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Atleast 25 players are in Bengaluru to establish their baseline fitness levels before the IPL gets underway

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Mar-2022In a move to enhance and maintain peak fitness levels for the two World Cups in the next 20 months, the Indian team management – in coordination with the selectors and the National Cricket Academy – has asked a batch of shortlisted players to undergo a fitness camp in Bengaluru.ESPNcricinfo has learned that at least 25 players are right now at the NCA, currently midway through the camp which started on March 5 and will end on March 14 after which they will head to join their respective IPL teams. All the players will undergo a fitness test before they break out of the camp, but unlike last year when it was mandatory to clear the benchmarks, this time it is to record a baseline mark for every player.Among those who have already started with the camp include Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Harshal Patel, Venkatesh Iyer, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, Prithvi Shaw and Umran Malik. Also joining the camp are a set of players who are doing rehabilitation for separate injuries: KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan. Several players, who featured in the league phase of the Ranji Trophy, which got over recently, also joined the camp this week.It is learned the camp was finalised recently by both the Indian team management led by head coach Rahul Dravid and had the backing of both the selection panel as well as NCA, which is headed by former India batter VVS Laxman. Both Dravid and Laxman want the NCA to function more as a high-performance centre and this camp was taking forward the initiative launched last year when a batch of white-ball only players – both contracted and otherwise – underwent fitness tests which were mandatory to be cleared. Players last year had to clear either the yo-yo test or run a 2-kilometre time trial.This year, though, the basis for the camp is to log in the fitness parameters for each player which then can be stored in a central database and can be accessed anytime by the Indian coaching staff including the physio, trainers and strength and conditioning coaches. Creating such a standardised structure, the BCCI believes, will prove vital as India prepare for the T20 World Cup (scheduled in Australia in October-November this year) as well as the ODI World Cup, which will be hosted in India in late 2023.Part of that process would be to establish a baseline fitness level for each individual which will then be monitored and updated frequently. The baseline is established by making a player undergo various fitness drills including performing standing long jump, 2 kilometre time trial, yo-yo test, Dexa body scan (to measure fat percentage and lean muscle mass) as well various other tests.While there are some markers put in place – like the 17:1 level for yo-yo tests and running the 2 kilometre time trial inside 8 minutes 30 seconds – players this time have been encouraged to push themselves if they want to without any pressure. The baseline figure will be recorded once the player takes the test before the leaves the camp. Thereafter the player’s fitness parameters would be measured against this baseline figure and how he is able to maintain under the workload.For example, someone playing in the forthcoming IPL, which will be played between March 26 and May 29, can compare his baseline figure before the tournament and at the end. That will allow the player to understand not just where he is good at in terms of fitness, but also vulnerable areas. It also helps trainers understand where the player is peaking and spot areas of improvement.

Adam Hollioake added to coaching staff after Covid-19 isolation rules hit tourists

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2021England’s batters have been given a “wake-up call” and an “education” by Australia’s bowling attack in the first three Ashes Tests. That is the view of Graham Thorpe, their assistant coach, who will stand in for the self-isolating Chris Silverwood in next week’s fourth Test at the SCG.The stats from the first three Ashes Tests make grim reading for England’s batters. Their highest team total is 297 and there have been no individual hundreds, while Dawid Malan and Joe Root are the only players to have made half-centuries, or to average more than 30 in the series. The three batters that England have used who are under the age of 30 – Haseeb Hameed, Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley – have made 130 runs between them across 12 innings.Related

