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ECB accused of ignoring Rooney Rule in elite coaching appointment

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Failure to interview for Performance Pathway role leads to allegations of cronyism

George Dobell03-Mar-2021The ECB has been accused of “failing to adopt their own policies” on inclusion and diversity after they made a high-profile coaching appointment without advertising the role.The ECB announced on Monday that Richard Dawson, currently the head coach at Gloucestershire, would be the new Elite Performance Pathway Coach alongside three other specialist coaching positions.But while the vacancies for a spin bowling, seam bowling and batting coach (subsequently filled by Jeetan Patel, Jon Lewis and Marcus Trescothick respectively) were all advertised, the pathway role was not.This would appear to go against the ECB’s own announcement, in July 2020, that they were “recommending the adoption of the Rooney Rule for all coaching roles across the game”. Named in recognition of Dan Rooney, a former chair of the NFL’s diversity committee, the Rule demands that a non-white candidate be interviewed for every senior coaching role.It was introduced in the US to tackle the issue of exclusion and had been publically adopted by the ECB in the aftermath of the growing appreciation of the game’s struggle to achieve appropriate levels of diversity across playing, coaching and administrative positions.But with the pathway role filled without a specific interview process, there was no opportunity to interview candidates of any ethnicity before the appointment. And that, some claim, amounts to a failure by the ECB to implement their own inclusivity and diversity agenda.”It is quite unbelievable that the ECB are failing to adopt their own policies,” Ismail Dawood, the former umpire who is currently pursuing a discrimination claim against the board, told ESPNcricinfo. “Richard Dawson is an excellent coach. With his holistic approach, he has done a fantastic job in developing a successful team of cricketers and men. I’m sure he will be a great success with the Young Lions team.Related

  • Trescothick, Lewis, Patel named as ECB elite coaches

  • John Holder sues ECB over alleged racial discrimination

“The ECB, on the other hand, seem to be a law unto themselves, implementing knee-jerk policies but not following them through eight months later. Cronyism and institutional racism, both historical and active, have been highlighted over the past 12 months, with many in the game speaking out.”While accepting that the specific role was not advertised, the ECB insist the recruitment process was thorough and fair. A spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that the vacancy only came about after Lewis, the previous pathway coach, was given the role of elite seam bowling coach. With many other candidates having been interviewed – and around 30 percent of the candidates short-listed for interview having been non-white – the ECB felt they had explored the talent pool available to them and were well placed to make the appointment.They also point out that the interview panels were diverse both in terms of gender and ethnicity (the process was headed by the ECB Performance Director, Mo Bobat, who is a British Asian from a state-school background), and that one of the coaches appointed was non-white.While the ECB would not confirm that Dawson was interviewed for the spin bowling position, it seems safe to assume he was and that he made a strong impression. Having narrowly missed out to Patel for the spin job, it seems the ECB felt he was the perfect man to replace Lewis.Criticism of the ECB on the issue is not limited to issues around diversity and inclusion. Toby Radford, batting coach of West Indies when they defeated England in 2019, also makes the point that, by not advertising the specific role, the ECB limited the field of candidates. In particular, he argues that interviewing for specialised roles and then appointing a more general coach makes little sense.”I am disappointed that the ECB has appointed an important national coaching role without advertising or interviewing specifically for it,” Radford told ESPNcricinfo.”I am sure that many high quality international coaches with substantial experience and knowledge would have jumped at the chance to go for this job if they had known that it existed.”Other coaches with views similar to Radford or Dawood shared their views with ESPNcricinfo but were reluctant to do so on the record in case it jeopardised future employment opportunities. One of them, a former first-class player with a Level 4 coaching qualification, dismissed the ECB’s statements on inclusion and diversity as “nothing but fluff and politically correct statements”.”These actions seem reminiscent of the similar systematic failings by the ECB in adopting any of the recommendations of the 1998 race review they commissioned,” Dawood added, referring to a previous review into inclusion issues which he claims was not actioned.Meanwhile the ECB have confirmed that Jonathan Trott, who has been the batting consultant with the England Test team in India during the Test series, will stay on to fill in for Trescothick who was due to join the tour ahead of the limited-overs games. Trescothick has recently suffered a family bereavement.

