Tag Futebol

India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has said that no decision has been taken on the resumption of cricket ties with Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2011India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has said that no decision has been taken on the resumption of cricket ties with Pakistan, ending for the moment speculation that had grown after last month’s World Cup semi-final in Mohali between the two national teams.India had suspended sporting ties with Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, but relations have thawed since then and the World Cup match was attended by the prime ministers of both nations. At the time Rao – the seniormost bureaucrat in the foreign ministry – had said the Indian government welcomed more sporting contact between the two countries but on Thursday she clarified, via a social networking site, that “no such decision” had been taken.”Have been asked about resumption of cricket ties with Pakistan,” Rao said on Twitter. “Want to clarify no such decision, although sporting contacts may be encouraged.” Rao further added: “Sporting contacts btw (between) India and Pakistan, bar (barring) cricket, have been taking place. This can be encouraged further. Hope I am clear.”The Pakistan board had said, last week, that it had set in motion a process with the BCCI for a bilateral series. A tentative date for the series, being discussed informally, was expected to be after India’s series in Australia, around March 2012, just before the fifth season of the IPL. The BCCI, however, has maintained that it has not received any communication from the government over resuming cricketing ties with Pakistan.

Dinesh Karthik believes India’s powerful batting and flexibility provided by the presence of allrounders will be a major asset in the Caribbean

Siddarth Ravindran29-Apr-2010Dinesh Karthik, India’s reserve wicket-keeper at the World Twenty20, believes the team’s powerful batting and flexibility provided by the presence of allrounders will be a major asset in the Caribbean.India will be missing the services of the injured opener Virender Sehwag but still have some of the finest limited-overs batsmen in their line-up, including Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. Their allrounders include Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja, and the likes of Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma can chip in with a few overs of part-time spin.”Our batting looks very strong, and if the wickets suit the spinners, definitely we have some quality spinners in the side,” Karthik told Cricinfo. “The good part of the Indian team is that they have a lot of bowling allrounders and batting allrounders, which gives us a lot of options.”India had entered the previous World Twenty20 early as one of the favourites, before crashing out early, without wins against any of the top teams. That tournament started less than two weeks after the IPL and the coach Gary Kirsten had said fatigue was one of India’s biggest challenges in England.This time the gap between a gruelling IPL and the World Twenty20 is a mere five days, but Karthik didn’t think the short span between events to be a hindrance. “There is so much cricket now, everybody wants to play the IPL, and everybody wants to play the World Twenty20 and represent the country,” he said. “I’ve never looked at it as burden, I’ve looked at it as opportunities to do well.”He suggested that the plethora of Twenty20 matches in the IPL would make India better prepared for the World Twenty20. “We have played so much cricket in the IPL, that we have seen pretty much every situation in T20s, so we are well equipped to put on a good show.”After a match-winning innings against Rajasthan Royals mid-way through the IPL, his personal form tapered off, but he wasn’t unduly concerned by the lack of runs for Delhi Daredevils. “It’s bound to happen in Twenty20, you might feel you are playing well and suddenly miss out on two or three games and you’ll feel like I have lost form suddenly,” he said. “It’s about how you feel and I’m feeling good about batting, so that’s a plus for me.”Australia and South Africa may be the punters’ favourites, but Karthik picked defending champions Pakistan and hosts West Indies as teams to watch. “I think Pakistan have been one team that has played consistently in the World Cups, reaching two finals, winning one of them,” he said. “West Indies also, they are playing at home and if there’s one format that really suits them, it’s Twenty20 because they have players with flair and calibre.”

