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India coach says they have to give back-up players game time before the Asia Cup and World Cup

Shashank Kishore30-Jul-20233:15

Dravid: It was our last chance to try some players before World Cup

India head coach Rahul Dravid doesn’t want to “make the mistake” of letting the ODI series scoreline of 1-1 take the focus away from looking at the “bigger picture” as India build towards the 2023 World Cup at home this October-November.Dravid meant the team is willing to strike a balance between providing opportunities to players, even if it means resting seniors like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and winning while not obsessing over short-term results, given there are fewer than 10 games left before their World Cup opener against Australia in Chennai.”I think we will always look at the bigger picture,” Dravid said after West Indies levelled the ODI series with a six-wicket win in Bridgetown on Saturday. “To be honest, at this stage in the cycle with the Asia Cup and World Cup coming up, and with the injuries we have, we have to look at the bigger picture. We can’t worry about every single game, every single series. If we do that, it will be a mistake.”Related

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Resting Rohit and Kohli for the second ODI meant game time for Sanju Samson and Axar Patel. Samson will be tussling with Ishan Kishan for the second wicketkeeper’s slot, while Axar is largely seen as a like-for-like back-up to Ravindra Jadeja.Samson managed just 9, while Axar, promoted to No. 4, scored 1. They were part of a middle-order meltdown that led to India floundering from 90 without loss to 181 all out. Dravid labeled it a “challenging wicket” where 230 would have been par for the course, but wasn’t fretting over the result, instead choosing to draw positives from giving back-up players game time in the wake of a scenario where their regulars – Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul – currently recuperating from injuries at the NCA don’t make it.”Honestly, this was our last chance to be able to try out some of our players,” Dravid said. “We have got few of our players who are injured and are at the NCA. With a month to go for the Asia Cup, we are kind of running out of time in a lot of ways. And we’re hopeful some of them will be fit for the Asia Cup and World Cup. But we can’t take those chances; we have to try out other people and give them chances so that, in a worst-case scenario, they have game time behind them.”It gives us an opportunity to make some decisions on players. We just felt in a series like this, with just two-three matches to go before the Asia Cup, playing Virat and Rohit honestly would not have given us too many answers, but with the injuries we have at the NCA and the uncertainty around them, we wanted to give some of the other boys a chance so that if required they can play.”

Suryakumar figuring out ‘how to bat in middle overs’

One of the players who has been given a run in Iyer’s absence is Suryakumar Yadav, who is currently India’s T20I vice-captain. Renowned for his 360-degree game in the shortest format, Suryakumar hasn’t been able to replicate the same success in the 50-overs format.In both games in this series, Suryakumar has thrown away starts. In the first ODI, he was lbw for 19 trying to sweep left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie. In the second ODI, he shelved the sweep completely, but was out cutting Motie for 24. In all, Suryakumar averages a shade under 24 after 23 ODI innings with just two half-centuries.Suryakumar Yadav (wearing Sanju Samson’s jersey in the picture) has not been able to convert his starts•AFP/Getty Images

“Look, Surya is a really good player, there’s no doubt about it,” Dravid said. “His performances have shown that, especially in T20 cricket, even in domestic white-ball cricket. He has some very good performances. Unfortunately, he’d be the first one to admit his ODI numbers aren’t up to his high standards he’s set in T20s. But he’s also learning about one-day cricket.”He’s played a lot of competitive T20 cricket through the IPL before he made his India debut, but in terms of one-day cricket he hasn’t played that much, there’s no IPL in one-day cricket. So I think he’s also learning, trying to figure out how to bat in those middle overs. He’s a talent, he’s a really good player, we want to give him as many opportunities as we can. Upto him now to take those opportunities and use them. But yeah, in the kind of set-up we are, we like to give people as many chances we possibly can.”Then there are Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, whose developments from age-group cricket Dravid has been privy to having worked with them at India Under-19. Gill is yet to hit a half-century on tour [across five innings] but Dravid isn’t concerned, while also being pleased for Kishan taking every opportunity he’s getting to stake a claim.”I wouldn’t worry so much about Shubman,” Dravid stated. “He’s batting beautifully, he’s playing really well. He looks really good. It happens [low scores], you can’t criticise people after every single game. It’s not easy batting conditions, we needed to grind and fight it out there. We probably didn’t do that through the middle overs. But Shubman is batting well, he’s an important part of all three formats for us now, hopefully he’ll have a good game in Trinidad.”Kishan, meanwhile, has been India’s best batter in the series so far, scoring 55 and 52 in his two outings so far. However, Kishan’s challenges will come especially when India revert to their regular top three of Rohit, Gill and Kohli. In such a scenario, he will possibly have to jostle for a middle-order slot, depending on how well Iyer and Rahul recover. For now, though, Dravid is happy with what he has seen.”Ishan has done really well, this is his third fifty in a row now [across formats]. Again, he’s taking opportunities when given the chance. That’s all we ask from young players, we want to give them as many chances as we possibly can. We can’t give everyone a chance all the time, there are other talented guys as well.”We try our best and give as many chances as we can. Today, to give people chances, Virat and Rohit had to sit out. Sometimes we might have to take those risks, take those chances in situations like that because looking at big tournaments, we need to build some of the players, get answers for specific positions considering the situation we are in.”