Fourth-Test victory would be a 'phenomenal' achievement – Joe Root

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Prospect of drawn series in India leaves England with ‘loads to play for’, captain says

George Dobell02-Mar-2021Joe Root believes England would have achieved something “phenomenal” if they win the final Test against India.Although the possibility of winning the series, or reaching the final of the World Test Championship, has gone, Root is adamant that winning in Ahmedabad – and therefore securing a 2-2 draw in the series – would “be a brilliant achievement” and leaves his team with “loads to play for” going into the fourth Test.While Root’s ambition may, on the surface, appear relatively modest, it is worth viewing in context of India’s long-term home record. India have not lost two Tests in a home series since 2012 – when England won 2-1; the last time they were beaten at home in a series – and have only lost that many three times (against Australia in 2004, and South Africa in 2000) since the end of 1984. To draw the series 2-2, therefore, and complete a six-game run in Asia with four victories might reasonably be seen as a significant achievement.Related

  • Zak Crawley backs gameplans as England face up to spin challenge

  • Ben Foakes admits England expect more of the same from Ahmedabad pitch

  • How do you bat on pitches like Ahmedabad? Take risks, choose your shots, use your feet

  • Dom Bess will be 'more than ready to go' if selected for fourth Test – Jack Leach

  • Jack Leach calls for better cricket pitches … back home in England

That achievement might be deemed even more impressive given the margin of defeat in the previous couple of games. India won the second Test by 317 runs and the third by 10 wickets meaning England will have to demonstrate impressive powers of resilience to respond with a win.”You look at India’s record at home in recent times and it’s incredible,” Root said. “So, for us to come away with a drawn series would be a really good achievement, especially off the back of the last two games.”We’ve had two challenging weeks but that doesn’t define us as a team. We need to look at this as a real opportunity to do something special.”It would be a brilliant achievement to leave here two-all. It would be a monumental effort from this group of players. So there’s loads to play for.”While Root is keeping his options open in terms of selection, he did hint that off-spinning all-rounder Dom Bess was likely to return. England have accepted they “got it wrong” in terms of going into the previous Test with four seamers and only one specialist spinner and, although Root claimed 5-8 in India’s first innings, he retains few pretensions as a bowler. With another turning track anticipated in the final Test, Bess might both boost the spin attack and add a little solidity to a tail that stretched beyond the horizon in the previous game.Joe Root takes to the nets in Ahmedabad•ECB

“If the pitch looks anything like the last one, he’ll be licking his lips at the opportunity,” Root said. “He is certainly in contention for selection. He is a very skilful young player that is very ambitious and will be desperate to make his mark.”You look at the side for last match: we got that wrong in terms of the way we selected the team; we read the pitch wrong. We looked at the conditions and how the ball had behaved and the previous pink ball Test in India and we got it wrong. We didn’t envisage it to spin as much.”If the pitch is anything like the last one, of course Dom would be a fantastic option. His skill levels are far above mine. He will be very much looking forward to bowling on it. We’re definitely expecting this pitch to spin. That’s been a big part of our focus in training so we’re as prepared as we can be going into this game.”There is not a comparison between me and Dom: he is a far more talented bowler than me. He’s got 17 wickets already this winter and definitely, if he is in the side, he is above me in the pecking order. It was nice to contribute last time, but if we play two spinners they’ll be doing the bulk of the bowling, they are far more skilled than I am.”While Root is confident he will have an entire squad from which to select his side, he did admit there had been some illness in the England camp in recent days. Everyone was able to train on Tuesday, however, boosting Root’s hopes that England can achieve the victory that would draw the series; a result that might, perhaps, provoke comparison to the 2019 result at The Oval when England won the final Test to draw the series against Australia.”At the minute, everyone’s seems to be okay,” Root said. “We managed to draw that 2019 series so it would be great for us to again come out of this one in a similar fashion. To leave here with a drawn series would be a really fine achievement for a relatively inexperienced side.”It would certainly be up there [with my greatest achievements as captain]. The progress we’ve made over the last couple of years has been really pleasing, especially away from home. If we end up winning this game it’d be four wins out of six Tests on this tour.”It would be a phenomenal achievement from the players to have found a way in some very foreign and difficult conditions. So it’s a great motivator for us as a side and I’d be extremely proud of everyone involved if we managed to do that.”

Barresi clicks on rain-curtailed day

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Weather continued to be a dampener in Intercontinental Cup matches being played in Europe this month, with only 37.1 overs being bowled on the first day of the game between Netherlands and UAE in Deventer

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2012
ScorecardWeather continued to be a dampener in Intercontinental Cup matches being played in Europe this month, with only 37.1 overs being bowled on the first day of the game between Netherlands and UAE in Deventer, Netherlands. Offspinner Mohammad Tauqir picked up two top-order wickets in the later stages of the day to bring UAE back level in the game, after Netherlands were put in to bat and got off to a steady start.The highlight of the day was opener Wesley Barresi’s second first-class half-century, which was laced with nine boundaries. After Netherlands lost Steven de Bruin with only 20 runs on the board, Barresi and captain Michael Swart, who scored 33, combined in a 64-run partnership that denied UAE the chance to take full advantage of the conditions. However, soon after reaching his fifty, Barresi was out to the bowling of Tauqir. Ten overs and 21 runs later, Swart fell to give Tauqir his second wicket and UAE a bit of a grip on the game.

