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Their reaction follows reports that the BCB wants Tests to be shifted to a neutral venue

Umar Farooq23-Dec-2019With Bangladesh reportedly unsure of travelling to Pakistan to play Test cricket – though they are happy to play T20Is – the efforts to make the country a regular stop on the international circuit have hit a bit of a hurdle.Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali, speaking after Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the second Test in Karachi to win the series 1-0 on Monday, were unequivocal in their displeasure with Bangladesh’s reported stance, with the head coach and chief selector calling it “a great injustice” and the Test captain saying “there is no excuse not to come”.”It’s very important to have this (Test cricket) going on. It will be a big disappointment for Pakistan if they (Bangladesh) do not come,” Misbah said in a press conference. “There is no excuse at this stage and making security a pretext is lame, because when international tours are happening, teams [are] coming and playing here, even you are agreeing to play T20 and refusing Test is something beyond my understanding.”I don’t see any reason. To me it’s just an excuse and nothing else. It will be a great injustice to Pakistan because already [we are] playing less Test cricket and we want more Tests on a regular basis. If this (Test series) doesn’t happen, we will be playing our next series in England after a long gap. Then we can’t blame our players – like Azhar Ali returned back in form after a long span and then again he has to wait for another four months playing nothing. He will be disadvantaged. It will again feel like a debut on the next series. Our players need to play continuous cricket.”According to the ICC future tours programme, Bangladesh are scheduled to play two Tests and three T20Is away against Pakistan in January. But, as ESPNcricinfo has reported, the BCB has asked for the Tests to be shifted to a neutral venue, a suggestion the PCB turned down immediately, questioning the rationale of the stance, coming as it did during Sri Lanka’s Test series in Rawalpindi and Karachi, which has passed without incident.According to the PCB, it sent its last correspondence to BCB last week, and there has been no response since.”I’m sure the PCB is looking at this, but I don’t understand what the reason for not visiting could be,” Azhar said. “This is the ICC World Test Championship. Lots of teams have come and gone, we’ve had several PSL matches here. The World XI side came and major current players have played here. Most special of all, the Sri Lankan team has come and played not just one, but two Test matches. If teams aren’t going to support each other here in Asia, and cricket boards in Asia don’t support each other, then where will we end up?”We play very little Test cricket anyway, and I’m sure Bangladesh don’t play many Test matches either. So we must support each other and I would urge the ICC to step in because there is no excuse not to come. Things are running so smoothly, and the crowds are coming here. Everything is running perfectly and we’ve seen quality cricket, so I don’t think there can be any excuse.”The PCB has been working actively with the ICC’s independent security consultants, and has hosted a good number of matches involving international players and teams over the past three years. The next tour of the country that has been confirmed is one by an MCC team, to be led by Kumar Sangakkara, next year, while the entire PSL will be held in Pakistan too, across four venues.The PCB has been insistent that the days of Pakistan playing their “home” matches at neutral venues are over. As to what the board plans to do if visiting teams continue to refuse touring Pakistan, PCB chairman Ehsan Mani has hinted at the possibility of taking such disputes to the ICC for resolution.

The visitors bring a strong pace attack and a new-look middle order to the start of their journey to 2023

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan13-Jan-20200:38

Star Sports Game Plan: Gambhir and Dean Jones predict series outcome

Big Picture

For the first time since being pumped by England in the World Cup semi-finals, Australia return to ODI cricket as they begin plotting their path for the next three-and-a-half years. India are both the hosts in 2023 and where Australia’s rejuvenation as a one-day side kicked into gear last year as they made a late sprint to be World Cup contenders with a memorable come-from-behind 3-2 series victory.While some senior figures have been retained there is a fresh feel, particularly in the batting, with Peter Handscomb and Ashton Turner – both of whom starred on the last India tour before being squeezed out of the World Cup – back in the mix alongside the uncapped Marnus Labuschagne, who will be looking to transfer his stunning Test form into the one-day arena.The ‘big three’ of the Test attack – Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood – are also back together while there has been an interesting decision to move away from a number of allrounders for a variety of reasons: Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh are currently lighting up the BBL.The next World Cup is a long time away so a lot can change – and probably will – between now and then (captain Aaron Finch will be 36 by then) but there are the staging posts of two T20 World Cups and it will be interesting to see how closely Australia bring their two limited-overs sides.As ever, India bring a fearsome ODI top three with their main questions lower down the order around the balance of the side, which was an issue during the World Cup. Hardik Pandya remains sidelined by injury and there continues to be a juggle for spots in the middle order with Kedar Jadhav being persisted with and Shivam Dube given his debut against West Indies.Mitchell Starc raises his cap to the crowd•Getty Images

