The BCCI is set to ban former IPL chairman Lalit Modi for life in a Special General Meeting in Chennai on September 25

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2013

The rise and fall of Modi

• 2005 – Becomes one of the youngest BCCI vice-presidents

• 2007 – Announces the franchise-based IPL and Champions League T20

• 2008 – The sale of eight IPL franchises fetches more than $720m, and the first season proves immensely popular. Modi becomes the most high-profile cricket official in the world

• 2009 – Modi is defeated in the Rajasthan Cricket Association election but retains his BCCI post as he is also on the board of the Punjab Cricket Association

• 2010 – Modi reveals the new Kochi franchise’s share-holding pattern, triggering a set of controversies that lead to his suspension after the third IPL season. He is forced into exile in London

• 2013 – Likely to receive a life ban from the BCCI after a disciplinary committee files its report

The BCCI is set to ban former IPL chairman Lalit Modi for life in a Special General Meeting in Chennai on September 25. The SGM will act upon the report filed by a special disciplinary committee constituted to look into various charges related to financial irregularity against Modi.The committee, comprising BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley, former IPL chairman Chirayu Amin and BCCI’s finance committee chairman Jyotiraditya Scindia, had filed a 500-page report in July after investigating charges against Modi, who was suspended minutes after the conclusion of the IPL 2010 final.Despite the board being divided over president N Srinivasan’s role in handling the spot-fixing scandal that rocked IPL 2013, the SGM is set to unanimously ban Modi from BCCI. “The committee has suggested a life ban and almost everyone is set to back the recommendation,” a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo. “Despite the existing differences, the meeting should get over quite quickly.”SGMs, which strictly discuss a pre-fixed agenda, require a three-fourth mandate for a decision to be ratified. This effectively means that 24 votes would be enough to get Modi banned in a house of 31 votes, including 27 full members, National Cricket Club in Kolkata, Cricket Club of India in Mumbai, All-India Universities and the president’s vote.Following the revelations of irregularities in the bidding process and ownership patterns of certain franchisees, the BCCI had laid down several charges against Modi and appointed a committee of Jaitley, Amin and then BCCI president Shashank Manohar. Following Modi’s charges that Manohar harboured a personal bias against him, an SGM in July 2010 had inducted Scindia into the committee in place of Manohar and also ratified the charges against Modi.If Modi is handed a life ban at the SGM, his only route back to cricket administration in India will be through the courts.

Australia’s selectors have identified eight fast bowlers in line for Ashes duty during the summer and told their states to prepare them accordingly

Daniel Brettig10-Oct-2013Australia’s selectors have identified eight fast bowlers in line for Ashes duty during the summer and told their states to prepare them accordingly. The bowlers themselves, however, have not been made aware of their status as the men most likely to share the new ball against England in the five Tests, starting in Brisbane on November 19.The team performance manager Pat Howard outlined the preparation of a rolling barrage of fast men for the series as he mapped out plans for the home Ashes series, an encounter that may cost him his job should Australia suffer another defeat. The concept of having eight fast bowlers identified, fit and ready for Test matches throughout the series is an upgrade from the five Howard and the former coach Mickey Arthur kept on hand at each Test last summer.”We’ll have eight bowlers available for every Test and these eight bowlers have already been communicated to the states,” Howard said. “They know who the watchlist is, they know their bowling loads every single day, it sits on Darren’s [Lehmann] desk, they’re known. We’ve said to the states as well that doesn’t mean if you have a cracker of a lead-up you won’t be considered. There’s always that pool for the selectors to call on and make informed decisions.”Given the injury-enforced absence of three Ashes tourists in James Pattinson, Jackson Bird and Mitchell Starc, and Pat Cummins now being on a far less rushed plan to bring him back into the international game after letting his body mature, the pace bowling options available are strong but not limitless.Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson are towards the top of the likely list, while Ben Hilfenhaus remains Cricket Australia contracted and Josh Hazlewood is making decent strides for New South Wales and Australia in limited-overs formats.Nathan Coulter-Nile, Clint McKay and Chadd Sayers are the others expected to be under consideration, having all played for Australia or Australia A in recent times. Others around the team include James Faulkner, who is considered an allrounder and more likely to be part of a five-man attack if chosen.

Eight horsemen of the apocalypse?

Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Clint McKay, Chadd Sayers

Howard stated that the official selection policy for the Ashes would be to choose the best XI at all times, fitness permitting, while striking a balance between rewarding performance and making the occasional selection hunch. The coach Darren Lehmann defended the decision to gamble on the teenage left-arm spinner Ashton Agar ahead of Nathan Lyon in the first two Tests in England, claiming performance had been a factor.”Where you’re playing and who you’re playing is the key to that,” Lehmann said. “We’re still performance based, and the Agar selection was done on a lot of right-handers, and he bowled better than Nathan on the A tour. You can’t just go on his performances in the last Test match which was four months before that, it was how he was bowling at the time.”Agar is now setting out on the season with the ambition of growing into an allrounder’s commission, and opened the batting for the Perth Scorchers on their recent Twenty20 Champions League expedition to India.

Ruvindu Gunasekera’s third half-century in five games was the difference in a low-scoring contest as Canada notched a 23-run win over USA to wrap the ICC Americas Division One T20 title

Peter Della Penna in Indianapolis10-May-2015
ScorecardCanada did not drop a game on their way to the title•Peter Della Penna

Ruvindu Gunasekera’s third half-century in five games was the difference in a low-scoring contest as Canada notched a 23-run win over USA to wrap up a 6-0 record and the tournament title at the ICC Americas Division One T20 at Indianapolis World Sports Park.USA elected to field first in overcast and damp conditions following a flash storm that swept across the ground at the conclusion of Suriname’s win over Bermuda and caused a five-minute delayed start. Captain Rizwan Cheema was run out for 9 in the second over pushing for a tight third run through covers. Adil Bhatti hustled from mid-off to track the ball down before the rope and his relay to Hammad Shahid at the non-striker’s end was in time.A 40-minute delay ensued after the fourth over with the score 22 for 1 because a brief thunderstorm passed over the ground but the quick drying outfield at the IWSP allowed play to restart quickly without any overs being deducted. Upon resumption, Gunasekera and Nitish Kumar forged ahead with a 60-run stand as Canada reached the halfway stage at 67 for 1 looking to post a score in excess of 140.Muhammad Ghous struck in the 11th to break the stand, dragging back his length with a quicker offbreak to beat Kumar in flight. Steven Taylor completing the stumping. Canada reached 91 for 2 at the 15-over mark and Gunasekera brought up his 50 off 45 balls with a single to start the 16th before Canada’s innings turned south.Legspinner Timil Patel reined Canada back in the final five overs and dismissed Jimmy Hansra courtesy of Bhatti fighting off swirling winds over midwicket to take a catch. Timil got Gunasekera for 54, slicing a short ball to Danial Ahmed at short third man to make it 97 for 4. Timil took one more in the final over, Saad Bin Zafar lifting to Ghous backpedaling from midwicket, to finish with 3 for 20 as Canada ended on 127 for 6.USA’s chase got off to a helter-skelter start as Taylor took on legspinner Junaid Siddiqui in the first over and sent a catch to Satsimranjit Dhindsa, who spilled the chest-high chance at long-on over the rope for six. Taylor then crushed the following two balls over midwicket and down the ground to make it three sixes in a row but his aggression backfired by the end of the over when he tried repeating a flick to midwicket but sent a leading edge to Hansra at cover to fall for 18.Fahad Babar played out a maiden to fast bowler Cecil Pervez in the second over before smacking him over midwicket for six and clipping him wide of mid-on for a boundary in the fourth to take USA to 34 for 1. USA’s bats went silent from then on as 12 straight overs of spin shackled the middle order.USA crawled to 57 for 2 at the halfway stage and were 76 for 5 after 15. By then, Babar had been stumped for 33 after failing to get to the pitch of a Dutta delivery and Canada looked assured of winning. USA went more than eleven overs without a four or six before Barrington Bartley clocked Nikhil Dutta over cow corner for a maximum in the 16th but was bowled one over later by Pervez for 12.Bhatti ramped Pervez over fine leg for a boundary to end the 17th at 93 for 6, leaving USA with 35 to get off the final three overs. However, he was out two balls later slogging Dutta to midwicket and USA didn’t hit another boundary the rest of the way, eventually finishing on 104 for 8. Dutta finished with 2 for 16 and Hansra 2 for 15 for Canada.

