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Teen Dan Lategan scores maiden List A fifty before Kashif Ali’s 80 and Jake Libby’s unbeaten half-century seal result

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Aug-2025Worcestershire Rapids secured a home semi-final in the Metro Bank One Day Cup after cantering to a six-wicket win over Surrey at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Making an unexpected appearance, Gus Atkinson top-scored for the visitors with 60, but Worcestershire’s bowlers took wickets with frequency to restrict their opponents to 266 for 6.In reply, 19-year-old Dan Lategan registered a maiden List A fifty at the top of the order for the Rapids, before Kashif Ali (80) propelled the home side into pole position.Skipper Jake Libby’s unbeaten half-century steered Worcestershire to a comfortable win as the Rapids secured top spot in Group A and now wait to learn who they will face in Sunday’s semi-final.Tom Taylor vindicated Libby’s choice to bowl first as he castled Adam Thomas in his third over of the morning, with a full ball that angled back in and rattled into off stump providing the home side with the ideal start.Ben Foakes joined Rory Burns at the crease as the former England duo looked to steer Surrey back into the contest, but Foakes’ cameo was short-lived as he departed for just 6.Ben Gibbon impressed with an economical spell either side of a brief rain delay, that included the scalp of Burns, who looked impressive on his way to 43 before losing his wicket when he dragged a length ball straight to Rob Jones at short midwicket.Despite being reliant on Gloucestershire’s result against Hampshire that was unfolding simultaneously to events at Visit Worcestershire New Road, only a win would suffice if the Rapids were to stand any chance of hosting a semi-final.Ollie Sykes (36) and Josh Blake (43) both looked to be the batters to kick on, but Tom Taylor (2 for 59) first dismissed the Surrey skipper, before Fateh Singh trapped Blake lbw to reduce the visitors to 160 for 5.Making only his third List A appearance for the club, England star Gus Atkinson showed why his batting capabilities have earnt him a Test match century, as he struck nine boundaries in his 48-ball-60 that took his side up towards 250 in the face of some disciplined Worcestershire bowling.Khurram picked up his second wicket as he removed Atkinson to stall the visitors once more, but some lusty blows from Nikhil Gorantla saw the away side finish their 49 overs 266 for 6.Brett D’Oliveira and rising star Lategan catapulted the hosts to a flying start, with D’Oliveira making an enterprising 45 as the pair added 83 for the first wicket.Lategan continued in the wake of his opening partner’s dismissal, recording his maiden List A half-century from 45 balls, but he could only add four more before he was bowled by Sykes.Kashif Ali showed no signs of slowing, making a typically explosive start to his innings by racing to 34, as Worcestershire passed 150 in the 21st over.Libby, averaging 62 in this year’s competition as he made his way to the middle, helped guide the Rapids beyond 200 despite losing Kashif in the process for an exhilarating 80 from 58 balls, caught in the deep looking to clear the boundary.Yousef Majid (2 for 57) returned the best figures for Surrey on a day where only one bowler registered an economy below six-an-over.With the required run rate dropping below two-an-over, Libby guided his side to victory.

Leicestershire plunge into trouble despite Sol Budinger’s aggressive half-century