Hazlewood, who picked up a side niggle at the IPL, remains in contention for the first Ashes Test starting June 16

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2023Josh Hazlewood has lost his race to be fit for Australia’s World Test Championship final against India. He has been replaced in the squad by Michael Neser. This makes Scott Boland a favourite to make the XI for the match, which starts on June 7 at The Oval.Hazlewood, who picked up side soreness at the IPL, remains in Australia’s squad for the Ashes, though, with chief selector George Bailey saying he remains in contention for the first of those Tests, in Edgbaston on June 16.”Josh was very, very close to being given the green light but we are cognisant that our upcoming schedule [the WTC final quickly followed by five Ashes Tests] means this is not a one-off Test match of us.Related

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“This will give Josh an ideal preparation leading into Edgbaston. With six Test matches in a little over seven weeks we will need all of our fast bowling assets.”Neser comes in on the back of a stint with Glamorgan on the county cricket circuit. Given the uncertainty over Hazlewood, Neser, along with Sean Abbott, had been pulled out of county duty to train with the Australian squad in Beckenham. “Michael’s county form has been strong and knowing that he was going to be close by allowed for him to keep playing and for us to be able to call on him,” Bailey said. “He is a great strength to have as part of the fast-bowling group.”Hazlewood had been withdrawn from the IPL after three games for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and at the time the decision was considered to be a precautionary measure, with scans clearing him of any damage to his side. The precautions were due to his recent run of injury, including two side strains over the past two years and an Achilles issue. This has all meant that he has only played four of Australia’s last 19 Test matches and has not played in back-to-back first-class games since early 2021.He was picked for the WTC final subject to proving his fitness with heavy training loads leading up to the game, and as recently as May 31 he was still very hopeful of making it. Sunday’s announcement came after Hazlewood bowled three spells at training on Saturday.As for the other specialist quicks in Australia’s WTC squad, captain Pat Cummins is back after missing Australia’s previous two Tests, in India, due to family reasons, and Mitchell Starc is fully fit having missed the first two games of that India series with a finger injury.

Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Prabhsimran Singh and Harshit Rana are also part of the 15-member squad

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2023Yash Dhull, the Delhi batter who led India to the Under-19 World Cup title last year, will captain India A at the Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 50-overs tournament, which will be held in Sri Lanka from July 14 to 23. Dhull’s deputy is the Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder Abhishek Sharma.The tournament involves the A teams from the five Asian Full Member boards – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – as well as the senior teams of Nepal, Oman and UAE.There is no age restriction on the players who can feature in this tournament, but India have named a squad with a distinctly youthful tinge, with all 15 players less than 23 years old. Four of the five standby players are Under-23s as well, with the Saurashtra wicketkeeper-batter Snell Patel the lone exception at 29. The squad, incidentally, was picked by India’s junior selection committee chaired by former Karnataka keeper Thilak Naidu.The main squad includes a number of players who impressed during IPL 2023, including top-order batter Sai Sudharsan – who scored 96 in the tournament final – keepers Prabhsimran Singh and Dhruv Jurel, and fast bowlers Harshit Rana and Akash Singh.Former Saurashtra batter Sitanshu Kotak is the head coach of the side. He will be assisted by bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule and fielding coach Munish Bali.India A will begin their campaign on July 13 when they face UAE at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.India A squad: Yash Dhull (capt), Abhishek Sharma (vice-capt), Sai Sudharsan, Nikin Jose, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Riyan Parag, Nishant Sindhu, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Manav Suthar, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Harshit Rana, Akash Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rajvardhan Hangargekar. Standby players: Harsh Dubey, Nehal Wadhera, Snell Patel, Mohit Redkar