Iain O’Brien and Ajit Agarkar discuss some of the recommended changes to playing conditions in one-day cricket made by the ICC Cricket Committee

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-201514:34

Iain O’Brien and Ajit Agarkar discuss the ICC cricket committee’s proposals

On allowing five fielders outside the 30-yard circle for the last ten overs and removing the batting Powerplay.
Iain O’Brien: The two catchers rule is interesting but I don’t have issues with it. I think attacking captains will still keep those men in. The five fielders in the last ten overs was always going to happen. The batting Powerplay was anyway mostly taken in the 36th over. So, it doesn’t change much. They all seem pretty obvious ones to me.On the last ten overs skewing the balance between bat and ball.
Ajit Agarkar: The World Cup was played in Australia and New Zealand where you expect help for the bowlers. Despite that, with the two new balls, the run rate in the last ten overs has gone up. Every captain has said that you need five fielders outside the ring. I would have wanted them do it for the other 40 overs as well. Now with four fielders outside the ring, those 30 middle overs are like a Powerplay. Reverse swing has gone out of the game and the big bats have hampered bowlers.On making it a more level playing field for the bowlers
O’Brien: We want a level playing field. The low-scoring games were some of the most interesting games in the World Cup where scores could be chased or teams at least had a chance of chasing scores. The games which had over a 100 runs scored in the last ten overs were not close games because such scores rarely get chased. Two new balls is a massive thing for me. I suggested a change where you have two new balls for 35 overs and use one of those two balls for the rest of the 15 overs. It gives the bowler a chance of reverse swing and evens out the contest.On free-hits for all no balls
Agarkar: It is silly to be honest. You can understand it for front-foot no-balls because it was brought in to increase discipline but to have it for all no-balls does not make sense as you’re expecting the bowler to be 100% accurate which is not possible. Even with high full tosses you get banned after two such deliveries, so it is a strange decision. No bowler tries to bowl a beamer intentionally. With the two new balls, the ball does not dip sometimes and you end up bowling a full toss. I don’t really like that rule.O’Brien: If a batsman makes a mistake and a catch is dropped, he is not penalised. So, why penalise the bowler for a small mistake? The front foot one is okay but what about no balls where an extra fielder is outside the circle or when you knock over the bails at the non-strikers end in your action. It is reducing the bowler to being a machine.On a more prominent seam on the white ball
Agarkar: Even if you alter the ball, you have to find one that lasts for the duration of the innings. It is very vague and I don’t think there is an issue with the existing balls. You don’t want a ball which is hooping all over the place.
O’Brien: I think it has got more to do with readdressing the balance between bat and ball.On the size of the bats and the boundaries
Agarkar: The size of the boundaries has to be the biggest they can possible be. You can also have a thicker outfield to slow down the outfield. At the moment, it is a boundary the moment the ball beats the fielder in the ring.
O’Brien: I have no issues with the size of the bat. I have an issue with bats that have two pieces of wood which are not supposed to be there. That has made a big difference.On playing Test cricket in ‘evening hours’
O’Brien: I’m not a fan of it, the pink ball is not up to it. It goes soft very quickly and does not bounce which stops the seam movement.
Agarkar: I played a Ranji trophy final under lights which was bizarre. We used two white balls with the option of taking a new ball every 40 overs and a compulsory change after 50 overs. The scores were 630 and 590. The ball is a big concern.

Sudhir Gautam, the India fan who paints himself in the tri-color and follows the team, has been given police protection for the third ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur because he felt “threatened” after an incident outside the Shere Bangla National Stadium

