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Chris Cairns has been found not guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice following a nine-week trial at Southwark Crown Court. Here’s how the events unfolded

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2015Chris Cairns has been found not guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice following a nine-week trial at Southwark Crown Court. Here’s how the events unfolded:Monday, October 5Mr Justice Sweeney, the presiding judge at Southwark Crown Court, outlines the case to the 16 shortlisted men and women of the jury, of whom 12 will be sworn in on Wednesday. His “pessimistic” view is that the trial will extend until November 20.Monday, October 12Lou Vincent, the first of the witnesses to be called for the prosecution, claims he was under “direct orders” from Cairns to get involved in match-fixing. His introduction had come while playing for Chandigarh Lions during the 2008 Indian Cricket League.Tuesday, October 13During his second day on the witness stand, Vincent recalls how Daryl Tuffey, an alleged fellow member of the Chandigarh Lions match-fixing operation, threatened to “f****** kill” Cairns for non-payment. Under cross-examination from Orlando Pownall, QC, Vincent’s emotional state causes an early adjournment.Wednesday, October 14Vincent recalls how Stephen Fleming, the former New Zealand captain, accused him and Cairns of being “dirty”. Despite claiming to have been “disgusted” at Cairns’ lies, Vincent nevertheless agreed to support his libel action against Modi. The reason for this, suggests Cairns’ defence, was “there was no corrupt activity … and you could give a truthful account.”Thursday, October 15Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain, tells how he had been approached three times by Cairns to get involved in spot-fixing, but did not report this to the authorities for three years because he “did not want it to be true”. The defence queries the inconsistencies in McCullum’s three statements to the ICC, claiming that his main concern was to protect his lucrative “Brand McCullum”.Friday, October 16Andre Adams and Kyle Mills, two former New Zealand team-mates, take the stand via videolink. Adams recalls how Cairns had doubted how the ICL could prevent corruption because it was an unsanctioned event. Mills states that he had been “gobsmacked” in 2009, when McCullum admitted his approach from Cairns.Monday, October 19Eleanor Riley, Vincent’s ex-wife, tells the court of a key conversation in a bar in Hale, Greater Manchester, in which Cairns calmed her fears about her husband’s activities by saying “everyone was doing it in India”. Riley insists her recall was “clear as a bell” despite the defence suggesting she had been “infected” by alcohol. “I certainly wouldn’t come to a perjury trial to lie,” she adds.Tuesday, October 20Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, confirms he was present in a bar in Kolkata in 2008 when McCullum claims to have been first approached by Cairns to spot-fix. McCullum, he said, described a five-minute phone-call with “Cairnsy” as a “business proposition”.Tuesday, October 20Leanne McGoldrick, McCullum’s former agent, recalls how her client had asked her during a dinner in Christchurch whether she thought Cairns was involved in match-fixing. “I was completely shocked,” she says. “I couldn’t believe what he was saying.” She encouraged McCullum to report the approach but their business relationship ended soon afterwards.Wednesday, October 21John Rhodes, the ICC anti-corruption officer, says that McCullum’s initial statement to the ACSU in February 2011 omitted any explicit mention of “match-fixing”. Rhodes tells the defence that the “inference was clear” in the statement but says that he was not in a “position to put words” into McCullum’s mouth.Wednesday, October 21Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the chairman of the ACSU, denies the defence’s assertion that the “scalp” of Cairns is being sought to deflect criticism away from his unit’s lack of success in tackling corruption. “Absolutely not,” he says. “If scalp turns out to be an appropriate description, I think it is an absolute tragedy.”Thursday, October 22Daniel Vettori tells the court he was “shocked and angry” upon hearing that his “mentor” Cairns was allegedly involved in match-fixing. He encouraged McCullum to report Cairns’ approaches following an anti-corruption briefing in 2011, but played down his own request for Cairns to buy him a US$15,000 diamond ring with the proceeds from a toothpaste commercial in 2006 as “innocuous”.Monday, October 26Chris Harris, the captain of the ICL franchise Mumbai Champs, claims that Cairns had worn an “unusual” expression after Chandigarh’s wicketkeeper, Sarabjit Singh, had won a match featuring an “unusual number of strange incidents” with 41 not out from 22 balls. Harris also claims that Andrew Fitch-Holland, Cairns’ co-defendant, had stated “Cairnsy’s guilty” during a Lashings charity game ahead of the libel case. The comment, it was suggested, could have related to his marital issues.Tuesday, October 27Vincent’s mental state made him “vulnerable” to approaches from match-fixers, according to his friend and former Auckland team-mate, Steve Pearson. In his own testimony, Vincent had outlined how he had struggled with depression since being dropped by New Zealand in 2007. Confessing to his involvement in match-fixing was, Pearson said of Vincent, “a release”.Wednesday, October 28Cairns’ statements to the Metropolitan Police in April and May 