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Dav Whatmore, the Pakistan coach, has said he is “disappointed” with the postponement of Bangladesh’s proposed tour of Pakistan following a court stay order

Umar Farooq23-Apr-2012Dav Whatmore, the Pakistan coach, has said he is “disappointed” with the postponement of Bangladesh’s proposed tour of Pakistan following a court stay order. Whatmore also said that he had not faced any security issues during his two-month stay in Pakistan.Bangladesh had agreed to visit Pakistan in the last week of this month for an ODI and a T20I, both scheduled to be played in Lahore, but the tour was delayed on April 19 with a Dhaka court ordering a four-week embargo over security concerns.”It is a bit disappointing,” Whatmore said. “We were planning to quickly get started with training, but all that has been knocked on the head with Bangladesh not coming.”Whatmore, who was born in Sri Lanka and immigrated early to Australia, coached the country of his birth to their famous 1996 World Cup triumph. “From my personal point of view, I’ve lived in Sri Lanka, I was born in Sri Lanka, I lived through civil war there towards the end of that problem, and I am now staying in Lahore for the last two months and move around quite freely. I really don’t have any problems with security.”Whatmore said the Pakistani people were starved of international cricket, which was difficult for them given the following and history of the game in the country. “It must be really hard for the people here, but do they [the rest of the world] really know how hard it is? You need to come and witness it to really know how difficult it is for a nation that has a rich history in international cricket to keep the game going without having the ability to host overseas teams.”For Pakistan, the Bangladesh tour is more a closed chapter for the moment and the series could be scrapped from the ICC Future Tours Programme as Pakistan is unlikely to host Bangladesh at an offshore venue. The PCB is, however, focussing on launching its own lucrative Twenty20 league, and is hoping to have overseas players in it – another tactic to revive international cricket in the country. Whatmore welcomed the idea and was hopeful of its success.”Once it is known to people in the world that the PCB is planning to do this, I’m sure there will be a lot of international cricketers looking at their schedules and see that they are available in this short period of time to come and play here. I am very hopeful that there will be some very good international cricketers coming and enjoying playing in it.”With the possibility that the Bangladesh tour might not happen, Pakistan face a spare period ahead of their away series in Sri Lanka towards the end of May. Whatmore said he would ensure the players avoided getting complacent and rusty during that time.The PCB has recently asked its centrally-contracted players to undergo a fitness test, before they are considered for a new contract. “The fitness test was designed to give everyone an idea of where they are now and after a prescription of work to re-test and see the improvement,” Whatmore said.

England batsman Ian Bell’s half-century was not enough as his Warwickshire side succumbed to an 18-run defeat against Northamptonshire

08-May-2011
ScorecardIan Bell found form with 88 but Warwickshire subsided late in their chase•Getty Images

England batsman Ian Bell’s half-century was not enough as his Warwickshire side succumbed to an 18-run defeat against Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Wantage Road.Steelbacks’ wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien crashed 61 off 46 balls and David Sales finished unbeaten on 60 as the hosts posted 238 for 5 from their 40 overs.The Bears slumped to 17 for 3 before Bell’s knock of 88 off 101 balls and Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf’s 72 put them back in business, but Chaminda Vaas’ 3 for 45 helped to ensure they fell short. The visitors lost their last seven wickets for just 45 runs and it means Northants maintain their 100 per cent record in this year’s competition.Warwickshire won the toss and elected to field and Andrew Miller quickly took the wicket of Stephen Peters, out caught and bowled to complete an opening wicket maiden. Vaas then departed for 31 when he smashed Darren Maddy to Rikki Clarke at mid-wicket.But Ireland international O’Brien went on to complete an explosive half-century off just 37 balls before perishing when he was caught and bowled by Maddy. Alex Wakely then went for 27 when he chipped Miller straight to Bell at mid-wicket. Sales stuck around to reach 50 off as many balls but Rob White fell on 47 when he launched Chris Woakes to Keith Barker at deep cover to break a fifth-wicket stand of 82.Chasing 239, the Bears’ reply got off to an awful start when they lost Varun Chopra for a single in the first over when he edged Vaas to O’Brien. Barker (5) threw his wicket away when he recklessly smashed Northamptonshire captain Andrew Hall to Wakely at deep cover before Ireland opener Will Porterfield (10) was run out by James Middlebrook at mid-on.Bell then completed a composed half-century off 66 balls as he and Yousuf added 158 between them, the latter making it to 50 off 52 balls. The stand was broken when Bell was run out by Peters at point before Yousuf departed when he nudged Vaas to O’Brien to tilt the match back in the home side’s favour.Clarke (8) then needlessly blasted Hall to David Willey at midwicket and Darren Maddy hammered 25 off just 18 deliveries before launching Vaas to Hall at extra cover. Wicketkeeper Richard Johnson departed without facing a ball as he was superbly run out by Willey at mid-off before the same man bowled both Miller and Maurice Holmes to claim personal figures of two for 29 and seal victory.

