A light-hearted cheer went up near the Prindville Stand around six in the evening. Umpire Billy Bowden turned down a loud appeal from Mitchell Johnson, when he yorked Rahul Dravid, and a small section of the crowd responded with, “We want Bucknor, we want Bucknor”. It was one of the few noises made on a rather quiet day, one where a genteel wave swept across the WACA.It’s been a tumultuous week but the events of the first day – for most of it at least – were disconcertingly slow. The anti-climax surrounding the pitch didn’t help but you would still expect some noise, at least from the grass banks. Things picked up towards the evening, especially with Australia fighting back with wickets, and a few spectators were even warned. One cheekily held a banner that read, “No more monkey abuses” and was promptly told to pack it in. Another tried his best to stir up the crowd but was led out of the ground when he began to swear.A crowd of about 16,000 watched the first day’s play. It’s worthwhile pointing out what had to say about the very first Test in Perth, back in December 1970. “It was perfectly organised, and nearly 85,000 spectators saw it. That number was nearly twice that at Brisbane, and gate receipts in the region of £50,000 were almost three times as large.” Thirty seven years since and the atmosphere seems to have diminished.The Australian cricketers behaved like schoolboys sitting on the front bench. The ferociously quick Shaun Tait actually apologised to Sachin Tendulkar after appealing for a caught-behind decision. No-one else appealed since it had rapped his forearm. There was soon another appeal against Tendulkar, a really close shout from Andrew Symonds, but the reactions were a sight for the times: Symonds cursed himself, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Clarke turned around to chat about it, and Ricky Ponting let out a gentle apologetic kick.And if the atmosphere got heated at all, there was the quiz show to divert the attention. Through the day, every ten minutes or so, a question would be asked over the public announcement system, urging spectators to send in their responses. Just as Brett Lee seemed to be setting up Tendulkar in a fine spell, we were asked, ‘Which Australian fielder has the most number of catches?’ Talk of enjoying a good contest.It was a fine day for cricket: hot, bright and pleasantly windy. Justin Langer was out there first thing in the morning and subconsciously started to step towards the middle of the pitch, tempted to indulge in some shadow practice. Soon he realised he was in his leather boots, not spikes, and didn’t need to practice at all. “The umpire looked up at me in a funny way and I thought, ‘This is not your stage any more’. I then just watched Ricky Ponting go through the motions.”Half an hour before the toss Langer was in the thick of the action, presenting Chris Rogers with his baggy green cap. It’s been more than a year since he retired but Australia’s next crop of openers isn’t allowing us to forget his style: Phil Jaques turned into a like-for-like replacement and Rogers, in Adam Gilchrist’s words, isn’t attractive but effective.Kerry O’Keeffe, the former Australian legspinner who regaled the press and corporate guests during lunch, felt Rogers had shown how colour-blindness wasn’t an impediment to Test cricket. He also reminded everyone of how John Rogers, Chris’ dad, played a few games for New South Wales. “There’s Gilchrist from New South Wales and now Rogers,” he said with the distinctive laugh that’s thrilled radio audiences across the country. Wonder what O’Keefe thought of Clarke’s latest crew cut, in light of his recent comments about NSW players being given a bottle of hydrogen peroxide along with their state caps.