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
India WWLWW
Australia LLWWW

In the spotlight

Jasprit Bumrah is set to play his first ODI since the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand after recovering from a stress fracture of his back. He has eased back into action in the T20I series against Sri Lanka and this will be another step up ahead of the all-formats tour of New Zealand. In 11 ODIs against Australia, Bumrah’s average (29.82) and economy rate (5.07) are the second-highest of his career although it remains a very fine record.Josh Hazlewood did not hide his disappointment at missing the World Cup after the selectors opted to save him for the Ashes following the stress fracture he sustained early last year. Now, having returned from a hamstring injury picked up against New Zealand in Perth, he has the chance to resume his ODI career – during which he was ranked the No. 1 bowler in 2017 – and form a strong pace attack in a country where he has never played a one-dayer

Team news

India could now play all three of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan, Kohli said on Monday. If they want to retain Ravindra Jadeja as the fifth bowling option at No. 7 and Kedar Jadhav as the sixth at No. 6, they might have to leave out Rishabh Pant and give Rahul the keeping gloves. With Jasprit Bumrah back in the ODI side, they may have to leave one out of Mohammed Shami and Navdeep Saini, if they want Shardul Thakur’s batting contribution from No. 8.India (possible): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 KL Rahul (wk), 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami/Navdeep Saini, 11 Jasprit BumrahSteven Smith will return to No. 3, which opens the possibility of a debut for Labsuchagne at No. 4. The interesting decision is how Australia balance the side with Ashton Agar a candidate for the role at No. 7 to give five bowling options although it will lengthen the lower order.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam ZampaRohit Sharma looks on as Alex Carey takes the catch to dismiss him•AFP

Pitch and conditions

It was unusually overcast in Mumbai on Monday morning before the sun shone through, and the ground staff kept refreshing the pitch with an occasional sprinkle of water. It had a thin layer of grass, and with dew likely to kick in in the evening, teams will be tempted to bowl first. Expect another high-scoring game in Mumbai, with memories still fresh of India scoring 240 in a T20I against West Indies last month.

Stats and Trivia

• David Warner needs 10 runs to reach 5000 in ODIs – he has plenty of innings in hand to become the fastest Australian to the landmark. Dean Jones did it in 128 innings, Warner has currently batted in 114
• Pat Cummins needs four wickets for 100 in ODIs; the last time he, Starc and Hazlewood played an ODI together was November 2018
• Kuldeep Yadav needs one wicket to reach 100 in ODIs

Quotes

“I think we, along with Australia, are probably the top two sides in the world, as far as the balance is concerned. Whether it’s (the series) relevant or irrelevant, that’s for people to decide. But we as a team are excited to play Australia, in our conditions, to test ourselves against the best.”
“Part of the recipe for success we had here last time was being able to come up with the solution to combat the world-class spinners that India do have and no doubt their spinners will bowl a lot of overs through the middle overs of these one-day games and a lot of times in a lot of games that’s where the game is won or lost.”

‘New Zealand Cricket and I have talked about this for a long time, looking after the staff and the players we have’

