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A Twenty20 all-India university tournament, named the University Cricket Championship (UCC) has been launched and added to the cricket calendar

Vishal Dikshit17-Jan-2013A new Twenty20 all-India university tournament, backed by the BCCI and the Indian government’s Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), has been added to the Indian cricket calendar. The tournament, named the University Cricket Championship (UCC), is an extension of the annual all-India inter-zone university Rohinton Baria Tournament.The tournament was launched at a high-profile event – attended by among others, the actor Shah Rukh Khan, who was named its brand ambassador – in Mumbai by Indian news channel NDTV, along with the co-sponsors Toyota. It is also supported by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), which already holds the Rohinton Baria Tournament.The inaugural tournament will be played next month between the top eight teams from the Rohinton Baria – two from each of the four regional zones – who will be split into two groups of four each. The top four will qualify for the semi-finals. The matches will be telecast live, and the co-partner NDTV is also expected to do extensive programming for the championship.N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said the board had always been supportive of such tournaments and the UCC would be another platform for university players. “The idea was recently approved by the BCCI’s Working Committee,” he said. “It will give more opportunities to university players and the viewership will make a big difference as it will enable people to see university cricket close at hand.”Minister of State, HRD, Shashi Tharoor, said the initiative would attract attention as it has sponsors and will be played in the T20 format. “There used to be decent crowds for university matches during my university days but the interest has dwindled over the years,” he said. “Right now, many teams don’t care if they don’t make it to the finals of the Rohinton Baria. This tournament is going to be a game-changer and university cricket will get a big boost from this initiative.”SN Puri, President of the AIU, also seemed excited by the idea of the new tournament. “The Rohinton Baria tournament was losing its shine,” Puri told ESPNcricinfo. “This new format is becoming popular, so young people should come forward. University students find it hard to take out time for both Vizzy Trophy and Rohinton Baria as both have three-day matches. This new T20 tournament will save them time and will provide exposure to the format too.”Shah Rukh Khan accounted for the event’s glamour quotient but his ties with cricket are well-known – he is the co-owner of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. He also represented his university team in cricket, football and hockey.

Not many of the 26,000 at the SCG knew Lahiru Thirimanne upon his arrival at the crease, yet they rose to give him a warm ovation when he departed short of the three-figure score

