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The Middlesex seamer broke down early in the season after returning to action following the injury which ruled him out of the Ashes

Andrew McGlashan02-Aug-2018Toby Roland-Jones has refused to feel sorry for himself despite being ruled out for the majority of this season with a recurrence of the back stress fracture which scuppered his hopes of being on the Ashes tour last year.Two matches into the County Championship season, Roland-Jones felt pain in his back against Derbyshire and subsequent scans showed an eight millimetre fracture (compared to the six millimetre one he picked up at the end of the 2017 season) and he has since embarked on a lengthy rehabilitation programme.Currently he remains in the recovery stage with no fixed timescale on a potential return, but he has been adamant not to dwell on the difficult times which have caused his Test career to be stalled after four highly promising outings. In his maiden home summer in 2017, he claimed 17 wickets against South Africa and West Indies, including a five-wicket haul on debut at The Oval.”The mental side that’s toughest is not being able to play, firstly for Middlesex and then not having the chance to regain an England place,” Roland-Jones told ESPNcricinfo while part of the Match Day coverage of the first England-India Test at Edgbaston. “It’s always important to find a positive side to any scenario, even if you feel like the unlikeliest fella in the world or everything is going your way, you always have to try and stay level.”That was my approach when things were going great after a Test match so at the same time, when things are tougher and there are more negative notes, you have to try and bring yourself up.”Roland-Jones’ initial return following last year’s injury came on the England Lions tour of West Indies where he played a warm-up match and two four-day games. Given the spin-friendly conditions, his workload was not excessive and he then started the domestic season with Middlesex before breaking down.”I don’t harbour any regrets, it’s so difficult with stress fractures to know where they are at or how hard to push them,” he said. “I’ve always been someone who would rather attack the game rather than fear my body. I didn’t want to sit back then wonder if I could have played. I felt fine at the time, I don’t know whether it was too soon … it’s hard to know, it would be wrong to regret. I was trying to play for England again.”Despite the repetitive nature of the injuries, Roland-Jones does not believe he will need to make changes to his action when he does return to the field.”Everyone is always looking to make technical tweaks to be at their best, but I’ve bowled for a long time without having any injuries of note so I don’t think it comes down to my action not being able to hold up to certain things. That’s something that can maybe be discussed further down the line, but it’s not been fed back to me that there’s an isolated problem.”It’s unclear as yet when we’ll look to bowl but physically I’m making some good strides. Hopefully it will put me in a good place to come back stronger and fitter than ever, and stand up to the physical strains of bowling again.”

Mitchell Starc will miss Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh in August due to injury, while left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe has been axed despite bowling Australia to victory with a 12-wicket haul against India in Pune earlier this year

Brydon Coverdale16-Jun-2017Mitchell Starc will miss Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh in August due to injury, while left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe has been axed despite bowling Australia to victory with a 12-wicket haul against India in Pune earlier this year. Ashton Agar has been included as the second spinner alongside Nathan Lyon, with Jon Holland overlooked after piling up 50 Sheffield Shield wickets at 20.78 last summer.Allrounder Hilton Cartwright has been named in the 13-man squad and has the chance to add to the one Test cap he earned during Australia’s home summer, while Usman Khawaja has been included after being overlooked for all four Tests in India. In the absence of Starc, Australia’s pace attack will be made up of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, although a fourth fast bowler is set to be added after Australia A’s tour of South Africa.

Australia’s 13-man squad

Steven Smith (capt), David Warner (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Matt Renshaw
In: Hilton Cartwright, James Pattinson
Out: Steve O’Keefe, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Jackson Bird