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-Jul-2025Birmingham Bears boosted their chances of qualifying for the Vitality Blast quarter-finals for a fifth consecutive season as they eased past Leicestershire Foxes at the Uptonsteel County Ground, winning by six wickets with 10 balls to spare.The Foxes were bowled out for 154 in 19.3 overs, Pakistan international pace bowler Hasan Ali finishing with 4 for 22 – all four wickets in the opening powerplay. Sol Budinger made 51 off 24 balls but allrounder Logan van Beek’s 26 was the next best score, Richard Gleeson and Danny Briggs picking up two wickets each for the Bears.Half-centuries from Sam Hain (55 from 38 balls) and Dan Mousley (64 not out from 48) then got the job done as Bears move level on 20 points with the Foxes in a tight North Group.After the Birmingham-based visitors chose to bowl, an extraordinary opening powerplay saw Budinger smash 40 off 17 balls but the Foxes careered from 38 without loss to 71 for 4 after two stunning overs from Hasan.There were eight boundaries from the first 13 deliveries, culminating in Budinger walloping Hasan’s first ball over the rope at midwicket in what looked potentially another big night for the explosive left-hander, who smashed a 15-ball half-century against Derbyshire on the opening night of Leicestershire’s season.But how the picture changed. Hasan, who took a hat-trick against Derbyshire in figures of 6 for 23 a month ago, now dismissed Rishi Patel, caught at long-off, and international team-mate Shan Masood, tamely bunting to extra cover, with consecutive balls. Budinger picked up a second six in taking 19 off Mousley but Hasan immediately grabbed back the spotlight by bowling Rehan Ahmed, stepping across, and trapping Louis Kimber in front with the first and fifth balls of his second over.By the 12th over, the Foxes were 102 for 7 after Budinger had been caught on the slog-sweep, Liam Trevaskis holed out to wide long-on and Ben Cox was bowled playing back to Gleeson.Van Beek and Tom Scriven added 36 but it took five overs and the momentum from the start of the innings had completely dissipated, Gleeson (2-24), Mousley and Ed Barnard picking up a wicket apiece at the death as the home side were dismissed in 19.3 overs.Leicestershire took two wickets in the powerplay but the Bears were comfortable at 59 for 2 from six, although New Zealand batter Tom Latham made only a single before he was caught at cover off Sam Wood after Alex Davies had been caught behind attempting to hook van Beek.By halfway the target was down to 60 at 95 for 2 with Hain and Mousley able to progress without taking too many risks with no need to chase boundaries beyond those that were there for the taking.Hain and Mousley both survived difficult chances but with the last five overs arriving with only 21 more needed, the result was effectively decided, even though Hain would be caught at long-on off Kimber before the Foxes skipper collected a second wicket in Moeen Ali with a return catch. Mousley struck Josh Hull to the cover boundary for the winning runs.

The board meeting instead turned into a discussion about the “issue of confidentiality”

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2020An ICC board meeting set to discuss the fate of the T20 World Cup and the international calendar instead turned into a discussion about the “issue of confidentiality” and ended with the setting up of an “independent” investigation into the matter. All actual items on the agenda – which included discussion about the next ICC chairman – were deferred to the next meeting on June 10.Little other detail about the investigation was provided, other than that it was brought to attention by several board members, and that it would be headed by the ICC’s ethics officer and “supported by global experts.”ALSO READ: 2020 T20 World Cup prospects fadeOriginally, the board was meant to discuss whether or not to postpone the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held later this year in Australia. As ESPNcricinfo had reported on Wednesday, the chances of postponement remain high and a few rescheduling scenarios had been drawn up by the Finance & Commercial Affairs committee. Those would have been discussed by board heads as well as the financial impact a postponement could have on smaller members.Almost as significant, there was to be discussion that would lead towards finalising an election process for the ICC chairman’s position. Shashank Manohar, the current chairman, is not going to contest a third term, as the ICC confirmed in a statement on Wednesday. Incidentally in that statement, the ICC also said that reports of a postponement of the T20 World Cup were “inaccurate”.Manohar, the ICC said, led the discussion around the investigation. “A number of board members had raised their concerns over this issue recently and felt it required immediate attention to ensure the sanctity and confidentiality of board matters in line with the highest standards of governance.”

Maiden international hundred sets up record run-chase and England 3-0 clean sweep

Valkerie Baynes13-Jul-2021James Vince’s maiden international century led England to a stunning victory and a 3-0 series sweep in their final ODI against Pakistan at Edgbaston.Vince’s 102 off 95 balls came in a 129-run stand for the sixth wicket with the impressive Lewis Gregory, who scored 77 in just his third one-day international as the hosts pulled off the highest successful ODI run-chase at Edgbaston.It came after Babar Azam’s career-best 158 lifted Pakistan to 331 for 9. Azam shared a third-wicket partnership worth 179 with Mohammad Rizwan, whose 74 off 58 balls was pivotal in pushing Pakistan’s total into territory which had previously evaded them on this tour. Imam-ul-Haq also contributed a valuable 56 and put on 92 runs for the second wicket with Azam.Brydon Carse, like Gregory, playing his third ODI after being called into England’s new-look side following a spate of positive Covid tests in the original squad, claimed five wickets, including that of Azam late in the innings.Carse was there at the end too, striking the winning runs – a four off Shaheen Shah Afridi – as he and Craig Overton held the England innings together after the loss of Vince and Gregory.On the eve of England’s second anniversary as World Cup champions, it was a very different side which produced this fairy tale ending.After disappointing returns from the three matches he played in England’s World Cup campaign, Vince’s innings saved his side after Phil Salt, Zak Crawley and Ben Stokes made starts but failed to press on.Exquisite on the drive square of the wicket, his advance to Hasan Ali before crunching him through the covers summed up Vince’s poise. He duly reached his hundred via a blistering four off Ali through the leg side, brandishing his bat and letting out an almighty roar as he watched the ball race to the boundary.Babar Azam swings into a pull during his masterful innings of 158•PA Images via Getty Images