Thx Gilly
The sign-writers had either had a tip-off or worked late last night because when the public rocked up to the Adelaide Oval today the advertising hoardings from his mobile phone sponsor read “Thx Gilly”, echoing similar signs for Australia’s Ashes departees, Glenn, Shane and Justin.Gilly fires at Billy
It was the only four of Adam Gilchrist’s 18-ball stay but wasn’t short on shock value. Gilchrist latched on to a full ball and drilled it straight down the ground, bulleting nearly two feett over the non-striker’s stumps. Umpire Billy Bowden could have been threatened with decapitation had he stood his ground but showed sharp reflexes to duck and swerve. 41 fours were struck in Australia’s innings but this was a potential umpire killer.Catch and clap
Virender Sehwag’s sharp catch to dismiss Gilchrist prompted a mighty sigh in the ground but the fielder seemed to realise the value of the moment. Sitting cross-legged, he began to applaud as Gilchrist began his walk to the pavilion. As the rest of the fielders stood beside him and saluted a champion, Sehwag, ball in hand, clapped heartily.Scores level, play halted
Soon after Andrew Symonds flicked a ball away to midwicket to get Australia to 526, a masked spectator jumped over the fence at the Cathedral End and pranced around the outfield. Policemen surrounded him as the crowd roared but he was up to the task for a while, dodging a couple of cops like a rugby pro.Just as he was overpowered, another spectator jumped in, this time with an Australian flag. He didn’t make any dodging attempts, though, and was led out without too much fuss. A third was merely pitiful: he didn’t even make it as far as the boundary rope, stopping to admire himself for getting onto the grass, before he was apprehended.A case of dropsy
Australia’s fumbles continued when they came out to bowl. Michael Clarke was the culprit when, with Virender Sehwag on two, he spilled a straightforward chance off Brett Lee at second slip. Visibly nervous he appeared to have the ball covered before letting it slip through his fingers.India fumbled too. Two days’ fielding in the sun must have made Anil Kumble sleepy. He was hardly awake at midwicket when he dropped a sitter – some wag shouting “You’ve got to have at least one eye open, Kumbles” – to allow Mitchell Johnson to enhance his batting average, albeit briefly.From Bradman to Dravid … in one stroke
Johnson began his innings with a Bradman-esque average of 99. Getting off the mark with a back-cut four, he passed the 100-mark and soon equalled Andy Ganteaume’s average of 112, the highest for any Test cricketer. He couldn’t do much more, though, and, trying to clear the field with a slog-sweep, holed out to long-on. Immediately his average dipped to a more Dravid-esque 56. A classic double-or-quit situation on a cricket field.

Australia’s cricketers have been issued an ultimatum by the Indian Premier League (IPL) – sign up by the Sunday deadline or stay out for three years. And in a move that might undermine Cricket Australia’s authority, Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, has indicated Australian players can take part in the tournament without “no objection certificates” from Cricket Australia, contrary to an earlier guideline that players needed permission from their respective national boards.”They [the players] are running out of time,” Modi told the . “I am not the type that won’t follow through with what I say: if the contracts are not signed and returned by Sunday the Australian players will not be allowed to take part in the IPL for three years. We are taking a list to owners on Monday.”Each franchise has a US$5 million cap for its team, and the contracts are for three years, so when they bid for players at the auction they will use up all of their cap – there will be no money to buy other players later. We will gladly take the Australian players without no objection certificates, we don’t want to go down that path but if we have to, we will.”The move comes on the heels of a tussle between the Indian board-run IPL and Cricket Australia over corporate issues. Cricket Australia is reluctant to let its contracted players appear for teams having competing sponsors to its own.Modi has stated continually that Cricket Australia’s demands over sponsor protection can’t be met, and this latest statement could increase the rift. A few Australian players such as Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds have also voiced their disappointment over Cricket Australia’s interference.With big money at stake, the tournament is too tempting for players to ignore, and many believe it could lead to an exodus. ”The cricket world is going to have to respond to the IPL given its magnitude,” the IPL’s Australian-based agent Neil Maxwell told the . ”I know [Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive] Paul Marsh made the logical suggestion that ultimately there needs to be a six-week window carved out of the playing itinerary, the Future Tours Programme.”Otherwise players will be leaving. Players will be retiring. Unfortunately at the moment we have a conflict. If that is taken out, there won’t be conflict.” Australia’s international schedule clashes with the IPL, but the players might be free if the tour to Pakistan doesn’t happen.