Sri Lanka have been left knowing only a victory against Zimbabwe will keep them in the tournament

Andrew McGlashan in Guyana30-Apr-2010Sri Lanka were the most consistent team in last year’s World Twenty20, moving into the final unbeaten before falling to an inspired Pakistan outfit at Lord’s. This time they are left knowing only a victory against Zimbabwe will keep them in the tournament, and even then it will require a nervous wait for the outcome of the final match in the group.The game against New Zealand was always a nip-and-tuck affair although Sri Lanka had the bowling attack to defend 135. When the spinners strangled the middle of the chase it looked as though they would do just that, but on this occasion Lasith Malinga’s skills at the death weren’t quite up to their best.”You’d probably back him more times than not,” said coach Trevor Bayliss. “Having said that, it shouldn’t have got down to the last over and all being on Lasith’s shoulders. It’s certainly not his fault.”It wasn’t the happiest of afternoons for Malinga, who missed two run-out chances in the field. A wild throw from Malinga at point in the sixth over meant Kumar Sangakkara couldn’t gather the ball, then in the final over he missed an underarm flick towards the stumps from a couple of yards away with Daniel Vettori stranded. In the end, the small errors added up for Sri Lanka.”We were a little off our game in most departments,” said Bayliss. “Our batting didn’t score as many runs in the first six overs as we normally do, our fielding could have been a bit better. It wasn’t too bad, but not quite good enough at this level.”This was never likely to be a high-scoring match, but Sri Lanka’s lack of early momentum with the bat had allowed New Zealand an early hold on the game. After six overs they were 36 for 1 and 30 of those had come from the blade of the promoted Mahela Jaywardene, opening for the first time in a Twenty20 international. At the other end the going had been much tougher.Tillakaratne Dilshan has come into this tournament amid much hype after his prolific form over the last year, but he struggled during the IPL with 44 runs from six innings before being dropped by Delhi Daredevils. His lack of touch was soon apparent as he couldn’t get the ball off the square against the combination of Nathan McCullum’s offspin and Shane Bond’s pace. When he fell for 3 from 19 deliveries – the slowest strike-rate for a Sri Lanka Twenty20 innings – Jayawardene, who was in supreme IPL form despite Kings XI Punjab’s poor event, had 30 from 15.”Every batter goes through a bit of a lean trot,” said Bayliss. “In the last 18 months Dilshan has been unbelievable and you can’t have that sort of form and not be able to score runs. I’m sure in the next game or two we’ll see the best of him.”And Bayliss also had a very simple answer to how Sri Lanka will approach the tournament from here. “If we win every game from here we’ll be champions.” But there’s no room for anymore mistakes.
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Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi are the three venues the PCB is planning to host the two-week tournament in

