ICC chief executive David Richardson speaks about the need for context in bilateral cricket, the creation of qualifying leagues, and ongoing research on technologies in the DRS

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi30-Jul-2015Can you shine some light on the research being carried out at MIT on the various technologies used in the DRS?
Engineers from the field intelligence unit at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] have been commissioned to independently assess the performance of the technologies used as part of the DRS system. The technologies can be classified in two categories – ball-tracking and edge-detection. The engineers are in the process of building an apparatus to assess the performance of each type of technology at the moment and the results so far look promising. It is likely that the edge-detection apparatus will go through its final tests shortly, and the ball-tracking apparatus is more likely to be ready later in the year.Why are you doing this? Assuming the technologies are shown to be accurate, do you think this will persuade those against DRS to accept it?
Television, ball-tracking and edge-detection technologies have developed and improved significantly since the DRS was first introduced. New technologies are being developed all the time. One concern about DRS, particularly from the players’ and umpires’ perspectives, is that the various technologies used for DRS in different series are not standardised. Our long-term aim is to have one officiating system used across all international matches.In the short term, our aim is to get the DRS working as effectively as possible. The process to achieve this is firstly to test the technology, and secondly, once the results of the testing are known, review the procedures and protocols to ensure they are appropriate. At the end of this process, we should have identified the best officiating system using technology to suit the needs of cricket, and we would hope that all members would want to use it.Are the people who are opposed to the use of DRS just the BCCI or are there others?
The significant majority are in favour of using technology in the decision-making process in international cricket. BCCI is the only Full Member who is currently opposed to the use of DRS in international cricket. The BCCI’s opposition is mainly because they believe the technology is still not fool-proof and that decision-making should be left to the umpires, not the players. There are some other members who choose not to use DRS for their home series, but these are for cost reasons.What is your timeline?
We are hoping to have the testing apparatus finished in the next few months, and then to schedule testing with the technology providers towards the end of this year. Part of the testing will also involve at-match assessments of the technologies, and there are discussions with one technology provider about the first of these assessments taking place next month. We are hoping to be able to provide a full report to the next ICC Cricket Committee meeting in May next year, at which the Committee can review and determine the optimum process and protocols for the DRS going forward.After the ICC annual conference you had said that one of the key issues to be discussed at the October round of the ICC board meetings would be the subject of bilateral series. What were you concerned about?
This is actually something the ICC has wrestled with ever since I joined the organisation back in 2002 – looking at ways in which additional context can be created around the Future Tours Programme [FTP]. Bearing in mind that all members have different scheduling priorities, it has proven challenging to get consensus. The FTP is determined by bilateral agreements entered into between the Members. The results of matches in each series count towards the ICC Test, ODI and T20I rankings, which provide some context, both in themselves and in relation to qualification for the ICC events.However, the international cricket landscape has changed over the years and even more significantly in recent times with the advent and success of domestic T20 leagues such as the IPL, the Big Bash and the CPL. These events are attracting widespread support from fans and hence the interest of broadcasters, sponsors and other commercial partners. Similarly the interest in and value of ICC events such as the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and World T20 has grown significantly over the last eight years or so. The increase in interest in ICC events and domestic T20 leagues effectively provides competition for the interest in bilateral international cricket series [FTP series].Apart from series such as the Ashes – which has an iconic, traditional status – and series between India and the top Full Members, many bilateral series are perceived as having little relevance. Attendances in most series, especially for Test cricket, have fallen and the revenues generated from these series are not growing.Discussions are ongoing as to how this issue can be effectively addressed. How can we grow interest in bilateral series – bigger crowds, more people watching on television, following the series on their phones, tablets and computers? For this to happen, bilateral series need greater context, a clear narrative, improved marketing and a more certain and coordinated schedule. What’s the use of scheduling a series in the monsoon season, or how can you expect to grow the fan base or attract attendances if series are scheduled or changed at the last minute? Australia has the Boxing Day Test, South Africa (more often than not) a New Year’s Test in Cape Town, everyone knows when the Lord’s Test will take place. But elsewhere? India should have a Diwali Test, Barbados maybe an Easter Test, and so on.

“What’s the use of scheduling a series in the monsoon season? How can you expect to grow the fan base or attract attendances if series are scheduled or changed at the last minute?”