Man of the dayFew cricketers have deserved a day in the sun quite like Ryan Sidebottom. Dismissed for so long as a one-cap wonder after his solitary appearance at Lord’s in 2001, he never got a sniff of a recall in the Duncan Fletcher days, despite taking 50 wickets a season on a regular basis for Nottinghamshire. He was nothing more than a trundler, so the reasoning went, but he’s trundled into the record-books in this game. With his father, Arnie, watching from the stands, he picked up England’s 11th hat-trick in Test history, and the first since his new-ball partner, Matthew Hoggard, in Barbados four years ago.Dismissal of the dayThe hat-trick was special, but there was another wicket that fell in the intervening over that arguably made even more of a difference. Brendon McCullum had emerged to a rousing reception, two places higher than his customary No. 7 position. The intention was clear – New Zealand wanted quick runs to set up a challenging declaration – but that wasn’t quite how it mapped out. McCullum blocked his first ball from Monty Panesar, then mowed his second, high and hard over deep midwicket. But he didn’t connect as sweetly as intended, and Andrew Strauss made good ground to complete another excellent catch. The wobble was now fully on.Catch of the day No. 1It doesn’t take much for the vultures to start circling around Hoggard’s career. One off-colour game and the talons have quickly been extended, but at the age of 31, he demonstrated his enduring athleticism with an outstanding pluck at deep midwicket. Jamie How connected sweetly, as he has done all summer, but Hoggard judged the flight and his run to perfection. He galloped 20 metres, leapt at the last possible moment, and got both hands to the offering with both feet off the ground. It was an outstanding moment, reminiscent of Darren Gough’s outfield extravagances, and it gave England just a sniff of salvation.Catch of the day No. 2What is the matter with Alastair Cook? It seems only last week that England had to hide him in the field. Every catch that came his way was juggled at least three times, and even strokes along the ground were an invitation for error. But now he’s leaping like a spawning carp every time the ball comes close, and Ryan Sidebottom would not be celebrating his maiden Test hat-trick without his incredible efforts at gully. If his first was good then his second was spectacular, a full lift-off to his left to pouch a fizzing edge from Mathew Sinclair. It was his fifth of the match, and every one has been a collector’s item.Shot of the dayUntil their innings started to go pear-shaped, New Zealand’s destiny was in the hands of their former captain, Stephen Fleming, who struck the ball as sweetly as ever during his 88-ball 66. Some of his driving was as languid and elegant as David Gower’s, with whom he shares a birthday, but it was his pick-up for six off Steve Harmison that really took the breath away. It was short and misdirected, but helped on its way over fine leg with dismissive insouciance. He’s got four more innings before he calls time on his career, but on this evidence, he could endure for several seasons yet.Unexpected acceleration of the dayThe pace of New Zealand’s innings and the drama of their collapse made the grind and shuffle of England’s effort seem like a long-distant memory. But their 11-hour, 867-dot-ball stodgefest really did happen. And Paul Collingwood really did score from just 29 of the 182 balls he faced in a four-hour 66. And so it took everyone by surprise when, in the 157th over of the innings, he galloped down the track to Daniel Vettori and deposited him coolly over long-off for six. Like Kevin Pietersen on the third day, it was a lone statement of aggression.

Taslim Arif, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman, died in Karachi at the age of 53 after succumbing to a lung infection.Arif made his Test debut initially as a batsman, scoring 90 and 46 on debut against India in 1980. He went on to play five more Tests as a wicketkeeper though the most significant achievement of his career was his marathon 210 not out against Australia in Faisalabad, which at that point of time was the highest score by a wicketkeeper in Tests. His performance came on a flat pitch and prompted Dennis Lillee to make the famous remark about Faisabalad being a graveyard for bowlers.It was his misfortune, however, to be a Pakistan keeper during the time of Wasim Bari and by the end of 1980, he had played his last Test. Still, his career figures make for impressive reading: 501 runs from six Tests at 62.62. He also played two ODIs against West Indies before he signed for Kerry Packer’s World Series in Australia, where he played in one season.He continued playing successfully for National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) retiring eventually in 1988. After his playing days, Arif remained involved in the game, working as a batting consultant for NBP and a selector for Karachi, his home city, where he was a regular face on the cricket circuit. He also ran an academy with former Test spinner Tauseef Ahmed and was a regular commentary voice for domestic and international matches for local radio and TV.Pakistan fans would have heard him last a few weeks back, commentating on a Pentangular trophy match between Sindh and NWFP for a local sports channel.