Osman Samiuddin01-May-2024The PCB’s schedule for the 2025 Champions Trophy could have India based in one city for the entire tournament, as the board looks for ways to accommodate a potential first visit by India to Pakistan in nearly 17 years.Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi are the three venues the PCB is planning to host the two-week Champions Trophy in. ESPNcricinfo understands the draft schedule has India based in and playing all their matches in Lahore – where the final is also scheduled to take place.Basing India in one city is thought to have been proposed because it avoids what could be considerable logistical and security headaches around their travel. Additionally, by being based in Lahore, which is close to the Wagah border crossing between the two countries, it allows Indian fans a relatively easier option to visit.PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said earlier this week that the board had sent a draft schedule of the tournament, likely to be staged in mid-February next year, to the ICC. Discussions on it involving the eight participating members will take place, with the major sticking point likely to be whether the India team travels or not.No Indian team has played in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. Relations between the two governments have deteriorated steadily and often sharply since, especially after the Mumbai terror attacks the same year. Those attacks ended a rare period of bounty in the rivalry, the sides having played each other in four bilateral series in the preceding four years.Last year, when Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup, they were forced to deploy a hybrid model in which India played all their games – including those against Pakistan – in Sri Lanka. The final of the tournament, won by India, was held in Colombo.Though Pakistan had raised the prospect of a hybrid model for their presence in the ODI World Cup in India last year, it was never pursued seriously. They ended up playing all their games in India, across five venues, before they were eliminated in the group stages.The final decision on whether India do visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy will be in the hands of the Indian government, rather than the BCCI.The craze around India vs Pakistan games, limited as they are, is to be seen to be believed•Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images

On Tuesday evening in Karachi, Naqvi expressed the hope that “all eight teams” will come to Pakistan for the event, though he was not drawn into specifics about India’s position.The Champions Trophy is the first ICC event Pakistan will be hosting since the 1996 World Cup, when they were joint hosts with India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan was due to stage the event in 2008, but it was postponed and then relocated to South Africa because of the security situation in Pakistan at the time. Pakistan also lost out on co-hosting duties for the 2011 ODI World Cup, with the 2009 terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team meaning no international cricket in the country for the next six years.Since the return of international cricket to Pakistan in 2015, however, every single team involved in the Champions Trophy has toured and played in Pakistan, except India.Pakistan are the defending champions of the event, last held in 2017.

Legspinner selected despite being on bail after Cricket Association of Nepal suspension lifted

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2023Sandeep Lamichhane has been picked in Nepal’s 14-man squad for the tri-series against Scotland and Namibia. The selection was widely expected once the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) had lifted its suspension of the player and included him in a training camp for the series. Lamichhane is currently out on bail, though facing charges of sexual coercion of another person.His impending selection and inclusion in the training camp had led to protests last weekend, with calls for a boycott of the tri-series. Both the visiting sides involved in the tri-series have issues statements that have hinted at – but stopped well short of expressing – unease over the selection.CAN announced the squad on their Twitter feed on Friday. On Wednesday, Cricket Scotland said it was “aware of the reports regarding the legal status of Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane, ahead of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 Qualifiers. As a governing body, and as a squad, Cricket Scotland stands firmly against all forms of abuse, which have no place in modern society. The player’s availability for these games is a matter for the Cricket Association of Nepal and the ICC to consider.”Their counterparts at Cricket Namibia said only that the board “strongly opposes all forms of gender-based violence, discrimination and abuse.”Related

