical.”Then people will have an understanding that ‘okay, this is when your Test is on…somewhere in December before Boxing Day’.”Just a tick over 40,000 fans attended the first Test at Optus Stadium between Australia and West Indies played in late November-early December.Attendances were disappointing for last November’s West Indies Test•AFP

The underwhelming turnout for Perth’s first Test match since 2019 was due to a myriad of reasons, including what appeared a lack of marketing ahead of the summer’s opening Test.”Other than our membership base, we have nothing to do with the Test other than when they [Cricket Australia] ask us for assistance in rolling something out,” Matthews said.”We believe that if we can be given more freedom to run the Test, we could probably get a better result for Cricket Australia. That’s not to mean we go rogue, but it becomes embedded in our planning process.”Every year there’s a national marketing campaign, and it’s very generic. We think there needs to be something specific for Perth to talk about why people should come to international cricket.”Matthews missed the Test match amid a month’s leave after a taxing period, which included a spate of board resignations and unrest emanating from several WA legends.The findings from an external inquiry into the resignations, which included former Test players Graeme Wood and Mike Veletta, will be handed to the board soon.Tensions also erupted last year over a proposal to erect statues of legendary quick Dennis Lillee, women’s trailblazer Zoe Goss and a 19th century team of Aboriginal cricketers.”There’s no doubt that, if you want to call it an old guard, [they] probably want things done differently. The question is – what do they want differently and how do they want it done?” Matthews said. “I can’t think of any area that we’re not excelling in. We still had a 90% retention rate in members this year. So that tells you people are on board, not against what we’re doing.”There’s no doubt that the ruckus of the past six months has come from the older demographic. But it’s not the majority view.”Matthews, who played 20 Tests and 47 ODIs from 1984-95, wanted to attract more females to WA Cricket’s membership base.”We have a low percentage of female members because of the model of buying a membership and a guest card,” she said. “Historically, men bought memberships and the guest pass was for ladies.”I think that’s a challenge for us as to how we get more women to commit to being a member, not a guest of a member. We want everybody to come to the cricket, not just traditionalists.”Matthews hoped to continue defying her critics in a role she has held for more than a decade.”It would be negligent of me to move on while we’re still trying to embed the development,” she said. “We’re trying to maintain this ground as a really important part of the WACA’s history and have it seen across the world as a modern facility.”

Giants are in the bottom half of the table and will look to inflict a first loss on Mumbai

S Sudarshanan13-Mar-20236:22

Are Mumbai Indians making the WPL boring?

Mumbai versus Giants, take two!

A high-scoring yet lopsided contest between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants kicked off the WPL. Thereon, Mumbai have soared and stayed winless. But Giants find themselves in the bottom half of the table with just one win out of four games.Inexplicably, they opted to bring in new recruit Laura Wolvaardt for Sophia Dunkley, whose 18-ball half-century made her one of only two Giants batters to have a fifty-plus score. Their batting has been blowing hot and cold and their death bowling could be filed under ‘areas of concern’. Giants’ economy of 14.71 in overs 17 to 20 is the worst – UP Warriorz and Delhi Capitals are joint-next with 10.Mumbai, on the other hand, faced a tough test against Warriorz on Sunday but came out on top. It was the first time they picked less than two wickets in the powerplay but managed to pull the game back at the death. Their batting is still largely untested with the top and middle order doing the bulk.

Player to watch

Fast bowler Issy Wong has been a quiet contributor for Mumbai in their campaign so far. She’s been their most economical bowler and has rattled oppositions with swing and pace upfront before returning at the death.Giants opener S Meghana is yet to get going. She has only 34 runs in four innings with a duck in the last outing. But Giants’ head coach Rachael Haynes has backed Meghana to deliver soon in what she described as a “high-risk role”. Haynes also said that Meghana struck the ball well in training on Monday.1:38

Dunkley on her 18-ball fifty: ‘At my best, I just go with the flow’

Playing XIs

Mumbai Indians (possible): 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 Dhara Gujjar, 7 Issy Wong, 8 Humaria Kazi, 9 Amanjot Kaur, 10 Jintimani Kalita, 11 Saika IshaqueGujarat Giants (possible): 1 S Meghana, 2 Sophia Dunkley, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Ashleigh Gardner, 5 Laura Wolvaardt, 6 D Hemalatha, 7 Sushma Verma (wk), 8 Kim Garth/Georgia Wareham, 9 Sneh Rana, 10 Tanuja Kanwar, 11 Mansi Joshi

Stats and trivia

• Mumbai’s death-overs economy rate of 5.29 is the best, in stark contrast with Giants’ 14.71
• Harleen Deol is the only Giants batter with over 100 runs in the WPL

Quotes

“My focus is on the processes. If I waver from the process and focus on the result, then I am doing something wrong. If I am getting out by following the process, it is fair enough because no one can always score. I enjoy batting at the top of the order as it allows me time to settle.”
“To leave a batter out who had performed for us in the game before, I am not sure that was the right call. We have only had two players in the tournament who have made a half-century, and Dunks played one of the best opening innings I have seen in quite some time. We need form players playing most innings and most balls in the competition.”

