Three seasons after his first go at captaincy in the BBL, Chris Lynn takes up the mantle again

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2018

Three seasons after his first go at captaincy in the Big Bash League, Chris Lynn will take up the mantle again. His team, the Brisbane Heat, made the announcement on Monday, ahead of their season opener against the defending champions Adelaide Strikers on December 19, and the opening batsman welcomed the extra responsibility on his big-hitting shoulders.Lynn had led the Heat in the 2015-16 edition of the Big Bash when he finished Player of the Tournament but the team ended up bottom of the table. He had also been at the helm of Queensland’s campaign in the JLT one-day cup earlier this season, when they made it to the semi-finals.”I really enjoyed the experience I had as Heat captain previously and likewise with Queensland. Leadership is something I have enjoyed since I was a young bloke starting out and I’m confident I am ready to handle it in the BBL.”We have got a settled squad with talent to burn and I can’t wait to get into the season and have a go.”Lynn is the top run-getter for the Heat with a tally of 1560 and the only man with more than 100 sixes in the BBL. The 28-year old is also highly sought-after in T20 teams around the world having most recently played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, Lahore Qalandars in the PSL and Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL.”Having Lynny as captain is right on the money,” Brendon McCullum, who led the Heat in 2017, said. “He’s a senior player with lots of expertise and has been part of winning teams and successful clubs all over the world.”I have enjoyed being able to tap into his thinking when I was captain and I know he is more than ready as skipper to enable us to play exciting, fearless cricket again this summer.”Head coach Daniel Vettori said the appointment had been in the works for a while. “The timeline is pretty much as we mapped out when we all came together a few years back to do some planning around succession and future recruiting.”The Heat will play an intra-squad game on Wednesday in the Gold Coast as practice leading up to the new season of the BBL, which starts on December 19.

Colin Graves has been named as the new chairman of the ICC’s financial affairs committee.The role, which oversees the board’s billion-dollar revenues from rights deals as well as the distribution of profits from global tournaments, is one of the most influential within the game’s governing body.It also offers Graves a potential next step as an administrator for when his turbulent term as ECB chairman ends in May 2020.His popularity within English cricket has waned amid controversy about the impending launch of the board’s new Hundred competition, while two directors recently resigned from the ECB board citing their dissatisfaction with his style of leadership.It remains to be seen whether he will seek re-election at the ECB, and if not, then the ICC role could be a logical next step if he wishes to stay within the game.Manohar, the ICC’s first independent chairman, was re-elected last year for a second two-year term which ends in 2020.Giles Clarke, Graves’ predecessor as ECB chairman, also held the financial affairs role at the ICC, but failed to gain enough support to mount a bid to become ICC chairman.

Chasing 317, Western Australia are 115 for 6 with the allrounder batting on 52

The Report by Alex Malcolm29-Nov-2018A top-order collapse from Western Australia has left them with a mountain to climb in a fourth-innings chase against New South Wales at Perth Stadium.The Warriors, who had successfully chased 313 against South Australia in their previous match, were set 317 to win. This time, though, their chase began diabolically with Will Bosisto lbw in the first over to Trent Copeland. Five balls later the dangerman Shaun Marsh was dismissed by Sean Abbott, caught at third slip on the drive, to leave the Warriors 2 for 1.Hilton Cartwright became Copeland’s second victim in the fifth over before WA produced a startling counter-attack. Instead of bunkering down, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis played aggressively to try and dig the Warriors out of a hole.They added 29 in 20 balls before Nathan Lyon bowled Mitchell Marsh through the gate for a run-a-ball 30 with a beautiful offbreak. Ashton Turner and Josh Inglis then fell within the space of six balls to leave WA 6 for 64 after 15 overs.Stoinis kept going, reaching a rollicking half-century off just 45 balls. It included six fours and a six. He remained 52 not out at stumps with Ashton Agar on 20, but the Warriors still need to 202 to win with just four wickets in hand.Earlier, Jhye Richardson claimed his maiden 10-wicket match haul in Sheffield Shield cricket, nabbing three second-innings scalps to go with his 8 for 47 in the first innings.But it wasn’t enough to prevent New South Wales from setting a fourth-innings target of more than 300. Kurtis Patterson, Moises Henriques and Jack Edwards all reached 40 but none could pass 50. Stoinis bagged three wickets and Mitchell Marsh two.

