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Australia batsman Nic Maddinson will miss a second straight Sheffield Shield match because of ‘personal reasons’

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2017Australia batsman Nic Maddinson, who missed New South Wales’ clash against Victoria last week, will miss the game against Queensland too, starting February 10, because of “personal reasons”.”Cricket Australia and Cricket NSW advises that Australian and NSW batsman Nic Maddinson will not be available for selection due to personal reasons, until further notice,” CA and CNSW said in a joint statement.In the absence of Maddinson, 18-year-old offspinner Arjun Nair, who made his Shield debut against South Australia in Coffs Harbour last year, has been added to the squad for cover.Maddinson made his Test debut against South Africa in the day-night game in Adelaide, where he fell for a duck. He then made modest scores of 1,4,22, in his next three innings against Pakistan, before being dropped for the third Test against Pakistan at the SCG.”At the end of the day I’ve had my chance and I couldn’t grab it,” Maddinson said last week. “I actually haven’t even thought about playing Test cricket again since.”After being left out of the Test squad, Maddinson linked up with Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League. He scored 75 runs in seven innings.

A bomb blast in Lahore has, according to the Pakistan Super League chairman Najam Sethi, made it very difficult for foreign players to feature in the final of the second season which, was scheduled to be played at Gaddafi Stadium on March 5

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2017A bomb blast in Lahore has, according to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) chairman Najam Sethi, made it very difficult for foreign players to feature in the final of the second season which, until the bombing, was set to be played at Gaddafi Stadium on March 5.Speaking on his political talk show on Sethi also said the question now of where the final should be played, was one that fans would have to decide. The explosion, which has so far claimed 13 lives, went off in Lahore’s busy Mall Road during a rally on Monday attended by hundreds of pharmacists protesting against changes to a drug sale law outside the provincial assembly building.Ever since the PSL announced that the final will be played in Lahore, the question of whether – and which – foreign players might attend has loomed. Sethi briefed foreign players about the security situation in Lahore last week ahead of the start of the league in Dubai. He said on the show that though the players had a number of questions and didn’t commit, “they were mentally preparing to play in Lahore”. By February 24th or 25th, if the players had not decided or were not ready to travel, the league was going to hold another draft to see which foreign players from any of other franchises were willing to travel to Lahore play for the finalists.”What can I tell you?” Sethi said when asked what the reactions of foreign players were after news of the bombing. “Obviously people will be more wary and scared – they were already and now will be more. So right now to say whether we can convince them easily is very difficult… Now I will have to start all over again. I cannot say that we will be successful or not because they have families, they will have their associations which will guide them.”Though Sethi and the PCB have insisted all along that the final will go ahead in Lahore, with or without foreign players, the increasing probability that none may come now, would seem to have compelled a shift in that stance. On his show, Sethi asked the public to decide whether they want to see a final in Lahore most likely only with Pakistani players, or a final in Dubai with foreign players as well.Sethi did expand on his personal belief, that the final should go ahead and be played in Lahore.”[People] were calling me up as well [and saying] that whatever the situation this is Pakistan’s resolve that the PSL final has to happen [in Lahore]. That we have to show terrorists that we are not scared and we have to show we can do it because it is very important for us.”I agree with this and this is my thought. I also think that these terrorists cannot think they can threaten us like this, that they can stop our businesses, stop our lives. No. We will stand firm, we will fight, we will do this. In that matter this is my resolve and I can see it is the resolve of every Pakistani, and their desire of having the final in Lahore. This is our stance. I think the Punjab government will be the same.”But the situation is this that the question Pakistanis have to answer is if the foreign players do not agree to come to Lahore, or a lot of them don’t, should we still have a final with just Pakistan players in Lahore, or should we have it with foreign players and do it in Dubai? This is the question the Pakistani public has to answer and whatever their wish we will see to it.”My heart says we have to show the world. If foreign players come to Lahore then good and if they don’t, then with our Pakistani players we should have a PSL final in Lahore. But I want public opinion on this, I want cricket-lovers to tell me, cricket fans – what do they want? Whatever they want, we will do.”Last month, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) issued a report warning that an “acceptable level of participant security and safety cannot be expected or guaranteed” in Pakistan. In response, the PCB accused FICA of doing “great disservice to the cause of Pakistan cricket in particular” and called their approach “careless and cavalier”, which then prompted FICA to issue a justification.

