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Dave Cameron is set to be be re-elected as WICB president for a third consecutive term on March 3

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2017Dave Cameron is set to be be re-elected as WICB president for a third consecutive term on March 3. Cameron, who has been the WICB president for the last four years, was the only nominee for the post according to a WICB media release. Emmanuel Nathan, who has been the vice-president for the last four years, is also set to be re-elected for a third stint in a row in the position.It was expected that Cameron would be re-elected; the prevailing chaos in key regional cricket boards like the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board and the Guyana Cricket Board affords the Jamaican no credible opposition. Nonetheless, Cameron continues to polarise opinion across the Caribbean.West Indies are the only team to be crowned World T20 champions two times, in 2012 and 2016, but they have been at the bottom of the ladder in ODIs and Tests. This has meant they will not be a part of the top-eight-teams Champions Trophy in England in June, leaving their fans disgruntled. While the relationship between the board and a number of high-profile players continues to be on rocky ground, the WICB – and Cameron – drew strong criticism when it sacked Phil Simmons as the head coach of West Indies last September. Simmons was critical of what he called outside influences having a bearing on selections, which did not impress the WICB. Recently former Australian allrounder Stuart Law was appointed Simmons’ replacement.The WICB elections, and the annual general meeting, will be held on March 3 at the board’s headquarters in Antigua.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board is understood to have expressed a keenness to the ICC to apply for Full Member status, though is yet to formally apply, ESPNcricinfo has learned

Umar Farooq10-Jan-2017The Afghanistan Cricket Board is understood to have expressed a keenness to the ICC to apply for Full Member status, though is yet to formally apply, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The application is likely to be made in February and considered at the ICC meeting then, with Afghanistan currently preparing a comprehensive report to satisfy the ICC’s requirements.According to the ICC’s criteria, a team applying for admission as a Full Member must have a full-fledged cricketing and administrative infrastructure in the country. The ICC’s guideline criteria for Full Membership states: “A country must play regular first-class cricket (domestic 3-4 day competition) before playing Test cricket. Number of teams and players – sufficiently large pool of players to draw from capable of performing at the highest level of the game.”Afghanistan gained Affiliate membership in 2001 and were granted Associate status in 2013. In 2009, the team was given ODI status and, over the last few years, the ACB has undergone extensive organisational restructuring to provide better leadership and find qualified staff to run cricket administration in the war-torn country.The ACB is also upgrading its cricket infrastructure. There is a four-day tournament between five regional teams, and four one-day tournaments (three provincial and one national, featuring regional teams). There is at least one cricket ground in every region and a national cricket academy in Kabul, along with a development structure for teams from the youth to the senior levels.An ACB spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that the four-day tournament was yet to get first-class status, but the board has applied to the ICC for this. “We don’t have that recognition yet; in 2011 we started the three-day tournament and then in 2014 we started the four-day tournament. We have a grade-three 50-overs tournament between 16 provinces, a grade-two tournament between 16 provinces and a grade-one competition between eight provinces and the regional one-day cup. The proposal is sent to the ICC and we are hopeful to get the recognition in the ICC meeting in February.”Afghanistan have played 70 ODIs so far, winning 35 games, and played at their first World Cup in 2015. In T20Is, they have won 32 out of 51 matches and have played in four editions of the World T20. The team is currently ranked tenth in ODIs and ninth in the T20I rankings.

NZ allrounder is set to undergo surgery in the UK and will be out of action for six to eight months