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Thorpe said that the lack of Lions tours and training camps over the last 21 months due to the pandemic meant that England’s young batters were learning “the basic skills” of Test cricket on the job, and suggested that county cricket was not providing adequate preparation.”With some players it’s a wake-up call,” Thorpe said. “It could actually kick-start their careers because they’ve started training in a very, very different way. They actually start to train smart. They don’t waste time hitting half-volleys.”I don’t mean that in a bad way but they actually deal with the actual nitty gritty side of international cricket, playing high-quality spin, high-quality pace bowling and learning how to put pressure back on. If a guy’s bowling well, [they have to] get through it for six, seven or eight overs.”County cricket is what it is. You’ve got to lift players out of there, then educate them into international cricket. There have been no Lions tours and no training camps for our younger players to actually learn the basic skills of the game as well. They’re trying to learn it in county cricket, but the truth is when they come out of county cricket, they have to learn it again, because Test cricket is 10 times harder.”We are still trying to educate some of the younger guys into the rhythm of Test match batting: playing situations in the game and doing it for long periods of time. Some of them haven’t been able to do it yet. Some of our young players are getting an education and if they didn’t know before, they understand how tough Test cricket is now.”Thorpe has been working extensively with Rory Burns, who was dropped for the third Test after making 51 runs across four innings on the tour – including being bowled round his legs by the first ball of the series. After 31 Tests, Burns averages 30.92 with the bat and his idiosyncratic technique has come under scrutiny in Australia.”I told him: ‘you’ve played 30 Test matches and you average 30, so we want you to be doing more, to be better than that as a player,'” Thorpe said. “So we’ve had discussions with him – does he need a major overhaul of his technique or just to tinker with things?”He needs to do the simple things better. So can he calm things down with his movements and everything? We’ve been talking him through that. It’s tough in competition. Everyone says do you work with them? Yes you do, but you can’t pick away at people’s brains too much walking into Test matches. Sometimes they have to come out and then you can reset a little bit.”When players get a little bit of success they then think, ‘My way is the right way’. And there’s a balance to it. You can see certain things. I said to him, ‘The best bowlers in the world are going to analyse your technique and the right-hand column is going to tell you whether you’re getting it right or not’.”We’ve seen he’s got a good fighting character, so I know that. But at the same time you need a technique and temperament at the highest level. I think he can come back again and play for England definitely but he’s very clear those little adjustments are going to help him to stay at the crease longer.”Thorpe is one of only three England coaches available to take training, alongside Ant Botha and James Foster, with Silverwood, Jeetan Patel and Jon Lewis all self-isolating. As a result, they have asked Adam Hollioake – the former England one-day captain and a team-mate of Thorpe’s at Surrey – to travel to Sydney from his home on the Gold Coast to support their coaching staff, though under Cricket Australia’s Covid protocols he is only allowed to work with the players outdoors.

BCB’s chief physician says he had subsequently tested negative ahead of tournament opener, so Covid-19 cannot be behind him missing the game

Mohammad Isam21-Jan-2022Fortune Barishal wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan, who did not play their opening game in BPL 2022 on Friday, was one of three people to test positive from the franchise in the lead-up to the opener.However, BCB chief physician Dr Debashis Chowdhury has said Nurul must have been kept out from the game for reasons other than Covid-19, as he had recovered and returned two negative tests, including on the morning of the match.Related

• Smooth BPL despite Covid will mean big gains for Bangladesh

According to the franchise, the other two members of the Barishal team to test positive in the lead-up to the tournament were batter Munim Shahriar and batting coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim.Nurul will be tested again tomorrow. “We tested Nurul Hasan thrice,” Chowdhury said. “He was positive in the first test, and then returned negative results in the next two tests. There’s no problem from our side, so he must be missing the match due to some other reason.”Barishal are the first team to make public details of the positive Covid-19 cases in their squad.There are, however, reports in sections of local media of six positive cases in the Khulna Tigers side, including that of Soumya Sarkar, and 12 positive cases overall among the BCB’s employees over the last four or five days.The BPL is being held in the middle of a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh, exacerbated by the Omicron variant. Confirmed cases crossed 10,000 on Thursday for the first time since August 2021, with positive cases growing to 29 times the number it was on January 1, 2022. The positivity rate in the country had reached 26%.