Gregory, who starred with bat and ball in the previous match at Lord’s, backed up his innings of 40 there with another accomplished knock of 77 from 69 balls, including six fours and three sixes.England needed only 62 from the last 10 overs and, so long as he and Vince remained at the crease, they looked in prime position. But when Haris Rauf accounted for both – Vince holing out to mid-off and Gregory skying to silly point, where Shadab Khan took an excellent catch running from the covers – the requirement was 38 off 43.Rauf claimed career-best figures of 4 for 65 but Pakistan were left to rue a rash of costly fielding errors long before Overton and Carse arrived to see England home.England’s pursuit began brightly, thanks to Salt, who clubbed Afridi for four boundaries in five balls during the opening over of England’s innings.Ali had Dawid Malan caught behind by Rizwan for a duck with his second legitimate delivery, having sent down three wides to begin, and while replays raised doubt over whether Malan had laid bat on ball, the batter had already walked.Salt continued in enterprising fashion to reach 37 off just 22 balls, but when Pakistan introduced Rauf in the seventh over, Salt fell to his first ball, clipping off the pads to Fakhar Zaman at midwicket.Related

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• Stats: Babar Azam fastest to 14 ODI tons, hammers career-best 158

Rauf then flattened Crawley’s off stump to bring Stokes to the middle, but England’s stand-in skipper couldn’t stick around for long, despite being handed two extra lives on a platter.Pakistan had been sloppy in the field but when Stokes hit Khan straight to Ali at fine leg, the ball inexplicably slid straight through the fielder’s hands. Khan was the bowler again when Stokes picked out long-on where Shoaib Maqsood got a hand to the ball stretching to his right but failed to cling on as it dribbled away for four.Having seen his long hop mowed over the fence at cow corner, Shadab finally removed Stokes, who attempted a slog-sweep but succeeded only in sending a narrow edge to Rizwan, who ended up having to be replaced by Sarfaraz Ahmed after being struck on the inside of his knee by a ball thrown in from the outfield.Earlier, Pakistan had made an understandably watchful start, given their collapses in Cardiff and Lord’s where they were all out for 141 and 195 respectively.They lost Zaman for just 6, his attempted punch through the off side off Saqib Mahmood stymied by the awkward bounce and finding Crawley at slip. The team fifty took 13.4 overs and after 17 they were 59 for 1.Coming with scores of 0 and 19 from the first two matches, Azam took 15 balls to get off the mark amid consecutive maidens from Player of the Series Mahmood. He crept to 15 off 38 but then he started to find the boundary more regularly.Imam also entered the match in need of runs and, after 11 overs, 24 of his 26 runs had come through boundaries. He passed 2000 ODI runs in the course of his innings.Azam unfurled a beautiful extra cover drive off Carse to bring up their fifty partnership and he punished Gregory’s off-cutter over cow corner before smashing Matt Parkinson over long-off.It was Parkinson who broke their union with a ripper that turned sharply from well outside off and clattered into middle stump.With Pakistan 113 for 2, Rizwan arrived in typically attacking mood and he reached his half-century in 42 balls.Azam, meanwhile, reached his 14th ODI century with a crisp cut to the boundary off Mahmood. He was dropped on 126 when he struck a Parkinson full toss with gusto to midwicket, where Carse was unable to hold what would have been a wonderful catch, and Azam went on to score 13 off the over.Carse had Rizwan out edging an attempted pull to keeper John Simpson and then removed Maqsood and Ali cheaply. Mahmood took two wickets in as many balls when he bowled Faheem Ashraf and had Khan caught behind.Azam finally fell top-edging Carse to Malan at cover with four balls left in the innings and Carse had Afridi caught by Vince two balls later to claim his fifth wicket.