2014, following the allegations from McCullum, Vincent and Riley, are played back to the court. “Seriously? These are the accusations in regard to this?” Cairns is heard saying. “This is why I can’t get money, this is why I can’t make a living? This is it? I don’t want to seem like a whack job. I’ve been wracking my brains for months, I’ve been f**ked over.”Thursday, October 29Cairns’ defence questions the motives of the police investigation, in particular why there was no move to charge Vincent for his admissions of match-fixing and money-laundering. Detective chief superintendant Michael Duthrie said his force was interested only in what happened at the High Court, but added that Vincent had not been granted immunity from prosecution.Tuesday, November 3Cairns takes the stand for the first time in the trial but limits his responses largely to one-word answers. Asked by Pownall, his barrister, whether at any stage he was involved in match-fixing, Cairns replied: “No.” “Did you contemplate match-fixing?” Pownall continued. Cairns again replied: “No.”Wednesday, November 4Cairns receives a warning from the judge for evasion during a cross-examination from the prosecution. Mr Justice Sweeney told him to stop “making speeches” as he struggles to give straight answers to Ms Wass’ line of questioning.Thursday, November 5Cairns’ wife, Mel, denies that any discussion about match-fixing had taken place in the Manhattan Bar and Grill in 2008, the scene of Riley’s alleged encounter with Cairns. “I would never lie to help my husband in court,” she said via videolink, adding that the couple had not been able to afford for her to fly to the UK to support him during the trial.Friday, November 6Fitch-Holland, Cairns’ co-defendant, denies attempting to procure a false witness statement from Vincent during a recorded Skype conversation. He also denies all memory of a conversation at a charity cricket match in which he was alleged to have declared that “Cairnsy’s guilty”.Monday, November 9Under cross-examination, Fitch-Holland is reminded of an incident in 2009 in which Rod Marsh, the former Australia wicketkeeper, refused to sign a cricket bat which already had Cairns’ name on it. It was a sign, said the prosecution, that players had been “warned off” associating with Cairns. Fitch-Holland, however, said that the ICC had told him he was not under investigation.Tuesday, November 10Fitch-Holland is accused by the prosecution of inventing a convoluted story to explain his “very guilty words” in the Skype conversation with Vincent. “I’ve come up with the truth,” Fitch-Holland says. “I’m saying Lou Vincent is a self-confessed liar, and a cheat … I hoped I would be believed over him, as I hope now I will be believed over him.”Thursday, November 12Ms Wass closes the case for the prosecution by describing Cairns as the “Lance Armstrong” of cricket. The evidence that he was involved in match-fixing is “overwhelming”, she says. “He has made a mockery of the game of cricket, the fans, the game.”Monday, November 16Cairns’ barrister, Pownall, denounces four of the nine witnesses for the prosecution as liars, namely Vincent, McCullum, Vettori and Riley. Cricket’s authorities, Pownall added, were “determined to have the scalp of an innocent man”.Tuesday, November 17The case for the prosecution was “biased” from the outset, according to Pownall. “Beyond rumour, beyond self-motivated lies, you cannot be sure Mr Cairns is guilty. For that reason, we invite you to acquit him.”Wednesday, November 18Jonathan Laidlaw QC, Fitch-Holland’s barrister, protests that his client’s case has become a “sideshow”. “The prosecution has become rather too Cairns-focused in this case,” says Laidlaw. “Have they overlooked that there is a second man on trial here?”Friday, November 20Mr Justice Sweeney, beginning his summing-up, warns the jury to treat Vincent’s evidence with caution, given a self-confessed reputation for lying. “It is incumbent on me to emphasise to you the potential danger posed by such a witness and point out to you that he might have his own interests to serve by giving evidence.”Monday, November 23The evidence provided by Ms Riley is highlighted by the judge as “the most important”, seeing as it stemmed from a direct conversation with Cairns. Mr Justice Sweeney also reminded the jury of Andrew Hall’s testimony, that Cairns had told him his suspension from the ICL had been for match-fixing allegations. It was not, however, “evidence of the truth” per se.Tuesday, November 24The jury retires to consider its verdict at the completion of Mr Justice Sweeney’s summing-up. It is a “matter for you”, he tells them after outlining McCullum’s evidence, whether they believed he altered his ICC statements deliberately to serve his own interests, or as a consequence of more careful questioning in each of his three interviews with the ACSU.Friday, November 27After a two-day break, the jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict in its initial deliberations. Court is reconvened at 11.44am in order for the judge to grant them permission to seek a majority verdict of 11-1 or 10-2. With no time pressure, the hearing is adjourned for the weekend at 4.30pm.Monday, November 30After 10 hours and 17 minutes of deliberation, the jury find Cairns not guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice. His co-defendant, Fitch-Holland, is also acquitted on the second charge. Speaking after the verdict, a relieved Cairns speaks of the five-year “hell” through which he and his family have been put, but admits that his reputation in cricket has been “scorched”.

