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The five-match T20I series will happen first now. The original schedule had the tour starting with three ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Aug-2021Zimbabwe’s tour of Ireland has been rescheduled to begin on August 27 on the advice of Ireland’s health authorities. The tour was originally scheduled to start on August 6, but Zimbabwe Cricket hadn’t received clearance from the Ireland government due to complications around Covid-19 protocols.In a media release, Ireland Cricket said the tour would now be “effectively flipping” with the five-match T20I series happening first, as opposed to the previous schedule that had the tour starting with a three-match ODI series. A Zimbabwe XI will play against Ireland Wolves in a 50-over warm-up match between the two series.”There has been a great deal of behind-the-scenes work on pulling together a revised playing programme since the earlier series postponement, but thanks to the support of Provincial Unions and various hosting clubs, we have managed to create a schedule that meets the evolving requirements of health and sporting authorities, while ensuring we can still host these extremely important matches within the available window,” Ireland’s High Performance cricket director Richard Holdsworth said in the statement.A change of venues is also part of the new plan, with Belfast – where three ODIs and the last three T20Is were to be played – dropping off the schedule. The first two T20Is will now be played in Clontarf, and the last three will be played at Bready, which was originally supposed to host only the first two T20Is. The ODIs, which are part of the World Cup Super league, will all be held in Stormont.”In order to meet quarantining requirements in both jurisdictions, the visiting side will spend the first ten days of their tour training and playing in the Republic under biosecure protocols, then the two sides can then move to Northern Ireland to complete the series,” Holdsworth said. “As a consequence of this change, we have had to flip the order of the T20I and ODI series, and we will see the return of international cricket at Clontarf for the first time since May 2019.”Zimbabwe have not qualified for the upcoming T20 World Cup, but the ODIs against Ireland will be a chance for them to drag themselves off the bottom of the World Cup Super league points table and push for qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup. In their most recent ODI series, Zimbabwe were swept 3-0 at home by Bangladesh. As for Ireland, they are placed seventh on the Super League table, although they have had the benefit of playing 12 matches; Zimbabwe have played only six.

Yorkshire blown away for 103 before Tom Abell and James Hildreth fifties pile up big Somerset lead