Alagappan Muthu in Mirpur24-Jun-20151:35

Don’t know what would have happened without the police – Sudhir Gautam

Sudhir Gautam, the India fan who paints himself in the tri-colour and follows the team, has been given security cover for the third ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur because he felt “threatened” after an incident outside the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Sunday. When India lost the series that day, Gautam alleged that he was accosted by people and required the help of the police to get to his hotel safely. A BCB spokesperson, however, said there were no official complaints filed and stressed that any incident that happened was not intentional.”The Mirpur Police said there had been eye-witnesses,” the spokesperson said. “And considering the case has escalated, something might have happened. But it is not like someone was trying to make a statement. It was perhaps a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sudhir has been here many times and he knows a lot of people in the BCB. He is well-liked.”Nevertheless, Gautam gets protection to and from the ground on Wednesday, as he did when he attended India’s training on Tuesday.The Mirpur crowd has been especially on edge as a result of the recent events between the two teams. The no-ball incident at the World Cup quarter-final has not been forgotten and the collision between MS Dhoni and Mustafizur Rahman in the first ODI added to that. A few send-offs have also been seen.But most of all, the crowd has taken offence to the advertisement that was aired during the World Cup, taking the mickey out of the oppositions India faced and subsequently the ad promoting this series by calling Bangladesh the little kid that is not so little any more.The crowd has been vociferous in throwing both of them back at the Indian team. At most presentations, Dhoni has walked up with an aggressive chorus of in the background and when Bangladesh won the series, the soundtrack was run after which the PA stated, “We are not kids. We are tigers.”Gautam said he was caught in the middle of that revelry as he attempted to exit the stadium on Sunday. “When Bangladesh won, I was pushed around in the stadium, but I was okay. I just ran to gate No. 2, but it was very crowded and the public was booing India and singing . I ran from there to gate No. 1 where I had kept my bag, and exited the ground. By the time I reached the salon, the whole public jumped on me, and the salon had to pull the shutters down for 10 minutes.”When they opened the shop 10 minutes later, two policemen came, and in their shelter we went straight to gate No. 2. But on the way people snatched my flag, tugged at my pants, my ponytail, basically behaved indecently. The policemen sat me in the auto, but when we reached the hotel, the auto driver asked me for BDT 700, which I didn’t have. Angry, he dropped me back at gate No. 3 of the ground, from where I hitched a ride on a motorcycle.”I would like to thank the Bangladesh police because without them who knows if I would have been here still. They got me an auto, the deputy commissioner and station in-charge of Mirpur Police came and checked on me, and they have given me security to come here today. Tomorrow also there will be policemen with me and after the match is over they only will drop me at the hotel.”

India’s ODI captain MS Dhoni and Bangladesh’s debutant Mustafizur Rahman have been fined for their collision during the first ODI in Mirpur

Alagappan Muthu19-Jun-20152:32

‘Dhoni, Mustafizur pleaded not guilty’

India’s ODI captain MS Dhoni and the debutant Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman have been fined for their collision during the first ODI in Mirpur. Dhoni has been docked 75% of his match fee, and the Man of the Match Mustafizur lost 50% of his.The incident occurred in the 25th over of India’s innings when Dhoni set off on a single after playing the ball to mid-off. Mustafizur, a left-arm bowler operating from over the wicket, appeared to have glanced at the batsman and then moved towards the path Dhoni was running. Dhoni ran into Mustafizur during the run, and appeared to shove him out of his way with his forearm. Mustafizur left the field for a bit before returning to complete a five-for on debut.Earlier in the innings Mustafizur was involved in a similar incident with India opener Rohit Sharma, but that collision was softer though Rohit was later seen pointing his finger at the bowler.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that that only Dhoni had been charged initially, but India decided to contest the charge. Dhoni claimed that he tried his best to avoid the collision, shifting the bat to his right hand while he had been holding it in both hands earlier, and moving his head away as he approached Mustafizur. However, he couldn’t avoid the contact with his left arm. India also claimed that there was no space on the right with Suresh Raina, the non-striker, running close, and they also brought up the Rohit incident in their defence. Replays were seen repeatedly in the hearing.Mustafizur was eventually called up, but he too pleaded not guilty to the charge, but the ICC eventually found them both to be in breach of Article 2.2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play during an international match”.In the eventual ruling by match referee Andy Pycroft, Dhoni’s experience went against him. “In the hearing, Dhoni defended the charge on the basis that the bowler was on the wrong line and realising that he couldn’t avoid the collision, he used his hand and arm to push him away as he went through to ‘minimise the impact,'” Pycroft said. “However, my assessment was that Dhoni deliberately pushed and shouldered Mustafizur, which was inappropriate.”Even if there was a narrow gap between the runner [Raina] and the bowler, an experienced Dhoni should have tried to avoid the collision as cricket is a non-contact sport and the players are expected to avoid physical contact at all times. On this basis, I fined Dhoni 75% of his match fee”.Mustafizur admitted his guilt when faced with video evidence of the incident. “Mustafizur was fined 50% of his match fee after he admitted that his actions in not getting out of the batsman’s way were inappropriate and he should have done more to avoid the contact,” Pycroft said.

