The draft resolution was sent to the state associations, including the Associate BCCI member units, on Sunday, and requires them to affirm that they will implement the Lodha Committee recommendations

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Sep-2017Anticipating appeals for funds for the ongoing domestic and international season in India, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has asked the various state associations to fulfil a draft resolution, wherein they must affirm that they will comply with the Supreme Court order to implement the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.

The draft resolution

Resolved the Name of the Association is agreeable to undertake, implement and support the reforms as proposed by the Hon’ble Justice Lodha Committee and accepted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide judgment dated 18 July 2016 in letter and spirit.
Resolved further that in the event the Hon’ble Supreme Court passes any further orders in relation to the recommendations of the Hon’ble Justice Lodha Committee and/or the judgment dated 18 July 2016, such orders shall also be accepted and implemented within one month thereof.

The CoA sent the draft resolution to the state associations, including the Associate BCCI member units, on Sunday. With India’s home season having got underway earlier in September, many states have already approached the BCCI, as well as the court, asking for funds to pay for cricket operations for hosting matches. In addition to the various domestic tournaments, India’s international commitments at home comprise a total of 11 ODIs, nine T20s and three Tests as they host Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka before departing for South Africa at the end of December.On Monday, the court rejected the appeals of the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) and the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), both of whom had approached the BCCI funds for separate reasons. While the SCA wanted about INR 83 lakhs for cricket expenses, MCA wanted funds to the tune of INR 4 crores, to pay off the installment against a longstanding bank loan.Barring the Vidarbha Cricket Association, which approved the Lodha recommendations without any protest, no other BCCI member has complied with the court order so far. The CoA said despite the resistance, the BCCI had put forth, and will continue to make payments for the “conduct” of the cricket matches. The CoA also said it was “regrettable” that state associations continued to defy the court orders despite such a move having the “potential” to “prejudicially affect cricketing activity.”While the BCCI would continue to take care of the payments concerning cricket operations to third-party vendors, the CoA has said that going forward the state associations need to adopt the draft resolution. “In the hope that the defaulting State Associations would come around and comply with the orders passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, a draft of the resolution that should be passed by the General Body (or an equivalent forum) of the State Association is enclosed,” the CoA said in its e-mail. “By adopting this resolution, the State Associations will enable BCCI to release additional funds to them in a manner compliant with the orders passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.”

Sri Lanka captain “over the moon” after pulling off Abu Dhabi heist

Osman Samiuddin in Abu Dhabi02-Oct-2017The last time Sri Lanka won an away Test against a side ranked higher than them was in June 2014, so long ago not just in years but in what has passed in between, that it really was – as the past is said to be – another country.This last year in particular has been rotten in so many ways, so it was no surprise that a beaming Dinesh Chandimal, still green as a captain, pronounced himself “over the moon” after a magical, against-the-odds win in Abu Dhabi.Chandimal’s epic, first-innings 155 played a major part in the 21-run win over Pakistan, as did his marshaling of his attack and team on a tense final afternoon. In the process Sri Lanka became the first visiting side to win a Test at Zayed stadium. After a thorough drubbing at home by India, there couldn’t have been a sweeter – and more important – result.”The guys gave hard work before the match started, and finally that hard work paid off,” Chandimal said. “As a team, we were below par in our performances [against India], but we have waited for this win and finally we got it. Credit goes to all the players.”They played some really good cricket and I’m sure this can continue throughout the series. We did more work on our fitness and fielding, and discipline. Everyone put their heart and soul into the practices, and the management put lots of hard work in.”A Sri Lanka win was a distant prospect when the final day began – tottering, effectively, on 66 for 4. They had seemed dazed on the fourth afternoon and nothing from their work over the previous months suggested they could recover.But they knew, with Rangana Herath in their attack and Pakistan against him, they needed desperately to put together any score upwards of three-figures to give themselves a chance.”It was a tough time, especially last evening,” Chandimal said. “We were surprised to be four down for 40, or 35. We were surprised, but we thought before play started today that 160-plus would be a winning total.”[Niroshan] Dickwella was outstanding in the second innings to get us to the 140 mark. We all knew the legend Rangana would come into play, and finally he did his best.”That the legend – or “wily old fox” as Chandimal also called him – did. A six-wicket haul, and 11 for the match, included all manner of landmarks – the last was his 400th Test wicket and the penultimate, his 100th against Pakistan.Asked how long he would like Herath to play in his side, given he is nearing 40, Chandimal made a little wish. “I just want him throughout my career.”I have no idea how long he is going to play, but I am sure he will do what he can for the team. Rangana is a team man. He is supportive to me and the players, with what he has learnt from cricket. Every young player goes to talk to him about his bowling and experiences.”