Australia’s counter-punching Indore victory confirms their spot in the WTC final this June

Hemant Brar03-Mar-20231:46

Chappell: Australia saw the error of their ways after Head’s non-selection

Australia sealed their place in the final of the World Test Championship with an emphatic nine-wicket win over India in the third Test in Indore. India still have their destiny in their own hands; if they win the fourth Test in Ahmedabad, they will be through as well. But anything less than a win means they rely on New Zealand not losing 2-0 to Sri Lanka.After Nathan Lyon’s 8 for 64 bowled out India out for 163 on the second evening, Australia needed 76 to register their first win in the series. It’s not often a fielding side, on the third morning of a Test, has as much hope as India had of defending such a low target.R Ashwin duly had Usman Khawaja caught behind with the second ball of the day, but Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne made sure India’s hope never really transformed into belief. The two defended well and, once they had their eye in, didn’t hesitate to attack either, taking their side over the line in just 18.5 overs.While Australia now have a chance to draw this series 2-2, India would still retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, having won the previous series between these two teams.Travis Head went after India’s spinners•Getty Images

Australia had lost their last six wickets in 11 runs in their first innings. So Khawaja’s wicket early this morning might have made them a little bit nervous, even if momentarily, with both Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja finding turn, extracting bounce, beating the bat, and hitting the pads.During that phase, Head and Labuschagne focused on survival; runs were an afterthought. In the first ten overs, Australia scored only 13.Then came the momentum-shifting moment, or at least it looked like one in hindsight. The umpires noticed that a part of the seam of the ball had come off, and asked for it to be replaced. In the first over with the replacement ball, Head hit Ashwin for a four and six. From the other end, Jadeja leaked two boundaries, one each to Head and Labuschagne. That was enough to deflate India’s hopes.Four more boundaries came in the next three overs as Australia raced to 56 in 15 overs. Rohit Sharma introduced Umesh Yadav into the attack after the drinks break but by then the result was a foregone conclusion. There was more interest in seeing if Head could bring up his fifty. He couldn’t, staying unbeaten on 49 off 53 balls as Labuschagne wrapped up the game with a four.Before this Test, Rohit had hinted that India could request a green pitch in Ahmedabad if they win in Indore. They might have to revisit that now.

Cricket New South Wales has announced a significant restructuring after an extensive review

Daniel Brettig16-Apr-2021Jodie Hawkins, the general manager of Sydney Sixers, has exited Cricket New South Wales (CNSW) as part of a restructure that removes the positions of club general managers, despite overseeing the Sixers to victories in each of the past two men’s tournaments.In measures shared with staff this week, the chief executive Lee Germon outlined the restructure approved by the NSW board and its chairman John Knox, and the fact that Hawkins would leave the organisation after declining an alternative role, understood to be in communications. The general manager of the Sydney Thunder, Chris Botherway, will stay on after accepting another job with NSW as general manager of customer experience. Hawkins declined to comment.Germon told ESPNcricinfo that the state would be hiring two new independent list managers to oversee recruitment for the Sixers and the Thunder and report into the heads of men’s and women’s cricket Michael Klinger and Leah Poulton. He insisted that NSW had not shut the door on female leadership within the organisation, even though the new four-person executive team directly reporting to Germon is all-male.”Both Jodie and Chris were offered roles here. Chris has gone into a new role, Jodie has decided to leave us, and I totally respect that decision,” Germon said. “Jodie has been here for every BBL over 10 years and I think whoever does end up getting Jodie is going to be very well off, because she’s a leader who’s been developing through our organisation.”We’ve got some very good female leaders coming through. If people say there’s no-one in those roles, look at Leah Poulton as head of female cricket, a role below the executive level. We’ve got the boss in charge of the people side, Bernadette Chehine, some wonderful leaders coming through. We’ve just appointed three of our best up and coming female coaches and given them internships, Sarah Aley, Hannah Trethewy and Lisa Griffith.

Germon on CNSW organisation review

“It’s important I make it clear this has been an 18 to 24 month process. It started with a review of our cricket performance and it was all based on us wanting to be world class and that led to a few changes.