Andrew Ellis, who finished seventh and eighth on the list of leading run-scorers and wicket-takers respectively in the Plunket Shield, won the accolade for the second time in three years

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-2017Canterbury captain Andrew Ellis has been named New Zealand Cricket’s Domestic Player of the Year for the second time in three years. The 35-year-old allrounder pipped Todd Astle, Scott Kuggeleijn and George Worker to the accolade, having already bagged two of the three men’s domestic trophies – the Plunket Shield and the Ford Trophy – this season.Ellis’ tally of 652 runs, from ten rounds, at an average of 40.75 earned him a place among the country’s top seven run-scorers in first-class cricket this season. He also finished in the top eight on the list of leading wicket-takers, with 27 wickets at 24.59. His match figures of 8 for 92 helped Canterbury defeat Otago by an innings and 119 runs in what was the biggest margin of victory in New Zealand’s first-class summer.Selector Gavin Larsen said the jury particularly took in account Ellis’ role as a “leader in pressure situations.””In addition to his significant performances with bat and ball, we considered Andrew Ellis’ role as a leader in pressure situations – a season in which he led by example both on and off the field,” Larsen said.”Todd Astle [Canterbury], Scott Kuggeleijn [Northern Districts] and George Worker [Central Stags] would all have been a worthy winner, and the panel would like to acknowledge their excellent individual seasons.”

Pakistan have opened up a nine-point lead on West Indies in the updated ICC ODI rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-2017Pakistan have a nine-point lead over West Indies in the updated ICC ODI rankings, in their race to qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup in England. Pakistan are placed eighth at present, and West Indies ninth, and only the top eight teams as of September 30 qualify directly for the showpiece 50-over tournament.

Updated ICC ODI rankings

1 South Africa (123 points)
2 Australia (118 points)
3 India (117 points)
4 New Zealand (115 points)
5 England (109 points)
6 Sri Lanka (93 points)
7 Bangladesh (91 points)
8 Pakistan (88 points)
9 West Indies (79 points)
10 Afghanistan (52 points)

West Indies have ODI series against Afghanistan and England scheduled before the cut-off date, but will not be part of the eight-team Champions Trophy in England in June, having failed to qualify for the event. Last month, West Indies had lost an ODI series to Pakistan 2-1 at home.At the top end of the rankings, South Africa and Australia retained their No. 1 and 2 positions following the annual points update on May 1. The annual update discards older results from calculations; currently, after the update, the points reflect results from May 1, 2014 (50% weightage), with results from May 1, 2016 onwards carrying 100% weightage.India and New Zealand swapped places, with India moving up to No. 3. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh remain No. 6 and 7 respectively, with Afghanistan rounding off the top ten, above Zimbabwe and Ireland.Ten teams outside the top eight in the ODI rankings will play a qualifying tournament in April 2018, from which the top two will make it to the ten-team World Cup the following year.

England put together a complete performance on a difficult day for cricket in Cardiff to seal passage to the Champions Trophy semi-finals

The Report by David Hopps06-Jun-2017England 310 (Root 64, Buttler 61*, Hales 56) beat New Zealand 223 (Williamson 87, Plunkett 4-59) by 87 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:32

Fleming: NZ batting undone by extra bounce

This was not quite the contest which brought the Champions Trophy alive, alas, but England will not lose sleep over that. They became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals with a comfortable 87-win against New Zealand. A grimy Cardiff day during which persistent showers gradually gave way to howling winds demanded application and resolution and they were not found wanting.New Zealand were in the game as long as their captain Kane Williamson was at the crease, gathering runs with his usual precision. At 158 for 2, they were more than halfway to their target of 311 with two wickets lost and nearly 20 overs remaining. But from the moment Williamson fell for 87 from 98 balls, unhinged by a ball from Mark Wood which reared at him from just short of a length, they looked ill equipped to compete, losing their last eight wickets for 67 in 14 overs.