How do you make bilateral series more relevant?
Ideas and concepts such as “less is more”, scheduling of more tri-series, creating a brand around the FTP and around individual series, creating a fresh brand for the ODI format itself (World Cup cricket, for example, as Wally Edwards is proposing), creation of Test or ODI World Cup qualifying leagues. These are all ideas that need to be considered and discussed.They have been mooted before, but now with the involvement of Mr Srinivasan as chairman, the BCCI, ECB, CA and the other members, these issues are being seriously looked at.Can you expand on the idea of creating leagues?
Not at this stage, we are just in discussions at the moment. Michael Holding has spoken about a Test league of two divisions. Others have previously suggested a “six and four” teams format. But first the principles and then the detail needs to be debated and agreed.So would leagues replace the rankings?
The debate on leagues is still in the drawing-board phase, but even if leagues were introduced, the rankings would still co-exist. The ICC rankings will always be there. Take international football, for example. They have qualifying leagues for the FIFA World Cup and continental tournaments, separate to the world rankings.Concerning the ODI rankings, recently there was a raging debate on Bangladesh’s qualification for the 2017 Champions Trophy despite them recording handsome wins against stronger opponents Pakistan, India and South Africa. Why does the qualification deadline need to be in September, nearly two years before the tournament?
If we are using rankings as the qualification criterion for an event, it will obviously make sense to make the cut-off date as close as possible to the start of the event itself so as to create more relevance to those matches leading up to the event. However, various operational requirements, such as the determination of venues and ticket sales, do require that the participants and the match schedule of the event are determined a reasonable time out from the start of the tournament. Going forward we will make an effort to determine cut-off dates as close as possible to the start of the event.The MCC recently recommended a 12-team World Cup. Yet the ICC remains reluctant about expanding the number of teams in the World Cup. Why?
The main reason behind the decision to move to a ten-team ICC Cricket World Cup was because it was felt that it would provide the best event – the pinnacle, showcase event for the 50-over format. The 10 best ODI teams with all matches providing the highest-quality competitive cricket. It is essentially the same format as the 1992 Cricket World cup, which many say was the best ever World Cup format.The format will generate the optimum level of revenues for the benefit of all members, and importantly, it gives added profile, value and relevance to the World Cup qualifying pathway i.e. the ODI rankings and the CWC qualifier tournament.It should also not be forgotten that below the CWC qualifier tournament the ICC funds and stages a World Cricket League, which goes down to six divisions, and various regional qualifying events which provide a clear pathway for Associate and Affiliate Members to qualify for the CWC.”The BCCI’s opposition is mainly because they believe the technology is still not fool-proof and that decision-making should be left to the umpires, not the players”•Getty ImagesBut in a way doesn’t that – limiting to ten teams – counter the comment made by the ICC chairman, N Srinivasan, after the annual conference, where he spoke about broadening the game’s reach?
No. The decision on the ICC Cricket World Cup format was made for the reasons mentioned. But it should be viewed in the context of a number of other decisions aimed at growing and developing the game: the decision to increase the number of teams in the ICC WT20 event from 12 to 16 teams; the decision to promote the top two ranked Associate Member teams (Ireland and Afghanistan) to the ODI FTP; the decision to make qualification for the World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the World T20 events based solely on merit, rather than membership status – for example, both Ireland and Afghanistan could qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup by being in the top eight ranked ODI teams at the relevant cut-off date, or if they don’t they still have the chance of qualifying through the qualifying event to be held in 2018. The decision to break the glass ceiling of Test cricket by allowing Associate Members the opportunity to qualify to play Test cricket; the decision to target the better performing Associate Members by providing greater financial and other resources.In 2000 there were 52 Members of ICC. There are now 105. In 2000 there were less than 155,000 participants in the countries outside of the Full Members. There are now more than 1.4 million. The game needs to continue to grow both in Full Member countries and non-Full Member countries.The ICC’s objective over the next four years is to increase the number and quality of teams capable of playing at the highest levels in all three formats of the game.So what is happening to the top Associates like Ireland or Afghanistan, who have been promoted to the ODI FTP? Are they securing fixtures against the Full Members?
Ireland have actually made quite good progress in securing fixtures for themselves. ICC is doing what it can to facilitate the scheduling of these matches and this issue will form part of the ongoing discussions on bilateral cricket.Another talking point is absence of international cricket in Pakistan. Recently Zimbabwe played an ODI series in Pakistan without the ICC match officials and security apparatus. How concerned is the ICC on this subject?
The ICC is concerned that one of its prominent members has not been able to play home series due to reasons beyond its control. But this is a security problem, not a cricket one. The ICC, and indeed those members wishing to send officials or teams to Pakistan, have a duty of care to such persons. This involves assessing the security risk in an objective fashion and then making a decision. If independent security experts advise against sending such teams or officials then it is very difficult for the ICC or members to ignore that advice.I understand that the security situation has improved in recent times, and certainly for the Zimbabwe tour, it was clear that the PCB and the security authorities went to extreme lengths to ensure the safety of all concerned. But, as I have said, it is the security experts that need to be convinced that the security situation is under control before members will be persuaded to send their teams. In the meantime, ICC will continue to support the PCB in whatever way it can.

For several years, Bangladesh batsmen struggled against the short ball. Then, one day, Soumya Sarkar ramped a bouncer over the keeper’s head and forever changed the definition of Bangladesh’s periscope

Mohammad Isam16-Jul-2015The first ever meeting between Bangladesh and South Africa was hardly a contest.In the sixth over of Bangladesh’s 302-run chase, Al Sahariar turned his back on a Makhaya Ntini bouncer with his bat hanging out vertically. The ball struck the bat and spooned up. Jacques Kallis ran back from slip to complete a superb one-handed diving catch. Bangladesh were 12 for 2, slipped to 43 for 6, and ended up losing by 168 runs.Commentators described Sahariar’s dangling bat over his head as a “periscope”. At the time, Bangladesh were not even into their second year as a Test-playing nation, their progress emanating suspicion. Handling the short ball was a prerequisite to playing against top teams, but despite high-billing locally, many like Sahariar were at sea. His dismissal in Potchefstroom symbolised inadequacy.Thirteen years later, in their third tour of Bangladesh, South Africa encountered another periscope. This time it was Soumya Sarkar’s dangling bat, but unlike Sahariar’s periscope, this was deliberate. On Wednesday in the third ODI, Soumya was on 67 in the 19th over when he leaned back and ramped a Kyle Abbott bouncer high over the head of wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, landing just short of the rope. Soumya’s periscope symbolised Bangladesh’s audacity.It was not even the first time he had tried the shot. In the second T20, Soumya attempted it against same bowler but failed to connect. The following day, the ICC tweeted a photo of the shot: “MS Dhoni’s renowned for ‘the helicopter’ – will Soumya Sarkar be renowned for ‘the periscope’? #ShotOfTheDay”The shot seems to be born out of his dismissal against England in the World Cup. Off a Chris Jordan bouncer, Soumya ducked poorly and gloved the ball to the wicketkeeper, ending a promising 40. In the third ODI against Pakistan, he tried the shot for the first time, against Wahab Riaz. He missed an attempted ramp against a 141kph delivery. He tried it a second time against India, in the first ODI. The bowler, Mohit Sharma, bumped one at him from around the wicket and without flinching, Soumya tipped it over MS Dhoni’s head to reach 50.After Wednesday’s game against South Africa, Soumya said it made him happy that the shot now has a name, and that it is associated with him.”I think the ICC gave the name to that shot,” Soumya said. “I just play it to the right delivery. But I made that six. It actually feels good to know that a shot I played has been given a name. I don’t think many people know it, but when they do, it would feel better.”It is not the only perception about Bangladesh that has changed in Soumya’s generation. Scrutinised for not capitalising on starts in his first eight months in international cricket, Soumya made it a point to remain unbeaten in the second ODI. He was close in the third ODI too, giving a soft catch to cover with 16 runs left to chase. Tamim Iqbal was also not out, for the third time in 80 innings batting second for Bangladesh. Soumya has done it twice in three innings and said he would have been happy to finish the chase himself.”There is happiness but I am feeling a little bad as I could not finish the game by being not out. It isn’t about the century, but it would have been great to win by 10 wickets. Hundreds will come later but a win by that margin would have been great,” he said.When asked what he would like to achieve in his career, the answer was another reminder of how much the perception of Bangladesh cricketers had changed over the years. It may sound a far-fetched statement, but Soumya said he wanted big teams to play more regularly against Bangladesh.”I have heard that bigger teams didn’t want to play against Bangladesh. I don’t know where Bangladesh want to go, but I would like all teams want to play against Bangladesh, in any format. I want them to invite us more regularly.”It would be unwise to place too much emphasis on what he is saying about finishing chases and a better tour programme. He is young and has not even completed one year in international cricket. But through the expression of his natural ability on the field, Soumya reflects the changing times in Bangladesh cricket.He can earn full credit for changing the definition of Bangladesh’s periscope.

