Yusuf Pathan ended his three-year IPL fifty drought, but the day was meant for the end of another barren spell

The Report by Sidharth Monga15-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
File photo: Yusuf Pathan was involved in a near-collision again•BCCI

Yusuf Pathan ended his three-year IPL fifty drought, but the day was meant for the end of another barren spell. Pune Warriors won their first match since April 15, which knocked Kolkata Knight Riders out of the tournament. This was their third win in 24 matches, which gave them hope of avoiding the bottom of the table for a second year running.For a majority of the contest, the match seemed going down the familiar Warriors script. A good start from Aaron Finch and Robin Uthappa, a slowdown after they fall, a middling finish, then a good start with the ball, then a recovery from the opposition, and then Warriors break down. Tonight, though, it was Yusuf, who seemed to have committed the crucial error, getting out obstructing the field when his 72 off 44 had brought his side to needing 23 off 14 balls. It wasn’t a clear-cut decision.Parnell, who had started well with two wickets in his first spell, was going through a torrid comeback over – 14 off four balls – when he bowled a yorker. The ball was on the pitch but Yusuf took off for the single. Parnell closed in on him while going for the ball, which was also in Yusuf’s path.Parnell stuck his hands out as he approached Yusuf, who slowed down, possibly because of the contact. Yusuf ended up kicking the ball with the face of his foot open, like footballers do. The umpires, with the help of replays, deemed Yusuf had done so deliberately, and ruled him out.Presumably the umpires also deemed that Parnell didn’t deliberately block Yusuf’s path by raising his hands. Had they seen it as deliberate obstruction by Parnell, they would have called the ball dead and awarded the batting side five runs. Repeated replays showed neither was Parnell looking at Yusuf when he ran into him nor did Yusuf seem to be looking at the ball when he kicked it.Yusuf was livid at being given out, and he watched the rest of the match from the stairway to the dressing room, punching the railing at one point. The railing was sturdier than Knight Riders’ lower order, who managed only 15 further runs. This was the kind of finish you could have attributed to Warriors in the normal course, but this time they managed to come back every time they slipped.When Finch fell for 48 off 32, Warriors were 97 for 2 in the 13th over, and the expected slowdown began. Yuvraj Singh struggled against spin, and the next nine balls produced only two runs. Manish Pandey, though, put paid to that, hitting three consecutive fours off Jacques Kallis. Despite later stumbles, Warriors managed 72 off the last six overs.Parnell put them further ahead with full swinging deliveries to Manvinder Bisla and Kallis. Gautam Gambhir fell early too. Yusuf and Ryan ten Doeschate, though, added 98 for the fourth wicket to take Knight Riders close. Then came Yusuf’s first mistake of the night when he refused to respond to ten Doeschate’s call for a single to short fine leg.That single was fair game for the final overs of limited-overs games, but Yusuf was now left needing to make amends. He nearly did make amends by rearranging Parnell’s figures, but he was adjudicated to have made the final mistake of the night.

After a difficult time at Sussex, Ollie Rayner claimed a maiden five-wicket haul for his new county, Middlesex, to put them on course for victory at Lord’s

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Lord's07-Jun-2013
ScorecardOllie Rayner took his maiden Championship five-wicket haul•PA Photos

