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She quits the sport as the most prolific wicketkeeper in women’s ODI history

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2023South Africa wicketkeeper Trisha Chetty has retired from all cricket, bringing the curtains down on a 21-year domestic and 16-year international career. Chetty retires because of a recurring back injury which also made her miss last month’s T20 World Cup at home.She finishes with a record 182 dismissals with the gloves in women’s ODIs, 46 more than the second woman on the list, Sarah Taylor.Chetty, 34, last played for South Africa in an ODI against England in July 2022. Having not represented the country in almost eight months, it was also unlikely that Chetty would have received a national contract that is set to be announced later this month.Related

• Dane van Niekerk confirms her international retirement

She made her international debut in 2007 and was among the generation of players who rose as women’s cricket transitioned from amateur to professional in South Africa. She finishes with 134 ODI caps, 82 T20I appearances and two Test outings. Chetty and Dane van Niekerk, who also retired recently but only from internationals, join Mignon du Preez and Lizelle Lee from the first generation of South African professional women’s players to retire.Chetty initially impressed in her early teenage years from 2002 after a stint with Kwa-Zulu Natal Cricket Union and Dolphins. She then broke into the national team as an 18-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, taking over from Daleen Terblanche. She struck 20 half-centuries in internationals with a high score of 95 against Ireland in an ODI in 2016.”I can still remember the incredible feeling I had back in 2007 as I walked over the boundary rope, dressed in green and gold for the first time,” Chetty said in a CSA statement. “For the past 16 years, it has been a privilege to represent my country and play for the Proteas, and that feeling has never gone away – each time I pulled on my South African kit I felt honoured to be doing so.”But now, due to a recurring back injury for the past 5 years, the time has come for me to hang up my boots and let the gloves catch dust. I have tried everything to keep playing and have pushed as hard as I can but my body is signalling that it has no more to give and it is time to retire from all forms of cricket.”This was not an easy decision for me, and even now, I can’t quite believe my career is over. However, my cricket career has been a life-changing experience and I look back with no regrets and a full heart.”I am extremely grateful to my mum and dad, family, and friends for being there for me through all the ups and downs, the successes, and the losses. Without my support system, I would never have been able to take this journey.”Cricket has taught me about life, being disciplined, what it means to be professional and how to be a team player. For this, I will always be grateful. And I choose to continue to be grateful for cricket as I retire and transition into the next chapter of my life. Lastly, thank you to the fans for all your undying support over the years. I will never forget it.”Chetty represented South Africa in four ODI World Cups (2009, 2013, 2017 and 2022) and all the T20 World Cups from 2009 to 2020, barring the one in 2018. She reached four semi-finals at the World Cup events across the two formats.She also holds the wicketkeeping records for most dismissals (23) in an ODI series, most catches and stumpings (joint record) in ODIs, a unique record of scoring a half-century and claiming five dismissals in an ODI, and with the second-most catches in T20Is, after Alyssa Healy.CSA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe hailed Chetty as “one of the greatest wicketkeepers to ever play the game.””Chetty’s commitment and dedication to the sport and towards the rise of women’s cricket throughout the years has been exemplary, and her legacy will be revered for many years to come as the next generation aspire to follow in her footsteps,” he said. “I trust Trisha will experience another fruitful voyage in her future endeavours as her impact and presence, on and off the field, will live long amongst the cricket fraternity.News of Chetty’s retirement comes one day after van Niekerk confirmed her own retirement. Unlike van Niekerk, though, Chetty is not expected to continue appearing in franchise competitions.