• Sandeep Lamichhane joins Nepal in UAE as an injury replacement

• Scotland players refuse to shake hands with Lamichhane

• Lamichhane taken into custody upon landing at Kathmandu airport

• Nepal cricket board lifts suspension on Sandeep Lamichhane

• Lamichhane set to be included in Nepal squad for tri-series

When Lamichhane’s suspension was revoked by CAN, Britant Khanal, the board’s general manager told ESPNcricinfo that it was on the condition that Lamichhane would “respect the limitation prescribed” by the court that granted him bail in January this year. If Nepal were to travel outside the country, Lamichhane’s participation would depend on whether the court gave him permission for it or not. Lamichhane was taken into custody after he landed in Kathmandu in October last year, responding to an arrest warrant issued against him in September. At the time of the warrant, Lamichhane was participating in the Caribbean Premier League for Jamaica Tallawahs.His suspension was revoked after he was granted bail by court, on the condition that he could not leave the country until a verdict had been reached in the case.The tri-series is part of the ICC’s Cricket World Cup League 2 and is set to be played in Kirtipur starting from February 14.Nepal squad: Rohit Paudel (capt), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Gyanendra Malla, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Lalit Rajbanshi, Sandeep Lamichhane, Gulshan Jha, Bhim Sharki, Surya TamangTravelling reserves: Aarif Sheikh, Pratish GC, Shyam Dhakal, Arjun Saud

Netherlands allrounder to stay at Taunton for at least two more seasons after contract extension

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2021Roelof van der Merwe, Somerset’s South Africa-born, Netherlands allrounder, will remain with the club at least until the end of the 2023 season after signing a one-year contract extension.Van der Merwe, 36, joined the club in 2011 on a short-term contract before returning in 2016, and has since established himself as an important member of the Somerset squad across all three formats, with his left-arm spin complemented by his hard-hitting lower-order batting.He was awarded with his County Cap after playing a key part in Somerset’s Royal London Cup triumph in 2019, and he also holds the record for the highest score by a Somerset player in a 50-over match, after making a match-winning 165 not out against Surrey at Taunton in 2017. He also featured in the inaugural season of the Hundred, after being signed by London Spirit.”I’m really pleased to have extended my time at Somerset,” van der Merwe said. “We have a great group of guys here and I genuinely feel that we are on the verge of something exceptional.”The club holds a very special place in my heart, and I will be doing everything that I can to make sure that we win games of cricket and claim the silverware that the players and our brilliant Members deserve.”Van der Merwe was recently on national duty with the Netherlands at the T20 World Cup in the UAE, having qualified in 2015. Prior to that, he played 13 ODIs and 13 T20Is for South Africa in 2009-10, including the 2009 T20 World Cup in England.SCCC Director of Cricket, Andy Hurry, added: “Roelof is a quality performer across the three formats of the game. His drive, determination and will to succeed are second to none and he is a genuine team man. He is exceptional both on the field and in the dressing room, and all his domestic and international experience make him an outstanding role model for our aspirational players to learn from.”His passion for the game is infectious and his contributions with the bat, the ball and in the field are of the highest standard. I can confirm that we are once again able to register Roelof as a local player.”

Premises licence could provide clubs with closed-door loophole

George Dobell16-Jul-2020County chiefs remain optimistic spectators will be allowed to attend games in the Bob Willis Trophy.The Trophy, the replacement first-class competition to maximise the last couple of months of a virus-ravaged season, is set to start on August 1.While there are not currently plans to permit spectators, the sport is hopeful it can make an argument to the government as something of a test case before the return of Premier League football in September.Specifically, it will argue that, in comparison to football, county cricket will attract relatively low numbers of socially-distanced spectators, all of whom would be club members and therefore easily traceable should it be required.ALSO READ: Lancashire hopeful spectators could be admitted again in SeptemberAs a result, they hope a couple of games in early August – one at a Test-hosting ground; one at a smaller venue – will be utilised as a trial to demonstrate the sport’s ability to safely welcome back spectators. If those trials are successful, they hope spectators will be allowed to return to all county grounds. The counties are especially keen to see spectators return for the Vitality T20 Blast; a competition which remains key to the cash flow at most clubs.Some counties may also have found a loophole. It is, for example, permissible to show televised cricket from the Test series on the terrace at The Oval to a limited number of spectators thanks to the club’s status as a licensed premises. It could well be that first-class county cricket is played at the ground at the same time.There have been concerns about the welfare of players, too. Most notably, some counties felt their players – and their seam bowlers, in particular – risked injury if they returned to cricket without sufficient preparation. The ICC recently recommended a minimum of eight weeks of training before international players returned to competition but, with most counties not coming off furlough until the start of July, four weeks is having to suffice. As a consequence, some counties have expressed a fear of litigation should players sustain injuries.The counties rejected the idea of 12-a-side games, though, as such a move would rob the competition of its first-class status.Instead, they hope that a raft of measures designed to mitigate the risk of injury will provide protection for the bowlers. Those measures include a reduction in the number of overs in a day (from 98 to 90), limiting the number of overs in an innings to 120 and delaying the availability of a new ball until 90 overs have been bowled. The follow-on mark will also be increased from 150 to 200 to minimise the possibility of bowlers facing successive innings in the field.Concerns have been raised about bowling workloads•Getty Images

