All posts by n8rngtd.top

Former assistant coach with Bangladesh says he wouldn’t encourage current players to become coaches due to the money on offer

Mohammad Isam17-Dec-2020Mohammad Salahuddin, the Gazi Group Chattogram head coach, lashed out against the under-payment of coaches in Bangladesh, calling the money on offer “embarrassing”.A former assistant coach with the national side from 2008 to 2010, Salahuddin has won several coaching laurels including two BPL titles with Comilla Victorians and a number of domestic trophies over two decades. However, despite these successes, Salahuddin has had to work a regular day job with the Gazi Group for most of the year to earn his living.”We are not even receiving what a player in D grade is getting, so coaches are E grade people,” Salahuddin said. “That makes assistant coaches from F grade, trainers are G or H grade and so on.”In the ongoing Bangabandhu T20 Cup, where Salahuddin’s side will take on Gemcon Khulna in the final on Friday, the players who are in Grade D are paid BDT 400,000 (approx. USD 4,717), while head coaches are paid BDT 300,000 (approx.. USD 3,538). The rest of the support staff get even less than that.Given the state of finances, Salahuddin said he would not be encouraging any current player to take up coaching.”I am not taking a fee for this tournament since I am employed by Gazi Group but I am actually quite disappointed with coaches’ payments,” Salahuddin said. “I always wanted players to become coaches once their playing careers are over, so that they can continue to have a decent status in life. But seeing the money involved these days, I will not encourage anyone to take up coaching.”If you believe that a coach has influence on a player then I think we should be valued properly. Otherwise it just means that we have no impact on our teams. We are just here to run a match or a tournament, and nothing else.”Apart from Salahuddin, the other coaches in this tournament are Shohel Islam (Fortune Barishal), Mizanur Rahman (Gemcon Khulna), Sarwar Imran (Minister Rajshahi) and Khaled Mahmud (Beximco Dhaka).

Yorkshire are frustrated in their push for victory as weather intervenes on the final day at Grace Road against Leicestershire

Paul Edwards at Grace Road30-Jul-2012
ScorecardSteve Harmison, seen here for Durham, produced another mixed bag but ended the match with five wickets•Getty Images

For the first three days of this match Yorkshire’s cricketers laid siege to Grace Road; on the fourth they hoped Leicestershire would finally capitulate and surrender the 16 points for a win that would have left Andrew Gale’s team a single point behind second division leaders Derbyshire having played one game more.Leicestershire did not yield though. While Grace Road may be more an embattled town than a mighty fortress these days, its citizens are a proud lot, and a sixth-wicket partnership of 67 in 24 overs between Ned Eckersley and Wayne White in mid-afternoon played an important role in securing the draw and denying Gale’s men the victory they craved.The weather was vital, too; indeed, it probably saved Leicestershire and provided Yorkshire with the most frustrating day of their season. One downpour delayed the start of play until 12.15pm; another prevented the restart after lunch for 80 minutes; and a final shower after tea caused play to be delayed until 5.45pm when 6.1 overs were left in the game and the visitors needed four wickets.They could not manage it. Although Eckersley was snaffled by Root at short leg off Asad Rafiq for a valiant 26, Paul Dixey and Claude Henderson defied the Yorkshire bowlers and the ring of predatory fielders to bat out the remaining 17 balls of the game. In all, a total of 60 overs were lost in the day. If Yorkshire do not win promotion, players and supporters may look back on events at Grace Road as being crucial to their eventual fate.The disappointment of the visitors was exacerbated by the tantalising capture of three vital wickets in the ten overs that were possible in the morning session. Two of these were the work of Harmison, who continued to mix a most erratic line and a tendency to overstep the crease with the capacity to produce a devastating delivery made all the more lethal by the wayward stuff that surrounded it. His first over contained a long-hop, a couple of very wide balls and, fatally for Ramnaresh Sarwan, a superb yorker which the Guyanese seemed barely to see. For the second time in the match Leicestershire’s best batsman had been castled by one of Yorkshire’s least impressive; Sarwan trooped off morosely, perhaps meditating upon the iniquities visited on the righteous by the ungodly.Worse was to come for Leicestershire. Four overs later, first innings centurion Matt Boyce clipped a Harmison half-volley straight to short leg where the ball hit Joe Root, who had the presence of mind and quickness of reflex to catch the rebound. Shiv Thakor kept out one delivery before he was lbw to his second, a full and straight affair from Steve Patterson which trapped the slow-moving batsman on the crease. And if second slip Adam Lyth had then held on to an edged chance offered by White off Steven Patterson, Leicestershire would have been 90 for 6 and tottering.Instead, Yorkshire had to wait until 4.35pm to claim White’s wicket when Bairstow held on to an edge off Rafiq. One ball later, as if on order from Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard, the rain returned. The siege engines had been hampered by the weather. Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie and his charges now take their trebuchets and mangonels to Northampton for a championship match on Wednesday.Yorkshire’s irritation at Monday’s outcome was perhaps assuaged a little by the fact that Hampshire hung on for a draw against Kent, so the 11 points Gale’s team gained at Grace Road moves them up to second place in Division Two. Leicestershire’s eight points moves them above Glamorgan at the foot of the table.