The team will be led by Prithvi Shaw and will open its campaign against Maharashtra on January 13

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2021Arjun Tendulkar, the son of former India batter Sachin Tendulkar, has been included in the Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad. The team will be led by Prithvi Shaw, whom chief selector Salil Ankola termed as a “brilliant captain and fantabulous opening batsman”.Shaw was India’s captain when they won the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. Last season, he had led Mumbai to the Vijay Hazare title. However, it will be the first time he will captain a side in first-class cricket.Arjun, the 22-year-old fast bowler, had broken into Mumbai’s squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year, and made his senior debut against Haryana, returning figures of 1 for 34 from three overs. He played one more game for Mumbai, turning out in their defeat against Puducherry. Arjun, batting at No. 11, was dismissed for 3 as Mumbai folded for 94; with the ball, he finished with 1 for 33 from four overs.Earlier this year, Arjun landed his first IPL contract with Mumbai Indians signing him for INR 20 lakhs at the auction. However, he did not play a single game during the season.Allrounder Shivam Dube, who has played one ODI and 13 T20Is, is also in the squad, as are Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Arman Jaffer and Aditya Tare. Dhawal Kulkarni will lead the pace attack.Mumbai, the 41-time Ranji Trophy champions, are placed in Elite Group C and will open their campaign against Maharashtra on January 13, before facing Delhi on January 20.Squad: Prithvi Shaw (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aakarshit Gomel, Armaan Jaffer, Sarfaraz Khan, Sachin Yadav, Aditya Tare (wicketkeeper), Hardik Tamore (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Aman Khan, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Prashant Solanki, Shashank Attarde, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Avasthi, Prince Badiani, Siddharth Raut, Royston Dias, Arjun Tendulkar

CSK can inch closer to the playoffs with a win, while Capitals will join the mid-table huddle if they can add two points to their kitty

Ashish Pant09-May-20235:40

Is Ruturaj doing the job for CSK as an opener?

Big picture: Can Delhi Capitals breach Chepauk fortress?

A campaign that seemed to have fizzled out even before taking off has suddenly found life. Delhi Capitals lost their first five games on the bounce, but have won four of five games after that and are now in with a shot of joining the mid-table jam in IPL 2023. Capitals are still placed last on the points table, but as things stand, there is only a three-point difference between them and third-placed Lucknow Super Giants.To keep their chances alive, though, Capitals must first get past Chennai Super Kings, something they have failed to do more often than they have over the years. Capitals have beaten CSK in Chennai only on two occasions in eight attempts, the last being in 2010, and the head-to-head record is also skewed in CSK’s favour: they have won 17 of the 27 games over the years. CSK’s run at Chepauk this year, though, has been patchy. They have won three and lost two so far.Related

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Both sides come into his game on the back of confident wins. While CSK steamrolled Mumbai Indians by six wickets on Saturday evening, Capitals took down a 188-run target against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 16.4 overs the same night.A big reason behind Capitals’ revival has been their spinners – Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, mainly – who have restricted the opposition to sub-140 totals in three of their last five matches. Their spinners have been the most economical amongst all teams in the competition going at 6.9 an over, which might come in handy on a Chepauk surface that showed signs of slowing down last time around.It won’t, however, be easy against a rampaging CSK top order, led by, Devon Conway (458 runs at a strike rate of 139.20), Ruturaj Gaikwad (384 at 148.26), Shivam Dube (290 at 156.75) and Ajinkya Rahane (245 at 181.48). They have the joint-best powerplay scoring rate of 9.5 this season, and have recorded 50-plus scores in eight out of ten innings in that phase this IPL.CSK currently sit second on the points table with 13 points, and a win will push them closer to a playoff spot.

Team news: Will CSK field Stokes even if he’s fit?

Ben Stokes has been batting and bowling in the nets, but even if he is fit, it will be tough for CSK to slot him, considering their overseas players – Conway, Moeen Ali, Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana/Mitchell Santner – have been doing well. “I’m pretty sure Stokes is available for selection but it comes down to the balance of the squad” Mike Hussey, the CSK batting coach, said on the subject on the eve of the game.And guess who has the best average and best strike rate of the CSK batters? Yup, MS Dhoni has 76 runs in 38 balls this season, his average is 76.00 (one dismissal in seven innings) and strike rate is 200.00.Anrich Nortje had to fly back to South Africa following a personal emergency and missed Capitals’ last game. He is unavailable for the game against CSK as well on Wednesday. Shane Watson, Capitals’ assistant coach, expects Nortje to return to the IPL for the back end of the tournament.