Vinuja Ranpul’s 5 for 10 in vain for Sri Lanka

Sreshth Shah28-Jan-2022In a low-scoring thriller between two Asian sides, it was Afghanistan who pipped Sri Lanka to set up an Under-19 World Cup semi-final date with England.Defending 134, Afghanistan were on top in the second innings when Sri Lanka were reduced to 43 for 7, but a 69-run eighth-wicket stand between Dunith Wellalage and Raveen de Silva gave Sri Lanka a sniff off a back-door win. However, Afghanistan’s legspinner Izharulhaq Naveed and left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote took two late wickets, and Sri Lanka’s No. 11 Treveen Mathew was run out when they were five runs away from their target.Wellalage and da Silva got together after Sri Lanka had lost their first seven wickets, which included three run-outs, inside the 18th over of the chase. Right-arm seamer Bilal Sami got the length ball to nip away early to induce an edge from opener Sadisha Rajapaksa and then bowled the No. 3 Shevon Daniel with a full ball. Sakuna Liyanage was then run-out from a throw from cover after a mix-up and a Naveed Zadran delivery angling across Anjala Banada took an edge to the keeper to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 24 for 4.Left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad then trapped Ranuda Somarathne lbw before Sri Lanka lost their next two wickets to run-outs. Opener Chamindu Wickramasinghe was the victim of a direct hit and a mix-up saw Yasiru Rodrigo walk back for 2. At that stage, Sri Lanka, with three wickets in hand, still needed 92 to win.The Wellalage-de Silva stand, though, brought the runs required down to 23, with the duo grinding it out for 142 balls while putting on 69. Wellalage struck three fours in his 34 and de Silva made 21 from 84 balls. But Wellalage was out trying to cut Kharote and de Silva was out to a Naveed googly to leave Sri Lanka with only one wicket in hand and 19 to get. Then it became a game of nerves with Sri Lanka’s final pair adding 14, but Treveen Mathew tried to pinch a single that wasn’t there, costing them their fourth run-out and leaving them agonisingly short of their target.Afghanistan, too, struggled with the bat, rattled by right-arm seamer Vinuja Ranpul’s 5 for 10. Ranpul had Nangeyalia Kharote caught behind after beating his bat on numerous occasions. Sulaiman Safi was then out lbw with a nip-backer and Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai’s drive took an edge to the keeper as Ranpul’s early burst left Afghanistan at 26 for 4.However, a brief recovery followed as Allah Noor (25) and Abdul Hadi (37) battled out the middle overs to get Afghanistan close to triple digits. While relying mostly on running between the wickets, the stand also featured its share of pulls and attractive drives against the turn.After Wellalage broke that stand, Hadi and the attacking No. 8 Noor took Afghanistan past 130 in an seventh-wicket stand worth 48. Noor smacked four sixes in his 33-ball 30 to give Afghanistan a batting impetus. He went over cover, down the ground and over long-on, before Ranpul returned in his final spell to break the stand. At 132 for 7, Afghanistan looked on course for a total in excess of 150, but they lost their last four wickets for only two runs.

The 21-year-old is clear on how he wants to contribute after being given the responsibility by coach Brendon McCullum

Sreshth Shah11-Sep-20201:33

What sort of coach is Brendon McCullum?

At Kolkata Knight Riders, it seems age has little to do with being a leader. That idea was reinforced by head coach Brendon McCullum, when he revealed last month that Shubman Gill – who, having closed 21 just this month, is the squad’s second-youngest player – will be part of the team’s leadership group for IPL 2020.When you’re that young, how exactly can you contribute as a leader? If you’re Gill, it’s by working with those that are Knight Riders’ newest players, a position he isn’t too unfamiliar with; he was in their shoes only two years ago.”It feels good to be a part of the leadership group,” Gill told ESPNcricinfo. “Having said that, I think my responsibility would be to the voice of the people who have just come in.”The youngsters who have just come in will be feeling shy and conservative. My responsibility would be to be their voice and to help them go about their things.”This is just one of the points that has been on Gill’s mind ahead of his third IPL season. Being handpicked by McCullum as a leader has got Gill thinking about exploring the different sides to leadership.”Calmness [is an important leadership trait] and to be able to see the match from different angles [is another],” Gill said. “Just not from a single point of view, but to see how the opposite team is viewing the match is also one of the key traits.”The mindset that Eoin Morgan and McCullum possess is something that’s really unique. If you look at Brendon, the way he captained New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup was really fantastic to see. And how he goes about planning things is what I want to pick up.”The one thing that Gill will not be experimenting with, however, is his batting. He says that little joys like padding up and getting back into the nets against top bowlers, at the Knight Riders camp in the UAE, is the “best feeling” he has had in 2020.After being pushed up from finisher to opener midway through the 2019 season – a position where he’s since contributed three fifties in six innings at an average of 47.20 – Gill says he has total clarity on what his role in the team is, irrespective of who walks out to open with him. With no Chris Lynn this season – he has moved to Mumbai Indians – Gill is effectively the team’s de facto “senior” opener.”I don’t think [being the senior opener] will really change my batting mindset,” Gill said. “My role will be the same as what I did at the end of last season when I was opening… To guide the whole innings till the end. That would be my role if I open and neither will it change if I open with a conventional batsman or a [pinch-hitter like] Narine.”Gill might have made his name as a No. 3 at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, where he was Player of the Tournament, and then for Punjab, but his brief experience of being a finisher for Knight Riders in 2018 and 2019 also taught him plenty.”It was a game-changing experience for me because I’ve never batted that [low] down the order,” Gill said. “It really helped me grow as a batsman if I look at it that way, because it helped me look at the game from different angles and understand different aspects of the game.”