Tamil Nadu walked away with three points by virtue of having taken the first-innings lead, while Odisha’s lower order halted Madhya Pradesh’s push for victory

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2017For a little while, there was the promise of a thrilling finish between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu at the BKC, but it was duly extinguished once Shreyas Iyer’s (138 off 124 balls) pyrotechnics came to an end. Tamil Nadu walked away with three points by virtue of having taken the first-innings lead in the drawn encounter, after Mumbai declared on 371 for 5. Akhil Herwadkar (132) produced a polished effort to bring up his seventh first-class hundred, but it was of little more than academic significance.The only piece of meaningful action came in the morning when Iyer ripped the Tamil Nadu attack. His 11th first-class hundred, breathtaking and calculative in equal measure, took the game forward. With little assistance from the pitch, the bowlers, including R Ashwin, were taken down with ease by Iyer who added four sixes to his five from the third day. The Mumbai batsman brought up his run-a-ball hundred with a four and a six off consecutive deliveries from Yo Mahesh. Iyer then continued to tonk the ball around with slap-pulls and square cuts. However, an ill-advised second run in the 45th over resulted in his dismissal. K Vignesh fired in a strong throw from the deep and despite a dive, Iyer found himself short of the crease.Herwadkar said later that Mumbai didn’t look at declaration given that the pitch didn’t help the bowlers much. “There was hardly any turn,” he said. “We just wanted to bat out the day.” Tamil Nadu captain Abhinav Mukund could empathise with Mumbai’s decision given that it was only their second match of the season. “We were prepared for about 40 or 50 overs. I thought they would put us back,” he said. “But considering they had four more games this season, I think they didn’t want to take the risk.” Ashwin’s 26 overs in the second innings yielded no wickets and he went for over four runs an over, with Iyer and Herwadkar playing him with ease. Abhinav credited the batsmen, but was surprised that the pitch didn’t break up. “There wasn’t as much assistance as I thought there would be on the fourth day,” he said. “It was quite unlike BKC because I thought end third day or the fourth day there will be balls turning. But there was hardly any turn even on the fourth day.” With seven points from three games, Tamil Nadu are now third on the standings, while Mumbai, having played one fewer game, are fourth with four points.Odisha‘s lower order clung on to avoid outright defeat, finishing on 152 for 7 in their second innings after Andhra had enforced the follow-on in Vizianagaram.Resuming their first innings on 294 for 6, Odisha lost Subham Nayak in the first over of the day. However, Biplab Samantray (72) strung useful partnerships of 36 and 49 with Basant Mohanty and Suryakant Pradhan respectively, but Odisha inevitably conceded a lead of 193 runs. Asked to bat again, Odisha got off to a shaky start for the second time in a match, losing Natraj Behera in the fourth over.They lost two more wickets inside the next 13 overs and slipped to 43 for 3. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt, who picked up four wickets in the first dig, accounted for opener Sandeep Pattanaik, Subhranshu Senapati, Saurabh Rawat and Abinash Saha to reduce Odisha to 81 for 6. It was then left to Samantray to mount another rescue mission, as he shared a 50-run partnership with Nayak. Eventually, Samantray finished on an unbeaten 112-ball 62 to ensure Odisha weren’t bowled out and got away with one point. Andhra’s three points, though, have taken them to second place on the standings behind Madhya Pradesh.

