Tag Futebol

Leicestershire have agreed on terms to sign Abdul Razzaq, the Pakistan allrounder, for the Friends Life t20

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2011Leicestershire have agreed on terms to sign Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq for the Friends Life t20 and are awaiting the arrival of his passport from Abu Dhabi – where he sent it to process his UK visa application – before completing the acquisition. Razzaq has received clearance from the PCB to play the tournament and is expected to be available for Leicester’s first match, against Northamptonshire on Friday.This will be the fifth county Razzaq will play for; he has had stints at Hampshire, Middlesex, Surrey and Worcestershire before. Razzaq, as a batsman, is reputed for playing destructive knocks in limited-over matches, but he has had a poor run of form of late. After a whirlwind one-day century against South Africa in Abu Dhabi, he has had a string of low scores running from the series in New Zealand through the World Cup, and he was eventually dropped from the Pakistan squad for the tour of the West Indies.Nevertheless, Leicester’s chief executive Mike Siddall was excited to have someone with the experience of 46 Tests and 262 ODIs joining the county. Leicester disappointed in last year’s tournament, losing seven games and missing out on the quarterfinals, but Siddall said the acquisition of Razzaq, and the retention of Andrew McDonald, the Australia allrounder, showed their positive mindset.”I think this shows our ambition,” Siddall said. “We had a little bit of money available with Andrew McDonald going to the IPL. We want to do better than last year in the T20 when we lost seven home matches.”Phil Whitticase, the Leicester coach, said Razzaq’s versatility would be an asset. “We are talking about someone who can contribute with the bat and bowl up front or at the death,” he said. “We’ll probably be looking at him coming in down the order and clearing the boundaries in the final few overs.”Leicester made a record loss of £400,000 last year but are hoping McDonald, who scored 174 runs in the three Twenty20 matches he played for Leicester last year, and Razzaq will draw in the crowds.

The leading umpire Mark Benson iss planning to retire from the game with immediate effect following his sudden withdrawal from the Adelaide Test

Alex Brown at Adelaide Oval06-Dec-2009Mark Benson is planning to retire from umpiring with immediate effect following his sudden withdrawal from the Adelaide Test. The Sunday Times has reported Benson was upset over several incidents involving the Umpire Decision Review System on day one of the second Test between Australia and West Indies, one of which led to his original decision being overturned.Benson twice ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul not-out to caught-behind appeals on Friday, both of which were challenged by the Australians. The third umpire, Asad Rauf, upheld Benson’s first ruling, prompting an angry response from the bowler, Doug Bollinger, and the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting. But it is the second video review, which resulted in Chanderpaul being ruled out for 62, that is understood to have most upset the English official. Hot Spot replays showed no evidence of the ball striking the outside edge of Chanderpaul’s bat, however other camera angles provided Rauf with enough evidence to reverse Benson’s original ruling.Cricinfo has been told an irate Benson “ranted” to colleagues in the umpire’s room after the first day’s play about his dissatisfaction with the UDRS. He is believed to have said at the time that the new system “just makes (umpiring) harder”, however ICC officials were remaining tight-lipped on the matter on Sunday.David Morgan, the ICC president, told Cricinfo Benson was “poorly” and referred other questions to David Richardson, the ICC’s general manager, and Vintcent van der Bijl, the umpire’s manager. Chris Broad, the match referee who is presiding over the Adelaide Test, denied Benson’s swift departure from Adelaide was the result of unhappiness over the UDRS. “There is absolutely no truth in that at all,” Broad said. “The review system is new to everyone and you’ve got to get used to it. He was an advocate of the review system to help umpires out.”We spoke on the second morning and he said that he was feeling unwell. I was in India with him as well where he was unwell. We thought this might well be another situation like that we were in in India. We chatted about it and he said he didn’t feel as though he could go on the field again. We decided to leave him back in the hotel. I phoned Dubai and they decided that if it was a recurrence of high blood pressure or stomach problems he had in India he needed to get it sorted out. That was the reason that I was aware he went home.”ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat also denied Benson’s return to England was related to the UDRS. “This is completely untrue. Benson has been a strong supporter of the system and his return home has nothing to do with it,” he told . “”He is not well and that’s why he is returning home. I’m sure once he reached England, he would issue a clarification.”ICC sources have told Cricinfo, however, that report is indeed accurate, and an announcement from Benson is expected after his arrival into Britain. Precisely why Benson opted to leave Adelaide before the conclusion of the second Test remains unknown.Benson stood down from two one-day internationals involving Australia and India this year due to migraines, and previously experienced heart palpitations during a Test between South Africa and India in Durban. It is understood he did not visit a hospital in Adelaide before his departure on Saturday, despite “ill health” being cited by the ICC as the cause for his departure.Controversy has always followed umpires, but scrutiny has escalated of late. Darrell Hair resorted to legal avenues after he was sidelined by the ICC for his role in the forfeited Test at The Oval between England and Pakistan two years ago, while Steve Bucknor was benched for the latter stages of the Australia-India Test series two summers ago after the BCCI complained of errors.”There’s probably less pressure on the umpires now with a review system than there was beforehand,” Broad said. “Umpires would stand out there in the morning and captains and fielders would strut around not really knowing the result of it. With the review system they know the result straight away.”