India went on to achieve their first 5-0 ODI series sweep away from home following another one-sided contest at Bulawayo

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran03-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAjinkya Rahane made Zimbabwe pay after being let off early•Associated Press

There were hopes that an inexperienced Indian team would narrow the gulf between the two sides, but, contrary to expectations, at the end of five games that gulf widened. India went on to achieve their first 5-0 ODI series sweep away from home following another one-sided contest at Bulawayo. The script wasn’t very different from the fourth ODI. Zimbabwe lost the toss, suffered another top-order meltdown, posted a below-par total and watched India’s young batsmen bide their time and pile on scores to keep the selectors interested.Amit Mishra has been in and out of the India squad for the last few years and he had the most to gain from this series, taking 6 for 48 and extending his series tally to 18. Ajinkya Rahane, brought in to replace Rohit Sharma, made good use of his opportunity, making an exact 50. With the series decided after the third game, the remaining matches were nothing more than a selection trial for the A tour of South Africa – many of whom are part of that series – and the tour of South Africa later on.Without taking any credit away from Mishra, he had the Zimbabwe batsmen to thank for gifting away their wickets with abysmal shot selection, in their last chance to salvage a consolation win. A cold and windy Saturday morning greeted the teams and after Virat Kohli chose to give his bowlers best use of the conditions, it was always a question of survival for the top order. Zimbabwe struggled to get partnerships going and it was left to the middle order to build from scratch. When the sun came out, the specialist batsmen were all back in the pavilion, leaving the tail to negotiate more than 15 overs. The innings lasted just under 40 overs.With tougher contests coming up for India in the coming months, there would have been a strong case for India batting first in favourable bowling conditions and gaining experience. The second ODI, where they recovered from 65 for 4, was a test of skill and adaptability but the evidence in the last two ODIs suggested that the emphasis was more on capitalising at the toss with a 5-0 sweep in mind.As expected, the batsmen were nervy at the start. Captain Brendan Taylor’s loss of form was a big concern coming into this match, with him averaging just 8.75 in the series, and in his last chance to make amends he departed for a scratchy 11-ball duck. Taylor tried to break free by chasing one from Mohit Sharma outside the off stump, only to edge to second slip. Vusi Sibanda’s wicket – caught behind off Jaydev Unadkat – started the procession and Zimbabwe’s hopes of turning the corner with the bat were dashed as they lost two wickets within ten overs.Hamilton Masakadza was positive from the outset, but the drinks break broke his concentration. Ravindra Jadeja cramped him for room and yet, Masakadza decided to cut, only to chop it onto the stumps first ball after the break. The loss of wickets put a stranglehold on the scoring, with as many as nine overs in the first 25 producing just one run.A poor shot, off an equally bad ball, cost Zimbabwe another wicket. Malcolm Waller shaped to pull a long hop from Mishra and got a top edge that swirled to Mohit at mid-on. Zimbabwe didn’t lose a wicket for another ten overs but, for the second time, the first ball after a drinks break produced a wicket. Elton Chigumbura was trapped lbw coming forward to Mishra, who struck again in the over getting Tinotenda Mutombodzi to edge to slip.Williams was caught off a top edge off Mishra for 51, but it was a shot of frustration more than anything else. Williams was the only batsman who looked like batting through, but the lack of support at the other end must have upset his plans. Mishra cleaned up the tail to equal Javagal Srinath’s bilateral-series record haul of 18 against New Zealand in 2002-03, though that was a seven-match series.The only Indian player to miss out, for the second time, was Cheteshwar Pujara, bowled for the second time in two games, beaten by a beautiful incutter by Kyle Jarvis. Pujara will have a chance to make amends when he leads the A team to South Africa. Jarvis continued to pose questions outside the off stump, getting Shikhar Dhawan to nick to the keeper, halting a brisk knock that gave India an early push before the lunch break.Rahane’s stint should have ended on 7, when the wicketkeeper Taylor fluffed an easy run-out chance with Rahane yards short. He capitalised on that lapse with a steady fifty, driving and pulling with ease. Kohli held himself back again for the sake of a younger player, this time Jadeja. Like Suresh Raina did on Thursday, Jadeja made good use of the promotion, scoring an unbeaten 48 and sealing the series with a six.The series was good for India’s potential replacements. For Zimbabwe, the challenge may only get tougher when Pakistan and Sri Lanka visit later, if they field full-strength sides.