Paul Edwards at Taunton11-Sep-2019
Steve Patterson, Yorkshire’s captain, played forward to the first ball of this morning’s cricket at Taunton but missed it completely. “Bowling, Dom B!” roared “Tractor” from his perch below the scoreboard at the Pavilion End. It is a voice of the ages, a voice of deeply pledged faith; a similarly rich timbre probably greeted the achievements of Sammy Woods and Horace Hazell in the eras of the cattle market and the tweed suits. Every cricket ground is a palimpsest of former glories, former sadness.But one impression not remotely apparent at this richest of grounds is that of Somerset’s supporters saluting their team as county champions. In little more than a fortnight, that may change. These are momentous days in the West Country.In the next over of our cricket that same Dom Bess chased down a ball in front of the Marcus Trescothick Stand and again received rich applause for his effort. Such incidents, tiny in themselves, of course, foreshadowed a wonderful day for Somerset, one that may go far towards determining the destination of the County Championship. For while Warwickshire were spending the first two sessions piling up the runs against Essex at Edgbaston, Somerset’s bowlers dismissed Yorkshire for 103 before lunch and then watched gleefully as their batsmen built up a lead which stood at 365 by the close. It was difficult to see how things could have gone much better for Tom Abell’s side, although “Tractor” might make one or two suggestions.Yorkshire’s first innings crumbled away quicker than fresh Worthy Cheddar on this second morning. Some attributed the decline to the cloudy conditions but the more persuasive argument is that Abell’s seamers stuck to tight lines that demanded strokes and his slow left-armer, Roelof van der Merwe, seized his rare opportunity against a succession of right handers.And so, in little more than half an hour’s cricket Yorkshire collapsed from 86 for 3 to 103 all out. Tom Kohler-Cadmore was the first to go when he failed to cover Lewis Gregory’s movement off the pitch and edged a catch to Jamie Overton at slip. Almost immediately Patterson played on to van der Merwe, who also deceived Jonny Tattersall into nicking a catch to James Hildreth.The tone of the session was set. Ben Coad was absent due to illness and Yorkshire supporters were left to ponder the loss of six wickets in 44 balls. Josh Davey and van der Merwe finished the innings with three apiece. A lead of 96 appeared significant and perhaps it still is but by close of play it had been dwarfed by the enterprise of Somerset’s batsmen, most of whom were barely recognisable from the hesitant bunch bamboozled by Keshav Maharaj on the first afternoon.True, Maharaj had M Vijay leg before wicket for a duck just before lunch but nothing encapsulated Somerset’s sudden domination of the game more clearly than their batsmen’s mastery of the slow left-armer who 24 hours previously had only to mark out his run-up to cause general panic. Patterson tried Maharaj at both ends of the County Ground but he was greeted by sweeps on length from Abell or straight driven for six by Hildreth, a shot which caused billows in the huge white sheet which doubles as a sightscreen at the River End.The wicket of Hildreth, caught at short leg off Lyth for 58, punctuated the afternoon’s cricket; it did not disturb the flow of its prose. The stylish right-hander’s 117-run stand with Abell had charted a course which other batsmen could follow. Tom Banton arrived and began to bat with unnerving confidence, first by driving Duanne Olivier to the cover boundary and then by on-driving Tim Bresnan to the rope which once lay in front of the Stragglers’ Bar and below the old and long-demolished press box. That was where Alan Gibson and David Foot once celebrated the glory days and did as much as they could with the disappointments. Suddenly one wished they could be at their posts over the next two weeks.Abell might have enjoyed chatting with Alan and Footy. Somerset’s captain made his second half-century of the match on this cloudy Wednesday afternoon and in truth it was little different from his first. There was a little more aggression, perhaps – he reached fifty in 23 fewer balls – but the technique remained tight and one realised that here was a senior batsman, one upon whom Somerset cricket can be founded for the next decade. Certainly no one of his age could be more aware of what the title might mean in these parts.Banton, meanwhile, reverse-swept Maharaj for six and was almost immediately caught at slip by Lyth for 43. Abell fell leg before wicket for 62 when playing around a fine ball from Bresnan but by now Yorkshire’s attack was missing the stability invariably provided by the absent Coad. Gregory and George Bartlett helped themselves to some easier runs in the evening session and Somerset ended the day with the prospect of batting again on the third morning before setting Yorkshire a fearsome target.And while all this was happening, Warwickshire batted on and on. They scarcely credited their luck as this news filtered though at Taunton and one understands their reluctance to take even a point for granted. But the neutrals can see that the balance of the battle between Essex and Somerset has changed and it will be odd if it is not Ryan ten Doeschate’s side that needs to make up ground come Friday evening.

Surrey’s desire to add depth to their bowling options has resulted in two young South Africans switching allegiance in order to play county cricket