A match that’s already witnessed a slew of records saw Rahul Dravid become the sixth batsman in Test history to break the 10,000-run barrier. He reached the landmark with a clip towards midwicket off Morne Morkel and raised his arms aloft mid-way through the run.He reached the milestone in the 119th over of the first innings, when he went from 79 to 80. There was a standing ovation from the audience at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, a ground where he is yet to get a century. He acknowledged the cheers from the dressing-room and also received a congratulatory hug from Sourav Ganguly at the non-striker’s end.Dravid joined two other Indians – Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar – in the list, which also contains Steve Waugh, Allan Border and Brian Lara. Dravid managed to reach the mark in his 120th Test, in a career that began in 1996. 23 of those runs, though, came for the ICC World XI against Australia in October 2005During the course of the innings Dravid also became the first batsman play 150 innings while batting at No.3. Though his was a sedate knock, his 268-run second-wicket partnership with Virender Sehwag allowed India a chance to harbour hopes of an unlikely win.

Match facts

Thursday, May 15 to Monday, May 19, 2008
Start time 11.00 (local), 10.00 (GMT)

The Big Picture

It’s the start of a new English summer, but the resumption of a familiar and unexpectedly intriguing tussle. This is the 11th consecutive international fixture between England and New Zealand, and there will have been 19 in a row by the end of the one-day international series in June. Nevertheless, familiarity has not yet bred contempt, and both sides enter this Test with plenty to prove after the hits and misses of their previous three-Test encounter in March. England emerged triumphant on that occasion after losing embarrassingly in the first match at Hamilton, and start once again as favourites, but nothing suits the Kiwis better than being written off as no-hopers. And no venue inspires touring sides more effectively than Lord’s.

Test form guide

England – WWLDDL
New Zealand – LLWWWL

Watch out for …

Ryan Sidebottom The Man of the Series in New Zealand, where he took hat-tricks, career-bests and every plaudit available. He’s just been named as England’s Player of the Year for 2007, after picking up 53 wickets in 12 Tests, and will be looking to make 2008 even more special.Brendon McCullum Arguably the most explosive attacking batsman in the world today. He made 96 on his last visit to Lord’s in 2004, but has yet to make a century against senior Test opposition. Last month’s incredible unbeaten 158 in the IPL, however, showed just what he can do when the mood takes him.Aaron Redmond New Zealand’s top order was the weak link during the home series defeat, and the loss of Stephen Fleming has exacerbated the problem. Nevertheless, Redmond, who is set to make his debut, has a watertight technique and a burning desire to occupy the crease come what may. His six-and-a-half hour 146 against the England Lions demonstrated his abilities.

Team news

As expected, England named an unchanged eleven for the third match running, with Matthew Hoggard missing out. Andrew Flintoff might have been back in the fold had his side strain not postponed his comeback, but the coach, Peter Moores, is keen to reward the players who turned the team around in New Zealand.England 1 Andrew Strauss, 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Tim Ambrose (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Ryan Sidebottom, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar.New Zealand, on the other hand, are expected to make sweeping changes, both personnel and positional. There are three changes in the top order from the Napier defeat, with Stephen Fleming retired, and Matthew Bell and Mathew Sinclair omitted. Redmond comes in for his debut, along with the Northern Districts rookie, Daniel Flynn, while James Marshall is recalled at No. 3. Oram returns in place of Grant Elliott, but with McCullum moving up to No. 5, he slips into the conventional allrounder’s slot of No. 7. Vettori plays despite requiring stitches in his spinning finger last week.New Zealand (probable) 1 Jamie How, 2 Aaron Redmond, 3 James Marshall, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum, 6 Daniel Flynn, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Chris Martin.

Stats and trivia

New Zealand have won just eight of their 91 Tests against England, but four of those have come away from home including at Lord’s in 1999 en route to a memorable series win.Tim Southee, who made his debut at Napier in March, scored more runs in a single innings (77) than his probable new-ball partner, Chris Martin, has managed in 40 Tests (74 runs at 2.55).

Quotes

“I do expect to win, but we’re not going to underestimate them. They’re a good bowling unit and they scrap very hard.”
England’s coach, Peter Moores, talks up his side’s prospects
“They are just a steady side and on their day they can be a very good side.”
New Zealand’s Chris Martin hits back.