Andrew Fernando at the SCG03-Jan-2013From all the innings, shots, wickets and catches Mahela Jayawardene oversaw
as captain of Sri Lanka in 2012, his favourite moment was an instance of
exceptional gall from Lahiru Thirimanne. Sri Lanka were five runs short of victory in Pallekele in their first Super Eights match of the World Twenty20, but they only had two balls remaining, with Tim Southee at the
bowling crease, delivering one of the spells of the tournament. Thirimanne,
fresh from the dugout, had not managed a convincing stroke from either of
the balls he had faced, yet on the penultimate delivery of Sri Lanka’s
innings, he knelt and played a scoop he had never tried before in
international cricket, sending Southee’s yorker over short fine leg for
four, and the stadium into raptures.”For Lahiru to have the courage to do that and back himself was fantastic,”
Jayawardene said months later, while reflecting on the year’s events. “I
think among the young group, he has that mindset to handle those really
tough situations.” Courage, self-belief, fortitude. They are the same
virtues that fashioned Thirimanne’s 91 in Sydney, and provided the backbone
of Sri Lanka’s first innings after the team had shown little of the above
with the bat in their last Test.Not many of the 26,000 at the SCG knew Thirimanne upon his arrival at the
crease, and until five days before the match, he had no idea he would be
playing a New Year Test either. Yet, when he departed short of the
three-figure score he deserved, the stadium rose to give him a warm
ovation. They only need to think back to last year’s Test to recall knocks
that dwarf Thirimanne’s 91 in heft, skill and allure, but there was much to
enjoy about the steel in his defense and the defiance in his strokes, and
they did not withhold their appreciation. Perhaps the crowd had also heard
on their earpiece radios by then, that Thirimanne had stepped off a plane
only 36 hours before his innings began.If Thirimanne was not nervous when he arrived at the crease, the lbw shout
and referral off his first ball certainly would have put him on edge. “I
thought that was out,” he said at the end of the day, but he did not allow
that rattling introduction detract from focus or technique. He left
positively and even early in his innings, his scoring strokes were assured.
As he grew more accustomed to the pace of the pitch, he drove the quicks on
the front foot with the same comfort with which he dispatched Nathan Lyon
through the offside, leaning back. Australia cannot have had long to
analyse footage of Thirimanne to deduct a plan of attack, but if there are
glaring vulnerabilities in his game, he did well to hide them. Few Sri
Lankan batsmen graduate from the domestic system without a major weakness
that must be ironed out at the top level.Thirimanne had replaced Kumar Sangakkara, and the bent-knee cover drive he wielded with increasing command throughout the day bore strong parallels to Sangakkara’s signature stroke, only it was less clean. Like Thirimanne, Sangakkara had a limited range of strokes once, but a strong mind and
tireless work ethic transformed him into one of the greats of the modern
game. It is encouraging that Thirimanne already seems to possess an iron
temperament, but he would do well to emulate the hunger and commitment
Sangakkara has ridden to acclaim, if he is to make good on the potential
his innings made plain.Before receiving the call from Sri Lanka’s selectors, Thirimanne’s last
match was at the Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo, where even the likes
of Mitchell Johnson might find getting the ball above chest height a
fruitless pursuit. The SCG may be the least daunting Australian venue for
Sri Lanka, but the bounce and carry in the pitch on day one is a world
removed from the featherbed on which he scratched out a limited overs
half-century a week ago, and he has had just one training session to
adjust to batting in conditions that have not flattered his teammates in
the first two Tests. Uncluttered by the baggage of the Melbourne massacre
perhaps, Thirimanne relied on resilience to compensate for unfamiliarity.”It was a bit difficult to adjust, but it’s all about mindset,” he said.
“You have to adapt to any conditions quickly if you want to play
international cricket. Whether we are playing ODIs or Test we have to get
our mindset right. I adapted really well today. I am disappointed to have
missed a hundred, but I’m happy with my performance.”Just as Rangana Herath has shown Sri Lanka there is life after Muttiah
Muralitharan, there are signs from the likes of Thirimanne and Dinesh
Chandimal that Sri Lanka can be hopeful about their batting beyond the
careers of the four ageing men who have begun winding down their careers.
On day one in Sydney, a 23-year-old propelled Sri Lanka towards
respectability with spunk and composure. The visitors may still be placed
poorly in the match, with a second-string pace attack now tasked with
reining Australia in, but fans at home will take even more pleasure in
Thirimanne’s innings than the SCG crowd that witnessed it, because
suddenly, the future does not look so bleak.

Hampshire have announced the inaugural draft of players into the Ageas Bowl International Cricket Academy and will host six young Australians throughout the summer of 2013

George Dobell14-Feb-2013Whatever the reluctance of the BCCI to accommodate the developing players of other countries, Hampshire have no such qualms. The club have announced the inaugural draft of players into the Ageas Bowl International Cricket Academy and will host six young Australians throughout the summer of 2013.The deal between Cricket Australia and Hampshire will see the players – Scott Henry, Travis Head, William Bosisto, Alex Keath, Ashton Turner and Ashton Agar – benefiting from the staff and facilities at the Ageas Bowl during their training as well as appearing in league cricket in the south of England. While the players will gain exposure to English conditions, Hampshire hope that the deal will enhance their reputation as a ground with outstanding facilities and an ideal venue for international sides. The scheme, which is funded by the Kerry Packer Foundation, is also financially profitable to Hampshire, though the club intend to plough the proceeds back into enhancing facilities at their ground.Some may find it incongruous that Hampshire, like all first-class clubs a beneficiary of ECB funding, should offer such assistance to England’s oldest rivals. Certainly it contrasts with the BCCI’s recent decision to veto the plans of a number of young England players to train in India and the inclusion of Agar in the Hampshire scheme may prove especially vexing to some.Agar, 19, a left-arm spinner, was added to Australia’s touring part to India in a developmental role, playing against an Indian Board President’s XI, and could force his way into the Test team over the next few months. Bosisto, meanwhile, captained an Australia team also featuring Head and Turner at last year’s Under-19 World Cup and 24-year-old New South Wales opener Henry made headlines with a double-hundred against the Sri Lankans in December. Hampshire’s hospitality could come back to haunt England.English players have benefited from such opportunities for decades, however. Generations of young players have travelled to Australia, in particular, to play Grade cricket and take advantage of the climate and facilities and Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire’s chairman, hopes that the new scheme will be viewed in a similarly “high-minded” manner.”We have sent cricketers all over the world as part of their development process for years,” Bransgrove told ESPNcricinfo. “This is just the same. I’d like to think this will be seen as for the benefit of the game as a whole. I’ve never done anything in cricket just for the benefit of me or my parish and I’d like to think this is a win-win situation for everyone.”Every country seeking to develop players wants to use the facilities of other countries in the offseason. For England players not to have the chance to go abroad would be disastrous and it is only right that we reciprocate. I would like to think that cricket can be more high-minded about the development of young cricketers.”