In the seven ODIs so far against New Zealand and Australia this season, England’s pace attack has struggled to take wickets up front

Andrew McGlashan06-Sep-2015The cry of ‘handball’ might have been expected when England played on Saturday. But in San Marino rather than at Lord’s. Instead, it happened during the second ODI, not even in the pre-match game of football that the cricketers now enjoy so much. The hand in question belonged to Ben Stokes, who, in the judgement of the third umpire, wilfully blocked the path of Mitchell Starc’s throw towards the stumps.For the rest of match Stokes sat on the balcony wearing the stern face of someone who had just been the victim of a harsh red card. Yet while those on either side of the debate threatened to tie themselves in knots over the rights, wrongs, maybes and, heaven forbid, the spirit of cricket, there was one fact that should be under no dispute: it was another convincing win for Australia, leaving England a distant second best.Amid his frustration over the Stokes incident, Eoin Morgan did manage to say, “I don’t think it was the winning and losing of the game.” But when Glenn Maxwell removed Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali shortly after there was no doubt England were done.Barring three wins in a row now for England (or two and some rain) they will end an Ashes summer with an ODI series defeat as they did in 2009 and 2013. Trevor Bayliss watched from Sydney as England went toe-to-toe with New Zealand earlier this season and arrived in the country to read glowing reports of the revival of the team’s one-day fortunes.He was unlikely to have been drawn in by the hype beyond, perhaps, being buoyed by the fact that England were willing to embrace new ideals. Yet as he sat huddled in a thick jacket on a chilly, early-autumn day, he will have been reminded that this will be a significant challenge of his white-ball pedigree.Barring his own thoughts on obstruction, he will not have had to make too many additional notes, either, to those taken at the Ageas Bowl. Australia’s innings followed a similar pattern: a solid base at the top (albeit with David Warner’s injury) and a power-packed innings, this time by Mitchell Marsh, to lead a final-ten surge. England did not manage as many middle-over wickets as in Southampton, although they exercised reasonable control: Australia scored 74 from the 20th to the 35th over.And that brings us to the crux. One-day batting orders – particularly for the two sides on show in the series – are threateningly deep: Mitchell Starc and Liam Plunkett are impressive No. 10s. But in turn that puts the onus on wicket-taking rather than defending. It is why Brendon McCullum endorsed attack – sometimes to the level of four slips – for such long portions of an innings.Adil Rashid’s four-wicket haul in Southampton was an encouraging display – and he nabbed Steven Smith for a second time at Lord’s – but he, and England’s other change-bowling options – are having to operate on the back of very little damage inflicted at the top. Steven Finn’s dismissal of Joe Burns was the only reasonably early wicket, when he was bowled in the ninth over, which Morgan acknowledged was a disappointing return given conditions.It continued a trend. In the seven ODIs against New Zealand and Australia so far this season, on only one occasion have England had the opposition more than two wickets down at the 25-over mark. That was at Edgbaston when New Zealand were flinging the bat chasing over 400. Batsmen are allowed to play well, and England have bowled against some in-form players, but a picture is emerging of a one-day pace attack that lacks a cutting edge.England shuffled the pack at Lord’s, bringing in Plunkett for the rested Mark Wood, but the end result was not vastly different. The pacemen were four right-armers. Plunkett nudged the speedgun over 90mph, but when he found the edge of Maxwell’s bat before he had scored there was no one at slip to try for the catch (what would Brendon say?) Plunkett’s pace is about the fastest an England bowler achieves at the moment, but 90mph is the exception rather than, for example, Pat Cummins who is regularly over the mark.It is not that Australia have plucked out huge numbers of the early wickets – at 25 overs England were two down at the Ageas Bowl and three down at Lord’s – but with Cummins’ speed, Starc’s yorkers and Nathan Coulter-Nile’s splice-jarring aggression, Steven Smith has clear wicket-taking options to turn to. And that does not mention the golden arms of Marsh or Maxwell or those on the sidelines: Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood and James Faulkner.It is a reminder, as was the World Cup final, that Australia are a notch above. On days when they are off target the ball can fly, but Australia have long put a high value on outright pace. For example, in 2009 and 2010 England felt the full force of blistering spells by Brett Lee and Shaun Tait at Lord’s.The two pitches so far in the series were flat, although not without decent pace and carry. That is how it should be in one-day cricket. While, ideally, the ball should hold the edge over the bat in Tests, in one-day cricket there is no problem with it being the other way – not that the occasional low-scoring scrap would not be enjoyable. It means a tough life for the bowlers, but they need to find a way.However, for England there is no point trying to match something you do not have – or at least not in abundance. You have to work with what is on offer. They have some variety sat on the bench. The combative David Willey has no great pace – even his dad, Peter, said that in an engaging feature shown during T20 finals day – but he is a left-armer who swings it.Reece Topley, the Essex but soon-to-be Hampshire left-armer, has also been added to the squad. Again, he won’t push the speed much past the low 80s but he can bowl a good yorker and, as he showed in the T20, is shrewd with the slower ball. While it would not frighten the Australians, it might make them think. Failing that, they could hope for a helping hand.