Oliver Hannon-Dalby claims five-wicket haul to give Warwickshire hope

David Hopps20-May-2019Dom Sibley is an imposing figure. Not quite Gregor Clegane, Cersei’s bodyguard in Game of Thrones, but you get the general idea. Tim Groenewald did not want to throw him to his doom, just get him out. But when he did, Somerset took a mighty step towards victory.With 209 to defend, Somerset had little margin for error, even though the ball had swung and seamed all day. Sibley had come into the match with hundreds in six successive first-class matches and was well set, with 26 from 84 balls. To add another he needed somebody else to hang around, but on a day when most batsmen had a short shelf life his presence was ominous.Four Warwickshire wickets had come easily, but there was a sense of Thou Shalt Not Pass about Sibley that did not auger well. He had been involved in a run out, too, which might have given him extra incentive to succeed, even if Will Rhodes had contributed to his own downfall by changing his mind after pushing the ball to Tom Abell in the gully; Sibley had already picked up momentum and was in no mood for a juddering change of direction.With 16 overs remaining, Somerset got the wicket they needed. Sibley pushed slightly across a full ball from Tim Groenewald, the sound of the nick rang around the County Ground as if importance of the wicket had somehow amplified it, and Craig Overton plunged low to his left to pull off a fast catch at gully. It was a very good catch on video; an even better catch in the context of the game.Overton had also played a central role in Warwickshire’s decline to 53 for four. He is very much England’s forgotten man, the last of his three Tests having come against Australia in Adelaide in December 2017, a series in which he took seven wickets at 42 and generally won a rating of “solid but unspectacular,” but he is an important cog in this Somerset side.He did not swing the ball markedly, but he swung it just enough in 12 overs of sustained menace. Robert Yates, a product of the Warwickshire academy (not the most reliable production line), is a left-handed batsman playing in his second Championship match, and he fell to a wicketkeeper’s catch. Sam Hain and Adam Hose, a former Somerset batsman, pushed forward in successive overs to be lbw.The late additions of Tim Ambrose, who dragged on an extravagant off drive at Lewis Gregory, and Henry Brookes, who fell to first-day turn from Jack Leach and was caught at slip, left Warwickshire 110 for 7 at the close of the first day, still 99 behind. Seventeen wickets in the day then, and Somerset have fallen foul of pitch inspectors before, but they have kept this surface the right side of the line.This a game between top and bottom – Somerset are already 47 points ahead of Warwickshire, who do have a game in hand – and it is being contested on the sort of surface that should bring about a result in three days, further Somerset’s ambitions of a first Championship title and allow them ample time to prepare for the Royal London Cup final against Hampshire at Lord’s on Saturday. All they then have to hope for is storms on the Solent and Hampshire arriving a little late and queasy from their sojourn on the Isle of Wight.Somerset were bowled out for 209 after an uncontested toss, and to get that they needed 47 extras and a top score of 36 for their No 9 Josh Davey, who had a bit of a punt and came off. Brooks is one of the most promising bowlers in the country. The ball that bowled George Bartlett, who was struck in the midriff after he was late on a pull, illustrated that he is picking up speed again after a stress fracture, although 20 no balls made it hard to suggest that he was finding his feet again – certainly not literally.Instead, Warwickshire’s cutting edge was provided by the spindly seamer, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, who conjured up the third five-for in first-class cricket, a career in which he has made 59 appearances in 11 seasons, initially with Yorkshire before they released him, and has won most plaudits in limited-overs cricket where he carries hidden perils.Oliver Hannon-Dalby of Warwickshire appeals successfully•Getty Images