Nawroz Mangal’s second consecutive Man-of-the-Match performance put Afghanistan back in the World Twenty20 as the side coasted to a six-wicket win over Papua New Guinea

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Malahide23-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:17

Our batting has been disappointing – Patel

Nawroz Mangal’s second consecutive Man-of-the-Match performance put Afghanistan back in the World Twenty20 as the side coasted to a six-wicket win over Papua New Guinea. Mangal hit a chanceless 65 not out to chase down PNG’s 127 for 6, as Afghanistan reached the target with 10 balls to spare.PNG’s decision to bat first was a curious one with the knowledge that all four morning games at Malahide prior to Thursday’s contest had been won by the chasing team. Afghanistan gleefully accepted the opportunity to bowl first and pinned PNG back to 20 for 2 in a boundary-free Powerplay.Both openers were caught behind for 5 in successive overs – Lega Siaka was out after flat-footed swish to Dawlat Zadran while Tony Ura feathered an edge off an attempted pull against Shapoor Zadran. Vani Morea fell to Mohammad Nabi in the eighth over for 9, given leg-before missing a paddle sweep, though replays showed there was some doubt as to whether contact was in line with off stump.Assad Vala, PNG’s leading scorer in the group stage, added just 7 before he was given out shuffling across his stumps to the medium-pace of Mirwais Ashraf. Mahuru Dai tried to bring life to PNG’s innings by scooping Shapoor over fine-leg but was out next ball for 11 after his uppercut found Mangal at third man to make it 55 for 5 in the 13th.Hamid Hassan had been out of the line-up for Afghanistan’s two losses in the tournament to Oman and Hong Kong, and bowled decently in his first three overs to take 1 for 16 including a reverse-swinging gem that bowled Jack Vare for 13 to end the 17th at 89 for 6. However, Hassan came in for some heavy punishment in the 19th from Norman Vanua and Charles Amini, conceding 20 runs to spoil his figures.Vanua, whose unbeaten 28 off 10 balls at no. 10 propelled PNG to a two-wicket win over Ireland, came in at no. 8 today and provided a similar spark, cracking Hassan over square-leg for six and again through the covers for four before Amini paddled a four behind square later in the over. Vanua ramped Mirwais Ashraf in the 20th and ended unbeaten on 22 off 10, while Amini’s run-a-ball 37 was PNG’s highest individual score in Ireland. The pair’s 38-run stand to end the innings gave the side hope.That hope was extended further on the first ball of the chase as Vanua got Mohammad Shahzad to chase a short and wide delivery, giving a toe edge for a golden duck. Another opportunity was available to get Asghar Stanikzai on 9 in the fourth over, but Amini’s dart for the stumps from mid-on was wide.PNG did their best to keep things tight but Afghanistan were patient enough to wait for the loose ball to release any building pressure. Mangal smacked a boundary over the leg side to start the sixth off Chad Soper and then heaved a half-tracker from Dai over the midwicket rope to start the ninth.The 57-run stand was finally broken by the legspin of Amini, who enticed Stanikzai to come down the track on a loopy good length delivery dragged wide outside off. The turn beat Stanikzai’s edge and Vare whipped off the bails for 22, ending the 10th at 57 for 2.The briefest bit of PNG momentum was stolen back immediately by Mangal, who counter-punched in the 11th by launching back-to-back sixes from Dai’s off spin back over the bowler’s head. The only blips in the chase from thereon were the wickets of Samiullah Shenwari and Mohammad Nabi. Shenwari’s attempted reverse-paddle off Amini went to Dai at backward point and Nabi skied a pull against Vanua to Dai at midwicket in the 17th.But Mangal had brought up his 50 off 43 balls by that point and any hopes of a PNG comeback were completely shattered when Loa Nou bowled consecutive front foot no balls in the 18th, the second of which was catapulted for six by Najibullah Zadran to bring the equation down to nine off 15 balls. Najibullah ended the match in the next over with another six.Afghanistan now go to the World Twenty20 for the fourth consecutive time while PNG end the tournament with three straight defeats when a win in any of those contests – against Namibia, USA and Afghanistan – would have clinched a spot in India for the side.