There is a faint, faint possibility that Middlesex might not win this game and for that they have only themselves to blame. Some lax bowling and Tim Murtagh’s drop of Luke Wright from a skied sweep shot, will have Sussex returning on the final day, of a match they have yet to have any control of, just 48 runs behind with six wickets remaining.From here, Sussex’s only real hope is to set a difficult chase, but Middlesex need only to look at the scorecard at their domination over the last three days to dissipate any doubt.Victory looked like it could even come on day three as the visitors made a pig’s ear of their follow on – a suicidal run out and tame hook shot doing for Chris Nash and Michael Yardy. It all seemed rather wasteful, especially after Luke Wright and Will Beer did their best to garner as many runs as possible this morning, despite the inevitability of the follow-on.The Sussex first innings was eventually finished off thanks to a wicket for Neil Dexter and two for Ollie Rayner, who took his maiden five-wicket haul for Middlesex in the Championship – a first since August 2008 when he helped his opponents to a 10-wicket win over Hampshire at Arundel.Dropped to the second XI for two games for, essentially, not spinning the ball, Rayner came back into the first team after what he described as “time off” to rediscover his game. As a child, he was a big turner of the ball before the development of his batting saw him lose his attacking instincts and morph into a lower middle-order batsman-cum-support bowler.A move to Middlesex, made permanent in October 2011 after an extended loan spell from Sussex, saw a continuation of this in a seam-heavy attack, leading him to, as he put it, “bowl in his sleep”. From his words last night and his actions this morning, there is every indication he wants to move his cricket on to the next level. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who would not wish Rayner well; an affable character who takes it upon himself to act the fool in the dressing room in the name of team spirit.Matt Prior and Sam Robson were unavailable for comment on Prior’s controversial dismissal on the second day, but Rayner obliged. “It’s not often people want to speak to me,” he gleamed. “I’ll take it!” He went as far as to hope Prior was not annoyed at him for appealing. Even modesty and self-consciousness can be six-foot five and blonde.It’s unclear whether he offered an apology of sorts when Prior came to the crease after the tea interval, but the pair locked horns once again as Prior and Ed Joyce set about drastically eating into Middlesex’s lead with some dashing shots. Three balls into their reunion and Prior had already taken Rayner for 10 runs – a slapped sweep shot for four, a paddle around the corner for two, before he came down the pitch and hit Rayner over midwicket’s head for another boundary.Prior’s cameo didn’t last much longer, as he sat back and cross-batted a good length ball from James Harris to a diving Murtagh at mid-on. As he walked off, the congregation in the Mound Stand asked England’s Test wicketkeeper if he was happy with that decision. Prior, to his credit, acknowledged the home fans with good grace and his bat, as the cat calls turned to polite applause.But Wright joined the fray and kept the scoring rate going all the way through to stumps, as Joyce passed fifty to little fanfare. While Toby Roland-Jones and Murtagh persisted for too long with some short-pitched bowling, Sussex will be more than satisfied with how they made hay in the evening, going at over four-an-over.If Sussex finish the game with anything other than defeat after three days of toil, they will do so with great satisfaction and an even greater feeling of justice.

Rob Key’s century saw Kent make a fluent reply to Hampshire’s first innings 405 for 9 declared on day two of a Championship run-spree in Canterbury

16-Jul-2013
ScorecardRob Key made his 22nd first-class century at Canterbury•Getty Images

Rob Key’s century saw Kent make a fluent reply to Hampshire’s first innings 405 for 9 declared on day two of a Championship run-spree in Canterbury. Having chased leather for more than four sessions, Kent made a game reply to finish day two on 200 for 1 – a first innings deficit of 205 – and with Key unbeaten on 105.The former England batsman lost opening partner Sam Northeast with only 37 on the board, but then teamed up with England Under-19 starlet Daniel Bell-Drummond to add an unbroken 163 for the second wicket through to the close.Key, who won the last of his 15 Test caps in 2005, batted faultlessly to reach his century from 142 balls and with a dozen boundaries. Already the highest ever Championship run-scorer at Canterbury in Kent’s history, this was Key’s 22nd hundred on the ground – 21 of which have been for the county. It was also the 34-year-old’s 44th ton for the club.At the other end, rookie Bell-Drummond, in only his 11th Championship start, made a sticky start and looked troubled by the pace of James Tomlinson. But, after surviving the left-arm paceman’s new ball burst, Bell-Drummond relaxed into his work to reach a 103-ball half-century.The teenage prodigy from Millfield School moved to the landmark by dancing down the pitch to on-drive one from Danny Briggs to the ropes at long-on having already hit the left-arm spinner for six into the Frank Woolley stand. By stumps, Bell-Drummond had reached a Championship-best 74 as he and Key took Kent to their first batting bonus point of the match.At the start of the day, Hampshire elected to extend their first innings beyond lunch before finally declaring nine wickets down and some 30 minutes into the mid-session.After his stoic, opening day century, former Kent batsman Michael Carberry moved effortlessly to 150 from 291 balls before chasing a wide one from Calum Haggett to be caught behind for 154 and end a fourth-wicket partnership with Sean Ervine that added 99 inside 29 overs. Haggett took his tally to three for 100 by trapping Adam Wheater leg-before, then Darren Stevens pinned Adam Rouse lbw for 9 to bring a quick end to his maiden innings in first-class cricket.After lunch, Kent captain James Tredwell took his first wickets of the Championship campaign on Kentish soil to finish with respectable figures of 3 for 83 from 27.2 overs. The offspinner had Ervine stumped for 72, Sohail Tanvir caught at slip then Danny Briggs caught at long-on to spark the Hampshire declaration.