'Those 40-50 minutes…' – Ajinkya Rahane focused on getting the twilight game right

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Unlike with the red ball, the pace of pink ball goes up when the lights come on, says the India vice-captain

Sidharth Monga15-Dec-20202:00

Rahane: ‘Batting in twilight period will be challenging’

India captain Virat Kohli has often spoken about not losing focus and having that one awful session that loses you a Test. He didn’t mean sessions where the opposition had kept you under pressure for long periods and then reaped the rewards. He meant when India had largely been in control of the game and then given it all up in one quick burst.The two clearest examples were Durban 2013-14 and Brisbane 2014-15. On both occasions, India had won the toss and looked in control in the first innings. In Durban, they went from 198 for 1 to 199 for 4 – and then eventually bowled out for 334 to lose the Test – against reverse swing. In Brisbane, they scored 400-plus in the first innings, got off to a good start in the second, looked set to save the Test, and then an injury in the nets kickstarted a collapse on the fourth morning to lose them the Test.Since then, India haven’t really had such standout poor sessions out of nowhere, but the many variables in a day-night Test bring about the possibility of one. Vice-captain – and captain-elect for the last three Tests – Ajinkya Rahane has called for increased focus all the time during the day-night Test because it can be like playing two entirely different innings. If the set batsmen lose their way in the twilight period, it can be extremely difficult for the new batsmen to start an innings, which is a recipe for collapses.Related

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India have played only one day-night Test so far, in India with the SG ball. Rahane did speak, though, from experience of the one first-class game he took part in as build-up to the Adelaide Test. He made an interesting observation that the pace of the ball increases once the lights come on.”The pace of the red ball stays the same throughout the day,” Rahane said. “With the pink ball, the pace changes completely in those 40-50 minutes. Of course, the new ball moves a little for a while but it gets easy to bat after that. Then the twilight period can be challenging because the pace of the ball increases. Both off the wicket and in the air. If we focus hard during this period, it can get slightly easy again.”It behaves differently during the day and behaves differently once the lights are on. So that is a challenge. So as a batsman focus will be the key. As long as you can focus and concentrate, communication will be the key among the two batsmen. Batting in twilight, those 40-50 minutes is the key. If you bat well in that period, it becomes really good.”As David Warner has shown in day-night Tests in Australia, there are periods of cashing in but you have to earn them. Rahane, who likes to start rapidly before settling into an innings, knows that and knows he will have to be more flexible given the time of the day he walks in.”I feel when you bat at No. 5-6, you have to read the situation and play according to the situation,” he said. “For me it is all about playing with intent, playing what the situation is and what the team demands from me. I visualise that and play accordingly. It is all about having that intent. Intent means not going there and playing all the shots. Intent comes with your defence, your leaving the ball. That positive mindset I feel is really important. It’s not like I decide every time to go out there and play my shots but I think having that intent helps me a lot.”

Dravid, Tendulkar lead strong reply

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Driven largely by Tendulkar’s stand of 117 with Dravid, India reached a threatening 3 for 214 in reply to Australia’s 333

The Report by Daniel Brettig at the MCG27-Dec-2011
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Sachin Tendulkar looked good for that elusive 100th international ton, till he was bowled by Peter Siddle in the final over of the day•Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar was foiled yet again in his pursuit of a 100th international century, as Peter Siddle atoned in the final over for an earlier no-ball that reprieved Rahul Dravid, on another absorbing day of the first Test between Australia and India at the MCG.Driven largely by Tendulkar’s stand of 117 with Dravid, India reached a threatening 3 for 214 in reply to Australia’s 333, but cursed the loss of Tendulkar for 73 on the stroke of stumps. Only a handful of overs had passed since Dravid had been bowled by Siddle and handed another start after Marais Erasmus’ check revealed a front-foot transgression.Australia’s fielders gnashed their teeth over the incident and had struggled in the field, as catches went down and the captain Michael Clarke’s resources were stretched by the absence of a fifth bowler. But Tendulkar’s exit gave them cause for some hope for the third morning.Tendulkar’s serene innings in Dravid’s company had wrestled the day India’s way, following a second session speckled with incident. That period of play was capped when James Pattinson splayed the stumps of Virender Sehwag, whose streaky but entertaining 67 took him past 8000 Test runs. Sehwag gave two clear chances and another near enough to it, making merry until Pattinson was rewarded for a sustained and hostile spell in the lead-up to the tea interval. The bowler had earlier crossed swords with Sehwag in an ill-tempered confrontation over the matter of right of way while running between the wickets.Pattinson stood clearly above the rest as the most demanding member of Australia’s attack, showing a fiery countenance as well as speed and movement, but the limitations of the rest were exposed on a pitch now friendly to batsmen. Siddle was punished early before his late rally, and Ben Hilfenhaus used the new ball with intelligence, disposing of Gautam Gambhir, but later faded.He, Hilfenhaus and Pattinson had all hung around in the morning to build the hosts’ total. Zaheer Khan claimed Brad Haddin and Siddle to return deserved figures of 4 for 77, while R Ashwin accounted for Hilfenhaus and the last man Nathan Lyon. Umesh Yadav did not add to his three wickets on the first day, while Ishant Sharma will bowl far worse for better returns than his 0 for 48 in 24 exacting overs.Siddle and Haddin resumed against a refreshed India on a brilliantly warm and sunny day, and were not long in facing difficulty. Zaheer gained swing one way and seam the other in the day’s second over with the still-new ball, and Haddin was bereft. He edged one delivery to the third man fence, either side of failing to cover, then snicked another low to gully where Virender Sehwag held it.Haddin asked Sehwag if the catch had carried, and there was a further delay as the umpires checked for a possible no-ball, but eventually Australia’s wicketkeeper was marching off, before many at the MCG had even settled into their seats. Siddle and Pattinson resisted momentarily, before Zaheer found another precise delivery to catch Siddle’s edge as he pushed from the crease.Hilfenhaus announced himself with a slap to the cover fence. He added a hairy edge over the slip cordon and an improbably commanding lofted drive down the ground, both off Zaheer, to push the total past 300. The impressively upright and correct Pattinson followed up by punching Ishant Sharma splendidly down the ground, helping his confidence but also indicating that the surface was becoming rather more pleasant for batting than at any stage of day one.