Allan Donald, who has been elevated from bowling coach to head coach for Pune Warriors this year, has spelled out his expectations from the players in no uncertain terms

Amol Karhadkar31-Mar-2013Despite being around for two years in the Indian Premier League, Pune Warriors – the most expensive franchise in the event – seem to be struggling to find their feet. In both the editions they have featured in, they have finished near or at the bottom.No wonder then that their third successive season will see a new captain and coach going into the tournament. While both their previous coaches – Geoff Marsh in 2011 and Sourav Ganguly as captain-cum-mentor last year, when they participated without a head coach – were diplomatic ahead of they stints, Allan Donald, who has been elevated from bowling coach to head coach this year, spelled out his expectations from the players in no uncertain terms.Referring to his new role as “intimidating” in a tournament that moves “at a million miles per hour”, Donald, the former South Africa pace spearhead, urged the players to “care” for one another.”I am going to have a meeting with our overseas players on their own to explain their commitment to our cause for the next two months. Every one of those players wants to play. I would be disappointed if I wasn’t picked. But what is important for Pune Warriors is for everyone to be swimming up one stream, [and] not every way and direction like it went last year,” Donald said, referring to a disgruntled unit in the latter half of last year’s IPL.”And negativity spreads cancer. It does because it gets people talking, players talk among each other. And my message to the team is [to] be up front and honest. [This] is going to be the key. I am not here to make anyone promises.”That’s what this format requires. You just can’t be pleasing cricketers for the sake of it. I just want guys to be part of the team and helping each other out. The care factor for me is huge. I want guys to look after each other. That creates that relaxed environment that I talk about. That’s pretty much what I look for. How we gel as a team, how we grow as a team and how we care as a team is going to be the key for us.”In a season in which Pune Warriors tried out 23 players during the season, not many players were given a long rope. It led to team harmony going for a toss as the tournament progressed, and affected the team both on and off the field. Donald seems to have learned the lessons from the disappointing previous outing: “[I] don’t think last year was a great example for me. That was my first year, and I felt that at times, we were a bit gung-ho with our selection.”At times, [we tried] quick fixes, which didn’t work. I see that the teams that have been successful in the IPL have stuck with a certain group of players for a long period of time. And that’s what I intend to do.”Why fix [something] if it’s not broken? All coaches and teams are looking for early momentum and confidence, and we have to earn the right to do that first of all. The hard part about this competition is to get your nose in front. I am not looking far ahead. I am not looking at the semi-finals or anything like that. I just want to concentrate on every game, and on what we do in every game. If it doesn’t work and we go down fighting, so be it. To try and stick to certain processes is the key.”

Michael Carberry quietened lurking doubts about his fitness when he no longer needed the runner he had summoned the previous day

28-Apr-2012
ScorecardMichael Carberry, recalled to the England Lions squad for the match against the West Indies at Northampton next month, quietened any lurking doubts about his fitness when he no longer needed the runner he had summoned on the previous day because of the dual effects of cramp and a groin injury.Carberry took his overnight 73 not out to 84 as rain and bad light meant only 10 overs were bowled on the third day of Hampshire’s second division match with Leicestershire.With only one day remaining the match is heading for a draw. Hampshire are 217 for 4 from 55 overs, still 17 behind the Leicestershire first-innings total of 234 all out made on the first day and some of the second.

It’s hardly the most flamboyant clash given the two basement dwellers are pitted against each other, but this is an opportunity for the teams to get their campaign on track

The Preview by Jamie Alter23-Mar-2010

Match facts

Wednesday, March 24
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Yusuf Pathan hasn’t performed since his century, Shane Warne hasn’t performed at all•Associated Press

Big picture

It’s hardly the most flamboyant clash given the two basement dwellers are pitted against each other, but this is an opportunity for the teams to get their campaign on track. Kings XI Punjab are tied with Rajasthan Royals on two points, separated only by a minor difference in net run rate, with both picking up their maiden wins after three defeats. Rajasthan earned their first points with a disciplined fielding and bowling effort against an insipid Kolkata Knight Riders, and Punjab held their nerve to force a tie against Chennai Super Kings and then clinched the Super Over.Punjab’s IPL campaign has been hampered by the absence of their Australian players, either injured or unavailable, and the poor form of captains former and present, Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara. The batting has not been imposing, the bowling toothless. But on a steamy Chennai night that turned from deplorable to delirious, their bowlers managed to convert a modest total into a mountain and procure a tense win in the Super Over. Now, with the arrivals of Brett Lee and Shaun Marsh, Punjab have another reason to believe they’ve turned the corner. Critics will argue that one win won’t cure Punjab’s frailties but it has given them a much-needed shot of enthusiasm, which Sangakkara and Yuvraj hoped would mark a change in their fortunes.Rajasthan have also been hurt by the absence of Shane Watson and injuries that ruled out Graeme Smith and Dimitri Mascarenhas. As a result, their batting has been poor and the bowling lacks the zing that a player of Watson’s ability brings, especially since Shaun Tait’s radar needs drastic fine-tuning. Worse, the middle order has not responded as a unit; their only win was put into motion by Abhishek Jhunjhunwala’s 45 and a debut innings from Adam Voges. Shane Warne has been an utter flop with the ball and his tinkering with the bowling attack – he’s opened with five different bowlers in four games – hasn’t yielded desired results. Warne has vocally and tactically shown a lot of faith in Yusuf Pathan, opening with his offspin successfully in the win over Kolkata, but the time has come for the likes of Michael Lumb, Tait, Munaf Patel and Naman Ojha to perform.