“The structure is less important than how we work together. So we’re going down from eight departments to four squads, and teams within those squads working together to achieve what we want to.

“This is not based on saving money, saving costs, this is done from a position of strength to really catapult us forward in terms of how we deliver cricket. It’s certainly not in response to any certain activity or action or event, it’s something that’s been going for a while and its vision is that we want to be a world leading organisation, not just a cricket one.

“We are very cognisant of developing leaders throughout our organisation and very cognisant of developing female leaders because we want that diversity of thought. We spoke to Jodie about another role here and I think she’s made the right decision to really spread her wings and move on because she has been here for a while. But I would say we want to keep developing our female leaders.”A new NSW executive team reporting directly to Germon comprises Chris Muldoon as head of strategy, governance and insights, Greg Mail as head of cricket performance, Michael Dalton as chief financial officer and a new hire, Anton Brown, as head of customer experience. Brown’s past experience included a long stint with Virgin Active.The organisational changes have raised eyebrows across Australian cricket, particularly after Cricket Victoria’s multiple BBL restructure attempts since the boards and chief executives of the Melbourne Stars and Renegades were dispensed with in 2019. CV recently elected to a return to a structure where two club general managers would report directly to the state’s chief executive, Andrew Ingleton.Germon underlined the fact that the state had concluded, as the result of an 18-month organisational review, that the commercial and “customer facing” areas of the BBL clubs needed to work more closely together, likening them to the two competing drivers within the same Formula One team. This, he argued, was already happening in terms of player recruitment.”I think the BBL GM role has evolved, certainly within CNSW over those four years. Last year our cricket performance team, as part of the performance review, had much greater contribution alongside the GMs around the playing lists and the players,” Germon said. “Ultimately the final sign-off of players contracted sat with our cricket performance team and not with the GMs of the BBL clubs.”They’re competing with one another on the field, but they’re not competing off the field. Both clubs are part of CNSW and that’s the essence of this redesign. Our commercial team joined with the two BBL teams last year, our commercial team sells for both clubs off the field. But on the field absolutely we need that competitive rivalry and tension. I liken it to the Formula One scenario.”While the Sixers men’s side has claimed each of the past two BBL titles, the women’s team has faded from an early dominance of the WBBL to a failure even to make the tournament finals of the most recent edition. Sydney Thunder won this season’s WBBL title.”The on-field performance of the Sixers women didn’t come into the restructure, but having said that, there’s been a thorough review of the Thunder and Sixers WBBL campaigns and that’s where Leah has driven that review and the way forward,” Germon said. “The performance of the WBBL or BBL sides on the field, yes we’re cognisant of it, but this is driven by maximising the off-field benefits of the two clubs.”We need the respective list managers in place because that’s important to the autonomy of the clubs and the competitiveness which we’re well aware of, and also the integrity nature of it.”

South Africa batter also backs his captain Dean Elgar to bounce back from a poor tour

Andrew McGlashan07-Jan-2023South Africa’s Khaya Zondo has questioned whether the light was suitable for play to be continuing at the time of his dismissal in the Sydney Test and also believed he got an inside edge on the yorker from Pat Cummins.Zondo, who fought hard for his 39 after coming in with South Africa 37 for 3, was pinned in front deep in the final session on Saturday with floodlights on when Cummins went around the wicket and produced a brilliant piece of bowling. The lbw was given on field and Zondo did not immediately review but then saw a spike on the replay, although it appeared to be caused by bat hitting the ground.”There was a spike,” Zondo said. “I don’t want to go too on about it, the decision’s made. It is what it is.”It was just dark…that’s what I felt, it was quite dark. He [Cummins] is not slow, is he?”Related

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The umpires set their level for bad light when play was first interrupted on Wednesday. Josh Hazlewood acknowledged it was getting gloomy towards the close as Marco Jansen was peppered by short deliveries, but that was after Zondo’s dismissal.Zondo’s wicket was followed by that of the in-form Kyle Verreynne who edged to slip during a magnificent spell from Cummins, leaving South Africa needing 127 to avoid the follow-on or with 14 wickets to see out the final day.”We’ve got a day to bat, I’m sure we’ve done that before so I’m sure we’ll be able to do it tomorrow,” Zondo said.

