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Shikhar Dhawan is likely to partner M Vijay at the top of the order, with KL Rahul missing out, in the first Test of India’s tour of the West Indies starting in Antigua on Thursday

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Antigua20-Jul-20163:53

‘Cannot count out anyone because of one series’ – Kohli

Shikhar Dhawan is likely to partner M Vijay at the top of the order, with KL Rahul missing out, in the first Test of India’s tour of the West Indies starting in Antigua on Thursday. India also seem set to play five bowlers, on a pitch that their captain Virat Kohli felt would not offer too much bounce. Kohli did not lay out the selection calls explicitly, but strongly hinted at them in his press conference on the eve of the Test match.”In international cricket, you need to understand one thing that you cannot count players out because of one series,” Kohli said. “If you’re talking about KL Rahul, obviously he’s improved leaps and bounds as a cricketer in the last 3-4 months. He’s established himself as the third opener for India, he’s a regular in the Test side, he played in Sri Lanka as well, scored runs there.”But that’s one call you need to take as a captain, and that’s why they say the job is never easy. It’s just that, whoever starts a Test series, he has an edge over [the player] who has to wait for his chance, but at the same time, we have four Test matches and you will get a chance at some stage.”If you speak about KL Rahul and someone like Shikhar, it’s very difficult to take a call up front, in the first match of a series, because someone like Shikhar is a very dominant player, he can dominate sessions and bring you into the Test match, especially in conditions like West Indies.”You saw how he played in Sri Lanka, he scored a very quick hundred, but got injured unfortunately, but that’s what I mean. You can’t count out a guy like Shikhar because of a couple of innings here and there. So we need to give guys a decent run, and know that if something goes wrong, we have a quality player like Rahul waiting in the wings and he’s as solid as anyone in world cricket right now, and he’ll do a good job whenever he gets a chance.”There was a smattering of grass on the surface, and Kohli felt its main purpose was to bind the soil underneath, rather than provide any major assistance to the quick bowlers.”I think the surface looks really dry and soft,” he said. “It’s not as hard as some of the other surfaces in West Indies. The wicket is no different from what we play back home, actually. It’s basically where we have soft wickets and the soil is loose, it’s bound by the grass, so have to keep that cover on, so I think it’ll be a decent batting wicket.”There won’t be much bounce, not as much bounce as some of the other places in West Indies, somewhere like Barbados or Jamaica where the spinners get a lot of bounce. That won’t be the case here, that’s what I feel, after reading the wicket, so we’ll have to plan accordingly where we need to bowl.”In the days leading up to the Test match, India’s nets hierarchy seemed to indicate that Rohit Sharma would not feature in their starting XI, and that either Stuart Binny or Ravindra Jadeja would play instead to provide an extra bowling option. Without saying India would definitely do so, Kohli said he was “in favour of five bowlers”.”We have some plans in our mind, but we can’t disclose those things now,” he said. “But when we played in Australia and in Sri Lanka, we learned that it’s crucial to attack in the first match, and to set the tone for the series. For that you will need to play your strongest bowling unit in the first match.”And as batsmen, we want to take responsibility, so as a captain I’m always in favour of five bowlers, because if you don’t take 20 wickets, it doesn’t matter if you score 700 runs, there’s no point. We have been playing with that mindset for the last one-and-a-half-to-two years, and we will start this series with the same mindset, and see that our bowling is as strong as it needs to be to take 20 wickets.”As a captain, you will want that your prime bowler, even if he only bowls 10 overs, if he concedes only 20 runs in those 10 overs and picks up two wickets, he will keep the pressure on. If your part-timer bowls five overs and concedes 30, the pressure will disappear. So I think in a Test match, that when that moment comes, it becomes crucial how well your fifth bowler bowls.”And on this wicket, the plans of bowling outside off stump may not be that successful because there won’t be too much pace and bounce. So bowlers who will bowl stump-to-stump lines and wicket-taking bowlers will be more effective. That is the mindset we plan to get into the Test match with, and start the series on a positive note.”With Mohammed Shami back to full match fitness after a long layoff with a knee injury, Kohli welcomed back a pace bowler whom he called “a complete package”. Given the amount of bowling he has done at the nets, Shami seems likely to edge Umesh Yadav out of the eleven as Ishant Sharma’s new-ball partner.”Shami, unfortunately he got injured while he was having a great season,” Kohli said. “He bowled really well in South Africa, he bowled well in New Zealand, he bowled well in England, I mean he bowled well everywhere that he played. Australia as well, in the Test matches, in the World Cup he was outstanding, so, unfortunately he got injured after that, you know, had a massive break.”But now he’s back, he’s bowling really well. Obviously, he’s a gun bowler, we all know that, the areas he hits is what you need in Test cricket, very attacking lines and lengths, and he has the ability to get batsmen out at any stage of the game, which as a captain is very pleasing and important, so Shami being back in the side obviously gives us a lot of options. The guy can bowl well with the new ball, with the old ball, reverse-swinging it, he can come around the wicket, use bouncers and use his pace as well. So I think as a fast bowler he’s a complete package, and I only wish him the best of luck for the season, and hope he delivers for us like he’s done in the past as well.”Five years ago, during India’s last full tour of the Caribbean, Kohli made his Test debut and endured a difficult series, not managing a single half-century in five innings and showing discomfort against the short ball. However, Kohli said he was happy to be back where it all began.”It’s a memorable place for me,” he said. “I made my Test debut here. It’s nice to come back after so many years, and having played so many Test matches all over the world in between. Obviously, I had improved as a Test cricketer.”Obviously I had little clue about Test cricket [on the 2011 tour]. I came here and found out a lot about the format and what the challenges were at that stage. This is one place that made me start realising where you needed to improve as far as Test cricket was concerned.”I’m really happy to be back here. I’ve been here a couple of times after that, but never played Test cricket afterwards. So it’s a nice place to come and play. The atmosphere is really good, people like cricket, they support it. I’m really excited to play a Test match here after so long. So is everyone else in the team.”