Murray Goodwin fell six runs short of his double-century in becoming one of seven wicket for Lancashire spinner Simon Kerrigan

Paul Edwards at Old Trafford16-Jul-2013
ScorecardSimon Kerrigan stopped Murray Goodwin short of his double-ton on the way to a seven-wicket haul•PA Photos

Even in his 41st year Murray Goodwin is a batsman whose thirst for runs remains gloriously unslaked. Angular, compact and resolutely well-organised, the Zimbabwean gives the impression that scoring a century merely lays the foundation of his innings.Goodwin’s demeanour also suggests that he is, in the best sense of the word, a most combative cricketer. It is little wonder that one strays into the semantic field of boxing to describe the technique of this chunky, square-jawed batsman, who mixes a very tight defence with the cuts and punches that earn him his runs.Yet on the second afternoon of this game – and having added 56 runs to his overnight 138 – Goodwin was eventually removed by Simon Kerrigan, a young spinner whose desire for success is no less keen than the man who is more than 16 years his senior. When just six runs short of passing 200 for the tenth time in his career, Glamorgan’s close-season recruit from Sussex carelessly slapped a short ball from the slow left- armer straight to square leg where Andrea Agathangelou pocketed a low two-handed catch with his customary aplomb.That Goodwin was plainly annoyed with himself as he stalked off the field reflected well on his professionalism; all the same, it was unfortunate that his disgruntlement prevented him fully acknowledging the generous applause that came from all the open stands at Old Trafford.In truth, Goodwin’s dismissal – he was eighth out after batting for 458 minutes and facing 354 deliveries – concluded a period in which Kerrigan effected a partial restoration of Lancashire’s fortunes in this game.At 408 for 4 and having lost only Jim Allenby on the second day, lbw to a Glen Chapple shooter for 92, Glamorgan had seemed set to build a total which would have left Lancashire with little but a draw to play for. Instead, Kerrigan had Mark Wallace caught at slip, probably off inside edge and pad, for 37 and then took three wickets for seven runs in 18 balls as the Welsh team declined to 474 all out, a total which is still very formidable without being quite the riches they hoped for.Kerrigan’s performance offered further proof that he possesses the tough character which is the sine qua non of any successful spinner. Having been at less than his impressive best on the first day of this game, Kerrigan took 5 for 48 in 13.1 overs on Tuesday and finished with 7 for 162 from 49.1 overs.The 24-year-old has now taken 39 wickets in nine County Championship games and he is now comfortably the most successful spinner in the country. If Monty Panesar is still the favourite to make the winter tour to Australia as Graeme Swann’s understudy, Kerrigan cannot be too far behind him and it would be only natural for the Lancastrian to cast an eye over the massive stands being erected for the Ashes Test and wonder when his chance might come.For the moment though – which is what the professionals are so often encouraged to experience and enjoy – Kerrigan’s efforts have given Lancashire a sniff of a chance of overhauling Glamorgan’s total and maybe pressing for an unlikely victory in this game. That impression was confirmed when Karl Brown and Luis Reece, Lancashire’s fifth opening partnership in seven games, added an untroubled 93 runs in 40 overs in the evening session.

If the ECB do end up looking into this game, after 32 wickets fell in six sessions, then their only conclusion should be to consider enforcing the services of a batting liaison officer for both sides.

