Tag Futebol

The ICC has urged Sri Lanka’s sports ministry to hold Sri Lanka Cricket elections before the next ICC board meeting in October, suggesting “further action” may be taken against SLC “in the event of further non-compliance”

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Jun-2015The ICC has urged Sri Lanka’s sports ministry to hold Sri Lanka Cricket elections before the next ICC board meeting in October, suggesting “further action” may be taken against SLC “in the event of further non-compliance”.SLC, whose ICC voting rights remain suspended while the government-appointed interim committee is in charge, has played down the threat of further sanctions. The ICC also still holds payments due to SLC in escrow, but has been periodically releasing funds as SLC requests them.”The ICC Board received an update on Sri Lanka Cricket and reiterated its earlier position that the appointment of an Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) by the Government of Sri Lanka was a breach of the ICC’s constitution,” an ICC release said. “The ICC Board urged the Sports Minister of Sri Lanka to hold free and fair elections before the next ICC Board meeting in October, adding that the ICC reserved the right to take further action against the SLC in the event of further non-compliance.”However, SLC elections appear unlikely to be held in the next four months with sports minister Navin Dissanayake having announced that they were scheduled for January 2016. Interim committee chairman Sidath Wettimuny suggested the ICC would be satisfied with this time frame.”The ICC board said they would like us to hold elections by October, but by latest – January,” Wettimuny said. “The meeting went off O.K. We explained our situation and the ICC explained their technicality.”SLC’s interim committee is in the midst of designing a domestic structure that aims to take cricket into the provinces more effectively, and an election before October would put much of this work at risk. The board is also looking at inviting ICC chairman N Srinivasan to Sri Lanka during the forthcoming Test series with India, in August and September, as a means of maintaining cordial relations with the ICC.

Shakib Al Hasan, who was axed as Bangladesh captain on Monday, has said that though he was surprised by the decision, it wasn’t entirely unexpected

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2011Shakib Al Hasan, who was axed as Bangladesh captain on Monday, has said that though he was surprised by the decision, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Both Shakib and vice-captain Tamim Iqbal were stripped of their leadership posts by the Bangladesh board after the team’s defeat in both the Test and the one-day series in Zimbabwe last month.”I am surprised by the sudden decision but I am not shocked. I can take things easy which is my strength,” Shakib told the Dhaka-based newspaper . “The board definitely took this decision for betterment of the game, so I must accept it.”Shakib, 25, has been Bangladesh’s captain for two years, except for brief spells when the frequently injured fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza took charge. Shakib was named captain for 2011 after leading the side to an impressive 4-0 one-day series win over New Zealand at home and following it up with a victory over Zimbabwe late last year.It hasn’t been a smooth ride for Shakib as captain. In December 2010, soon after he was named full-time captain, he complained that he wasn’t prepared for the job and that he was not getting a free hand in selecting the team. He also demanded a long run as captain and didn’t want to take over on a “series-by-series” basis as the board wanted him to. He also had a strained relationship with the new selection panel headed by former captain Akram Khan, with Shakib saying he wasn’t consulted when the side to tour Zimbabwe was picked, while Akram insisted Shakib was.The controversies and the loss to Zimbabwe, a team which was making its return to the Test arena after five years, seem to have led to Shakib’s sacking. “As a captain I must take the responsibility for the poor showing in Zimbabwe,” he said. “But still I believe that we had lack of preparation and that was one of the main reasons behind the debacle.”Shakib said the board needs to investigate the reasons behind the Zimbabwe failure. “You see in our country everywhere we make someone scapegoat for any failure because we don’t want to dig deep to find out the real problem and this is no exception,” he said. “This is our system. We always try to solve problems casually.”No replacements have yet been named for Shakib and Tamim.

Thanks to Paul Harris, South Africa’s fast bowlers didn’t need to bust their gut in consigning India to their third innings defeat at home in the last 10 years

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga09-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
HawkeyeThe “Innocuous” Paul Harris took three key wickets to finish off India•AFP