The 20-year old showed plenty of stubbornness as South Australia’s attack chipped away at the line-up, en route to taking Tasmania past 200 with a maiden first-class century

Daniel Brettig23-Nov-2017
ScorecardGetty Images

A patient maiden first-class century by Jake Doran allowed Tasmania to avoid being bowled out by South Australia on day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.Doran, who, for much of last summer played as the Tigers wicketkeeper ahead of the current Test gloveman Tim Paine, is now in the team as a batsman alongside the deposed Matthew Wade, and showed good sense and plenty of stubbornness to endure as wickets fell around him.Lacking both Chadd Sayers and the injured Daniel Worrall, the Redbacks still bowled to a high standard, led by three sometime-Australia representatives in Kane Richardson, Joe Mennie and Adam Zampa. They combined to reduce Tasmania to 6 for 140, before Doran found some lower-order help.Tom Rogers hung around to help Doran add 62 for the seventh wicket, ensuring the innings would carry on into the second morning. Jackson Bird, part of the squad for the first Ashes Test, will by then have been parachuted into the Tasmanian XI in place of another bowler.

Both countries will play a combined total of 29 Tests in the next cycle of the Future Tours Programme

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Dec-2017Ireland and Afghanistan’s desire to play consistent Test cricket is on the verge of fulfillment as both countries are scheduled to play a combined total of 29 Tests in the next cycle of the Future Tours Programme (2019-23).Ireland will play 16 Tests while Afghanistan are scheduled to play 13, in a calendar which is due to get a final approval at the ICC annual conference in June 2018.It is a big shot in the arm for both Ireland and Afghanistan, who secured Full Membership in June. Even before the new FTP kicks in, both countries have secured opponents for their maiden Tests. Ireland will host Pakistan in May 2018 in Malahide while Afghanistan are set to travel to India next year with the itinerary likely to be finalised shortly.Ireland and Afghanistan, along with Zimbabwe, are not part of the Test Championship league, which will commence immediately after the 2019 World Cup. Nonetheless, the new FTP allows both to cut their teeth in Test cricket, albeit at a slower pace compared to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – the last three entrants into the format. In their first five years Bangladesh played 40 Tests while Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe played 24 Tests each.Ireland ‘s roster is somewhat richer in comparison to Afghanistan’s in that they play half of the top-nine countries. Ireland are scheduled to play a one-off Test against Australia (2019), Sri Lanka (2020), England (2021) and then host New Zealand and South Africa in 2022. In addition, Ireland will face Afghanistan (5 Tests), Zimbabwe (4 Tests) and Bangladesh (2 Tests).Both Afghanistan and Zimbabwe will play nearly equal number of Tests at home and away. Ireland will play seven home Tests and nine away while Afghanistan seven at home and six away.Presently, Australia are the only upper-tier country to play against Afghanistan in the new FTP. Both countries will play a one-off Test in 2020 and 2022. Afghanistan’s other opponents will be: Ireland (5 Tests), Zimbabwe (4 Tests), Bangladesh (1 Test) and West Indies (1 Test).Zimbabwe are scheduled to play 17 Tests in the four-year cycle. Out of the 17, Zimbabwe will play Bangladesh in six Tests followed by four each against Ireland and Afghanistan, two against Sri Lanka and one against West Indies.Playing fewer Tests and focusing on limited-overs cricket is now part of Zimbabwe Cricket’s restructuring plans.Compared to 17 Tests (12 at home) Zimbabwe will play 40 ODIs and 31 T20s during the next FTP.

The victory was set up by a trio of half-centuries from Ibrahim Zadran, Ikram Ali Khil, and Darwish Rasooli, to set up an imposing total of 284 for 7

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2018Ikram Ali Khil gets off his feet to play a shot during his innings of 55•Getty Images

Reigning Under-19 Asia Cup champions Afghanistan reprised their regional success on a global stage at the World Cup in New Zealand, defeating Sri Lanka by 32 runs on DLS Method in Whangerei. Having already beaten Pakistan in Group D, Afghanistan clinched a place in the quarter-finals for the second time in their history, having done it in 2014 in the UAE before losing to eventual champions South Africa.The success for Afghanistan is also a 180-degree turn from the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, when they were similarly placed in a group with Pakistan and Sri Lanka but were defeated by both sides.