Young Australians at Hampshire

• Scott Henry (New South Wales)

• Travis Head (South Australia)

• William Bosisto (Western Australia)

• Alex Keath (Victoria)

• Ashton Turner (Western Australia)

• Ashton Agar (Western Australia)

There are important distinctions between the plans of the Hampshire academy and the proposed visit of developing English players to India blocked by the BCCI. Central to the Hampshire scheme is the idea that the visiting players will make a positive contribution to the local game: not only will they appear in local league cricket, without cost to the clubs, but they also all have coaching qualifications that should enable them to provide a mentoring role to developing players in the region. The ECB has confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that they will not make any attempt to block the Australian players’ trip.”I’ve never been keen on recreational clubs spending money on professional cricketers,” Bransgrove said. “This will allow the clubs to benefit from these players without spending a pound and not only raise the standard of the leagues in which they play, but see them performing a mentoring role to developing English players.”The players will each be allocated a club via a draw to take place at the Ageas Bowl on Friday. The participating clubs are Bournemouth CC, Lymington CC, Totton & Eling CC, Ventnor CC (all from the Southern Electric Premier League), Henley CC (Thames Valley Premier League) and Chichester Priory Park CC (Sussex Cricket League).
The launch of the International Cricket Academy is the latest development in the progress of Hampshire cricket. A club that was insolvent at the turn of the century now boasts a stadium that hosts international cricket, some of the finest facilities in the country, a viable business plan and a side that won the limited-overs double in 2012.”I’m overwhelmed with pride as I watch the ground and the club develop,” Bransgrove said. “The facilities here just get better and better and, as I witness the scale of our development, it really is watching a dream come true right in front of my eyes. We have a wonderful stadium, and more and more good young players who will be challenging for England places. This club has turned a massive corner and the International Cricket Academy is another step in our progression.”Hampshire hope to extend the scheme in future years and have already opened a dialogue with Sri Lanka Cricket.

Member of parliament Thilanga Sumathipala has announced his candidacy for the position of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) president for next month’s election, while three others will run for other board positions