Sophie Munro’s four wickets helped defend a target of 135 for their first victory since 2021

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2024Sunrisers pulled off their first victory in the Charlotte Edwards Cup since the start of the 2021 campaign with a surprise three-run victory over holders Southern Vipers at Arundel.Chasing a modest target of 135, the Vipers were clear favourites to repeat their comfortable win over the same opposition at Chelmsford on Friday. And the result did not appear in serious doubt after Australian opener Charli Knott – who had an outstanding all-round game – struck a 41-ball fifty, with six fours, putting on 73 for the first wicket with Georgia Elwiss in 10.4 overs.But in a performance that belied their miserable record in the competition, Sunrisers bowled tightly and fielded ferociously, and Vipers were unable to meet the modest increase in the run-rate that was required of them, as Sophie Munro took 4 wickets for 27 runs.With 32 required from the last three overs the match was still in the balance after key players, captain Georgia Adams and Freya had fallen cheaply, and Elwiss was out after spending 37 balls scoring 33.When Emily Windsor was stumped off the last ball of the 18th over, Vipers still needed 22 off two. And when Alice Monaghan was stumped at the end of the 19th they wanted an unlikely 12 from the final over.Sunrisers were put in to bat and made a solid start through captain Grace Scrivens and Joanne Gardner, who put on 41 in the six over powerplay. In the tenth over they started to accelerate, with Gardner driving Adams for a straight six as 11 came off the over to put them on 66 without loss at the halfway stage.But it all changed in the next over with the fall of three wickets. Gardner drove Freya Davies to Knott at deep mid-off. Her 39-ball 42 included three fours, and that six. And three balls later Scrivens fell to the same combination, with Knott – whose ground fielding was also very impressive – this time fielding at deep midwicket. Two balls later, it was 67 for 3, with the irrepressible Knott striking again, this time to run out Cordelia Griffith, who had just one, with a direct hit from extra cover.Sunrisers had lost three wickets for one run in the space of half a dozen deliveries. It didn’t get any better for them, with Knott threatening to take over the match. Returning to the attack, she dismissed Alice Macleod, who was well caught by the diving Adams at cover for a duck; 68 for 4 in the 12th. Knott conceded just 18 runs in her four overs.After that, a big score was beyond Sunrisers. But Mady Villiers and Jodi Grewcock brought up the hundred in the 17th over, thanks to a 14-run over from Mary Taylor, and Villiers finished unbeaten on 34.Davies was the most successful Vipers bowler with 3 wickets for 22. It was a bad defeat for Vipers, but a memorable win for Sunrisers.

Allrounder’s half-century helps pull off the second highest chase in PSL history

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2023Sometimes crash, bang, wallop is fun. It is the principle on which T20 cricket was founded on (look away, haters) and it came to the fore in an entertaining bout that Islamabad United took by a mere two wickets. Faheem Ashraf produced a powerhouse performance, capped by his hitting three fours and a six in the final over to complete the second-highest chase in PSL history.Multan Sultans would’ve been confident after putting up a total of 205, but they’ll now be thinking back to their own last over which went for zero boundaries but cost two wickets. Until those incredible six balls, yorker specialist Mohammad Wasim had leaked 42 runs. He had to deal with a rampaging Tim David, who was on 60 off 27. Still, he backed himself, went for the blockhole and not only took out Sultans’ biggest hitter, but he also accounted for David Miller off the last ball of the innings.United do this a lot. They are pure T20, led by an allrounder who loves his data and fuelled by batters who give no room for second thought. They lost eight wickets through the course of this chase. They were 32 for 2, 99 for 4 and 159 for 7. But the longest they went without hitting a boundary after each of those dismissals was seven balls. And as penance for that, they hit the eighth and ninth for fours. United kept coming. They kept coming and coming and coming.Colin Munro fixed a top-order wobble with 40 off 21. Usama Mir took him out. Shadab Khan regained the momentum with 44 off 25. Ihsanullah demolished his stumps. Ashraf popped up and with 18 needed off six balls, he went 4, 6, 2, 4, 4. The six in that sequence was a wide yorker that went over deep third, after the left-hander had originally intended to paddle sweep the ball. It was bonkers.Until those final few moments, it felt like Sultans’ game. Shan Masood put on 75 at the top of the order, only he didn’t hit a single six. David came in at No. 4 and compensated for that with a vengeance, clattering four of them off back-to-back balls in a 16th over from Rumman Raees that cost 30 runs. But just as it started to look really bleak, United snuck in an eight-run 19th over from Fazalhaq Farooqi and a six-run 20th over from Wasim and that turned out to be the difference.