ECB ‘hopeful’ about Indian involvement but awaiting BCCI approval

Matt Roller23-Feb-2021Ten Australia Women internationals have confirmed their availability for the inaugural season of the Hundred, with the ECB “hopeful” that they will be joined in the competition by a handful of India players.Nineteen of the 24 overseas slots in the women’s Hundred have now been filled, after eight new players were announced on Tuesday: Alyssa Healy, Nicola Carey (Northern Superchargers), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning, Jess Jonassen (Welsh Fire), Sophie Molineux, Annabel Sutherland (Trent Rockets), and Rachael Haynes (Oval Invincibles).Eleven Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa players had previously been confirmed: Elyse Villani (Trent Rockets), Sophie Devine, Ashleigh Gardner (Birmingham Phoenix), Deandra Dottin, Chloe Tryon (London Spirit), Mignon du Preez, Lizelle Lee (Manchester Originals), Dane van Niekerk, Marizanne Kapp (Oval Invincibles), Amelia Kerr and Stafanie Taylor (Southern Brave).Related

• The Hundred to launch with women's fixture on July 21

• The Hundred – full 2021 squad lists

• The Hundred – men's draft announcements

• ECB launches Women's Regional T20 alongside RHFT

• Farrant recall: a landmark moment for English women's cricket

While recruitment for the men’s Hundred involved a retention stage and a player draft, the women’s competition is running on an open-market system, with players and teams allowed to negotiate contracts directly.The ECB remains optimistic that some Indian players will be involved in the competition. While the BCCI does not grant No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) for active men’s players to appear in overseas leagues, India’s leading female players have previously appeared in the Kia Super League (KSL) – which has now been discontinued to make way for the Hundred – and the Women’s Big Bash League.ESPNcricinfo understands that Indian players are keen to be involved in the competition, but that they are waiting on approval from the BCCI. Four India internationals – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma – were involved in the KSL between 2017 and 2019.ESPNcricinfo understands that the ECB has been in discussions with the BCCI about the prospect, and a spokesperson said they were “hopeful” of Indian involvement.Charlotte Edwards, Southern Brave’s head coach, told Sky’s : “I think there are conversations happening. Clearly, they’re players we want in this competition. We’ve got most of the top Australian players, so I think the next step is to get the Indian players over the line. That’s exciting for the competition, so hopefully that will happen.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Beth Barrett-Wild, the head of the women’s Hundred, told ESPNcricinfo that the ECB was confident the “best players in the world” would feature.”Obviously there’s a level of uncertainty with the Covid situation, but we’ve got a brilliant team hooked into government who are making sure we’re on top of what’s happening,” she said. “It’s really difficult to know where we’ll be in July but those overseas players have all signed their contracts, so fingers crossed they will be over here in the summer.”It shows that these players want to play in the Hundred and see it as a big opportunity, both from a playing perspective and in terms of their personal visibility. We talk about world-class quality and the Hundred being a world-class competition, and I can categorically say that we’ve got the best players in the world coming.”Teams have also confirmed the signings of several English players. Deals for Sophie Ecclestone (Manchester Originals), Bryony Smith (Welsh Fire), Alice Davidson-Richards (Northern Superchargers), Sarah Glenn (Trent Rockets), Sophia Dunkley (Southern Brave), Mady Villiers (Oval Invincibles), Georgia Elwiss (Birmingham Phoenix) and Tammy Beaumont (London Spirit) were all announced on Tuesday.