The India allrounder coming back from injury has the chance to influence a tight game with his bowling on the last day at Wankhede stadium

Ankur Dhawan in Mumbai16-Dec-2018The IPL has done funny things to Indian cricket, particularly the fan. How else do you explain lusty cheering for Mumbai Indians Baroda allrounder Hardik Pandya as he tried with all his might to thwart Mumbai’s chances of securing a vital first innings lead at Wankhede stadium? Sure, there is merit in the theory that he is an India player, but MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli apart, not many have such a hold over crowds across the country.If it was a case of conflicted emotions – although there was no sign of it as the small crowd chanted his name like an anthem – they got the best of both worlds. Pandya obliged with a 137-ball 73 but Mumbai clung on to the cliff edge, securing a 29-run lead that may just keep them afloat in the Ranji Trophy.Pandya may have missed a maiden Ranji Trophy hundred, but it was his first major contribution with the bat in red-ball cricket since a whirlwind 93 at the start of the year in Cape Town. (He’d made a fifty against Afghanistan in between, but that came after India’s total had already gone past 300)Baroda had other heroes as well. Aditya Waghmode batted in mode to make 114 off 304 balls and Vishnu Solanki produced a more free flowing 133 to give Pandya the time he needed to find his feet, both literally and figuratively. At lunch he was batting on 3 off 29, struggling for rhythm but untroubled by the bowling as such.Match situations, though, can be fickle, and after cruising for 121 overs and looking set to surpass Mumbai’s 465 by a significant margin, wickets fell, as though through a series of trapdoors. A comfortable 351 for 3 became 378 for 6 when tea was taken, and two overs post resumption Baroda had slipped to a precarious 379 for 7. At that stage, it seemed like they were running out of luck, exemplified by Solanki’s questionable lbw decision earlier in the day, but soon enough Pandya was bowled off a no-ball and it became a level playing field once again.Reprieved on 41, he brought his side within 29 runs of Mumbai’s total before being pinned in front by Royston Dias as he tried to steal a single off the last ball of the over. It was not unlike the position he was in a few months ago at Edgbaston, when India needed 32 to win and Pandya was left with the awkward job of refusing singles when the field was spread, and scampering across when it came up. Eventually he was led to play a shot that wasn’t meant to fetch him runs or protect his stumps and he was dismissed.The difference here is that there’s an innings left and Pandya could enjoy the perks of who he is – an allrounder – and influence the result. While Mumbai would have undoubtedly been the happier side, having taken the lead, given the lack of time left in the game, they were also the only ones left in a position to throw it away – a tendency common among teams batting without purpose on final days. With his two quick wickets before stumps, Pandya has stoked that possibility.

The left-arm quick’s 4-28 kept Bangladesh to just 129, and the opener then smashed a fifty off just 16 balls

The Report by Mohammad Isam17-Dec-2018Shai Hope walloped the third-fastest T20I fifty to help West Indies overpower Bangladesh by eight wickets in Sylhet. The hosts were undone by Sheldon Cottrell’s awkward short balls to be bowled out for 129 and then a bumper crowd sat in silence as Hope battered six sixes and three fours to end the contest in a hurry.Hope reached his fifty off 16 balls, behind Yuvraj Singh (12 balls) and Colin Munro (14 balls). The innings had plenty of brutality in it – especially when he played the pull shot or the slog sweep – but it wasn’t wanting in finesse as a ramp to the third man boundary showed. Hope shared an opening stand of 51 runs in 3.2 overs with the returning Evin Lewis, and then put on 47 in 4.2 overs with Nicholas Pooran.The visitors raced to 91 for 1, equalling the highest score in the Powerplay alongside Australia, Ireland and Netherlands, who had also got there in Sylhet, four years ago during the World T20 2014.Keemo Paul did justice to his promotion to No 4, hitting an unbeaten 28 off 14 balls with a four and three sixes, one of which carried 96 metres, as West Indies completed victory in 10.5 overs.Bangladesh had chosen to bat first under gloomy skies, and their performance out the home crowd in a similar mood, with only three batsmen reaching double-figures. Cottrell’s career-best 4 for 28, and wickets from Paul, Oshane Thomas, Carlos Brathwaite and Fabian Allen, kept Bangladesh in check and bowled them out in 19 overs.Shakib Al Hasan was the only batsman who showed smarts for Bangladesh. He preferred the offside when looking for his fours, having nailed Thomas for a rasping cut through point and two cover drives. Both his sixes came through mid-on but luck was also on his side. Three boundaries came off his outside edge and one off the inside edge. He made 61 off 43 balls with eight fours and two sixes.Five batsmen got out trying to pull fast and short deliveries, all of them either top-edging for easy catches or hitting it straight to fielders. Tamim Iqbal was the first to fall in this way, mistiming a pull straight to Brathwaite at mid-on. Liton Das did exactly the same off Thomas, before Soumya Sarkar also mistimed a pull to be caught at midwicket, off Cottrell.Bangladesh’s Powerplay was rounded off with Mushfiqur Rahim caught short of his crease as Rovman Powell threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Shakib then had two short partnerships with Mahmudullah and Ariful Haque that kept Bangladesh afloat for a time. But Cottrell had Mahmudullah caught behind, keeping the ball close to the batsman’s body so that his attempted push resulted in an edge. Ariful later swept a catch down to deep square leg.Shakib became Cottrell’s fourth wicket in the 18th over, again trying to pull the ball but only top-edging it to the short square leg region, where Cottrell himeslf sprinted forward and claimed the catch.