“Mitchell was due to go for follow up scans after the Champions Trophy, as part of his recovery plan,” David Beakley, Australia’s team physio, said. “These scans have indicated his previous stress fracture has still not fully healed to the extent we would like.”He will now undertake a period of rest from bowling with the aim to have him return for the one-day series in India in late September as he begins his build up to the Ashes.”The omission of O’Keefe is a rapid fall for the left-arm spinner, who claimed 6 for 35 in each innings in Pune in February, and finished the series as Australia’s equal leading wicket-taker despite his impact diminishing as the tour wore on. Then in April, O’Keefe was fined and suspended by New South Wales for what were described as “highly inappropriate comments” at a Cricket NSW function.”Whilst Steve O’Keefe bowled well in Pune,” national selector Trevor Hohns said, “he did not maintain this level in the remaining matches of the series and we believe the timing is right for Ashton to enter the set-up and test his allrounder ability.”Ashton has continued to impress us with his form and we believe his bowling is at a level where he deserves to be playing on the highest stage. He will work nicely in tandem with Nathan Lyon and also brings a great all-round package to the team.”Hilton averages nearly 60 [52.07] runs in first-class cricket and was the second highest run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season with 861 runs. He is a quality player who we believe has a big future for Australia and we are very keen to see him carry on his good form in the sub-continent.”Although the tour schedule had not been officially announced, Cricket Australia said in releasing the squad details that the team would arrive in Bangladesh on August 18 and play a two-day tour game in Fatullah from August 22. The two Tests are set for August 27 in Dhaka and September 4 in Chittagong.Australia were supposed to tour Bangladesh in 2015 but after advice from the Federal Government, Cricket Australia announced the tour had been postponed due to security concerns. Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s executive general manager of team performance, said CA was currently satisfied with the security arrangements for the trip.”The Bangladesh Cricket Board and the Bangladesh Government have provided satisfactory levels of assurance and security for this tour to proceed at this stage, and we’re very grateful to them for this,” Howard said. “We will continue to work with them to finalise plans but also monitor advice from government agencies and our own security advisors about the security risk.”Our number one priority will always be the safety and security of our players and support staff when travelling to any country. Players selected for this tour will continue to receive regular security status updates prior to travelling.”

Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has announced he is retiring from limited-overs cricket in order to focus on the remainder of his Test career

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Apr-2016Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has announced his retirement from limited-overs cricket in order to focus on the remainder of his Test career. Herath informed Sri Lanka Cricket of his decision to step away from the shorter formats in the past week, and the board has since accepted his decision.”In the next eight months or so, we’re scheduled to play something like 12 Test matches,” Herath said. “I think retiring from the shorter formats is the right move, because that will allow young players to be groomed for the next World Cup, as well as lowering my workload and letting me concentrate on Tests.”Herath, 38, has played with injuries in both knees over the past few years, and was largely only picked for limited-overs cricket in the approach to, and in major tournaments, in which he has played a significant role.He has 74 wickets from 71 ODIs, but will be remembered more fondly for his impact in T20 internationals. Herath played a key role in Sri Lanka’s victorious 2014 World T20 campaign, delivering the side’s spell of that tournament. His 5 wickets for 3 runs in a virtual quarter-final against New Zealand is arguably the best-ever T20 bowling performance. He was also effective in the semi-final and final of that tournament, and had also been incisive in the 2012 World T20 semi-final, against Pakistan, where he claimed 3 for 25. Overall, he has 18 T20I wickets from 17 matches.”In T20, the two spells I remember fondly are my 5 for 3 against New Zealand, and the 3 for 20-odd against Pakistan at Khettarama,” Herath said. “I haven’t taken any five-wicket hauls in ODIs, but I bowled well in that tri-series final against India, in the Caribbean in 2013. I took 4 for 20 in that game, though we went on to lose. I also have good memories of the 2011 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand (he took 1 for 31).”Most recently, Herath played in every match of Sri Lanka’s recent 2016 World T20 campaign, and his retirement will leave the likes of Jeffrey Vandersay and Sachithra Senanayake vying to become the team’s first-choice short-format spinner. Herath himself will shift focus to the three-Test series in England, in May and June, for which preparation begins on Monday.”Sri Lanka Cricket wishes Mr. Herath nothing but the best as he continues to play cricket in his chosen discipline, and in all future endeavours,” a board release said.

