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Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, has defended his decision to allow key England players to participate in the IPL despite subsequent injury concerns

George Dobell30-May-2017

Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, has defended his decision to allow key England players to participate in the IPL despite subsequent injury concerns.Both Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes were obliged to sit-out games during the recent ODI series against South Africa after sustaining what have been described as minor knee and quad “niggles” respectively.But with the Champions Trophy starting in a couple of days, the decision to allow such important players to spend almost the entire IPL season in India is sure to come under more scrutiny. While the England team management remain confident both men will be fit for their opening Trophy match against Bangladesh on Thursday, there is a possibility that Stokes will be fit to play only as a specialist batsman.Strauss, however, is confident there are many benefits in IPL experience. Echoing comments made by Stokes and Woakes – and before them, the likes of Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen – Strauss felt the experience in India could help.”The players who have gone over there have benefitted massively from the experience,” he said. “We’ve seen that already with the maturity that Ben is playing with the bat. And it looked like he’s improved his bowling at the death tremendously, too.”I think Chris Woakes was saying that to go there, to learn from the best players in the world and pit themselves against the best players in the world…they come back from that experience knowing they’re as good as anyone out there. The deep-rooted belief they get from that is massively important.”I’ve always seen the massive advantages of our players going out there. And that was on the back of us under-performing in white-ball cricket for year after year after year, and clearly falling behind some of the other teams.”There is no evidence that either injury was sustained in India. Indeed, you could argue that both men would have been required to play far more had they remained in England and been utilised by their counties. Moeen Ali, another of England’s allrounders, also missed the final ODI against South Africa with a minor groin strain and he did not play in the IPL.”That is the slight risk you take when you make people available for a chunk of cricket that is outside the international schedule,” Strauss said. “Injuries are part and parcel of life, but on one hand you weigh-up the potential risk and on the other you ask what they can potentially gain from that experience. That’s what forms the decision.”Thankfully I don’t think any of those injuries are of massive concern at this stage. It’s very much precautionary that they’re not playing at this stage. We want them to hit the ground running in the Champions Trophy.”Having said that, we’ve always got to balance that great opportunity for them with the schedules and workloads. And we just need to keep looking at this on a year by year and case by case basis. There will be times where it may be the smart thing not to play and at other times it might be the smart thing for them to play in the IPL.”Up until now, we’ve had mature, adult conversations with players about their availability. That’s why some of the guys came back for those Ireland internationals and some of the guys stayed at the IPL. And that’s what we’ll continue to do. When the opportunity is right for players to go – and when we feel they’ll benefit from that experience – we’ll try and make it possible.”While Stokes, Woakes and Jos Buttler were permitted to miss the two ODIs against Ireland in order to remain at the IPL this year, Strauss baulked at the suggestion that players would ever be allowed to miss a Test in similar circumstances.”Personally, I think that’s unlikely,” he said. “When you get to the stage where you’re missing Test matches to play in IPL that sends out a very strong message about where your priorities are and I would be uncomfortable with that.”It is a delicate balance Strauss must strike. As well as providing opportunities for players to benefit from experience in overseas leagues, he is also keen to help them benefit financially. And while there is no sense of the contractual wrangles that are currently clouding Australian cricket, as more money floods into the game, it is an issue on which the ECB will have to remain alert.”There are always negotiations between players and employers around what is a fair structure for salaries and pay,” Strauss said. “Our current agreement is tied in with our TV deal that runs till 2019. There will be conversations over the next couple of years to ensure we put together something that’s fair and everyone is happy with.”I’m in no way commenting on what’s happening in Cricket Australia, because I don’t know the ins and outs of it. But I’d be very surprised if anything other than a full-strength team turned out at the Gabba. I would have thought the Ashes will focus people’s minds to make sure they get a conclusion to where they are at the moment.”Then I’d like to think we can have some sort of mature conversations with TEPP [The Team England Player Partnership; the branch of the PCA that negotiates on behalf of England players] and the players themselves early enough to prevent us going down that sort of route. And as much as possible, behind closed doors and in the right sort of spirit.”What I’m focused on is making sure the relationships between ourselves as the national governing body and our players who are contracted to us are as good as they possibly can be. That’s the best way of ensuring that those conversations happen in good faith.”

The shares of the BCCI and the ECB in the ICC’s revenue pie have reduced, even as cricket’s governing body aims at a sense of equity in revenue distribution

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2017

ESPNcricinfo can reveal details of the ICC’s new financial model that was proposed to Full Members at last weekend’s board meeting in Dubai. The models are part of a broader report, produced by an ICC working group committee, which seeks to provide the basis of a new constitution for the game.The draft of a new constitution was passed in principle at the meeting, with seven members voting for it, two opposing and one abstaining. Members will now bring thoughts, suggestions and concerns to the table in April, which may result in changes to the draft.The biggest obstacle will be the financial model and, in particular, the BCCI’s objections to it. ICC revenues for this rights cycle – 2015-2023 – are estimated to be around US $2.5 billion. Some estimates suggest revenues may go as high as $2.7 billion. The projections in this model are for revenues up to $3 billion. These are based on the possibility of additional ICC tournaments being added to the existing cycle. ESPNcricinfo has seen the model, from which a number of things stand out.