A PCB official said that as this is an ICC tournament, the anthem playlist has been produced and distributed by the ICC

Danyal Rasool23-Feb-2025The PCB has reached out to the ICC for clarification after the Indian national anthem was erroneously played for a moment at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.Ahead of the game between Australia and England, the national anthem of the UK was played without incident. However, instead of following it up with the Australian national anthem, a recording of the Indian national anthem began to ring out before it was swiftly stopped and changed.ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB is unhappy with the error, which it has blamed the ICC for. A PCB official told ESPNcricinfo that as this is an ICC tournament, the anthem playlist has been produced and distributed by the ICC, with the ICC in charge of playing the anthems before the matches. The PCB also questioned the presence of the Indian anthem in the playlist in the first place, given India are not playing any of their matches in Pakistan but in Dubai. The ICC believes the error was a technical one but is investigating the matter with the third-party supplier.Related

• Shut up whiners, India had to overcome lots of burdens to win the Champions Trophy

• No PCB official at Champions Trophy final presentation, host board asks ICC to explain

• Pakistan in danger of leaving their own party early

• 'What's your focus? Ball, bat, that's it' – Aaqib Javed plays down Ind-Pak hype

• India vs Pakistan is sci-fi vs fantasy – but will it be box office?

This is the second time in as many days that the PCB has had to ask the ICC for an explanation following incidents it feels have undermined Pakistan as official hosts of the Champions Trophy. During the second game of the tournament in Dubai, when India played Bangladesh, Pakistan’s name was omitted from the logo on the official broadcast.This was a departure from the broadcast graphics for the other matches of the tournament so far, including the tournament opener between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi where the event name as well as ‘Pakistan’ was visible on the broadcast.The ICC put that down to a technical glitch, though it was an explanation that didn’t satisfy the PCB. The ICC gave assurances that such a thing would not be repeated, regardless of where the games were being held. That means the feed for Sunday’s game between India and Pakistan in Dubai – the most high-profile contest of the tournament – will include Pakistan’s name on the official on-screen logo.The game between Australia and England drew the biggest crowd of the tournament so far, and was the most dramatic, as Australia chased down a record 351 to beat England by five wickets with 15 balls to spare.

India’s captain wants to create a pool of eight or nine fast bowlers capable of stepping into the Test XI at any given point

Ashish Pant15-Oct-2024Rohit Sharma wants to injury-proof the Indian cricket team, and has called for expanding their bench strength, particularly the fast-bowling department so that they have eight or nine players ready to step into the first XI at any given moment.”We want to create a bench strength where tomorrow if anything happens to anyone, we are not worried, and we don’t want to be worried or too heavily reliant on a few individuals. That’s not the right thing to do,” Rohit said on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. “We want to look at the future at the same time, try and make sure that we get the right guys in as well.”We want to create guys where even if there are injuries, we have got someone to quickly step in and take that role.”It’s not about three or four options. We want to try and do that like, you know, when it comes to batting, there are a lot of options. We want to create the same with the bowlers as well.”Along with the 15-member squad for the three-match series against New Zealand, India are also carrying Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy as travelling reserves. Mayank and Reddy recently made their international debuts in the T20Is against Bangladesh recently, while Rana was an unused member of that squad.Related

• Rain washes out first day in Bengaluru

• Latham hopes cloudy Bengaluru brings NZ's seamers to life

• India's problem of plenty – three spinners or three seamers?