After grinding India Green down on the first two days by posting 707, India Blue turned in a masterful effort on the field to skittle their opponents for 236 in 61 overs on the third day of the Duleep Trophy league fixture in Greater Noida

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Pankaj Singh removed both set batsmen – Robin Uthappa and Parthiv Patel•PTI

After grinding India Green down on the first two days by posting 707, India Blue turned in a masterful effort on the field to skittle their opponents for 237 in 61 overs on the third day of the Duleep Trophy league fixture in Greater Noida. A first-innings lead was enough to ensure a berth in the final for the Gautam Gambhir-led India Blue against India Red.India Blue, perhaps mindful of giving their bowlers proper rest ahead of the five-day finale from September 10, opted for some batting practice instead of enforcing the follow-on. Their in-form openers Mayank Agarwal and Gambhir, who put together 212 in the first innings, were still together at stumps as India Blue, who ended on 85 without loss, extended their lead to 555 with 90 overs to play.With the result of the clash all but decided, Suresh Raina’s boys will need a herculean effort to prevent another day of toil when play resumes.India Green, with an opportunity to start afresh after a disappointing bowling display, were up against it almost immediately as they lost M Vijay in the fourth over when he was deceived in flight and was bowled by Karn Sharma’s skidder. They continued to lose wickets in clumps from there on, even as Robin Uthappa briefly sparkled with 41, before a futile attempt at a cut shot to a full delivery resulted in a wicket for Pankaj Singh.A 78-run stand for the fifth wicket between Shreyas Gopal and Saurabh Tiwary ensued, before Abhimanyu Mithun removed his Karnataka team-mate Shreyas with a delivery that held its line to take the outside edge. When Parthiv Patel fell off the first ball of the next over to Pankaj for a well-crafted 55, the innings was on freefall at 168 for 6.With just the tailenders for company, Raina, who came in to bat at No. 7 because of an illness that kept him off the field for most parts of the second day, swung his way to a half-century before becoming the penultimate batsman to be dismissed. The innings folded soon after when Karn had Pragyan Ojha lbw. Karn and Mithun were rewarded with three wickets, while Pankaj had two.