Neil Harvey has remembered his fellow ‘Invincible’, Arthur Morris, as “a great team man” and one of the best players Australia has produced

Brydon Coverdale22-Aug-2015Neil Harvey has remembered his fellow ‘Invincible’, Arthur Morris, as “a great team man” and one of the best players Australia has produced.Morris has died at the age of 93, leaving Harvey as the sole surviving member of Don Bradman’s touring party that went through the 1948 tour of England undefeated and earned the Invincibles nickname. Harvey was 19 at the time and he said it was a great learning curve to watch Morris, a fellow left-hander, dismantle England’s attack in that Ashes series during which he was the leading run-scorer.”I learnt a lot off Arthur over the years,” Harvey told ESPNcricinfo. “I was on four or five tours with him. We got to know each other pretty well. You wouldn’t find a nicer bloke in the world: a great sense of humour, a great team man. Just one of those great fellas that you can spend a lot of time with and enjoy his company. A better bloke you couldn’t find.”He’s been one of the best players this country has produced, a left-hander of great ability. He and Sid Barnes in my opinion formed the best opening pair this country has produced, in my time anyway.”During the 1948 series, Morris was a key part of one of Test cricket’s highest successful run chases, when he scored 182 and Bradman made 173 not out in pursuing a target of 404 in Leeds. The task was made harder by the fact that the pitch was six days old (including the Sunday rest day), it had been rained on early in the match, and was providing plenty of turn for Jim Laker.”That’s probably the best partnership I’ve ever seen, the Bradman-Morris one,” Harvey said. “To go out there on the last day – not even a full day’s play, because we lost the first 15 minutes when England batted on – to get all those runs.”They didn’t really set out to win when play started on the last day. As soon as Hassett got out and Morris and Bradman got in, they pushed the runs along at a pretty fair rate. All of a sudden we guys in the dressing room said ‘we could win this’. And that’s what happened.”Harvey, now 86, also remembered the sacrifice made by Morris while they were batting together against South Africa at the MCG in 1953. Morris was run out for 99 in a mix-up with Harvey, who went on to score his fourth century of the series and finished with 205.”He sacrificed his innings for me,” Harvey said. “We had a bit of a mix-up, we could’ve been both left in the middle of the pitch. He said ‘come on’, he called me through and he went through and got run out. It was another one of his great acts as a gentleman. It was an act I appreciated so much because he didn’t have to do it. And it was my fault. He was just one of those nice guys.”Harvey was present at the SCG during this week when the Arthur Morris Gates were unveiled, although Morris himself was too ill to attend. Also at the opening was Alan Davidson, the fast-bowling allrounder who first met Morris in 1949-50 when Davidson moved to Sydney from the country to try his luck in grade cricket.”I can remember playing against him at St George,” Davidson said. “I arrived late, thank goodness, because he’d scored a hundred before I got to the ground. I got lost on a train and by the time I got to the ground, St George were about 1 for 180, Arthur Morris had made a hundred, and he got out as I was changing into my boots.”You had to see the bloke and his artistry, his ability was phenomenal. It didn’t matter if it was a fast bowler or a spin bowler. He’d go down the wicket to a spinner and pick them off. He was a magnificent back-foot player. His judgement of the length of a ball was incredible.”It was not only on the field that Morris had fine timing. Although he was naturally a quiet man, he had a remarkable sense of wit.”He had a charm about him,” Davidson said. “Everybody was endeared by him. He was not a demonstrative person, he was a quiet sort of person. But he was always good company no matter what the situation. He had incredible wit. He was once asked what did cricket give him, and he said ‘poverty’. He had a tremendous sense of timing.”

Although Zimbabwe have had relative success against Pakistan in the longer formats, they are yet to beat the visitors in T20s

The Preview by Liam Brickhill26-Sep-2015

Match facts

September 27, 2015
Start time 1.00pm local (1100GMT)Hamilton Masakadza requires 32 more runs to become the first Zimbabwe player to reach 1000 T20I runs•AFP

Big Picture

By the end of Pakistan’s tour, they would have have played Zimbabwe 80 times in international cricket, only one match behind Bangladesh who’ve played Zimbabwe the most. The series opener will add another chapter to a rich history between these two sides. Encounters between these teams have often produced truly engrossing cricket. Both Zimbabwe’s first Test victory and their first Test series win came against Pakistan, while Wasim Akram’s double-hundred, Saqlain Mushtaq’s World Cup hat-trick and Inzamam-ul-Haq’s final ODI were all against Zimbabwe.Yet while Zimbabwe have had some joy against Pakistan in the past, success in the T20 format has been rather more elusive. Pakistan have won all seven matches between the sides in the format, but the margins have been getting smaller: 25 runs, 19 runs, five wickets and two wickets. These teams know each other well – not least because of the coaching staff they’ve shared, with Grant Flower being Pakistan’s batting coach and Dav Whatmore being the visitors’ former coach. Zimbabwe came close to beating Pakistan on a couple of occasions during their historic away tour earlier this year and given the progress that Zimbabwe have made as a side this year, and their propensity for starting strongly, this should be a fairly evenly matched game.Pakistan have the series against England to look forward to immediately after this tour, as well as the draft of the Pakistan Super League and, a little further away, the World T20 next year to give some context to these T20 games against Zimbabwe.Away from the cricket, Pakistan will also have been affected by the fatal Hajj stampede in Mecca, adding an emotional element to any success that they may enjoy in Zimbabwe.