It is fitting that spin is playing a key role for Australia in Michael Clarke’s final Test as he has always been a captain who has understood and nurtured the art

Daniel Brettig at The Oval22-Aug-2015If a straightforward grab from the outside edge of Ben Stokes turns out to be Michael Clarke’s final catch in Test cricket, then it will be an entirely fitting epitaph for the captain’s four years marshalling his men in the field.That’s because the catch was taken off the bowling of Nathan Lyon, a man who has grown enormously under Clarke’s wing to become a central player in this team and arguably Australia’s finest offspin bowler. Given the many and varied difficulties faced by the nation’s spinners in the 21st century, the growth of Lyon into a genuinely world-class bowler should stand as Clarke’s greatest legacy to the Australian team.Several months ago in the West Indies, Lyon became Australia’s most prolific offspinner. With his wickets at The Oval, Lyon has climbed into the top 10 offspin bowlers in the history of the game. Of those, only Muttiah Muralitharan, Graeme Swann and Jim Laker have bettered Lyon’s strike rate. By any measure, it is quite a feat.But when the context of Australian spin bowling in a post-Warne world is added to the picture, the achievements of Lyon in partnership with Clarke enter the realm of the extraordinary. All statistical measures of the game indicate that it has never been harder to bowl finger spin down under, while the expectations created by Warne were such that a succession of his replacements were crushed by their weight.Back in 2011, Clarke started his captaincy without even knowing who his spin bowler would be. A relentless cycle of selection missteps and indifferent performances had churned through Stuart MacGill, Brad Hogg, Beau Casson, Cameron White, Jason Krejza, Nathan Hauritz, Xavier Doherty, Michael Beer and a fledgling Steven Smith. On his first tour as captain in Bangladesh, Clarke reflected on what he wanted. Vitally, he made it clear he was not looking for another Warne. That much had not always been clear among others.”The one thing we need to continue to remember though is we’re never going to get another Shane Warne,” Clarke said in a Dhaka hotel room. “He’s one of a kind and I think as the Australian public and the expectation we have with our spin bowlers, things have changed. We certainly haven’t got Warney, we’ve moved from that.”But I do believe spin bowling will play a huge part in Australian cricket’s success going forward, it’s just about using them the right way, supporting them and getting the most out of what they do. Hopefully I can set some good fields and show them good faith and support them as much as I possibly can.”Lyon was then hurled into the fray on the basis of one promising domestic season for South Australia and a short Australia A tour to Zimbabwe. When the Test team arrived in Sri Lanka for Clarke’s first Test assignment in charge, most figured that Beer would play first as the incumbent spinner. But Clarke and the selector on duty Greg Chappell warmed to Lyon’s flight, dip and spin, offering him a debut on a turning pitch in Galle.Right from the start, Clarke proved true to his word in supporting Lyon. Very first ball, he dived to claim a blinding catch when Kumar Sngakkara edged a biting off break. A feel-good five-wicket haul ensued, immediately shoring up Lyon’s place in the XI and also firming his relationship with Clarke. If Lyon and Clarke had little in common off the field, it made negligible difference to their growing affinity on it.The road from Galle 2011 to the Oval in 2015 has not always been a smooth one. Lyon was twice dropped from the team two years ago, first for Doherty when bowling inconsistently in India then for Ashton Agar when bowling rather better in England. But by the third Test of that Ashes series Lyon was back in the XI, and he has stayed there ever since, improving all the time and growing in the sort of confidence a spin bowler must have.One under-rated element of England preparing a pair of grassy pitches for Edgbaston and Trent Bridge was the fact that Lyon was left with little to do, and Clarke with few opportunities to use him. Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting were always at their most comfortable rotating their fast bowlers on lively strips, but Clarke has enjoyed the sleight of hand utilised by a spin bowler and his captain. Like his batting, Clarke’s captaincy has been an affair of skill and subtlety rather than power and muscle. In how he has handled Lyon, Clarke has left a helpful blueprint for successors to emulate.This was never more evident than at The Oval. Though Clarke’s batting has deteriorated badly, his aptitude in the field can still be glimpsed. On day two, he took a six-over-old ball from the hands of his pacemen on a surface where the ball had seamed and swung, allowing Lyon to use it even before Peter Siddle had done so. Clarke had often observed how Ponting generally used his spin bowler last of all in the attack, leaving the impression the captain felt his spin bowler only fourth or fifth likely to take a wicket. Here was the opposite extreme.Increasingly, Lyon has revelled in such commissions, using the hard ball and prominent seam to extract steep bounce and quick turn. Faced with Alastair Cook, Lyon ripped down an off break that curled nicely in towards middle stump before snapping back to flick the outside of off stump. Lyon has not bowled a more gorgeous delivery in all his 46 Tests.On day three, Lyon returned the favour to Clarke by nipping out a pair of wickets when very little was happening for the pacemen. Jonny Bairstow was done by spin and bounce from over the wicket to squeeze a catch to short leg, Lyon’s line a product of now established confidence to bowl from either over or around the stumps with no discernible loss of comfort or danger. Four balls later, and a loopier ball tossed into the rough had Stokes misjudging length and spin to skew a catch to Clarke. From beneath the captain’s white floppy hat, a grin emerged.When Clarke then called upon Smith for an over of speculative leg breaks that reaped the wicket of Cook, the sense that Australia are losing a leader with an innate sense for timing and spin bowling was only enhanced. Australia will leave England with plenty of issues to mull over, but the quality and confidence of their spin bowler will not be one of them. They have Lyon and Clarke to thank for that.