Firdose Moonda01-Mar-2016Surrey’s desire to add depth to their bowling options has resulted in two young South Africans switching allegiance in order to play county cricket, increasing concerns in their home country about a drain of talent due to a lack of opportunity.Dolphins fast bowler Mathew Pillans has signed a three-year deal the day after teenager and former Under-19 player Conor McKerr also agreed to join Surrey. Both have ambitions of playing for England although it will take them seven years to qualify.McKerr has a British passport but the ECB’s tightening of qualification rules means that, because he will arrive in the UK after his 18th birthday, he must serve a longer qualification period. However, he will only be 25 by the time he is eligible.Pillans, who has secured an ancestral visa giving him the right to work in the UK, will be 31 but an an insider told ESPNcricinfo, “Mathew believes he has a better chance of playing for England in seven years’ time than he does of playing for South Africa. He is not even in a franchise team here.”Pillans was schooled in Pretoria and played for the University of Pretoria team before moving to Kwa-Zulu Natal in 2013, when he could not find a regular place at Northerns. He featured sporadically for the Dolphins but played more regularly in the amateur Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland team this season. He took 21 wickets at 20.76 in five first-class matches and seven wickets at 9.42 in three List A games for the amateur side and nine wickets at 26.33 in two first-class games for the Dolphins.Last season, it seemed Pillans had earned the right to a more regular place in the franchise team when he finished as the seventh-highest wicket-taker overall in the first-class competition and as the Dolphins’ best performing quick. He took 29 wickets at 23.79, which included a ten-for against the Knights. Recently sacked coach Lance Klusener took a particular liking to Pillans and described him as a bowler who could “run in all day for you” but Pillans still found himself on the sidelines.He was on a rookie contract with the Dolphins, earning R140,000 a year (US$8,943) and was becoming increasingly “frustrated by the lack of opportunity,” said the source. When Graham Ford, who coached Surrey until leaving to take charge of Sri Lanka earlier this year, approached people in South Africa for assistance in finding recruits for the county, Pillans was one of the players recommended to him. Ford was involved in the negotiations between Pillans and Surrey, and he has been released from his Dolphins deal with immediate effect.”It has been a really tough decision to make but I have been given a great opportunity that I’m looking forward to,” Pillans said. “It has been great to have had the chance to work with the senior guys at the Dolphins; playing alongside them and to be around them to listen has really helped me take my game forward. I’m going to miss the Durban vibe and all the people but I’m also very, very excited about what my new opportunity holds.”The source warned that more players could be headed to other countries. South Africa’s 2014 Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Aiden Markram has been approached by a team in New Zealand although the Titans told ESPNcricinfo they believe they will be able to hold on to him. Corbin Bosch, who played in the 2014 team under Markram, is moving to Australia and Obus Pienaar, another former Under-19 who plays in Bloemfontein, is also considering New Zealand as an option.When asked if the exodus of players had to do with CSA’s transformation targets, the source stayed away from making a direct link but hinted that it could be related. “I don’t want to talk about quotas but I’ll say that the balance of teams is affecting the opportunities people are getting. There are also other factors like the declining Rand.”

Sachin Tendulkar has said his first tour of Australia in 1991-92, when he was still a teenager, toughened him up as a cricketer, and helped prepare him to face world-class attacks

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2012Sachin Tendulkar has said his first tour of Australia in 1991-92, when he was still a teenager, toughened him up as a cricketer, and helped prepare him to face world-class attacks. He was speaking at a ceremony in Mumbai where he became the first Indian sportsman to be honoured with membership of the Order of Australia.”It (the 1991-92 tour of Australia) completely changed me as a cricketer. It was a critical moment of my career. Three and half months changed me completely,” Tendulkar said. “I thought I was ready to play against any attack in the world and I can say that Australia has had some contribution in that to transform me into a tougher cricketer.”India lost the Test series 4-0, but Tendulkar was India’s highest run-getter with 368 runs, including one of his most celebrated centuries, in Perth. “We all know Australians are fierce competitors but when you do well against them, they shower on you all the compliments. And that is what happened to me. I scored reasonably well and scored a couple of hundreds there (in the Test series).”Tendulkar said he had dreamt of playing in Australia even before entering his teens. “The association with Australia started long time ago and not in 1991,” he said. “To me it started way back in 1985 when I was 12 years old watching those fantastic day-night matches on television. I started dreaming that one day I want to go there and play cricket. It turned into a reality in 1991-92.”The other non-Australian cricketers to have received the Order of Australia honour are West Indian greats Garry Sobers, Clive Lloyd and Brian Lara. Tendulkar was recognised “for his service to Australia-India relations by promoting goodwill, friendship and sportsmanship through the sport of cricket.”Australia’s arts minister Simon Crean conferred the award to the cricketer. “Mr Tendulkar, as a member and former Captain of the Indian Cricket Team, has made an outstanding contribution to international cricket for more than 20 years,” a statement from the Australian consulate-general read.

Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder who is now a British citizen, has not been able to play for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL because he has not yet been given an Indian visa

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2012Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder who is now a British citizen, has not been able to play for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL because he has not yet been given an Indian visa. Mahmood had been bought by Kings XI for $200,000 at the 2012 player auction.The Kings XI management had said Mahmood had taken a short break after playing in the Bangladesh Premier League, but the captain Adam Gilchrist said there had been visa issues. “It’s up to the government. I believe that he has not yet got his visa,” Gilchrist told . “When we picked him at the auction, we were given to believe that he would be available for all the matches. But that has not happened. He is yet to get his visa. He is a class player and we are missing him.”Following the 2012 auction, Kings XI had appeared to be one of the weakest teams, and Mahmood was their highest-profile signing. They struggled in the early part of their campaign, losing two games, and are presently second last in the points table. Kings XI are also without Stuart Broad, who is missing the tournament because of injury.Mahmood is the only player to have represented Pakistan in this season of the IPL. While Pakistan players were part of the inaugural tournament in 2008, they have missed out since then, after cricketing ties between India and Pakistan broke down following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.IPL chairman and BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said earlier this week that the participation of Pakistan cricketers in the tournament was dependent on the resumption of bilateral ties. “No one is against Pakistan or Pakistani players in India, or else we would not have allowed Pakistani commentators or umpires in IPL 5,” he said. “Everything is tied to the resumption of bilateral cricket ties between the two countries. Once that happens, I think everything will happen automatically. The IPL functions under the BCCI and when bilateral relations resume between the two boards, the IPL will also not be a problem for Pakistani players.”

As India seek a reversal of fortune in the final Test of the summer at Adelaide Oval, Michael Clarke’s Australians have prepared for a reversal of method in their pursuit of a 4-0 series sweep

Daniel Brettig23-Jan-2012As India seek a reversal of fortune in the final Test of the summer at the Adelaide Oval, Michael Clarke’s Australia have prepared for a reversal of method in their pursuit of a 4-0 series sweep over the visitors.Reverse swing has been seldom glimpsed all summer on a succession of well-grassed pitches that allowed Australia’s fast men to gain conventional movement through the air and off the track for most of each match. However in Adelaide, beyond the rewards to be gained in the first hour or so of play, Clarke expects a return to the subtle art of swinging the old ball, in the absence of any other assistance on what appears a typically hard, dry surface.While India will appreciate the chance to revert to some of the skills that have served the visitors faithfully on home turf for many years, Australia are also happy to be reminded of the need for such measures – their next Test matches are in the West Indies, on pitches likely to be slower and lower than anything seen at home in this series.”I think reverse swing will play a huge part in this Test, it always does,” Clarke said. “The ground is in great nick, so the outfield will keep the ball newer than I have seen it in the past but I think as the day goes on, especially in this heat, you will see a lot of reverse swing.”And that is why I say it’s probably as close to Indian conditions as you’re going to get in Australia. So as a batting unit, we have been working on that in the nets, we have faced a bit of reverse swing and a fair bit of spin, so I think our preparation has been spot on.”In recalling Nathan Lyon at the expense of the young left-armer Mitchell Starc, Clarke kept the experienced pace trio of Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and Ryan Harris in harness, judging all had recovered sufficiently from their Perth exertions for the possible rigours of a match that invariably sees a fifth day.All had questions of sorts to answer in the lead-up: Harris has struggled wit the physical demands of consecutive Tests, Siddle showed signs of exhaustion in Perth, and Hilfenhaus has seldom proven to be at his best in Adelaide, where the new ball movement of his stock delivery can be more fleeting than elsewhere. However Clarke pointed out that Hilfenhaus had an even more modest record in Melbourne before he scooped seven wickets for the match in a 122-run victory.”I’ll bet you it’s better than his record at the MCG, where he had a horrible record, and we picked him there and he got five-for [in the first innings],” Clarke said. “I’m really confident Hilfy’s at the top of his game, bowling really well and can adjust to whatever conditions he faces. He’s a very good bowler with the new ball but he’s also very good at bowling straight if the wicket is slow and low, and he’s got great control with reverse swing as well. He’ll play a big part in this Test.”Generally the Test match on the Adelaide Oval does go five days. So we have to have the discipline to hang in there until you get the opportunity to grab hold of some momentum. The boys are flying high on confidence but it’s going to be a tough challenge. I’m certain India will be very keen to finish the series on a high. It’s a great test for us as a team in what are going to be tough conditions to take 20 wickets.”Well as Australia have played at home this summer, it is a fact that the majority of conditions Clarke and his team will face overseas in years to come will be closer in character to Adelaide than elsewhere. Gautam Gambhir’s talk about the preparation of “rank turners” were striking, but nothing new. To that end, the bowling coach Craig McDermott and his pace battery will, alongside Nathan Lyon, find out more about their prospects for future tours in this match than the preceding three.”The pitches have been the same in Australia for the last two years, I think they were exactly the same against England, they were pretty similar in South Africa as well,” Clarke said. “That is part of being an international sportsman, you travel the world and play in completely different conditions.”I have played a number of times in India when the ball has spun so that will be no different next time we go there I’m sure. In my opinion, it’s very hard to doctor the wicket when you’re playing against very good opposition. It’s about preparing a pitch and then both teams playing on it so that will be no different when we go to India and I think it has been the same in Australia for a while now, the last couple of years I have seen a little bit more grass on the pitches.”

MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said that adjusting to the ICC’s revised playing conditions regarding Powerplays will be “tricky” during the ODI series against England

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2011MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said that adjusting to the ICC’s revised playing conditions regarding Powerplays will be “tricky” during the ODI series against England, which begins in Hyderabad on October 14. The changes to the playing conditions took effect on October 1, and India and England will be using them for the first time in this series.Teams will have to start the batting and bowling Powerplays at the beginning of any over between the 16th and the 36th over for a full game. Under the previous playing conditions, teams could begin the Powerplays from the start of the 11th over to the start of the 46th over.”It’s a bit tricky as we have not yet played any match under this new Powerplay,” Dhoni told . “It would certainly need a different approach as the second and third Powerplay will now be taken within the 16th and the 40th over.”Earlier, while chasing, teams would be happy to keep the batting Powerplay for the last five overs. But now we have to make few changes in tactics. It will have different results till we get used to it.”The other major change to the playing conditions is the use of two new balls – one from either end – during an innings. The mandatory change of ball that took place at the end of the 34th over has been done away with. Dhoni said this amendment could reduce the amount of reverse swing because each ball will be only 25-overs-old.”A bit of swing will definitely be there but there may not be as much reverse swing as we expect in the subcontinent,” he said. “Now the reverse swing also depends a lot on the nature of outfield and how you make the ball, but of course legally.”The home ODIs against England are India’s first international matches since the poor summer in England, where they lost the Test series 0-4 and the ODIs 0-3. It was primarily the inability of India’s bowlers to contain that led to the defeats in the ODIs.”During the tour of England, performance of the batsmen was impressive. Here we have a different bowling department and it’s an opportunity for them to do well in home conditions,” Dhoni said. “They have played a lot of IPL but this will be a different ball game.”We have had a few youngsters who did well in England. Also the wickets were very different out there. For us what matters most is good performance in all three departments.”

There have been far worse characters in international cricket compared to Sreesanth who needs his much-criticised aggression to perform as a fast bowler, according to Mahela Jayawardene, his IPL captain

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2011There have been far worse characters in international cricket compared to Sreesanth, who needs his much-criticised aggression to perform as a fast bowler, according to Mahela Jayawardene, captain of Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the IPL. Jayawardene said the franchise did not want to curb his aggression as that could affect his performance.”We want him to be aggressive. I think that’s what he is all about. You need characters like him. You had much worse characters in international cricket in the last 20 years and I don’t think Sree is that harmful to the game,” Jayawardene said. “But I think if we can control him, we can have ourselves a very successful bowler for Kochi as well as for India.”Sreesanth has had repeated run-ins with match officials for his inability to control his behaviour on the field, but Jayawardene said the fast bowler was at his best when he could channelise his hostility. “I think you need to identify the individuals. Sree performs well in that manner. You take that from him and he might not do well. He’s a very aggressive bowler but I have noticed he has toned down in the last one year. That’s why he got to be a part of India’s World Cup squad.”It is nice to have characters like Sreesanth in the dressing room, Jayawardene said. “Brilliant to have him; he just needs to reduce the volume on his i-Pod as well as the speakers. With him and Murali around, nothing can go wrong for us.”Kochi lost their opening IPL game to Royal Challengers Bangalore but the match was close until AB de Villiers’ assault in the 18th over of Bangalore’s chase, which went for 20 runs. Jayawardene said that he had thought the first game for the new franchise would prove to be much tougher than it turned out to be. “We have been bonding very well. We had a great last outing. I thought there would be many hiccups in our first game, that didn’t happen. Everyone is identifying their roles and that is great.”

