The BCCI’s technical committee has recommended a revamp of the domestic calendar,playing the Ranji Trophy knockouts over five days and revising the points system

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Feb-2012The BCCI’s technical committee, chaired by the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, has recommended a revamp of the domestic calendar, including advancing the Duleep Trophy to the beginning of the season, playing the Ranji Trophy knockouts over five days and revising the points system in the case of incomplete matches where a team fails to take the first-innings lead.These recommendations will come into play only after the board’s working committee rubber-stamps them.Under the rejigged domestic calendar, the season will begin with the Challenger Series, followed by the Duleep Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup, and the one-day tournaments (Vijay Hazare Trophy and Deodhar Trophy), ending with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (domestic Twenty20).Playing the Duleep Trophy early will give it more relevance, it is believed. “The committee decided that tournaments should be played in the right perspective: playing the Irani Trophy immediately after the Ranji Trophy makes sense as the Ranji Trophy winner can play the Rest of India,” Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s chief administrative officer, said.Effectively, it will also help the selectors pick the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup. At the moment, the Rest of India squads are picked on their performance in the previous season.
In 2006, the BCCI had pushed the Duleep Trophy to the end of the domestic season because the administrators then felt that the Ranji Trophy was a better platform to select teams for the zonal tournament.Bengal coach WV Raman said bringing Duleep back to the start of the season, as it was during his playing days for Tamil Nadu, was a positive step. “What this will do is allow players to play the duration games together,” Raman said. “At the tail-end of the season playing Duleep gets a bit crazy. When the changes were made to push Duleep late in the season they were made with the view to make people play as a team to win and also play in a format where you learned to handle pressure. So if those objectives still remain then what better way than to get in to the Duleep Trophy straightaway.”Ganguly and his nine-man panel also discussed the BCCI working committee’s proposal of playing the Ranji Trophy league phase at neutral venues. The idea was in response to the unresponsive pitches around the country, which, according to some, favoured the home team. But the panel felt carrying on with the existing home and away format in both the Elite and Plate groups was still appropriate.Shetty said that more thought would be given to the matter before any decision was taken. “The technical committee will wait for the meeting of the captains and coaches sometime in March to collect more views. There is even a proposal to call coaches of the state Under-19 teams before arriving at a final decision.”Another talking point at the start of today’s meeting was whether there would be a rethink of the points system in the Ranji Trophy, which currently awards teams for their first-innings lead. Aakash Chopra, part of the reigning Ranji champions Rajasthan, had been asked by Shetty to suggest improvements in the domestic cricket structure. One of his suggestions was changing the points system.But the committee decided to retain the three points a team earns from gaining a first-innings lead. It did, however, recommend that the Ranji quarter-finals and semi-finals be played over at least five days instead of four to determine a winner. Under the existing rule, if no team gets a first-innings lead, the side batting second would have to play a minimum of 30 overs and then the run-rate would determine the winner. “That was a bit unfair. What was suggested was an additional day would be a better way forward,” Shetty said.”If a first-innings result is not obtained at the end of the scheduled play in a knockout match, the match will be extended into an additional day. If the two first innings are not completed even on this additional day, the winner will be decided by the spin of a coin,” the committee’s release said.Also revised was the rule in case of an incomplete match where no team takes a first-innings lead during the league phase. Currently, if there was no weather interference, teams got no points. But under the new rule, they would get one point each. In case of a weather interruption, currently teams got two points each but the panel recommended no points should be given to either team.Meanwhile it was decided to allow fast bowlers the use of two bouncers in an over in the one-day tournaments, effective from the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, which starts from February 20. Kookaburra balls will continue to be used in the Duleep Trophy. In addition, host associations will be docked two points if its pitch is deemed “underprepared” by the match referee.

Bangladesh’s chief selector Akram Khan has resigned from his post, citing interference from the board president in team selection