Zondo backs Elgar to bounce back from poor tour of Australia

He also had words of support for captain Dean Elgar whose miserable tour with the bat continued with a fierce working over from Hazlewood and Cummins. With one innings remaining, Elgar’s average of 9.20 is the fourth-lowest for a visiting captain to have played at least three matches in a series, behind Courtney Walsh, Ivo Bligh and Arthur Gilligan.”He’s been in good spirits…in the changing room, you don’t see any frustrations,” Zondo said. “I’ve been a captain at domestic level and I know what it can be like. If you are doing it at international level I’m sure it’s 10 times heavier but he’s handling it well.”You can see that he’s experienced, so he knows the wheel will turn. He’s just got to stick to his processes and the team will also gather more experience and come right at some stage. The sun will shine eventually, it won’t stay like this forever.”

Incident took place during a One-Day Cup Division 2 match between KwaZulu-Natal Inland and Northern Cape on December 8 last year

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2023Northern Cape Heat’s Andrew Rasemene and KwaZulu-Natal Inland’s Malcolm Nofal have both been suspended for short periods from first-class cricket by CSA following a physical altercation during their One-Day Cup Division 2 match, played in Kimberley on December 8 last year.Video footage of the incident, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, shows Rasemene, the non-striker at the time, striding towards the celebrating Tuskers players after the dismissal of Grant Thompson. The umpires then rush towards Rasemene, and there appears to be a scuffle between Rasemene and some of the opposition players.While the footage, taken from one static camera, doesn’t provide more details, the umpires’ report, also accessed by ESPNcricinfo, mentions that Rasemene “grabbed him [Nofal] by the throat”.A CSA statement confirmed that the decision to suspend the two players was taken “as a result of a disciplinary report lodged by the umpires, Jurie Sadler and Roderick Ellis, for an alleged breach of clause 6.3.1 and clause 6.5.1 of the Code of Conduct, respectively”. Clause 6.3.1, which relates to Nofal’s offence, is for “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play”, while Rasemene’s offence, 6.5.1, relates to “physical assault of another participant or spectator”.Nofal will now be ineligible for the upcoming 4-Day Series match against Eastern Cape Iinyathi, scheduled for February 9 to 12, and Rasemene will be ineligible for the forthcoming CSA Division 2 4-Day Series matches against Eastern Storm, from February 23 to 26, and against Garden Route Badgers, from March 2 to 5.

The MCC Cricket Committee were “reassured” the new tournament would be a “recognisable form of cricket”

Melinda Farrell07-Aug-20180:56

T20 probably hasn’t reached the level in England as it has elsewhere – Ponting

The ECB has confirmed to the MCC Cricket Committee that they are likely to ditch six-ball overs in The Hundred tournament with bowlers instead sending down 20 deliveries, probably in sets of five balls.The ECB’s chief commercial officer, Sanjay Patel, who is also the managing director of the new competition, made a presentation to the MCC Cricket Committee at Lord’s this week and, while the rules of the proposed tournament remain sketchy, the committee was reassured that the new competition would still be a recognisable form of cricket.”Basically, they’re still developing the concept,” said John Stephenson, the MCC Head of Cricket. “As custodians of the Laws of the game, what we’re concerned about is if you modify the game of cricket too much it ceases to look like cricket.

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“What we heard this morning from Sanjay was quite reassuring … they’re still developing how the final format will be.”The current thinking is 20 five-ball overs, but I think today was part of their consultation. So they wanted to know what we felt about that.”We threw a few questions back about that about whatever modifications there might be.”The idea of a final ten-ball over to possibly be bowled by two bowlers has been one of the more controversial ideas mooted by the ECB. And in recent weeks there have been reports that the ECB is considering having teams of twelve or fifteen players in The Hundred.”I think at the maximum, they’re looking at having a substitute fielder,” Stephenson said. “But I think what that’s about is performance – having the best fielders out there at the right time to field.”But at the moment, as far as I can make out, they’ll have 11 batsmen, they won’t have ‘overs’ per se but 100 balls, 20 balls per bowler.”Apart from that, it’ll look like a normal game of cricket.