Hannon-Dalby’s career-best 5 for 18 will delight all those who value his admirable and easy-going persistence. He began with the wicket of Marcus Trescothick, who edged him to second slip. Trescothick’s Championship scores this season (10, 5, 10, 4) sound like the instructions for a dance routine, but they have not quite got his feet moving yet. At 43, he is as old now as his Test average and there are young bucks like Tom Banton awaiting an opportunity. Treasure him while you can.On an extraordinary morning, in which Somerset reached 143 for 6 in 29 cavalier overs, Hannon-Dalby also had Tom Abell lbw to one that left him late and Lewis Gregory caught at second slip which one that curled away from an early juncture. Two tail-end wickets completed those exemplary figures, his first five-for for nine years, although it will take quite an effort for Warwickshire to turn his grand day into victory.

The two fast bowlers recovered from injuries, but wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella was omitted in favour of Dhananjaya de Silva

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Feb-2018Fast bowlers Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal have returned to the Sri Lanka T20 squad after recovering from injuries, but wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella has been omitted in favour of Dhananjaya de Silva for the upcoming tri-series at home.Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who was with the T20 team in Bangladesh, was also left out, with Sri Lanka naming just two specialist spinners – Akila Dananjaya and Amila Aponso – in addition to Jeevan Mendis, the legspinning allrounder.Apart from Dickwella’s omission, Sri Lanka retained the bulk of their batsmen from the Bangladesh series, which they had won 2-0. Kusal Mendis is likely to open the batting again. Now that Kusal Perera is back, however, there is competition for the top spots, with Upul Tharanga and Danushka Gunathilaka also vying for places in the top three.The senior fast bowlers’ return to fitness meant that Sri Lanka also have a strong attack. Where in Bangladesh the quicks were inexperienced, Lakmal and Pradeep will be expected to provide control and reliability, while Dushmantha Chameera – if he plays – is a faster, more attacking option. Left-armer Isuru Udana was also in the squad.De Silva’s selection was something of a surprise, given his mixed performances in past T20 internationals. He was in good touch in the Tests against Bangladesh, however, and hit 55, 0 and 42 in Sri Lanka’s club-based T20 tournament over the past few days.Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne and Shehan Madushanka were all unavailable through injury.The Nidahas Trophy begins on March 6 and will be played exclusively in Colombo.T20 squad: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Amila Aponso, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Dananjaya de Silva

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has achieved a top-five ranking in all three formats, after his team’s 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in the T20I series that concluded on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2017New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has broken into the top-five rankings for batsmen across formats, climbing to no. 4 on the T20I list after his team’s 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh. Williamson is ranked fourth in Tests and fifth in ODIs. Virat Kohli is the only other batsmen to occupy positions in the top-five rankings across formats.With 145 runs in the three matches, Williamson was the highest scorer from either side. His 57-ball 60 on Sunday helped his side recover to 194 after a slow start, before the bowlers snuffed out Bangladesh’s fight during the chase to win by 27 runs. With the 3-0 win, the team retained their No. 1 ranking in the format.”Really pleased with the series as a whole,” coach Mike Hesson said. “We were put under pressure at times during all three games with both bat and ball, and different players stood up and that’s critical for us as a developing side even though we are ranked number one in the world.”It shows our consistency over the last 18 months to two years. We’ve been the most consistent side in Twenty20 cricket around the world, and in different conditions, having played in India and other places around the world. It’s a nice mantle to hold, although it doesn’t drive us so much. But it is nice to reflect on.”Hesson was especially pleased with the manner in which a young team put its hand up. New Zealand handed out debut caps to four players during the series, and most players in the squad were in their 20s. “The nature of Twenty20 is that you need guys who can turn the game on its head. You need that with both bat and ball, and we’re fortunate enough that we’ve got some really talented players,” he said.”Sure, they might be a little bit inexperienced, but they’ve certainly got the ability to change a game on their day, and that’s what T20 is about. Some of our match winners are quite young and raw, but there’s some really good signs there.”Colin Munro, who slammed a 52-ball century in the second T20, leaped up 20 places to 19th position, while Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi achieved career-best rankings. New Zealand also succeeded in discovering young talent from the domestic circuit in the form of Lockie Ferguson, Ben Wheeler and Tom Bruce.”It’s a nice sign for us moving forward that we can bring players in from domestic cricket in the Super Smash and they can do well, which is great,” Hesson said.Among other big gainers, Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman broke into the top ten among T20I bowlers, displacing Shakib Al Hasan as Bangladesh’s highest-ranked bowler.