ICC Gross Revenues
(in US$) 2.5 billion 2.6 billion 2.7 billion 2.8 billion 2.9 billion 3 billion BCCI 255-260 270-275 285-290 305-310 320-325 335-340ECB 120-125 130-135 135-140 145-150 155-160 160-165CA 110-115 120-125 125-130 135-140 140-145 150-155CSA 110-115 120-125 125-130 135-140 140-145 150-155PCB 110-115 120-125 125-130 135-140 140-145 150-155WICB 110-115 120-125 125-130 135-140 140-145 150-155NZC 110-115 120-125 125-130 135-140 140-145 150-155SLC 110-115 120-125 125-130 135-140 140-145 150-155BCB 110-115 120-125 125-130 135-140 140-145 150-155ZC 75-80 80-85 85-90 90-95 95-100 105-110IRE 50-55 55-60 55-60 60-65 65-70 70-75AFG 50-55 55-60 55-60 60-65 65-70 70-75No contribution, no cost
The most controversial aspect of the 2014 Big Three financial model was the idea of contribution costs, and the realisation that not all members bring to the game an equal amount of money. What each Full Member earned in total from the ICC revenue was a percentage figure of the total revenues (the contribution cost, based on contributions made, and provided as compensation for playing in ICC events: the BCCI had a 20.3% share, ECB 4.4%, Cricket Australia, 2.7% and so on) plus an equal share of the surplus (which is how revenues had been divided until then). The seven non-Big Three boards also got an additional $10 million over eight years as part of the Test Cricket Fund.In the new model, this breakdown of earnings is redundant as is the contribution-cost element. Instead one lump sum figure is provided for each board. But the principle behind contribution costs remains because in every projection, the BCCI gets a bigger share of the pie than every other board – twice as much, in fact, as the next.The Big Three take a hit
In the new model, the percentage shares of the BCCI and ECB in the total pie have gone down, while that of CA remains roughly the same. But a quick calculation will tell you why the BCCI is unhappy with these models. Not only is there no real formula behind them, but the Indian board takes the biggest hit from the 2014 model.In that model, for gross ICC revenue of $2.5 billion, the BCCI stood to earn between 17.6-18% of the revenue (between $440-445 million*). In the new model, at the same gross revenue, it gets 10-10.2%. That is a reduction in potential earnings of between $180-190 million. The percentage share does increase should the ICC’s revenue increase but it isn’t a large spike: if the ICC gets $3 billion as revenue, the BCCI’s share will be between 11.16-11.33%.Under the 2014 model, the ECB stood to take 5.8-6%, whereas now its share is 4.8-5%, or between $20-30 million less. CA’s share was between 4.4-4.6% in the last model and is more or less the same now. As with the BCCI, their shares will increase should the ICC’s total gross revenue increase. That is the case with all boards.Equity
The ICC said in its press release after the meeting that a sense of equity played a big part in the determining of these figures. That much is clear in the fact that below the BCCI and ECB are seven boards that stand to get essentially the same share for nearly any projected value of total gross revenue.It would seem as if the ICC has tried to preserve both a sense of contribution cost – by recognising the right of the BCCI to the largest share – and, by narrowing the gap between them and the others, ensuring a degree of equality among the boards beneath them. The problem, of course, is that there remains no set formula behind these numbers – they remain, essentially, arbitrary figures.Welcome Ireland and Afghanistan
You will not have missed the last two entries in the first table – Ireland and Afghanistan. The status of both was discussed at the board meeting; Afghanistan’s domestic multi-day tournament was given first-class status, thus fulfilling one key prerequisite to play Test cricket.This model – as well as the Test league structure – is perhaps the clearest sign yet that there is a will to have them playing Tests, or at least be part of the big boys’ club. Over eight years (with ICC gross revenues of $2.5 billion) each could earn $50-55 million.Goodbye Test Cricket Fund
One of the redeeming features of the Big Three model was the introduction of a Test Cricket Fund that sought to subsidise unprofitable bilateral series outside the Big Three. That amounted to $10 million for each of the seven boards over the eight-year cycle. The first payments were made to these boards last year.This move is likely linked to the introduction of a league structure for Test cricket, which, in theory, means that all bilateral contests have greater context, and thus, greater financial value and so do not need subsidising.*

The top-order batsman said that T20 is not played with only power shots, and that his role was to “play the anchor while the team plays around me”