The big question

Form guide: Capitals look to make it three in three

Chennai Super Kings WNRLLW
Delhi Capitals WWLWW

Impact Player strategy

Ambati Rayudu has consistently been CSK’s Impact Player this season, replacing one of the bowlers when they chase, and that trend is likely to continue. If they bat first, Rayudu will likely start, with Tushar Deshpande or Theekshana coming in as the sub in the second innings.CSK probable XII: 1 Devon Conway, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 , 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Matheesha Pathirana, 12 Capitals have followed a straightforward batter-for-bowler swap as far as the impact-sub rule is concerned. If they bat first, Ripal Patel or Sarfaraz Khan will likely start, with Ishant Sharma coming in the second innings, and vice-versa. Depending on the surface, Capitals might also look to bring in offspinner Lalit Yadav into the mix for a quick.Capitals probable XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 David Warner (capt), 3 Mitchell Marsh 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Aman Hakim Khan, 6 Manish Pandey, 7 Axar Patel, 8 , 9 Khaleel Ahmed/Lalit Yadav, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mukesh Kumar 12 1:10

Ruturaj: I don’t want to face Pathirana in the nets

Numbers that matter: Warner vs Theekshana

• Kuldeep should be kept away from Conway and Moeen. While Conway strikes at 268.42 against Kuldeep in T20s, Moeen has a strike rate of 287.5 against him.
• David Warner and Axar have never fallen to Ravindra Jadeja in T20s. Warner has struck Jadeja for 92 runs in 55 balls across seven innings, while Axar has scored 66 off 38 in nine innings.
• But Warner has fallen to Theekshana three times in six innings and averages 18.66 against him.
• Capitals have hit the least number of sixes in the tournament so far – 42.

Pitch and conditions

Scores of 200 have been breached four times this season in Chennai in ten innings. The surface did show signs of slowing down last time, but there was not much turn on offer for the spinners. The surface should be better for batters in the night game and dew might also come into play. It has been cloudy in Chennai for the last few days, but rain isn’t forecast for Wednesday.

Harry Tector hit 64 off 33 balls but Ireland were still comfortably outplayed in Malahide

Deivarayan Muthu26-Jun-202212-over game
Harry Tector cracked a career-best 64 not out off 33 balls, but India hunted down 109 in a 12-over shootout in the first T20I of the season at Malahide. After intermittent rain and a wet outfield delayed the start of play by just over two hours, Tector’s one-man show led an Ireland rally from 22 for 3 to a competitive total.That, however, seemed a lot less competitive once Ishan Kishan dashed out of the blocks. Although seamer Craig Young cut Kishan’s innings short at 26 off 11 and then pinned Suryakumar Yadav for a duck next ball, Deepak Hooda, promoted to open the batting for the first time in his 160-match T20 career, ushered India home with 16 balls to spare.Bhuvneshwar revels in powerplay
A greenish Malahide track that offered both swing and seam was right up Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s alley. After moving one away from Andy Balbirnie, Bhuvneshwar let rip an inswinger that hit the top of the Ireland captain’s off stump and sent him packing for a duck.Bhuvneshwar then greeted No. 3 Gareth Delany with a sharper inswinger which pinged the pad, but it was doing too much to threaten the stumps. Bhuvneshwar’s two overs in a truncated four-over powerplay cost two runs.After winning his first toss as India captain, Hardik Pandya gave himself the new ball, ahead of debutant Umran Malik, and struck with his second legal delivery, when he had Paul Stirling slicing a catch to mid-off for 4 off 5 balls. Delay threw his bat around for 8 off 9 balls before Avesh Khan had him nicking behind to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.Harry Tector helped Ireland recover after losing early wickets•Sportsfile/Getty Images

Tector lights up Malahide
Despite wickets falling around him, Tector once again showed why he is one of the most exciting young batters in Irish cricket. He had started 2022 with three successive half-centuries in the Caribbean in ODI cricket and now he showed that he could cut it against India’s IPL superstars in T20Is as well.Tector laid into Axar Patel’s left-arm fingerspin, lacing him for back-to-back fours through the covers. In all, twenty-nine of his 64 runs came through and over that region.Malik marked his arrival with a 148kph thunderbolt, but his only over on the evening cost 18 runs. He erred with both his lines and lengths and Tector was offered the chance to both drive and hook the bowler for boundaries.Tector pressed on to notch up his half-century off 29 balls and, in the last over of the innings, he audaciously reverse-scooped Avesh for four. However, there wasn’t enough support from the rest of the Ireland batters who could cobble together only 34 off 39 balls at a strike rate of 87.17.Hooda opens, Hardik at No.4
India shook things up by bumping Hooda up to the top, along with Kishan, in place of Ruturaj Gaikwad. While Kishan hit three fours and two sixes in 11 balls, Hooda dawdled to 5 off 7 before turning up the tempo to end with an unbeaten 47 off 29.He advanced at offspinner Andy McBrine and launched him over long-on for six and in the next over shovelled debutant Conor Olphert over the same region for another six. He forged a 64-run third-wicket stand with Hardik, who bashed his way to a 12-ball 24 from No. 4.After taking a pasting from Kishan in the early exchanges, left-arm seamer Josh Little bounced back to trap Hardik lbw. Hooda and Karthik, however, coolly closed out the game to put India 1-0 up.