A group of black African cricketers calling themselves Black Cricketers in Unity, have asked CSA to address their concerns over their treatment in national squads, claiming they are mostly being used as drinks carriers

Firdose Moonda12-Nov-2015While South Africa’s Test squad are negotiating their way through an obstacle course of injuries on the India tour, Cricket South Africa is facing obstruction from within its own ranks with regards to its transformation policy. A group of black African cricketers calling themselves Black Cricketers in Unity, have asked CSA to address their concerns over their treatment in national squads, claiming they are mostly being used as drinks carriers. The group has also questioned CSA’s commitment to rebalancing the racial divisions caused by South Africa’s Apartheid past.The group sent a letter to CSA on Monday detailing their unhappiness at being included in squads but not starting XIs. The players claim they are “sick and tired” of not being included in playing XIs and state, “If we are not ready for international cricket, stop picking us.” CSA’s chief executive Haroon Lorgat and president Norman Arendse told the that the issue will be discussed before November 21.The letter was prompted by the case of Khaya Zondo, who was called up to the T20 and ODI sides in India, where he did not play a game. Zondo was the reserve batsman in the squad and would only have got a chance through injury to another player. However, when JP Duminy was injured, Dean Elgar was called up as cover and played ahead of Zondo in the final ODI. Zondo told he had seen reports of the letter but refused to discuss it publicly.The letter also made mention of Aaron Phangiso, who traveled through the 2015 World Cup without playing a match; Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who has been overlooked for the ODI side despite strong performances in the domestic one-day competition; and Thami Tsolekile, who was centrally contracted as Mark Boucher’s replacement but did not play a single Test despite being assured he would feature in the 2012-13 home series against New Zealand and Pakistan.CSA’s transformation policy has been in the headlines throughout the year and came to a head at the 2015 World Cup semi-final. Vernon Philander, who was struggling with injury, replaced an in-form Kyle Abbott. At the time, South Africa’s coach, Russell Domingo, and captain, AB de Villiers, had met with Lorgat who reminded them to “properly consider the best XI bearing in mind the transformation guidelines.”In the immediate aftermath of that match, CSA announced revised quotas at domestic level, which required at least six players of colour in every franchise team with at least two black Africans.In May, CSA confirmed its transformation policy to parliament and confirmed the “specific focus on increasing black African players.” Since then, South Africa have fielded at least one black African player in every match, including in Test matches where only seven black Africans had earned a cap since readmission. The latest is Kagiso Rabada, whose rise from Under-19 World Cup hero to international cricketer in the space of a year is seen as a victory for transformation.Other black African players who have represented South Africa recently include Temba Bavuma, who is part of the current Test squad to India, and Eddie Leie, who was in the T20 squad and is in contention for a World T20 squad spot. It is not known whether Bavuma, Leie or Rabada have put their names to the letter.