Bumrah named vice-captain as most of the regulars who missed the Sri Lanka tour in July return

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-20211:18

Chetan Sharma: ‘KL Rahul has proved his leadership qualities’

Rohit Sharma has failed to recover from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the Test series in South Africa. In his absence, KL Rahul will lead India in the three-match ODI series in South Africa. Jasprit Bumrah has been named the vice-captain of the squad.This was supposed to be India’s first ODI assignment since Rohit was named full-time captain for the format, but Rohit’s recurring hamstring injury has emerged as a bit of a concern. Chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said the decision to not send Rohit to South Africa was taken keeping that frequent injury and important events in mind, including the T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup in the coming two years.”This is the only reason why we have decided to let him work on his rehab, work on his fitness, work on his muscles,” Chetan said. “Nobody gets injured on purpose. This is precisely why we didn’t send him to South Africa because we want him to go back to 100% fitness because there are important events and World Cups coming. That is the reason why he is not going to South Africa, and KL Rahul is the captain.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

India’s 18-man squad welcomed back R Ashwin, who last played an ODI in 2017 but made his comeback into the T20I side earlier in 2021. Venkatesh Iyer received a maiden ODI call-up. As with T20Is, Venkatesh might bat in the middle order and bowl a few overs, a vacancy created by Hardik Pandya’s inability to bowl because of fitness issues.The other allrounder in the squad is Washington Sundar, who missed the T20 World Cup with injury but proved his fitness in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy. Also coming back from injury was Shreyas Iyer, who has since made a successful Test debut too. The other potential allrounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, are yet to recover from injuries sustained during the Test series against New Zealand.That Rahul would lead in Rohit’s absence was expected, seeing that he is the ODI vice-captain, but Chetan said that Rahul was being groomed as a future leader. “We are looking at KL Rahul as a three-format player, and he has got good experience of captaincy,” he said in an online press interaction. “He has proved his leadership qualities. That is what all selectors think. When Rohit is not fit, we thought KL is the best one to handle the side. We have good confidence in him, and we are grooming him.”From India’s last full-strength ODI squad that played England in March, the selectors omitted Kuldeep Yadav, the Pandya brothers Hardik and Krunal, T Natarajan (injured) and Shubman Gill. Deepak Chahar and Ishan Kishan found their way in.KL Rahul has been handed the reins of the ODI squad•Getty Images

Between the England series and this one, India played an ODI series in Sri Lanka too, but it was a second-string side because the main squad was in England to play the World Test Championship final and the Test series against England. Shikhar Dhawan captained that side in Sri Lanka and retained his place, but Prithvi Shaw didn’t. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was part of that squad but didn’t get to play, was retained for the South Africa series.”He’s getting the chance at the right time,” Chetan said of Gaikwad. “He was picked in the T20s and now he’s in ODI squad. Wherever this is space for him, he’s getting picked and selectors are hoping he will do wonders for the country. We have selected him, now it’s up to the management when he plays in the XI and when he’s required in the combinations. He’s doing well and he’s been rewarded for that.”On some of the major names missing, Chetan said, “Mohammed Shami, we are resting him looking at the load management of our faster bowlers. He will definitely be playing the coming series. Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, both are not fit, that’s the reason they are not in South Africa.”Also discussed in the selection meeting, Chetan said, were Ravi Bishnoi, Rishi Dhawan, Shahrukh Khan, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan: “These guys will definitely get their chances in coming times.”ODI squad: KL Rahul (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj

He is disappointed with Apex Council members Gaekwad and Rangaswamy for not doing their bit