ESPNcricinfo’s wrap of the second week of the Women’s Big Bash League

Geoff Lemon and Adam Collins17-Dec-20152:20

Hurricanes emerge sentimental favourites

Harris fords on to chew back a deficit after playing her hand solo
Intergalactic lasers may be dominating cinemas, but the special effects began on the WBBL’s second weekend, when Grace Harris hit hyperdrive to smash the league’s first century. Her 103 from 55 balls gave a new hope to Brisbane Heat after three losses to start the season, and a force awakened as they won their next three in a row.We’ve been waiting for something special from Harris, the most exciting new talent to come on the scene for some time. She’s an untidy looking cricketer, with her amble to the crease and her slump-shouldered stance, but she uses her height to generate tremendous power through the ball, and can produce a late cut as delicate as anyone’s.Her long-hitting reputation preceded her first international appearance, as an injury replacement for Delissa Kimmince in the T20 segment of the 2015 Women’s Ashes. Mostly batting at No.6 or No.8, she only got to face 58 balls across the tour, but hit six of them out of the arena. A debut duck was her only innings with a strike rate below 100.For the WBBL, she was given the responsibility of opening the innings, and on this broader canvas expressed herself so vividly in Game 8. Four sixes and 14 fours, ranging from the cleanest of straight hits to the dirtiest of slogs, but connecting so consistently that four Sixers bowlers went at more than 10 an over.Then when the Sixers were flying in the chase, with New Zealand international Sara McGlashan on 61 from 29 balls, who should hit the stumps in her first over? That was just after dismissing the unfortunate Sarah Aley, whose bowling Harris had helped sack for 35 runs off two overs. You have much to learn, young padawan.Not content with pummelling the Sixers once, Harris doubled down in the weekend’s second game against them with three more wickets, then smacked 43 off 33 in a successful chase. Harris currently tops the competition for runs and wickets, and the only player to top her batting strike rate of 164.58 is Kristen ‘Laser’ Beams who has faced two balls. Can’t wait for Harris to destroy the Melbourne Death Stars.Knight shows up in shining armour
Before the tournament, English all-rounder Heather Knight introduced herself modestly as Hobart Hurricanes skipper by saying she hoped her charges could finish in the top four. After four wins to top of the ladder ahead of more fancied rivals, it’s time to up those expectations.Knight has led from the front in every way. Three times she’s won the toss and set a total big enough to account for travelling opposition. Every game she’s scored between 25 and 50. With the ball, efficient and effective middle over spells have netted six wickets and a pair of player of the match awards.Both times the Renegades chased, the games were in the balance. First time around the result was defined by a single moment. If you haven’t seen Corinne Hall’s catch, look it up. She claimed the ball in the end of her fingers after running at full pace with the flight before launching into a full-stretch leap. It set a standard: three run-outs followed, including two from Hall, who was appropriately gonged as best on ground.The second leg was far closer, with eight needed from two deliveries. South African Dane van Niekerk (45) got the first away via a reverse sweep, but was caught sweeping conventionally on the last ball, the visitors falling four short.In Saturday’s second game Adelaide’s Megan Schutt demolished Hobart’s top order, picking up three home batsmen for ducks in her first eight balls. But again through Knight (50) and Emma Thompson (41) there was consolidation then acceleration to reach 7 for 117.With Sarah Taylor at the crease anything is possible, and with her even-paced 34 the Strikers should have walked it in from 1 for 83 with five overs to go. But the bowlers held their nerve for another triumph, this time by two runs.Demoralised after twice having the game in their hands, Adelaide was pushed over for 83 in the rematch. Hobart cruised to a nine wicket win. All aboard the Cane Train.Grace Harris scored the first hundred of the WBBL (file photo)•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesSixers and sevens in Sydney debacle
The contrast is stark for the competition’s self-proclaimed razzle-dazzle franchise the Sydney Sixers, who have slumped to a 0-4 start after losing twice to the Heat and once to the Scorchers in their ill-fated trip to Perth.The most alarming part is the bowling: in four innings they have struck just six times while leaking 7.65 an over.Puzzling too is that this comes with the world’s best fast bowler in at the helm. Ellyse Perry, player of the series in the Women’s Ashes earlier in 2015, is yet to claim a wicket and has gone for plenty. Grace Harris took Perry apart during that century, and nearly broke her hand with a thunderous drive.Out of sorts with the bat as well, three of Perry’s four innings in the tournament haven’t got past seven; in that doomed chase of 190 against the Heat Perry’s quick 24 was her one meaningful contribution.There’s no bigger name and no greater all-round talent in women’s cricket, so it wouldn’t surprise to see this hapless opening become motivation for a powerful rally. But it will have to start soon. Another weekend like the last two, and they’ll be an early exit from finals contention.WBBL arrives in your lounge room
Carrying on from earlier cinematic references, there’s another screen premiere this weekend: the first two women’s domestic games ever to appear on free-to-air television. Big Bash League broadcaster Channel Ten will show the Heat taking on the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday afternoon Australian time, while late Sunday morning will see the Sixers try to improve their season on home ground against the Scorchers.That’s part of what will make Week 3 of the WBBL the biggest of the season. Eleven games across three days in two carnivals in two cities. All eight teams will be involved, and the table will make a bit more sense when we’re done, though we’ll still have the Sydney Thunder on four games to Brisbane on nine.The Heat are hosting one of the carnivals, with the Renegades, Thunder and Strikers visiting the Gabba and Allan Border Field. The Sixers host the other, with the Scorchers, Stars and Hurricanes taking the competition to the SCG, Drummoyne Oval and Blacktown. As the season moves on, there will be plenty of games in Adelaide, Hobart and Melbourne to come.

Having already broken the record for the highest score in all known cricket, Pranav Dhanawade told his father he would ‘score big tomorrow’, and proceeded to smash his way to a life-changing 1009 not out