Umar Farooq in Karachi03-Apr-2018

Babar Azam has made a name for himself in the last couple of years with his strokeplay and consistent scores. A batting average of 53.15 in T20Is is compelling. He endured an underwhelming start to his career in 2015 but is now seen as a level-headed batsman in Pakistan’s top order. Even though his strike rate in T20s has been a talking point in recent times, he scored an unbeaten 97 off 58 balls against West Indies in the second T20I in Karachi, but regretted missing out on a century in front of a home crowd.Azam was on strike on 89 when Pakistan’s last over started, but he managed only eight runs off the five balls he faced from Kesrick Williams.”I went with a hundred in sight. That’s why I took a chance, but I wasn’t able to utilise a couple of balls, which is why I missed it,” he said after the match. “I had an experienced man – Shoaib Malik – at the other end, and was coordinating with him if I should take a chance or go for a single or double. I think that is where I lapsed, and I didn’t read a few balls that slowed things down. This is unfortunate for me, but only I am responsible for it. But I have another game tomorrow, and hopefully I can score a century this time.”Azam recently scored 402 runs in the Pakistan Super League, with the help of five half-centuries, and was the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament. He was promoted in this series to open in place of Ahmed Shehzad, and he pounced on it by smacking 13 fours and a six on Monday night, after scoring 17 in the opening T20. He was often criticised for his slowness and inability to shift gears with the pace of the match, as his strike rate of 122.18 showed in the PSL.”Runs are runs, even if they are coming off playing cut shots or in front, but it’s not like T20 can only be played with big shots,” he said. “It is not my role to go out and do the power hitting, my job is to play my natural game. There is always a plan, and that is very simple – to lead the game till the end, and my role is to play the anchor while the team plays around me. I know I shift gears, and when power hitting is required, I do it, but mostly, I just try to be myself and play my natural game.”Azam made it sound simple, but his innings during the second PSL eliminator, against Peshawar Zalmi in Lahore last month, was a major talking point. He had the composure but lacked the acceleration in the end overs. His knock of 63 off 45 balls at No. 3 for Karachi Kings went in vain as they fell short in their chase of 171 by 13 runs despite having eight wickets in hand.”I do not pay any heed to the negative thoughts, I just go with the plan my team gives me,” he said. “People do talk, but my job is to play cricket with 100% commitment. I also have no concern if I play as an opener or one-down, it’s all about what my team requires and I go with that. There is no pressure as such on me because I have a very strong belief in myself. I know if I have to play all three formats, I have to be fully fit with a positive mindset. Being a batsman, runs are always on my mind, otherwise the tension starts to mount. Playing all three formats is very demanding, and I know I can only do this by keeping myself fit.”Karachi is hosting international cricket after nine years, and even though Pakistan have clinched the T20I series with a 2-0 lead against a depleted West Indies side, Azam said winning was still important to boost their confidence.”Wining the series is always very important because it brings a lot confidence in you for the next tour,” he said. “We don’t consider them a weak opponent. They are the world champions, but we are given our plans, and we are just sticking to it and executing them accordingly.”No doubt, when you play in front of home crowd, it gives you immense confidence. You understand the home conditions very well and have the knowledge about playing at home in domestic cricket which helps you a lot for international games.”

India women’s wicketkeeper-batsman Sushma Verma, who hardly got batting opportunities in the past, cashed in on the chance against Pakistan with a 35-ball 33

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2017Sushma Verma has established herself as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper since making her debut in 2014. However, her contribution as a batsman has been minimal, largely because she has hardly had opportunities to prove herself. Prior to Sunday, she had batted just eight times in 22 ODIs, facing a grand sum of 56 deliveries, off which she scored 13 runs, a strike rate of 23.21.She batted at No. 8 or lower in seven of those eight innings. The last time she batted before Sunday, she was sent in at No. 10, even below Ekta Bisht, no more than a tailender. Until the Pakistan game, India’s third at the World Cup, this hardly mattered thanks to robust contributions from the top order. But on a sticky wicket with the top order having a rare off day, the team needed Verma to overcome her battles, and she did.Promoted to No. 7 ahead of the more-accomplished Jhulan Goswami, who has a reputation of being a big hitter, Verma exhibited tremendous composure and match awareness to make a 35-ball 33 to help India recover from 111 for 6 to 169 for 9. Her 34-run stand with Goswami for the seventh wicket, significant in the context of the game, earned plaudits from her captain Mithali Raj.”At that point in time, when we were losing wickets, it was important to slow down a little,” Raj explained of Verma’s promotion. “On a few occasions in domestic cricket, when our Central Zone side was in similar situation, she bailed us out. We expected her to play that role and she did until the 48th over. Those boundaries were also very crucial.”Her partnership [with Jhulan] got us to 170. We were looking for 170 when we lost the top four. When you play such matches, it’s important to continue the momentum but not every day will the same batters will score runs, so I’m happy someone has stood up to get those runs. It’s important we got this opportunity to reflect on our batting order.”Opportunities have been rare for Verma in domestic cricket too as she started her career with Himachal Pradesh and moved to Railways for better cricketing prospects. But moving to a more-established outfit also brought about a fresh set of challenges. Playing in a team that has a star-studded batting line-up that boasts of Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Punam Raut has largely meant that a berth in the top order, which she may have been guaranteed at Himachal, has been non-existent.In the entire 2016-17 season, she had four opportunities to impress, twice each in the one-dayers and T20 competition. She managed 21 in those four knocks. It’s a role she has taken awhile getting used to, but one she has grown to accept, Verma said. “The team management has been working a lot on the lower-order batting. We have been getting equal attention as the top and middle order. I was waiting for this opportunity.”I’ve understood I will have minimum balls to face, I need to make maximum impact. Today, there was such an opportunity. It’s not that I’m confident only because of wicketkeeping. For me, the main concern and focus is to score as many runs as possible in as little balls as possible.”

