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Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum pillaged 85 off 51 balls in a chase of 164, helping Gujarat Lions romp to a seven-wicket win against Rising Pune Supergiants in Rajkot

The Report by Nikhil Kalro14-Apr-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAaron Finch hit his second consecutive half-century of the season•BCCI

Another one-sided encounter, another win for the chasing team. This season’s IPL, it seems, is on repeat mode, after Gujarat Lions cruised to a seven-wicket win against Rising Pune Supergiants in Rajkot. After a strong start, Supergiants looked set for a score in excess of 180, but a superb display of defensive bowling towards the end turned the contest in Lions’ favour. Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum then effectively killed the game by pillaging 62 in the Powerplay, during their chase of 164.MS Dhoni had pulled back some momentum for Supergiants by contributing to a 20-run last over in the first innings, but his bowlers threw it all away. Loose deliveries stacked up, and the Lions openers duly dispatched them. Four fours and two sixes off the seamers, RP Singh and Ishant Sharma, meant Dhoni turned to M Ashwin in the last over of the Powerplay, but Finch took the legspinner for four fours in a 19-run over.Finch then hit medium-pacer Rajat Bhatia for two sixes over long-on in the seventh over, but holed out to square leg in the ninth, for 50 – his second half-century of the season. By then, though, the damage had been done.McCullum continued to latch on to wayward bowling, as the spinners failed to extract much from the patchy surface. Supergiants’ day was summed up when Dhoni missed a routine stumping with McCullum well short of his crease after R Ashwin had yorked the batsman.After McCullum top-edged an attempted pull to cover off Ishant, the captain Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo produced cameos as Lions reached the target with two overs to spare.Supergiants’ batting was a tale of two halves. Faf du Plessis and Ajinkya Rahane continued from where they left off against Mumbai Indians, using exquisite timing to plunder five fours in the first 21 balls. After Pravin Tambe trapped Rahane lbw in the fourth over, Kevin Pietersen and du Plessis ensured a productive Powerplay with a bunch of boundaries.The pair added 30 off 13 balls to end the Powerplay at 57 for 1, with du Plessis being particularly aggressive down the ground. Even as the field spread, the boundary was found regularly and their stand stretched to 83.But just when Supergiants looked to accelerate, Bravo brought out his slower balls to stall the charge. He bowled four of them in succession in the 14th over, the last of which forced Pietersen to drag on. Suddenly, one wicket brought three as the spinners found their lengths. Ravindra Jadeja, who has played most of his domestic cricket at this ground, varied his pace effectively to concede just four off the 17th and 19th overs to finish with figures of 2 for 18.The situation may have been a lot worse had Dhoni not given Supergiants a late surge – he took Bravo for a six, two fours and three twos in the last over. In the end, Supergiants’ 163 was nowhere near enough as they tasted their first defeat in the IPL.

South Africa will be confident that a first Test win in 10 attempts will fall their way on the final day of the fourth Test after grabbing three England wickets in the last 21 overs at Centurion

The Report by David Hopps25-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSouth Africa will be confident that a first Test win in 10 attempts will fall their way on the final day of the fourth Test after grabbing three England wickets in the last 21 overs at Centurion. England, with the series already won, will seek to shrug away their disappointment, but salvaging something from this match looks unlikely even against a South Africa side that will have to count its fit and able on the morrow.Watchful batting followed by a late clatter of English wickets: a brief flurry of rain apart, South Africa’s day at Centurion could hardly have been any more satisfying.They first made the game safe with steadfast innings from Hashim Amla and Temba Bavuma – Amla falling only four runs short of making two centuries in the match before they declared 381 runs ahead – then took giant strides towards winning it.The inroads were made by pace – two for Kagiso Rabada and one for Morne Morkel, but there was also enough purchase for the offspinner Dane Piedt to suggest that he can play an influential role. With the fitness of Kyle Abbott in serious doubt, he may have to. The odd thunderstorm is also lurking in the vicinity.Alex Hales’ was England’s first wicket to fall, his unhappy debut series continued to the end. Leg before to Rabada for a single, he finished with 136 runs at 17 with only one half-century on a Cape Town featherbed. Uneven bounce played a part in his latest dismissal – probably as much as a foot’s difference to strike him on the knee roll – but his aptitude for Test cricket remains unproven.His exciting potential in limited-overs cricket means that many observers look kindly upon him and for a while at least, until a contender demands the right to supplant him, they might as well.Alastair Cook must also wait until next summer to become the youngest batsman to 10,000 Test runs – he still needs 36 after Morkel plucked a return catch to his right. Nick Compton not only fell driving at Rabada, he wasted a review in a frivolous challenge.It could have been worse for England. Joe Root had two escapes against Piedt in the gloom, both on 10, Quinton de Kock missing a stumping when Piedt threaded one between bat and pad and then surviving a review as he was beaten on the sweep.South Africa’s Test cricket has long been based on discipline and sobriety. It was thus when they were No. 1 in the world and it was not about to change with that ranking about to be lost and with a run of nine winless Tests behind them. It was a method that spread into English cricket during the coaching reigns of Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower. It is in their blood.No side has ever successfully chased more than 251 in the fourth innings at Centurion, a feat achieved by England in 2000 with two wickets to spare: the infamous match-fixing declaration by Hansie Cronje. Rule out skulduggery and nobody has ever chased down more than 200.But a game so reliant on statistics does not trust them when it comes to declarations, especially a risk-averse side with its bowling resources under strain.South Africa made significant inroads with the new ball•Getty Images