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2023New Zealand spin-bowling allrounder Michael Bracewell is expected to be out of action for six to eight months after rupturing his right achilles while batting for Worcestershire in the T20 Blast. He is set to undergo surgery in the UK on Thursday before starting a lengthy rehab which means he will also miss the 50-over World Cup in India in October-November.Bracewell was batting on 11 against Yorkshire on June 9 when he collapsed mid-pitch clutching his right leg and retired hurt in the 225 chase. His injury leaves New Zealand searching for batting options especially considering their captain Kane Williamson, who underwent surgery for a ruptured ACL, is in a race against time to make the World Cup.”Firstly, you always feel for the player when injury strikes and especially when it means they will have to miss a world event,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said. “Michael’s a great team man and has had a fantastic 15 months for the BlackCaps since his international debut. We’ve seen his exceptional skills in all three facets of the game and he was shaping as an important player for us at the world cup in India.”Michael’s naturally pretty disappointed, but also pragmatic in acknowledging that injuries are a part of sport and he’s now turning his focus to his rehabilitation.”Bracewell, 32, is equally handy with bat and ball, and has played eight Tests, 19 ODIs and 16 T20Is for New Zealand since his debut last year. He also played in the IPL this season, coming in as replacement for Will Jacks at Royal Challengers Bangalore, picking up six wickets in five matches. One of four from his family to represent New Zealand, including his uncle John and his cousin Doug, Bracewell shot to prominence during New Zealand’s tour of Europe in 2022. He did even better on a tour of India, smashing 140 off 77 to pull his team up from 131 for 6. New Zealand appreciated his ability to score quick runs in the middle-order and contribute with some handy offspin by naming him their ODI Player of the Year.Bracewell has been away from New Zealand since April after being called up to the IPL and won’t be able to fly home for a couple of weeks following surgery.A New Zealand Cricket release also said that the national team will be part of two winter training camps at Lincoln and Tauranga from July 26 to 28 and August 9 to 11.

Virat Kohli has fully recovered from the shoulder injury that has kept him out of action since the Ranchi Test against Australia last month

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-20171:01

QuickFacts – Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has fully recovered from the shoulder injury that has kept him out of action since the Ranchi Test against Australia last month. The BCCI’s medical team has confirmed he is fit to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in their match against Mumbai Indians on Friday.Kohli injured his right shoulder while making a diving stop at the boundary on the first day of the Ranchi Test. He missed the fourth Test against Australia in Dharamsala, with Ajinkya Rahane leading India in his absence, and was also ruled out of Royal Challengers’ first three matches of the IPL season.Royal Challengers, the losing finalists in 2016, have won one and lost two of their first three matches this season. The return of Kohli, their captain and the tournament’s highest run-getter last season with 973 runs at an average of 81.08 and a strike rate of 152.03, should strengthen their batting considerably, with AB de Villiers – who missed the first two matches with a back injury – also back in action.

Ashwin calls Australia batter ‘once in a generation cricketer’ following his maiden Test century

Andrew McGlashan10-Mar-20232:01

Tait: A bit of Jacques Kallis about Cameron Green

Cameron Green admitted his relief at crossing three figures for the first time in Test cricket while he was lauded as a “once in a generation” cricketer by R Ashwin.Five times, Green had fallen between 74 and 84 in his embryonic Test career but shortly after lunch on the second day in Ahmedabad – after a somewhat uneasy interval sat on 95 – he was able to celebrate a significant milestone.”You feel more like a Test cricketer when you’ve got that monkey off your back, so it is nice to tick that off in a way,” he said. “It’s so special.”Green was eventually dismissed when he gloved a sweep down the leg side against Ashwin. The duo first came up against each other in Green’s debut series against India in 2020-21. Ashwin joked that you only had to look at the IPL auction to know what Indian cricket thought of Green and recalled his first experience against him when Green scored a century for Australia A.Related

• Artistry and attrition combine in Ashwin spell for the ages

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• Khawaja in the subcontinent – unselectable to indispensable