Smart stats

  • Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have put together 20 century stands in Tests, which is the most, four more than the next best.

  • Dravid has been involved in 88 century stands in Tests, and Tendulkar in 84. Those are the two highest in Tests; Ricky Ponting is next with 82.

  • Virender Sehwag became the 23rd batsman, and the fifth Indian, to go past 8000 Test runs.

  • This was Sehwag’s 53rd fifty-plus score, of which only eight have come at a strike rate of less than 70.

  • Tendulkar has gone 18 innings without a century in international cricket, but he has seven fifties during this period.

  • Australia’s total of 333 is only the eighth time a team has posted a triple Nelson score in the first innings of a Test. The last time a team won a Test with this total was way back in 1906.

The duo reached drinks together, adding a pesky 27 in all before the introduction of Ashwin brought a Hilfenhaus heave to long on. Pattinson connected with a handful of further decent blows before Lyon was bowled around his pads. Sehwag and Gambhir negotiated a brief spell before lunch. Ed Cowan, Australia’s debutant and top scorer on day one, was unable to field for a time due to back soreness, his place taken by Daniel Christian.When the players returned, Sehwag and Gambhir struggled initially against the seam and swing of Hilfenhaus and Pattinson. A Sehwag edge off Pattinson burst through the hands of Michael Hussey in the gully – a chance that should have been held. Tempers were raised when Pattinson and Sehwag passed closely beside one another as the batsman took a run, resulting in a heated exchange that also drew in Siddle and had Sehwag pointing the senior bowler back to his fielding post.The confrontation deflected momentary attention from Gambhir, whose best touch has been missing for most of 2011. Here he scratched around for three runs in 23 balls, the last of which was a shortish, seaming delivery from Hilfenhaus that Gambhir edged forlornly behind with an open face. Dravid arrived with the ball still new and Sehwag not yet into stride.Quietly, the pair established themselves, offering due deference to some wholehearted bowling and accumulating runs in ones and twos before any great flurry of boundaries could be sought. The 15th over was reached before Sehwag opened up, twice stroking Siddle to the offside boundary, then repeating the trick by crashing Lyon to the sightscreen off successive balls to pass 50 from a sedate – by his standards – 59 balls. The next delivery brought a miscue and a quarter-chance to long on, where David Warner may or may not have reached the ball before it touched the turf.Pattinson drew another chance from Sehwag’s flailing bat when an edge behind was turfed unattractively by Brad Haddin, and it appeared India would reach the interval without further loss. But Pattinson’s fire and persistence were justly rewarded in the moments before tea, with another freewheeling driving resulting in an inside edge that tilted middle stump.Tendulkar made it to the middle accompanied by his requisite ovation, and caused Australian hearts to leap when an inside edge to his second ball slipped centimetres from the grasp of short leg. Tea came and went with Pattinson’s electricity still in the air, but on their return Tendulkar and Dravid set out with intent to control the innings.The first ball of the evening was flashed high over the slips and the rope for six by Tendulkar, not permitting Siddle a moment to gather himself. The next flowed through midwicket for three, and Tendulkar’s course was set. He maintained a rollicking pace for most of the next two hours, taking particular toll on Siddle, and defusing Lyon.At the other end Dravid fought himself as much as the bowlers, not locating the fluency of his England efforts, but nonetheless providing the foil Tendulkar required to blunt Australia’s bowlers. Michael Clarke shuffled his quartet as best he could, but the pacemen’s spells became briefer and briefer, forcing the use of Hussey and even David Warner’s under-ripe legspin.The century partnership was the 20th between Tendulkar and Dravid in Tests, a milestone befitting Test cricket’s most prolific batting partnership. It appeared to have ended shortly after when Siddle brought one back between the latter’s bat and pad. The roar of a crowd of 52,858 was redoubled, however, when replays showed that Siddle had overstepped.Siddle’s next delivery went close to perforating Dravid’s defence again, and the bowler’s pace did not flag as he pushed himself to make amends. For perhaps the first time in his innings Tendulkar became a little tentative, mindful of the close, and he was not decisive enough in his push down the track to prevent an in-ducker from bursting through to disturb the stumps. The nightwatchman Ishant Sharma survived the final three balls, but his presence has provided Australia a path into India’s batting when the Test resumes.