Stuart Heal, interim chief of New Zealand Cricket’s board of directors, said that the 2015 World Cup would be crucial to the New Zealand board and could help the organisation set cricket up across levels financially

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2013Stuart Heal, interim chief of New Zealand Cricket’s board of directors, said that the 2015 World Cup would be crucial to the New Zealand board and could help the organisation set cricket up across levels financially.”It is only 18 months or less away and it is critical from every which way you want to measure it,” Heal told the . “It is critical for us to reconnect with our fans. It is critical to increase our playing numbers and it is critical because it generates us cash. It is a very lumpy revenue line for New Zealand Cricket and if we can get it up to where the current forecasts are, it will set cricket up financially at all levels.”Heal took over as interim chief earlier this week. Former cricketers Richard Hadlee, Geoff Allott and Martin Snedden were elected as directors, along with administrators like Greg Barclay, Neil Craig, Liz Dawson and Don Mackinnon. The eight new directors were voted in by delegates representing all Major Associations and District Associations, a change that was a result of the revamped constitution adopted by the board in July this year. One of the major changes in the constitution adopted this year was the formation of the “appointments panel” to recommend candidates for the eight-member board of directors. The 28 members of the NZC would then vote to endorse – or reject – the candidates.According to Heal, the change has brought balance to the New Zealand board and has also helped bring in former players into administration.”The lobby group that criticised NZC said there were insufficient cricket heads around the table,” Heal said. “We now have Sir Richard Hadlee, Martin Snedden and Geoff Allott. I think that is a fantastic balance in the board and their concerns have been addressed. I think I’ve been appointed as the interim chair to keep some continuity.”On his own position as interim chairman, Heal said the board is likely to finalise the chairman in October and he would decide on putting his name forward next month.Heal also admitted that every decision taken by the board was not likely to be a popular one. “To people who say that New Zealand Cricket is not a business – I completely disagree. It is a $50 million business. About three-quarters of our revenue comes in US dollars,” Heal said. “It is a complex exporting business, to be blunt. If it makes money, then that money filters through to grass-roots cricket.”

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the SLPL final between Nagenahira Nagas and Uva Next

The Preview by Andrew Fernando30-Aug-2012

Match facts

August 31, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)
Uva’s Jacob Oram has been the SLPL’s most miserly bowler with an economy rate of 3.94•Shaun Roy/SPORTZPICS/SLPL

Big Picture

Before the tournament, few would have imagined either Nagenahira Nagas or Uva Next would reach the final, let alone both at once. On paper, Ruhuna Royals boasted bigger overseas stars, Basnahira Cricket Dundee the better local talent, and Wayamba United the X-factor players. Yet, the finalists have each performed at crucial moments to earn their passage.Both sides have ridden their fortune too. Nagenahira were lucky that a washout in the semi-final against Kandurata Warriors granted them automatic qualification, but were luckier still that the resurgent Kandurata were unable to play Uva Next in their round robin match on Saturday, robbing Kandurata of the chance to leap above them on the points table and go through to the final instead. For Uva, Jacob Oram’s all-round brilliance happily coincided with an off-colour Wayamba show on Tuesday, in the heist of the tournament.Nagenahira will have the psychological advantage of having beaten Uva comfortably on Monday, and are slight favourites. They may lack for a few star names, but they have relied on a few key players to lift the side. Imran Nazir’s blazing starts and Angelo Mathews’ calculated finishes have provided formidable bookends to their innings, while the attack has taken its cues from Shaminda Eranga and Ajantha Mendis.Bowling, meanwhile has been Uva’s forte. Following his three-wicket haul in the semi-final, Oram is now not only the league’s most miserly bowler with an economy rate of 3.94, he is also only one scalp short of being among the tournament’s top wicket-takers. Umar Gul may not have been picked for Pakistan’s ODIs against Australia, but his yorkers remain fearsome at the death, while Sachithra Senanayake and Seekuge Prasanna provide both variety and penetration with spin. If the Uva attack can topple Nazir early and silence Mathews towards the end, they will be favourites to win the trophy after qualifying fourth for the semi-finals.

Path to final

Nagenahira Nagas – Four wins and two losses in the round robin, qualified for the semi-finals at second place. Through to final on points after Wednesday’s semi-final was abandoned due to rain.Uva Next – Three wins, two losses and one draw (match abandoned due to rain) in the round robin, qualified for the semi-finals in fourth place. Through to the final after defeating top-placed Wayamba by 20 runs.

