Category Uncategorized

Shaun Marsh and Ashton Agar have been named in Western Australia’s squad for next month’s Matador Cup, despite both carrying injuries that will likely prevent them from being available for the start of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2016Shaun Marsh and Ashton Agar have been named in Western Australia’s squad for next month’s Matador Cup, despite both carrying injuries that will likely prevent them from being available for the start of the tournament. Fast bowler Jason Behrendorff has also been included and will make his return from a lengthy lay-off, having not played since the BBL in January due to a stress fracture of the lower back.Western Australia have named a near full-strength group for the one-day tournament, with only Mitchell Marsh unavailable due to Australian duties and Nathan Coulter-Nile injured. However, Shaun Marsh’s broken finger and Agar’s shoulder injury will likely mean they are unavailable until later in the tournament, in which case WA can apply to Cricket Australia for injury replacement players.”It’s great to see Jason [Behrendorff] back in the squad after a long time out,” coach Justin Langer said. “He’s a consummate professional with his rehab and has been diligent throughout so we’re confident he can return to his best during the Matador Cup.”It’s great to have Adam Voges here to lead the side, while we’ve got good experience with players like Michael Klinger and Nathan Rimmington around him.”Western Australia squad Adam Voges (capt), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Joel Paris, Nathan Rimmington, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Jonathan Wells, Sam Whiteman.

Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh is in doubt after Cricket Australia delayed the departure of its team due to increased security concerns

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-20151:11

Australia awaiting further security advice before taking further decisions on Bangladesh tour

Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh is in doubt after Cricket Australia delayed the departure of its team due to increased security concerns. The players were due to depart for Bangladesh on Monday but that has now been postponed as Cricket Australia awaits further security advice before determining if the tour will go ahead.Cricket Australia published a press release on Saturday night in which chief executive James Sutherland cited “recent advice from a range of Australian government sources” that identified potential security risks to Australian interests in Bangladesh.”We have received advice from DFAT [Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] and based on that information we are working with security experts and the Bangladesh Cricket Board on a revised security plan for the tour,” Sutherland said. “We want the tour to go ahead and are planning for that, but the safety and security of our players and support staff is our number-one priority and won’t be compromised.”We will wait to receive updated security information early in the week before confirming the team’s travel arrangements. In the meantime, we are working with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and keeping our players and support staff fully informed.”Sources at the BCB has said that they were taken by surprise by the developments. There had been no security alerts issued in the country.However, the Australian government’s travel advice website, Smartraveller, issued updated travel advice for Bangladesh on Friday. It said “There is reliable information to suggest that militants may be planning to target Australian interests in Bangladesh.”The original tour schedule had Australia playing a warm-up game in Fatullah from October 3, followed by two Tests in Chittagong and Mirpur. It is due to be Australia’s first Test tour of Bangladesh since 2006, although the team has travelled there for one-day matches and last visited in 2014 for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

Former Australia batsman Darren Lehmann has been appointed the new coach of the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2013Former Australia batsman Darren Lehmann has been appointed the new coach of the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab. Lehmann has previously coached the now defunct franchise Deccan Chargers, and had played for Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition in 2008. He replaces Adam Gilchrist, who was the coach and captain of the Punjab side in the 2012 season.”I’m geared up for the challenges it brings and will always encourage our team to be an entertaining and aggressive brand that people love to watch and associate with,” Lehmann said. “I’m also looking forward to working with Adam Gilchrist again and help all the players grow on and off the field.”Lehmann also coaches Australia’s state side Queensland, and the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League.

ESPNcricinfo previews the only Test between New Zealand and Zimbabwe, in Napier

The Preview by Firdose Moonda25-Jan-2012

Match Facts

January 26-30, Napier
Start time 1030 (2130 GMT on January 25)Brendan Taylor will have a big role to play as most of his team have little experience of conditions in New Zealand•AFP