• India start as favourites, but Bengaluru weather could level the playing field

• Shami not ready for New Zealand Tests; Bumrah named vice-captain

Prasidh Krishna was also initially named as a travelling reserve for the New Zealand Tests, but he has reportedly suffered another injury setback. During Karnataka’s opening fixture of the new Ranji Trophy season, against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, he bowled only eight of the 140 overs that his side sent down.”You know, the reason we wanted to keep them close to us was because we are thinking of them to take them to Australia,” Rohit said. The five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins on November 22. “We just want to monitor them and see their workload. We have seen some talent in them. I understand that they have not played a lot of red-ball cricket, but when you see a talent, you want to try and groom them.Harshit Rana, 22, has played nine first-class matches and picked up 36 wickets•PTI

“You want to try and bring them as close to the team as possible. And in a short period of time, they have shown they have some ability as well. So, we want to keep them with the team and see whether they will be ready for international cricket or not, especially Test cricket, because Test cricket is a different ball game compared to white ball cricket. So, we want to keep them, we want to see what they can offer us, and have more options with us, more than anything else.”Nitish and Harshit both obviously are quite talented individuals, and in the future obviously they are going to provide a lot of stability to the team. So, just want to see what they are capable of, what they have to offer.”Mayank’s rise has been both rapid and eye-catching. He burst on the scene during IPL 2024, bowling at speeds of 155kph, and accurately at that, for Lucknow Super Giants. He could only play four matches though with an abdominal issue keeping him sidelined. Still, India had seen enough to fast-track him into their T20 side against Bangladesh earlier this month, where he picked up four wickets from three games while consistently pushing the speed gun into the high 140kph.”Mayank obviously has shown what he can do, but we just want to be very careful with him, he has had a lot of injuries in the past,” Rohit said. “So, we want to progress him, not rapidly, we want to just see every day how he feels.”We are trying to build his workloads with the red ball. He has not played a lot of red-ball cricket at all. So, for us, it’s important that we try and build them gradually, rather than just getting them into international cricket straight away.”T20 format is such where you can get a lot of these guys and see what they are capable of and if they can handle the international exposure. But Test cricket is a different ball game. The pressure is different. You have to sustain for five days, that’s the most important thing. So, we are trying to monitor them and see, you know, what they can offer to us.”3:36

Rohit: Bumrah has always been in our leadership group

The most important cog in India’s fast-bowling line-up is the leader of the pack Jasprit Bumrah. The 30-year-old was recently named vice-captain for the series against New Zealand.There is a chance Bumrah might step in as captain in the early Tests against Australia next month with Rohit’s participation in doubt owing to personal reasons.”He’s always been part of that leadership group and one of the experienced players as well,” Rohit said of Bumrah. “He’s played a lot of cricket and I’ve played a lot of cricket with him. He understands the game pretty well. He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”Tactically, I can’t say much because he’s not captained much. But, when you talk to him, he understands the game. He understands what is required. When you are in a situation where you need a leader to step up, I think Bumrah will be one of them. In the past, he’s always been in our leadership group.”So, it’s probably the right thing to just have him around and speak to the bowlers and internally discuss how to take the team forward.”Rohit remained tight-lipped about the India XI for the opening Test against New Zealand stating that they will take a call once they reach the venue on match day. It has been raining relentlessly in Bengaluru over the last few days, forcing India to cancel their training session on the eve of the game, while New Zealand were left to train indoors.”It all depends on the conditions now. Even today, there has been a lot of rain. The pitch is under the covers. So, we want to take that call when we come here in the morning tomorrow,” Rohit said. “And again, it depends on match-to-match, what sort of pitch we play on. Based on that, we want to decide what is going to be our best playing XI. We keep our options open for playing three seamers and three spinners as well.”