Srikanth Ravishanker05-Jan-20163:15

The 1009* boy

On Monday morning, Prashant Dhanawade was plying his autorickshaw as usual around Kalyan, a sleepy northern suburb of Mumbai, when he got a phone call from a friend. “Go to the Union Cricket Academy ground,” his friend said. “Your son has scored 300 and doesn’t look like slowing down.”Prashant called his wife Mohini and asked her to light up the house in celebration, then rushed to the ground. He watched Pranav score another 300 runs, then returned with Mohini the next morning to watch him cross four figures and break just about every school-batting record.By Tuesday evening the modest neighbourhood of Wayale Nagar, where the ground is located, was Cricket Central. ” [The BBC guys are on their way! They just called],” said a stray voice at the ground. Prashant and Mohini struggled to catch their breath in between boundary-side interviews, while Pranav, after spending 396 minutes at the crease, took the field in his wicketkeeping attire, which he gave up after a few overs to field at slip.Whatever else life holds for the Dhanawades, these two days will be unforgettable. However small the ground and however weak the opposition, this record is now Pranav’s. His name is in the books. His name figured in all the tweets. Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni praised him, and even Michael Atherton mentioned his achievement in commentary during the Cape Town Test between South Africa and England.”I wasn’t at the ground,” Prashant says. “Pranav’s friend’s father called me up and told me that Pranav has scored a triple-century. I couldn’t believe it. By the time I reached the ground he had crossed 350, and went on and on, breaking record after record, and we didn’t even know that he was breaking them. After going home at night, he himself told me, [dad, I will score big tomorrow], and today he crossed 1000.”Pranav’s mother wasn’t aware of the records her son was steadily breaking. “I was at home when [Prashant] called me and asked me to deck up the house. ‘Your son has scored 300,’ he said. He kept calling me from the ground and updating me on his scores, but I didn’t realise anything till it was night. I thought he was just batting well. But when he got home I realised the magnitude of what he had achieved, and I couldn’t have been prouder.”Everyone was celebrating, even the opposition bowlers – who knew their names would also be part of the record.” [He hit me for 33 runs in two overs], [and also smashed two sixes of me],” Mayank Gupta, tiny and barely out of his puppy fat, says in a chirpy voice filled with pride. Then he points, one after the other, to two of his team-mates. ” [He smacked him for 200 runs, and him too].”Eventually, even the opposition bowlers were celebrating Pranav Dhanawade’s feat – they knew their names would also be part of the record•ESPNcricinfo LtdNone of this was planned, of course, but it was no accident either. Harish Sharma, Pranav’s school coach, said he promoted the wicketkeeper to open the batting after a chat with him, and asked him to hang in there and build an innings.”During friendly school matches I sent him in at No. 7 or 8, and when the team needed him the most, he would play a rash shot and get out,” Harish says. “He has a good technique, a wide range of strokes and he’s quite powerful. I then thought that I can send him as an opener and I asked him if he was ready. He grabbed the opportunity and said ‘yes sir, I’ll go’. I made him promise me that if you’re going to open, you have spend time at the wicket, for which you have to be mentally and physically prepared, to which he agreed.”The score was Pranav’s first century in any tournament recognised by the Mumbai Cricket Association. “But he has otherwise scored centuries in school cricket and friendly matches,” his father points out. “His game is such that he scores quickly – with that kind of game there are very few chances of scoring a century; he would bat lower down the order because of which he wouldn’t get to face many balls. But now that he opens, he has all the time to score.”What does the future hold for Pranav? On one hand is the example of Sachin Tendulkar, whose feats of heavy run-scoring as a schoolboy, including the famous partnership with Vinod Kambli, are the stuff of legend. On the other is that of AEJ Collins, who held the previous record score of 628 not out, scored in 1899.”For a while Collins was public property,” Martin Williamson wrote on ESPNcricinfo. “Today all men speak of him,” wrote one newspaper. “He has a reputation as great as the most advertised soap: he will be immortalised.”But Collins never played first-class cricket. It is too early, therefore, to tell what Pranav’s future will look like. But one thing is for sure. Nothing will be the same when he walks out to bat the next time.His cousin Rugved Lad puts it in perspective. “He’s in tenth [grade] now, so cricket had taken the back seat to studies, though he’s good at both. He also plays kabbadi. But after this, everything has changed. Cricket will definitely be his first priority.”His school, his neighbourhood club, pretty much every IPL franchise, his Ranji Trophy team, the millions across the world who were following the updates on his feat – everyone hopes it will.

South Africa began and ended 2015 as the No. 1 Test side in the world but the security they felt as the year opened was a distant memory long before it came to a close

Firdose Moonda in Durban31-Dec-2015South Africa will end 2015 in the same place they began it, at the top of the Test rankings, but not in control of them. With just one win from eight Tests this year, no 100-run partnerships for the first time since 1963 and on their joint-longest winless streak (7) since readmission, they are teetering on the edge. This is how the story of that turnaround.v West Indies, Cape Town, January 2-6,
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South Africa’s sole success came at the start of the year against an ailing West Indies team who posted a par first innings score at Newlands despite their problems. South Africa responded with a century from AB de Villiers and half-centuries from Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis – their only scores over 50 in Tests this year – and their only total over 300 in 2015. Dale Steyn and Simon Harmer took seven in the match respectively to seal a series win.The first gusts of change began to blow when Alviro Petersen announced his retirement post-match. He had not scored a half-century in 11 innings and had gone 27 without a hundred so it seemed a sensible decision to avoid the drop but, at 34, he was one of South Africa’s most experienced players.

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v Bangladesh, Chittagong, July 21-27
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The dust from the fifty-over World Cup, which swirled with selection controversies over transformation, had three months to settle before South Africa took the field again. They did so without de Villiers for the first time since his Test debut 11 years ago (he was on paternity leave) and with a new opening pair. Stiaan van Zyl, the regular No. 3 was promoted and in his first outing, shared in two half-century stands with Dean Elgar. But the only batsman to hit an individual fifty was de Villiers’ replacement, Temba Bavuma. Ducks for Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy saw South Africa skittled for less than 250. A malaise was set in motion.The attack, which shared success between Steyn, Harmer and Vernon Philander, was made to toil and Bangladesh took a 78-run first innings lead before van Zyl and Elgar stirred a little. The rain did the rest.

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v Bangladesh, Dhaka, July 30-August 3
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The first major change was made when de Kock was dropped for poor batting form which had stretched back to the limited-overs’ series and the wicket-keeping duties handed to Dane Vilas. At 31, Vilas was surprised to receive a call-up and even more surprised when he went from being a back-up in de Villiers’ absence to a serious contender for a long-term role. He did not really get the chance to show what he could do. Four days were washed out after Steyn and Duminy shared six wickets between them.

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v India, Mohali, November 5-7
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With de Villiers back and Vilas retained, South Africa were gunning for a first series win in India in 15 years and expected it to be tough. They prepared for turn from day one and they were right. But it was their own spinner who owned the early honours. Elgar took 4 for 22 so that even without Morne Morkel, who had a quad injury, South Africa bowled India out for 201. Kagiso Rabada debuted in the match while JP Duminy sat out with a hand injury.South Africa then responded woefully, losing five wickets to R Ashwin and all 10 to spin in the first innings but then came back to bowl India out for 200 despite losing Steyn to a groin injury mid-match. Imran Tahir, on comeback, and Harmer took eight wickets. A target of 218 seemed gettable but India’s spinners did not think so. Nine wickets were shared between them, many of them deliveries that did not turn, and the match was over inside three days.South Africa’s woeful year•ESPNcricinfo Ltdv India, Bangalore, November 14-18.
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In the days between matches, South Africa trained on scuffed-up surfaces where the ball turned square. Kyle Abbott was flown in as cover for Steyn, who was desperately trying to recover for de Villiers’ 100th Test. He did not. Then another blow came when Philander tore ankle ligaments in warm-ups the day before the game and was ruled out for eight weeks. Morkel and Duminy had both healed but South Africa’s mental scars had not.On the best batting deck they would see for seven weeks, they allowed Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja free reign. Du Plessis was out for a second duck in three innings. He had scored 1 in between. South Africa were 78 for 4 before de Villiers saved their blushes with an aggressive 85 at his second home ground. Still, they barely eked out 200 and were in danger of conceding a massive deficit. India were 80 without loss at the end of the first day and then it rained… and rained… and rained.