Big Picture

Two higher profile series leave this one-off Test to play out in the shadows but it promises to be a test of character for both sides. New Zealand and Zimbabwe played one of the Tests of the year in 2011, in Bulawayo, which ended in a thrilling 34-run win for the visitors. Zimbabwe have not played any Test cricket since then and will still be buoyed by how close they came. New Zealand, however, have a bigger cloud to float on – victory over Australia in Hobart.The Zimbabwe series is a curtain raiser to South Africa’s arrival in New Zealand later in the summer and the hosts will want to use what is effectively a warm-up tour to fine-tune their plans. They have question marks over who the best wicketkeeper in the country is, how many allrounders to play and which of their four quick bowlers will edge ahead if they have to pick between them. One Test may not be enough to clarify all of these issues but it will go some way to guiding New Zealand in the immediate future.Zimbabwe have a far more daunting mission to accomplish. For the first time since making their Test comeback in August last year, they will play away from the comfort of Harare or Bulawayo. While still finding their feet in the longest form of the game, they will also have to quickly assess and understand the ground beneath it as they adapt to foreign conditions. Their captain, Brendan Taylor, has already spent time in New Zealand playing in the HRV Cup and his insights will be valuable.Under Alan Butcher, Zimbabwe have formed a close-knit and increasingly confident unit but this match will test those bonds and other aspects of their game. The result matters less for them than the manner in which it is achieved and how they perform in this match will provide a good yardstick for measuring Zimbabwe’s progress.

Form Guide

New Zealand WLWDL (most recent first)
Zimbabwe LLW (Zimbabwe’s results only reflect matches they have played since making their Test comeback in August 2010)

Players to watch …

After just three Test matches in which he has scored three fifties, Dean Brownlie has already earned a promotion up the order. He will bat at No. 5 and will act as the fifth seamer in an attack that will contain four quicks and the spotlight will fall on whether he can convert a start.
Like most of their squad, Zimbabwe’s new-ball pair of Kyle Jarvis and Brian Vitori will experience Test cricket on foreign spoil for the first time. On a pitch in Harare that offered only early assistance for the quicks, the pair took 10 wickets between them and will be able to push themselves on a surface offering more assistance.

Team news

On a seamer-friendly pitch, New Zealand are set to play four quicks with Daniel Vettori coming in at No. 6. That means Brownlie will be promoted a place and Kane Williamson gets an opportunity at No. 3 in Jesse Ryder’s absence. The most debated topic in New Zealand over the past week is the wicketkeeper’s spot which will be taken by BJ Watling, over Kruger van Wyk. Sam Wells, the allrounder who was included in the New Zealand squad at the eleventh hour, is reportedly unlikely to play.New Zealand: (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Dean Brownlie, 6 Daniel Vettori, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Chris MartinZimbabwe are without two of their most experienced players. Vusi Sibanda was left out of the touring party after being declared ineligible for the national team following a grade cricket stint and Chris Mpofu suffered a lower back injury. Hamilton Masakadza partnered Tino Mawoyo at the top in the tour match, and will do so again in Test. Forster Mutizwa will bat at No. 3 and Regis Chakabva will bat at No. 6. Zimbabwe will play three allrounders, Malcolm Waller, Graeme Cremer and Shingi Masakadza. Keegan Meth was struck during training and is on crutches. Cremer gets the nod ahead of veteran Ray Price who was ruled out with a groin injury.Zimbabwe: 1 Tino Mawoyo, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Forster Mutizwa, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt), 5 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 6 Regis Chakabva, 7 Malcolm Waller, 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Shingi Masakadza, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Brian Vitori

Pitch and Conditions

Talk in New Zealand is that the hosts have ordered a green top as they look to pick from where they left off in Hobart. Although Napier has traditionally been a batsmen’s pitch, with the last match between New Zealand and Pakistan playing out to a high-scoring draw in 2009. A wetter summer than normal should provide for bowler-friendly conditions. Napier is expected to be mild and sunny with the only possibility of rain forecast for the second afternoon.

Stats and Trivia

• New Zealand have never won a Test match in Napier. Of the nine matches played there, seven have been draws with only England and Sri Lanka registering Test wins at McLean Park.
• New Zealand and Zimbabwe have played against each other 14 times, with New Zealand winning eight and six draws. Three of the victories were by more than an innings.
• Zimbabwe have only won two Tests away from home – in Peshawar against Pakistan in 1998 and in Chittagong against Bangladesh in 2001.

Quotes

“People say it’s easy to change up from Twenty20 to Test cricket. But I disagree. It is a lot harder than you think. It’s more a mindset change than technique.”

“We showed that New Zealand can be beaten. I hope we can take the confidence we gained from that match forward.”