Shamya Dasgupta20-Jul-2020Ashok Malhotra, the president of the Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA), has expressed his disappointment with Aunshuman Gaekwad and Shanta Rangaswamy, the association members who are also part of the BCCI’s Apex Council, for not addressing the ICA’s demands.Malhotra, who made his displeasure public with a Facebook video a few days back, said that “unfortunately” the body is dependent on the board to get its work done, and it was the “duty of the Apex Council to deliver” on their obligations.The demands from the ICA are (a) pension for former players who have played less than 25 first-class games, (b) pension for widows of former cricketers, (c) increase in medical insurance from Rs 5 lakh ($6674 approx.] to Rs 10 lakh [$13,348 approx.], and (d) release of the money from the benevolent fund to Manoj Prabhakar, whose ban for match-fixing ended in 2005.”We are answerable to our stakeholders in the ICA, and the Apex Council members are answerable to the ICA,” Malhotra told ESPNcricinfo. “Three Apex Council meetings have been conducted, and these issues are not even in the minutes of those meetings. You talk about IPL, you talk about (administration of the) Bihar Cricket Association, domestic calendar, the FTP… I have nothing to do with it; it’s for the BCCI to do something.”I have been told by my Apex Council colleagues that they did speak to the BCCI president, but outside the meeting, not in the meeting. Outside the meeting counts for nothing. Because it’s not in the agenda. It’s almost ten months, and nothing has been done so far.”Lots of cricketers are 70, 80, they are on the last leg (of their lives), how long can they wait? Anyway, the pension that is given to cricketers amounts to .54% of the overall BCCI expenditure for a year. Even if you double it, it’s 1.08%. We are not asking for much. Of the five [ICA members – Hitesh Majmudar, V Krishnaswamy, Yajurvindra Singh and Rajesh Nayyar are the others] at least listen to one, for god’s sake.”Malhotra made his grievance known to the wider world via the video, where he stressed that “unluckily”, the ICA has been dependent on the BCCI and the Apex Council, which hasn’t worked out too well for it. And that – the public expression of his disenchantment – ended up irking the four other members of the ICA, some of whom have since spoken to sections of the media asking for issues to be dealt with internally.In the video, Malhotra had said, “Last meeting of Apex Council was held long way back and because of coronavirus, yes, they are having difficulties – conference calls, Zoom, whatever – but the fact is that BCCI will have to take a call. It is not in the hands of ICA. ICA can only request and plead, and Apex Council is the one which will have to take the decision. Although there are two ICA members who are Apex Council members, they are in Apex Council because of ICA. And it little bit becomes their responsibility.”I know BCCI has a lot of things on their agenda, like Bihar Cricket Association, they are talking about domestic cricket, a whole lot of things. [But], I as ICA president, ICA as a whole, we are not really concerned about it. We are more concerned about what we are asked to do. And that is the duty of Apex Council, to deliver. I am saying again and again because we are getting a lot of questions, we are answerable to the stakeholders. We are really, really answerable. And ICA members, who are Apex Council members, are answerable to ICA. So it is a chain reaction. If nothing happens, they have every reason to be disappointed with the ICA. And ICA in turn might be disappointed with their Apex Council members. It’s a fact.”Shanta Rangaswamy and Aunshuman Gaekwad are the ICA members in the BCCI Apex Council•Getty Images

According to Malhotra, he has received messages from his four colleagues since then, and they have also sent him an email asking him to “follow the process”. Majmudar has also been quoted by the as saying, “We don’t want to take on anybody. We want to work for the benefit of cricketers, but we need to follow the process.””After the video, all hell broke loose. Four directors started writing… one of them wrote to me saying we can’t fight a big organisation like the BCCI, look at what happened to Lalit Modi. I said where is the question of fighting? Where is the comparison between us and Lalit Modi,” Malhotra said. “Then the four of them got together and fired an email to me. On top of that, one of the directors, I don’t know who, released the email to the press. I was being outvoted on everything, but I was keeping quiet. But now they are saying don’t go public, but they are leaking emails to the media.”Then they sent an apology to the BCCI without consulting me. For that video. I just wanted to know if you have sent an apology why didn’t you inform me? Am I not a board member? I am the president. If the four of you discuss and decide, it’s not done, it’s taking things too far. So I have now gone public too. It’s a democratic set-up, we are answerable to our stakeholders. What is the role of the president? Am I the president or the (servant)?”Malhotra said that he would next take his point of view to the stakeholders, the former cricketers who fall under the ICA’s umbrella. “The Supreme Court ordered the BCCI to have an ICA, it was compulsory, and it was compulsory for them to give us funds, which they have done – they have given Rs 2 crore,” he said. “We have Rs 1.35 crore in our account. No problem there. But it’s become very dirty. Once you go public, you open the Pandora’s Box. Hopefully we come to a compromise.””We have been shoved down the BCCI’s throat. But whether they love us or hate us, we are here to stay. Whether anybody likes it or not, whether we can do our work or not, whether I am there or someone else, we are not under BCCI, we are not in conflict with BCCI. We are an independent entity.”