Team talk

The arrival of Lee and Marsh is immense for Punjab. As a precaution Punjab tested Lee in a practice match today and a final call on him and Marsh, who has also been sidelined by injury, will be taken before the game. If they are passed fit, expect the Aussie pair to slot right in at the top of the batting and bowling line-ups.Rajasthan might not want to tinker with the unit that secured a maiden victory, despite how disappointing Hampshire’s Lumb has been. He scored a duck in the last game but should continue at the top of the order in place of the absent Smith, until Watson arrives next month.

Previously…

Rajasthan won the first game played between these two sides in 2008, by six wickets, before Punjab hit back with a 41-run win. When they came up against each other in South Africa, Punjab beat Rajasthan by 27 runs before losing the second game by 78 runs.

In the spotlight

Yusuf Pathan: Yusuf has failed to get going since that 37-ball century in the first match. He can’t obviously be expected to score centuries each time he walks to the middle but, being Rajasthan’s main match-winner, he’s got to take stock of where his batting’s at. Yusuf has been exposed by the short ball in his last three innings.Piyush Chawla: The man – yes, he really is, so can the TV commentators stop referring to him as a youngster? – singled out by Sangakkara as “outstanding” needs to do something, anything. Chawla has taken two wickets in four games at an average of 52.00 and an economy-rate of 7.42. His variations have been limited, the batsmen haven’t been kept guessing, and the legbreak isn’t being crafted well enough.

Prime numbers

• Punjab have been the most successful batting side in the last five overs of a game. In four macthes they have scored 203 runs off 120 balls, losing 11 wickets. In that same period, Rajasthan have scored 173 while losing more wickets than any other team, 14.
• Rajasthan have conceded the least number of sixes in the last five overs, just three in four games.
• In six innings played by Swapnil Asnodkar, Naman Ojha and Paras Dogra – three of Rajasthan’s young Indian talents – they have scored a combined total of 157 runs at an average of 26.16.

The chatter

“Why would he return if he’s not fit? He’s raring to go. Good days are back.”
“The IPL is a bit [more] relaxed than ODIs or Tests and it will be easy for me after the injury.”

South Africa needed a little over two sessions to bundle Zimbabwe out and win by an innings

Himanshu Agrawal08-Jul-2025A complete mismatch of a Test in Bulawayo ended within two sessions on the third day, as Wiaan Mulder alone scored only 23 runs lesser than what Zimbabwe’s entire line-up managed across two innings. But even that happened when, at nine wickets down after being asked to follow-on, an outside edge off Wellington Masakadza dribbled away for four wide of the slips.The tenth-wicket stand between Masakadza and Tanaka Chivanga frustrated South Africa for nearly nine overs, but couldn’t prevent an innings defeat. South Africa comprehensively won by an innings and 236 runs to wrap the series 2-0 after confining Zimbabwe to their heaviest defeat by runs in the first Test of the series. It was South Africa’s tenth Test win on the trot, including their victory over Australia in the WTC 2025 final last month.Related

• Matigimu fined, handed demerit point for throwing the ball and hitting Pretorius

• Mulder: 'Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be'