Abbott, with his hamstring heavily strapped, attempted a few deliveries on the outfield before the start of play but his approach was so tentative and delivery so feeble his future involvement in the Test was cast into doubt; he looked in more danger of getting a late call up for the Masters Champions League.”He won’t bowl today,” came the advice from the South Africa camp when England batted. “He is on the field so he can bowl tomorrow.” But with England’s openers dismissed within seven overs, he could not resist an exploratory over off a short run. It was hardly venomous but neither did he fall in a heap. He will probably play a bit part at most.By the time rain five overs after tea hurried South Africa into a declaration, they had scored 206 in the day: four wickets lost and a run rate a shade above three an over. The centrepiece of that was a stand of 117 in 38 overs between Amla and Bavuma, assembled with great deliberation.Amla and Bavuma wore down England’s resistance in a wicketless afternoon in which neither player offered a glimmer of a chance. They met England’s three main pace bowlers with great concentration, adjusted calmly when the pitch occasionally misbehaved, and gladly accepted scoring opportunities as Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali were unable to sustain the pressure.If South Africa’s caution as tea approached began to feel excessive, their morning’s work was impressive. It was exemplified by Amla, whose painstaking progress was in sharp contrast to his blissful hundred in the first innings. On each occasion, he has summoned an innings perfectly suited to the situation and has been comfortably their leading batsman in the series.His second hundred went missing when he tried to abruptly shifted tempo after tea, surviving an England review as he swung lustily at the third ball, from Stuart Broad, skylarking at the fifth to be caught at the wicket. Bavuma’s outside hopes of a century also departed with the rain that forced the declaration – although to manufacture that end result would have been tactically unforgiveable.If Amla has given South Africa’s most batting sustenance in the series, AB de Villiers has had a torrid time since assuming the captaincy after Amla’s mid-series resignation. He has had three ducks in succession, facing only nine balls in the process, his latest failure coming second ball when James Anderson found a hooping inswinger to have him lbw.Considering that de Villiers had politely observed before the Test that England had some bowlers – essentially Anderson – who remained highly skilled but were down on pace – the dismissal came with a bit of invective attached. De Villiers reviewed: the batsman disconsolate, the bowler continuing to fume until he had his reward.Anderson took the first three wickets to fall. Dean Elgar had been snaffled the previous evening in a challenging session where South Africa did well to close at 42 for 1. Stephen Cook followed in the fifth over of the morning, a drive away from his body, a perceived weak spot.Anderson began South Africa’s second innings with only four wickets to his name, having missed the first Test in Durban because of injury, but whose pace and movement was greater than at any time in the series.At 49 for 3, the lead 182, South Africa had a few qualms. JP Duminy, batting high at No. 5, eased them, adding 57 with Amla before Ben Stokes drew him into a loose drive. Stokes, who had also struck Amla painfully on the thumb of his bottom hand the previous evening, was a handful. He reached his half century when Stokes spat one of a length at his face, the ball flew past short leg off his glove. Amla immediately signalled for an arm guard.As the ball aged and the skies cleared, batting problems lessened. The declaration came too slowly for some, but South Africa had chosen their tactics and fulfilled them rather well.