Former England captain Graham Gooch has committed £50,000 to funding PCA-run courses for all 18 English counties on gambling awareness education

George Dobell23-Mar-2017

A contribution from Graham Gooch has helped the PCA fund gambling awareness courses at all 18 first-class counties.Gooch, the former England captain, has run a scholarship scheme designed to encourage the development of young players for many years. It has, in the past, led to the likes of Alastair Cook spending time abroad to work on his game.But this year, to mark their 50th anniversary, the PCA appealed to its members – both current and former professional cricketers – for extra contributions to help them increase their annual funding from £400,000 to £600,000. Gooch responded by offering £50,000 from his scholarship fund with the proviso that it would be used for a specific project rather than split across several. The PCA suggested the gambling awareness scheme and Gooch agreed.”There are a lot of dangers in the world for young people now and I am particularly interested in helping out with the education of young cricketers with all the worries and concerns of online gambling and getting into bad habits,” Gooch said. “If we can educate people, make them aware of the pitfalls and get insight from people who have been down that route and fallen foul then hopefully they can be warned about the potential dangers.”Gooch’s donation helped the PCA fund not just courses – to be run by Paul Buck, whose gambling addiction resulted in a 32-month jail sentence of which he served 11-and-a-half months – but a helpline for those who feel they might be struggling with gambling addiction.The statistics are alarming. Gambling is the fastest growing offence in the UK that leads to a prison sentence – 1,444 custodial years over the last five years – and the fastest-growing addiction both in the UK and across the world. A recent study from Lincoln University suggests there are 1.1 million gambling addicts in the UK. Bankruptcy, divorce, depression and suicide are all common consequences. Gambling addiction has also been reclassified to full addiction status, the same as heroin, by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.Professional cricketers, with time on their hands and a relatively large amount of expendable income at a young age, are considered a high-risk category. That means they – or the young male ones, at least – are considered three times more likely to be “problem gamblers” than people in the general population. With one in four males between the ages of 18 and 24 “likely to have some form of gambling problem” according to PCA chief executive, David Leatherdale, it is, as he says, “definitely an issue.”The world has changed a great deal in recent years. Not so long ago, sporting events were sponsored by tobacco companies – the John Player Special League was the NatWest T20 Blast of its day – and cigarettes were distributed free of charge in press boxes. In 1994, for a bit of fun, the Warwickshire committee made an accumulator bet on their team winning all four domestic trophies. They ended up with three.Since those days, there has been a crackdown on tobacco advertising and some tightening of regulation as regards alcohol sponsorship and advertising, though the ECB retain several sponsorship deals with companies that sell alcohol. Most of all, there is greater awareness of the dangers of match-fixing and an absolute ban on players or officials betting on the sport.But gambling advertising has filled the void left by the departure of tobacco sponsorship. It has grown by 1,300 percent over the last decade with the growth in the use of smart phones making it easier than ever before. According to statistical survey data, eighty-seven percent of first-class players in England have gambled on some other form of sport in the last 12-months and 67 percent in the last month.Gambling is fully legal in the UK and there are no rules prohibiting cricketers from gambling on other sports. Buck says it is “normalised” to the extent that perimeter advertising at many sporting events offers in-game betting and, at a recent awareness session at a PCA rookie camp, 20 of 22 players admitted to having an online gambling account. It was the two who did not admit to having one that worried the people taking the session.”Personally I have never been a gambler,” Gooch continued. “But I do like going to a horse racing track and having a bet there. I’ve also hosted Ladbrokes in hospitality boxes at Test Matches so I don’t have any issues with gambling.”But sportsmen, in particular, do find themselves with time on their hands. When I played, people would go to a betting shop if they wanted to have a flutter. Now the temptation to bet online is great. In the social media world it’s very easy to get into that. You have to be very careful that it doesn’t consume you and cause major problems for you and your family down the line.”Both Buck and Leatherdale believe that cricket is “ahead of the game” in trying to prevent the problem growing. “Cricket is a long way ahead of the other sports we work with, football and rugby, in this regard,” says Buck. They hope that by showing young players where uncontrolled gambling can lead, they can shock them out of potentially bad habits.There will be practical help too. While no debts will be paid off, players will be given psychological help where appropriate and given assistance in restructuring their finances where possible. The key, though, is intervening before that stage is reached. And, thanks in part to Gooch, the PCA have a decent chance of achieving that aim.