Babar, Wasim and Amir put Karachi in the PSL final after dramatic Super Over

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Karachi Kings did what had been on the cards for most of the game. But boy did they take the scenic route.

Danyal Rasool14-Nov-2020
Karachi Kings won the Super Over
How the game played outKarachi Kings did what had been on the cards for most of the game. They edged out Multan Sultans to reach their first final in PSL history, but boy did they take the scenic route! When they required 26 off four overs with seven wickets, including Babar Azam, still in hand, it looked like a Karachi cakewalk. In the end, Multan would take it to a dramatic Super Over, but set 14 to win, Mohammad Amir bowled a near-perfect Super Over, for Shan Masood’s side to fall five runs short.Winning the toss, Karachi opted to bowl, with the decision paying dividends almost from the outset. Wickets fell swiftly, with Adam Lyth dismissed early and a couple of run-outs, one brilliant, one farcical, further strengthening Karachi’s position. Multan’s mini-recovery from 40 for 4 to set Karachi 142 to win – thanks to cameos from Ravi Bopara (40) and Sohail Tanvir (25*) – ensured there was still life in the game.But Karachi had Babar, who’s scintillating form, combined with support from Alex Hales at the other end, appeared to be guiding them to a straightforward win. But, as happens in this format so often, Babar failed to close it out, and when he edged behind in the 17th over, panic suddenly set in for Karachi, who were a batsman light.Four wickets fell for six runs, with veteran Tanvir turning in an outstanding bowling spell. Multan seemed to be closing in on a stunning win, before a priceless little knock from Imad Wasim, capped off with a boundary off the last ball to send the game to the Super Over, allowed Karachi a lifeline, which Amir gleefully accepted.Star of the daySnubbed by Pakistan and with his international career in limbo, Amir responded in the most befitting way to show Pakistan what they might be missing. He might not have picked up any wickets with the ball, but one of the run-outs he effected was responsible for altering the course of the Multan innings. When Zeeshan Haider slapped him back down the ground, Amir had the presence of mind to stretch his toe so it made contact with the ball before cannoning into the non-striker’s stumps, leaving Masood stranded.In the Super Over, he put on a magnificent exhibition of death bowling, nailing the yorker ball after ball to Rilee Rossouw, who simply couldn’t find a way to get underneath one. Only six runs came off the bat, with Multan never allowed the faintest chance to threaten the target. It was Amir at his match-winning best.Turning pointChasing all those below-par targets against Zimbabwe in the T20 series looks to have been decent practice for Babar. The 141 Multan put up didn’t look enough for a pitch that was very conducive to batting, and just as Babar had punished Zimbabwe for failing to rack up the runs, he didn’t spare Multan either. Easing, with characteristic inevitability to his fifth consecutive half-century, he extended his lead at the top of the PSL run charts with 65 off 53. But once again, he will rue failing to finish the game off, and it nearly cost him until Wasim bailed him out at the death. A canter suddenly turned into a nail-biter, and Babar really had no business letting it.The big missIt might be harsh to say it, but Karachi did almost nothing special with the ball, and yet found themselves having restricted Multan very efficiently. That was partially down to some suicidal running by Rossouw, whose importance to Multan had grown exponentially since they lost a couple of early wickets, one to a freak Masood run-out at the non-strikers end.But Rossouw had no one to blame when he was run out two overs later, setting off blind with no clue where exactly the ball was. Zeeshan Ashraf rightly sent him back, but he was so far down the keeper had time to throw it to the bowler, who was backing up at the striker’s end, and whip off the bails with time to spare. Rossouw has been instrumental to whichever PSL franchise he has been a part of, and when he fell that cheaply, it felt like a big moment. It was.Where the teams standKarachi are through to the final, while Multan will play an eliminator tomorrow against the winner of Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi, with the winner joining Karachi in the final.