New Zealand fined for slow over rate

Match referee Andy Pycroft ruled that New Zealand were two overs short of the target with all time allowances considered.
In accordance with Article 2.5.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, players are fined 10% for every over failed to be bowled, and the captain is fined double that amount. As such, Williamson has been fined 40% of his match fee, while his players have received 20% fines.
If there is a second over-rate offence committed by New Zealand during the Champions Trophy with Williamson as captain, he will be suspended for one match.

There was little sign of the memorable cricket that characterised the series between these sides in England in 2015, one that signified the start of England’s more courageous approach to one-day cricket as they admired how Brendon McCullum would bet the lot and raised him. What there was, was a confident team performance.England’s innings felt like a strain yet with cool heads, at the end of it, they again surpassed 300. They have done it 23 times since the last World Cup, comfortably more than any other side. As New Zealand’s bowlers increasingly resorted to short balls, and the umpires stoutly ignoring the showers strafing the ground, it felt like hard work. That hard work persuaded them the score was a decent one.That proved to be the case on a Cardiff surface that played unevenly at times. After an over in which Liam Plunkett struck both Williamson and Ross Taylor on the helmet, the target looked onerous. He was unfortunate to go wicketless in his first spell, but his menace would not have been missed by New Zealand’s tail as they looked on from the dressing room and the last three wickets gained him 4 for 55.England’s seam attack have consistently held that cross-seam deliveries are the way to go in Cardiff and their example is bound to be followed by others.New Zealand survived an edgy period against the new ball – 22 for 1 in seven overs as Jake Ball (halting his run-up several times because of the strength of the wind) took on the new ball with relish. His first ball bowled Luke Ronchi, foot-fast and amplifying his reputation as a poor starter.An even more unnerving period came after the loss of Martin Guptill, who drove at a full ball from Ben Stokes and was held by Joe Root in the gully. Williamson was hit on the side of the helmet as he ducked into a short ball from Plunkett, who then struck Taylor on the grille before he had scored with one that spat off a length.For all that, Taylor and Williamson added 95 in 17 overs and England’s disquiet was growing before Williamson fell. Taylor, who has the capability to go from first gear to fifth, never made the transition and three overs later, with 39 from 59 balls, dragged Ball to short midwicket. Jimmy Neesham whacked Plunkett over the long-on boundary, but plopped the next into the hands of deep square leg.England had omitted Adil Rashid’s legspin for their first game, a victory against Bangladesh, but Stokes was held to be fit enough to bowl a full spell again as England’s fourth seamer, so with seam stocks replenished Rashid replaced the injured Chris Woakes. He survived the challenge of Cardiff’s short straight boundaries, having Neil Broom lbw sweeping and then Mitchell Santner stumped off a leg-side wide, smart work this by Jos Buttler.In England’s innings, the adaptability of Joe Root – England’s Williamson and one of three batsmen to pass 50 – was apparent from the outset, his game management in place as he worked the ball around. New Zealand also responded to the unresponsiveness of the Kookaburra – a cricket ball that does not like to party and that makes cricket duller because of it – with a pragmatic acceptance that rewards would be hard won and a shift to a shorter length.Jason Roy’s lack of form remains a problem that England will be desperate he resolves against Australia in the final group match. It is not just the runs; it is his effrontery that so often sets the tone. A record of 47 runs at 6.71 in England one-day matches since his bench-warming exercise at the IPL reveals that impudence is currently in short supply. He survived an lbw appeal first ball from Southee, tried to play himself in, then walked across his stumps twice in one over against Adam Milne and lost his leg stump.Alex Hales is in better touch. Trent Boult gave him an early opportunity to get his long levers loosened and he hauled the same bowler downwind for six. When he carved Milne over long-off for six more, England were 118 for 1 in the 21st over and beginning to take command only for Milne’s slower ball to deceive him as he anticipated a short one.When Morgan succumbed to an wide ball from Corey Anderson, feathering a catch to the wicketkeeper as he advanced down the pitch, Root, on the verge of fifty, would have recognised the need for a substantial innings. But he was starved of strike during his stand with Stokes – facing only 15 balls in the next ten overs – and he met an ungainly end when he dragged Anderson on to his stumps, envisaging a big shot that never materialised.Stokes possessed most menace. One straight drive left Root dancing in self-preservation. Twice, Anderson disappeared straightish for sixes and, with Santner’s left-arm spin vulnerable – his first five over-spell conceding 36 – there seemed opportunity to feast on the back-up seamers. But Stokes was tormented with a few wide ones outside off stump and, on 48, he had a brainstorm as he ran an uppercut against Boult into third man’s hands.It didn’t feel like a day for Moeen Ali, and he soon perished like a butterfly in winter, pulling Anderson to short fine leg where Boult again proved himself one of the more athletic fielders in the fast-bowling fraternity. Rashid fell lbw to Santner as one skidded on a little on a dampening surface.England needed Buttler’s intervention, an unbeaten 61 from 48 balls. His first boundary took 24 balls – and even that, fortunately for him, came via his helmet as Southee fired in another short one in thickening drizzle.Buttler then ramped a bouncer from Boult into the cameraman’s gantry and flat-batted another short ball from Milne back over his head for another six. Rare moments of ambition on a workmanlike day, but by the time Southee ended England’s innings three deliveries early with wickets in successive balls enough to swing the match in England’s favour. Decisively so, it was to prove.