The wicketkeeper, who is set to equal Brad Hogg’s Australian record for the most Tests missed between appearances, is eager to use this chance to rewrite the story of his career

Brydon Coverdale in Brisbane20-Nov-2017Tim Paine can’t take a hint. In fact, he can’t take repeated hints over the course of several years.Three summers ago, when Paine was 29, Tasmania looked to the future by choosing the Western Australian import Tom Triffitt as wicketkeeper instead of Paine. Last season, it was the teenage Jake Doran – another import – who took the gloves. And this year, Matthew Wade returned from a decade with Victoria and settled in behind the stumps himself.So where does that leave Paine? In a plot-twist worthy of , it leaves him about to keep wicket for Australia in an Ashes series, seven years after he last wore the baggy green. As head-scratching selections go, this is one of the scratchiest, for Paine has been gloveman in just three Shield games in the past two years and has not scored a first-class hundred since 2006. But there are mitigating circumstances.”It was widely recognised last year in Tasmania that I was the best wicketkeeper in Tasmania,” Paine said in Brisbane on Monday, “it was just that at the time Tasmania had a fair share of battles in Shield cricket and decided to go in a new direction that was clearly a younger direction, so that was just how it panned out.”And the lack of big runs? One contributing factor was the smashed finger that he suffered while batting against Dirk Nannes in an exhibition match in 2010. Rod Marsh was Iron Gloves, but surely no Australian wicketkeeper has had as much metal to contend with as Tim Paine, who now has a plate and seven or eight pins as permanent features of his right hand, repairing the index finger that caused him such trouble after the Nannes blow.”Behind the stumps I was pretty good straight away, it didn’t worry me too much. It hurt a little bit but it didn’t take too much away from me,” Paine said. “But with batting, it really did affect me and you only have to look at my numbers in those few years when I came back. I was battling mentally, I was out there thinking I was going to get hit and if I did get hit I’d never play again. It certainly rattled me a lot.”It was not until he opened up with Tasmania’s sports psychologist, Emma Harris, that Paine was able to move past his batting troubles. And now, a couple of years down the track, he has also found an ally in the new Tasmania batting coach Jeff Vaughan, who has helped Paine rework his batting grip to better suit his pins and plate.”The opportunity has come at a really good time for me,” Paine said. “The past five or six months I’ve really started to bat well again and I’ll go into this Test with some confidence. I played pretty well last week [against England in a tour game], I’ve played Test cricket before so I know what to expect. And I’ve had some success in the few Tests I have played, so I’ll take some confidence from that.”Australia have played 78 Tests since Paine last wore the baggy green, meaning that on Thursday he will equal the Australian record for the most Tests missed between appearances: Brad Hogg also sat out of 78 Tests from his 1996 debut until he returned to the side in 2003.And while Paine admits he was surprised by his recall, he is keen to grab his chance. He turns 33 next month, and if he performs strongly during this Ashes campaign, he could feasibly have several years ahead of him as a Test keeper. Finally, it is a chance for Paine to live up to the high expectations that were placed on him seven years ago.”I’m not here for five minutes, I’m here to make the most of this opportunity,” he said. “To be honest, I’m sick of talking about being the person who hurt his finger and what could have been six or seven years ago. That’s the way I’m looking at this opportunity.”Hopefully I can be sitting in a room like this in two years or three years and we’re talking about the back end of my Test career, not ‘Geez, he could have been a good player back in 2009’. That’s something that’s really exciting for me, is to be able to re-write my story a bit and it’s something I’m really keen to do.”

Despite objections from the larger provinces, the PCB arrived at a compromise that will aim to push nepotism out of domestic team selection