A round-up of the action from the third day of matches in the 2010-11 Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2011

North Zone

Centuries from Ravi Inder Singh and Mayank Sidhana proved enough for Punjab to beat Delhi by 19 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali, but the hosts were given a scare by Sumit Narwal, whose blazing 62 off 36 balls threatened to get Delhi to Punjab’s total of 284. Delhi were never in the chase until Narwal, who is fast enhancing his reputation as a lower-order batsman in addition to being a seam bowler, came in. They had lost wickets regularly and were 152 for 6, needing 133 to win in 89 balls. But Narwal smashed five fours and two sixes and got Delhi to 264 for 8, with 21 required off 15 balls. However, left-arm seamer Amit Uniyal finally stopped the party, and got Narwal out in the 48th over. Ishant Sharma, who had given Narwal able support, scoring 31 off 24 balls with four boundaries, could not finish the job and was run out two balls later, giving Punjab the victory. The hosts had not anticipated the match going down to the wire when Ravi Singh’s unbeaten 126 and Sidhana’s 100 off 95 balls had got them to a strong total.Services eased to victory in their chase of Jammu & Kashmir’s 214 at the Dhruve Pandove Stadium in Patiala, winning by six wickets with 10 overs remaining. J & K’s innings never got going and they were bowled out in 48.2 overs, with seamer Yashpal Singh taking 3 for 39. Services chase was led by a quick 84 by Sumit Singh, an innings that included 11 fours and three sixes, and a steady 52 by Jasvir Singh.Amit Mishra took four wickets as Haryana skittled Himachal Pradesh out for 138 to complete a 111-run victory at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh. Haryana had been in trouble in their own innings, slumping to 162 for 8, but a half-century from Dhruv Singh down the order helped them reach 249. Himachal’s chase never got going, and only lasted 35.5 overs with captain Paras Dogra the top scorer with 31.

South Zone

M Vijay’s 92 led Tamil Nadu’s successful chase of Karnataka’s 239 at the Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium in Malappuram. Karnataka’s innings had got off to a rollicking start with Robin Uthappa smacking 86 off 54 balls with nine fours and five sixes. Offspinner Murthy Prabhu, though, kept chipping away at the wickets, and even though Karnataka’s run-rate was always over 5.00 an over, they were bowled out in 43.2 overs for 239. None of the middle and lower order contributed as Prabhu returned figures of 5 for 59. Tamil Nadu could afford to be more measured in their chase, and Vijay anchored the innings, taking 113 balls for his 92. Abhinav Mukund scored 40 off 49 as Tamil Nadu looked at ease in their chase. They ended up finishing the match with 13 balls remaining and six wickets in hand.Hyderabad comfortably chased Kerala’s 222 at the Fort Maidan in Palakkad, with Ravi Teja and 20-year-old Akshath Reddy notching up half-centuries. Kerala got off to a slow start to their innings. By the 31st over, they had only lost one wicket, but had scored just 100 runs. VA Jagadeesh top scored for Kerala with 82, but his strike-rate of 68.33 did his team no favours. Robert Fernandez tried to up the scoring rate with his 50 off 43 balls, but Kerala never got enough runs on the board. The spinners did the job for Hyderabad with offspinner Amol Shinde taking 4 for 41 and left-armer Pragyan Ojha picking up 3 for 34. Teja played the anchor role in the chase, taking 100 balls for his 57; Reddy kept the scoreboard ticking over with his 86 off 104; and then Bavanaka Sandeep got some quick runs at the end to make sure Hyderabad won with 19 balls to spare.