Sri Lanka had been changing their side every match and Australia had already sent several men home, but like a well-heeled theatre troupe, the players that remained delivered the same performance they seemed to have given many times already this series

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Sep-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSri Lanka had been changing their side every match and Australia had already sent several men home, but like a well-heeled theatre troupe, the players that remained delivered the same performance they seemed to have given many times over this series.Sri Lanka won the toss again, batted again, did well for a little while, but mainly collapsed to a modest 128 for 9. Australia were disciplined with the ball, and athletic in the field, bruising at the top of their innings, a little shakier in the middle against spin, but got home with some comfort. The margin of this particular victory was four wickets, and they had 13 balls to spare – Glenn Maxwell providing the game’s best innings again. If you have been following this series closely, though, this report may feel familiar.One point of difference was that this was Tillakaratne Dilshan’s final international. What didn’t change, really, was his limited impact with the bat. He was out for one, edging an attempted cut off John Hastings to slip, before the stadium had even properly filled. Kusal Perera dazzled briefly before sending a top edge off James Faulkner to a running, diving David Warner, to be dismissed inside the Powerplay, for 22. That wicket brought two more in quick succession. Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis were both out in single figures, seven runs apart.Steering clear of trouble at the other end, was a serene Dhananjaya de Silva, who had leant into a flowing cover drive off Mitchell Starc’s fourth ball, and set about gracefully collecting runs into the outfield after that. He was light on his feet to spin, and was wise to the seamers’ pace variations, hitting five fours in his 62 off 50 balls. One of the more memorable of his strokes was a delightfully late dab to third man, off Maxwell. At the other end, teammates played out a series of forgettable innings. Only de Silva and Kusal Perera made double figure scores.Chamara Kapugedara and Thisara Perera were both out slogging Adam Zampa, and Seekkuge Prasanna holed out at long on, to Faulkner, and it was these two bowlers who each collected three wickets this time around. They were economical as well as penetrative – neither conceding 20 runs off their four overs. John Hastings was also effective taking two for 23, while Mitchell Starc ensured he would not go wicketless in a single innings of the tour, when he had de Silva caught at mid off in the final over of the innings.The first over of Australia’s response produced just two, but the remainder of the Powerplay was full of Maxwell and David Warner’s pyrotechnics. They struck their first boundaries in Sachithra Senanayake’s first over – Warner unleashing a particularly vicious reverse-sweep. Suranga Lakmal was carted for 13 in the next over, and Maxwell’s reverse-slap for six made an appearance soon after, when he hit the game’s first six off Sachith Pathirana.The fifth and sixth overs, bowled by Senanayake and Thisara Perera, were Australia’s most productive, yielding 20 and 19 respectively. Eighteen of those runs against Thisara came off four consecutive balls – Maxwell clubbing him over the deep square leg first up, then slapping three nonchalant fours.The Powerplay brought 75 runs, and the openers had virtually made the game safe by the ninth over, when Sri Lanka removed Maxwell for the first time in two games. He played on to a full delivery, and the bowler, Seekkuge Prasanna delivered a graceless send-off, which left the departed Maxwell fuming.That wicket, though, introduced a significant wobble to the innings. Pathirana claimed two wickets in the next over, and Faulkner was run out soon after. Australia needed fewer than 20 runs when Dilshan claimed his first wicket, and fewer than 10 when he took his second, but both breakthroughs prompted joy from the retiring star, and gave an adoring crowd a reason to chant his name. Travis Head finished the match with a slog-swept six that burst through the hands of Senanayake, at cow corner.

A helicopter that had just dropped off Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and his wife Umme Ahmed Shishir in Cox’s Bazar crashed during its return journey to Dhaka

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2016A helicopter that had just dropped off Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and his wife Umme Ahmed Shishir in Cox’s Bazar crashed during its return journey to Dhaka. Shakib said he was shocked to learn about the accident in which one person was killed and four injured.The helicopter dropped Shakib and Shishir at around 9.30am at the Royal Tulip Sea Resort, some 27km south of Cox’s Bazar town. They were going to shoot a commercial.On its return flight around an hour later, the chopper crashed near Inani beach, some 1.5km north of where Shakib and Shishir had landed.The deceased was identified as Shah Alam, a resident of Dhaka, and the injured were undergoing treatment at the local health complex. Wing Commander (retd) Shafiqul Islam, the pilot, was among the injured.”I am fine, but feel rather shocked at the news of the chopper crash,” Shakib said to newspapers. “But I can’t really tell you anything about the crash. I was at shooting at the time.”