Luke Wells continued his impressive start to the season with a second successive century at Hove as Sussex delighted their new skipper Chris Nash by dominating the first day against Worcestershire

ECB Reporters Network02-Jun-2017
ScorecardLuke Wells continued his impressive start to the season with a second successive century at Hove as Sussex dominated the first day against Worcestershire.The visitors, who have won their first four games in the Specsavers County Championship, employed eight bowlers after putting Sussex in but Wells led a spirited response by a side still coming to terms with Luke Wright’s decision to step down as captain on Wednesday and who have lost three of their four matches so far.The left-hander followed up his career-best 258 at Hove a fortnight ago with an unbeaten 139 while Harry Finch (82) and Stiaan van Zyl (54) gave him excellent support as Sussex ended the first day on 339 for 3.Worcestershire bowled tidily enough but Finch blunted their efforts to make early inroads by compiling his highest Championship score before Wells and van Zyl took full toll of a tiring attack later in the day.Wright’s replacement Chris Nash has struggled this season but looked to have found some form as he helped Finch negate the new ball threat before tamely picking out mid-wicket when he mistimed a pull off Joe Leach on 22.But that was Worcestershire’s only success before lunch as Finch and Wells, cautiously at first before picking up the pace in the afternoon, added 125 in 35 overs for the second wicket.Finch’s 50 came off 90 balls and having made played few false shots it was a surprise when Josh Tongue drew him forward at the start of a new spell and found the edge to slip after Finch had struck 11 fours.Luke Wells helped Sussex get over the shock of Luke Wright’s resignation•Getty Images

But as the ball softened and neither swung or deviated much off the seam, Wells and van Zyl settled in to put on 137 in 37 overs either side of tea. Wells took two off Nathan Lyon, the Australia off-spinner, to reach the 15th hundred of his career and once past the landmark he went on the offensive, just as he had done against Durham.One short-armed jab from a perfectly respectable Leach delivery outside off stump that whistled first-bounce to the mid-wicket boundary was the shot of a player in prime form while South African van Zyl looked just as assured until he was bowled off an inside edge by Ed Barnard just after Worcestershire had taken the new ball.Wright pulled Barnard for six to get off the mark and a further four boundaries in an unbeaten 27 while the hugely impressive Wells has so far faced 255 balls and hit 20 fours.