Mark Footitt, one of English cricket’s most sought-after close-season signings, has agreed a four-year contract with Surrey

David Hopps15-Oct-2015Mark Footitt, the left-arm quick who has been one of English cricket’s most sought-after close-season signings, has agreed a four-year contract with Surrey.Footitt, who trained with England ahead of the Ashes series without managing to make his Test debut, will add new potency to Surrey’s bowling resources as they return to Division One of the ChampionshipDerbyshire have released Footitt, who has a year left on his contract, with immediate effect after agreeing compensation with Surrey.Derbyshire had no wish to lose Footitt but they had to bow to the reality – now well established despite the resentment of a few battle-hardened traditionalists – that a struggling Second Division club can rarely hang on to its most ambitious players.Only a year ago, Footitt had insisted that he could win England honours at Derbyshire, but that view has shifted. It leaves Derbyshire with a 13-year gap since they last provided an England player – Dominic Cork at the end of his career – and with no immediate prospects of ending the run.Footitt said: “It was a difficult decision to leave, but I felt that at this stage in my career, now is the right time to move on and the opportunity to play First Division cricket at a Test ground whilst working with another strong coaching set-up is the ideal next step.”The impression was that England did not quite have the confidence that Footitt would prosper against high-quality opposition – even allowing for the fact that much of the series was played on bowler-friendly surfaces – and a move to the Kia Oval as part of a vibrant, young Surrey side gives the bowler a chance to challenge the notion.Simon Storey, the county’s chief executive, said: “We obviously regret that Mark has decided to move on. Having rejected a contract extension on improved terms, Mark and his agent made it clear he was keen to explore options elsewhere and in these situations, it is better for all parties to find a solution professionally.”Derbyshire have already strengthened their seam bowling resources by signing Andy Carter from neighbours Nottinghamshire and completing the signing of Tom Milnes, who was on loan last season, from Warwickshire, but Storey suggested that more money would be made available to Graeme Welch, their elite performance director.”It is now important that we support Graeme as he develops the current group of Derbyshire bowlers,” Storey said. “We will also be ensuring the finance is in place to augment our bowling line-up with potential replacements.”Derbyshire ar left to hide their frustration as best they can. Elite Performance Director, Graeme Welch commented: “Mark has made great progress since joining the Club and in particular over the last two seasons which got him the call-up to the England Ashes squad.”We of course would have liked him to stay, but we wish him well for the future and our attention is now on working with the promising crop of young fast bowlers at the club while continuing to look to strengthen our squad further.”Welch resists the label; of a struggling county for Derbyshire, who were expected to challenge strongly for promotion only to finish second bottom as well as suffer a lean time in limited-overs competitions.”We are totally focused on developing a side that will be capable of competing in all formats and pushing for silverware,” he said.

Sohag Gazi has made a return to the Bangladesh international side after he was picked in the Twenty20 side for the two-match series against South Africa which begins on July 5

Mohammad Isam01-Jul-20151:42

Isam: Bangladesh squad still has unanswered questions

Bangladesh have recalled offspinner Sohag Gazi for the two-match Twenty20 series against South Africa, which starts on July 5. This is his first call-up since his bowling action was cleared by the ICC in February this year.Rubel Hossain and Jubair Hossain have also been included for the two matches. Gazi, Jubair and Rubel replaced Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed and Abul Hasan who were part of Bangladesh’s last T20 squad, against Pakistan in April this year. Rubel and Jubair were also a part of the ODI squad for the series against India last month.Gazi’s last international match was in August last year, before he was suspended for an illegal action in October. He played most of the 2014-15 domestic season, taking 37 wickets at an average of 37.94 in nine first-class matches, and 17 List A wickets. He also scored two centuries and two fifties.Faruque Ahmed, Bangladesh’s chief selector, said Gazi was picked to fill the role of a specialist offspinner in the side.”We wanted a specialist offspinner so we picked Sohag Gazi. He has been out for a while now, but now he is back with a new action,” Faruque told ESPNcricinfo.Jubair earned his first call-up in Bangladesh’s T20 side, although he hasn’t played any recognised T20 matches in his short domestic career.Mahmudullah is still recovering from a finger injury that ruled him out of the Test and ODIs against India last month, while Taskin is out with a left side tear. Faruque said that Mahmudullah had not “sufficiently recovered” from the injury. Abul Hasan only played the first ODI against Pakistan, going wicketless, and hasn’t played for Bangladesh since.Bangladesh T20 squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Litton Das, Rony Talukdar, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (vice-capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Jubair Hossain, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur RahmanBCB XI squad for practice match: Imrul Kayes (capt), Anamul Haque (wk), Rony Talukdar, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudul Hasan, Saikat Ali, Shuvagata Hom, Abdur Razzak, Sohag Gazi, Al-Amin Hossain, Abul Hasan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi

MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, has been fined 10% of his match fee for making an inappropriate public comment with respect to an umpire’s decision

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2015MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, has been fined 10% of his match fee for making an inappropriate public comment with respect to an umpire’s decision.Dhoni had called umpire Richard Illingworth’s decision to give Dwayne Smith lbw “horrible” during the post-match presentation, after Chennai Super Kings lost the Qualifier to Mumbai Indians by 25 runs at Wankhede Stadium.”I felt we lost too many in the middle,” Dhoni had said when asked about Super Kings’ performance. “Not to forget Dwayne Smith got a horrible decision by any standards, but overall I think we need to blame ourselves, we were not up to the mark.”Smith was adjudged lbw to a full toss from Lasith Malinga in the first over of the Super Kings chase, but replays indicated the ball was missing leg stump by a substantial margin. Dhoni admitted the level 1 offence and accepted the sanction, the IPL said in a release.Super Kings will travel to Ranchi to play the second Qualifier on Friday. They will play the winner of the Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore for a berth in the IPL 2015 final, against Mumbai.

A round-up of matches played in the President’s One-Day Cup tournament 2012-13 played on April 11, 2013

Umar Farooq11-Apr-2013Mohammad Nawaz’s all-round performance helped National Bank of Pakistan beat Khan Research Laboratories by 12 runs at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. This was KRL’s third straight defeat, and NBP’s third consecutive win. NBP, after being asked to bat, started poorly, with Nasir Jamshed (4) and Sami Aslam (1) back in the hut in quick time. Kamran Akmal (40) and captain Fawad Alam (57) had to do the repair work. NBP, though, then slipped to 95 for 5. Alam hit his 18th List A fifty before being dismissed by Mohammad Irfan. Alam helped add 54 with Nawaz to take his team towards 206.In reply, KRL openers Mohammad Yasin (34) and Tayab Riaz (47) laid a solid foundation with an 82-run stand but three wickets in quick succession put KRL on the back foot. Saeed Anwar Junior was the only batsman who offered some resistance. His 55 was in vain, as Raza Hasan (4-36), Nawaz (2-36) and Imran Khan (31-2) ripped though the line-up to bowl out KRL for 194 in 49.1 overs.Hussain Talat’s hundred and Harris Sohail’s brisk was too much for Port Qasim Authority, as Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited won by 8 wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Asked to bat, PQA were off to a good start, with opener Khurram Manzoor scoring his second hundred of the tournament. Shahzaib Hasan (37), Umar Amin (42), and Tanvir Ahmed (36) chipped in with cameos to power PQA to 297 for 6 in 50 overs.The ZTBL reply was strong, with the openers adding 169. ZTBL lost Sharjeel Khan (81) and Babar Azam (10) in relatively quick time, but Talat (141*) and Sohail (56*) remained unbeaten to take their side home. ZTBL chased down 298 in just 42.2 overs.Water and Power Development Authority, spearheaded by Rafatullah Mohmand’s hundred, defeated Habib Bank Limited by five wickets at the National Stadium Karachi. WAPDA chased down a commanding total of 287 with Rafatullah (102), Saad Nasim (84) and Sohaib Maqsood (66) helping complete the chase with 15 balls to spare.WAPDA had put HBL in to bat. Imran Farhat (11) and Younis Khan (25) fell without making a significant contribution. Two young batsmen, Ahmed Shahzad (112) and Asad Shafiq (79), boosted HBL to a good total. Shahid Afridi scored just 5 while Junaid Khan was the key wicket-taker for WAPDA, taking 4 for 42.Abid Ali’s 91 and Kashif Bhatti’s 4 for 38 helped United Bank Limited beat Pakistan International Airlines by nine runs at Shaheed Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto International Cricket Stadium, Ghari Khuda Bakhsh. Put in to bat, PIA reduced UBL to 53 for 4 at one stage. But the middle and lower orders chipped in. Itmad-ul-Haq (28), Shabbir Ahmed (22), Kasif Bhatti (20) and Mohammad Irshad (23*) guided their team to 222 for 8.PIA, in their reply, began poorly. Agha Sabir (40) and Sheharyar Ghani (52) then tried to resist but Bhatti, along with Mohammad Zubair, shared seven wickets to bowl out PIA in 48.3 overs.