Ackermann has struggled with the bat in 2022 but remains T20 skipper

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2022Callum Parkinson has taken over from Colin Ackermann as Leicestershire’s captain for the County Championship.Ackermann has made just 168 runs across 10 innings this summer and has been replaced as four-day captain, though will continue in his role as T20 captain.Parkinson was Leicestershire’s leading wicket-taker in 2021 and has chipped in with the bat from the lower order this year; only openers Hassan Azad and Sam Evans have scored more runs than him in 2022.Related

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“It is a huge honour to be appointed four-day captain and I’m incredibly grateful to the club for placing that faith in me,” Parkinson said. “Personally, I feel I have matured massively over recent seasons and developed into a player that can help guide the club to success.”I have learned so much from Colin during my time as vice-captain. I will continue to lean on him for advice, whilst implementing my own ideas and direction to win matches for Leicestershire.”Claude Henderson, Leicestershire’s director of cricket, said: “Firstly, we want to thank Ackers for leading the team with great pride and honour throughout his time as four-day captain. He did a fantastic job and will continue to be a massive player for Leicestershire moving forward, where he will remain as our T20 captain.”We have decided that now is the right time for a change and recognised Callum’s qualities are ideally suited to leading the team in four-day cricket for the remainder of the season. Callum has been an inspiring voice in the changing room, and he commands huge respect through the way he approaches his cricket. We have full belief that he is the right man to take up the role.”Lewis Hill will continue as 50-over captain during the Royal London Cup.

David Warner insists that his relationship with Steven Smith is intact in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal

Daniel Brettig30-Jun-20182:10

‘There were a lot of mental scars after the Ashes’ – Warner

David Warner insists that his relationship with Steven Smith is intact in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, and has echoed the former captain’s words that a 12-month ban from international cricket is the sort of imposed break from the game that he needed after seven years in a “bubble”.A day after Smith made 61 on his return to cricket at the Global T20 Canada, Warner was bowled by Lasith Malinga second ball in a far briefer stint at the batting crease. But he professed to enjoying the run around the outfield for Winnipeg Hawks, and described the tournament as a small step forward on the road back from his role as the primary instigator of the Cape Town ball-tampering plot, where he instructed Cameron Bancroft on how to use sandpaper on the ball, with the tacit approval of Smith.”It definitely has been [tough], not just for me but for my family, obviously the fans out there that support cricket and Australian cricket, so I’m responsible for that, that’s my fault and why I’ve had some tough times,” Warner said in Toronto. “But I’m an adult, I’m big, strong, I’ll move forward and keep continuing to move forward and making sure I’m doing the right things at the right times to keep playing the best cricket I can.”Steve and me are good mates. If people hang in the hotel, they’ll see us hanging out with each other and stuff. At the end of the day, it was a big thing that happened and for us, you’ve got to handle it in your individual way and then how you handle it collectively. We haven’t really been able to catch up because he’s been away, Cameron’s been in Perth and I’ve been doing what I’m doing and got family at home. So it’s been hard, but this has been good, we’ve had numerous chats and I’m sure we’ll hang out plenty more, we’re in the same hotel.”Another member of the Newlands team, Mitchell Starc, had described the way relationships in the team had been strained: “It was such a stressful time in our lives. There was strain on relationships both as individuals and as a team. However, the relationships of that group remain very much intact. I look forward to the opportunity to play alongside every one of my team-mates from that tour again. We still have a long way to go in rebuilding the trust with the Australian public and I know personally, that I am 100% committed to doing that.”David Warner celebrates a wicket as Australia close in•Getty Images