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2020New Zealand’s returning coach Gary Stead has said that he was “very surprised” by the criticism that had been directed at him when we went on a pre-planned leave, after the team had been blanked 5-0 in the T20I series against India.Stead handed over the reins to bowling coach Shane Jurgensen for the following three-match ODI series and took a five-day break, which sparked outrage in New Zealand. Former captain Jeremy Coney, in particular, was scathing in his criticism of the coach and the timing of his leave. Prior to the T20Is against India, New Zealand had been whitewashed 3-0 across the Tasman Sea in the longest format.ALSO READ: Coney hits out at Stead, NZC defends coach’s leave“I was really surprised,” Stead said ahead of the first Test against India. “I mean New Zealand Cricket and I have talked about this for a long time, looking after the staff and the players we have. So, we did that and I know New Zealand Cricket are doing what we think is right for our us as people, first and foremost, so we did it. I was very surprised.”I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. I guess what Jeremy Coney says about me doesn’t necessarily have relevance to the way we go about things. So, yeah…”New Zealand cricket had earlier backed Stead’s pre-planned holiday, citing workload issues. In Stead’s absence, New Zealand clinched the ODI series 3-0. After sweeping the ODI series, captain Kane Williamson opted not to read too much into Stead’s leave and reiterated that it was a pre-planned one.Stead said that he now felt refreshed following the break and is plotting an upturn in New Zealand’s Test fortunes after their 3-0 drubbing in Australia.”It was good to spend time with the family,” he said. I know that. Look, I have had four-five days and I’m back to work planning for this Test series now. Again, the distractions don’t need to be there. So, we have to move on and look ahead to the India Test series now. “

“You can’t come here with half-questions and half-details of what happened,” Kohli said in the press conference

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Mar-2020Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson have usually gotten along well on and off the field, and they’ve often spoken about the respect they have for each other. Last month, when Williamson was facing heat from the media over his captaincy during his team’s 5-0 T20I-series loss to India, Kohli publicly backed his opposite number, saying New Zealand cricket was “in the best hands with Kane”.On Sunday, however, Williamson was treated to a fiery send-off from Kohli when he was caught behind off Jasprit Bumrah during New Zealand’s first innings in Christchurch. As Williamson walked off the field, Kohli ran towards the bowler from second slip, yelling out loudly while facing the departing batsman. But what he said wasn’t clearly audible on TV replays. During his post-match press conference on Monday, after India had slipped to a seven-wicket defeat inside three days, a member of the local media asked Kohli about the send-off, and whether that gesture had set the right example.Kohli responded with a question of his own. “What do you think?””I asked you the question,” the reporter shot back.”I am asking you the answer,” Kohli said. “You need to find out exactly what happened and then come back with a better question. You can’t come here with half-questions and half-details of what happened. And also, if you want to create controversy, this is not the right place to do [it]. I have spoken to the match referee, I have no issues with what happened, so thank you.”When India bowled in Christchurch, Kohli was often an animated figure in the slips, involved in frequent chats with batsmen, particularly the opener Tom Blundell, as well as tetchy exchanges with a section of the spectators on the grass banks when they jeered at him. At one point on day two, he responded to a jibe by miming that they had had too much to drink.Kohli endured a difficult time with the bat during India’s 0-2 Test-series defeat, scoring only 38 runs in four innings at an average of 9.50. Before this series, India, under his captaincy, had won each of their first seven Tests in the 2019-21 World Test Championship cycle.

The allrounder will settle in Australia and may be eligible to represent them in the future

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2020Ireland allrounder Kim Garth could represent Australia in the future after leaving Irish cricket to accept a two-year contract with Victoria.Garth, 24, has played 34 ODIs and 51 T20Is for Ireland but has considerable experience in Australia following WBBL stints Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers. She has played club cricket in Melbourne; last season, here she was named Dandenong’s most valuable player.”While I have accepted the offer, it was not an easy decision to make,” Garth said. “To leave family, friends and the whole Irish cricket community was a very difficult decision and one I did not take lightly. However, my ambition has always been to be a full-time professional cricketer and to play at the highest level. A chance like this doesn’t present itself too often, so I am keen to seize this opportunity.””I will miss being part of the Irish squad, and indeed all the staff I have worked with at Cricket Ireland – I am very grateful and conscious of the opportunities afforded to me by Cricket Ireland over the years. But I have also learned a lot living and playing cricket in Australia and hope that, at some future time, I can bring this experience home and give back in some way.” Shaun Graf, Cricket Victoria’s general manager of cricket, said. “Kim has played a lot of cricket within Australia in recent seasons and brings further international experience to the squad. She will play as an overseas player initially however she intends to apply for permanent residency allowing her the opportunity to hopefully one-day play for Australia.”It is a significant blow for Ireland who will hope to secure a place in the 50-over World Cup if the qualifying event, which has been postponed from July in Sri Lanka due to Covid-19. Cricket Ireland is working towards being able to offer full-time contracts to their female players, but that remains some time away.”This is obviously a blow, there is no way around that,” head coach Ed Joyce said. “To lose one of your leading players anytime is a challenge, but I can understand Kim’s decision-making and she has been quite open with her ambitions.””Ambition is a good thing, though – I want our players to be ambitious for Ireland and for their careers. However, the reality is that it will take a few years for us to be in a position to offer our women cricketers full-time opportunities. We’re on that road, like we did with the men’s contracts, but I am optimistic we will get there with patience and commitment.”Richard Holdsworth, Cricket Ireland’s performance director, said: “We are obviously disappointed to be losing such a senior player during the transition we are going through, but can appreciate Kim’s desire to take this opportunity to play professionally in Australia. While she will step away from Ireland duty, this does not necessarily close the door on her Irish career, and we hope that we may see her in Irish colours once more at some stage in the future.””The contract agreement has been in the pipeline for a little while now, and we had hoped that Kim would have played for us at the World Cup Qualifier before starting with Cricket Victoria. With the postponement of that tournament, the timing will no longer allow this.”