How the game played outA bad start quickly turned ugly for Comilla Victorians, who failed to adjust after a wonky Powerplay on the way to being bowled out for the fourth lowest first-innings total in six editions of the Bangladesh Premier League. Rangpur Riders are now responsible for dishing out three of the four worst maulings, and on this occasion it was their captain who meted out the heaviest punishment.Mashrafe Mortaza backed up his decision to field first at the toss by striking thrice in his first three overs to put Comilla under heavy pressure. Rather than hold one of his overs back for the end of the innings, Mashrafe opted to go for the jugular of Comilla’s lineup. It paid off as he claimed his opposite number Steven Smith in the seventh, capping off an unbroken four-over spell with a wicket-maiden to leave Comilla reeling at 18 for 5. Rangpur never let up.Turning points

• Ravi Bopara’s sensational over the shoulder catch sprinting back from point to dismiss Imrul Kayes in the fifth showed Rangpur were on top of their game
• Shahid Afridi kept Comilla’s faint pulse going at the crease but two balls after surviving a chance at long-on spilled over the rope for six, he failed to make the most of a second life and slashed a catch to Chris Gayle at short third man
• Nazmul Islam pulled out his imaginary bow and arrow to shoot out the tail with three wickets, ensuring Mashrafe’s spell wasn’t wasted

Star of the dayNo looking past Mashrafe. After his recent success on the political campaign trail, he turned in his T20 career-best, claiming a who’s who of domestic and foreign stars: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Evin Lewis and Smith. Tamim fell on a flat drive to mid-on while the other three perished miscuing skied drives, indicative of a slightly stop-start pitch.The big missRangpur’s only major misfire on the day was a comical one as Sohag Gazi demanded Mashrafe burn their only review in the fourth over for a supposed lbw appeal on a quicker ball that hurried Lewis off the back foot. Replays showed Lewis smashing the ball straight out of the middle of the bat to cover.Where the teams standRangpur join Dhaka Dynamites at the top of the table on four points, although they have played one more match than Dhaka. Comilla sit even with Chittagong Vikings in third place with two points, though Vikings have a game in hand.

Tim Paine hinted that Australia wouldn’t hold back on the bouncer with his view that it was underused against India, but with their top six shuffled again, Sri Lanka may be in with a chance

Andrew McGlashan23-Jan-2019

No one has been able to breach the Gabba fortress since West Indies in 1988, and Sri Lanka’s winless record in Australia does not suggest they can be the team. The visiting captain Dinesh Chandimal, however, hopes for a “miracle” as he chases his dream of securing a Test victory in the country.Sri Lanka have lost 11 of their 13 Tests in Australia but the vibe around the team is that they will never have a better chance of breaking their duck against a vulnerable home side who have again shuffled their top six.”It will definitely be a challenge for us,” Chandimal said. “If we can take this challenge as a batter or bowler, if you can give your best shot…we can do some miracle here. That’s what we want to do as a team.”If Sri Lanka are to make history, they will have combat a pitch which has proved too much for most touring sides over the last 30 years. There was a good tinge of green the day before the match, and allied with the day-night factor, there could be some testing periods for batsmen, although the previous floodlit Test at the Gabba, against Pakistan in 2016, included totals of over 400 for each side.”I hope it’s nice and fast, the usual sort of Gabba wicket,” Tim Paine said. “Hopefully there’s plenty of bounce and it’s good to watch.”There was also a strong hint from Paine that Australia wouldn’t hold back on the short stuff, with his view that it was underused in the series against India. Australia’s bowling tactics often came under scrutiny, especially in the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, with them unable to gain a single lbw for the quicks in the four matches but Paine believed that smart use of the bouncer could also bring the stumps into play.”Clearly we need to be hitting the stumps a little bit more than we were and it’s been spoken about, but I also didn’t think we used our bouncer as much as we would like,” he said. “When you are using your bouncer a couple of times an over and then when you pitch up it’s a bit more effective. We know the majority of the time we want to be hitting the top of the stumps a bit more, but there’s also a way to set that up.While Chandimal expected his batsmen to have their techniques challenged by the Australia quick bowlers, he was confident he had the firepower to respond in kind. “When you look at the pitch you can see a lot of grass on the wicket, but we have got really good fast bowlers who can bowl over 140.”He also wanted his batsman to take a leaf out of Cheteshwar Pujara’s book and force Australia’s pacemen back for multiple spells. Whatever balance of side Australia select, they won’t have more than three pace-bowling options, although Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins were rested from the India ODIs with this series in mind.”Pujara made a difference, especially these days the weather is really hot here. They brought the Australian bowlers back for more spells. That’s what I think Pujara did, and after that it helped the other batters enjoy their batting in the middle. That’s one area I think we learned in the India-Australia series.”Chandimal drew on the memories of his Test debut against South Africa in 2011, when Sri Lanka secured their first victory in the country, in Durban. He scored two half-centuries in the match to play a key part in a 208-run win.”That was a really good memory. I made my Test debut against SA and we won that game and that was the first time we won a game in SA in their soil,” he said. “One of my dreams as a captain and player is to win a Test match here. But that’s not an easy thing coming here. You have to do a lot of hard work…that has to come from all 11 players for all five days. That’s what we are looking at as a team. It is a really good opportunity to make history and we just want to do that as a team.”