Umar Farooq29-Jul-2017

Regional sides in the 2017-18 Quaid-e-Azam trophy will be selected, in part, through a draft process, after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) voted the changes through at a board meeting. Karachi, which represents the largest regional association in the country (a city with nearly 25 million residents), led the objections and walked out of the meeting on Friday in protest. But that was the only significant objection to what is now a reality: a radical new model whereby regional first-class sides will pick players through a draft process and not, as has been traditionally the way, through their own inter-districts cricket.”There were animated discussions on the domestic revamp,” PCB chairman, Shaharyar Khan said in a press conference after the meeting in Lahore. “Karachi said this new system was wrong. But we have taken the position that the draft will happen, otherwise there is corruption and nepotism in the system. It happens often in some regions where the president wants to play his players. Karachi did raise an objection and then, yes, they did walk out of the meeting.”Problems with non-merit based selections is one of the main reasons the PCB has come up with this new model, as well as a desire to enhance the competitiveness of regional sides who have struggled to compete against department sides in the QEA; historically, when regional and department sides have been grouped together in the tournament, the latter have fielded the better players, enabled by greater financial resources at their disposal.The move has come in for some criticism, and it was partly that which led the board to agree to a compromise on the balance of players picked by a draft process and players picked through more conventional routes.Initially, the model envisaged that 12 players out of a regional squad of 20 would be picked through the draft. Lahore, another major regional association, had suggested a reversal, where eight players would come through a draft. In the end, a compromise was reached: eight players will be picked through a draft, 10 through the usual selection and two will be emerging players from the region’s Under-19 circuit.Najam Sethi, the PCB’s executive committee head, said all stakeholders had been taken on board. “Ejaz Farooqi (head of the Karachi association) wrote a letter of objection to the board and spoke about it as well at the meeting. Shakeel Sheikh, who is the head of the committee, has made those decisions with all stakeholders involved. Lahore wanted a 12-8 model (with 12 from region and 8 from a draft). So the compromise we worked out is 10-10. Selection will remain with regional heads and regional coaches. It won’t be such a big issue.”The decision was taken in the final outgoing Board of Governors (BoG) meeting under the leadership of Shahryar Khan – whose tenure ends next month. It was the last meeting chaired by Khan as well as for the 10 governing boards members; next month, a new board with a new chairman will be formed.Four new regions – Lahore, Sialkot, Quetta and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) – will replace Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Peshawar. United Bank Limited (UBL) and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) will retain their spots as departments on the board on the basis of their standing in the 2016-17 QEA, while Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) will replace National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL).Sethi, who heads the Pakistan Super League (PSL), is the leading candidate to take over as board chairman from Khan. He was recently named as one of two direct nominees on the BoG, appointed by the patron of the board, the prime minister of Pakistan. Until Friday, Nawaz Sharif was that man, but he was disqualified by Pakistan’s Supreme Court in a situation that has been building up since the Panama Papers. His disqualification, for the moment, leaves Pakistan without a functional government, and the PCB without a patron.Coinciding as it does with the ascension of a new board head, ordinarily, the political uncertainty would ripple out into the board as well. But Sethi was confident that movement in Islamabad would not affect the PCB’s imminent changes next month. “What happened in Islamabad has no relation to the PCB,” Sethi said. “Today the PCB has no patron. But now a new one will come. It’s not such a big deal, there is no constitutional issue.”Sethi’s prospects will, however, depend heavily on who takes over from Sharif as the prime minister and patron of the PCB. Even before Sharif’s dismissal, a Supreme Court advocate had filed a writ petition against Sethi’s nomination in the Islamabad High Court. The court hasn’t admitted the case but is assessing the maintainability of the petition and the hearing has been adjourned until August 10.

The long list submitted to the eight franchises contains 1122 players and is set to be pruned further once the teams submit their wishlists to the IPL

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Jan-2018

Still waiting for his disciplinary or legal charges for the Bristol incident in September, Ben Stokes is among the 36 players who have listed their base price at the maximum of INR 2 crore (USD 315,000 approx) ahead of the IPL auction on January 27 and 28.The most notable names among the 13 Indian and 23 overseas players in the highest-price band were Mitchell Starc, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Brendon McCullum, Rashid Khan, Chris Gayle and Eoin Morgan.Players with top base prices

INR 2 crore (USD 315,000 approx.):
Indian players: R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Karn Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa. Overseas players: Rashid Khan, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Cameron White, Eoin Morgan, Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Corey Anderson, Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Kock, Colin Ingram, Angelo Mathews, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard.
INR 1.5 crore (USD 235,000 approx.): Aaron Finch, Amit Mishra, David Miller, Evin Lewis, Faf du Plessis, Harry Gurney, Hashim Amla, Jason Holder, Jason Roy, Jaydev Unadkat, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Kagiso Rabada, Kane Williamson, Kuldeep Yadav, Kyle Abbott, Lendl Simmons, Mark Wood, Michael Klinger, Moeen Ali, Mohit Sharma, Moises Henriques, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Nathan Lyon, Peter Handscomb, Ravi Bopara, Shaun Marsh, Steven Finn, Travis Head, Trent Boult, Washington Sundar.
INR 1 crore (USD 160,000 approx.): Adam Zampa, Alex Hales, Andrew Tye, Ben Cutting, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Jordan, Dale Steyn, Daniel Christian, Dwayne Smith, Jason Behrendorff, JP Duminy, Lasith Malinga, Manish Pandey, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Imran Tahir, Mustafizur Rahman, Parthiv Patel, Piyush Chawla, Sam Billings, Samuel Badree, Sanju Samson, Shakib Al Hasan, Shane Watson, Tim Southee, Tom Curran, Tymal Mills, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Wriddhiman Saha