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v India, Nagpur, 25-27 November
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Ten days of preparation should have given South Africa enough time to work on any technical issues with the bat and for Steyn to recover but neither happened. Steyn had apparently pushed himself so hard to play in Bangalore it would cost him the rest of the series and the batsmen proved to be in even more of a spin.The attack was up for it as Morkel and Harmer combined to shoot India out for 215 but the line-up could see generous turn first-up and it spooked them. In their worst display against India, South Africa were shot out for 79. Only three batsmen got into double figures. Du Plessis and Duminy were among them but Amla managed just 1. All the wickets fell to spin. The South Africa who were terrified of the subcontinent in the mid-90s seemed to be back to that thought process, only worse.On a pitch the ICC eventually rated as poor, India also struggled, Tahir secured a second five-for and Morkel delivered a searing spell of reverse-swing but South Africa needed 310 to win and with more than three days left in the match, many more minutes to survive. They made some valiant attempts. Amla batted for three hours 40 minutes and faced 167 balls for 39, du Plessis batted for three hours five minutes and faced 153 balls for the same score but their spirit was broken. The series was lost and their nine-year unbeaten run on the road ended.

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v India, Delhi 3-7 December
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With only pride to play for, South Africa promised they would do better. They left out van Zyl, who was clueless against spin, Rabada, who had played every game on tour and Harmer, inexplicably, and let Bavuma, not seen since Bangladesh, open the batting and gave Abbott and Dane Piedt a run. Both bowlers impressed and they took nine wickets between them – Abbott the first five-for by an overseas seamer in Delhi since the year he was born (1987) – but Ajinkya Rahane showed run-scoring was more possible here than anywhere else.South Africa did not think so: they could not deal with either pace or turn and fell for 121. There was another duck for du Plessis, another single score for Amla, another embarrassment. India declared after Rahane’s second century and South Africa had no choice but to attempt another blockathon.Bavuma batted two-and-a-half hours and faced 117 balls for an assured 34, Amla and de Villiers lasted five hours or so, du Plessis another two. Duminy did the duck walk. Vilas, who had gone unnoticed in runs terms and battled unfamiliar bounce behind the stumps, looked inept. Jadeja and Ashwin took turns taking five-for. South Africa could only think of home.Injuries to Dale Steyn did not help South Africa’s cause•Associated Press

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v England, Durban, 26-30 December
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In the comfort of their own surroundings, South Africa seemed a little more settled. Steyn was back, van Zyl was back, Bavuma was moved down, Piedt and Abbott were retained but Tahir and Vilas were not. De Villiers would keep wicket. It was a different looking team but it turned out that nothing had changed.The bowlers did their bit, the batsmen did not. Steyn got injured, Amla had questionable shot selection, du Plessis was out in single figures twice, Duminy once. Elgar scored the first century since that first match against West Indies but, flashes from de Villiers apart, there was little else. When the collapse came, it came quickly and calamitously. South Africa highest total was 214, as it had been in India.Behind the scenes, there was discontent. There were suggestions de Villiers wanted to retire because of a heavy workload and former captain Graeme Smith told the BBC’s Test Match Special he sensed “a few rumblings” in the dressing room. Russell Domingo, the coach, rubbished that. He claimed he had a “happy camp,” who were “backing each other”. But the selectors were not backing anyone properly.

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For the start of 2016, de Kock will be back to take the gloves from de Villiers. Steyn could still be injured so Rabada will play to keep the transformation balance in check while Bavuma, who hasn’t had the chance to do much wrong or right, may be benched. Chris Morris and Hardus Viljoen are also in the squad, with doubts over Kyle Abbott’s fitness. Van Zyl, du Plessis and Duminy will probably – and wrongly – survive. Stephen Cook, the only actual opening batsmen in the runs, has not got a look in.Whatever the year brings, South Africa will not want to end 2016 the way they will start it.

After a tough introduction to international cricket as a bowler, Shuvagata Hom returns to the T20 squad in a role that suits him better – a lower-order big-hitter

Mohammad Isam in Khulna12-Jan-2016Shuvagata Hom, the Bangladesh allrounder, has found his way back into the Bangladesh team for the first time in six months.But questions of his faltering Test career do not go away. At the first mention of it, he broke into a wide smile. It wasn’t a happy one though; more like one that comes when reminded of a painful memory. He played seven Tests as an offspinner from September 2014 to June 2015, but there were periods when he did not even get to bowl. Also, his batting position was too low to have an impact on the game.Chief selector Faruque Ahmed had been among those concerned about Shuvagata’s place in the Bangladesh side during the Test series against Pakistan in April 2015. Shuvagata was dropped thereafter, but has not gone down without a fight. He made three fifties on Bangladesh A’s tour of India and a 92 against Zimbabwe A.A strong BPL 2015 has also helped – he made only 94 runs in nine innings, but his brisk cameos were just what champions Comilla Victorians needed in the middle and end overs. Those performances have brought him a place in the Bangladesh T20 side to face Zimbabwe later this month, where he will play a role more suited to him, that of a lower-order big-hitter.”I played in the Test team as a bowling allrounder but I think of myself as a batting allrounder,” Shuvagata said. “I got opportunities to bat for the Bangladesh A team after getting dropped from the national team. By doing well in that team, I got back my confidence. I felt that I could make a comeback by making use of those batting opportunities for Bangladesh A. This is an opportunity to get myself a place in the side for the Asia Cup and World T20.”Bangladesh have been searching for batsmen who can play strokes from the get-go with the World T20 coming up, and it has led them to Shuvagata, whose strike rate of 142.42 was the second best in the BPL among batsmen who played at least nine innings. “I am a strokeplayer so I think that’s why they picked me in T20s. I enjoy this format because it fits my style of batting. I hope I do well in this series whenever I get a chance.”In the BPL there were times when I got some time to think out in the middle. But I also tried to play shots instantly in the last few overs,” he said.In September 2014, Shuvagata was thought to be a like-for-like replacement for the specialist offspinner Sohag Gazi. He continued to play that role until his relegation from the national outfit. Now he comes back as a batsman down the order who can hit out from ball one. Will his reinvention be successful? The four T20s against Zimbabwe that start on January 15 will be a good chance to find out.