Mitchell Starc has declared the ankle operation that he underwent five weeks ago such a good move that it might help him gain pace when he returns to bowling this year

Brydon Coverdale01-May-2013Mitchell Starc has declared the ankle operation that he underwent five weeks ago such a good move that it might help him gain pace when he returns to bowling this year. Starc has been named in Australia’s squads for the Ashes and the Champions Trophy one-day tournament, which begins in early June, and he is expected to be fit by then, after having surgery on his left ankle following his early departure from the Test tour of India in March.Starc played through pain in the third Test in Mohali before being sent home for the operation and he said he was already free of the discomfort that had troubled him before. Starc, 23, plays all three formats for Australia and given his ability to swing the ball, he is likely to be a key man in the Ashes campaign, hence Cricket Australia’s eagerness to ensure he would not be carrying a niggle that could hamper his productivity.”The spur on the inside didn’t bother me much; that’s why we were talking about getting through hopefully 12 months [without surgery],” Starc told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday. “But we’d found one on the outside that had broken off, that was the one that bothered me most in India, and I didn’t know about that one until I got back to Australia. That Test in Mohali it was pretty painful… so with the timeline that we needed to be right for the Ashes, we needed to come home and get it done.”I’ve been back in the gym, doing my fitness stuff for three weeks now, so I’m feeling good. I’ve got more movement in my ankle now than I did after the first surgery three or four years ago. It could work in my favour, maybe an extra yard or two of pace if I’m lucky. But the pain’s gone now so that’s the main thing, [I’ve had] a few months of bowling through pain and a few injections but I’m past that and ready to hit the ground running.”Starc is not the only fast bowler in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad who is currently on the mend: Clint McKay, Australia’s reigning One-Day International Cricketer of the Year, finished the summer battling a stress reaction in his right foot. He, too, is expected to be fully fit by the time the one-day tournament begins, but the new ODI vice-captain George Bailey said regardless, the Australians had developed enough depth over the summer to ease any concerns.”I think they’ve both played enough cricket now to know what they can and can’t do,” Bailey said of Starc and McKay. “One of the pleasing things for me coming to the back end of the summer was that it felt like we were starting to have a stronger squad, or a stronger team balance. One of the keys for this sort of tournament is making sure that you’re not necessarily relying on one or two, but that on any given day, any one of your squad can step in and do a really important role for you.”This will be the first time Bailey has been part of Australia’s team for a major ODI tournament and he is part of the changing face of Australia’s one-day side. Australia have won the past two Champions Trophy events, in 2006 and 2009, but only four members of the 2009 squad – Clarke, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Adam Voges – are back to defend the title. Australia have slipped to third on the ODI rankings and while Bailey knows the team is not the all-conquering outfit of past years, he is confident they can come away from England with the trophy.”It is a big tournament,” Bailey said. “We’ve won it twice. It’s a big goal for us and a point to prove, that we’re back on track with our one-day cricket and see if we can win it for the third time. I think we’ve had enough wake-up calls over the last 12 to 15 months to know that we’re not a powerhouse in one-day cricket any more.”I still think we can be the best side in the world at one-day cricket but certainly not by the margin it was two, three or four years ago. I don’t think there’s any pressure about being defending champions. The longer-term goal for us is to make sure we play more consistent cricket.”

International cricket is set to return to Pakistan after three years, with Bangladesh formally confirming to the PCB that they will play one ODI and one Twenty20 International there later this mont