Reg Dickason, England’s security advisor, has played down any concerns that England’s players of Pakistani heritage may have about touring India

George Dobell and David Hopps02-Nov-2016Reg Dickason, England’s security advisor, has played down concerns lurking within the England camp that their players of Pakistani origin, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid may encounter hostility touring India after media reports that Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar would not stand in the series because of the further potential for nationalist protests.Dar was never scheduled to stand in the India vs England Test series, according to ICC, so cannot properly be said to have been withdrawn, but that might be regarded as a pragmatic decision a year after he was pulled out of a one-day series between India and South Africa last year because of threats.England have been full of praise for Bangladesh’s high-level security operation during their recent Test series and, although Dickason indicated that protection levels will be less apparent in India, he suggested that he was content with anti-terrorism arrangements in general and, additionally, that England’s players of Pakistan heritage had not expressed particular misgivings that they might be singled out for protests. Moeen was subjected to abuse from England-based India fans during India’s previous tour of England in 2014.”We have no real concerns but we’re certainly aware of the issues Aleem Dar has,” Dickason said. “I know it was reported that he wasn’t going, that he’d been pulled out, but according to the ICC he’s just been rostered at another event. But Shiv Sena had some issues with Aleem there and went to the BCCI offices. So we’re certainly aware of that but we don’t expect any real issues.”I’ve spoken to him and Adil and they seem ok to me. They haven’t expressed any doubts to me.”The ICC withdrew Dar from the last two ODIs between India and South Africa, stating at the time that the “incident in Mumbai where a group of extremists stormed into the BCCI office” was the reason for its decision. Former Pakistan cricketers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, also missed the Mumbai ODI as a security precaution in response to anti-Pakistan protests by the Shiv Sena, a regional political party, about a scheduled meeting between BCCI and PCB officials.England might have left Bangladesh, but such is the way of the world that security – and the more likely threat of extremist Islamic terrorism – remains on the mind of the entire touring party.Dickason also expressed general satisfaction that the security plans drawn up in India were appropriate to withstand any threat from wherever it might arise. England abandoned their last two ODIs in India in 2008 in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, but returned to fulfil the Test series under heavy security.”It’ll be similar to Bangladesh but a different layout,” he said. “It was very overt here and it won’t be as overt in India. The road clearances that we got here that are usually reserved for heads of state we probably won’t get in India. But we’ll get adequate transit protection.”The BCCI get a host-city security plan which is a generic issue from a master security plan which is put across the whole event. There will be some subtle differences but it won’t be too many.”It appears, however, that England’s players will be expected to withstand a further period inside a security cordon and that the India tour will be a sequence of journeys from hotel to cricket ground and back again.”It’s certainly much better if the group stays as a group,” he said. “Then we can concentrate the security resources on the group rather than people star bursting.”