“Everything should be on a reciprocal basis,” says Najam Sethi, suggesting that Pakistan’s ODI World Cup matches be held outside India too

PTI21-Apr-2023The PCB has proposed a “hybrid model” for the upcoming Asia Cup to the Asian Cricket Council, where “Pakistan plays its Asia Cup matches at home and India their matches at a neutral venue,” board chairman Najam Sethi said on Friday.The BCCI has refused to allow the India team to travel to Pakistan for the tournament because of the ongoing political differences between the two nations and demanded the continental tournament be shifted from Pakistan to a neutral venue.But, with Pakistan hoping to host as much of the tournament within the country, Sethi hoped that the visit of his country’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, next month to Goa for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council meeting will help find a solution.Related

• Regional elections: PCB plays down conflict-of-interest concerns

• India won't travel to Pakistan for 2023 Asia Cup

• Decision on Asia Cup venue postponed to March 2023

• Pakistan could pull out of Asia Cup if tournament is moved out

“We have been told that, maybe, the ice will keep on melting – if this happens when the Champions Trophy is held in Pakistan in 2025, India would consider playing in Pakistan,” Sethi said at a press interaction. “We have been advised to play the Asia Cup at a neutral venue and also go to India for the World Cup.” He didn’t specify who the suggestion had come from.Sethi indicated that the public mood in his country was that Pakistan should play cricket with India on level terms.”Our government has imposed no restrictions about playing against India,” Sethi said. “But I can say right now that public mood is: we are not needy and we can stand on our own feet financially and we want to play cricket with India honourably. We are also negotiating with the ACC.”

Sethi: ‘Everything should be on a reciprocal basis’

Sethi said that if Pakistan decided to shift all India matches in the Asia Cup to a neutral venue, India should also use the same hybrid experiment during the 50-over World Cup, to be held in India in October-November this year.”We feel this hybrid experiment can also be applied when it is time for the World Cup,” Sethi said. “Our stance is that everything should be on a reciprocal basis. In the old times, yes, there were security issues in Pakistan. But now there are no issues, so what is India’s excuse for not playing in Pakistan?”The ACC, led by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, is yet to respond to the PCB about the proposed hybrid model. Reports say that the other ACC members also want the Asia Cup to be held at a neutral venue to cut costs even though Pakistan will remain the tournament host.The Asia Cup will feature six teams, including Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and one team that will be identified after the qualifiers, which is currently underway in Nepal.

Her 63 trumps Bryony Smith’s half-century in entertaining contest between two sides needing to win

ECB Reporters Network04-Jun-2023A brilliant all-round performance from England’s Emma Lamb ensured Thunder kept alive their hopes of qualifying for finals day in the Charlotte Edwards Cup following a thrilling 16-run victory over South East Stars.Electing to bat at Blackpool’s Stanley Park, Thunder posted 165 for 5 with Lamb’s 63 the highlight of an entertaining contest between two sides needing to win to have any chance of progressing.The game remained in the balance for much of the afternoon with Stars giving themselves a great chance after an opening stand of 87 before Thunder’s bowlers struck back in emphatic fashion to dismiss the visitors for 149.Lamb dominated the Thunder innings from the start, hitting the first ball for a boundary before tucking into the Stars’ bowling with a combination of power and finesse.Liberty Heap offered good support from the other end, hitting two fours of her own off Claudie Cooper’s first over as the opening pair reached an impressive 50 without loss off the first powerplay.It could have been much better for Stars however. Sloppy ground fielding became infectious and a truly bizarre sixth over saw Cooper put down consecutive caught and bowled chances offered by Heap before Lamb was also easily grounded in the deep.The first-wicket partnership was finally broken in the eighth over for 58 when Phoebe Franklin uprooted Heap’s middle stump with the opener departing for 19.Joined in the middle by Fi Morris, Lamb continued to attack with the England international bringing up her half-century with a delicate scoop shot off Ryana MacDonald-Gay before hitting the same bowler for two consecutive sixes.Lamb’s dismissal for 63 after skying a Franklin delivery to Kalea Moore triggered a mini collapse from the hosts as Deandra Dottin and skipper Ellie Threlkeld both departed cheaply to Danielle Gregory to leave Thunder 120 for 4 and in danger of wasting their good start.But Naomi Dattani proceeded to hit an excellent 30 off 18 balls to give the Thunder some priceless momentum as they closed on 165 for 5 with Morris the last batter out for 44 in the final over.Stars’ reply set off in thrilling style with Bryony Smith and Paige Schofield attacking Mahika Gaur and Kate Cross from the outset.By the end of the powerplay, Stars were 55 without loss and looking hungry for more with Smith bringing up her half-century off 31 balls with six fours and two sixes as the opening partnership shot to 87 off 58 balls.Then came the turning point of the innings with Olivia Bell bowling Smith for 51 before trapping Scholfield in front for 31 two balls later to leave the visitors 88 for two and Thunder with renewed hope.Hope turned to expectation when two wickets fell in consecutive Lamb balls with Aylish Cranstone brilliantly stumped by Threlkeld without scoring and MacDonald-Gay feathering her first ball behind as Stars were reduced to 95 for 4.Cross returned to remove Tash Farrant, caught and bowled for six with Franklin falling the same way off Tara Norris for 12 as Stars’ began evaporating in the Blackpool sunshine.Dattani completed an excellent all-round performance by picking up the wickets of Moore and Alexa Stonehouse with the visitor’s innings petering out to close on 149 all out.