Form guide

Zimbabwe LWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWWL

In the spotlight

Left-arm seamer Imran Khan earned a national call-up after taking 16 wickets at 12.12 in seven domestic T20 matches this season for Peshawar, eventual winners of the competition, including two four-wicket hauls and a hat-trick against Karachi Region Blues. Pakistan will hope that he can replicate that form in these games and although he won’t be the quickest member of the attack, his movement and accuracy could make Zimbabwe toil.Zimbabwe have tested out several different wicketkeeping options this year, and Richmond Mutumbami is back in the line-up after Regis Chakabva’s lacklustre performances against New Zealand. Mutumbami batted up the order for Zimbabwe Cricket President’s XI in the recent Africa T20 Cup with moderate success. He may be the best wicketkeeper Zimbabwe have, but his batting has lacked the desired punch in the past.

Team news

Mutumbami has been slated to bat up the order – and possibly even open the innings – in the one-day internationals, but he will probably slot straight back into Zimbabwe’s lower middle order in the Twenty20s. Malcolm Waller’s performances for Zimbabwe Cricket President’s XI in the Africa T20 tournament will keep him in the frame, but it’s hard to see where he might fit in a packed middle order. With no injuries in the squad, Zimbabwe will be picking from a fully fit squad.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Tinashe Panyangara, 11 Chris Mpofu.Pakistan have a good balance of experience and youth in their side while their bowling attack, though dominated by left-armers, contains bowlers of variable styles. A dry pitch may also suit spin, making Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi’s contributions important.Pakistan (possible): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mukhtar Ahmed, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Imran Khan, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Pitch and conditions

The Harare Sports Club pitch appeared to have quickened up a touch during New Zealand’s recent visit, making run-scoring easier and conditions are expected to be very similar in this series. The dryness of the track will probably also give some assistance to the spinners from both sides. The weather, meanwhile, has been typically clear and sunny in the lead-up to the match and is likely to remain so.

Stats and trivia

• Mohammad Hafeez is Pakistan’s leading scorer in T20I cricket, with 1382 runs. Three of his team-mates – Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik – have also passed the 1000-run mark.
• Shahid Afridi has played 82 international matches in T20Is – more than anyone else
• Hamilton Masakadza needs 32 more runs to become the first Zimbabwean player to reach 1000 career runs in T20I cricket
• Zimbabwe have never beaten Pakistan in a T20I in seven matches

Quotes

“He has more information when it comes to players from Pakistan, so we’re going to try and use that information to better our game and get on top of them.”
“That’s why we hired him – especially for this tour.”

Pakistan cemented their dominance of the first Test in Abu Dhabi over two effortless and one-sided sessions of accumulation at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium

The Report by Andrew Miller14-Oct-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:09

‘Tempo the stand-out feature of Malik’s innings’

Shortly after Pakistan had declared their formidable first innings of the first Test on 523 for 8, with Shoaib Malik having marked the end of his five-year Test exile with an innings of Burj Khalifa proportions, a falcon was spotted on the outfield at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, greedily disembowelling the luckless prey in its talons.Happily for any squeamish onlookers among the smattering of fans in the vicinity, Adil Rashid quickly allayed concerns about his whereabouts by taking his place on the England dressing-room balcony. He too had displayed guts on the second day of the first Test – of the blood and gore variety, alas – as Malik’s career-best 245, the majority compiled in a fifth-wicket stand of 248 with Asad Shafiq, condemned him to a cruel slice of Test history.Rashid’s debut innings figures of 34-0-163-0 were the worst by any bowler in the 138-year history of Test cricket. What is more, his efforts usurped those of another legspinner, Bryce McGain, who was tormented to the tune of 0 for 149 by South Africa’s batsmen in his one and only appearance for Australia at Cape Town in March 2009.For AB de Villiers, read Malik, whose 10-and-a-half hour masterclass marked an astonishing return for a man who might not have got a look in had Azhar Ali been fit. Shafiq alongside him chipped in with a century of his own, and though both men survived notable moments of good fortune on the first day of the contest, neither offered another sniff of an opportunity until an improbable clatter of wickets after tea, when fatigue and the impending declaration enabled England’s toiling seamers to massage their stats, in particular Ben Stokes who emerged with the oddly respectable figures of 4 for 57.Shoaib Malik celebrates his maiden Test double-century•Getty Images