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2012Bangladesh’s chief selector Akram Khan has resigned from his post, citing interference from the board president in team selection. Akram’s resignation comes a day after BCB president Mustafa Kamal rejected the inclusion of high-profile opener Tamim Iqbal, Akram’s nephew, in the 14-man squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.”Tamim was in our team because he is one of the best batsmen we have,” Akram told . “But the president dropped him from the final list. His regular interference in team selection has made top players worried about their place in the national squad. I have resigned because I was not enjoying my job.”Akram had, last July, asked for a change in the selection procedure that would remove the stage of the selectors having to discuss the squad with the board’s technical committee before giving it to the president for approval. That did not materialise and now Akram has said that the president himself is a hindrance to the selection process.BCB spokesman Jalal Yunus confirmed Akram had resigned after eight months in the position. Akram was a former Bangladesh captain and one of the country’s biggest cricketing names.”We had a long discussion yesterday and whatever Nannu Bhai [Minhazul Abedin] and Sumon [Habibul Bashar] told me were logical,” Akram told the media yesterday. “But ever since I became a selector 4-5 years ago, there were a lot of things that happened in regards to selection which made me unhappy.”After I become the chief selector last year, there were problems from the beginning which I tried to settle and sometimes succeeded in doing so. I had to bear the brunt of such issues, so I decided that it is better to step down.”The ACC tells us to give a 15-man team for the Asia Cup but Tamim was removed from here and made a standby. We took the decision on his inclusion after seeing physio Vibhav Singh and Dr Debashish Roy’s report. I wasn’t even informed of the change; I got to know like you did which really hurt me. I have a piece of paper to prove it.”But Tamim isn’t the first name that was slashed at the whim of the board president and directors who are members of the technical committee.”One incident happened with (Mohammad) Ashraful, when he was picked against Pakistan last year. We had Raqibul Hasan and Shuvagata Hom as middle-order candidates but they weren’t scoring big. Ashraful was scoring at that time and we wanted him to play two Tests but he didn’t play. We weren’t able to take that decision independently,” Akram said.Contrary to what Akram has said over the past two days, his colleague Minhazul has insisted that there was no interference. “This is Akram’s personal decision and I respect it. But this wasn’t interference but the board president has only kept one player out on fitness grounds. The rest is our team,” he said.Tamim is widely regarded as one of Bangladesh’s most-talented cricketers. At 22, he is already third on the list of run-scorers in both Tests and one-dayers for Bangladesh and is the only Bangladesh cricketer to win the Wisden International Cricketer of the Year award, which he earned in 2010 for his two Test centuries in England. Tamim’s ODI form has dipped in the last 12 months though: he averages 22.56 from 17 games with two half-centuries.He has also had several disciplinary problems. He was stripped of the vice-captaincy after Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe last year because of indiscipline, including arguing with the head coach; he was banned from a domestic game after an altercation with senior batsman Mohammad Ashraful; and during the recent Bangladesh Premier League, he had differences with his franchise, Chittagong Kings, team director Dean Jones.The Asia Cup, which features India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in addition to hosts Bangladesh begins on March 11.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Daniel Vettori, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, has said the lack of a quality fifth bowler was an important factor in his team’s 59-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2012Daniel Vettori, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, has said the lack of a quality fifth bowler was an important factor in his team’s 59-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Royals chose to bat and scored 195 for 2, with Ajinkya Rahane scoring 103 and Owais Shah 60.They scored 70 in the 12 overs bowled by Zaheer Khan, Daniel Vettori and Muttiah Muralitharan, and 120 in the remaining eight overs. Chris Gayle conceded 21 in one over, Vinay Kumar 51 in four and S Aravind 48 in three overs.”The problem is that we could not get through the overs from our fifth bowler. It is something we must rectify as it has hurt us in every game,” Vettori said. “We need to work hard on that fifth bowler, as teams are being very aggressive and we are not getting the results that we need to compete.”In their previous game in Chennai, Virat Kohli conceded 28 in the penultimate over and Royal Challengers failed to defend 205. They are presently second last in the league, having lost three out of four games.Vettori also said he was disappointed with his middle-order batsmen. “There’s a lot of expectation on the top four but they can’t do it every time, so they guys in the middle need to step up. We must find a solution quickly as we play Pune [Warriors] in a day and we need to get back to winning ways.”Royals batsman, Shah, whose 60 came off 26 balls, credited Rahane for the win and praised his batting style. “There is a calmness about him that shows he’s always in control,” Shah said. “He plays the ball very late and times the ball beautifully. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in Kolkata

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran11-May-2012

Match facts

Saturday, May 12, 2012
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)How about a promotion for Kieron Pollard?•AFP