A round-up of the third day of Group C matches in the eighth round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2016Four wickets from Goa medium-pacer Rituraj Singh trumped Ricky Bhui’s 71 to seal an exciting 34-run win against Andhra early on the third day in Dhanbad. Chasing 233, Bhui took Andhra till he was eighth out at 179. They were eventually bowled out for 198.Resuming on 99 for 3, Andhra’s overnight pair saw out the first 10.1 overs of the day before Shadab Jakati struck in consecutive overs to bowl Dwaraka Ravi Teja for 49 and have AG Pradeep caught behind for 1. From 127 for 5, Andhra pushed towards their target via a stand of 39 between Bhui and Bhargav Bhatt.But Rituraj wiped out the lower order, striking off consecutive deliveries to remove Bhatt and KV Sasikanth. At 168 for 7, Bhui was Andhra’s only hope. Once he was caught behind off Amulaya Pandrekar, Rituraj took the last two wickets to finish with 4 for 24. Bhui’s third half-century in as many matches could not get Andhra any points, while Goa took six. Jakati finished with 11 wickets in the match, having taken a career-best 8 for 53 in the first innings.Nakul Verma’s second successive century helped Services set Chhattisgarh a target of 281 in Mumbai. Services, who were stuttering at 19 for 3, drove ahead courtesy Verma’s stands of 106 with Shamsher Yadav and 175 with Rahul Singh (99), which helped them declare on 340 for 7, with Verma unbeaten on 156. Chhattisgarh batted out the last three overs of the day to finish on 6 without loss, with Sahil Gupta and Abhimanyu Chauhan at the crease.Hyderabad were six wickets from their third successive win as Jammu & Kashmir stumbled to 42 for 4 chasing 396 in Vadodara. J&K, resuming on 156 for 7, were bowled out for 169, with seamer Ravi Kiran taking 4 for 32. Tanmay Agarwal then struck his second century of the match, scoring 103, his 128-run stand with Akshath Reddy laying the foundation for he innings.S Badrinath, the captain, then added 116 with Agarwal to set up Hyderabad’s declaration on 244 for 1. Ravi Kiran struck early again to dismiss Ahmed Bandy with J&K on 20. Off the next over, CV Milind sent back Shubham Khajuria. Pranav Gupta and Ian Dev Singh fell soon after to leave them reeling by the end of the day. Ram Dayal and Aditya Singh will resume batting on Friday.Kerala, who conceded a first-innings lead, were 66 short of victory against Tripura in Cuttack, ending the third day 117 without loss. Mohammed Azharuddeen made a 98-ball 80, and had solid company from Bhavin Thakkar (37 not out).Iqbal Abdulla, the left-arm spinner, picked up three wickets to rip through Tripura’s middle order as they stumbled to 111 for 5 in their second innings. Akshay Chandran then completed the demolition as Tripura were bowled out for 162, with Smit Patel top-scoring with 54. Their second innings lasted just 70.1 overs. Four other batsmen got into double figures, with the highest score among them being 25 by Bishal Ghose.Himachal Pradesh were asked to follow on by Haryana in Valsad after they were all out for 233 in their first innings. They ended the day 142 for 1 in their second innings, trailing Haryana by 27 runs.Sanjay Pahal took his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as HP managed to add only 132 runs for their last seven wickets. Overnight batsman Sumeet Verma top-scored with 66 and stitched a 69-run partnership with Amit Kumar (37) for the seventh wicket – the team’s only significant one. The last four wickets fell for 19 runs.Still trailing by 169 runs, HP’s openers RI Thakur and Prashant Chopra added 140 for the first wicket. Debutant Thakur was dismissed for 45 by Pahal in the day’s last over as Chopra finished not out on 89 with new batsman Robin Bist (2) for company.

Colin Ingram’s unbeaten 56 saw the Warriors qualify for their first T20 final in five seasons since the 2011-12 summer

Firdose Moonda13-Dec-2016
Scorecard Colin Ingram struck a half-century to lead the Warriors to victory (file photo)•Getty Images

Colin Ingram’s unbeaten 56 saw the Warriors qualify for their first T20 final in five seasons since the 2011-12 summer. The Warriors finished second in the league phase and beat the third-placed Lions in a playoff on a slow Port Elizabeth pitch to set up a meeting with the table-topping Titans on Friday.The home side had their bowlers to thank for setting up a straightforward chase after the Lions squandered a strong start. They slipped from 77 for 2 at the halfway stage to add just 59 runs in the last 10 overs, in which they also lost four wickets for 10 runs. None of the Lions batsmen scored more than 32 runs.Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks put on 30 in the first three overs but Kyle Abbott pulled them back with a strangling second over which exposed the Lions’ batsmen. They played as though they were at altitude but the big hits did not get over the boundary. Van der Dussen swung and missed, Temba Bavuma and Hendricks swung and holed out and it was up to the middle order to post a competitive total.Mangaliso Mosehle looked likeliest to anchor the second-half of the innings but was bowled by Jon-Jon Smuts and that sparked the collapse. Nicky van den Burgh went back to an Ingram delivery and missed the cut shot while Wiaan Mulder and Hardus Viljoen were dismissed in the space of three balls in the penultimate over to leave the Lions well short of a winning total.Warriors paced their chase well and even though they lost Smuts in the third over and Clyde Fortuin as the Powerplay came to an end, they were in a strong position at 48 for 2. Ingram had only faced nine balls at that stage and was content to rotate strike and let his team-mates attack while he settled in.None of the Lions’ attack was able to maintain the control needed to put pressure on the Warriors and Ingram bided his time until he was joined by Christiaan Jonker. With the right mix of aggression and caution, the pair put on 78 runs off 64 balls and eased the Warriors to victory with 10 balls to spare. Ingram’s fifty came off 43 balls and was his third of the tournament. Smuts continued to lead the run charts, 14 ahead of Farhaan Behardien, who he will go head-to-head against in the final.