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Lord's03-Aug-2013
ScorecardIf Graham Onions thought his seven wickets had put Durham on course for victory, he was a wiser man by the close•Getty Images

If the ECB do end up looking into this game, after 32 wickets fell in six sessions, then their only conclusion should be to consider enforcing the services of a batting liaison officer for both sides.Seventeen wickets on the second day trumped 15 on Friday with some panache, as superfluous waft followed ill-judged drive.Amid all the tumbling wickets, Middlesex have surely snatched the points, needing only 44 runs, with eight wickets remaining and still two days of cricket left, for a fifth win to put them back in the Championship hunt.As brains were failing to switch back from Twenty20’s “see ball, hit ball” setting, it was Graham Onions who took the most personal glory from the second-day cascade, as he finished with 7 for 62 – the best bowling figures of any Durham bowler against Middlesex.But after Onions, primarily, bowled out Middlesex for 168, Durham fell in their second innings for 171 to swing the game back towards the home side.It wasn’t quite Onions’ persistence that was rewarded, but his change-ups: shorter balls doing for Neil Dexter and Ollie Rayner, although their choice and execution of shot left a lot to be desired. Once he tempted Gareth Berg to limply fend at a ball that left him late, the remaining two wickets, which happened to be Steven Finn and Tim Murtagh, were always going to be a formality. He needed only 20 balls to take the five remaining wickets.At lunch, no sooner had observers blogged and tweeted of his success, he gave his wife Emma and son Olly (on his first trip to Lord’s) a tour of the media centre.By this point Durham had already been reduced to 43 for 3, having lost opener Mark Stoneman just four balls into their second innings, with the score still on nought.

Graham Onions on wickets, babies and England

On a poor Durham batting performance “I didn’t think I’d have the pads on today to be honest, and to strap the bowling boots on again today was bitterly disappointing. The way we have batted in this game isn’t really good enough; we haven’t put together any partnerships. It’s not a 400 wicket, but it’s not a bad wicket either.”
On taking 7-63 in front of his family: “It’s the first time my son’s been here. It still feels kind of weird saying, ‘Oh my son’s watching me play.’ It’ll take some getting used to, but it’s pretty special. Still, he’s only six months so I don’t think he quite understands what I’ve done. Don’t worry, I’ll remind him.”
On England: “If the opportunity comes I feel ready, and that’s what I’m pleased about. If I wasn’t bowling well then my confidence wouldn’t be there. Today’s a nice reminder to the selectors. If I get to play at Chester le Street that would be fantastic.”

In the afternoon session, Ben Stokes and Will Smith consolidated exceptionally well to record the first fifty partnership of the match. However, then came the first of three two-wicket clusters which will prove to be the difference between victory and defeat.For the second time in two days, Smith undid his good work with an appalling shot, attempting to pull Murtagh, but simply lobbing the ball into the hands of Finn running around from mid on. Six balls later, Paul Collingwood had his stumps rearranged by Corey Collymore.While most batsmen fumbled and flailed, only Stokes looked truly at ease – his solid balance aiding his timing, which was spot on. The way he treated Finn spoke volumes of a man who grown as a batsman – hitting him in front of square with ease, including a controlled pull shot for four.However, upon becoming the first batsmen to pass 50, he inexplicably danced down the wicket to Ollie Rayner, and a big-turning off spinner, to allow John Simpson the easiest of stumpings. Two balls later, Michael Richardson followed him back for a duck.Middlesex displayed considerable urgency when they began their chase of 147, with 26 overs left in the day. Threes were taken at every opportunity – with a couple of optimistic ones sensibly turned down – but this slowly morphed into panic, as Joe Denly looked to play a shot every three balls, regardless of their worth.After getting away with a particularly lax attempt to hit over the top – the ball spooned over mid-on before plugging – he followed up with a pair of boundaries so clean and crisp that you were happy to give him the benefit of any doubt: an aesthetically-pleasing stroke through extra cover off Rushworth followed in the next over by a back foot smash through cover.However, he could not even entertain playing the ball that ended his innings, as Onions drew the first genuinely alarming reaction from the pitch when a good length ball reared up and caught the shoulder of the bat – the extra bounce such that Stokes needed to backpedal to take the catch at point.Morgan could have gone the very next ball – a huge shout for LBW silenced in a flash as the umpire turned to the scorer’s box to signal a no-ball. He survived another, when Rushworth, coming around the wicket, thought he drew a faint edge through to the keeper. All of the Durham side were up in unison but Morgan and the standing umpire were unmoved.