Half-centuries by Matt Pardoe and Thilan Samaraweera took Worcestershire to 198 for 3 on a rain-shortened first day in their Division Two clash with Leicestershire at New Road

08-May-2013
ScorecardHalf-centuries by Matt Pardoe and Thilan Samaraweera took Worcestershire to 198 for 3 on a rain-shortened first day in their Division Two clash with Leicestershire at New Road.Pardoe shared in partnerships of 78 with Moeen Ali and 69 with Samaraweera as Worcestershire finally started their home programme a month late because of on-going building work at the ground.A five-storey executive block and a 120-bedroom hotel created a new backdrop in the riverside corner as Pardoe, determined and disciplined for close to four hours, reached 50 in the championship for the first time in 20 innings.Given an opportunity to pin down an opening spot following the departure of Australian Phil Hughes, the young left hander kept his side on a steady footing after Daryl Mitchell’s edge to third slip in Ollie Freckingham’s third over.Relegated from Division One last September, Worcestershire have yet to find their feet at the lower level after a draw with Lancashire and defeats by Glamorgan and Hampshire in three away matches.Fellow strugglers Leicestershire, another side without a win, were again without three front-line seamers, including former captain Matthew Hoggard, when Ramnaresh Sarwan lost the toss.The stand-in bowlers kept things reasonably tight and Freckingham might have had a second success when Moeen got off the mark with a streaky boundary in his first Championship innings since signing a five-year extension to his contract.Unusually for New Road, the pitch encouraged Leicestershire to try Jigar Naik’s off-breaks only 40 minutes into the first morning and before lunch they also gave a couple of overs to a second spinner in Josh Cobb. There was even a hint of turn as Naik conceded only one run in three overs but the runs began to flow with leg-side sixes for Moeen and Pardoe.Moeen also hit seven fours in making 48 from 77 balls before a misplaced square drive off Rob Taylor found Michael Thornely at point. The unflustered Pardoe maintained a one-run-an-over tempo deep into the afternoon before he was bowled by Naik as he propped forward after making 59 from 174 balls.By then Samaraweera was showing glimpses of his Test quality after an early incident in which he stood his ground when it appeared he had turned a catch to short leg off left-arm seamer Taylor.However, the ball only found its way into Matt Boyce’s hands after bouncing up from his body and then deflecting from the grille on his helmet. After consultation between the umpires, the Sri Lankan was given not out and went on to complete his second fifty for the county. He was unbeaten on 52 when a second stoppage for rain ended the day with only 13 balls bowled after tea.

The captain was “a little bit surprised” by the number of withdrawals from West Indies and Bangladesh trips

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2021Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch believes it will be difficult for those players who have withdrawn from the tours of West Indies and Bangladesh justifying a return to the IPL when the competition resumes in September.He confirmed that it had been part of long-term planning to rest David Warner and Pat Cummins from the trips, but they have been joined in staying home by Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson and Jhye Richardson. Allrounder Daniel Sams, who caught Covid-19 in India shortly before the IPL started, had previously taken himself out of contention for selection while Steven Smith was ruled out with an elbow injury.Finch said he understood the mental toll that the IPL had taken on players – with the Australians enduring a complicated journey home due to border closures – but followed what national selector Trevor Hohns said last week about national duty taking priority later in the year.Related