Former captain weighs in on Australia’s attack for Edgbaston, and Pat Cummins’ no-ball issues at the WTC final

Andrew McGlashan09-Jun-20230:51

Smith: ‘Intrigued to see how Bazball goes against us’

Ricky Ponting believes that Josh Hazlewood will start the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston ahead of Scott Boland if he is fully fit.Hazlewood was withdrawn from Australia’s World Test Championship (WTC) squad after it was decided he was not quite ready following his truncated IPL, from which he returned home with some side soreness although he was later cleared of any injury.He was said to be “very close” to being available and is on track for the first Test against England, but Boland has continued to make a strong case to be selected as one of Australia’s three specialist quicks.He was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings of the WTC final against India with 2 for 59 from 20 overs, removing Shubman Gill with one that nipped back on the second evening then spearing a delivery through KS Bharat with the second ball of the third day.”Nothing changes for me,” Ponting said. “If Hazlewood is fit and they are 100% convinced that he can get through the game, then I think he’ll start, but if he doesn’t you have a pretty good back-up.”Hazlewood has only played four Tests in this WTC cycle through a combination of injury and the balance of the side on the subcontinent. He made an impressive return against South Africa at the SCG in January but picked up an Achillies injury due to the soft run-ups.Over the last 18 months, Boland has made a remarkable start to his Test career, bursting onto the scene with 6 for 7 at the MCG in the previous Ashes, and appears to be a bowler with all the attributes to be successful with the Dukes ball in England.”Scotty is very impressive,” Ponting said. “The thing the selectors might be thinking about is Josh’s injury record over the last few years. When you look at it, with Scotty bowling the way he is, it’s a pretty compelling argument to say is he in their starting XI for the first Test.”Looking ahead, though, with five Test matches in six weeks, don’t think we can expect either bowling group to get through [fully], both teams will probably have to rest a quick or two here and there through the series.”However, Ponting added that he thinks Pat Cummins’ stated ambition to play all six Tests in the condensed schedule is possible because of the presence of Cameron Green in Australia’s line-up.”In series gone by, where there hasn’t’ been that world-class allrounder to throw the ball to for 15 overs an innings, then it would have been less likely,” he said. “But I think if Pat manages himself well enough, with Green there to help out, I think the captain can get through.”Cummins took three wickets in India’s first innings but cost himself three due to no-balls. On the second day he would have removed both Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane lbw, then on the third he pinned Shardul Thakur in front but was marginally over again.In all Cummins was called for six no-balls, the most he has sent down in an international innings, and Ponting said it was a symptom of his lengthy layoff from the game having not played competitively since the end of February when he left the tour of India early for personal reasons. However, there is evidence that he has been called more frequently since the automated front-foot technology was introduced.”Simple, he’s lacking rhythm, he hasn’t played for three months,” Ponting said. “He’s bowled six no-balls in this innings, two [three] of them have cost him wickets…but he’s never been someone that I can remember that’s been plagued by any kind of no-ball issue.”I just think it’s because he’s not back into full game mode, and not back into his full rhythm. As today went on, I did think he looked better and I think he’ll be better in the second innings as well.”

England set a target of 398 in 97 after a day of leather-chasing at Edgbaston as bowling attack runs out of steam