Ed Cowan converted his 23rd first-class century into a double ton to sustain New South Wales’ domination on day three against Victoria

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2017
ScorecardEd Cowan faced 386 deliveries for his 212•Getty Images

Ed Cowan converted his 23rd first-class century into a double to sustain New South Wales’ domination on day three of their Sheffield Shield fixture against Victoria at the MCG. Cowan was involved in a 202-run stand for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, who made 118. New South Wales, resuming on 4 for 300, finished with 523 to open up a 265-run lead.Jon Holland, the left-arm spinner who broke the massive partnership by dismissing Cowan for 212, took three more wickets to finish with 4 for 155 off 41.1 overs. Nevill, who watched the lower order fall around him, was the last wicket to fall, after a 184-ball innings in which he hit 12 fours and a six. On the second day, Kurtis Patterson and Moises Henriques had also made half-centuries to build the lead.In reply, Victoria’s top order faltered for the second time in the match, slumping to 4 for 78 at stumps, still trailing by 187. Travis Dean, the opener, was unbeaten on 35 and had Sam Harper for company. Sean Abbott impressed in a short burst towards end of play, dismissing Cameron White, the Victoria captain, and Dan Christian. His figures read: 6-2-8-2. The new ball pair of Trent Copeland and Doug Bollinger picked up one wicket each.

Misbah-ul-Haq has asked whether Australia’s abysmal recent record in Asia warranted a similar rethink the way one was suggested by Ian Chappell after Pakistan’s recent 0-3 whitewash

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2017Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has hit back at Ian Chappell’s criticisms of Pakistan, saying they were “uncalled for and unbecoming” of someone with Chappell’s stature in the game.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo minutes after Pakistan lost the third and final Test of the series in Sydney – their 12th successive Test loss in the country over 17 years – Chappell had said Cricket Australia should reconsider the utility of a future Pakistan tour to the country.”Pakistan have now lost 12 Test matches on the trot in Australia, and somebody’s got to give them a kick up the bum,” Chappell had said. “Cricket Australia have got to start saying ‘listen if things don’t improve we will stop with the invites’.”You can’t continue to [play poor] cricket. You can’t bowl poorly, have conservative field placings and field sloppily and expect to play decent cricket in Australia.”Writing in his column for , Misbah, whose captaincy bore the brunt of further criticism, asked whether Australia’s abysmal recent record in Asia warranted a similar rethink.Australia have lost their last nine Tests in a row in India, the UAE and Sri Lanka; since 2008 they have lost 13 of their 18 Tests in Asia and won only one.”The comments do not make any sense or suit a cricketer of his stature,” Misbah wrote. “Australia themselves have been on the losing side in the recent away tours. They were clean swept by a Sri Lanka side that did not have Mahela Jayawardena or Kumar Sangakkara and some of their players didn’t even have 10 Tests to their names.”Then Australia lost the one-day international series 0-5 in South Africa. In the recent past they have been whitewashed by us in the UAE and in India. If we apply Chappell’s comments to Australia, does that mean if they continue to get whitewashed on the subcontinent on a regular basis then they should also not travel there? And if Australia does not travel to Asia or the Asian teams do no travel to Australia then how are they going to improve?”Misbah has come under pressure at home as well, though in this case for comments he made post-match in Sydney. Asked whether he felt his team represented the best chance Pakistan had in Australia to reverse the long run of defeats, Misbah had said, “Yes, you can say, but in ’99 when Pakistan came, I think that was one of the strongest teams ever, strongest bowling attack, in terms of experience, in terms of the batting, so many superstars in that team. We lost then as well. “That side, led by Wasim Akram, counted Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed among its attack; Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Ijaz Ahmed were part of the batting order.The Australian side that whitewashed them was soon to become one of the greatest in Test history, though some might argue that that Pakistan side was past its peak.Misbah’s comments, however, have been construed as an attack on the 1999 side. It has forced him to issue a clarification on Twitter, unusual for him and also indicative of the pressure he is under to retire from Test cricket.”My reply was that 99 team was our best team,” Misbah tweeted. “My aim wasn’t to disrespect them. I wasn’t trying to use them as an excuse. They’re our legends… have nothing but respect for the 1999 team. ‪@wasimakramlive who was captain then, is someone who I’ve worked with, & has helped me a lot”.In his column, Misbah said he was taking a “time-out” from the discussion about when he goes. “I want to spend some time at home and then play in the PSL. I will then analyse how much passion for cricket I have left in me and whether I can play on… The PSL will be important for me in making a decision on my international future.”