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Feb-2013Member of parliament Thilanga Sumathipala has announced his candidacy for the position of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) president for next month’s election, while three others will run for other board positions as part of his group. Sumathipala has been SLC president three times from 1997 to 2004, and also served as president of the Asian Cricket Council from 2000 to 2001. He also served as the director of the ICC from 1998 to 2000.He currently represents Colombo as an MP for the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance, of which both the sports minister and chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya are members, and is believed to have the support of fellow MP Namal Rajapaksa, who is the son of Sri Lanka’s president, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sumathipala is also the joint managing director of a business conglomerate that owns a betting business.Sumathipala was also a candidate for the SLC president’s position last year, but his group withdrew from the race, allowing Upali Dharmadasa’s group to win the election uncontested, amid claims of political interference.Mohan de Silva, who contested one of the vice-president roles alongside Sumathipala last year, will do so again, while Shammi Silva, who is also part of Sumathipala’s group, will contest the other vice-president position. The two other members of Sumathipala’s group are Eastman Narangoda, who will run for treasurer, and Erwin Jayawardene, who will run for assistant treasurer.”After discussing it with some SLC members, we handed over our names today as a team with the experience, talent and ability to improve and develop cricket in Sri Lanka,” Sumathipala said on Wednesday.The Sumathi Group, of which Sumathipala is joint managing director, owns Sporting Star – a betting business that primarily deals in horse racing bets. He has distanced himself from Sporting Star in recent times, claiming the business was run largely by his family, with minimal involvement from himself. Betting on cricket is illegal in Sri Lanka.Sumathipala denied that either his political office or business interests constituted a conflict of interest should he become SLC president, and was adamant there were no laws, in Sri Lanka or the ICC, that prevented him from contesting the position. The SLC president occupies a seat on the ICC’s board of directors, and the ICC Code of Ethics states in section 7.2 (b) that “no director shall have any business association, or enter into any business arrangement (whether formal or informal) with any person or company who has interests in gambling.””I have been involved with Sri Lanka cricket since 1995 and have been serving cricket for a long time now,” Sumathipala said. “I am very well respected at the ICC. I was involved when the ICC was compiling many of these rules, and have also been part of the board of directors. So, given all that, I have a good knowledge of what the ICC says about politics.”The ICC had given boards two years to become free from government and political interference in 2011, in accordance with the Woolf Report’s recommendations , but has since said it would review that stance because some boards depended on government patronage. In 2011, the ICC had indicated that it would have to consider taking steps against boards that had not moved to become detached from political interference by June 2012, but are yet to impose any formal sanctions on members who have failed to do so.”I think what I have done in cricket administration in the past is appreciated by the ICC, and they trust me. There are many politicians in the world who have improved sports, not just cricket. I don’t think they’ll see this involvement in SLC as a political one, because I’ve been in cricket administration for 18 years.”Sumathipala’s group does not have a candidate contesting the position of secretary, but he hoped current secretary Nishantha Ranatunga would continue in that post, and even invited Ranatunga to join his team. Ranatunga has been linked to the government through the Carlton Sports Network (CSN) channel, of which he is also CEO. CSN is owned by the Sri Lankan president’s sons, and is the current local broadcast rights holder for SLC.Sumathipala was SLC’s president from 1997 to 1998, 2000 to 2001 and 2003 to 2004 and his board was forced to stand down in the wake of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities in 2001. In 2004, he had to pull out of the elections as he was in jail at the time for allegedly aiding and abetting falsification of travel documents for a suspected mafia assassin , who was said to have received travel expenses from SLC to go to the 1999 World Cup. Sumathipala was convicted of the crime and sentenced to two years hard labour in 2007, but was acquitted of all charges on appeal.Current SLC president Upali Dharmadasa’s brother, Jayantha Dharmadasa, has also expressed interest in contesting the presidency, while former captain Arjuna Ranatunga has also suggested he may run. Candidates must submit their nominations to the sports ministry by Thursday, February 28, and the elections will take place late in March, with the winners announced at the annual general meeting on March 30.

USA batsman Steven Taylor became the first American cricketer to score a century in Twenty20 cricket during a match against Bermuda in the 2013 ICC World Cricket League Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in Fort Lauderdale

Peter Della Penna24-Mar-2013USA batsman Steven Taylor became the first American cricketer to score a century in Twenty20 cricket during a match against Bermuda in the 2013 ICC World Cricket League Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in Fort Lauderdale. The 19-year-old from Miramar, Florida scored 101 off 62 balls, bringing up his landmark in 61 balls, as USA beat Bermuda by 48 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method.Taylor was on 78 with three overs to go in the innings before a string of sixes in the next two overs, including a couple in the 19th over off Rodney Trott, took him to triple digits. He brought up his hundred with his sixth six and his innings also included five fours. Earlier in the tournament, Taylor fell for 95 against Cayman Islands, trying to hit a six to get to his hundred.Last October, Taylor was the only American player in the International World XI that played two T20 exhibition matches in Pakistan to help foster the return of international cricket to the country. He was named his side’s player of the series after taking four wickets in the two games.Taylor also holds the American record for the highest score at the Under-19 level for his innings of 140 off 120 balls against Papua New Guinea in a 2011 ICC Under-19 World Cup qualifier.USA are unbeaten in seven matches of the ICC Americas tournament and have secured a spot at the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. They finished in 12th place with a 3-6 record at the Twenty20 Qualifier in 2012 but notched a big upset with a seven-wicket win over Scotland in the group stage, in which Taylor scored an important 40 runs.