• Mulder makes 367*, the fifth-highest individual Test score of all time

Zimbabwe started day three of the Bulawayo Test trailing by a massive 405 runs, with nine wickets in hand. While an innings defeat was inevitable given the deficit and the time remaining in the Test, a middle- and lower-order collapse of 6 for 31 after lunch hastened the eventual result.But before that, overnight batters Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Nick Welch negotiated the seven overs from Codi Yusuf and Corbin Bosch to start play by mostly blocking and leaving the deliveries. The first over of spin, though, got South Africa the breakthrough. Off his second ball, Senuran Muthusamy had Kaitano chipping to cover for 40 in the 24th over.Welch, at the other end, struggled to tick along. His first 45 balls fetched him only 14 runs, and one of his two boundaries came earlier in the day when he outside-edged Yusuf between third slip and gully. In the 26th over, however, Welch swung Muthusamy for a huge six down the ground. Next ball, he went for a hoick across the line, and the ball missed both the bat and the leg stump.But that didn’t prevent Welch from keeping his counterattack going. He punched Mulder wide of gully for four, had a difficult chance dropped by David Bedingham at backward point off Muthusamy, was beaten and nearly stumped next ball, and repeated his massive hit for six off Muthusamy – all these in the space of facing nine balls.It was Mulder’s Test, though, and come the 29th over, his heel was just within permissible limits as he cleaned Sean Williams up for 11. Welch slowed down after that wicket, looking content to push for singles and bat time. He raised his fifty just before lunch when he flicked Prenelan Subrayen for two to fine leg , before both Welch and Craig Ervine went unbeaten at the interval. At the time, Zimbabwe were still another 313 runs behind South Africa.However, Welch and Ervine didn’t last long enough. Muthusamy got a leading edge from Welch, who was caught by Mulder at slip for 55 in the third over after lunch. That began the slide, as 153 for 3 soon turned out to be 184 for 9. Yusuf got among the wickets when he trapped Wessly Madhevere in front for 5 in the 53rd over. Ervine and Tafadzwa Tsiga strung together plenty of dots as the scoring stalled, before Yusuf had Tsiga chipping to short midwicket to end his stay on 1 off 20 balls.At six down, Masakadza joined Ervine, and kept South Africa waiting for more. Masakadza edged one just short of second slip off his first ball, and had a tight stumping decision go his way. It was Bosch who ended the five-run union in almost six overs when he had Ervine edging behind for 49 to start the 65th over. Three balls later, Bosch bowled Kundai Matigimu for a duck to bag his third wicket. In the 69th, Bosch had Blessing Muzarabani edging to third slip without scoring, with Zimbabwe trailing by 272 runs.It was a matter of time before South Africa wrapped up victory, but while last man Tanaka Chivanga had some fun, Masakadza too hung around to annoy South Africa. Chivanga scored 22 off 26 balls, with three boundaries and a six, but was the last man to fall when Muthusamy had him top-edging to slip. Fittingly, it was Mulder who took the winning catch, having stood in as captain for this Test, and being named Player of the Match for his marathon 367* and Player of the Series for scoring 531 runs overall and bagging seven wickets.

Will Rohit Sharma be tempted to tinker with his XI?

Sreshth Shah11-Nov-202325:23

Virat Kohli on the MCG Diwali miracle, part 1

Big picture: Will India give the fringe players game time?

They’ve been occasionally tested, but otherwise, India’s World Cup run has been nothing short of magical. Now on the day of the auspicious Indian festival of Diwali, they have a chance to gift their fans another dose of entertainment, and even though we know that anything can happen in sport, a defeat for the hosts is extremely unlikely.That’s because India have been absolutely dominant during their 8-0 run at this World Cup. Coming into their final league game, they face the least-fancied team of the tournament, Netherlands, even if they have performed better than expected. With a semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday their next big game, Sunday also offers India a chance to rest key personnel should there be a need for it.According to India head coach Rahul Dravid’s press conference, India are not looking at “tactical” changes, but they may yet be tempted to give some game time to the likes of Prasidh Krishna, who is playing his first World Cup, or R Ashwin, who hasn’t played since the first game against Australia last month.Someone who is unlikely to be rested, though, is Virat Kohli, who is chasing a century that will put him where no man has ever gone before – 50 ODI tons. Both Kohli, and India, will hope that a hundred on Sunday brings a close to all the chatter about records being broken, and by the time the semi-final comes along, the collective focus of the Indian side is on that elusive knockout win and not on milestones that, on some occasions, have taken importance over the ruthlessness of victory in this tournament.Netherlands will have their own statement to make. They’ve been in India longer than any other visiting side this World Cup, and despite the highs of two terrific wins, they wouldn’t want to finish rock-bottom on the points table. They wanted to desperately play the warm-up game against India that got washed out, but here is another chance to shine in what will most likely be their team’s most-watched game of international cricket. It will be excruciatingly difficult though, as eight other teams have already learnt.Bas de Leede played a brilliant game against Pakistan but has not hit those same high notes since•AFP/Getty Images

Form guide

India: WWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
Netherlands: LLWLL

In the spotlight: Shubman Gill and Bas de Leede

Before the World Cup, Shubman Gill was the unanimous choice among fans and experts as the one player most likely to succeed at the World Cup. But it hasn’t been so. A case of dengue made him lose muscle mass and weight, he wasn’t at full fitness at the start of the tournament, and a run of only two half-centuries in six innings has meant his overall performance has been below the lofty stands he has himself set. With Rohit Sharma and Kohli churning out the runs, Gill’s scores have gone under the radar, but India would want a big score from the opener ahead of the big semi-final in Mumbai.He has the most wickets for Netherlands at this World Cup (14) but he also has the worst economy (7.10) among his team’s quicks. For Bas de Leede, this competition promised a lot of highs but all that followed after his all-round effort against Pakistan has been disappointment. He’s leaked runs, he’s failed to score crucial runs from the lower-middle order, and the bottom line is that he has not lived up to his potential. Here’s one last chance for him to make a mark, and you never know… a strong performance against hosts India could be the perfect finish with an IPL auction also looming next month.