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“This is only my personal opinion, I think they would find it hard to justify going back and playing that second half of the IPL purely based on the workload coming up with a T20 World Cup then a huge home summer,” Finch told SEN WA when speaking to Adam Gilchrist. “It’s a tough situation everyone has been put in but personally I’d find it hard to do that knowing how challenging it is mentally and on your family.”Although Finch knew he would be without Warner and Cummins in the coming months he admitted the overall number of pullouts had “surprised” him. Their absences have meant recalls for Dan Christian, Ben McDermott and Ashton Turner plus a maiden international call-up for pace bowler Wes Agar. It also means that Finch won’t have had a first-choice T20 team together for a year when the World Cup comes around.”Pat Cummins and David Warner, that was a long-term plan for them that they weren’t going to go on this tour from the outset,” he said. “Having a big summer last year followed by IPL with a T20 World Cup and a view to the Ashes, guys who are playing three formats of the game it can be so brutal on them travelling and playing in bubbles.Aaron Finch will again be well short of having his first-choice T20 side together•AFP

“I was a little bit surprised [with the others]. I’ve chatted to them all. A little bit surprised but also understandable. I know from my own point of view having gone to the UK then all the way through the home summer, I know towards the end of that year I was absolutely cooked mentally. Almost when the season finished it’s a great relief so I can understand, but wish they were there.”Australia are due to depart for West Indies on June 28 for a tour that will include five T20Is and three ODIs. They are then scheduled to head straight to Bangladesh for five further T20Is between August 2 and 10 although those matches are still awaiting final approval around the biosecure plans.Finch will return home and complete his quarantine shortly before his wife Amy is due to give birth to their first child on September 8. He expects to be able to be at home for three or four weeks before beginning final preparations for the T20 World Cup which is due to start in mid-October and may also be shifted to the UAE.Once he is back and through another two weeks of quarantine, Finch’s home season will begin with domestic cricket in the BBL for Melbourne Renegades. Australia’s limited-overs cricket during the summer features visits by New Zealand and Sri Lanka from late January after the Ashes.

England vice-captain seeks to stay on a roll against an India side expected to fight back in second ODI

Valkerie Baynes29-Jun-2021After rediscovering some fine form with the bat, Nat Sciver is targeting more in Taunton, where she expects India to show some fight as England hunt an unassailable lead in the ODI leg of their multi-format series.England lead the series by four points to two after drawing the Test and then winning the first of three ODIs resoundingly in Bristol on Sunday, when Sciver and Tammy Beaumont combined for an unbroken third-wicket stand worth 119.Sciver had spoken in the lead-up to the Test, also in Bristol, of her hunger for more runs after scores of 7, 10 and 9* in the opening rounds of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and 2 for England against England A in a warm-up for the India series.After contributing a valuable 42 in the Test, Sciver kicked on with 74 not out as England’s batting depth was scarcely tested in an eight-wicket victory secured with 15.1 overs to spare.Related

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Turning her attention to Taunton, where England can go 2-0 up in the three-match 50-over series on Wednesday, Sciver was hopeful that her latest knock is a sign of more to come.”I’m really happy that I managed to put a partnership together with Tammy because in the games leading up to the series I’d been a bit frustrated in not being able to get a score,” Sciver said. “We’d spoken about having a partnership over 100 and just making sure that we were clinical so I was very happy to be out there at the end with her and I felt like I was in a good spot to push on.”Beaumont has been in scintillating touch, her unbeaten 87 marking the fourth time in as many ODIs that she has passed fifty and coming after another half-century in the Test. Most encouraging for Sciver, the England vice-captain, was that her return to form required no changes to technique or mindset.”I haven’t done anything different, just being patient,” Sciver added. “I was quite easily frustrated in the domestic games we had before the series, wanting to get a score just to feel good, but I was patient and just played my natural game, hit straight and made use of the bad ball.”It felt good to be out there in the middle with Tammy in the other game so hopefully it can be more of the same.”But where patience proved to be a virtue for Sciver, it was India’s undoing, their overall run rate of 4.02 ultimately taking them to a below-par 201 for 8 from their 50 overs, which included 181 dot balls. India posted 27 for 2 in the first powerplay and they took until the 32nd over to reach the 100 mark, captain Mithali Raj’s 72 holding the innings together but coming off 108 deliveries.Sciver expects to see a different approach from India in the day-night match in Taunton.Sciver’s partnership with Tammy Beaumont in Bristol was match-winning•PA Photos/Getty Images