Perth is the major casualty of Australia’s truncated 2014-15 Test summer, stripped of its annual match for the first time since 1976-77

Daniel Brettig11-Sep-2013Perth is the major casualty of Australia’s truncated 2014-15 Test summer, stripped of its annual match for the first time since 1976-77. Only four Tests are scheduled for a season in which India will visit, due mainly to the fixturing squeeze created by the 2015 World Cup, and the nation’s two smallest and youngest major grounds in Perth and Hobart have been left off the Test calendar.The decision has provoked an outraged response from the Western Australia Cricket Association, while the host broadcaster Channel Nine is also likely to be nonplussed about losing the one Test match of the summer it can screen in prime time to the populous eastern states, due to Perth’s more westerly time zone. However it was always likely that Perth would miss out on the match due to concerns about the ground’s facilities and size relative to its main rivals Brisbane and Adelaide.While Bellerive Oval has never been a nailed-on venue, the WACA ground has invariably provided blood and thunder Test cricket, due to its uniquely fast and bouncy pitch. India were rounded up by an innings and 37 runs well inside three days in Perth in January 2012. Other considerations outlined by the CA chief executive James Sutherland included the strong claims of other grounds. Adelaide Oval’s $535 million redevelopment will be complete in time for the series, while the Gabba has traditionally been host to the first Test of the summer and has consistently drawn larger crowds to its matches than Perth.The WACA’s size, a history of spotty attendances and facilities lagging behind other grounds have detracted from its standing among international venues, despite its lively pitch and a time zone more favourable to television audiences both in India and on the east coast of Australia. CA’s verdict also maintains a longstanding tradition of “last in, first out” among venues – Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane all boasting of longer Test traditions than Perth.”Though a traditional Test match venue with a proud history, the WACA ground has the smallest capacity of the five mainland Test venues and has historically attracted lower attendances,” Sutherland said. “The WACA has been working hard to improve the facilities for its fans but it still requires significant improvements.”Although the WACA has missed out on a Test match, they will play host to up to four limited-overs matches in the 2014-15 season that will see South Africa tour in a limited-overs series in November, as well as India and England competing in a tri-series in January prior to the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.”Christina Matthews, the WACA chief executive, expressed her deep disappointment at the WACA’s reduced allocation for 2014-15. “Whilst CA will provide additional limited-overs matches to replace the Test match, there is no compensation for losing a Test,” she said. “The on-going effect this loss will have on the WACA and cricket in Western Australia will be devastating. We will continue talks with CA and will be seeking an understanding from them of all the elements behind the decision.”Apart from Adelaide and Brisbane, the other party most likely to be pleased by the decision are India’s cricketers. Save for a victory on an uncharacteristic WACA ground surface in 2008, India have struggled in Perth, and the green-tinged 2012 pitch is known to have been chief among the motivators for the retaliatory dustbowls prepared for Australia’s visit to India earlier this year.”One goes back to the Perth Test where the wicket was green and we played to our strengths and won the Test in two and a half days,” Australia’s former coach Mickey Arthur said last month. “They clearly wanted retribution for that and produced some of the toughest conditions I’d ever seen. They went out of their way to prepare those conditions and I can’t argue with that.”

Sachin Tendulkar will retire from Test cricket after playing his 200th Test, which he is scheduled to play during the home series against West Indies in November