The Report by Andrew McGlashan04-Aug-2019For the second time in four days Steven Smith wrote himself a place in Ashes folklore, while Matthew Wade completed a comeback story of his own as Australia enjoyed utter dominance with the bat to leave them as the only team with a chance of victory at Edgbaston.Smith became just the fifth Australian to hit twin centuries in an Ashes Test as his match took on even greater proportions of greatness. Wade then cantered to a career-best 110, his third Test hundred and first for six-and-a-half-years, to set up Australia’s declaration late in the evening session, after some fun from James Pattinson and Pat Cummins, leaving England needing a notional 398 in 97 overs.Rory Burns and Jason Roy made it through seven demanding overs under gloomy skies with Nathan Lyon given the new ball on a responsive surface. There was more than enough to put a smile on his face at the potential of what’s on offer. Meanwhile, by surviving to resume in the morning, Burns put himself on the list of players who will have batted on all five days of a Test barring a washout. England would probably take that, but the forecast was largely fine.Well before the openers emerged a draw was England’s best hope before heading to Lord’s, which was a quite remarkable change of fortune from midway through the opening day when Australia were 122 for 8 and starring at another Edgbaston horror show. It was Smith, with help from the tail, who turned the tables then and on Sunday it was Smith who pulled Australia into a strong position before Wade made it impregnable.Smith did the groundwork alongside Travis Head, who made a compact half-century, in a stand of 130 for the fourth wicket which took Australia from 15 behind to 115 in front. However, when Head edged Ben Stokes, England having waited 23 overs for a breakthrough on the fourth morning, there was still plenty of work to do. The stand of 126 between Smith and Wade deflated England’s depleted attack. Stuart Broad had started promisingly, but Moeen Ali had a day to forget, which gave Joe Root a massive problem as he lacked control and wicket-taking threat on a surface aiding spin.Moeen had been handed the first over of the day and it included the opening delivery grubbing at Smith as well as a full toss that flew over his head that he tried to swat away and seemed annoyed that he hadn’t. There was the occasional promising sign, such as when one spun sharply to beat Head, but Moeen couldn’t string together consistent overs.Root and Joe Denly bowled 26 overs between them, with Denly’s legspin at times looking the most threatening of England’s options and he should have had Head stumped on 46 but Jonny Bairstow couldn’t stay low in his stance to gather the ball. That was not overly costly in terms of runs, but with the ball not swinging and the pitch slow England lacked inspiration.Chris Woakes only bowled seven overs in the day but was the man to finally dislodge Smith for 142, driving at the second new ball to leave his match tally 286 runs – just the fourth time a batsman has made two scores over 140 in a Test. Having started the day on 46 the half-century arrived early and any thought England would have found a magical formula overnight went out the window. He went to lunch on 98 and in the second over after the break drove Broad imperiously through the covers. This time the celebrations were a touch more subdued: he was just back doing what he loves.When Smith fell Australia’s lead was 241 and England might have had one final hope if the new ball had scuttled the lower order, but there was not enough left in the tank of the seamers. Root was back on with the ball six overs old, which allowed Wade and Tim Paine to pretty much do as they pleased.Where Smith had been methodical in everything he did, Wade was more attacking from the outset – the method which has served him so well during prolific domestic and Australia A form. He took advantage of some friendly half-volleys from Denly to get his innings going and did not have to contend with the swing that troubled him on the first day. Early in his innings he was bringing out the reverse sweep although Root did beat him on occasion, which rather went to highlight Moeen’s problems.On 69, Wade was saved by the DRS when given lbw to Broad, another poor decision from Joel Wilson given it was the hard new ball and had struck Wade above the pad. It was fitting that such an enterprising century was reached with a reverse sweep and Wade embraced his captain, and Tasmania team-mate, Paine in a moment of significance for both men who find themselves in positions they could scarcely have imagined.The pair added 76 in 13 overs as England largely abandoned hope of bowling Australia out. Stokes hurled himself into a big-hearted seven-over spell and eventually had Wade caught at deep backward square leg, then Paine fell in the next over to a ripping offbreak from Moeen that spun through the gate. While that was a boost for Moeen, it probably did more good for the Australian dressing room.The leather-chasing wasn’t over either as Pattinson avoided a pair and enjoyed the freedom to play his shots. One, in particular, will have given him great satisfaction when he launched Nottinghamshire team-mate Broad high over long-on and he also clobbered the last ball of the innings into the stands. It was a chastening day for England, but what happens on Monday could have an even greater bearing on the series.