A wrap of the third day of the third round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2012
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Manoj Tiwary’s occasional legbreaks got the crucial wicket of Parthiv Patel just before stumps•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bengal closed in on their first outright win of the season through a nine-over burst between their declaration and stumps to remove all three Patels. Both their opening bowlers struck once each, their captain Manoj Tiwary celebrated his 191 earlier in the day with the scalp of his opposite number, and Gujarat’s last six were left to erase the deficit of 248 runs to avoid an innings defeat.Tiwary began the day at 102 not out, and Bengal were 40 runs behind Gujarat’s 260. With Anustup Majumdar, Tiwary took Bengal into lead, and with Laxmi Shukla he piled on the misery for Gujarat. Shukla scored 113 off 117 to give Bengal a total they would feel safe with.Given nine overs to survive before stumps, Gujarat faltered. Priyank Panchal was run out in the second over, Niraj Patel fell to Ashok Dinda in the third, and Smit Patel was bowled by Sourav Sarkar in the fourth. Just before stumps, Tiwary accounted for the most important Patel, Parthiv, getting him to edge to Wriddhiman Saha.
Scorecard
The highlight of a shortened day in Bhubaneswar was that Railways managed to get Uday Kaul out for the first time this season. Otherwise, Punjab, who had taken a lead on day two, couldn’t find a way through Railways’ batting a second time around, and the match headed towards a draw.Uday added four to his overnight 96 before he fell to Sanjay Bangar, but Punjab managed a lead of 109. Amit Paunikar responded with an unbeaten century, but that only took the match towards a draw. However, if Railways manage the draw, they will take away one point from the game.The concern for Punjab was that Manpreet Gony bowled only 3.5 overs.
Scorecard
Saurashtra, who had taken a lead on day two, surprised observers by not asking Hyderabad to bat for what could have been a tricky period before stumps. Saurashtra already had a lead of 344, and Hyderabad, a fragile line-up, are missing VVS Laxman in this match.Their approach on the third day, though, was surprising. They batted out the whole 90 overs for just 270 runs. Sagar Jogiyani scored 69 off 195. While wanting to secure the match might have been behind their go-slow in the morning, it was hard to find reasons for not declaring, especially after Jaydev Shah’s 55 off 67 balls had provided them momentum.
Scorecard
In another match headed towards a draw, Madhya Pradesh’s Naman Ojha struck a century after Ishwar Pandey finished his second five-for. However, Rajasthan all but ensured three points despite a solid second-innings response from MP.Rajasthan began the day at 306 for 6, and batted 26.4 overs for just 73 runs. When they were eventually bowled out for a lead of 123 runs, the only possibility of a result was if Rajasthan could bowl MP out. That didn’t happen, and the teams were headed towards a drab final day.

Brad Haddin, the Australia and Kolkata Knight Riders wicketkeeper, has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL with a fractured finger

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Apr-2011Brad Haddin, the Australia and Kolkata Knight Riders wicketkeeper, has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL with a fractured finger. He has been replaced by South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, who was part of the IPL commentary team this season and represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first three editions.”Boucher can open, he can play in the middle order, and he plays spin very well,” Venky Mysore, the CEO of the franchise, told ESPNcricinfo. Boucher last played for South Africa in a limited-overs game in June 2010, as AB de Villiers emerged as a preferred wicketkeeper-batsman.Haddin had picked up the injury during Australia’s recent one-day series in Bangladesh, and though he played one IPL game after that tour, an MRI on Thursday revealed that his finger hadn’t yet healed.Kolkata have used three different wicketkeepers in the tournament already, all of whom have opened the batting. Manvinder Bisla played five games as an opener, while Shreevats Goswami was drafted in for the game against Delhi Daredevils.Haddin came into the IPL in good form, having been Australia’s highest run-getter in the World Cup.