Watch out for

Ajantha Mendis (Nagenahira) has reclaimed a spot in Sri Lanka’s World Twenty20 side through a strong SLPL performance and seems to have rediscovered the accuracy that saw him demolish international sides at the beginning of his career. He has added more flight to his deliveries as well, and his mystery remains largely intact in a domestic tournament that lacks the video analysis resources available at the top level.Dilhara Fernando (Uva) is tipped to return for the final, after missing all but three matches through injury, and will augment an already impressive seam battery. Fernando has the only five-wicket haul in the SLPL, and his split-finger slower ball still deceives batsmen who have played him for years. Overs from him at the beginning of the innings will allow the captain Thilina Kandamby to reserve more of Gul’s yorkers for later.

Team news

Nagenahira will be without Mushfiqur Rahim, who left the country on the eve of the final to join the Bangladesh tour to the West Indies, extending the trend of overseas players leaving for national duty just as the tournament reaches its climax. TM Sampath is likely to take over the gloves instead.Nagenahira Nagas (probable) : 1 Imran Nazir, 2 Udara Jayasundera, 3 Travis Birt, 4 Colin de Grandhomme, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Angelo Perera, 7 TM Sampath (wk), 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Shaminda Eranga, 10 Ben Laughlin/ Kanishka Alvitigala, 11 Ajantha MendisGul and Fernando having recovered from their niggles, Uva have a fully fit squad to choose from. None of their major players have left the tournament either.Uva Next (probable): 1 Dilshan Munaweera, 2 Upul Tharanga (wk), 3 Thilina Kandamby (capt), 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Chinthaka Jayasinghe, 6 Andrew McDonald, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Sachithra Senanayake, 9 Seekkuge Prasanna, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Charith Jayampathi

Stats and trivia

• Shaminda Eranga and Ajantha Mendis have taken 11 and 10 wickets respectively. The remaining Nagenahira bowlers have 14 between them
• Jacob Oram’s most expensive figures, 1 for 22 from three overs, came against Nagenahira
• Dilshan Munaweera is the only batsman from either team among the tournament’s five top runscorers, with 168 runs and a strike-rate of 135.
  

  Pitch and conditions

  Three days of heavy rain in the lead-up does not bode well for the final, particularly as scattered thunderstorms are forecast for Friday evening. A shortened final may well be on the cards. The Premadasa pitch may also be more conducive to swing, having had precious little sunshine to dry it out over the past week.

  Quotes

  “I don’t think Jacob [Oram] gets the new ball much when he plays for New Zealand. We’ve given him the new ball here and he has become a totally different bowler.”
  “I always try to give myself a chance to bat till the end because I know I can catch up later on. I know how to approach the game from that position and go about finishing off an innings.”
  .

Durham snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in today’s Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Leicestershire at Chester-le-Street

14-Aug-2011
Durham snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in today’s Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Leicestershire at Chester-le-Street.After a week in which they lost to Hampshire in the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals and in the County Championship, Durham were bowled out for 192 by Leicestershire and then saw their opponents romp to 72 without loss in reply.But spinners Ian Blackwell and Gareth Breese then picked up six wickets between them as the visitors were dismissed for 155 to hand Durham a 37-run victory. Leicestershire batted a man short because Australian allrounder Andrew McDonald suffered a knee injury after bowling five overs for 18 runs.With James Taylor, like Durham pair Ben Stokes and Scott Borthwick, on England Lions duty, Leicestershire were short of batting.Durham kept alive their hopes of a semi-final place despite a below-par batting performance. They were all out with 17 balls unused and were indebted to left-handed opener Mark Stoneman making 73 in his first one-day appearance of the season.On his comeback from injury, Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard took 2 for 26. He persuaded Paul Collingwood to sky a catch to mid-off after making seven, while Blackwell miscued to cover after hitting three sixes in making 43 off 40 balls. Going in at 66 for 4, Blackwell gave the innings impetus with two sixes over mid-wicket in an over from offspinner Jigar Naik.In reply, Leicestershire looked like coasting to victory until their opening stand of 72 ended in the 13th over when Josh Cobb sliced Callum Thorp to backward point to depart for 37. It was the first of four catches for Collingwood, who held the other three at slip off the spinners.Even at 117 for 2 the visitors were clear favourites, but two wickets fell on that total as Blackwell and Breese both bowled wicket maidens. It was left-armer Blackwell who ended Jacques du Toit’s innings of 56 off 65 balls to finish with 2 for 15 in his eight overs.Breese’s second wicket came when Wayne White, having hit 12 runs off the first five balls of an over, reverse swept the last one straight to backward point. Breese also took the last two wickets to finish with 4 for 21.