Team news: Bumrah to rest?

Dravid said the team will not “experiment” tactically, but the odd change cannot be ruled out.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Kuldeep Yadav / R Ashwin, 9 Jasprit Bumrah / Prasidh Krishna, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed SirajShubman Gill was in good spirits during India’s training session•ICC via Getty Images

Netherlands should field the same side from the England defeat.Netherlands (probable): 1 Max O’Dowd / Vikramjit Singh, 2 Wesley Barresi, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 5 Scott Edwards (capt), 6 Bas de Leede, 7 Teja Nidamanuru, 8 Logan van Beek, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van Meekeren

Pitch and conditions: Big score galore

Runs, runs and more runs shall be the theme at the last World Cup game scheduled for the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. Australia scored 367 against Pakistan here while New Zealand thumped 401. If India bat first, their aim will be for a score in that region.

Stats and trivia: India chasing history

• India and Netherlands have played each other twice in World Cups previously (2003 and 2011). In 2003, Bas’ father Tim de Leede was the Player of the Match.
• Roelof van der Merwe is the only Netherlands bowler who has previously bowled to any of the Indian batters (Kohli and Rohit) in ODI cricket.
• India’s 8-0 streak at this World Cup is the third-best streak in this tournament, behind only the 11 consecutive wins achieved by Australia in 2003 and 2007.
• Fifteen years ago, Sybrand Engelbrecht played for South Africa against Kohli and Jadeja in an Under-19 World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur.
• No Dutch batter has reached a century at this World Cup.

Quotes

“We had a balance. We’ve structured the whole thing around certain things. But when that hasn’t happened, we’ve had the ability, the skill, and the mental fortitude to be able to bounce back, and to be able to still compete and do really well. So yeah, I think credit to the guys, credit to, like I said, I think even the NCA for all the work that they do.”

Bairstow, Stokes among players who opted out due to workload in 2022

Matt Roller19-Jan-2023The ECB will make additional funds available to incentivise England’s leading all-format cricketers to take part in the Hundred in 2023, as part of a revamped recruitment system for centrally-contracted men’s players.The Hundred has an exclusive four-week window in England’s men’s international schedule for the first time in 2023, running from August 1-27. It starts immediately after the fifth Ashes Test and ends three days before the first of eleven limited-overs internationals against New Zealand and Ireland, which will serve as preparation for England’s 50-over World Cup defence.While there is an expectation that those involved in the fifth Ashes Test will not immediately return to play in the Hundred, the ECB hope to ensure that all-format players are available for a significant proportion of the competition. Several multi-format players including Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes pulled out of the Hundred altogether in 2022 in order to rest before England’s Test series against South Africa, and the standard suffered as a result.ESPNcricinfo understands that players on all-format central contracts were paid around £50,000 to play three games in 2022, with an additional £5,000 for any further games. In 2023, they will be paid £125,000 to play the full season, or the same fee on a pro rata basis if they make themselves unavailable for a portion of the season.The ECB’s increased investment in the biggest English names mirrors Cricket Australia’s renewed attempts to involve its leading men’s players in the Big Bash League. David Warner made his first appearance for Sydney Thunder since 2013 earlier this month after signing a lucrative deal, the majority of which fell outside of the BBL’s salary cap.The revamped regulations dictate that each team will sign a single ‘all-format’ centrally-contracted player, assuming player and team reach an agreement. The eight players who have that status and the teams who have the option to retain them are: Jofra Archer (Southern Brave), Bairstow (Welsh Fire), Jos Buttler (Manchester Originals), Sam Curran (Oval Invincibles), Joe Root (Trent Rockets), Stokes (Northern Superchargers), Chris Woakes (Birmingham Phoenix) and Mark Wood (London Spirit).Related

• The Hundred to be played in four-week window in August 2023

• Women's Hundred to introduce player draft for 2023

• Warner's BBL return confirmed with two-year Sydney Thunder deal

In the unlikely event that two or more teams decide not to retain – or do not reach an agreement with – those players, a mini-draft will be held to determine which player joins which team. England’s other centrally-contracted players, including Moeen Ali, Zak Crawley, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope and Adil Rashid, will be part of the main draft mechanism, and can be retained by their teams if they reach an agreement on a salary for 2023.Intriguingly, Buttler remains on an all-format central contract despite the fact he has not played Test cricket since the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney. Ben Foakes signed his first central contract in October and has impressed in the last year and England are not lacking for attacking middle-order batters, but Buttler’s contract status suggests that his Test career might not be over yet.The Men’s Hundred’s retention window officially opened on January 13 and will close at 11.59pm on February 14. Teams can retain up to 10 players who held a contract with them in 2022, plus a centrally-contracted player.The ECB have also doubled the number of ‘wildcard’ signings from one per team to two, meaning each team will sign two players for £30,000 based on performances in the group stage of the T20 Blast. Overall squad sizes remain unchanged.ESPNcricinfo revealed in November that the ‘overseas wildcard’ spot has been scrapped, meaning teams will have three overseas players in their squad at any one time, rather than four. All three will be available to feature in any given playing XI.Women’s teams have been discussing their ‘marquee’ retentions with players over the last two months, ahead of the inaugural women’s draft in March.