India’s environment ministry has ordered an investigation into the building of an international cricket stadium by the Kerala Cricket Association, citing violations of coastal protection laws

Tariq Engineer24-Dec-2010India’s environment ministry has ordered an investigation into the building of an international cricket stadium by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). Citing violations of coastal protection laws, the ministry sent an order on December 21 to the Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority instructing it to put a halt to all construction activity, take appropriate action under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and to submit a report within 15 days.The ministry claims the land contains protected mangrove swamps, most of which the KCA is accused of illegally removing, as well as being part of a Ramsar site, which are wetlands of international importance designated under an agreement signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971.The KCA has denied the area ever contained mangroves, saying it was land that was used to grow paddy. “We are not lawbreakers,” KCA secretary TC Matthews, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are a law abiding association.” According to Matthews, construction has not even begun on the site as the stadium is still in the process of being designed by the architects, so there is no question of putting a stop to it. They have also applied to the state government for various building permits. “We have applied to the state government for an exemption to the Wetland Act and the Land Ceiling Act because we don’t want a problem at a later stage.”The KCA had acquired a 23.5 acre plot in Edakochi, a part of Ernakulum district in Kerala, to build the stadium. Its construction is widely supported by the local community, who see it as a way of attracting tourists, which in turn would boost further development. The prospects of the stadium actually coming up in Edakochi, however, appear somewhat bleak, as the Union environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, told the last month that “we will not support a stadium coming up in that area.”

Chris Tremlett, the 6ft 7 quick bowler, is set to sign for Surrey after being given permission by current team Hampshire to talk to other clubs

Cricinfo staff24-Jan-2010Chris Tremlett, the six-foot-seven-inch paceman, has signed for Surrey on a three-year deal after being given permission by Hampshire to leave the Rose Bowl.Tremlett, 28, played three Tests for England in 2007 and impressed as his pace and bounce brought 13 wickets against India. Since then, he has been ravaged by injuries and has fallen off the selectors’ radar.Chris Adams, the Surrey coach, said however, that Tremlett has his best years ahead of him and has all the attributes to push for an international recall. “In Chris Tremlett, Surrey have signed a bowler of Test Match ability who is just beginning to approach the prime of his career,” he said.”His height, action and pace make him very well suited to bowling at The Oval and I am looking forward to him developing partnerships with our existing pace attack. He is joining a very different and highly motivated Surrey side and I feel we have got somebody that has the right attributes to continue his England career.”Surrey are in a period of rebuilding their side having appointed 22-year-old Rory Hamilton-Brown as their captain for next season and Tremlett said he’s looking forward to helping Surrey return to the pinnacle of the domestic game. “Coming to Surrey will open an exciting chapter in my career and I am very much looking forward to getting the opportunity to work alongside my new team mates to help return this great club back to the top of English cricket.”Tremlett has taken 289 wickets at 28.66 in his first-class career, but played only seven championship matches for Hampshire during another injury-plagued season last year. With the arrival of Kabir Ali, another former England bowler, at the Rose Bowl last week, Tremett’s place in the Hampshire side was uncertain.”Chris is in a similar position to what Kabir was at Worcestershire,” Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, said. “A new environment will help to challenge and revitalise his career at both domestic and International level and he has therefore been released from his contract with immediate effect. I sincerely hope that this move will allow him to regain the cutting edge we all know he possesses and give him the best chance of re-capturing a place in the England team.”

The government’s new Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 has disallowed “real money games”, hitting companies like Dream11 hard

PTI25-Aug-2025Fantasy sports company Dream11, which recently shut down its real money games after the central government passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 in both houses of parliament, has intimated to the BCCI that it won’t be able to continue as the lead sponsor of the India cricket teams as its revenue stream is expected to be severely hit.Dream11 has a US$ 44 million (INR 358 crore approx.) deal with the BCCI – 2023 to 2026. Between them, Dream11 and My11Circle, another fantasy sports company, contribute around INR 1000 crore to the BCCI through the sponsorship of Indian cricket teams and the IPL.The new government bill states that “no person shall offer aid, abet, induce, indulge, engage in offering online money gaming services nor shall involve in any advertisement which directly or indirectly promotes any person to play any online money game”. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia declined to comment on the development and the way forward, but it is understood that Dream11 might not have to pay a hefty penalty as the contract has a specific clause about getting a waiver in case there is a government regulation in place.