A combination of belligerent hitting by Virender Sehwag and potent seam bowling helped India storm to the final of the tri-series

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran25-Aug-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt appeared as though Virender Sehwag was batting on a different pitch•AFP

A combination of belligerent hitting by Virender Sehwag and potent seam bowling helped India storm into the final of the tri-series against Sri Lanka with a comprehensive thrashing of New Zealand in the last league game. On a day when a majority of the specialist batsmen on both sides batted with two left feet in bowler-friendly conditions, Sehwag found a way to carve out an aggressive century, scoring more than what all 11 New Zealanders managed between them. The target of 224 was soon out of New Zealand’s reach after their top order crumbled against a four-pronged seam attack, a bowling combination you wouldn’t associate with Indian sides, especially in the subcontinent.By the end of the night, you could imagine batsmen queuing up outside Sehwag’s door for the inside story on how he managed to dominate everything thrown at him. It was as though he was batting on another surface. Sehwag was unfazed by the early movement and nip off the wicket, which made the seamers potent. He played in a style known only to him and, with the final in three days’ time, his innings today will undoubtedly be analysed in detail.MS Dhoni took the gamble of batting on a fresh pitch, despite India having collapsed for 103 after batting first in their previous match against Sri Lanka. New Zealand’s seamers nipped out four wickets by the end of the 13th over with a combination of swing, cut and bounce, which strikes took the sheen off an entertaining start from Sehwag.Not known for exaggerated foot movements, Sehwag used the crease to loft the seamers over the off side. He barely moved across the stumps but such was his confidence that he stretched to scoop and slash powerfully over backward point. He backed away and slapped the slower bowlers past the infield as well. A more conventional punch through cover brought up his 1000th ODI four, one that was part of a sequence of three consecutive fours off Tim Southee.India were lucky to have Dhoni at the other end, for he rotated the strike and built a solid partnership with Sehwag. Their stand produced 107, but India needed more from their last capable pair, having only Ravindra Jadeja, who is still trying to find his feet in ODIs, and a long tail to follow. Sehwag, however, didn’t alter his approach. He continued to charge the spinners, lifting Kane Williamson inside out over extra cover for boundaries, and also cleverly picked the gaps at fine leg off the seamers. He played an upper cut over the vacant slip cordon shortly after getting to his century, but the fun ended for India when Sehwag found deep midwicket when on 110. His dismissal was against the run of play.Dhoni, who had batted carefully, had to try to reclaim the advantage for India, but New Zealand took control. Having grafted to 38 off 75 balls, Dhoni edged a Nathan McCullum delivery while trying to drive. The dismissals of Sehwag and Dhoni in quick succession meant a premature end to the innings was inevitable. Soon after New Zealand picked up the final wicket, though, their control over the game came to a grinding halt.They had no-one with Sehwag’s calibre and temperament to take the initiative, irrespective of the damage being done at the other end. They were exposed against the moving ball and even seasoned performers struggled. Praveen Kumar started the slide in conditions tailored to his variety of bowling, trapping Martin Guptill leg before in first over.There was no respite from the other end as Ashish Nehra, with his extra pace when compared to Praveen, got the ball to nip in sharply to the right-handers, slicing them in half. A lot depended on the experienced Ross Taylor, but he was just as circumspect as the rest. He expected the ball to move in, but it went the other way and took a thick outside edge, giving Praveen his second wicket.New Zealand’s chase was irreparably damaged when their senior-most batsman, Scott Styris, chopped one on to his stumps without moving his feet. Grant Elliott knew that the best way to counter the swing was to cover the line and smother the movement. He regularly shuffled across the stumps, committing to the movement even before delivery, but his method didn’t yield runs as almost every defensive push found fielders. Williamson, who finally scored an international run in his third innings, was dismissed by an Ishant Sharma delivery which cut in and took the edge onto the stumps. Munaf, who was miserly to begin with, bagged two lbws with with his probing line.Kyle Mills’ blitz only succeeded in saving New Zealand the embarrassment of being bowled out for less than 100.