Umar Farooq15-Apr-2012International cricket is set to return to Pakistan after three years, with Bangladesh formally confirming to the PCB that they will play one ODI and one Twenty20 International there later this month. There has been no cricket between two Full Member nations in Pakistan since the attack on the Sri Lanka team in March 2009.The ODI is scheduled for April 29 and the T20I for April 30. Both matches will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.”The public of Pakistan have been deprived of cricket and we felt that we needed to support them,” BCB president Mustafa Kamal said. “The reception we received when we toured Lahore and Karachi on our security visit was overwhelming.”Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, thanked the BCB and the Bangladesh government for their support for the tour.The ICC, though, was more guarded in its response, saying it had asked the the PCB for a security plan, following which its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit would commission a localised risk assessment to determine the safety of its officials and staff; only after that would it decide on deploying its officials.Last month, the ICC had introduced a “special dispensation” to be made only in “exceptional circumstances” in order to ensure that bilateral series take place even if the ruling body has determined it “unsafe” to appoint its officials for such series. This would allow such series to be manned by “non-neutral match officials”, a departure from the ICC’s Standard Playing Conditions, pending permission from its executive board.Bangladesh was due for a full tour of Pakistan in 2012 under the ICC’s Future Tours Programme. The PCB also said the remaining matches of the tour will be played at dates mutually agreed between the two Boards at venues including Bangladesh.There had been several itineraries proposed for the tour, including a three-match ODI series and a series of two ODIs and one Twenty20 international. Karachi and Rawalpindi were the other possible venues but ESPNcricinfo understands they were dropped on security grounds.Sunday’s announcement follows lengthy negotiations between the two boards over the terms of the tour, and at times it looked as though the tour would be a non-starter. A nine-member delegation, headed by Kamal and including security officials from that country, visited Pakistan in March for a demonstration of the security plan for the proposed series. The plan was well received, it is believed, but confirmation of the series was delayed. One reason, according to the BCB, was that it was waiting for a government advisory; another possible reason was the ICC’s special dispensation plan, which possibly implied that the venue was not safe for neutral officials.Jalal Yunus, the BCB’s media committee chairman, said Kamal had taken charge of the matter and handled it personally. “We haven’t talked about it since Zaka Ashraf came and discussed the matter officially, so it has been 2-3 months,” he said. “The BCB president must have known the government stance and that’s why he has confirmed. He has handled it personally from the beginning.”The tour will come a little more than three years after masked terrorists attacked the Sri Lanka team bus and a van carrying ICC officials to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on what would have been the third day of the second Test of that tour. Six Sri Lankan cricketers were injured in the attack, and six security personnel and two civilians were killed.Since then, Pakistan have hosted “home series” in UAE and other neutral venues. They played New Zealand in New Zealand (2009-10), England and Australia in England (2010). UAE has been their favoured home base, having hosted South Africa, Sri Lanka and England.The announcement of a resumption of international cricket in Pakistan is a fitting reward for both the spirited performance of the national team in the recent past and also to the patience and passion of the country’s cricket fans. It is often said, rightly so, that international cricket needs a strong Pakistan, and while this is often in the context of its on-field prowess, it is also about the state of cricket in that country. Sunday’s news will redress to some extent that situation, even if it is only two matches in the shorter formats.Heartening though the news is, it must be hoped that the decision has been taken by both sides with security and the safety of all concerned – players, officials, spectators – as the top priority. Sport is a proven healer in troubled times but at no time can it be pursued at the cost of basic safety. It can be said that two matches in two days is too short a time to judge a nation’s preparedness to host full-fledged international cricket but, by staging the matches at location, it is perhaps sufficient to test the waters. It is also hoped the ICC will lend its support, though it may say that it does not have any official role to play in the staging of a series. If Pakistan is to get back on track and re-join the cricket family, it needs every other member of that family to extend its hand – as the youngest, Bangladesh, has done.
Jayaditya GuptaEdited by Nikita Bastian

Delhi captain Virender Sehwag defended Irfan Pathan, who has so far taken only two wickets at nearly eight runs an over and scored 28 runs at less than a run a ball

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2011Delhi Daredevils are at the bottom of the IPL points table after four matches, and their biggest signing at the auction, allrounder Irfan Pathan, has been struggling to justify his US $1.9m price tag. Delhi captain Virender Sehwag, though, defended Irfan, who has so far taken only two wickets at nearly eight runs an over and scored 28 runs at less than a run a ball.”He is coming from injury and will take some time,” Sehwag said. “He is coming back after a one-year lay-off.” Irfan had a back injury which kept him out of competitive cricket since last season’s IPL, and returned to the top-flight only at the start of this year’s IPL.”He picked up an early wicket. He gave just about 30 runs in four overs,” Sehwag said of Irfan’s performance against Deccan Chargers on Tuesday. “He is getting better day by day.”After the loss to Deccan, Sehwag said one of the reasons for Delhi struggling at home was the slow track. “Kotla has always been like this over the last few years. It was always difficult to chase down a total of 160-170 on this track. With the ball keeping low it was tough to push things along late in the match.”Delhi have now been defeated in both their matches at Feroz Shah Kotla, and their next game is also at home, against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. Sehwag hoped the track for the remaining matches at the Kotla would be more helpful to their pace-heavy attack. “We have indeed asked them to prepare a couple of green wickets here.”