The trio will stay overseas from this week to early November

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2020New Zealand allrounder Mitchell Santner is all set to stay away from home for as many as four months in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic as he flies off to play in the CPL first and then the IPL. A party of ten will fly out from New Zealand this week for the CPL after obtaining no-objection certificates from NZC, of which Santner, Ish Sodhi and Brendon McCullum will then head over to the UAE in September to be a part of the IPL.Santner is the only one who will play in both leagues, for Barbados Tridents first and then Chennai Super Kings, as Sodhi will be playing for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the CPL but working as spin consultant for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, while McCullum will be head coach of the two Knight Riders franchises – Trinbago and Kolkata.Ross Taylor, Colin Munro, Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, Corey Anderson, Scott Kuggeleijn and Nick Kelly are the other New Zealand players set to feature only in the CPL, while Lockie Ferguson Jimmy Neesham, Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan and Kane Williamson should make the trip across for the IPL.Santner admitted there were risks involved in flying through different continents and staying in hotels, even though there are going to be all sorts of safety apparatus in place. “It’s an interesting one. I’m going through America and I’ll park up in the [airport] lounge in the corner somewhere. It’s one of the risks we’ve got to think about,” Santner told stuff.co.nz. “They’ve put an extensive booklet together about what happens in each circumstance which has been good, and a bit of clarity around where we’re staying. It seems like they’ve got it under control.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Santner, Sodhi and McCullum have a slim window to travel between the two leagues as the CPL ends on September 10 in Trinidad and the IPL begins only nine days later, with the quarantine rules for entering biosecure bubbles in the IPL not defined yet. With IPL scheduled to end on November 8 or 10, the trio will then be expected to quarantine for two weeks once they get back to New Zealand.”At this stage we’ll just fly straight across [from the Caribbean],” Santner said of getting to the IPL. “I’m not sure what quarantine looks like yet [before the IPL], but there’s some other big dogs like Dwayne Bravo and Brendon McCullum I can tag along with.”Santner will have another group to fly with after the CPL as the likes of Rashid Khan, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard are also expected to be at the IPL.Santner was part of the last international match that took place before the Covid-19 crisis hit the world, when New Zealand took on Australia behind closed doors in Sydney in March. More recently, the New Zealand players – men and women – have attended camps in Lincoln and Mount Maunganui to train for the cricket scheduled ahead.”It’ll be exciting to play some cricket again,” Santner said. “It’s been a slow winter but good to be at home for a bit and train and do all the fitness work. Chris (Donaldson, New Zealand strength and conditioning coach) put us through the wringer the last six weeks so it’s nice to go away and not see him for a few months.”

Kent make 530 for 1 thanks to unbroken 423 stand before Darren Stevens five-for seals innings in