On his return home from South Africa, Warner had considered taking his Cricket Australia code-of-conduct sanction to a formal hearing before accepting his punishment alongside Smith and Bancroft. He said the ban, which has also seen him barred from taking any leadership positions in Australian cricket ever, had proven beneficial in allowing him more time at home. One of the flow-on effects was the cancelling of his IPL contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad, meaning Warner missed the tournament for the first time since its inaugural edition in 2008.”Being at home for the last 12 weeks has been great for me,” Warner said. “There were a lot of mental scars after the Ashes and that probably saw my form [dip] and maybe [for] Steve as well in the one-day series against England. It takes a lot out of you, and moving onto South Africa and what happened, it was really tough. We’re responsible for that and we’re moving on. But to get back out here and play cricket is really good for us mentally. I was excited about the chance to come here and play, and to do what we love. Can’t sit at home and dwell on the past, you’ve got to move forward, and I felt this was a great opportunity to get out there, play cricket and be happy.”If you were stuck inside this tent for 365 days you’d probably go insane, so in the bubble we’ve been in for the last six or seven years, you need time out and I think this 12 months is going to be a good reflection upon myself as a person and a character, as a dad and a family man. The last 12 weeks have been tough, but it’s enabled me to spend a lot of time with my family, and that’s something I’ll always cherish every day. To have my daughter on Facetime and say that she misses me and loves me and she wants to come over here and watch cricket, I’m excited that they want to get back into it as well. It’s those things we miss.”I’m extremely grateful for cricket and what it’s brought me; the game owes me nothing. To be here, I’m just so grateful for Canadian cricket to have this tournament and it’s a reflection of what we do day in and day out. It’s tough on the road, all three forms, but a lot of time in this next eight or nine months to ponder and think about what my future holds. I’m just grateful to be back out playing cricket.”Unlike Smith or Bancroft, Warner did not give any overt indications about returning to play for Australia when his ban expires in March 2019. CA’s punishment included a clause stating that the place of all three players in the esteem of the Australian public would be a factor in whether or not they were reinstated.”Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and I look back at the past that’s happened and the sanctions that have been handed down by the ICC, it is what it is,” Warner said of his critics. “For us to come out here and play the game we love, we’re very fortunate for that and grateful for that opportunity that Canada cricket have given us. Critics will be critics, that’s why they’re behind the keyboards, they do what they do and we just move forward and try and ignore that.”For me it’s about getting back into the rhythm of cricket again, making sure I’m putting my best foot forward for this tournament, making sure that I’m putting 100% in all the time, giving advice to the guys who don’t get the opportunity to play on the big stage as well, and just to compete. It’s been a long three months, thinking that I probably wouldn’t be over here, but it’s a good opportunity, I’m excited about it, and I look forward to the rest of the tournament.”

This is the potential outcome of a tussle over complimentary-ticket allocation between the BCCI and the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA)

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2018The second ODI between India and West Indies, scheduled for October 24, could be shifted away from Indore. This is the potential outcome of a tussle over complimentary-ticket allocation between the BCCI and the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA).The disagreement concerns the Holkar Stadium’s pavilion block, which according to the MPCA has a capacity of “close to 7200 seats”. By the state association’s reading of the BCCI’s new constitution, the provision of complimentary tickets cannot exceed 10% “of each category” – which in the pavilion block’s case would be 720.The MPCA, however, has alleged that the BCCI asked for “about 1300” complimentary tickets in the pavilion block, “for various sections of BCCI stakeholders like sponsors, teams, BCCI members, BCCI sub-committee etc.””The managing committee of MPCA has decided that it is not possible to organise the second ODI between India and West Indies in Indore if BCCI doesn’t back down from it’s demand of complimentary tickets. We have intimated BCCI,” MCA joint-secretary Milind Kanmadikar told PTI on Sunday.According to the MPCA, the BCCI has repeatedly delayed responding to its requests for clarification of the issue, and has therefore left it with too little time to organise the match, and with no option but to step away from hosting it.”In the end, we clarify once again that our intent was always to organise the match and we were forced to land in a situation where the time left henceforth for the match would have resulted in several circumstantial difficulties for which the host Association would have been unfairly held responsible,” the MPCA’s statement said. “Such big risk is not worth in view of the inordinate delay on part of BCCI on extending clarification and fair decision making.”The unilateral, arbitrary, mysterious and leisurely decision making and working of BCCI has caused such huge loss to Association and the local cricket fans of our State.”The BCCI is yet to respond to ESPNcricinfo’s request for a statement on the issue.