SL’s Kalana Perera out injured

Sri Lanka Cricket has named Thilan Wallekamkanamge as a replacement for left-arm spinner Kalana Perera, who has been ruled out of the World Cup with an ankle injury. Perera had hurt his ankle during a training session on January 16 in Whangarei.

Wednesday’s victory was set up by a trio of half-centuries from Ibrahim Zadran (86 off 112 balls), Ikram Ali Khil (55 off 89 balls), and Darwish Rasooli (63 off 44 balls) to set up an imposing total of 284 for 7. The chase was in the balance when rain arrived after 24 overs with Sri Lanka 108 for 3. A revised target of 127 off the final 14 overs was set when play resumed, and the required run rate jumped from 6.80 to nearly ten an over.Afghanistan’s bowlers seized on this to successfully apply pressure. Captain Naveen-ul-Haq snared two wickets in the first four overs after play resumed, including the well-set Jehan Daniel for Sri Lanka’s eventual top score of 48. Naveen finished with 4 for 35 in eight overs and also effected a run-out.Afghanistan play Ireland in their final Group D match. Sri Lanka play Pakistan with the winner joining Afghanistan in the quarter-finals. A tie or a washout would also put Pakistan into the knockouts due to the net run rate tiebreaker.

Stuart Poynter and Jacob Mulder are the only two players from the recent UAE tri-series to miss out on the 15-man squad for the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in March

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2018William Porterfield will lead an experienced Ireland side in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in March. Cricket Ireland announced their 15-man squad for the event, with more than half the squad – 8 players – having over 100 international caps to their name.Ireland won a tri-nation series in the UAE last week that also included Afghanistan and Scotland, and 13 of the 15 players that were part of that squad make the cut. The only absentees are Stuart Poynter and Jacob Mulder. Poynter’s wife is due to give birth in March, making Mulder the only one who missed out due to tactical reasons.

Ireland’s 15-man squad

William Porterfield (capt), Andy Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien (wk), Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson

27-year old James Shannon, who had a prolific 2017 with Northern Knights, comes back into the side. He will be hoping to add to the solitary cap he won for Ireland nearly five years ago, when he played against Pakistan. Tim Murtagh also returns to the squad after missing out on the tri-nation series.Porterfield, who will be bidding to play in his fourth World Cup in 2019, said: “It’s going to be a really hard-fought tournament with nearly all the sides in with a genuine chance of qualification. There are certainly no ‘gimmes’ in the competition. It’s a pity there are only two places up for grabs.”We’ve got a good record against the Windies, beating them in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, so we’ll take confidence from that. The Netherlands have got some big players back in recent times, so they’ll be tough, while PNG are improving all the time. We will be at full strength for the competition, so hopefully if we play to our strengths we’ll make it through to the United Kingdom in 2019 and our fourth straight World Cup.”Ireland are in Group A of the qualifiers, alongside West Indies, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and the winners of the ICC World Cricket League Division 2. They will need to finish in the top three of Group A to advance to the Super Six stage, then finish in the top two to qualify for the World Cup. The qualifiers run from March 4 to 25 in Zimbabwe.