Hosts still need a miracle, but battling innings sets the stage for a possible escape

Paul Edwards21-Jul-2022
“We’ll be all right when we get to Cheltenham.” For generations of Gloucestershire cricketers these words have come as a comfort and a reassurance. However grim their season had been, a fortnight in the south Cotswolds would always improve matters. Some of the former players attending the PCA reunion at the College Ground today will have travelled to this élite outground with their confidence battered by defeats, only to leave it with fresh hope.Well, surely not this year, or not this week at any rate. Graeme van Buuren’s team have yet to win a first-class game in 2022 and, barring a miracle that would strain the powers of Ben Stokes, Merlin and the Blessed Virgin combined, they are not going to win this one.But somehow, Cheltenham never quite lets Gloucestershire’s cricketers down, nor indeed the spectators for whom this fortnight includes eight days of obligation. So much was plain just before five past seven when Miles Hammond edged Keith Barker to third man and thus reached his first century in 38 first-class matches, a sequence that stretches back to September 2018.Earlier in that distant summer, the stylish left-hander had made his maiden century on the College Ground, against Sussex, on an afternoon when inevitable comparisons were made with his namesake. Since then, Hammond has batted well at times but never properly realised his rich promise. Today, though, the majority of his 16 fours, especially the cover-drives, were cleanly struck and his two sixes off Dawson were calculated blows.Yet it will require a colossal effort for Gloucestershire to save this game. Earlier in the afternoon they had been bowled out for 201 and there seemed every chance they would suffer an innings defeat when they followed on. This was a little more likely on a day when 109.2 overs were bowled as the umpires sought to compensate for excessive heat on the first day and rain on the second. However, after seeming in danger of losing 18 wickets in three session when they were 111 for four in their second innings, Gloucestershire ended another long evening session just 65 behind and with six wickets in hand. It must seem like riches and when Hampshire’s coach, Giles White gathered his players on the outfield after close of play, he was probably reminding them they were still winning the match. Hammond’s achievement was to make such a meeting necessary.The first hour or so of this extraordinary day had also gone dreamily well for Gloucestershire. Instead of seeing wickets falling in an unseemly clatter, as some had predicted, we watched Hammond hit five boundaries and Ollie Price play a fine supporting role. When Kyle Abbott overpitched, Hammond drove him through the covers three times in two overs. “Shot!” exclaimed someone in The Pig and Pallett who had started early. It should be noted that the P&P is a gazebo’d affair that serves as the Festival’s pub. There are certainly plenty of pallets under the beige canvas but the porcine presence is thankfully less evident.Anyway, Hammond was looking secure, illusorily so, as it turned out. James Vince brought on Dawson from the Chapel End and the left-hander at once whipped him to the midwicket boundary. Three balls later he came down the pitch to repeat the trick and was smartly stumped by Ben Brown for 38. At that point in the day’s cricket, Hammond had made five fifties this season yet his top score was 75 not out. Dismissals when well set had scaffolded his recent summersAlmost at once, things got worse for Gloucestershire. James Bracey completely misread Dawson’s niggardly flight and drove his second ball back to the bowler. Now the home side were 93 for four and some gloomy fears were being realised. So the crowd’s applause for Price’s fifty, which he reached with successive fours off Abbott, might have been thought a little excessive had one not understood the local warmth that always informs this precious Festival.But Hampshire were not to be resisted. They are finding ways to win games and ways to take wickets this summer. Having made a career-best 59, Price looked to work Felix Organ behind square on the leg side. It was a decent option and would have brought him a couple of runs had not Nick Gubbins anticipated the shot and dived to his right to take a brilliant one-handed catch. Twenty-one-year old Price stayed at the crease awhile as if unable to believe how his green world had mistreated him. Ryan Higgins came out and made 11 in 14 balls before losing his off pole on the stroke of lunch when playing a quite horrendous swipe across the line to a good length ball from James Fuller. Van Buuren, the Gloucestershire skipper, watched this dismissal from the other end and one doubts Higgins sat near him during the break in play. Abergavenny might not have been far enough away.Undaunted, though, van Buuren went on to reach his own half-century after the break. His unbeaten 58 was full of the small man’s stock-in-trade: pulls, sweeps, cuts and wristy punches. At the other end, Gloucestershire lost their last four wickets in 11 overs to concede a 256-run deficit. No one fainted when Vince enforced the follow-on. Dawson finished with 4 for 44 but he was merely the best of a very good and varied bunch of bowlers.In their first innings Marcus Harris and Chris Dent had survived 5.4 overs; they managed to face five balls fewer in the second dig. In the third over Harris drove a little far from his body at a ball from Barker and nicked a catch to Brown. Two overs later the same bowler sent Dent’s off stick flipping towards the dressing rooms. 17 for 2 and 14 for 2, the ball still very new in both innings; a side does pretty well if it can cope with starts like that.And by now, of course, the game had rewound to 11.00 this morning when Price and Hammond were reconstructing their side’s first innings. They managed well enough some five hours later, too, adding a stand of 63 to their previous 76 before Price pulled the first ball of a new spell from Barker straight to Vince at midwicket. Bracey then batted uneasily for 45 minutes before edging Abbott to Dawson at second slip but van Buuren offered Hammond reassuringly steadfast company in light that remained remarkably playable. On the adjoining College Lawn, somehow inflated a hot-air balloon with a Glos. Cricket logo on its side. Meanwhile, on the cricket ground, more or less everyone applauded Hammond home. And to think that some of us had doubted Cheltenham.