“I think he’s a fantastic player,” Ashwin said. “Just the raw materials for a person as tall as him, lovely levers, good batting sense, can bowl and really hit the deck well, moves pretty well in the field. These are once in a generation cricketers you are talking about.”I played a practice game against him at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney [on the 2020-21 tour]. From there on, I’ve been watching him bat, how well he moves to balls outside off, how well he comes down the pitch, how he sweeps the ball when he came to the subcontinent. As a bowler it’s my duty to keep a check on all these things and also try to make a plan to try and make it uncomfortable for him.”Meanwhile, Green praised the wise counsel of Usman Khawaja with who he shared a mammoth stand of 208 in 60 for the sixth wicket. Khawaja converted his overnight century into 180 before missing a flick against Axar Patel the first ball after tea. It meant he fell short of a double century for the second time in little more than two months after being left stranded on 195 when Pat Cummins declared against South Africa in Sydney.It was some early feedback from Khawaja that helped set Green up to drive so imperiously during his innings as he took a particular heavy toll on India’s two quicks.”I think speaking to Uzzy, it was probably the ball coming back in where you might get your leg caught in the way and that might be the way to get out,” Green said. “Having an experienced head down the other end, you can have these really in depth conversations and he gives you unreal info back.”So spoke to him pretty early on, he said he recommends batting on leg stump and using your bat and looking to play every ball, whether its swinging in or swinging out.”He’s an experienced head that’s played Test cricket for more than 10 years now, he’s so valuable for guys like myself and a few of the young guys in the team the way he goes about it.”After a maiden five-wicket haul against South Africa at the MCG, in the game he suffered a broken finger, this century is another early high point in a career that continues to trend upwards but Green was eager to keep things in perspective.”It’s my 20th Test so I’ve had a good chance to see the ups and downs of Test cricket, see it for what it is,” he said. “It’s an incredibly tough game, and when you get moments like that you really cherish them. I’ve seen how tough Test cricket is and I’m enjoying every second of it.”

Younis Khan has called the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to apologise for his actions during the Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2016Younis Khan has called the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to apologise for his actions during the Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad. Younis, the captain of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had been fined 50% of his match fee for breaching level 2 of the PCB domestic code of conduct – his offences reportedly including questioning an umpiring decision, showing dissent and threatening an umpire – during the match against Punjab on Friday. He had refused to show up for his disciplinary hearing, and left for Karachi, his city of residence.”Younis Khan made telephonic contact with chairman PCB Shaharyar Khan today,” the PCB said in a statement. “He felt sorry for the incident that happened during the ongoing Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad. He appraised the Chairman about his willingness to participate in the remainder of the tournament.”Younis and the Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq are advisors to Shaharyar on cricketing affairs. In view of this, the statement quoted Younis as saying it was “obligatory on my part to participate in the premier [one-day] domestic tournament for the larger interest of the promotion of the game in the country.”Despite the call, the PCB said the charges leveled against Younis remained in place and the case would be processed accordingly.

The home side pulled off a fantastic chase after earlier seeing two of their bowlers ordered out of the attack for running on the pitch

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2025Jake Fraser-McGurk finally found his hard-hitting best, blasting Melbourne Renegades to a thrilling three-wicket BBL win over Brisbane Heat that ended their title defence but the home side’s finals hopes were fleeting.Out-of-form this summer for South Australia and Renegades, Fraser-McGurk smashed 95 from 46 balls to help Renegades pull off the second-highest successful BBL chase at Marvel Stadium.The dynamic 22-year-old attempted to reach his maiden BBL century with a six down the ground, but Matt Renshaw took an impressive catch near the rope with Renegades still requiring 17 to win.Related

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But Fergus O’Neill finished the job as the Renegades chased down Heat’s 196 for 4 with 12 balls to spare. It left Renegades, for a few hours, fourth in the table but Perth Scorchers’ win over Adelaide Strikers ended their finals hopes.Fraser-McGurk, who missed out on selection for Australia’s Champions Trophy squad last week, entered the match having made just 93 runs from his first nine BBL games this season.But he destroyed a star-studded Heat bowling attack containing internationals Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Swepson and Michael Neser. It was his best BBL score and his third fifty in 45 matches in the competition.After winning last year’s title, Heat needed to defeat the Renegades to be any chance of qualifying for the finals.They racked up 196 for 4 after being sent in to bat as opener Jack Wood, keeper Tom Alsop and Renshaw unleashed on the Renegades attack.Umpire Donovan Koch removed Will Sutherland and Fergus O’Neill for running in the protected zone•Getty Images