The Test series between England and South Africa features six of the world’s top 10 Test bowlers and eight of the top 17 Test batsmen

George Dobell at The Oval18-Jul-2012In an age of hyperbole and a time of superlatives, it is gratifying to come across a sporting contest that requires neither sensationalism nor propaganda. The Test series between England and South Africa features six of the world’s top 10 Test bowlers and eight of the top 17 Test batsmen. It will decide which team is ranked No 1 in the world. As Tony Blair so nearly said, now is not the time for soundbites, but the hand of history is upon our shoulders.This is the series that world cricket required. At a time when the lure of the longest format has been compromised and questioned, the global game should rejoice at the sight of two fine sides contesting a meaningful series in front of packed houses. Cricket has many issues, of course, but this encounter should remind us all that, at its best, Test cricket remains as entertaining, as captivating and as rewarding as ever.That it is squeezed in between ODI series and forced to fight for media space alongside the Olympics, The Open golf championship and a multitude of other sporting events tells you much about cricket’s current challenges. This series deserves better. But, in a sport which has grown so used to compromises that it would pawn its soul if only a buyer could be found, it is telling that such a contest has been condensed and pushed to the margins.Plenty of fine teams have toured England over the years. Sometimes, as was the case with West Indies and Australia for many years, they succeeded with dispiriting ease. But, arguably anyway, you have to go back to 2005 to find a time when an England team has taken on such good-quality opposition in such an open series. With skilful bowlers of all types, eye-catching batsmen, at least one great all-rounder and some of the toughest batsmen currently playing the game, spectators will not require cheerleaders, fireworks or music to enhance their enjoyment. This series is about cricket, not marketing.The only problem with such a high-profile clash is that the result may be seen as all important. There is a bigger picture here, though, as the supporters of South Africa and England will understand. South Africa were barred from international competition from 1970 to 1991; England supporters became inured to embarrassment after some grim years in the 1980s and 90s. For both teams, these are golden days that many feared might never have returned. Win lose or draw over the coming few weeks, that is worth remembering.That is not to say that the result does not matter. It matters plenty. While England may have been able to dismiss the reverse in the UAE as an aberration – they will have another opportunity to answer the questions about their ability in Asian conditions soon enough – their long-term hopes of creating a legacy by which other England sides will be judged may be fatally wounded if their proud home record is also tarnished. As things stand, they have won just one of their last three Test series. If that becomes one in four, any claims of supremacy will ring hollow. The rankings state they are No. 1; now is the time to prove their worth.England do not, perhaps, have the flair of their South African rivals. But they make few mistakes. They are professional. They are well drilled, well led and able to prey on any weakness of their opponents. In England, at least, they also have an excellent record. They have won seven successive series and lost only two since 2001; one to India in 2007 and one to South Africa in 2008.Led by the eminently calm and sensible Andrew Strauss, England have done nothing different in recent days. They always want to win. They always prepare professionally.”There will be an extra bit of spice because it’s the two best teams in the world,” Andrew Strauss, England’s captain, said. “But every series I’ve played against South Africa has always been keenly contested and I don’t think this will be any different.”It will be a good gauge for us. The rankings say we are No.1 and we have to go out and prove that now. It is going to be a stern challenge, but we always expect the opposition to be hard to overcome.”We have had our normal preparations. Everything on the surface looks fine. Our preparation has been solid and now it’s a case of moving from preparation mode to game mode.”England’s only selection decision will be the decision over whether to pick Tim Bresnan or Steven Finn. Graham Onions, who has a minor hamstring strain, is most unlikely to be risked and did not train on Wednesday. Whoever they select, Strauss was quick to credit the attack as one of England’s key strengths.”I am very comfortable with our bowling attack,” Strauss said. “It’s a match for any side in the world. They have proved that continuously over the last three or four years.”Their record speaks for itself. We haven’t needed that fifth bowler while taking 20 wickets pretty much continuously over the last 24 months or so. In some ways Ravi Bopara coming into the side gives you opportunity for a fourth seamer although he’s not an out-and-out bowler clearly. But our three seamers and Swanny have always done a good job for us.”England do have two potential weaknesses, though. The first is their catching which, in the slips and gully region, has been distinctly fallible over recent times. In a series which could be decided by small margins, that could prove crucial.The other issue is the on-going distraction caused by the fall-out between Pietersen and the ECB. Omitted from England’s World Twenty20 preliminary squad despite his insistence that he is available for all three formats – albeit it not on a permanent basis – there is legitimate concern that Pietersen’s dissatisfaction could cause discomfort in a dressing room that has been stable and focused for several years.But, while some of his team-mates are biting their tongues hard to avoid losing their tempers with Pietersen’s vacillating moods, Strauss insisted that he had no concerns and said he remained hopeful that a compromise – a controversial word in itself in this situation – could be reached whereby Pietersen’s return to all formats could be brokered.”The conversations that Kevin has been having have been between himself, his representatives and the board,” Strauss said. “The players haven’t been involved, the management haven’t been involved and that’s the way we’d like it to remain. It hasn’t been a distraction for us. It hasn’t entered our thinking and that’s enabled us to concentrate on preparing properly for this game. Kevin is determined to do well in this series. I haven’t seen any signs in his preparations to suggest he is anyway distracted.”