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2013Sachin Tendulkar will bring an end to his glittering 24-year international career after he plays his 200th Test, which is scheduled to be during the home series against West Indies in November. Tendulkar announced his decision on Wednesday afternoon, via a BCCI statement, like he had done when he retired from ODIs in December 2012.”All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years,” Tendulkar said in a statement. “It’s hard for me to imagine a life without playing cricket because it’s all I have ever done since I was 11 years old. It’s been a huge honour to have represented my country and played all over the world. I look forward to playing my 200th Test match on home soil, as I call it a day.”I thank the BCCI for everything over the years and for permitting me to move on when my heart feels it’s time. I thank my family for their patience and understanding. Most of all, I thank my fans and well-wishers who through their prayers and wishes have given me the strength to go out and perform at my best.”Tendulkar’s retirement had been the matter of much speculation. He had wound down his career in phases, announcing his retirement from ODIs in late December 2012, and with the BCCI shoehorning a home series against West Indies before the controversy-hit tour to South Africa, it had seemed an apt moment for a home farewell. The venues for Tendulkar’s last two Tests have not yet been announced.N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said in a tribute that it was hard to imagine an India team without Tendulkar. “I have been an ardent follower and admirer of Sachin Tendulkar from the days he came to play Buchi Babu in Chennai. He is without doubt the greatest cricketer India has produced. In fact one should really say he ranks among the top of all-time great sports persons in the world. No one has served Indian cricket as Sachin has. He has truly been an ambassador for India and Indian Cricket. He has been an inspiration for generations of sportsmen not just cricketers. We respect his decision to retire although many of us can’t imagine an Indian team without Sachin.”The 200th Test will be the last of numerous milestones in Tendulkar’s career. No cricketer has played so many. He also owns the records for most runs and centuries in both Test and one-day cricket.Tendulkar began his international career in November 1989, and was the third youngest Test cricketer at the time. He established himself quickly in the middle order and after the early 1990s, he has remained the first name on India’s team-sheet for the majority of his career.

The BCCI working committee has decided to seek fresh legal advice on Chennai Super Kings’ low valuation in an attempt to demerge the franchise from India Cements Ltd

Amol Karhadkar26-Apr-20155:46

‘CSK valuation didn’t add up’ – Sports law expert Sekhri

The BCCI working committee has decided to seek fresh legal advice on Chennai Super Kings’ low valuation in an attempt to demerge the franchise from India Cements Limited. The committee also authorised board president Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur to decide the fate of Champions League Twenty20.”The committee decided to seek a fresh legal opinion on the demerger and transfer of shares of CSK for further action,” Thakur stated in a brief media release after the first working committee meeting of the new structure, which lasted almost four hours.It is understood that former BCCI president Shashank Manohar and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association vice-president PS Raman were involved in a heated exchange over Super Kings’ valuation. Manohar apparently pointed out that it was absurd of the Super Kings management to put base value of the proposed trust to administer the franchise as Rs 5 lakh (approx. $8000).

The Baroda twist

Baroda Cricket Association’s Samarjit Gaekwad was barred from attending the working committee meeting, while vice-president Rakesh Parikh was allowed to be the official BCA representative. The decision was in contrast to the AGM, where Gaekwad was chosen to be the legitimate BCA representative.
The BCA has seen lots of infighting over the last year. Since Gaekwad was an N Srinivasan loyalist, AGM chairman Shivlal Yadav had ruled in favour of Gaekwad over Parikh and it made a huge impact on the outcome of the elections.
On Sunday, however, the working committee voted in favour of Parikh who presented a BCA managing committee resolution to back his claim.

Manohar is also understood to have pointed out that by approving the proposal on February 27, the previous governing council headed by Ranjib Biswal did not primarily act in the board’s interest. Since any change in control of a franchise results in a payment of 5% of the additional value, the BCCI accepted an application of Rs 25,000 as transfer fee for a franchise that spends at least Rs 120 crore (approximately $18.75 million) every season.Raman retorted by saying they had adhered to all the norms set by the BCCI and if the board backtracks on its approval, the Super Kings management may seek legal recourse.Considering the legal complexity of the issue, the house then absolved all the previous governing council members of any wrongdoing or ulterior motive to dupe the board and decided to seek legal recourse. The matter will now be forwarded to the BCCI’s legal consultants, Amarchand & Mangaldas, who will revert to Dalmiya and Thakur with their suggestions.The CLT20 discussion revolved largely around whether the tournament has become redundant for most of the stakeholders, especially the BCCI. When it was informed to the floor of the house that the broadcaster, Star India, is not to keen to continue its association, Dalmiya and Thakur were then authorised to have a last round of discussion with the broadcaster and take the final call over the future of the tournament.The working committee also accepted Thakur’s proposal to set up a cricket advisory committee that will have a major say in all cricket affairs. “The Working Committee of the BCCI authorised the President Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya to constitute a cricket advisory committee comprising of prominent cricketers who will share their recommendations on the overall conduct and development of the game,” the BCCI media release said.One of the first tasks of the new committee will be to initiate the procedure to appoint India’s support staff ahead of its next international assignment in June in consultation with Dalmiya and Thakur.The working committee also ratified Neeraj Kumar and Madhusudan Sharma’s appointment as consultants to the BCCI Anti-Corruption & Security Unit, and recommended Rohit Sharma for the Arjuna Award, one of the most prestigious honours for sportspersons instituted by the Government of India.