Yorkshire recover from 11 for 3 before sealing convincing victory with ball

ECB Reporters Network24-Jun-2022Harry Brook’s blistering knock of 67 from 31 balls dug Yorkshire Vikings out of trouble and propelled them into the Vitality Blast North Group qualification places at Northamptonshire Steelbacks’ expense.Brook’s effort, which included four fours and four sixes, underpinned his partnership of 90 from 46 with skipper David Willey as Vikings fought back after a dreadful start to post 190 for 7 at Wantage Road. Yorkshire allrounder Matthew Waite registered a T20 career-best with both bat and ball, following an unbeaten 35 from 20 with figures of 3 for 18 as the home side crumpled to 128 all out in 16.2 overs.It was a third straight defeat for Northamptonshire, who have now dropped out of the top four and face a struggle to make the quarter-finals.Josh Cobb’s decision to send Yorkshire in after winning the toss was swiftly justified as the Steelbacks skipper opened proceedings with two tight overs and the wicket of Finn Allen, caught off a leading edge at short cover.With Adam Lyth and Tom Kohler-Cadmore both holing out to Ben Sanderson, the visitors slumped to a perilous 11 for 3 in the fourth over before Willey and Brook hauled them back into the game. Willey, who rejoins Northamptonshire at the end of the season, was required to play little more than a supporting role while his partner tore into the bowling, lifting Sanderson, Tom Taylor and Jimmy Neesham for a series of majestic leg-side sixes.Aside from a powerful drive straight back at Sanderson, who could only parry the ball, Brook offered no chances as he raced to his half-century from 21 deliveries and looked odds-on to convert that into a ton. However, he became one of three victims in five balls for Graeme White – and the only controversial one of those dismissals, given out caught behind after swinging across at the left-arm spinner.Any prospect of a renewed Yorkshire collapse was averted by Jordan Thompson and Waite, who crashed Sanderson for three boundaries off the final over as the visitors finished with a flourish.Northamptonshire made just as subdued a start to their innings, with Ben Curran chopping on to Willey and Shadab Khan’s tidy legspin provoking Cobb into a wild heave that saw his bat fly towards square leg, while the ball sailed away into the hands of backward point.But it was Waite who collected the prize scalp with his third delivery as big-hitting opener Chris Lynn speared it straight to Willey at mid-on to leave the Steelbacks teetering at 22 for 3.Neesham briefly revived his side’s hopes by hammering 26 from 13 but, having dispatched Shadab over the midwicket fence twice in an over, he picked out the point fielder next ball – and the procession gathered pace. Dom Bess struck twice in as many deliveries and, despite a late flurry of boundaries by Nathan Buck, the outcome was never in doubt.

Saha is in the Test squad for India’s upcoming tour of England, while Krishna has been named as a standby

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2021Wriddhiman Saha and Amit Mishra have announced their respective recoveries from Covid-19. Both players had tested positive for the virus on May 4, the same day that IPL 2021 was suspended indefinitely.ESPNcricinfo has understood that Prasidh Krishna, who tested positive on May 8, has also recovered from Covid-19.Related

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Saha is part of the India squad that is due to tour England for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, followed by a five-Test series against the hosts. Krishna is one of the four players named as stand-bys. These two, along with KL Rahul, who has undergone surgery after being diagnosed with appendicitis, had been named in the squad subject to clearing fitness tests.The England-bound India squad is set to begin its pre-departure quarantine in Mumbai on Wednesday, but Saha is expected to join his team-mates later, having received the BCCI’s permission to spend some time with his family in Kolkata. Both Saha and Mishra announced their recoveries via Twitter on Tuesday. Mishra, the Delhi Capitals legspinner, did so while expressing his gratitude to healthcare workers.GMT 1700 The story was updated with the news of Saha and Krishna’s respective recoveries.