“A huge question mark remains on how the dressing room will take him,” Mashrafe Mortaza says

Mohammad Isam02-Feb-2023Chandika Hathurusingha’s appointment as Bangladesh coach has drawn diverse reactions from the country’s cricket fraternity. The new two-year deal will be Hathurusingha’s second stint in this position after he spent three years, from 2014 to 2017, before leaving abruptly for the Sri Lanka role. According to the BCB president Nazmul Hassan, he has now returned as the all-format coach, which all but rules out S Sriram as the T20I coach of the team.The BCB announced Hathurusingha as their new coach on Tuesday, four weeks after Russell Domingo resigned following suggestions from the board that they were looking for a new coach. Hathurusingha was on BCB’s wishlist for a long time even after he had resigned from the post in October 2017.This, despite his successors Steve Rhodes (2018-19) and Domingo (2019-22) having a better win percentage than Hathurusingha. Rhodes had a 51.11 win percentage in 45 matches while Domingo had a 42.34 win percentage in all formats. Both had a much better record in ODIs and T20Is than Hathurusingha, who had a better Test record, having won six out of 21 matches during his reign.Related

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• Russell Domingo resigns as Bangladesh head coach

Many felt that the BCB was hasty to dispose off Rhodes after the 2019 World Cup while Domingo resigned after being put in an untenable position due to the board’s criticism of his coaching style. But the timing remained questionable. The criticism followed the team’s 2-1 ODI home series win against India in December.Former captain Mashrafe Mortaza said that the way Hathurusingha left the Bangladesh job in 2017 left a bad taste in the mouth.”Considering our Test-playing nation’s stature, this is certainly not a good example,” Mashrafe told . “Jamie Siddons was also brought back. They are two of the best coaches in terms of technical and tactical aspects that I have seen. Maybe that’s why the board thought it best to bring him back. There’s also a coaching crisis. It is hard to find coaches since there are so many franchise tournaments. BCB took the right decision in that regard.”There wouldn’t have been a problem had he [Hathurusingha] left properly like Siddons, who wanted to stay back as Bangladesh’s batting coach. Hathurusingha left in the middle of his contracted period. He didn’t pick up the phone of our board president, neither did he reply to his SMS. He left suddenly. There’s always the question of respect.”Jalal Yunus, the BCB’s cricket operations chairman, said that Hathurusingha will be familiar with Bangladesh’s team culture and players, and has already committed to the board for two years.”We are happy,” Yunus told ESPNcricinfo. “He has worked here before so he won’t need a lot of time to adjust here. He knows the players and the environment. He is a good coach. He has the quality that’s needed for the players. He has always shown interest in Bangladesh cricket. I hope this time he will stay long and keep the contractual commitment. Judging by what he has told us, we expect him to work dedicatedly for the two years.”Mashrafe Mortaza on Hathurusingha’s return: [Whether it will be good for Bangladesh cricket or not] depends on how much the board can keep him in check•Getty Images