In their first two trips to the World T20 Qualifier, Papua New Guinea experienced more than their fair share of heartache.In 2012, it was the Americas representatives who tormented them. Canada held off a late charge from Geraint Jones and Mahuru Dai in defense of 167 to win by six runs. Five days later against Bermuda, captain Rarua Dikana had the ball in his hand tasked with protecting 15 runs off the final over with Bermuda five down but he gave up three straight sixes to Janeiro Tucker. It meant PNG finished in fourth place in Group A, one spot out of the playoff positions.In 2013, PNG made it to the playoffs and defeated Namibia in their first knockout game to come within one more win of a berth at the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh. In their way stood Hong Kong, a team they had defeated in the previous year’s qualifier by six wickets chasing down a total of 131 with a ball to spare. Hong Kong was pinned down in the rematch at 19 for 4 and only managed 139, but with a ticket to Bangladesh in their grasp, PNG stumbled to 108.The memories of those heartaches are now serving as fuel for inspiration at the qualifier for the pacific island nation. PNG captain Jack Vare says that this time around he’s hoping the team’s fortunes will change to get them over the hump and into next year’s World Twenty20 in India.”We have missed out in the last two tournaments in Dubai,” Vare told ESPNcricinfo ahead of PNG’s first match of the tournament on Sunday against Jersey. “Everyone is growing arms and legs. There’s a lot of experience in this time. Third time lucky I guess but everyone is confident that we will do well in this competition.”PNG’s build-up to this tournament included a magnificent four-day win over the Netherlands on their Intercontinental Cup debut, with Assad Vala and Dai spearheading the pursuit of a fourth innings target of 305. Though they lost the subsequent WCL Championship fixtures against the Dutch, PNG eased into T20 mode with four games against a pair of County second XIs. In one match, PNG racked up 268 for 3 versus Gloucestershire’s 2nds, a reminder of their potent top order featuring Lega Siaka and Tony Ura.”I think the biggest challenge we go through is from playing longer forms to shorter formats,” Vare said. “Most people know we play a lot of shorter formats but we are trying our best to develop all forms of the game. Playing in our first four-day game and to win that was a big experience for us and a special day.”PNG leaves no stone unturned in preparation as Coach Dipak Patel observes sliding practice during training at Bready CC•Peter Della Penna

PNG’s players have also accumulated experience playing in the Australian Country Cricket Championships as well as the South Australia Premier League. Getting access to better facilities and opponents within the Australasia region has helped lift up their skills and their confidence levels.”Playing in the competition in the South Australian Premier League gives us more experience and more exposed to the outside cricket world what’s happening,” Vare said. “Everyone has been doing well. We’ve been on the road for 18 months in preparation for this tournament. I’m more confident. I’ve got a good side, more mature side coming into this tournament.”PNG is the final team to play their first match of the tournament and on tap for them on Sunday at Bready is Jersey. Coach Dipak Patel and other members of the PNG squad were in attendance to see Jersey’s triumph by nine-wickets over Hong Kong on Saturday, a fresh reminder not to underestimate any opposition. Vare says the team is well-prepared and not about to be caught off guard whoever stands in front of them.”There’s no doubt teams will come and compete hard but we’ll focus on the job at hand,” Vare said. “We won’t look ahead too much. We’ll take every game as it comes and concentrate on our roles as individuals and as a group. That’s our major important thing to do playing top teams. We won’t take any team lightly.”

All-round efforts from R Vinay Kumar and J Suchith ensured that Karnataka overcame a middling batting effort to register a 38-run win over Haryana in Bangalore. The defending champions lost Mayank Agarwal in the first over after being put in to bat but looked to recover through partnerships between KL Rahul, debutant Sadiq Kirmani and Manish Pandey. They collapsed from 99 for 2 to 104 for 6 in the space of three overs, with Yuzvendra Chahal accounting for Rahul and Karun Nair off consecutive deliveries in the 28th over. Two partnerships of 58 and 54, between Stuart Binny and Suchith and later Vinay Kumar and and Suchith lifted the score past 200. Suchith scored 46 off 63 deliveries while Vinay Kumar struck a 30-ball 41. Harshal Patel was Haryana’s most expensive bowler but also picked up four wickets for 62 runs.By the fourth over, Haryana’s chase had been reduced to 10 for 3. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dagar tried to stabilize the innings with an 86-run partnership for the fourth wicket, but Karnataka kept chipping at the wickets. Dagar finished unbeaten on 96 and watched from the other end as Haryana were bowled out for 204 in the 47th over.VA Jagadeesh’s fourth List A century helped set up Kerala‘s 60-run win over Railways in Alur. The opening batsman struck 121 off 137 balls to lead Kerala to 256, although the side suffered due to a cluster of late wickets. Anureet Singh had the best returns for Railways, claiming 4 for 40 off his 10 overs. The Kerala bowlers then combined to bowl out Railways for 196. Saurabh Wakaskar and Arindam Ghosh scored 77 and 53 respectively but the rest of the batsmen could not match their efforts as the side was bowled out in the 44th over.