The Committee of Administrators has stated in its report that the BCCI and state associations have not adhered to any of the steps they were supposed to implement by the two set of deadlines set by the Lodha Committee

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2017The Committee of Administrators (CoA) submitted its first status report to the Supreme Court on Saturday, saying the BCCI and the state associations have not yet complied with even one of the steps that had to be implemented to meet the timelines set by the Lodha Committee.The CoA, appointed by the Supreme Court in January, recorded in its report the two sets of timelines set by the Lodha Committee, the status for the same submitted by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri on February 10, and its own observations on the implementation of recommendations. Against each of the 15 steps set for the board, the CoA remarked, “Step not complied with”. The Supreme Court will hear the matter for these on Monday.The state associations have been asked to hold fresh elections, and among them, only Vidarbha, Tripura and Hyderabad have done so. On the status of other recommendations, Johri stated the appointment of an ethics officer and ombudsman could happen only once newly elected members from the state associations take part in a BCCI meeting to form an apex council. Johri stated that the appointment of the ethics officer and the scope of the ombudsman’s role will be an amendment to the BCCI constitution, which needs to be passed by a 3/4th majority resolution.The first set of timelines ranged from September 30, 2016 to October 15, 2016 and included recommendations on the adoption of a new memorandum and rules and regulations by the BCCI, the amendment of constitutions by state associations, amendments to certain IPL codes of conduct, and the implementation of the one-state-one-vote policy to be followed by Gujarat and Maharashtra, which have more than one state association.In the status for these submitted by Johri, the CEO said the new memorandum and rules and regulations were “not implemented” because the “BCCI members in their meeting need to accept this with 3/4th majority as per present rules”. Even though the state associations, barring Tripura and Vidarbha, had not amended their constitutions, Johri stated certain state units had declared they would do so and had communicated directly with the Lodha Committee.Regarding the amendments to IPL rules – including the code of conduct for players and team officials, the anti-corruption code, anti-racism code, and the operational rules – Johri said the amendments were agreed upon during the BCCI’s special general meeting in September last year, but the minutes of the meeting were yet to be approved. Amendments to certain rules in the IPL were also dependent on the appointment of a disciplinary committee by the ethics officer, ombudsman and CEO. Regarding the one-state-one-vote policy, the status merely said “yet to be formulated”, without any explanation. The deadline for each of the above steps was September 30, 2016.The second set of deadlines ranged from November 15 to December 30 and featured recommendations on elections for state associations, elections to the apex council of BCCI, the board’s annual general meeting, and appointments of the ethics officer and ombudsman, creation of IPL governing council and the appointment of the management under the new rules.Johri stated that elections to the apex council and the appointment of the ethics officer and ombudsman could happen only once state bodies had amended their constitutions and held fresh elections, after which elected members would represent their respective state associations in a BCCI meeting to then form the apex council.