Mashrafe, who captained 69 of the 102 matches during Hathurusingha’s first stint as Bangladesh coach, said that the players’ response to Hathurusingha returning to the dressing room is his main concern. Towards the second half of his time as Bangladesh coach, there were murmurs about how he was treating the players.”A huge question mark remains on how the dressing room will take him,” Mashrafe said. “The most important thing is, how he and the dressing room is comfortable with each other. Apart from two or four new faces, most of the players are the same [from his first stint].”We have to see whether he forgets the past, or he behaves the same as before and how the players react to these things. Hathurusingha is an international coach, so I am sure he will manage everything. The sooner that happens, the better.Yunus said that the criticism was unnecessary as the BCB was looking for a father figure as a coach. “Headmasterly is not a proper term,” he said. “We need a coach who has to act like a guardian. Someone who can explain to the players, and then get the best out of him. He has that quality.”We have an important series coming up against England. It is part of the ICC Super League. Mainly, he is focused on the World Cup later this year. We have eight to nine months in our hands.”Mashrafe said that the two current captains Tamim Iqbal (ODI) and Shakib Al Hasan (Tests and T20Is) know Hathurusingha well enough to work properly with him. But he said that a lot depends on how the BCB handles Hathurusingha. In the past, he has had public run-ins with two BCB cricket operations committee chairpersons and former chief selector Faruque Ahmed.”Shakib and Tamim are going to coordinate well with Hathurusingha,” Mashrafe said. “They generally have good relations with Hathurusingha, although there were one or two incidents with Shakib. At the end of the day, he is the best player of the team. Hathurusingha also knows the Bangladesh culture, so I feel that he will do well from his end.”His influence will depend on the discussion between Papon [Nazmul Hassan] and Hathurusingha. I believe that Hathurusingha will have a more powerful position this time. [Whether it will be good for Bangladesh cricket or not] depends on how much the board can keep him in check.”Two days before Hathurusingha was named the next coach, BCB director Khaled Mahmud said that he felt it was going to be a timely appointment.”It would be good if Hathurusingha comes,” said Mahmud, who had worked as team manager during Hathurusingha’s first stint. “He has worked in Bangladesh before. There were a lot of good performances during his time. He is more mature [now], which is good for the team. I think it is a positive thing that he is coming for a second time. He understands us well, as he is also from the subcontinent.”Ahmed, who was the chief selector before falling out with Hathurusingha and resigning from the post in 2016, was, however, a bit skeptical.”I think the BCB has brought back Chandika Hathurusingha with a lot of great expectations in mind,” Ahmed told on February 1. “But the board probably forgot how he left the job last time. Usually, those who leave in that manner aren’t able to give back anything good. Subconsciously, both parties remember the previous incidents. When the team will not do well, the BCB will feel why did we get him back. The coach will not be able to say anything boldly. He will also have his last exit in the back of his mind. If his exit were a normal one, there wouldn’t be any questions about his return.”I am doubtful how wise a decision this is. The BCB bringing him back after such a departure will make Hathurusingha’s accountability low. He will dictate to us. I think it is important to work together. From what I know of him, Hathurusingha wants to do everything on his own. But still, I hope that he will work together [with everyone].”Hathurusingha is expected to arrive in Dhaka between February 18 and 20, a week before Bangladesh play England in a three-match ODI series from March 1.

Chris Nash registered his first century for Nottinghamshire to put them in a strong position on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Worcestershire

ECB Reporters Network25-Jun-2018Nottinghamshire 336 for 5 (Nash 139, Libby 88, Patel 76) v Worcestershire
ScorecardChris Nash registered his first century for Nottinghamshire to put them in a strong position on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge. Nash, skippering the side with Steven Mullaney away on England Lions duty, made 139 as the home side reached stumps on 336 for 5.Jake Libby and Samit Patel also posted their highest scores of the season as the home side made the most of favourable batting conditions. Libby made 88 and Patel scored 76, one of three wickets to fall to Steve Magoffin and the second new ball. The Australian seamer closed with figures of 3 for 56.Worcestershire could have saved themselves from some of their suffering in the field, having opted to bowl first. That decision, on a hot steamy day, looked to have backfired as early as the end of the first session, with 100 runs already on the board.Lacking Ed Barnard, on Lions duty, and with Joe Leach and Josh Tongue out injured, the visitors handed pace bowler Dillon Pennington a Championship debut and gave spinner Ben Twohig just a third appearance. The inexperienced pair found themselves trying to stem the tide, alongside Magoffin and Charlie Morris before lunch.Gradual progress was made by the two batsmen during the second session and it was something of a surprise when a wicket fell after a stand of 164. Libby, who hit 10 fours and a six from his 170 deliveries, cut Twohig to slip, where Daryl Mitchell took a sharp one-handed catch.Patel, having been padded up for four hours, was greeted with two loopy full tosses, both of which he crashed away for boundaries to get his innings up and running.Nash went into the tea break undefeated on 99 but pushed a single to mid on at the start of the final session to reach three figures from 176 deliveries. It was the 24th first class century of his career and his fourth at Trent Bridge, after three for his previous county, Sussex.Nash and Patel put on 146 for the second wicket and had brought up the third batting point before Worcestershire struck from an unexpected source. New Zealand international Martin Guptill, veteran of 107 first-class matches, picked up only his 11th first-class wicket – and first in England – in getting Nash lbw with some very gentle offspin. Nash old scored his runs from 225 balls, with 21 fours.The second new ball wasn’t taken until the 89th over of the day and Magoffin made an immediate impact, bowling Patel and having Billy Root caught behind, from successive deliveries. When Ross Taylor was caught at slip by Whiteley for his fourth duck of the summer, Magoffin had taken three for none in five deliveries.Riki Wessels and Tom Moores prevented any further damage, meaning Stuart Broad, given ECB clearance to play, could remain with his feet up inside the dressing room for the entire day. He may well have an important role to play on the second day.