The BCCI’s ombudsman Justice AP Shah has asked Sourav Ganguly to respond, by January 28, to an allegation of conflict of interest relating to his role on the IPL governing council. The allegation, received by Shah from a member of the public, is that Ganguly has a commercial tie-up with the RP Sanjiv Goenka group, which has a stake in the Atletico de Kolkata football club in Indian Super League (ISL) and, in December, secured the ownership rights to run the Pune franchise in the IPL.Shah has also written to BCCI president Shashank Manohar and general manager (game development), Ratnakar Shetty, seeking a BCCI response by January 27.”This letter is a formal complaint against Mr Sourav Ganguly, an administrator who is currently the President of Cricket Association of Bengal and also member of IPL Governing Council,” Mumbai-based activist Niraj Gunde wrote in an emailed letter to Shah, comprising 19 pages where he has given details of the ATK structure.”According to Wikipedia, Atletico de Kolkata (commonly abbreviated as ATK), is an Indian Super League football franchise, based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The team is owned by Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd. which consists of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, Spanish La Liga club Atletico Madrid, alongside businessman Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka and Utsav Parekh. This means the RPG group are partners with Mr Sourav Ganguly in another commercial venture. It is a clear case of conflict of interest which was not disclosed by Mr. Sourav Ganguly when RPG group bid and won the IPL team Pune Franchise for 2 years during October/November 2015,” Gunde wrote to Shah, accessed by ESPNcricinfo.This is the first high profile case filed with Shah, who was appointed by the BCCI last November as part of reforms initiated by Manohar.In his email to Ganguly, sent on Thursday and which was also accessed by ESPNcricinfo, Shah wrote: “The Office of the Ombudsman has received an application from Mr Niraj Gunde (cc-ed) on 13.01.2016, making certain allegations regarding conflict of interest against yourself. A copy of the application, numbered Application No 1 of 2016, is attached. Please provide your response to the same within two weeks from today, i.e., by 28.01.2016.”Sourav Ganguly, president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, is also a co-owner of the football franchise Atletico de Kolkata•AFP

A similar note was dispatched to Manohar and Shetty, via an email, asking them to respond the day before the deadline set for Ganguly expires. Incidentally, Manohar had defended Ganguly when the new franchises were announced last year stating that, “According to me there is not [a conflict of interest] because this is a transparent bidding concept.”Gunde’s accusation comes close on the heels of the Lodha Committee report, which laid heavy emphasis on getting rid of various conflict-of-interest situations prevalent within the BCCI as well as state association. The report detailed, across five pages, conflict issues and its various forms, and illustrated with various examples where the BCCI and state association administrators, employees, players, selectors and commentators could be in breach of the various rules.A case of indirect conflict, the committee said, could be: “C is a Member of the IPL Governing Council. The IPL enters into a contract with a new franchisee, the Managing Director of which is C’s partner in an independent commercial venture. C is hit by Indirect Conflict of Interest.”That example matches Gunde’s allegation that Ganguly could fall under this definition of conflict of interest. Both Goenka and Ganguly brushed off any suggestions that this is a case of conflict of interest.Incidentally Gunde was one of the people interviewed by the Lodha committee before it submitted its report to the Supreme Court. Last year, Gunde had revealed a picture of BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur in the company of suspected bookie Karan Gilhotra. That had prompted the ICC CEO David Richardson to write a letter to then BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya over an allegation that Thakur was spotted with Gilhotra, who “appears on the ICC ACSU database… following rumours … about his involvement in betting on cricket.” Thakur retaliated through a letter to the then ICC chairman N Srinivasan, alleging a “counter offensive” from the latter, following Thakur’s election as BCCI secretary.