“If we were in that position, we’d want to certainly punch back a bit harder and make sure that we don’t do the same things again,” she said. “So we’re expecting India to come out with a bit of fight tomorrow.”But hopefully with our skill that we’ve got with the ball and ruthlessness with the bat we can put on a good performance again.”England, whose victory in the first ODI was set up by a strong all-round bowling display led by Sophie Ecclestone’s 3 for 40, could be well-served targeting India’s dangerous openers again.Having removed destructive hitter Shafali Verma, making her ODI debut after twin half-centuries in her maiden Test the week before, and fellow Smriti Mandhana cheaply thanks to seamers Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole – who claimed two wickets each – the hosts were in a strong position to keep a lid on India’s scoring and put pressure on the middle order.”Their line-up is obviously very powerful at the top,” Sciver said. “The importance of the first 10 from our bowlers was massive and Anya and Katherine showed their class and really put the pressure on, made it hard for them to score, and then they had to go for a big shot.”

Steve O’Keefe picked up 4 for 14, including two in the opening over to ensure Stars were never in the hunt

Andrew McGlashan05-Dec-2021Sydney Sixers laid down an early benchmark in their quest for a hat-trick of BBL titles with an utterly dominant display against an overwhelmed Melbourne Stars, who narrowly avoided the lowest total in the competition’s history but still crashed to the largest ever defeat.Sixers’ top three took charge after they had been put in with Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques launching powerful half-centuries in a second-wicket stand of 102 in 8.3 overs. They took Sixers’ to their highest BBL total during an innings that never lost momentum. They were 0 for 40 after the four-over powerplay, 1 for 92 after ten overs, took 33 off the two Power Surge overs and in total 121 off the last ten.Faced with an enormous chase, and without the injured Marcus Stoinis, Stars lost two wickets in the opening over against Steve O’Keefe who went on to claim career-best figures. A short while after Sixers had set a new high score, Stars subsided to their own record low. Games don’t come much more one-sided.Philippe starts with a bang
It was a rather chastening winter for Philippe in his first introduction to the international set-up. He got set twice against New Zealand, but then in the more unaccustomed conditions of West Indies and Bangladesh, his highest score was 13 in five innings to miss the World Cup squad. However, in the early part of the season, he has shown excellent form for Western Australia and back in Sixers’ colours he produced a superb display. He was lagging behind James Vince during the initial stages but was soon up to speed to bring up a 33-ball fifty. Then he really cut loose with a brace of sixes in the first of the Power Surge overs against Sam Rainbird, the first of them onto the roof of the pavilion. When he moved into the 80s in the 16th over, Sixers’ first BBL hundred was on the cards but he then lost the strike to Henriques and perished to a catch at deep midwicket. Still, he had set an early marker.Captain cuts loose
Henriques is one of the most impressive leaders in Australian cricket. He was restricted to five games last season due to being in Australia’s bio-bubble Test squad, but it’s unlikely he will feature this season so should have a full Sixers’ campaign. He had a fantastic platform to build on after the opening stand of 90 between Philippe and Vince. He certainly made the most of it after looking in good touch during a warm-up game against Sydney Thunder last week. His first boundary came off his fourth ball and he reached a 29-ball fifty with a mighty straight drive off Sam Elliott. He finished one short of his career-best.Stars’ bowling looks thin
Heading into the season, the major questions were around Stars’ attack despite the presence of Adam Zampa. Their side for this game also suffered the loss of Stoinis with a side strain. The pace bowling is especially stretched with Billy Stanlake and Liam Hatcher injured while Nathan Coulter-Nile is unavailable. Elliott and Brody Couch, on his birthday, made their T20 debuts as did Pakistan left-arm wristspinner Syed Faridoun who was playing the first professional match of his career. Couch’s two overs went for 15 and 13 although he did have Vince dropped off a skier that neither the bowler nor wicketkeeper Peter Nevill could cling onto. Couch did show good composure in sending down the final over and opened his wicket tally.Blown away
If this does prove to be O’Keefe’s final season, he has started in a grand manner by claiming Joe Clarke and Nick Larkin in his first over. Stars’ slimmest of hopes rested with Glenn Maxwell but he was cleaned up by Sean Abbott inside the powerplay to leave them 3 for 18. O’ Keefe could do no wrong as he claimed a spectacular catch at deep third to remove Nevill and a ball later Hayden Kerr found himself on a hat-trick. He was not immediately given the chance of his third, and instead, Abbott got the ball and claimed two wickets in three balls. In a final sign of how the game panned, O’Keefe bowled a hat-trick ball with two close catchers. Tournaments aren’t won and lost on the opening night but Stars will want to move on from this one quickly.