Nepal have leapfrogged USA to earn a place in the World Cup Qualifiers after a dramatic day at the World Cricket League Division 3

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2013Nepal have leapfrogged USA to earn a place in the World Cup Qualifiers after a dramatic day at the World Cricket League Division 3 tournament in Bermuda.It was a plausible, but unlikely, scenario at the start of the day with Nepal needing to thrash Italy then hope that Bermuda overcame USA. In the end, that is exactly what happened.Nepal raced to victory with a massive 211 deliveries to spare which gave their net run-rate the surge required to keep their hopes alive. Tight bowling had restricted Italy to 127 for 9 and then Nepal’s openers – Subash Khakurel and Pradeep Airee – added 87 in 12 overs to speed them on their way before captain Paras Khadka provided the finishing touches with 22 off eight deliveries.Still, however, Nepal needed a favour from Bermuda who, by now, had no chance of progressing. Ultimately, Bermuda cruised home with more than five overs to spare, but it will have been an agonising few hours for Nepal. The hosts impressively knocked off 221 led by Chris Douglas, who made 89 off 75 balls.Nepal will now join Uganda, who had already qualified top of the group, at next year’s World Cup Qualifiers to compete for a chance to play at the main event in Australia and New Zealand in early 2015.Speaking after the match, Khadka said it was hard work more than luck helped his side into the World Cup Qualifiers. “Pressure is always there, after having lost both our first two games. We had to step it up,” he said. “Hats off to the boys for having played so well and for their determination. We had to wait for the results of the other matches, and then it happened for us. They say that when you work hard, things and luck work for you. That’s what we believe in and it worked for us.”The action is not done yet in Division 3 though, with Nepal facing Uganda in the final on Sunday. Khadka said his side would put the negatives results of the past week out of their minds when they play that game: “We’ll think positive and forget what happened. It was good that we were playing as a team today. The momentum is back and we just need to continue the momentum. Like I’ve said before, if we play to our potential, the results will be pretty good.”

Surrey claimed three bowling points but Notts fought back well in the final session, or at least Steven Mullaney did

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge15-May-2013
ScorecardJames Taylor made 47 before playing on as Notts struggled with the bat•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire would be attracting as much attention as Surrey for reasons they had not anticipated but for their points tally having been inflated by a win over Derbyshire.Neither side has shown much so far to justify pre-season optimism yet they produced an opening day of compelling intensity that suggested better to come from both. Surrey claimed three bowling points but Notts fought back well in the final session, or at least Steven Mullaney did.Mullaney stepped in neatly where Notts usually look to Chris Read as the man to pull them out of a tricky spot. They could not on this occasion as, rarely, their wicketkeeper and captain is injured, which might be mentioned merely in passing but for the fact that Read had not previously missed a Championship match since he was trying to forge a Test career in 2006. He had made 98 consecutive appearances since the start of the 2007 season and there was talk of a presentation being made had he completed a century. Sadly, a nagging neck injury has put paid to that.In his absence, therefore, someone else had to step up after Notts, asked to bat first, had struggled to 181 for 7 as a Surrey attack, in which there was no place for Chris Tremlett, made them work hard for runs, even on a pitch that looks essentially sound.Mullaney, who has shown before that he has something of Read’s doggedness in his mindset, provided what was required in an eighth-wicket stand of 66, although there was much merit too in the support offered by Ajmal Shahzad, whose restraint and discipline reflected well on him. He faced 84 balls for his eight runs, barely striking a blow in anger, and was cross with himself in the end for failing to resist a Jade Dernbach bouncer that had him caught behind off a top edge.It was a second wicket for Dernbach, who had looked as though he might be the bowler of the day when he wrecked Alex Hales’ stumps in his second over. Hales, who earned compliments for the new discipline in his batting after an unusually patient half-century in the win over Derbyshire, has since returned scores of 4, 2, 0 and 4, much to his own frustration.In the event it was not Dernbach but Stuart Meaker and Tim Linley who did most to justify Gareth Batty’s decision to field. Meaker, whose high ambitions for this season have not been helped by a thigh injury, ended Ed Cowan’s hopes of building on a morning of hard graft when he bowled him off an inside edge shortly before lunch, and struck again soon afterwards when Michael Lumb, beaten three times by Dernbach in the preceding over, tried to work him through midwicket only to be caught off a leading edge at mid-off.The pressure on the home side had grown through a string of maidens — seven in his first 10 overs — from Tim Linley, who was unlucky to go wicketless before lunch but was rewarded in the afternoon when Samit Patel, forced to defend on the back foot, edged to first slip, where Gary Wilson took a good catch.Of the front line batsmen, only James Taylor had looked in any way at ease. Captain for this match, Taylor’s innings had for the most part been a mix of well-judged leaves and sweetly timed boundaries until, three short of a half-century, he misjudged a ball from Linley that he chopped on to his leg stump.Meaker by then had beaten Riki Wessels for pace and claimed a fourth wicket when Paul Franks was drawn into nibbling at one outside off stump, at which moment Notts were not well fancied even to scrape a solitary batting point.In the end they picked up two thanks to Mullaney, who drew confidence from six fours and a second half-century in as many games to take on even Dernbach ultimately, taking 12 in one over, including six pulled over midwicket, although those were the last of his runs before he was leg before to Linley for 68 in the next over.Wessels will keep wicket in place of Read, while Franks’s first appearance of the season will be curtailed should England decide to go without Stuart Broad or Graeme Swann at Lord’s.