With August given over almost entirely to red-ball cricket for the first time in many years – the Blast starts on August 27, but four successive weekends before that will feature first-class county cricket – the counties also hope the competition will provide increased opportunities for spin bowlers.ALSO READ: No sanctions for counties who fall under salary collarWith few overseas players expected, either, there is also an expectation the competition will provide opportunities for many of those English-qualified players who are out of contract at the end of the season. There is no ban on overseas players but, with most counties having accepted government money to help them through the last few months, there is an understanding that it may be inappropriate to sign any new faces.Some on existing contracts will return – as will some Kolpak registrations such as Duanne Olivier, Morne Morkel, Hashim Amla if they can reach the UK – but most have seen their contracts cancelled. Even Jeetan Patel, Warwickshire’s overseas player for a decade, has been informed he will only feature in the T20 competition.Draft fixtures for the trophy were shared with counties on Wednesday, with the ECB hoping to publish them at the start of next week. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the competition will culminate in a Lord’s final that will finish at the start of October.

Mitchell Marsh found a way past Tim Paine on an enthralling final day of the match at Bellerive Oval

Daniel Brettig15-Mar-2019Western Australia’s captain Mitchell Marsh found a way past the Australian Test captain Tim Paine to vault the Warriors into third place on the Sheffield Shield table after an enthralling final day of the match at Bellerive Oval in Hobart.Needing exactly 400 on the final day with all 10 wickets in hand, the Tigers’ pursuit was marshalled by a masterly innings from Matthew Wade as he maintained his push for a place on the Ashes tour with a century.The Warriors had struck early on the final day and at 4 for 136 the game seemed to be headed inevitably for a WA win. However, Wade, who had earlier seemed intent primarily on survival, spread his wings in the company of Ben McDermott in a stand worth 183 for the fifth wicket.At 4 for 319 with plenty of overs and time remaining, the Tasmanian chase appeared well and truly on course. But Wade and McDermott were both accounted for by the second new ball within 16 runs of each other, leaving the hosts scrapping for a draw.This pitted Paine against Marsh, who had been dropped from the Australian side in all formats this summer. It appeared that Paine might be on the way to repeating his rearguard heroics in Dubai late last year, but Marsh coaxed a catch with the first ball of the penultimate over to hand outright points to the Warriors.

Baroda captain Deepak Hooda’s 34-ball 57 helped his team chase down a target of 179 against Maharashtra while Aditya Garhwal’s 51* set up Rajasthan’s six-wicket win over Vidarbha