Greg Barclay hopes Jay Shah brings “India into the international fold even more” but without making cricket “under the yoke of India”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2024Greg Barclay, the outgoing chair of the ICC, has acknowledged the game he governed for four years is “a mess” and has warned of more challenging times ahead as he gives way to Jay Shah. In an interview with the , Barclay, who had two two-year terms at the helm from 2020, also cautioned Shah against taking the game “under the yoke of India”.Barclay stepped down on December 1, in the midst of an ongoing crisis over the Champions Trophy venues, and he admitted there was so much cricket being played that he had lost track of who was playing whom. In his tenure, three more major franchise-based T20 leagues cropped up, in the USA, the UAE and South Africa, further cramming an already packed calendar. He blamed the members’ self-interest for the situation.”I reckon, gee, I’m at the apex of the game and I can’t tell you who’s playing around the world. In fact, I didn’t realise that Sri Lanka were in South Africa until I read about Marco Jansen’s seven wickets this morning,” Barclay said. “So we’ve lost perspective. It’s not great for the game at all. It’s a mess. The calendar is incredibly congested and self-interest is such that it’s almost impossible to untangle all of that, because no one’s going to give up their content.”Related

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Barclay said he hoped Shah would be able to leverage India’s stature take the game out of the mess it was in. “I think he’s got a great opportunity to use what he’s got in his background to help India take the game to another level, but without making it sort of under the yoke of India as well,” Barclay said. “We’re really lucky to have India, they’re a massive contributor to the game across all the measures, but one country having that amount of power and influence does distort a whole lot of other outcomes, which is not necessarily helpful in terms of that global growth.”Jay has the ability to bring India into the international fold even more. There are a number of things that India could do to help unite and grow the game, including commercially helping to pool off-shore rights, using their teams to give opportunity to smaller Full Members and emerging countries, using their clout to open new territories and markets, collaborating closely with the ICC to help benefit members, as examples.”Barclay also warned of an impending financial readjustment the game might be forced to make, in the shape of its next media and commercial rights deal. The current rights deal is the most lucrative the ICC has signed, worth over US$3 billion. The bulk of that value has come from the Indian market where Disney-Star* hold the rights to broadcast ICC events until 2027. That has resulted in revenue distributions to Full Members of a size they have never seen before, and it has become particularly important for members such as the PCB, NZC, CWI, SLC and CSA for whom annual ICC revenue makes up a significant chunk of their total earnings.Barclay said the deals were ultimately “way in excess” of the actual value and that there will be, in time, a correction.”At some point, it is going to correct,” he said. “It’s a market. Is it going to be a sharp, severe correction? Or is it going to be a long, slow one? Or maybe there’s going to be an alternative broadcaster that comes to the market? But people have been saying that for 10 years now. New Zealand cricket had a deal with Amazon, but it didn’t work, so I don’t think they’re going to be the white knight that everybody is anticipating. I just think what we’ve got in front of us is what we’ve got.”I know that when we did our current deal it was way in excess of what the valuations we got before we went to market. We got £2.4 billion just out of India. The next biggest one is UK Sky. They did an eight-year deal, which was £237 million, so that’s 10% of the India deal for double the length of time. So if we go back to what the original projection was of £800 million it more than halves ICC revenue. It could even be less than that. There’s no discernible replacement for that at the moment.”One of the prominent issues that marked Barclay’s time was the Afghanistan Cricket Board not being allowed by the country’s Taliban government to field a women’s team. Fielding a women’s team and programme is a central tenet of Full Membership and despite calls to suspend membership, Barclay said the ICC had been right in not sanctioning Afghanistan’s membership status.Greg Barclay cautioned Jay Shah against taking the game “under the yoke of India”•Associated Press

“It is not the Afghanistan board’s fault. They used to have women’s cricket. I think our approach has been right,” he said. “It would be easy to kick Afghanistan out, but their board haven’t done anything wrong. They’re just working under a decree and a series of laws that says this is what you have to do. I don’t think it would make a jot of difference to the ruling party there to kick them out.”Maybe I’m a little naïve, but I think cricket is such a force for good there, and it brings a lot of joy to a lot of people. It is better to leave it there and hope that it can foster a bit of a change.”Instead, Barclay did point to the double standards of boards – such as Cricket Australia – that have cancelled multiple bilateral series with the Afghanistan men’s team as a sanction, but has played them at ICC events. “If you really want to make a political statement, don’t play them in a World Cup. Sure, it might cost you a semi-final place, but principles are principles. It’s not about having half a principle.”*