Two top BCCI officials – board secretary Sajnay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke – have resigned their posts following the widespread criticism of the board’s handling of the corruption issues in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2013The leadership crisis within the BCCI seems headed towards its endgame with two senior officials – secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke – resigning from their posts following widespread criticism of the board’s handling of the corruption issues in the IPL. Jagdale and Shirke are second and third in the board’s hierarchy and their resignations, while opening up an administrative vacuum, is seen as a message to the president, N Srinivasan, who has insisted on staying in his post in the face of expert and public opinion.Jagdale also said he would not serve on the three-man commission appointed to conduct the inquiry into Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and the owners of Rajasthan Royals. “I had already requested the president not to keep me there. I had never wanted to be there,” he said.”Justice T Jayaram Chouta, one of the two High Court judges on the panel, said the commission would now not be able to function because one of its members had resigned.”I have resigned from the post of the secretary of the BCCI,” Jagdale, who took office in September 2011 when N Srinivasan became BCCI president, told . “I am deeply hurt with the recent developments in Indian cricket. Let some new faces come and take the responsibility.” Jagdale had played 53 first-class matches for Madhya
Pradesh, and was a national selector too.”No, there was no pressure, nobody influenced me. I felt deeply hurt, nothing else, there is no [other] reason behind it,” Jagdale told CNN-IBN, when asked if Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association president Jyotiraditya Scindia – who was the first of the BCCI’s senior politicians to speak out – had influenced his decision. “I was hurt as a former cricketer, as an administrator, as a cricket lover, I hurt like any of the millions of cricket lovers in India.”Jagdale did not offer opinion on whether Srinivasan should step down as president. “This was my decision, I leave it for Mr Srinivasan, he has been in the game for a longer period than me,” he said. “He is capable of taking his own decisions.”Shirke had said on Thursday night that he was not happy with the way the BCCI had handled the issues of spot-fixing allegations against three Royals players and betting charges against Gurunath, a top Chennai Super Kings official and Srinivasan’s son-in-law. “Yes that’s true [I have resigned],” Shirke, who also began his term when Srinivasan became president, said. “I have spelt out my reason and don’t want to comment any more. I have already spoken to the media at length, therefore I have resigned.”There is a possibility that there will be more resignations on Saturday morning from the five BCCI vice-presidents, including that of Arun Jaitley from the north zone and Sudhir Dabir from central zone. Insiders say that Chitrak Mitra from the east has let it be known that he will not quit while the other two vice-presidents, Shivlal Yadav from south zone and Niranjan Shah from the west, remain undecided.ESPNcricinfo understands that senior BCCI officials had been in constant discussion with Srinivasan, asking him to step aside from his office as board president until the three-man commission completed its inquiry into his son-in-law Gurunath, the Super Kings owners India Cements, and the owners of Rajasthan Royals. Srinivasan, however, had paid no heed to their advice.Late on Friday, Srinivasan agreed to call for a working committee meeting next week to discuss the corruption issues plaguing the IPL. The date of the meeting is yet to be confirmed, but ESPNcricinfo understands it will be held over the next weekend.