After becoming Stuart Broad’s bunny in last year’s Ashes, the Australia opener now has his hands full with another England quick

Andrew McGlashan14-Sep-2020This time last year David Warner was about to be dismissed by Stuart Broad for the seventh and final time in his horror Ashes series. His other three dismissals during the five Tests were at the hands of Jofra Archer and it is a duel which has resumed over the last couple of weeks in T20Is and now the ODIs with Archer claiming Warner every innings.In Warner’s defence, he had a half century to his name in the first T20 before giving himself room against a rapid yorker and the two deliveries to remove in the ODIs at Old Trafford have been beauties: one that nipped past his bat to take off stump and then a rearing shorter delivery which nicked the edge through to Jos Buttler.However, with seven dismissals of Warner in just 10 matches against him, Archer is already at No. 7 in the bowlers to dismiss the left hander most frequently – a table unsurprisingly headed by Broad. There is one more chance on Wednesday for the pair to go head-to-head, with the one-day series on the line, then Covid permitting there is the tantalising prospect of them perhaps meeting each other at next year’s T20 World Cup and then almost certainly in the Ashes.Here’s a reminder of a battle that, so far, has gone the way of the England quick:ESPNcricinfo Ltd

2nd Test, Lord’s, 2nd innings: c Burns, b Archer 53.3 got him! Length ball, doesn’t do much off the pitch but Warner dangles his bat – prods at it really – and the ball flies off the outside edge into the gully where Burns takes a sharp low catch. What a start for England…3rd Test, Headingley, 1st innings: c Bairstow b Archer 6131.4 finds the edge this time! Precision engineering from Archer, he recalibrates by a couple of millimetres and rips out Warner to get the crowd on their feet! Touching 90mph, straightening off the pitch as Warner felt for it on off stump – not much he could do to play a ball like that, bar miss it. Bulls-eye from Archer to remove the Bull!5th Test, The Oval, 1st innings: c Bairstow b Archer 51.5 flash and miss trying to cut. There’s a shout from England, given not out, and they review! They thought he hit it. Looks to be a gap between ball and bat on the replay. Ultra Edge says … there’s a tiny spike! He’s given out! Decision overturned. Wow. Legitimately looked like he missed it1st T20, Ageas Bowl: b Archer 5815.2 bowled him! Warner gives himself room for an inside-out drive, Archer follows him from round the wicket, and the ball cannons off the pads into the leg stump! Now then … it’s a big ask for England, but there are two brand-new batsmen at the crease…2nd T20I, Ageas Bowl: c Buttler b Archer 00.3 given caught behind, and Warner has reviewed straight away! He made the call in the instant he was given. Another cracking delivery, short of a length, nips back at Warner and beats the inside edge, but the replay shows that glanced the glove!1st ODI, Old Trafford: b Archer 63.1 ripper, Archer gets Warner again! 90mph/144kph, bit of late movement to beat Warner’s defences, and Archer pegs back the top of his off stump! That’s an absolute beauty, and England have a breakthrough. Warner’s stunned facial expression tells the story – as close to unplayable as it gets2nd ODI, Old Trafford: c Buttler b Archer 63.4 got him again! Archer has the wood on Warner. This was a scorcher at 91 mph, back of a length and moves across, has Warner poking at it in the channel. Awkward height too, with the ball near rib-cage. Takes a thin edge through to Buttler.

R Ashwin trained with the team on Thursday, but Capitals will wait take a call on his availability

Alagappan Muthu24-Sep-20205:41

Where should Dhoni and Iyer bat for their teams?

Big picture

Even when he wasn’t playing, wasn’t anywhere near the Indian team for major parts of the last 12 months, the focus was forever on MS Dhoni. Why should it change now that he’s back?There is raging debate over the Chennai Super Kings captain pushing himself down the order, and while he isn’t the type to respond to them, here is a stat that is worth remembering. In the IPL, any time Dhoni bats at No. 5 or above, his team has a win percentage of at least 57. When he comes in at No. 6 and below, that figure drops to 37 or worse.The Delhi Capitals may well be happy that all the focus is on their opposition. They have a strong core of young Indian batsmen who are learning all the time and a strike bowler who basically rejects the concept of pressure. Maybe, just maybe, that’s enough to secure what will be only their third victory over the Super Kings since 2013.