Manchester United Under-18 side were crowed Premier League North champions as they beat Manchester City to the title.

• Man Utd U18 lift Premier League North trophy
• Beat Wolves U18 on Tuesday
• Club pay tribute to the United Colts

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The United Colts beat Wolves 2-1 on Wednesday courtesy of a brace from Gabriele Biancheri to win the Premier League North title. They are now 16 points above rivals and second-placed Manchester City with just two games to go in the season.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Cityzens dominated the U18 league in the past few seasons, having won the title four times in a row before the Red Devils clinched the trophy this year. After the title win, the club's director of academy Nick Cox paid a special tribute to the youngsters and their manager Adam Lawrence and his coaching staff.

• WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

  Speaking on the club's momentous achievement, Cox said, "I am extremely proud of what Adam Lawrence, the staff and the players have been able to achieve this season. The players have been stretched, with exposure to numerous competitions and age-group games, whilst also supporting the first-team squad. They have consistently risen to each challenge that we have intentionally designed for them and accomplished something really special together.

  "Individual player development is always our primary aim but competing to win under pressure is vital. Both of those objectives have been achieved with players enjoying the challenging yet supportive environment and harnessing a winning mentality to experience team success."

• WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  Lawrence's side will now aim to win the U18 Premier League Cup title as they take on the Cityzens in the final on April 23.

Real Madrid have seen a request to play their Champions League home fixture against Manchester City under a closed roof granted.

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Madrid to play under closed roofUEFA grant permissionFace Man City in Champions LeagueWHAT HAPPENED?

According to , Madrid asked UEFA for permission to conduct the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final under a closed roof at Santiago Bernabeu. The club have introduced a retractable roof in their newly renovated home ground and believe closing it will allow for a better atmosphere in the all-important clash against the reigning European champions.

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UEFA have now made a final call on the matter after a pre-match technical meeting that saw designated match referee Francois Letexier consulted. As reports, Real have been granted permission to seal the stadium again, four weeks after playing under a closed roof in the second leg of their last-16 tie against RB Leipzig.

DID YOU KNOW?

City have travelled to Madrid for the vital fixture without two of their first-team defenders Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake. The duo have been omitted from the 21-man matchday squad due to injuries.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

After hosting Pep Guardiola's side at home, Carlo Ancelotti's men will be back in action in La Liga on Saturday as they face Mallorca, where a victory would see them close in on the title.

John Terry claims Rio Ferdinand blanked him on a Dubai beach after the ex-Chelsea captain was accused of racially abusing his brother Anton.

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• Terry and Ferdinand were England team-mates
• Accused of racially abusing Rio's brother Anton
• Ex-Chelsea man says Ferdinand still blanks him

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The former centre-back allegedly racially abused Anton Ferdinand during a game between Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea at Loftus Road in 2011. Terry was charged over the incident but was cleared in court, however, he received a four-game ban and fined £220,000 by the Football Association as a result. And the 43-year-old says the 13-year spat shows no sign of abating.

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  WHAT JOHN TERRY SAID

  He said on William Hill's Up Front With Simon Jordan: "Since then I've tried to speak to Rio, who doesn't want to talk to me at all. I've seen him on the beach in Dubai and he refused to speak to me. I think it could have been addressed and dealt with a lot better if I'm honest."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Terry also revealed in the interview he tried to speak to Anton about the incident 13 years ago.

  He added: "I tried to make contact with Anton that evening after the game and I basically got shut down instantly from all of them. I knew Anton, we were mates, we knew each other and always got on well. Obviously, I got on well with Rio. We could have done something that was more powerful than what came about in the end. And that's probably my disappointment because it's [racism] is in the game. Clearly in the stadiums and all of that now that we need to get out for sure. We could have done something very powerful as a group of players, not only us but everybody else I think at the time."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Terry, who retired from football in 2018 before taking up assistant coaching roles at Aston Villa and Leicester City, is currently an academy coach at Chelsea but is looking to become a first-team manager at some point.