The ICC’s decision to exclude Associates from the 2015 World Cup has been met with understandable disappointment from Scotland and Bermuda

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2011Scotland, Canada and Bermuda have joined the condemnation of the ICC’s decision to exclude Associates from the 2015 World Cup.Scotland, who were part of the tournament in 1999 and 2007 and will approach the ICC to reconsider the move. “This has some legs to run yet,” Cricket Scotland chief Roddy Smith told .”I’m sure the 95 countries ranked below the top 10 will be getting together to talk about what can be done. Can we influence the 10 Full Members to reconsider? It’s a long shot but we have to try.”The absence of a qualifying event for 2015 was what upset Scotland the most. “We’re not arguing that it shouldn’t be a 10-team World Cup,” Smith said. “Our biggest concern is that there has to be some sort of qualification event.”Though the Associates have been left out of the 2015 edition, they will participate in the ICC World Twenty20 – where the ICC has made room for 16 teams – and stand a fair chance of playing the 2019 World Cup that, despite being a ten-team tournament, will have a qualifying round.The most important reason for the ICC’s decision, Smith said, was to protect a couple of Full Members who, he felt, weren’t too far better than the Associates. “Behind the scenes there are reasons to do with the commercial value and TV rights of the competition. But the main reason is to protect Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, who aren’t too much better than the likes of Ireland, Scotland, Afghanistan or Kenya etc.”No one would argue that the top countries like Australia and India are far better than the Associate nations. But the bottom Full Members, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and even West Indies are not a million miles ahead of the leading second tier countries.”The expansion of the World Twenty20 to 16 teams was no consolation, Smith added. “That’s great but it’s only one of the three formats of the game and for most Associate nations it’s not the main one. We want to be tested at 50-over cricket.”In the immediate aftermath of its decision, the ICC was slammed by Cricket Ireland and its players on various forums. Ireland had been the stand-out Associate team in the 2011 World Cup and its achievements included a stunning win over England, thanks to a 50-ball century from Kevin O’Brien.Canada joined the chorus of criticism, with their board saying it was “very disappointed to learn that there would be no qualification process for the 2015”. Canada were highlighted by the ICC for being a poor-performing Associate country in the recent World Cup where they lost four of their five games.Despite disappointing results overall there were flashes of success, such as Hiral Patel’s stunning half-century against Australia. Patel, 19, will be denied the opportunity to build on the experience he gained at the next event. “[He] will be closer to the end of his career by the time he gets a chance to compete in the game’s marquee event again,” Cricket Canada said in statement.”We have had significant interest and profile generated in Canadian cricket as a result of our participation in the world cup, and this increase in our sport would surely wane if we are not allowed to participate in the world cup for at eight years or more.”Criticism was as strong in Bermuda, another Associate nation that played in the 2007 World Cup. “How can they call this a World Cup when it is only being played between 10 teams, what world are they living in?,” Clay Smith, a former batsman, was quoted as saying in the . “I think this decision is a joke and very contradictory to what they the ICC has been trying to do in the past.”The ICC has invested so much money into the Associate members to try to improve their standards, but it seems like some of the big boys of cricket fear being embarrassed by the minnows.”The early exits of India and Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup, after they were beaten by Bangladesh and Ireland respectively, prompted the ICC to devise formats to protect the bigger teams, Clay Smith said. “What they should do is have a mini World Cup with the Associate teams and at least have the two finalists be given a path to the World Cup.”

Irfan Qadir, a retired judge, has been appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board to hear the appeals against the bans and fines on six players

Cricinfo staff20-Apr-2010Irfan Qadir, a retired judge, has been appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board to hear the appeals against the bans and fines on six players following their poor conduct on the tour of Australia earlier this year.”Through a resolution of the governing board, retired justice Irfan Qadir has been appointed as independent arbitrator to deal with players’ appeals,” the PCB’s legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi told . “To avoid conflicting judgements, all the appeals will go to one arbitrator, in this case Justice Qadir, and he may initiate the process as early as next week.”The PCB took drastic steps against seven players it believed were responsible for Pakistan’s failure to win a single game in Australia. The captain Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan were banned indefinitely, Shoaib Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan were banned for a year while Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers were fined and placed on probation for six months.Yousuf and Younis were accused of infighting and having a negative influence on the team. Yousuf announced his retirement from international cricket after the ban and is the only one among the punished players who didn’t appeal.The Akmal brothers and Naved lodged their appeals last week, followed by Afridi, Younis and then Malik.