East Zone

Biplab Samantray scored an unbeaten 97, and Paresh Patel scored 82 and took four wickets as Orissa completed an easy victory over Assam at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium in Agartala. Paresh steadided Orissa’s innings after they were 12 for 2, and the 111-run partnership between him and Samantray put them on top. Samantray accelerated towards the end of the innings, but was left stranded on 97 not out off 96 balls, unable to reach his century. Orissa had managed to reach 256 for 6. Assam’s reply got off to a solid start with PP Das’ 58 helping them reach 87 for 1. Wickets fell in a heap after that, with only Tarjinder Singh providing some resistance in the middle order. Paresh ran through the lower-middle order and tail to finish with figures of 4 for 31, as Assam were bowled out for 201.An all-round performance by Subroto Ghosh led Jharkhand to a 93-run win over Tripura at the Polytechnic Institute Ground in Agartala, A 121-run partnership for the second wicket between Ghosh, who scored 76, and Ishank Jaggi (43) gave Jharkhand a solid base after they had lost a wicket in the first over, and then captain Saurabh Tiwary, who scored 44 off 41 balls, and Kumar Deobrat (47 not out off 43) accelerated, getting Jharkhand to 243. In reply, Tripura could only manage 150, with Ghosh taking 3 for 21.

The ICC has given a cautious nod of approval to the PCB’s efforts in toughening its approach to corruption in cricket and undertaking reforms to improve the administration of the game in Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2010The ICC has given a cautious nod of approval to the PCB’s efforts in toughening its approach to corruption in cricket and undertaking reforms to improve the administration of the game in Pakistan. However, the ICC has warned against complacency and reiterated a series of measures to all member boards to make efforts at eliminating corruption in the aftermath of the spot-fixing controversy.”We are encouraged by the excellent progress reported and also the willingness of the Pakistan Cricket Board to embrace the ICC recommendations,” ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said after a meeting of the Pakistan task force, a group aimed at bringing international cricket back to Pakistan, on Saturday. “However, we can never be complacent nor distracted in our determination to tackle corruption.”The ICC, earlier this month, had warned the PCB over the continuing decline of governance in Pakistan cricket and had conveyed a clear message to get its act together by sorting out the game’s administration or facing the consequences, possibly in the form of sanctions. The PCB was given a 30-day deadline to conduct a thorough and far-reaching review of its “player integrity issues” and report back to the task force.In the interim, the PCB, as advised by the ICC, has introduced a revised code of conduct with a strong emphasis on anti-corruption which has been signed by all players ahead of the tour of the UAE later this month. The board has also set up an Integrity Committee, aimed at finding ways to move forward after the spot-fixing controversy, deal with the ICC’s recommendations and address issues of corruption and doping, each of which have plagued Pakistan cricket in the past. The committee comprises several senior officials of the board including chairman Ijaz Butt, chief operating officer Wasim Bari, team manager Intikhab Alam and director of international cricket Zakir Khan.The PCB has also been asked to implement education programmes for players, a “proper, accountable and robust disciplinary process for the sport” and a process to deter and detect corrupt elements within the game, “whether it be players, officials, agents or any other individual.”Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, who heads the Pakistan task force, emphasised the need for the PCB to reform itself. “The task team urged everyone to support the PCB to reform its cricket and governance models and the important role Ijaz Butt has to play in this regard,” Clarke said. “An independent board would help it to regain its glory and ensure long-term success.”Lorgat also reiterated the ICC’s recommendations to member boards for eliminating corruption in the game. They included the introduction of a domestic anti-corruption code that mirrors the ICC’s. He further urged members to review player contracts and introduce appropriate clauses to ensure players comply with anti-corruption rules and regulations.Among the initiatives discussed was a one-off declaration by all players as a commitment to preserving the integrity of the game. “We have issued a broad advisory to every ICC Member about the need to root out corruption from our great sport,” Lorgat said. “This advisory requests all international players and support personnel to sign a once-off declaration before participating in the next FTP match and/or ICC event.””Such declaration is intended to serve as an important reminder of the spirit in which the game is meant to be played, the importance of its integrity and their roles and responsibilities in this regard.”The Pakistan Task Force includes Clarke, Lorgat, Zimbabwe Cricket chief Peter Chingoka, ICC’s General Manager of Cricket Dave Richardson, Chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle and former captains Mike Brearley and Ramiz Raja.