Big Picture

The tournament is nearly 60 games old, and Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders are playing their first game. Knight Riders are on an upswing like never before. Part of their six-match winning streak included a comprehensive win against Delhi Daredevils, who have since reclaimed the No.1 spot. Knight Riders, now with 17 points, are back at Eden Gardens and a win will take them back to the pole position and closer to the playoffs. Their top order looks as stable as Royal Challengers Bangalore’s, but should they fail, chasing a low total against them can never be taken for granted as there’s Sunil Narine to be dealt with. He has rarely let the side down, maintaining a frugal economy rate as well as picking up wickets.Mumbai Indians, now at No.4 (following Royal Challengers’ win over Pune Warriors), have lacked the stability and consistency that has defined the current top two teams. Their bowling is always one notch higher when Lasith Malinga is fit. The batting though doesn’t inspire the same confidence. They lost a good toss against Royal Challengers at the Wankhede Stadium and were pegged back early in seaming conditions. A continuing mystery is their handling of Kieron Pollard. Unlike Royal Challengers, who use their most attacking option – Chris Gayle – right at the top, Pollard often comes in at the lower middle order and has little time to play himself in and salvage late runs. Though Pollard isn’t a natural opener, it wouldn’t hurt to send him a couple of positions higher.Mumbai need to play catch up in their remaining games to seal a place in the playoffs.

Form guide

(most recent first, completed games)
Mumbai Indians: LWWWL
Kolkata Knight Riders: WWWWW

2011 head-to-head

These teams played just once last year – the last of the league games – which Mumbai Indians won by five wickets at Eden Gardens.

Players to watch

Mumbai Indians have opening worries, starting with James Franklin. He has just two runs from his last two innings and didn’t bowl against Royal Challengers. Herschelle Gibbs could have replaced him but his fitness is still in doubt.Rajat Bhatia has been a regular in the Knight Riders’ line-up and has picked up eight wickets at an economy rate of 7.04. He is an experienced campaigner in the domestic circuit and Knight Riders rate him highly.

Stats and trivia

• Mumbai Indians have an overwhelming head-to-head record against the Knight Riders, winning seven out of eight games.
• Mumbai Indians’ Indian bowlers concede 7.50 runs per over, while the figure for the overseas bowlers is 6.76.

Quotes

“The middle order probably had some lack of runs but that’s only because of lack of opportunities. We have been scoring runs at the top.”
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Nick Compton survived a working over by Glen Chapple as Somerset reached 87 for 3 between the showers

George Dobell at Taunton28-Apr-2012Nick Compton was again unbeaten as Somerset began their first innings on day three•Getty Images

It was a day that could be seen as a microcosm of the season as a whole so far: wickets fell regularly amid the showers but Nick Compton survived. Compton has now passed 700 first-class runs this season, faced more than 1,400 deliveries and averages 143. He is not so much nudging the selectors as grabbing them by the throat and roaring in their faces.He did not have things all his own way here, though. Glen Chapple, generating good pace and gaining a little seam movement, uncovered an uncertainty rarely seen this season to date. Twice outsides edges from Compton’s bat dropped in front of the slip cordon and once Compton’s inside edge just missed his leg stump on its way to the fine-leg boundary. There was also a leg-before appeal that must have been perilously close. But he survived and later produced two boundaries in successive balls – one a flowing cover drive – off Sajid Mahmood.Such was Chapple’s desire to dismiss Compton early, he was lured into a ten-over opening spell. Very good it was, too, producing the wickets of stand-in opener Lewis Gregory, drawn into pushing at one he could have left, and Arul Suppiah, driving expansively and beaten through the gate. But it also meant Chapple was unable to return for a second spell for some time and, in his absence, batting was an altogether more straightforward business.James Hildreth, sweeping Simon Kerrigan’s left-arm spin sweetly, flattered briefly before playing across a straight one, but Compton looked untroubled against all but Chapple.Earlier Vernon Philander claimed his second five-wicket haul in three Championship games for Somerset, but could not stop Lancashire claiming full batting bonus points. It took only nine balls for Somerset to finish off Lancashire – Kerrigan caught in the gully fending at one from Philander – but by then the fifth point was secure.Such incidentals may not seem important now but, bearing in mind the competitive nature of the Championship title race in recent years, points earned in such situations may yet prove vital. Somerset supporters will long be pained by memories of 2010 when they finished level on points with Nottinghamshire, but missed out on the title because Nottinghamshire had won one more game.