ECB Reporters Network04-May-2019Lancashire missed out on a chance to secure qualification from the Royal London Cup group stage following a five-wicket Duckworth-Lewis-Stern defeat to Warwickshire. The Red Rose, having finished their campaign, need other results to go their way on Monday after the home side chased down a DLS target of 255 in 45 overs with two balls to spare.Lancashire amassed 277 for 7 thanks to skipper Dane Vilas’s 83 from 79 ball, supported by a series of small contributions. Alex Thomson continued his fine tournament with List A-best figures of 10-1-27-3, including a burst of three wickets in 12 balls.The home side then recovered from a superb opening spell of 8-2-15-3 from James Anderson to time their pursuit to perfection to the delight of a bumper Community Fun Day crowd at Edgbaston. Liam Banks struck 61 before Sam Hain saw the job through with consummate skill, his unbeaten 84, raising further his remarkable List A career-average of 58.Put in, Lancashire lost Haseeb Hameed to the eighth ball of the innings, lbw to an Olly Hannon-Dalby inswinger. But after a slow start, just six runs from the first five overs, they accelerated through a succession of solid partnerships.Keaton Jennings and Steven Croft added 56 in 12 overs and, after Jennings was bowled by Jeetan Patel, Croft and Vilas added 40 in seven before Croft played on to George Panayi.Vilas and Jake Lehmann kept the scoreboard ticking over with 80 in 15 overs but Thomson applied a brake with two wickets in three balls. Lehmann drove to mid-off and Rob Jones reverse-swept his second ball to gully. When Vilas missed a cut at Thomson and was bowled, Lancashire were 192 for 6 and in danger of coming in short, but Josh Bohannon and Saqib Mahmood added 83 in 12 overs to get the total up around par.Warwickshire’s reply started briskly but was pegged back by a high-class spell from Anderson. He bowled Dominic Sibley off an inside edge then produced perfect offcutters to force fatal edges to wicketkeeper Vilas from Ed Pollock and Will Rhodes.Hain and Banks retrenched with a stand, twice interrupted by rain, of 111 in 22 overs. They posted their half-centuries from successive deliveries, from 73 and 59 balls respectively, Hain achieving the unusual feat of reaching 50 without hitting a four.After another rain break altered the target again, Warwickshire resumed needing 96 from 11 overs and soon lost Banks who lifted Graham Onions to deep extra cover. But Hain, now batting with a runner after hurting a knee scrambling for a single, added 40 in five overs with Woakes and then Alex Mellor arrived to inject the required impetus with two sixes in a Matt Parkinson over.

The Afghanistan legspinner had last week become the top-ranked ODI bowler, alongside India’s Jasprit Bumrah

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2018Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan has risen to the top of the ICC’s rankings for T20I bowlers, to go with his joint No. 1 status in the ODI charts.Rashid claimed top spot in the T20 lists after taking five wickets at an average of 8.40 and economy of 5.25 in two matches against Zimbabwe in Sharjah. New Zealand legspinner Ish Sodhi is in second place, 59 points behind Rashid’s tally of 759.There were changes at the top of the charts for T20I batsmen and allrounders as well. New Zealand’s Colin Munro became the top ranked T20I batsman once again, after scoring 176 runs at a strike rate of nearly 210 in the Trans-Tasman Tri-nation Series against Australia and England. Australia’s Glenn Maxwell became the No. 1 T20I allrounder for the third time after scoring 233 runs and taking three wickets in the same tournament.