On Friday, the IPL sent the long list of 1122 players to the eight franchises which includes 281 capped players and 838 uncapped players, including 778 Indians and three players from the Associate nations. A final auction pool would be prepared by the end of next week once the franchises submit their wishlists to the IPL.As the franchises get ready for the mega two-day auction, one name at the top of their wishlist would be Stokes. The allrounder became the most expensive overseas player bought at an IPL auction when Rising Pune Supergiant paid INR 14.5 crore (USD 2.16 million approx in 2017). Stokes lived up to the hype by helping Pune to the final, which they lost to Mumbai Indians, as he earned the Player-of-the-Tournament award in his maiden IPL.Stokes scored 316 runs at a strike rate of 142.98 including an unbeaten century while chasing down 162 against Gujarat Lions. He also picked 12 wickets with an economy rate of 7.18 from the 12 matches he played, missing the final because of national duties.Stokes has not played for England since his arrest on September 26 but represented Canterbury in three one-dayers and as many T20s in December, including a 47-ball 93 in a T20 against Otago. Last week, Stokes was named in the England squad for the two Tests in New Zealand starting in February, although his involvement is subject to any relevant legal or disciplinary developments.Fast bowler Tymal Mills listed his base price at INR 1 crore (USD 160,000 approx.). Last IPL auction, Mills not just set a new record price for a specialist bowler but was also the second-most expensive sale at the tenth auction when Royal Challengers Bangalore paid INR 12 crore (USD 1.8 million approx in 2017) for him. Mills’ returns were five wickets at an economy rate of 8.57 from five matches.Another international name that is likely to attract huge interest is Starc. Fresh after his Ashes heroics, Starc remains an attractive buy with his ability to deliver the ball at a fiery pace, dart in toe-crushing yorkers and also deceive batsmen with a change of pace. There was hardly any surprise when Royal Challengers paid INR 5 crore (USD 833,000) in 2014, although Starc could only play for them for two seasons; in 2016 he was injured while last year he parted ways with the franchise wanting to balance his workload.The most overseas entries in the auction came from Australia – 58 names. South Africa were close with 57, and Sri Lanka and West Indies had 39 each. There were 23 players from England and 13 from Afghanistan.Although most of the top names kept their base prices high, there were some exceptions. India fast bowler Ishant Sharma listed his base price at INR 75 lakhs (USD 118,000 approx). Incidentally, Ishant went unsold at the 2017 auction having listed his base price then at INR 2 crore. His disappointment was soon washed away after he replaced the injured M Vijay for Kings XI Punjab.Manish Pandey, one of the contenders to lead Kolkata Knight Riders, has pegged his base price at INR 1 crore. Pandey is likely to be retained by Knight Riders through the right-to-match card option at the auction.Mohammed Siraj, one of the success stories last IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad, listed his base price at INR 1 cr, too. Siraj, who has played two T20Is for India since last year’s IPL, was bought by Sunrisers for INR 2.6 cr last year (USD 3,88,000 then). Young Indian offspinner Washington Sundar, who also made his international debut recently, set his base price at INR 1.5 crore (USD 235,000 approx.). Sundar was one of the go-to bowlers for Pune last year and along with Rahul Tripathi, he was instrumental in the team ending as runners-up.In contrast to the high base prices of Siraj and Sundar, some of the uncapped top performers of last IPL set their price much lower. While Tripathi listed his base price at the minimum – INR 20 lakhs (USD 31,500 approx), Basil Thampi and Krunal Pandya listed theirs at INR 30 lakhs (USD 50,000) and 40 lakhs (USD 63,000) respectively. Thampi was bought by Gujarat Lions for INR 85 lakhs (USD 126,000) last year and was their second-highest wicket-taker in his maiden IPL with 11 wickets, but with an expensive economy rate of 9.49.Krunal superseded senior bowler Harbhajan Singh with his wickets tally for Mumbai Indians who won the IPL for a third time last year. Krunal scored 243 runs at 34.71 and struck them at 135.75 alongside his 10 wickets and an economy rate of under seven per over. Incidentally, Mumbai were keen on retaining Krunal, but eventually picked his younger brother Hardik. With two right-to-match cards in hand, Mumbai are likely to retain Krunal at the auction.Assam’s 16-year old batsman Riyan Parag was the youngest player on the auction list while Mumbai legspinner Pravin Tambe, 46, was the oldest.

اعترف أسامة إدريسي، لاعب فريق باتشوكا، بأنهم لم يتوقعوا مثل تلك المباراة الصعبة التي خاضها أمام الأهلي، من أجل الوصول إلى نهائي كأس إنتركونتيننتال.

ويلتقي باتشوكا المكسيكي مع ريال مدريد، مساء الغد على ملعب “لوسيل” في قطر، في نهائي كأس إنتركونتيننتال، نسخة 2024.

وتأهل باتشوكا إلى تلك المباراة بعدما فاز على الأهلي المصري، بركلات الترجيح، يوم السبت الماضي، بعد انتهاء الوقت الأصلي والشوطين الإضافيين بالتعادل السلبي.