Aiden Markram led a spirited batting performance with a masterful 143, but Mitchell Starc’s 4 for 74 left Australia on the verge of a series lead

The Report by Brydon Coverdale04-Mar-20182:47

Holding: Markram will get better and better

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBad light stopped them one wicket from victory, but Australia will win the Test on the fifth day at Kingsmead. However, South Africa found a new hero as Aiden Markram created genuine hope from what had seemed a hopeless cause. Set 417 to win, which would have been the second-highest successful chase in Test history, South Africa first collapsed to 49 for 4, and a quick finish seemed all but assured. Instead, Markram fought, counter-attacked, and together with Quinton de Kock took South Africa to within 134 of their target with five wickets in hand. And then it all fell apart.Mitchell Marsh, who had not taken a Test wicket since November 2016, made the breakthrough when Markram tried to glide him past Tim Paine, only to have his thin edge brilliantly snapped up by the wicketkeeper. Thus ended a 147-run partnership between Markram and de Kock, and Australia sensed the chance to run through the tail. Mitchell Starc did just that. He had Vernon Philander caught behind, before his pace and accuracy rattled the stumps of Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada for ducks from consecutive deliveries.But Starc was denied the chance to push for his hat-trick, for the Rabada wicket came from the final ball of an over, and in the meantime the light had deteriorated such that the umpires would only keep the players on the field if Australia bowled spin from both ends. Nathan Lyon and Steven Smith bowled in tandem for nine overs but could not find the final wicket Australia needed, and when the umpires finally decided the light was insufficient even for spin bowling, South Africa were 293 for 9, with de Kock on 81, Morne Morkel yet to score, and their nominal target still 124 runs away.AFP

For Australia, it was a shame the result could not be finalised before stumps. For South Africa, it was a shame that all the hard work put in by Markram and de Kock would come to nothing. And for the coffers of Cricket South Africa, it was a shame they would have to fork out to open the stadium on the fifth day for what could be as little as one ball. Perhaps only one man will be truly happy to come back – Starc, who at length will get the opportunity to bowl for his hat-trick.The morning had started with Australia on 213 for 9 and the last pair, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, added 14 before Cummins chopped on to give Maharaj his ninth wicket of the match. The target of 417 was thus confirmed, just one run short of the all-time highest successful chase in Test history, the 418 achieved by West Indies against Australia in Antigua in 2003. More relevant to South Africa, given that AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla played key roles in it, was the 414 South Africa had chased down to beat Australia in Perth in 2008.But with every early wicket – and there were a lot of them – South Africa’s chances of pulling off another miracle dwindled. Dean Elgar was caught behind off Starc for 9, Amla was lbw to Hazlewood for 8, and Faf du Plessis was bowled through the gate by Cummins for 4. In the meantime came the wicket that rather summed up South Africa’s struggle, when Markram pushed Lyon to square leg and took a couple of steps before sending back AB de Villiers, who had over-committed and was comprehensively run out for a duck at the non-striker’s end.But all along, Markram looked solid. He found allies, first Theunis de Bruyn in an 87-run partnership, and then de Kock. De Bruyn drove well and frustrated the Australians such that Starc was expending just as much energy on his verbal barrage to de Bruyn as he was his bowling. At one point, Starc was so mouthy that he risked missing the next Test through laryngitis, but de Bruyn eventually fell for 36 to a thin edge behind off Hazlewood.Meanwhile, Markram just kept batting. Fittingly for a man whose surname is a palindrome, the results were the same whether Markram played forward or back. He drove handsomely through the covers off front and back foot, and scored runs all around the ground, striking 19 fours on the way to the third century of his short Test career. And, not to disparage the Bangladesh and Zimbabwe oppositions he scored the first two against, this was clearly the innings that will make his name as a Test cricketer.He brought up his century from his 171st delivery with a very risky single pushed to mid-on – a direct hit would have had him run out for 99 – and he went on to finish with 143, the highest fourth-innings score by any batsman in a Test in South Africa since 1995, when Mike Atherton’s unbeaten 185 helped England play out a draw at the Wanderers. Barring a day of heavy rain, which has not been forecast, there will be no such result this time for Markram.The importance of de Kock’s innings should not be forgotten, either. He walked to the crease having not passed fifty in his previous 15 Test innings, but played his natural game and took the attack up to the Australians. His partnership with Markram rattled along at more than four runs an over, and his half-century came from 68 deliveries. De Kock struck 11 fours, but trudged off in the evening gloom knowing that a century was only marginally more likely than South Africa avoiding defeat.