The cricketer will now isolate in a hotel room in Karachi for a minimum of ten days

Umar Farooq25-May-2021Anwar Ali, the Quetta Gladiators fast bowler, has tested positive for Covid-19, and will now miss the flight bound for Abu Dhabi to take part in the remainder of the PSL tomorrow – two chartered flights are leaving from Pakistan, one from Karachi and the other from Lahore.Ali had tested negative before checking into the hotel in Karachi, but his second test, conducted at the hotel on Monday, returned a positive result on Tuesday. He has been shifted to the separate floor within the hotel where he will isolate for a minimum of ten days. He will be released from the hotel after returning two negative tests.Related

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The contingents of all six franchise are scheduled to fly out to Abu Dhabi tomorrow, and all individuals are required to quarantine in their hotel rooms for seven days after that before being allowed to enter the bio-secure environment – if they return negative tests. The PCB has created three separate bubbles in Abu Dhabi: one for players, support staff, match officials, hotel staff and PCB officials; the second, in a different hotel, for the TV production crew and key event management personnel; and the third is an accommodation dedicated to the groundstaff.Players and support staff from Sri Lanka have reached Pakistan and will fly out to Abu Dhabi along with the Pakistanis – all flights will reach on May 26 – because the UAE has in place travel restrictions for several countries, including Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Chartered flights, however, are permitted.The PCB has also earned exemptions for Indian and South African nationals, who are involved with the PSL in different capacities – mainly broadcast and production. Those taking chartered flights from those two countries have to quarantine for ten days in a separate hotel.Anwar’s loss will hurt the Gladiators, who have already lost the services of fast bowler Naseem Shah. Shah was released by the team yesterday following a breach of Covid-19 regulations as he arrived at the hotel in Lahore armed with a negative Covid-19 report dated May 18, but from a non-compliant PCR test.

Channel Nine has retained the rights to broadcast Australia’s home international matches after agreeing to a deal worth $500 million over five years

Brydon Coverdale03-Jun-2013Channel Nine has retained the rights to broadcast Australia’s home international matches after agreeing to a deal worth $500 million over five years.Nine saw off a bold bid from Channel Ten to claim the rights to Test, ODI and Twenty20 international cricket but Ten is believed to have secured a deal worth approximately $20 million a year to broadcast the Big Bash League, which will appear on free-to-air television for the first time.Ten had made a significant play for the full cricket schedule but Nine had the right to match the bid, although that was complicated by its reluctance to sign up for the BBL.However, in order to keep international cricket on Nine, where it has been broadcast for more than 30 years, Nine was forced to more than double the amount it paid per year over the previous seven-year deal.The expiring deal had cost Nine $45 million per year; the new five-year agreement will cost $100 million a year for Test, ODI and Twenty20 international cricket, as well as approximately $10 million a year in free advertising.The two deals will provide a major windfall for Cricket Australia, which will earn about $120 million a season in broadcast rights, nearly three times what it received under the previous arrangement.