Aminul Haque Moni, the former general secretary of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, died on Sunday night at a Dhaka hospital

Mohammad Isam01-Jun-2015Aminul Haque Moni, the former general secretary of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, died on Sunday night at a Dhaka hospital. He was 66.Aminul had been ill for more than two years and had suffered a heart attack on April 8. He was on life support in the ICU since then. He was also suffering from lung cancer and had contracted pneumonia following the cardiac arrest.Aminul was in the BCB’s 2009-12 board of directors as well as the chairman of cricket development committee. He was the board’s general secretary from 1991 to 1996 and is known to be one of the chief planners of Bangladesh’s 1997 ICC Trophy campaign which they eventually won and by virtue qualified for their first World Cup appearance in 1999.It is said that he was one of the first to have proposed the idea of playing all domestic cricket on synthetic turf as the 1997 tournament in Malaysia was also going to be played in that surface.He had begun his professional career as a Dhaka University lecturer after he had completed his Masters degree in Applied Physics. Aminul was a lifelong bachelor.

For the second time this season Johann Myburgh defied one of his former counties, Durham, as he gave struggling Somerset a slight edge on the first day at Chester-le-Street

ECB/PA07-Jun-2015
ScorecardFor the second time this season Johann Myburgh defied one of his former counties, Durham, as he gave struggling Somerset a slight edge on the first day at Chester-le-Street.After choosing to bat, Durham were dismissed for 189 with Craig Overton taking 4 for 40, then Myburgh followed the 115 he made against the same opponents at Taunton with an unbeaten 57.Somerset were 147 for 4 at the close, while Durham had further cause to worry about Graham Onions. After missing much of last season through injury, he has already suffered three niggles this year and was off the field for most of the evening session.Overton was the most impressive of those who might have interested watching national selector James Whitaker, although Durham’s Chris Rushworth also bowled well. The first of his three victims took him to 100 championship wickets since the start of last season.While his twin, Jamie, was left out to accommodate the return of Lewis Gregory, who proved expensive, Overton came on for the ninth over and took 2 for 19 in his first seven-over spell.His fourth ball swung into left-hander Mark Stoneman to have him lbw and one which nipped back pinned Paul Collingwood in front for a duck.From 46 for 3 Durham progressed to 117 through Keaton Jennings and Michael Richardson before four wickets went down for three runs in four overs after lunch.Jennings was lbw trying to whip Tim Groenewald through mid-wicket and Jim Allenby somehow induced a ball to leap at Richardson, who fended to second slip, where Marcus Trescothick parried it and held on to the rebound.Calum MacLeod sliced his second ball to backward point off Allenby then Paul Coughlin stayed on his crease and was lbw to Groenewald.The slump was stemmed by a brief counter-attack from John Hastings as he Gordon Muchall shared a 50 stand in 48 balls before Overton yorked Hastings and forced Muchall to edge to Trescothick.Trescothick survived a confident lbw appeal from Rushworth in the first over of the reply before the next big shout brought his downfall for 26 in the first over after tea.Tom Abell had edged a drive at Rushworth to the wicketkeeper, but at 34 for 2 James Hildreth settled in cautiously. He had made six off 33 balls when he hit two fours and survived a chance to second slip, all in the same Hastings over.After contributing 35 to a stand of 73 with Myburgh, Hildreth surrendered to Scott Borthwick’s second ball, pulling a long hop straight to mid-on.Tom Cooper did something similar, picking out mid-wicket off Rushworth, before Allenby kept Myburgh company to the close. Myburgh completed a 92-ball half-century with a four off Borthwick in the final over.