The Malik-Shafiq partnership was a fifth-wicket record for Pakistan in Tests against England, beating the 197-run stand at Lord’s between Javed Burki and Nasim-ul-Ghani that had stood since 1962. It continued their run of staggering batting form in Tests in Abu Dhabi, where they have never yet lost a match and where they have now recorded 11 hundreds in their last two-and-a-half Tests, dating back to the visit of Australia last October.Pakistan are past masters of batting in the UAE, having developed an innings tempo that is perfectly suited to the brutal conditions. They were content to wear England’s bowlers down for hours on end before latching on to the opportunities to make their dominance count. Between them, Malik and Shafiq struck 34 fours and four sixes, 160 runs in boundaries, a testament to their patience and ability to cash in.Malik, in particular, batted with the insouciance of a man in utter command of the attack and the conditions, and Rashid bore the brunt of his aggression, not least when he opened his shoulders with his double-century in the bag, first to wallop him over extra cover for four before pumping his next delivery clean down the ground for the third of his four sixes.Rashid, in truth, did not bowl especially badly, having been re-introduced to the attack in the seventh over of the day. By that stage, the seamers – armed with a ball that was just three overs old at the start of play – had been effortlessly repelled, and there was never an opportunity to get a toe-hold in the game. Rashid will cling on to the belief that his debut can be less like McGain’s and more like that of a certain SK Warne, whose debut figures of 1 for 150 at Sydney in 1992 included the maiden wicket of Ravi Shastri, but not before he had made 206.Despite having six front-line bowlers to call upon, Alastair Cook was forced reluctantly to turn to a seventh after 124 overs of fruitless toil when Joe Root was tossed the ball for an exploratory spell of allsorts, and they effectively used an eighth when Stokes entered the attack with his hitherto unseen offbreaks in the final over before the break.That over included, England’s spin attack mustered the combined figures of 70-3-302-0 and, ominously, they scarcely managed to hit the pads at any stage of the innings, let alone pass the edge.The one man to do so, in the whole of the first two sessions, was Stuart Broad, whose optimistic leg-side appeal against Shafiq, on 66 at the time, was going so far down leg that it was almost impertinent to ask. Nevertheless, Mark Wood, with a jig of delight, seemed pleased enough that his team-mate had managed even to breach one line of Pakistan’s formidable defence.Asad Shafiq helped Pakistan put on a record score against England for the fifth wicket•Getty Images

With his third ball after tea, and Pakistan already sated on 499 for 4, Wood finally breached their defences for real, as Shafiq aimed an expansive pull across the line and was trapped in front of middle and leg for 107. That breakthrough set in motion a harum-scarum 15 minutes in which three more wickets tumbled to loose prods and mows – all three to Stokes, including two lollipop catches for none other than Ian Bell, whose lapses in the slips had set Mohammad Hafeez and Shafiq on their way on day one.And so the declaration left England needing to bat out 23 overs in the day, a task that put a particular spotlight on Moeen Ali, whose 30 wicketless overs weren’t exactly the ideal way to focus his mind for the task ahead.But to his and Cook’s credit, they made it to the close with the minimum of fuss. Pakistan’s seamers found as little in the conditions as England had extracted, and arguably were even less effective given their slightly erratic lines of attack.The only real alarm came from the second ball of the innings when Cook jabbed down in the crease at Rahat Ali and all but emulated his mentor Graham Gooch in punching the ball away from his stumps as it bounced up alarmingly. Gooch, at Old Trafford in 1993, couldn’t help himself; Cook managed to resist his urges and lived to fight another day.Zulfiqar Babar, meanwhile, twirled away for seven broadly ineffective overs. There is plenty time for him to come into the game on days three, four and five, but in the absence of the prolific legspinner Yasir Shah, there was a cutting edge lacking from Pakistan’s initial forays. But their weight of runs remains overwhelming.