South Africa’s Test captain has confirmed he will go ahead with his appeal against his ball-tampering charge, even though he risks a match ban if found guilty by the judicial commissioner

Firdose Moonda14-Dec-2016Faf du Plessis has confirmed he will go ahead with his appeal against his ball-tampering charge, even though he risks a match ban if found guilty by the judicial commissioner. Du Plessis, who was fined 100% of his match fee of the Hobart Test last month, was confirmed as South Africa’s permanent Test captain on Tuesday, but told the media his new job will not stand in the way of his attempt to clear his name.”(Withdrawing) it sounds like the logical thing to do but it’s purely from a non-cricket perspective,” he said at Newlands on Wednesday. “I didn’t agree with the way it was handled, how it happened and unfolded and the hearing that took place and how everything works when it comes to those hearings. Even if it meant the decision came out the way that I didn’t want it to, for me its the principle of standing up to something that you don’t agree with and that’s what a captain is all about – making sure you stand your ground and fight for whatever the cause is.”Video footage from the match showed du Plessis shining the ball with saliva that had also come into contact with a mint that was clearly visible in his mouth. It was in violation of Law 42.2 which states that no artificial substance should be used to change the conditions of the ball. The ICC laid charges, as the images appeared after the window for the umpires to report it had passed and du Plessis had pleaded not guilty. He admitted to having the mint in his mouth and even said he was not trying to hide it. He claimed that sugar from sweets was in every players’ mouth and it didn’t amount to contravening the code of conduct.Several current and former players agreed – Australian captain Steve Smith was among them – and CSA called on the ICC to clarify the term “artificial.” Du Plessis was found guilty nonetheless, fined the maximum match fee and earned three demerit points. He immediately announced his decision to appeal, which CSA later supported. They also remained hopeful the ICC would use this as a test case to re-look at the law.However, the chances of that happening seem slim after the MCC Committee meeting in Mumbai during which their head of cricket John Stephenson said du Plessis, “flagrantly contravened the law.” Should Michael Beloff, who is set to hear the appeal, agree with Stephenson, he could choose to sanction du Plessis further and hand him a one-match ban.That would mean du Plessis would have to sit out the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka, due to be his first as permanent Test captain. With AB de Villiers unavailable because of injury, South Africa will be in a tricky position to pick a replacement leader. Beloff could also uphold the verdict as it stands or rescind it altogether, which what du Plessis is aiming for.The three demerit points against him also put him at risk of missing matches because all he needs is one more – and he could that get that for any Level Two offence including dissent – to be forced to sit out a game. Having those demerit points off his record may also be on du Plessis’ mind as he goes into his appeal hearing next Monday – December 19 – a week before the first Sri Lanka Test.

A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy Group A matches on October 15, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Krishna Das followed up his 10-wicket haul against Rajasthan with 4 for 5 against Odisha•PTI

Fifteen wickets tumbled in Cuttack, as neither Assam nor Odisha managed to take control on the first day of their Ranji clash at the Barabati Stadium. Assam, after being inserted, were bundled out for 92 inside 53 overs, but Odisha failed to capitalise, falling to 52 for 5 by stumps in their reply. Medium-pacer Basant Mohanty was the pick of Odisha’s bowlers, taking 5 for 24 to wreck Assam’s innings, where only four batsmen managed double-digit scores. Assam’s Krishna Das, who picked up 10 wickets in the previous round against Rajasthan, was the team’s chief wicket taker again, removing four Odisha batsmen before the day drew to a close.
ScorecardPersistent showers in Kolkata meant that only 43.2 overs of play were possible in the match between Bengal and Rajasthan. The visitors, opting to bat, lost two early wickets, but recovered through a 55-run partnership for the third wicket between Ashok Menaria (40) and Vineet Saxena (31 not out). The pair took Rajasthan past the 100-run mark, but the stand came to an soon after as Menaria was bowled by Pragyan Ojha towards the end of the day.Karnataka v Vidarbha – Karnataka stumble after Pandey hundredDelhi v Haryana – Sehwag flatters to deceive as Delhi zoom ahead