Paul Harris is a character straight out of a Vegas gambling film. He says “perception is often reality” and batsmen perceive him to be an innocuous bowler, and that’s where he says he gets his wickets. He played around with his own perception to become the most successful spinner in the match, his “innocuous” outside-the-leg line from over the stumps getting him the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and M Vijay, the only men who looked like they could deny South Africa. Thanks to Harris, the fast bowlers didn’t need to bust their gut in consigning India to their third innings defeat at home in the last 10 years – all three to the same opposition.Tendulkar’s 91st international century, just like Virender Sehwag’s 30th in the first innings, was a remarkable innings in isolation but inadequate given the thin middle order. Once he got out with India still 133 behind, it was always going to be a matter of when, not if. The when came at 4.27pm, with Dale Steyn completing his fourth career ten-wicket haul, taking out a resolute Wriddhiman Saha and Amit Mishra in quick succession.On a day that Graeme Smith went easy on his pace bowlers, Harris provided his captain with just what was required: control over the run flow, a lion’s share of the overs bowled and the big wickets. He came on to bowl as early as the fifth over of the day, and was the main bowler until tea, sending down 31 overs for 64 runs and three wickets, the third being MS Dhoni’s.Given how Dhoni got out to Harris in the first innings, padding up and gloving one that kicked from the rough, the leg-line wasn’t quite as defensive as it is perceived to be. Neither of the overnight batsmen, Tendulkar and Vijay, wanted to keep padding up to him for long. Tendulkar was more convincing in getting right to the pitch of the ball, and playing it out of the rough. The flick for four through midwicket early in the day stood out. Vijay kept Harris interested with the sweep, and finally one delivery found the top edge and then Morne Morkel at fine leg.Tendulkar had moved to 37 by then, having found balance between attack and defence. Against Harris he kicked away the deliveries outside leg, as opposed to waiting for them to hit his pads. When he made up his mind to play scoring shots, he made sure he was close to the pitch of the ball. From the other end, Smith rotated his fast bowlers, who gave Tendulkar nothing to drive.Tendulkar was up to the task, scoring through deft touches and glances against aggressive bowling. He hit ten boundaries in his 68 runs behind square alone. The innings did feature a drop when on 45. Wayne Parnell, bowling from round the stumps, got it to straighten and hit the edge, but Jaques Kallis missed a tough one low to his right.That was the only blotch on an innings that progressed at a fair pace. It didn’t quite become a threatening knock because no one at the other end looked nearly as convincing once Vijay got out. S Badrinath kept middling the ball, kept finding fielders, and got off the mark off the 17th ball he faced. Against Parnell, he could survive just three balls. The first one beat a defensive shot, and was angling down when it hit his pad. The second one straightened, took the edge, fell short, and went for four. The third carried.Along with Dhoni, Tendulkar negotiated 25.5 overs but neither man made an attempt to hit Harris off his line. Vijay’s wicket could have had that effect. Eventually one bounced slightly more than expected, hit Tendulkar on the pad, then onto the elbow, and onto the stumps.Dhoni, too, 25 off 112, eventually got the one accurate delivery from Harris that made him play, took the inside edge onto the pad, and his first defeat as captain would come soon. The unfortunate Saha, who unwittingly drew the ire of many by debuting as a specialist batsman, put in a fight with a 101-ball 36. Stands of 50 and 59 with Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan took them close to saving the innings defeat, but Kallis and Steyn took the last three wickets in one quick go. The messed-up stumps of Mishra at the hands of Steyn, bringing up the 10-for, was a fitting end.

A round-up of the fourth day’s play of the second round of the RBS Pentangular Cup

Cricinfo staff10-Jan-2010
Scorecard
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) completed an easy nine-wicket win over Karachi Blues at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex. Karachi were battling at the end of the third day to save the match, at 172 for 6, but lost their last four wickets for 25 runs. Seamer Imran Ali took all four this morning to finish with 5 for 34. SNGPL then knocked off the remaining 70 runs within ten overs and were on top at the end of the points table.
Scorecard
The two Khans – Junaid and Tabish – shared seven wickets between them to bundle out Sialkot for 164 and bag a 207-run win on the final day at the National Stadium. The Rest had declared to set a target of 372 and needed less than 50 overs to bundle out Sialkot. The Rest resumed with their overnight lead of 302 and declared after the fall of the ninth wicket. Sialkot had progressed steadily to 84 for 2, with Majid Jahangir leading the way with 54, but then collapsed. Two wickets fell for no run and Junaid continued to make inroads to the top order. Zulfiqar Babar chipped in with two wickets while Tabish took three lower order wickets to finish off the game.

A round-up of the first day’s play of the second-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League 2009-10

Cricinfo staff10-Nov-2009The first day’s play of three games – between Goa and Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, and Jharkhand and Vidarbha – was washed out without a ball being bowled.

Group A

Scorecard

A Wilkin Mota-inspired Tripura gained the upper hand against Rajasthan in Agartala. Mota grabbed a career-best 6 for 22 to help Tripura skittle out the opposition for 102; only three Rajasthan batsmen reached double-digits. Mota again stood out in the reply, making an unbeaten 38 to steer his team to 73 for 3 at stumps.

Group B

Scorecard
Only 30 overs were possible on the opening day of the fixture between Madhya Pradesh and Kerala in Indore. MP scored at a brisk pace, with Naman Ojha and Hrishikesh Kanitkar scoring half-centuries. Both were unbeaten after adding 120 for the second wicket, as MP finished the rain-affected day on 134 for 1.

Afghanistan will be particularly concerned by the form of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who endured a rough week in the recently-concluded tri-series

Danyal Rasool08-Sep-20254:10

What was the biggest turning point in Rashid Khan’s career?