In the first major step to decentralise the game in the country, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has decided to give contracts to 120 cricketers from January next year

Mohammad Isam01-Jul-2012In the first major step to decentralise the game in the country, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has decided to give contracts to 120 cricketers from January next year. The proposal is to give one-year contracts to 15 players from each of the eight designated regions – Barisal, Khulna, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rangpur, Dhaka and Dhaka Metropolis – to decentralise the game from its present Dhaka-centric state.BCB president Mustafa Kamal made the radical announcement after an emergency board meeting. “We have decided to bring 120 cricketers under our umbrella by giving them contracts, which will include the national team players,” Kamal said. “The aim is for grassroots development so there will be 15 cricketers from each of the eight regions. It will be effective from January next year, and we will also cover their insurance premium.”Kamal also informed that the board will spend Bangladeshi taka 35 million (US $ 430,000 approx.) annually on the contracts. The payment scale will depend on experience (one-four, five-seven and seven-plus years) while the selection will be based completely on performance.Though Kamal didn’t confirm any connection between this decision and the proposed franchise-based four-day competition from next season, it is apparent that these 120 cricketers will form the core of the first-class players in the tournament.The board will also appoint eight former cricketers, preferably those who have played for Bangladesh, as cricket operations managers. “They will be salaried by the BCB but under one condition, they have to be former players from the region,” Kamal said. “For example, someone from Rajshahi will be the operations manager for that region, not that of Sylhet, so that he can coordinate with everyone in that region.”

James Taylor moved to an unbeaten 163 after his England Test call, but Sussex have given themselves a chance of saving the match against Notts

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge29-Jul-2012
ScorecardJames Taylor ended unbeaten on 163 after being given a Test call up•Getty Images

It is not the same kind of mental strength he will need if he is asked to face Dale Steyn and company at Headingley but James Taylor passed one test of temperament at the first time of asking after trotting down the pavilion steps on Sunday morning.In between walking off at 106 not out on Saturday and attempting to pick up where he had left off he had a lot to be excited about: a first Championship century as a Nottinghamshire batsman, then a phone call telling him he was the man nominated to replace Ravi Bopara in the 13 for the second Test. He would not have slept especially well. Yet there was not a hint of distraction in his approach to the job in hand, which was specifically to bat Sussex out of the game.And inasmuch as he was still batting when Chris Read decided a lead of 349 was enough for his bowlers to be let loose on Sussex for a second time he fulfilled the task. He was 163 not out, having added 57 off 63 balls to his overnight score with no chances offered.How many more chances he will have to score centuries in his Nottinghamshire shirt remains to be seen. Stuart Broad, the county’s last major recruit from Leicestershire, has played in only 11 Championship matches in five seasons since arriving at Trent Bridge, never more than three in one season. If Taylor is as successful as Broad has been since England called on him for the first time he will become a similarly occasional participant. At least Taylor has played 10 times already and, furthermore, as a batsman, he should need fewer rests.Taylor and Voges added 77 to the overnight total in little more than an hour, leaving their partnership unbroken at 148 and heralding a day in which, rarely this summer – apart from when there has been no play at all – no wickets fell. It was not a day without interruption as a band of showers swept through during the afternoon but 70 overs were bowled, at the end of which Nottinghamshire were left to contemplate how they might bowl Sussex out in three sessions, rather than five and a half.Sussex might not be the threat to Nottinghamshire’s title aspirations that Warwickshire clearly are but they have a strong record at Trent Bridge, winning three of their last four first-class matches here, and in Chris Nash and Ed Joyce, who have become a solid opening partnership, two batsmen who have prospered against them individually.Nash finished on 79 from 160 balls. He had scored 57 or higher in seven of his last 10 Championship innings against Nottinghamshire and twice gone on to score a century, including 128 at Hove earlier this season. Joyce, meanwhile, might draw encouragement from recalling that the two highest scores of his career have been against Nottinghamshire – 192 for Middlesex in 2005, 183 for Sussex in 2009.On a pitch that behaved as benignly as it has for Taylor and Michael Lumb on day two, and with no spinner to give the ball a particular rip, they had things largely their own way. Samit Patel is a decent slow left-arm bowler who gives little away but he does not turn the ball hugely.Even Andre Adams, the leading wicket-taker in the country with 52, could not interrupt their progress and Harry Gurney, in particular, took some punishment at the hands of Nash, whose drives were timed superbly and went for seven of Nash’s 14 boundaries.Intriguingly, Nottinghamshire finished the day level on points with Warwickshire, both needing to take 10 wickets on the final day.