Plays of the day from the World T20 qualifier between Ireland and Oman in Dharamsala

Vishal Dikshit09-Mar-2016The other Rhodes
You have seen Jonty Rhodes do it. You have seen Ricky Ponting do it, even in his mid-30s in the IPL. On Wednesday evening in Dharamsala, an unknown entity from Oman showed flying skills that proved his team could not be taken lightly. After Paul Stirling collected boundaries with a few crunching drives early on, another one of them ended his innings. He drove left-arm spinner Aamir Kaleem towards extra cover where Zeeshan Maqsood flung to his left and plucked the ball out of its route with a stunning one-handed catch.The screamer
With the chase was swinging from one side to the other, Amir Ali, leading Oman’s counterattack, clobbered a short ball that was going well over the midwicket boundary, but Gary Wilson also changed the course of the ball. He went back as far as he could near the rope and then almost flew backwards over the boundary to claw the ball back into the playing area. For a fraction of a second, he had even taken the catch, but saving five runs proved to be useful too.The other Malinga
Even as Lasith Malinga’s availability for the World T20 remains doubtful, the tournament glimpsed another version of him. Oman pacer Munis Ansari was already drawing the attention of the TV commentators with his slingy action, reminiscent of Malinga, and then he started bowling accurate yorkers and well-disguised slower deliveries. He topped it all in the last over of Ireland’s innings when he splattered Kevin O’Brien’s stumps with a dead-straight delivery that the batsman had backed away for and missed completely. The ball crashed into the stumps and uprooted the leg pole.The swipe
The Oman openers – Zeeshan Maqsood and Khawar Ali – had started taking the Ireland bowlers apart when Kevin O’Brien came into the attack. O’Brien was dispatched for a four and a six in the beginning of his second over by Khawar, who was growing in confidence. But Khawar got carried away and in an attempt to steer the ball to third man, edged the ball onto the stumps. What would have proved more dangerous, though, was the swipe he made with his bat in frustration after the dismissal; it nearly took a part of O’Brien with it, but he skipped out of the way in time.

Preston Mommsen, Scotland’s captain, says his team’s lack of exposure is denying them the chance to bridge the gap between potential and results.

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur10-Mar-20162:10

How can we improve playing no cricket? – Mommsen

Twenty matches, no wins. There is no way to soft-pedal Scotland’s record in ICC tournaments, but their displays both in the 50-over World Cup last year and the ongoing World T20 have suggested they are probably a better side than those numbers indicate. According to their captain Preston Mommsen, their lack of exposure between ICC tournaments – particularly in ODIs, and particularly against Full Member sides – is denying Scotland the chance to bridge the gap between potential and results.”In general, it’s tough to attribute our lack of getting over the line,” Mommsen said. “I do go on about it, but there is a lack of international cricket for us. Since the 2015 World Cup I have played in one ODI match – in 12 months.”That contest, a 109-run defeat in January, came at the hands of Hong Kong in the World Cricket League Championship. Outside of the World Cup, Scotland have played two matches against Full Member nations since May 2013 – one against Australia at the end of that summer’s Ashes, and another against England the following spring.”So, you tell me how I’m going to improve my skills and develop as a cricketer,” said Mommsen. “That definitely has something to do with it. Playing under pressure, being exposed to a higher level of skill, exposed to different conditions, you know it all adds up, every little percentage. You know unfortunately that’s just the way it is and we try and handle it in the best way we can. However, it probably does take its toll.”In their two matches so far at the World T20, Scotland pushed both Afghanistan and Zimbabwe hard. Afterwards, Mommsen claimed his side were probably as good as either of them.”I do [think we are as good as Zimbabwe and Afghanistan]. One hundred percent. I think it’s quite remarkable that that’s the first time I have played Zimbabwe in my cricketing career of six years.”Quite clearly there is no substantial gap between the two teams. I am absolutely not surprised that Afghanistan have beaten them 4-0 in a T20 series.”It’s disappointing, obviously, that we haven’t come here and delivered. I think we’re a very talented side and we have let ourselves down. In all honesty I think we have played some good cricket and some bad cricket, and those periods in the game have let us down.”Having made it to the World T20 via a qualifying tournament in Ireland last year, the format of the event meant Scotland and all the other qualified teams outside the top eight in the ICC T20 rankings had to compete in another round among themselves before getting a shot at facing the bigger teams.When asked if playing in a world event put them under more pressure than they had faced in Malahide in July, Mommsen was derisive about the tournament’s official nomenclature.”You said ‘ this was a qualifying event’? This a qualifying event, no two ways about it,” he said. “Of course it’s pressure. We’re an Associate team.”I’m not sure people realise the pressure associated with playing as an Associate. Every time you take the field, no matter what version of cricket – T20s, 50 overs, four-day cricket – you’re playing for something, you’re playing for a place, you’re playing for money, you’re playing for funding, you’re playing for opportunity.”We don’t have just bilateral one-day series where we can go and experience different conditions, different elements and play different teams. That’s not part of Associate cricket. Associate cricket is about winning at all costs, and unfortunately that’s just the nature of the beast, and it is a beast.”Nevertheless, Mommsen insisted Scotland’s cricketing future was bright, despite their World Cup and World T20 record.”Yeah, that’s the fact, we haven’t won a game [in 20 tries]. It’s hard for me to say that. I still think the future is bright. We soldier on and we have a lot of belief. There is a lot of skill and there’s a lot of talent and I think it has been evident over the last two games.”That partnership yesterday [between George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer], that was world-class stuff. With the ball at times we’ve shown that we have the skills. So you know I am not down at all. I think there’s a lot of talent coming through.”We qualified for the Under-19 World Cup recently, which is always a positive sign, and you know we have a good structure in Scotland at the moment, we have a good coaching staff, a new chief executive with a very, very good business background. There are things pointing in the right direction. However, regretfully, we weren’t quite able to show that on the park in the last two games.”