Big picture: First of three big tasks for Hong Kong

Measured by eyeballs, this is the largest non-ICC international tournament cricket has to offer, even if an opener between Afghanistan and Hong Kong doesn’t help make the case for that argument. But in a tight format, there is little bloat, and Hong Kong have the misfortune of being grouped with three legitimate contenders for the trophy.They have played 16 T20Is this year, but nothing that comes close to the sharp uptick in quality they will need to reckon with in a group that also includes Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They got to the UAE almost three weeks in advance, and booked themselves four warm-up games to get into tune ahead of the tournament: a pair against Oman, as well as two against local club sides. That they split the fixtures with each opposition is perhaps suggestive of their level, as well as the task that lies ahead of them against last year’s T20 World Cup semi-finalists.Related

• Back-to-back games plus travel 'not ideal' – Asalanka, Rashid on gruelling schedules

• Kaushal Silva on coaching Hong Kong: 'No one is going to hand us anything'

• 'Maybe I have something…' – the phenomenal rise of Noor Ahmad

• Stats – Nawaz sets new benchmarks as Afghanistan sink to record low

• Asia Cup 2025: Politics, passion and a stage for new rivalries

However, there may not be a better time for Hong Kong to play Rashid Khan’s men. The fixture comes just two days after Afghanistan suffered a bruising defeat in the tri-series final against Pakistan, their batters looking totally ill-equipped against Pakistan’s spinners on a turning track in Sharjah. The emotional toll of that defeat, as well as the quick turnaround, offers Hong Kong a potential opportunity to catch Afghanistan out in Abu Dhabi.Realistically, though, that possibility is remote. Afghanistan are among the best sides in these conditions, and have a win over Pakistan as well as two against UAE from the tri-series under their belt. They boast a well-rounded bowling attack, as well as a batting lineup that combines destructiveness with a more classical poise. They demonstrated their strength in depth by rotating half the side against UAE in a dead rubber before the tri-series final, and still ended up winning. The shorter format and the timing may give Hong Kong the feeling they have a chance, but victory would still make this the greatest upset in Asia Cup history.

Form guide

Afghanistan: LWWWL
Hong Kong: LWWLW15:43

Can Afghanistan make the final of the Asia Cup?

In the spotlight: Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hong Kong’s openers

Afghanistan’s highest profile players are invariably the bowlers, but Rahmanullah Gurbaz bucks that trend. However, Afghanistan’s biggest batting superstar endured a rough week in the recent tri-series, scoring just 98 runs at under 110, 40 of which came in a dead rubber against UAE. The impact of his early dismissals has been somewhat mitigated by the remarkable consistency of Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal, but none have the explosiveness Gurbaz does when in full flow. Simply put, Afghanistan won’t make a deep run without his impact, and a game against Hong Kong represents an ideal opportunity to blast his way back to form.If Afghanistan’s opener has hit a dry patch, that certainly can’t be said for his Hong Kong counterparts Zeeshan Ali and Anshuman Rath. Far and away Hong Kong’s two leading run-scorers, they have demonstrated themselves to be consistent as well as dynamic, with strike rates hovering in the mid 140s. Both boast T20I hundreds this year, while Rath’s consistency, in particular, has made Hong Kong especially dependent on his runs. He has scored a further five half-centuries, and averages just under 50 for the year, the standout innings an unbeaten 59-ball 100 in a mauling of Singapore. Hong Kong need a fast start, and in that department at least, their openers have a track record of taking care of business.

Team news

Since reintroducing Noor Ahmad into their side, Afghanistan have favoured the extra spinner. Expect a similar team to the one that played Pakistan in the final.Afghanistan (possible): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Darwish Rasooli, 5 Karim Janat, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Rashid Khan (capt), 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 AM Ghazanfar, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiHong Kong (possible): 1 Anshuman Rath, 2 Zeeshan Ali (wk), 3 Babar Hayat, 4 Nizakat Khan, 5 Matthew Coetzee, 6 Yasim Murtaza (capt), 7 Ehsan Khan, 8 Aizaz Khan, 9 Ateeq Iqbal, 10 Nasrulla Rana, 11 Ayush ShuklaNoor Ahmad and Afghanistan will be expected to be a formidable force in familiar Abu Dhabi conditions•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

Abu Dhabi is considered slightly less conducive to spin than Dubai, which may dull Afghanistan’s edge marginally. It is expected to be warm and humid in the evening, as is routine in the UAE this time of year.

Stats and trivia

• In 21 years of their presence in the Asia Cup, Hong Kong have lost all 11 matches they have played.
• Afghanistan have a better T20I record in Abu Dhabi – the venue of the match – than at any other ground in the UAE, winning 11 and losing 5. However, they lost their only match against Hong Kong at this venue, in 2015.

Riverside curtain-raiser abandoned without a ball bowled across four days

ESPNcricinfo staff and ECB Reporters Network08-Apr-2024Durham hope that Scott Boland’s arrival in the north east will provide them with a timely boost after their first match back in Division One of the County Championship was washed out without a ball bowled against Hampshire.Boland has been training at Chester-le-Street over the weekend – he had his Durham headshots taken on Monday – but did not arrive in time to be considered for selection in the opening round of games. He is now due to be available across formats until the end of July, and should make his debut on Friday against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.”He makes it another hard decision,” Ryan Campbell, Durham’s head coach, said. “We made some tough decisions ahead of this game: you would have seen Michael Jones and Bas de Leede miss out, which was a tough decision to come to. And now somebody else is going to miss out – if he’s ready to play.”