India’s support staff have been given two-year contracts extending until the end of the 2019 World Cup

Arun Venugopal18-Jul-20172:04

I was clear what my core team would be – Shastri

Following a recommendation from India coach Ravi Shastri, Bharat Arun has been named the side’s bowling coach. The appointment came after a meeting between Shastri and a four-member BCCI committee, where it was also decided that Sanjay Bangar will be the team’s assistant coach.The appointments mean Shastri will work with the same set of coaches – including fielding coach R Sridhar – who assisted him in his earlier tenure as team director. India’s support staff have all been given two-year contracts, until the end of the 2019 World Cup. Arun, as a result, will now have to give up his coaching roles in the IPL and the Tamil Nadu Premier League in accordance with the new conflict-of-interest guidelines. Arun, who has been a bowling coach with Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2015, was recently named coach of VB Thiruvallur Veerans in the TNPL.Shastri also confirmed that Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan will be on board as consultants. “I have spoken to both the individuals as good as three or four days ago,” Shastri told reporters after the meeting. “They are fantastic cricketers for India, and their inputs will be invaluable. They will be on board once they have spoken to the authorities concerned, so there are no issues on that.”The committee comprising BCCI CEO Rahul Johri (convener), acting board president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, and Diana Edulji, member of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), was created to resolve the ambiguity over the roles of Dravid and Zaheer. While the BCCI’s press release on July 11 stated that they were “appointed” overseas Test batting consultant and bowling consultant respectively, CoA chairman Vinod Rai said those were only recommendations that needed action from the CoA “in consultation with the head coach”.When asked if the confusion could have been avoided, Shastri said: “I was in England. I was watching tennis. I was very clear in my mind what my core team will be. What you just heard is my core team.” It is understood that Shastri had clearly expressed his preference for Arun, his team-mate from Under-19 and India days, in his meeting with Johri on Monday. Choudhary put up an equally emphatic yet unconvincing defence of how the episode had unfolded.”In the first place, I am absolutely clear in my view that it was not a fiasco,” he said. “As Ravi explained, once he was appointed head coach, he obviously had to think of his responsibilities which come with the appointment. As he has made abundantly clear, he wanted his core team. The other two gentlemen [Dravid and Zaheer] he has spoken to personally, [and] they will be consultants.” When asked why the BCCI announced their appointments when it was still only a recommendation, Choudhary said: “I think what I just said answers the question. Nothing more needs to be said”.Sourav Ganguly, a member of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) that appointed Shastri, Dravid and Zaheer, was recently quoted as saying that Zaheer was contracted for 150 days a year. To a question on whether the CAC had exceeded its brief, both Choudhary and Shastri sprung to the three-member body’s defence. “I don’t think this question is relevant at all,” Choudhary said. “The CAC has done a fantastic job. I have been witness to this for the last one and a half months”.Shastri thanked the committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and VVS Laxman for reposing faith in him. “I would like to thank the CAC because it is a privilege and an honour to be the head coach of the Indian cricket team and I would like to thank them for thinking I am worthy enough to do the job,” he said on Tuesday.Australia’s Patrick Farhart and Shankar Basu also retained their positions as physio and trainer respectively, for the same two-year period until the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup.With the BCCI having invited applications for a full-time team manager, there was a question on whether an appointment would be made for the Sri Lanka tour. Despite the team set to leave on July 19, Choudhary said there was “every likelihood” that a manager would be named for the tour.