In the news

• Ambati Rayudu (hamstring) and Dwayne Bravo (knee) are recovering from injuries and won’t be available for selection.
• Capitals said they wanted to wait and see how R Ashwin and his injured shoulder pull up in training on Thursday before making a call on his playing the game tomorrow.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 4 Sam Curran, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Shardul Thakur/Karn Sharma, 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 Lungi Ngidi/Imran TahirDelhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin/Amit Mishra, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Norje, 11 Mohit Sharma

Strategy punt

• Since IPL 2018, Rishabh Pant has an average over 40 and a strike rate above 150. Only four other men are in the same bracket and he hits harder (166) than every single one of them. Even AB de Villiers (164). But if Lungi Ngidi keeps his spot and ups his game, the threat can be managed. His head-to-head against Pant in the IPL goes six balls, seven runs and two dismissals.
• Although Shane Watson hasn’t quite come off yet, it can be frightening when he does. Since IPL 2018, he has a strike rate of 185 and hits a boundary every 3.8 balls – and that’s between overs seven and 15, when fielding restrictions are relaxed. So the Capitals will need a plan, which might well revolve around Axar Patel (38 balls, 42 runs, five dismissals) or Amit Mishra (68 balls, 79 runs, six dismissals)

Stats that matter

• Among players with a minimum of 100 runs in the IPL since 2019, Sam Curran’s strike rate of 194 is second-best, only behind Andre Russell.
• The IPL’s greatest ever bowler, Lasith Malinga, picked up at least two wickets for eight matches straight in 2012. No one’s beaten that streak just yet, but Kagiso Rabada has already matched it. He really has been that good in the IPL.
• Dhoni needs two sixes to get his tally up to 300 in T20 cricket.
• The average score in Dubai over the last one-and-a-half years of T20 cricket is 153. Fast bowlers take twice as many wickets as spinners (four per game vs two per game), but spinners have been better at keeping the runs down (6.7 vs 7.7)

ALSO SEE: CSK vs DC live score 25th September, 2020

Mendis, Kusal Perera struggle to find higher gear as Tuskers slide to fourth loss in five games

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Dec-2020
How the match played outKandy Tuskers had significant top-order partnerships and never quite seemed like they were in trouble, but a total of 156 for 6 always seemed light. Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera both produced slow-burn innings – Mendis hitting 55 off 45, and Perera 41 off 34. But although they set a solid foundation – their 58-run partnership coming off 45 balls – Tuskers were slow through the middle overs, and the they failed to explode towards the close.Only 55 runs came in the last seven overs of the innings, as Viiking’s left-arm spinners – Samit Patel and Malinda Pushpakumara delivered cheap overs through this period. Although Asela Gunaratne and Kamindu Mendis struck the occasional boundary for Tuskers at the death, the target always seemed sub-par.That is not to say Viiking cruised to victory. They lost Niroshan Dickwella in the first over of the chase, Upul Tharanga in the sixth over, and generally ambled through the powerplay, making just 42. Patel was out soon after, and after nine overs, the required rate had climbed to nine. But then Dasun Shanaka – Viiking’s best batsman so far – came to the crease, and Angelo Perera combined to produce the definitive partnership of the game, hitting 79 off 48 balls in each other’s company, to propel Viiking into dominance. They would both be out in quick succession, but Samiullah Shinwari and Anwar Ali took the chase home without much drama.Stars of the dayAngelo Perera, who had not been picked for the two first matches of the tournament, produced the kind of solid robust innings he has become renowned for on the domestic circuit. His 67 off 49 balls formed the spine of Viiking’s chase, and featured three sixes and five fours. He was especially severe on legspinner Sekkuge Prasanna, whom he took for 19 off 10 balls, but he also scored rapidly off seamers Nuwan Pradeep and Munaf Patel.Earlier, Viiking offspinner Ramesh Mendis had conceded only 21 runs off his four overs, while claiming the wicket of Kusal Perera. Kasun Rajitha and Pushpakumara were also excellent, taking two wickets apiece. Rajitha only gave away 16 from his three overs.Turning point
Angelo Perera had strolled to 21 off 23 balls to get himself going in this innings, but it was in the company of Shanaka that he first began to truly attack. He hit successive fours off the 11th over, bowled by Prasanna, before hitting a stylish six over deep square leg off Pradeep soon after. Shanaka, meanwhile, was confident right throughout those middle overs, rarely failing to latch on to a poor delivery.The big miss
The Tuskers’ batting lacked intent in this match. This is the side that lost Chris Gayle in the week leading up to the tournament remember, so they are short one explosive batsman that they had counted on. But as well as Viiking bowled, too few big shots were attempted.