وقال أسامة إدريسي، في تصريحات للموقع الرسمي لـ فيفا: “التواجد في هذه المباراة النهائية أمر كبير للغاية بالنسبة للاعبين والمجلس والنادي والجماهير”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مدرب باتشوكا قبل مباراة ريال مدريد: التاريخ لن يلعب دورًا في نهائي إنتركونتيننتال.. ولن نمنح أنشيلوتي ما يريد

وأضاف: “من المثير للاهتمام دائمًا أن ترى أين أنت كلاعب كرة قدم، وأين أنت كفريق، وأن تتنافس ضد أحد أفضل الفرق في العالم، وأكبر نادٍ في العالم”.

وواصل: “أن تتنافس ضدهم هو أمر رائع لك كلاعب كرة قدم، وأن تحاول إظهار أفضل نسخة من نفسك، بكل تأكيد يمتلك ريال مدريد تاريخًا كبيرًا، ولاعبين يتمتعون بالكثير من الجودة والخبرة”.

وأردف: “كانت المباراة الأخيرة (ضد الأهلي) أثقل مما اعتدنا عليه، كانت هذه هي المرة الأولى هذا العام التي نلعب فيها 120 دقيقة، بالإضافة إلى ركلات الترجيح، لذلك كان لذلك تأثير كبير على التعافي”.

واستمر: “كنا سعداء حقًا بالحصول على يوم آخر للتعافي، لنكون جاهزين مرة أخرى للمباراة، كانت هذه أولويتنا القصوى، بالطبع نقوم بتحليل الخصم، وسنقوم بإجراء آخر جلسة تدريبية”.

وتابع: “اعتاد ريال مدريد على لعب مثل تلك المباريات، نحن نعلم أن كل لاعب في فريقنا يحتاج إلى تقديم 10 من 10 في أدائه الخاص، وكفريق نحتاج إلى تقديم أفضل أداء لدينا للحصول على نتيجة”.

واختتم: “لن تكون المهمة سهلة، لكن كرة القدم ممتعة، لا تعرف أبدًا ما قد يحدث، ولهذا السبب سنتنافس ونحاول الحصول على نتيجة”.

Afghanistan brushed aside a target of 150 with eight wickets to spare, for their fifth consecutive win against Oman in T20 internationals

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Dubai20-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAfghanistan stormed into the final of the Desert T20 Challenge after beating Oman by eight wickets, their fifth consecutive win over the team in T20 internationals. Afghanistan chased down a target of 150 with nine balls to spare and now await the winner of the Scotland v Ireland semi-final, before the final match later today.Oman fought bravely through the first innings, coming back to the ground to take on the tournament favourites less than 12 hours after their final Group B match against Scotland. Afghanistan gave Oman a few chances to stay afloat. However, by the start of the chase, Oman struggled to keep their heads above water as Afghanistan commenced a cruise toward the target riding on a 91-run opening stand between Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Shahzad.Shahzad reached 50 off 35 balls at the start of the 10th over, and added another 45 with Asghar Stanikzai, before falling for 80 with only 14 required for victory. Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari knocked off the remaining runs, and clinched the match after a bouncer down leg side was signaled a wide.Poking the bear
Oman were scrapping their way through their innings, desperate to claim any runs on offer. Off the final ball of the 13th over, bowled by Amir Hamza, when Khurram Nawaz pushed toward point for a sharp run. The throw came to the non-striker’s end and hit Nawaz in the legs before it caromed past mid-off. Nawaz didn’t hesitate to come back for a second run on the overthrow and, when he arrived back at the striker’s end, Shahzad didn’t hesitate to give him an earful from behind the stumps.Afghanistan hadn’t been fully engaged until that point, with Dawlat Zadran in particular bowling poorly with the new ball. But after that extra run, Afghanistan flipped a switch. Rashid Khan beat an attempted sweep by Nawaz with a googly, to rattle the stumps in the 19th over, and then gave the batsman a send-off, pointing him off the field to the dugout.Rashid Khan gives Khurram Nawaz a send-off. The batsman’s extra run off an overthrow, after the ball had hit him, flipped a switch in the Afghanistan side•Peter Della Penna

Big-match Mo
Shahzad seemed especially offended at Nawaz’s transgression. He used his bat in the second innings as if it were a principal’s paddle for spanking naughty school kids. Shahzad’s batting record in the knockout stages of Associate tournaments in the UAE is superb and he extended that trend today against Oman.Left-arm fast bowler Bilal Khan, Oman’s most incisive bowler in this tournament, was clubbed over mid-on for four in the opening over to set the tone for the rest of Shahzad’s innings. Kaleemullah was brought on in the third over so that Bilal could switch ends and Shahzad went on to flick the tall right-arm quick over mid-off in his second over. The next ball was a disdainful flick over midwicket for six to leave Kaleemullah slack-jawed.Shahzad almost never misses an opportunity to animatedly celebrate even the smallest milestones, but upon bringing up his half-century on this day, he didn’t even raise his bat. When he was finally dismissed, though, he made sure to recognise the fans, gesturing his appreciation with a flick and wave to the western stand where most of them had congregated. They are hoping it’s not the last time he raises his bat on finals day.