During a bizarre innings, Renegades captain Will Sutherland and fellow quick O’Neill were both banned from bowling for the rest of the match following intervention from umpire Donovan Koch for running in the danger areaSutherland was taken out of the attack with a ball to go in his third over after Donovan spoke to him, while O’Neill still had nine deliveries he could have bowled for the innings. It is rare for one player to be removed from bowling mid-over, but two in the same match is virtually unheard of.Renegades opener Josh Brown, who has never bowled before in his 37 previous T20 appearances, was forced to fill the void left by Sutherland and O’Neill.Brown’s 2.4 overs went for a whopping 0 for 48, as Heat piled on the highest total at Marvel Stadium this season. But Brown later began Renegades’ chase with 32 off 11 balls.Sutherland had a nightmare start to the match, twice being hit for three-consecutive sixes – first by Wood in the third over, then by Renshaw in the 12th.

Ravindra Jadeja’s five-wicket haul dismissed India Red for 356 and handed India Blue a first-innings lead of 337 in Greater Noida

The Report by Sirish Raghavan12-Sep-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Ravindra Jadeja wheeled away for 34 overs, extracting sharp turn and bounce on a tiring Greater Noida surface•AFP

Ravindra Jadeja’s five-wicket haul led a persistently probing bowling effort from India Blue on a day when they were made to work harder than they would have expected to plough their way through India Red’s batting line-up. That was partly down to the pitch – which offered sluggish turn, rather than the spitting variety – and partly down to sparkling fifties from Gurkeerat Singh, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra and Kuldeep Yadav. India Red’s spirited lower-order resistance frustrated India Blue and delighted a sizeable Monday crowd, but had little impact on the broader outcome of the match as they subsided to 356, conceding a first-innings lead of 337.Jadeja consistently attacked the stumps and turned the ball past desperately groping bats. His speed through the air – averaging over 90kph – was considerably faster than that of any other spinner, denying the batsmen time to adjust to the turn. Bowling 34 overs in the day, he made good use of a sticky surface and dented India Red’s fightback with the key wickets of Gurkeerat and Binny.India Blue could have removed the lower order more swiftly if Jadeja’s fellow spinners, Parvez Rasool and Karn Sharma had been more effective. Legspinner Karn was inconsistent with his line and length, alternating patches of incisiveness with periods that were less convincing. Offspinner Rasool had a good start to the day, troubling Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh with offbreaks and straighter ones. Against the right-handers who followed, however, he was not as threatening as he might have liked.The most impressive spinners after Jadeja were the ones wielding bats. Mishra came in at 194 for 6, and was immediately kept company by nine close-in fielders. He, however, responded by lofting Jadeja back over his head for four. Mishra combined with Kuldeep for an 86-run partnership for the eighth wicket that temporarily brought the third session to life and restored some respectability to India Red’s innings.The reason respectability needed restoring was the limp showing of the India Red top order. Dhawan and Yuvraj managed some lovely drives in the first session, but those were far outnumbered by tentative pokes and speculative swishes. While they struggled most against Rasool, they ultimately perished to over-ambitious strokes against Abhimanyu Mithun and Jadeja.Dhawan, in particular, might rue his untimely indiscretion. His patchy 29 in his penultimate – possibly his last – innings before India’s first Test against New Zealand from September 22, puts him in a tight spot as India’s selectors mull which of three possible openers – M Vijay and KL Rahul are the others – to select in the playing XI.Jadeja, meanwhile, worked his way into fine rhythm in the second session, ending a 63-run stand for the fifth wicket between Gurkeerat and Binny when he dismissed Gurkeerat for 57 with a beauty that drifted into middle before turning away to hit off stump. Binny then put on 64 with Ankush Bains, before Jadeja ended that partnership too when he had Bains caught at second slip. The most decisive breakthrough, though, came minutes before the dinner break when Jadeja pitched one on leg stump and spun it away to hit Binny’s back pad in front of middle. That ended a knock that had been gaining in momentum and poise, and left Binny an agonising two runs short of a century.Mishra and Kuldeep counterattacked in the third session of the day, but Karn eventually dismissed both to end the innings. Riding on a huge lead, Gautam Gambhir and Mayank Agarwal played out the remaining two overs and headed to stumps with their side firmly in control.