ECB Reporters Network10-Aug-2020Veteran Darren Stevens bagged five wickets to help clinch his side’s three-day, innings-and-25-run win over Sussex after a record-breaking display of Kent batting that featured double-hundreds by Jordan Cox and Jack Leaning.In near ideal batting conditions at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Stevens, now 44, revealed all his bowling wiles to bag 5 for 50 as the visitors succumbed in their second innings for 173 inside 46.1 overs to lose with six overs and a day to spare on another glorious Canterbury day.Needing almost 200 to make Kent bat again, the visitors lost four wickets in 22.1 overs through to tea after Kent had declared their mammoth first innings on 530 for one. A pugnacious half-century off 68-balls by Harry Finch stemmed the flow of wickets from one end at the start of the evening session, but ageless allrounder Stevens continued his canny spell to bag the 27th five-wicket haul of his first-class career.The Sussex reply had started badly when Salt fell to Harry Podmore’s fourth ball of the innings without scoring. A floating away-swinger that Salt could not resist, it flew off an outside edge to second slip where Leaming held a spectacular diving overhead catch.Having been dropped in the cordon off Stevens when on 17, Tom Haines departed lbw without addition in Stevens’ next over when pushing outside the line of an inswinger. Stevens struck again in his next over having Tom Clark caught behind without scoring after edging a wild slash wide outside off stump. Sussex skipper Ben Brown fell in the tea over, leg before when attempting to work through the leg side to leave Stevens with 3 for 22 at the interval.Soon after resumption, Delray Rawlins clipped a six over backward square leg against Stevens, but the bowler soon had his revenge by running one through the left-hander’s gate to clip the top of off stump. Stevens produced another beauty that pitched on middle and moved away off the seam to pluck out left-handed George Garton’s off stump allowing Stevens to rest with figures of 5 for 50 from 15 overs.Two overs later, Jack Carson pushed at a Podmore legcutter to be caught low in the gully and Finch fell for a gritty 66 when he failed to get on top of an off-drive and picked out Sam Billings diving low at extra cover.Tim Groenewald had Henry Crocombe caught behind on the drive and last man Mitch Claydon skied to the keeper as Kent banked 24 points for their first Bob Willis Trophy win. Sussex travelled south with only three points for their troubles.Earlier, Kent’s Leaning and Cox smashed unbeaten career-best double-centuries in an unbroken club record first-class stand worth 423 spread over 95 overs. Teenager Cox broke numerous records during his 345-ball stay with 27 fours and three sixes for 238 not out, while Leaning joined him with 220 not out from 308 balls and 29 boundaries in a shade under 6.5 hours.The declaration after 120 overs, a regulation in the new competition, came shortly after 2pm with Kent on 530 for 1 for a first-innings lead of 198. Yet it was hardly soon enough for a shattered Sussex attack who had toiled for eight hours for one wicket, that of Daniel Bell-Drummond for 43.Jack Leaning and Jordan Cox pose in front of the scoreboard•Getty Images

Resuming on their healthy overnight score of 338 for 1 and a first-innings lead of six, Kent’s second-wicket pair continued to churn out the runs.Leaming, who was dropped by Tom Haines at long leg when on 19 after a top-edged hook against Stuart Meaker, made Sussex pay by reaching his 150 from 232 balls with 22 fours. He had already comfortably eclipsed his previous best first-class score of 123 set for Yorkshire against Somerset at Taunton in 2014.Cox then posted his maiden double-hundred in first-class cricket. By scampering a single to point off George Garton he reached the landmark off 311 balls with 25 fours and three sixes. The 19-year-old went on to notch Kent’s highest individual innings against Sussex, beating Neil Taylor’s 203 not out set at Hove in 1991 and then became the county’s highest maiden century-maker beating the 57-year-old record of 211 made by David Nicholls against Derbyshire at Folkestone in 1963.The records continued to tumble when Leaning moved to his maiden double-century with a five. Sprinting a single to midwicket, Leaning saw Jack Carson’s throw deflect off the non-striker’s end stumps and away to the boundary. Leaning’s 200 came in 351 minutes off 289 balls and with 29 fours.By lunch the pair had sailed past Kent’s highest first-class partnership record against any county of 382 set by Sean Dickson and Joe Denly for the second wicket against Northamptonshire at Beckenham in 2017. They had also beaten the 131-year-old Kent record for any wicket in matches against Sussex of 249 by fourth-wicket partners George Hearne and Francis Marchant at Gravesend in 1889.Indeed, Kent’s total of 530 for 1 became the fourth highest single-wicket score in global first-class cricket history behind the world record of 561 for one held by Karachi Whites batting in the Patrons Trophy against Quetta at the Karachi Stadium in 1977.The greatest pity was of course that, because of Covid-19 social distancing restrictions, no supporters were here to witness any of it.

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Matt Roller21-Aug-2020