Former allrounder to replace Matt LeBlanc when filming of new series gets underway in the coming months

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2018Andrew Flintoff has been handed arguably the most prestigious role of his post-cricket career, after being unveiled as one of the new hosts of the BBC’s long-running car show, Top Gear.Flintoff, who retired from cricket in 2009, was named on Monday morning alongside Paddy McGuinness, the host of the ITV dating show Take Me Out. He will replace the outgoing Matt LeBlanc when filming for the 27th series of the show gets underway in the coming months.”It’s not often you have the chance to do both of your dream jobs, but I’m now lucky enough to say I will have,” said Flintoff. “I’ve always been passionate about cars and I’m so excited to be joining the Top Gear team.”Flintoff, who retired from Test cricket in 2009, has forged a successful media career in recent years, including a regular team captain role on the Sky panel show A League of Their Own, and a BBC Five Live podcast, Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy.His specialist knowledge of vehicles hasn’t had quite the same airing. He hit the headlines earlier this year after discovering his 6ft4in frame was too large to fit into a new Lamborghini for which he had just forked out GBP100,000.And in 2014, he successfully pleaded “exceptional hardship” in overturning a driving ban for speeding, arguing that it would affect those who rely on his “extensive charity work”, as well as the privacy of his three children.The vehicle with which he is most synonymous, however, is arguably the pedalo that he capsized in St Lucia during the 2007 World Cup, a fact that will no doubt be a recurring theme of a show that has long revolved around the interplay between its hosts.Top Gear’s original trio of hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, departed the show en masse in 2015, with Chris Evans signed to front the show alongside LeBlanc before departing after one series.Flintoff and McGunness reportedly impressed BBC bosses with their “infectious” chemistry during secret auditions at a test track near London.Patrick Holland, the controller of BBC Two, said: “This is a thrilling manoeuvre from the Top Gear team and I’m relishing what this trio will deliver. Both Paddy and Freddie love their cars but, more than that, they’ll bring a new energy and competitive spirit to Top Gear.”

Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat has declared his board’s support for the introduction of two divisions in Test cricket

Tim Wigmore08-Aug-2016Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat has declared his board’s support for the introduction of two divisions in Test cricket, as debate intensifies about the future of the game.”Test cricket is already fading and will die if nothing is done,” Lorgat said. “South Africa would support a two-tier Test system in order to create meaningful context for Test match cricket. Currently there is little or no meaning when countries play against each other in bilateral Test matches, save for the Ashes.”The model of two division Test cricket devised by the ICC would feature seven teams in division one and five in division two, with each team playing a series either home or away against the others in their divisions over a two-year cycle. The standings would then be used to determine the overall winner of the Test league, and promotion and relegation between the two divisions. The winners of the Intercontinental Cup, the first-class competition for Associate nations, would also be able to win promotion to division two.”A two-tier system with promotion and relegation will allow for a much better narrative plus two more teams will have the opportunity to play Test match cricket,” Lorgat said. “The Test league can also link down to the Intercontinental Cup where again promotion and relegation will create context and opportunity for other countries.”The news that South Africa endorse the two division plan follows officials from Australia, England and New Zealand supporting the proposals, which are favoured by ICC chief executive David Richardson.Although Anurag Thakur, the president of the BCCI, recently voiced his opposition to two divisions, some other Full Members remain hopeful that the plans could yet pass. Any change would need the vote of seven of the ten Full Members on the ICC board, and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also expressed their opposition to two divisions. One insider said that they believed that Pakistan lean towards supporting two divisions, but Zimbabwe are believed to be reluctant.West Indies have still not decided on their stance. “At this point in time the West Indies Cricket Board does not have enough information to make an informed decision,” Dave Cameron, the president of the WICB, said. “However in world football there are no divisions with over 200 nations participation, and so off the bat we cannot see the need for divisions if we have 12 teams participating in Test cricket.”While Thakur said that the BCCI was worried that “the smaller countries will lose out” under the proposals, Lorgat does not think this would be the case. As well as Associate nations benefiting from the introduction of promotion and relegation, he also said that lower-ranked Full Members, like Bangladesh, could stand to gain from the reforms. “In the proposed system they will have certainty of Test fixtures compared to now when they are at the mercy of countries playing against them.” Sides in division two would also be free to organise extra matches against division one teams.The ICC is due to meet in Dubai next month for a special meeting to discuss comprehensive reforms to the structure of cricket, including the introduction of two divisions in Tests, a 13-team ODI league and ratifying bringing the World T20 back to a once-in-two-years event.