Stand-in captain is “concerned” but says the team is “working on” converting starts into big hundreds

Mohammad Isam20-Oct-2023The last half an hour of the India-Bangladesh World Cup contest in Pune played out like the ending of a cricket-themed Bollywood movie. The protagonist reached his century and won the match right in the nick of time. Virat Kohli chased his 48th ODI century almost to perfection. He ran two runs within 20 yards of the bat. He slammed fours and sixes as the crowd cheered on. He farmed the strike with KL Rahul. Even the umpire missed a near-certain wide when things got tight.In all of this, the Bangladesh players stood around like they had absolutely no control over what was happening in the middle. It would have been made no difference to Kohli’s concentration but Bangladesh didn’t even try to slow down the game. Not even the odd by-play, like the bowler stopping in his stride. Perhaps even a cheeky wide when Kohli was getting close to his milestone would have shown that they were still capable of affecting this match instead of what actually happened, where it looked like they were just waiting for the ordeal to end.Having lost three games on the trot, Bangladesh’s campaign is in need of a lift and their acting captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is looking at his batters to provide it.”We were well prepared. Our top order did well but the two set batters [Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan] should have played long knocks. If one of them scored 120 or 130, it would have made life easier for the latter batters. I think we couldn’t bat well in the middle overs. One of our openers should have batted a bit longer. It would have been a different ball game.”We made our best start, adding 93 runs for the opening stand. But we couldn’t bat well in the middle overs. It is our responsibility to bat well. I bat at No. 3, which is an important position. We had couple of soft dismissals. It was a good wicket but the batters didn’t take responsibility. We have made big scores before too. If Litton and Tanzid batted for longer, it would have helped Mushy [Mushfiqur Rarhim] or [Mahmudullah] Riyad later in the innings.”Shanto has scored two of Bangladesh’s four ODI hundreds this year, and since he and Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck centuries against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, they have gone nine innings without a three-figure score.”Nobody is satisfied scoring 50, 70 or 100, not the players or the coaching staff, unless it helps the team,” Shanto said. “Every batter is talking about it. Tanzid and Litton aren’t satisfied with their knocks. Big players convert these starts into 100s or 150s. We are all concerned, and we are working on it.”Tanzid Hasan came good against India after a series of low scores•ICC via Getty Images

Bangladesh have put a lot of faith in Tanzid, backing him through a series of low scores since he made his debut last month. Shanto took pride in the way the team was able to bring the best out of one of their young players and hoped that he kicks on from here. “Tanzid played really well but we expect better knocks from him. I hope he improves on it in the next matches. Every player should be backed like [Tanzid] was. Not half-hearted, but 100%. Tanzid batted well, but we need more from him. If we support him, he can play more such knocks.”Given Bangladesh need big scores from their batters, it seems strange that they are not letting some of them occupy their preferred spots. Shanto has been shuttled down to No. 4 twice in this World Cup but he typically bats at No. 3. Towhid Hridoy has been pushed down to No. 7 though most of his success has come batting at No. 5. They had an opportunity against India to use Mushfiqur’s experience at No. 4, in the absence of Shakib, but chose not to.Shato defended the team’s tactics. “Everyone is well aware of their batting positions so they are quite comfortable with it. If they know the plan beforehand, then there’s no difference. Hridoy likes to bat at No. 5. Mushy is scoring runs at No. 6. Riyad is batting well at No. 7. Shakib would have batted at No. 4. I think it was the right batting order.”With five matches still in hand, Bangladesh remain in semi-final contention. They have also turned things around from tougher positions in the past but it was only after shedding a lot of baggage. In a World Cup campaign, every day adds to the overall pressure of doing well.Perhaps Shanto’s clear speaking and candid press conference at the end of the Pune defeat was a bright spot. To see him willing to accept responsibility was a breath of fresh air. “We will definitely want to win the next match, every match. We haven’t played at our best yet, especially in our batting. We must be more responsible. There’s a lot left to do in this tournament. It is important to play a good game. It can change our momentum. Nobody knows, we can win the next four or five matches.”