The first two ODIs between West Indies and Pakistan will see international cricket return to Guyana, after the West Indies Cricket Board announced the schedule for Pakistan’s tour in July

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2013Guyana, St Lucia and St Vincent and Grenadines will host the five ODIs and two Twenty20 Internationals between West Indies and Pakistan in July, according to the schedule released by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on Thursday.Pakistan will play the first two ODIs in Guyana on July 14 and 16, and the remaining ODIs will be played in St Lucia on July 19, 21 and 24. The two T20Is will be played at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground in St Vincent on July 27 and 28. The visitors will also play a 50-over warm-up game in Guyana before the start of the series.Pakistan were originally scheduled to play two Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s in the Caribbean in June and July, but West Indies planned a tri-series involving India and Sri Lanka, which shortened the window. The WICB had asked the PCB if their tour could be rescheduled to August. That, however, interfered with Pakistan’s plan to host India and to play out the Zimbabwe series that was postponed in 2012.Guyana will host an international match after a year’s gap. The Guyana National Stadium last hosted an ODI in 2011 between West Indies and Pakistan. Administrative disputes between the WICB, the Guyana Cricket Board and the Guyanese government had resulted in a Test against Australia in 2012 being shifted to another venue.

Shane Watson’s rebirth as a Test opener could be short-lived with Australia’s brains trust considering reinstating David Warner at the top of the order for the fourth Test in Chester-le-Street

Brydon Coverdale06-Aug-2013Shane Watson’s rebirth as a Test opener could be short-lived with Australia’s brains trust considering reinstating David Warner at the top of the order for the fourth Test in Chester-le-Street. At the start of the series, the coach Darren Lehmann declared that Watson and Chris Rogers would be Australia’s Ashes openers but Watson’s failure to pass a score of fifty in five innings in the position, combined with Warner’s return from exile in South Africa, could encourage a rethink.Warner batted at No.6 in the first innings in Manchester but was promoted for the second innings as the Australians sought quick runs, while Watson moved down to No.4. Rogers outplayed Watson in the first innings with a perky 84 that showed he is not just an occupier, and his experience and composure makes him a potentially important man at the top for the rest of this tour and the return series in Australia later this year.Like Warner, Watson enjoys the ball coming on to the bat but his lbw vulnerability has been an issue, and his diminishing returns while opening in this series – 46, 30, 20 and 19 – have been far from what Australia have needed. Lehmann said the second-innings change was not due to Watson’s form but to allow him to attack Graeme Swann in the middle order and give Warner free rein at the top, and it was a method they would consider using again in the fourth Test.”We may do, yeah, but at the end of the day, it’s the selectors getting together and making that decision,” Lehmann said. “We always consult the captain about what he considers is the best batting order as well, so for us we’ll make that decision once we see the wicket in Durham.”For his part, the captain Michael Clarke said the decision on where to use Watson was “a tough one” given the dual factors of his comfort at the top and his usefulness as a bowler. But the fact remains that Watson has now played 45 Test innings since the most recent of his two centuries, which came against India in Mohali in October 2010, and his 2013 batting average of 20.41 is the worst he has managed in the past five years.”Watto has made it clear to me and everyone that he loves opening the batting,” Clarke said. “The positive with Shane Watson is that he is such a good bowler. It’s a tough one, we have to work out first and foremost what is the best for the team and then give Watto the opportunity to play where he feels most comfortable and where he thinks he can have the most success – because if he is scoring runs and taking wickets, it goes a long way to helping us win Test matches.”We will continue to talk and assess what is best for the team. Shane understood my reasoning for opening with Warner in the second innings and was more than happy to move to No.4, and has made it clear that wherever I want him to bat, he will do that for the team.”The other major question of team make-up for the selectors ahead of Chester-le-Street is whether Ryan Harris can back up with only a three-day break between matches. Harris has struggled with a wide variety of injuries throughout his short Test career and the only time he has ever completed three consecutive Tests was during the last Ashes in Australia in 2010-11, when he broke down in the third of those matches with a serious ankle injury.”I think he has a reasonable chance now, he hasn’t bowled today,” Lehmann said after the final day at Old Trafford. “If he’d bowled today, I wouldn’t think he would be a chance at all so again we’ll just have to see how he pulls up on the travel day and see how he goes at training.”