Stafanie Taylor believes her side has recovered from the emotional stress they went through after the narrow loss to England, while Mithali Raj hopes India can cash in on the lifeline offered to them

Shashank Kishore26-Mar-2016It is a scriptwriter’s dream. No team is through to the semi-finals going into the last day of the Group B fixtures of the Women’s World T20. West Indies could have become the first had they beaten England in Dharamsala on Thursday, but a one-wicket loss meant they had hit a road block. West Indies will draw solace from the fact that they are still in control of their fate – a win on Sunday would put them in the semi-finals – unlike India, who have to win and also hope England beat Pakistan in Chennai.Stafanie Taylor leads a side who would win most battles of on-field celebrations, but very little of their vibrant nature has been seen lately. The captain herself was crestfallen after the loss to England, but hoped the team would move on quickly.”It’s actually hard when you look back at it, but it’s already done,” Taylor said, and yet her demeanor hinted that the after-effects of such a tight match still lingered. “You cannot change anything; have to just see some positives out. We know it’s all in the game. We got a bit emotional because it came down to one wide in the last over. We kind of pulled things back after England’s good start and that is where most of us got emotional. It was almost there for the taking. We travelled yesterday and we know the vibe in the team is still good. We have a good team and could bounce back.”Taylor is “free-spirited” most times, but taking over the captaincy in September 2015 has transformed her outlook. An otherwise fearless batsman, Taylor has had to slip into the role of shepherding the batting line-up. Scores of 40, 40 and 35 in the tournament so far suggest she has been successful, but that still does little to dispel a notion that West Indies are largely reliant on her and Deandra Dottin for their runs.”We do have good talent coming through – Hayley Matthews and Shaquana Quintyne to just name a few. But the standard back home is not what we would have liked to,” Taylor said when asked if the gap between domestic and international cricket was a bridge too far. “We are trying to get to where Australia and England are. The reason why you hear a just few of our names is because we are consistent. We are trying to get players to emulate us, be as consistent as they can be.”Taylor’s opposite number Mithali Raj hoped India could cash in on a lifeline offered to them, even though they have to wait for a favour from England.”The girls realise every match is very important. We have had some slip-ups, but have another opportunity to make do with. It’s important for us to regroup and play well,” she said. “I do understand lots of them were under pressure against Pakistan, it was evident. I’m sure that experience helped them against England. They gave the team an opportunity to come back into the game. It will help us in the future. As of now, bowling and fielding, we look good. We need to work a lot on the batting.”One player can’t get you the cup. To win a World Cup you need everyone to stand up at a certain time and deliver. Yes, there is pressure on us as senior players, but there are other important players like Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy and Shikha Pandey. These are the girls that are able to cope with the pressure. So come the big game, they have to step up.”Cricket aside, both captains were also asked about the disparity in pay, a debate that hasn’t ceased even as the tournament enters the business end. While ICC has taken a few steps – like increasing the overall prize money of the women’s tournament to 400,000 USD, a 122% raise from 2014, reports of women cricketers being made to fly economy class, and not business class like their male counterparts, have fuelled the fire. Taylor was as forthcoming as she could be on the issue.”You actually hit me on the head there,” she said. “It’s a progress, for sure. We are the pioneers for the ones who are going to come after us. It’s not going to happen overnight. It will be nice if we are paid the same because we work and train as hard as the men. The support we have received has not always been great, but we hope as pioneers we have set the platform for those to follow to reap the benefits.”Raj had a contrasting view. “The game is the same, the rules are the same. Men’s cricket is looked at as an entertainment package. The input is more, so there is more money,” she said. “Here, people are trying to still catch up with women’s cricket. Maybe a year or two down the line, when it attracts more crowds, then we can talk about parity in pay.”