British tour arrives in Pakistan

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At a time when Pakistan is a no go-area for major international cricket, a team of university students, graduates and MCC playing members from the UK has arrived in Lahore for a series of charity matches.

Umar Farooq02-Apr-2012At a time when Pakistan is a no-go area for major international cricket, a team of university students, graduates and MCC playing members from the UK has arrived in Lahore for a series of charity matches.Pakistan has been off limits for international cricket since an armed terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus during a Test match in Lahore in March 2009.Passion for cricket remains undimmed, though. A series of domestic T20 games staged in Rawalpindi recently drew packed houses of around 20,000, with a further 15,000 gathered outside in the hope of catching a glimpse of the action.The PCB are desperate to bring international cricket back to the country. They have invited Bangladesh to play a limited-over series later this month, but it remains unclear whether the tour will go ahead. In the meantime, the PCB hope that by staging matches against international teams – even international teams as low-key as the current visitors loosely termed the ‘British Universities’ – that they will show that there is nothing to fear in touring Pakistan.”Everything so far looks very good,” Kemal Alam, captain of the touring party said. “When you see things from outside it’s a completely different picture from what you see in the media. A lot of stuff is distorted and until you can actually come to a country and see it for yourself with your own eyes, you can never get a good picture of what’s going on.”This is the second tour that we have brought here in the last seven years from the British Universities and we are here as a charity team and also a goodwill gesture between Britain and Pakistan.”Pakistan really needs cricket. Cricket is the most important thing in the country and it keeps everyone going. It’s almost like taking the oxygen out of the country when you don’t have international cricket.”The tourists will play one game 25-overs a side match against Aitchison College followed by two 50-over matches against a Pakistan under-19 side at the Gaddafi Stadium.”We are trying our level best try to convince people – the national teams abroad – that this place is safe,” Intikhab Alam, the PCB’s director of international cricket, told Intikhab the tourists. “I’m sure when you play here and you meet the people, that you will get the idea that things are not that bad.”It also emerged last week that the PCB are in talks with Kent-based club Lashings about a prospective tour. Since the 2009 attack Afghanistan, who played against the Pakistan A side, and Hong Kong, who had a training camp ahead of the World T20 qualifiers in the UAE, are the only international sides to visit Pakistan.

'Absolutely no chance' – Steven Smith rules out playing in Big Bash League

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“It’s still early days with the bubbles. We don’t know how long it’s going to last for. There’s an uncertainty there”

Daniel Brettig30-Oct-2020Steven Smith has declared he has “absolutely no chance” of appearing in the Big Bash this summer due to the demands of lengthy stints inside biosecure bubbles and hubs on national duty. The likes of David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are also expected to follow suit.Cricket Australia’s broadcast rights holders, Seven and Foxtel, had been desperate for top international players to take part in the latter stages of the BBL, particularly Smith, Warner, Starc, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.But the realities of the schedule and bubble arrangements – Starc for instance has had just 30 hours at home in Sydney since August even though he did not go to the IPL – make this highly unlikely.”I’ll be honest with you – absolutely no chance,” Smith told of his prospects for the BBL.In assessing the wider toll of bubbles, Smith said there were now a range of extra considerations for players, selectors and coaches to need to have, such as the order of preference for places should a team member elect to spend time at home with family and miss matches as a result.”It’s still early days with the bubbles. We don’t know how long it’s going to last for. There’s an uncertainty there,” Smith said. “It’s just going to be about having open conversations with coaches, general managers, whoever, to ensure that people are keeping their head space in a reasonable place.”Then there’s obviously going to be questions around selection. If someone takes some time off because they’ve been in the bubble for a long time and then someone comes in and plays well, do they take their spot?”When guys are starting to find things a bit tough mentally from just living in the bubble, being able to get out – even if it might just be a few days of being normal might be a real help. Those conversations need to be had.”

Injured Harris ruled out of Test

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Peter Siddle will take the place of an injured Ryan Harris in Australia’s team for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo

Daniel Brettig in Colombo15-Sep-2011Peter Siddle will take the place of an injured Ryan Harris in Australia’s team for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Usman Khawaja has been left out to make way for the return of Ricky Ponting, who missed the Pallekele Test for the birth of his child.Harris was ruled out due to a minor hamstring strain, meaning a recall for Siddle ahead of his less-experienced fellow Victoria fast bowler James Pattinson. “I guess we’re going to be safe, rather than sorry,” Michael Clarke, the Australian captain, said of Harris.”He’s [Harris] played an unbelievable part throughout this series, [he is] the leading wicket-taker and someone who we think is really important to our success in the Test format. I certainly don’t think it’s worth the risk of playing him here; if that minor strain becomes a big tear he could be out for a lot longer. I think he’s too important to us to risk him at this stage.”Siddle struggled for rhythm and the right length in the warm-up game in Colombo that preceded the first Test, but has been working hard in the nets and the gym to build his strength and stamina since. He will have a critical role to play, for Harris has been the leading bowler in the series so far, claiming 11 wickets at the cost of just 14.54 runs each and consistently troubling the Sri Lanka top order. Siddle has the ability to move the ball, and took a hat-trick against England at the Gabba last year by bowling a full length.Khawaja, meanwhile, makes way for Ponting, but his spot at No. 6 will go to Shaun Marsh, who made a stirring 141 on his Test debut in Pallekele when deputising at No. 3. In the three Tests he has played so far, Khawaja has a top score of 37, but has looked the part each time he has batted. Nevertheless, Marsh’s resolve in exploiting his first opportunity to the fullest meant the selectors on tour could not leave him out for Colombo.”It’s brilliant to have Ricky back, he’s been an amazing player for such a long time. He’s always going to walk back into the team,” Clarke said. “Hard for Uzzie because, without going and making a big score individually, he’s shown he can bat anywhere in the order.”The way he’s played spin at the start of his innings has been really positive so he’s shown the selectors going forward that he can play anywhere in the top six. It’s obviously a tough selection but we thought with Shaun making 140 on debut it was really hard to leave him out.”I think he [Khawaja] might have felt there was a chance he was going to miss out. Tim and myself spoke to everyone last night. The key with this stuff, not only for the guys who are missing out but just as importantly for the guys who are playing, [is that] it’s important to let everybody know as soon as you find out. As soon as the selectors know you should make it known what the team is.”Uzzie was, obviously like anybody, disappointed. He wants to play every game he can for Australia but he was fantastic. He understood our reasons. The one thing Uzzie made very clear was that he wants us to go and win this Test series 2-0. A big part of why we’ve had success is guys are putting the team in front of themselves and Uzzie’s another example of that. The one thing that came out of his mouth was ‘let’s just go and win this third Test, go home 2-0 winners’, which is brilliant.”Khawaja is the first player to be dropped under the new selection structure, recommended by the Argus review, that had Clarke sitting officially on the selection panel, and playing a key role as the man to relay this news to the players. His predecessor Ricky Ponting spent his entire captaincy pushing for such a structure, and Clarke said even though it was not a palatable part of the job, he and other players always felt more comfortable receiving the bad news from the captain.”It’s certainly not something you look forward to, but what it does do is it allows the player to understand the captain’s feelings, on how he [the player] has performed throughout the tour,” Clarke said. “As hard as it is to go and front a player and let him know he’s not selected in the Test match, I can give him the honest feedback.”It’s 100% what I feel and that’s something I’ve tried to do throughout the whole tour since taking over as a selector: make sure I’m 100% honest with the guys who have been selected but also the guys who are missing out. The ‘no bullshit’ policy is very important to me. I want guys to know the truth and unfortunately for Uzzie, a big part of the reason is Shaun got 140 on debut. It’s really hard to leave him out.”

Broad and Root bury feeble Australia

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Stuart Broad produced one of great Ashes displays as he took 8 for 15 to dismantle a woeful Australia for 60 before lunch on the opening day at Trent Bridge to heighten England’s chances of regaining the Ashes

The Report by David Hopps06-Aug-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook had called for England to “etch their names in history” as they sought a victory in the fourth Investec Test that would regain the Ashes and ease the memory of their whitewash in Australia 20 months earlier. But even Cook, an England captain brimming with expectation, would not have anticipated the rout that came to pass as Stuart Broad carved through Australia’s batting at will in one of the most startling opening sessions in Ashes history.Australia, utterly bereft, were dismissed for 60 in only 18.3 overs, with cricket statisticians wading through damning numbers either achieved or narrowly avoided. Broad, carrying an onerous responsibility in the absence of James Anderson, returned his best Test figures of 8 for 15 in 9.3 new-ball overs amid scenes of general delirium. Only Jim Laker, twice in the same match, has bettered that for an England bowler in the Ashes.Then order was mightily restored. England came out, so did the sun, and the lead at their lead at the close was 214 with six wickets remaining: the Ashes surely as good as won after a single day. After Broad’s feeding frenzy came Joe Root’s serene imposition of reality – an unbeaten 124, sagacious where Australia had been so disorientated, his mind crisply attired for the task as he sparkled with a succession of drives and late cuts and a beaming sun taunted Australia for their inability to bat long enough to benefit from easing conditions.Broad loves Trent Bridge, his home ground, and he must have sensed it making eyes at him on an overcast morning carrying great significance. The occasion stirred him, his competitive zeal allied to faultless execution. Long before the first drinks session of the day, he was brandishing the ball, a rudely red one only 6.1 overs old, to the crowd to mark a five-wicket haul.Five wickets in record time: the curdled cream of Australian batting secured by the first delivery of his fourth over. Australia’s batsmen were awash with paranoia. He bowled a perfect, inviting length on a good old-fashioned English seamer, finding just enough movement and leaving a systematic close-catching cordon to do the rest.Stuart Broad saluted a turbo-charged five-wicket haul before the drinks break on the first morning•Getty Images