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2018Baroda captain Deepak Hooda’s 34-ball 57 helped his team chase down a target of 179 with five wickets in hand against Maharashtra in Rajkot. Hooda’s second half-century in the tournament was instrumental in Baroda winning their fourth consecutive game and remain undefeated in the competition.Earlier, Maharashtra put up a strong batting performance after electing to bat first. A 79-run alliance between Ruturaj Gaikwad, who smashed a 37-ball 52, and captain Rahul Tripathi (30 off 24 balls) propelled Maharashtra to a total of 178 for 6 in 20 overs. Baroda seamer Atit Sheth finished with figures of 3 for 21. In reply, Baroda recovered quickly from the loss of three early wickets thanks to Hooda and handy contributions from Vishnu Solanki (42* off 21) and Swapnil Singh, who retired hurt after a 26-ball 36. Seamer Domnic Muthuswami picked up three wickets for Maharashtra.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A disciplined bowling effort followed by Aditya Garhwal’s unbeaten half-century set up Rajasthan‘s six-wicket win over Vidarbha in Raipur. This was their fourth win in as many games even as Vidarbha lost their first game of the tournament.After opting to bat, Vidarbha started reasonably well but lost their way in the middle to slump from 70 for 2 to 127 for 7 before their innings eventually petered out to 131 for 8. Rajasthan seamers Aniket Choudhary, Deepak Chahar (2 for 25) and Khaleel Ahmed (2 for 19) picked up five wickets among them. Rajasthan’s chase was fairly straightforward as they cruised to their target with two overs to spare.

Group A round-up: Uttar Pradesh’s spinners impress, Baroda’s batting fails yet again and Bengal make slow progress

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2016Uttar Pradesh‘s left-arm spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Saurabh Kumar took seven wickets between them as Mumbai were bowled out for 233 on the first day in Mysore.Mumbai lost three wickets for 55 in the first session, including that of Shreyas Iyer for 35, after electing to bat. Suryakumar Yadav held the innings together; he put on consecutive fifty partnerships with captain Aditya Tare (30) and Siddesh Lad (13), followed by another with debutant Aditya Dhumal (34) for the seventh wicket.He was eventually removed for 99, one short of a second-consecutive century, trapped in front to the part-time offspin of Shivam Chaudhary with the score on 223. Saurabh and Kuldeep then cleaned up the tail to finish with three and four wickets, respectively. Medium-pacer Tushar Deshpande took the solitary UP wicket to fall, that of Tanmay Srivastava, as UP finished the day on 22 for 1.Baroda failed to cross 200 for their third innings in a row, as left-arm spinner Avinash Yadav’s first five-wicket haul – on his return to first-class cricket – helped Railways bowl them out for 183 in Nagpur.Baroda’s top-order batsmen all got off to starts. Opener Kedar Devdhar scored 45, Dhiren Mistry scored 50 at No. 3 and Deepak Hooda got 30 at No. 4. They were decently placed at 137 for 2 when Hooda was stumped off Avinash. This triggered a collapse that eventually read 8 for 46, as Baroda folded up for 183. Avinash took five of those wickets, and legspinner Karn Sharma (3-37) took the last two. In response, Railways openers Saurabh Wakaskar (16*) and Shivakant Shukla (23*) took them to 39 for 0 at stumps.Priyank Panchal’s tenth first-class fifty helped Gujarat finish the first day on 224 for 4 against Madhya Pradesh in Nagothane. Panchal put on 75 for the opening wicket with Samit Gohel (34) and 42 for the third with Parthiv Patel, before getting stumped off left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma (2-60) for 62. Parthiv then stitched together 68 with Manpreet Juneja (44*) before falling for 49. Juneja and Chirag Gandhi (9*) batted out the last 11.4 overs to add 17, and take Gujarat to stumps without further damage.Bengal scored at just above two runs per over to reach 190 for 3 at stumps, against Tamil Nadu in Rajkot. Bengal’s 190 was anchored by a 111-run partnership for the third wicket, that began with Sudip Chatterjee (34) and Manoj Tiwary before Chatterjee had to go off retired hurt. Agniv Pan was Tiwary’s other partner during the third-wicket stand, which ended with Tiwary’s dismissal on 56. Pan was unbeaten on 51 at the end of the day, his third first-class fifty in four games, and Shreevats Goswami was with him on 15.