Wally Edwards, the Cricket Australia chairman, will be seeking a unanimous vote in favour of governance change when the game’s Australian custodians sit down in Melbourne on Friday to continue the march towards independent board directors

Daniel Brettig16-Aug-2012Wally Edwards, the Cricket Australia chairman, will be seeking a unanimous vote in favour of governance change when the game’s Australian custodians sit down for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in Melbourne on Friday to continue the march towards independent board directors.South Australia has remained outspoken in its opposition to the proposal for non-state-aligned CA directors put forward by the Crawford and Carter Governance review and accepted by the other states, however the measures will go through even if the SACA again raises a dissenting voice at the EGM tomorrow.Edwards said his strong preference was for a unanimous vote to ensure the path towards a new governance model would be smooth and united.”I’d prefer it to be unanimous obviously, we have to go forward as a united business and that’s what we’re trying to achieve, a one business mentality right across Australian cricket,” Edwards told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s the next phase after governance, to make it a better business and be more efficient, more dynamic, and deliver more services for less dollars – set the business up for the next 50 years.”We know where they [SA] stand, I don’t expect them to change their position between now and the members meeting. What we’re voting on is something they agree with fundamentally so we’ll just wait and see whether they decide if they want to vote no or yes. Hopefully we’ve got enough votes to get it through.”Edwards revealed that the SACA had used the ICC’s governance model – itself in a state of some discussion following the raft of changes recommended by Lord Woolf’s governance review – as a reason why it was opposed to the prohibition of CA board directors also holding positions on state association boards.”They think it’s a better system, that’s their belief and you have to accept that,” Edwards said. “They think it’s a better system to have someone connected from their board to the CA board and they use the ICC as an example of that of course, where we are connected.”I can understand where they’re coming from. They pretty well agree with everything else that we’re doing. It’s just a fundamental disagreement there and that’s their right.”Irrespective of SA’s opposition, the wheels for change are very likely to gather motion at the meeting, where the board will also consider the plans devised to select its first three independent directors in October.A nominations committee will decide on the trio, with the committee to be composed of two state board chairmen, two businessmen not formally associated with Australian cricket in any way, and Edwards.

The Bombay High Court has suggested arbitration as a means of resolving the dispute between Deccan Chronicles Holdings Limited, the owners of Deccan Chargers, and the BCCI

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Sep-2012The Bombay High Court has suggested arbitration as a means of resolving the dispute between Deccan Chronicles Holdings Limited, the owners of Deccan Chargers, and the BCCI. The court is hearing a petition on the termination of Chargers’ IPL contract and reserved its judgement till Tuesday.The petition had been filed last week and is being heard by Justice SJ Kathawala. Today, in one of many suggestions to both DCHL and the Indian board, Kathawala offered both parties the choice to seek a solution to the dispute via the arbitration route through mutual consent.The Chargers’ counsel was happy with the suggestion, but the BCCI’s lawyer sought another day. The judge did point out to both counsels that in failing to decide on a mutually agreed upon arbitrator, the court had the right to appoint one in its discretion. “The judge had a many things to say and suggest. That does not mean that is the final decision. Our counsel would argue all points tomorrow,” a BCCI official said.Two other IPL franchises – Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals – have already gone to court over termination of their IPL contract, and benefited from the decision of court-appointed arbitrators.The BCCI had in 2010 cancelled the two franchises’ contracts over alleged violations. But both challenged the expulsion in the Bombay High Court and got a reprieve after the arbitrator stayed the termination, allowing Kings XI and Rajasthan a re-entry into the IPL.

The T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) has named West Indies offspinner Sunil Narine the T&T Cricketer of the Year

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2012The T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) has named West Indies offspinner Sunil Narine the T&T Cricketer of the Year. The honour comes a day after Narine was named the Emerging Player of the Year award at the ICC Awards in Colombo.Narine took 31 wickets in three first-class regional four-day games in February this year, enabling him to beat T&T captain Denesh Ramdin, left-arm spinner Kavesh Kantasingh, and bastmen Darren Bravo and Kieron Pollard for the award. His 8 for 17 in the second innings against Combined Campuses and Colleges are his career-best first-class bowling figures in an innings – he finished with 13 wickets in the match.Narine also took 15 wickets in the Regional Super50, being the highest-wicket taker of the tournament, and took seven wickets in six matches in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament.T&T’s Five National Cricketers of the Year were Narine, Darren Bravo, Shannon Gabriel, Ramdin, Pollard and Kantasingh.West Indies’ captain Merissa Aguilleira was adjudged the Women’s Player of the Year.