“Lack of batting technique leading to collapses,” was the considered opinion of Geoffrey Boycott, prominently placed on ESPNcricinfo as the Test began. Australia can’t say they weren’t warned. Within 35 minutes, they were 29 for 6 and the batsman walking off was Michael Clarke, who had tried to stare down his lack of form with jaw-jutting defiance and who had just had an almighty swipe at a wide one.Australia did not play and miss all that much, but they went hard at the ball, nicked often and when they did, England’s catching was exemplary, nine of the 10 wickets falling in the cordon.Broad’s first wicket, that of Chris Rogers, made him the fifth England bowler to reach 300 in Tests. When Clarke departed, Broad’s run of five wickets in 19 balls became the most prolific start to an innings in Test history.Australia’s inability to adapt to English conditions had never been more striking. An era where so much Test cricket is attritional on sedate pitches, and where T20 holds sway, has eaten into defensive techniques. From the first ball, as Broad scratched the crease, the brown earth revealed some residual dampness. But the movement was not excessive, not as extravagant as Edgbaston where England had won within three days.England, for all that, won a good toss to have first bowl on an overcast Nottingham morning, aware that the Trent Bridge groundsman, pilloried for a stultifying surface officially marked as “poor” 12 months earlier against India, would feel obliged to provide something a little spicier. The Test pitch had been dug up and its replacement thought it was housing a county match in April.Rogers has been one of the staunchest members of this Australia batting line-up but, as the series has progressed, Broad has found his measure, hounding the left-hander from around the wicket. When he found a little movement to expose a furtive push at the third ball of the morning, the tone was set.By the time the first over was completed, one of cricket’s prettiest scoreboards was looking uglier: 10 for 2. Steven Smith square drove Broad to the boundary boards – one of only seven boundaries in the innings – but then he edged to third slip. Broad had squared up left and right-hander in turn.England preferred Mark Wood to Steven Finn with the new ball, aware of his excellent Trent Bridge record, and his insistent line was enough to draw an inside edge from David Warner to a ball that came back. Clarke, demoted to No. 5 in an attempt at protection, must have been scurrying around the dressing room for bat and thigh pad, feeling no protection at all.Shaun Marsh, preferred to his brother Mitchell to give Australia six specialist batsmen, became the third duck in the top four, Root the latest sharp knife in the England slip box, standing at third. Adam Voges knows Trent Bridge from county cricket, but Broad knows Voges and knows he is a theory that has not come off. Resistance was beyond him as Ben Stokes flung himself rapidly to his right to hold a spectacular one-handed catch that will join Ashes folklore.Broad ran down the pitch holding his hands to his face like a blushing deb who had just received an entirely unexpected present. England’s wicketkeeper and four of the slips had all held catches in the first 4.1 overs.Clarke’s mind must have been swirling. A wideish delivery from Broad was tempting to a desperate man. Clarke was a desperate man. The ball flew to his rival captain, Cook, holding the catch above his head. It was a rash attempt to remedy matters with a single statement and it brought him only further misery. He might have fallen earlier, too, a statuesque flip-pull against Wood that fell short of Finn at deep square.And so it went on, a collapse that was impossible to arrest. Finn joined the fun, bringing one back to strike Peter Nevill’s off stump. Then three more to Broad. Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson – his 25-ball 13 the height of Australia’s resistance – giving two more slip catches to Root and the final one to Stokes as Nathan Lyon became the ninth batsman to fall in the close-catching cordon.Broad had begun the morning hoping for 300 Test wickets. He finished level with Fred Trueman’s 307. And as Fred would have said, pipe a puffing, it was hard to know what was going on out there.Consolidation for England did not come automatically. By tea, Starc had taken three wickets in return: Adam Lyth undone by late swing; Ian Bell falling into a big inswinger; and Cook, who apart from one flirtation with the slips had looked intent on batting long, so exposing Australia’s four-strong attack, unaccountably falling lbw to a floaty, full one. But Australia had opted for only four specialist bowlers to stiffen their batting (so much for that theory) and two of them, Starc and Johnson, are not exactly designed for long spells.Only a dicky back, not for the first time in this series, disturbed Root in an assertive fourth-wicket stand of 173 in 34 overs with Jonny Bairstow, his Yorkshire confrere, whose 74 was less precise but a punchy innings designed nevertheless to establish him in England’s middle order before he chipped Josh Hazlewood to square leg. Root saw out the day, but as adroitly as he batted, it was a day that belonged to Broad, a day when he looked a pugnacious and quarrelsome Ashes record in the eye and pronounced himself a winner.