Ashley Nurse and Tion Webster were picked as replacements for Mehidy Hasan and Raymon Reifer respectively

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2017Trinbago Knight Riders and Barbados Tridents have brought in Ashley Nurse and Tion Webster as replacements to their respective sides for losing out on players who received Test call-ups recently. Knight Riders lost the services of Mehidy Hasan, who was picked for the home series against Australia, while Tridents have been without Raymon Reifer who has been in the UK with the West Indies Test squad.Mehidy will not be available for Knight Riders for the entire CPL this season. Nurse, who earlier represented Tridents, most recently played ODIs for West Indies at home against Afghanistan and India. Nurse will join the squad in St Kitts for the match against St Kitts & Nevis Patroits on August 23. Knight Riders head coach Simon Katich said: “Ashley gives us another spin option. He has been playing some league cricket in England so he comes fresh to us from there.”Dwayne Bravo was very keen to get him into the squad given that we have still got some big games coming up against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Tridents.”Last month, Reifer had earned his maiden call-up to the Test squad and was therefore unavailable for Tridents for this season’s CPL. He played the tour game for West Indies against Kent but was left out of the day-night Test at Edgbaston. Webster, his replacement and so far uncapped in T20s, made his first-class debut for Trinidad & Tobago in April 2017, and scored a century in his second match, which was also the last match he played.

With a prolific 2016-17 domestic season and now an impressive summer in England, George Worker is eager to return to the international side after missing out on the Champions Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2017As New Zealand’s limited-overs tour of India comes closer, George Worker is looking to push for a place in the squad after he followed a prolific 2016-17 domestic season with an impressive club season in England.Worker, who is currently touring India with the New Zealand A side, was the highest run-scorer in New Zealand’s domestic one-day competition last summer with 659 runs in 10 games at an average of 82.37. Even though that earned him a recall to the ODI side after nearly two years for two matches in the tri-series against Ireland and Bangladesh in May, he was left out of the Champions Trophy squad the next month.”I guess there’s a few spots available for that ODI tour after the A tour,” Worker told . “I won’t be worrying about it. I’ll be going out there trying to perform and carry on my good form like I have over the last couple of seasons.”Worker, 28, hasn’t been able to nail down his spot in New Zealand’s limited-overs side after his ODI debut against South Africa in 2015. He has played only four ODIs and two T20Is, with one half-century in each of the formats.During the English summer this year, Worker represented Knowle and Dorridge Cricket Club in the Birmingham Premier League. He scored 1569 runs, including nine centuries, at an average of 142.64 in 15 innings during his stint. Having accounted for 28 dismissals at an average of 12.75 in the league, including his best figures of 7 for 32, Worker’s left-arm spin could further strengthen his case for a place in the limited-overs side for the conditions in India.”Hopefully, I’ll just have to see. The conditions will be favourable to a bit of spin,” Worker said. “The standard of club cricket is pretty good. It’s renowned as the best in England.”The one thing that helped me was the pitches were good. You come across wickets that are a bit green and a bit wet and you have these slow dibbly-dobbly bowlers. It does make a difference because the wickets are good.”Worker was prolific with the bat in New Zealand’s first-class competition too – the Plunket Shield – last summer, scoring 486 runs from eight innings at an average of 60.75, including four half-centuries and one hundred.

West Indies kicked off their tour of Zimbabwe with a solid batting performance, putting up 301 for 6 on the first day of their warm-up match in Bulawayo

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2017West Indies 301 for 6 (Shai Hope 85, Chase 79, Brathwaite 53) v Zimbabwe A
ScorecardAFP

Shai Hope, Roston Chase and Kraigg Brathwaite began West Indies’ tour of Zimbabwe with fifties, guiding the visitors to 301 for 6 at stumps on the first day of their warm-up match in Bulawayo.After opting to bat, West Indies lost opener Kieran Powell for 1 at the start of the fifth over, but Brathwaite and Kyle Hope gave the innings direction with an 87-run partnership for the second wicket. Then, both batsmen fell in successive overs, but Shai Hope and Chase perked the side up, hitting 19 boundaries between them in a 175-run fourth-wicket stand before both batsmen retired out at the end of the 79th over.Seven overs later, Jermaine Blackwood departed for 15, but wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich and captain Jason Holder closed the day without any further hiccups.Seamer Michael Chinouya was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe A, ending with 2 for 55 in 19 overs.