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.

Delhi Police has said it arrested Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – all Rajasthan Royals bowlers – for the alleged fulfilling of promises made to bookmakers during this year’s IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2013Delhi Police has said it arrested Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – all Rajasthan Royals bowlers – for the alleged fulfilling of promises made to alleged bookmakers during this year’s IPL. The players were allegedly promised money ranging from US$36,000 to 109,000 for each over.Eleven bookies have also been arrested. One of the middlemen has been identified as Jiju Janardhan, described by the police as Sreesanth’s close friend and team-mate at the Ernakulam club. They have all been taken into police custody for five days.Neeraj Kumar, the commissioner of Delhi Police, provided a detailed explanation of its investigation, which began in early April, but said it had no evidence to suggest any other player, administrator or team owner was involved. It has registered cases under the Indian Penal Code section 420 and 120B, which deal with fraud, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. Kumar said Sreesanth was picked up from Carter Road in Bandra, a Mumbai suburb. Chandila was arrested outside a hotel where an alleged bookie was staying. Chavan was picked up from the Royals team hotel in Mumbai.The police has identified the three matches where the alleged fix happened: against Pune Warriors on May 5, Kings XI Punjab on May 9 and Mumbai Indians on May 15. Kumar said the deal was for the bowlers to concede a specified minimum number of runs in a pre-decided over. He explained in detail how the deals were struck, how the players allegedly indicated to the bookmakers that the deal was on, and how they went on to concede those runs. He said the police has the recordings of those tapped phone conversations.Kumar said the police’s investigation began with tip-offs that the Mumbai underworld was involved in cricket corruption. He said their earlier investigations revealed the three named players were in constant touch with illegal bookmakers, and they waited for them to go through their respective fixes before they arrested them. He said the police has been investigating this since early April.Chandila was alleged to have conceded 14 predetermined runs in his second over against Warriors on May 5, but he forgot to indicate to the alleged handlers he was going to do so. The police said he was pulled up after the game, and was asked to return the advance of Rs 20 lakh (US$36,512).Sreesanth, the police said, was alleged to have made the appropriate signal, which was to ask for a towel that he would tuck inside his trousers before bowling his second over against Kings XI on May 9. He was also alleged to have been asked to waste some time so that the bookies can accept bets. This wasn’t a new spell, the police said, but Sreesanth asked for the towel and also did fresh warm-ups and stretching exercises before he began the over.The police alleged Sreesanth had promised to concede 14 runs in that over. He went for 13. The police said the bookies leave themselves a bit of cushion in these deals to cover for external factors. Kumar said the bookies still made crores of rupees through that over. Sreesanth was promised Rs 40 lakh (USD 73,024). Sreesanth wasn’t given another over in the match.Kumar said they then waited for Chavan to go ahead with his fix, which he said happened in the match against Mumbai, in Mumbai on May 15. The police alleged that Chandila was the go-between man for this deal, and that he spent the whole day training Chavan for the over. Chavan went for just two in his first over, but conceded 15 in his second, the third of Mumbai’s innings.Chavan’s signal, the police said, was to fiddle with his wristband. The police said Chandila spoke to a bookie soon after the match, and said that the money – Rs 60 lakh (US$109,521) – should be delivered to him and not Chavan. Kumar said this was the point at which they went ahead with the arrest.Kumar said their investigators went to the grounds so that they could keep an eye on the signals before the allegedly corrupt overs. He said the police was sure the indicators were consistent with the pre-decided signal. He also said the fixed overs were supposed to be the respective bowlers’ second overs, irrespective of whether their side was bowling first or second. The only pre-requisite was to let the bookies know the deal was on, which they did through their signals.Kumar hinted at underworld and overseas connections, but refused to name anybody. He also said the anti-corruption unit employed by the cricket organisers was not aware of what was going on. He said more arrests – of bookies, and not players – could be expected in the coming days.