The 30-year-old fast bowler is just concentrating on what he needs to do to make sure New Zealand win

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2019It isn’t often that Tim Southee ends up on the sidelines, least of all in a World Cup year, while New Zealand are facing one of the favourites for that tournament. The 30-year old fast bowler has played only two of six limited-overs matches in the ongoing series against India but was quite excellent during the T20I on Wednesday, taking 3 for 17 and helping his team to victory by 80 runs.

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Southee said it was “tough” spending time out of the side but he understood the reasons. “A number of guys that needed game time and I know I haven’t been at my best with the white-ball for a while. It’s never nice missing out but just have to make the most of opportunities when you get them.”And he did, bouncing out the India captain Rohit Sharma in his second over in Wellington on Wednesday. Just as importantly, Southee showed signs of the swing that seemed to have gone out of his game, causing his ODI bowling average to shoot up to 45 since the end of the last World Cup.So, did it feel like he had a point to prove coming back into the XI? “Not at all. Any time you get a chance to play, you’re going out there to do your job and your role for the team. It was no different last night. Felt like I’ve been bowling really well in the nets and for me it was just about transforming that form from the nets to the game. Different when you’ve been sitting on the sidelines for a while and to go out there, there’s obviously excitement, few nerves, but obviously nice way to start the series.”Sometimes in T20 cricket, it can feel really nice and your figures can look really different. It was just a part of almost the perfect puzzle last night, the perfect team performance.When asked why he’s run into trouble in limited-overs cricket lately, Southee pointed to a “lack of wickets”, but was quick to add that there were mitigating circumstances.”There’s been times in the last year or so I’ve felt I’ve bowled extremely well at times and haven’t got wickets or supported [Trent] Boulty at the other end. So I guess you’re always looking at ways to get better, always looking at ways to try and improve as a cricketer. So it’s just always [about being] involved in the game and look in a different way so you can get better and looking back to when you were at your best and how you were operating then.”New Zealand handed India their worst T20I defeat, in Wellington, and were keen on sealing the series in Auckland, where Southee expects a full house.”Last night was a good atmosphere and I think tomorrow will be an amazing atmosphere too. I think it’ll probably be the first time Eden Park’s been sold out since the 2015 World Cup. Doesn’t happen too often when we play there. Will be a very noisy crowd and one the guys are very much looking forward to.”

Sri Lanka lost eight wickets for 63 runs, after a 110-run second-wicket stand, and their captain Chamari Atapattu’s 94 was in vain as South Africa defended 262 in revised chase

The Report by Liam Brickhill14-Feb-2019South Africa sealed their series against Sri Lanka with a 30-run win in the second game in Potchefstroom. Captain Chamari Atapattu powered Sri Lanka’s chase with a boundary-laden 94, but no other Sri Lanka batsman reached fifty and the visitors were bowled out for 231 in pursuit of a revised target of 262 in 47 overs. The visitors lost eight wickets for 63 runs, after a 110-run second-wicket stand.The hosts were without their captain, Dane van Niekerk, who was ruled out for three months due to a stress fracture, but in her absence, fifties for Laura Wolvaardt, Lara Goodall and Marizanne Kapp – who slammed four sixes in her 34-ball 69 – set up an imposing total of 268 for 7.Wolvaardt had been out for a golden duck in the first match, but this time around she struck seven boundaries inside the Powerplay and raised a 49-ball fifty in the 15th over. She added 71 with Andrie Steyn, who was a little more circumspect in compiling her 24. After Wolvaardt fell to an edge through to wicketkeeper Prasadani Weerakkody, Lara Goodall kept the scoreboard ticking despite Sri Lanka’s repeated strikes to dent the middle order.Goodall reached 52 – her maiden ODI fifty – before she became Kavisha Dilhari’s second victim with the score at 183 for 6 in the 42nd over. Her dismissal brought Kapp and Faye Tunnicliffe together, and they added a rapid 85 for the seventh wicket that put South Africa well on top.While Tunnicliffe focused on turning the strike over, Kapp’s first six brought up South Africa’s 200 in the 46th over. In the last five overs of the innings, the hosts added a whopping 69 runs, with Kapp and Tunnicliffe combining to take 20 off a single over from Inoka Ranaweera.Sri Lanka needed a strong start to keep their chase on track, and although Atapattu was immediately into her groove, Weerakkody fell almost immediately, slicing a catch to Mignon du Preez at backward point off Kapp in the fourth over. Rain washed over the ground soon after, forcing an adjustment to Sri Lanka’s target and the overs they would have to reach it.Atapattu’s response was to go on the offensive, and two fours and a six in Masabata Klaas’ first over took her racing into the 40s. Another boundary off Tumi Sekhukhune took her to a 53-ball fifty in the 16th over, the Sri Lankan captain smashing 18 runs off the medium pacer’s next over to raise her team’s 100.Atapattu took her stand with Anushka Sanjeewani beyond 100 with her third six, off Nadine de Klerk, and was in sight of what would have been her fifth ODI hundred when she fell against the run of play, edging a swipe at stand-in captain Sune Luus’ legspin.Her dismissal knocked some of the fight out of Sri Lanka, and when Sanjeewani and Shashikala Siriwardene fell in successive deliveries soon afterwards, the visitors really lost their way. A required rate that had been kept in check soon ballooned to more than a run a ball, and Sri Lanka were left needing 69 from the last ten overs of their innings with five wickets still standing.Wolvaardt followed her innings with the bat up with an excellent performance in the field, effecting two run-outs to tighten South Africa’s grip and also holding a catch at deep midwicket to get rid of Nilakshi de Silva. With the run rate rapidly inflating, two further run-outs deepened Sri Lanka’s woes, and Shabnim Ismail removed a Dilscooping Dilhari in the final over of the innings to bring the match to an end, and seal the series win.

Australia captain lauds the team’s resilience and for having emerged from India with belief in their plans and their ability

Daniel Brettig14-Mar-20193:32

Hodge: Australia showed they can do it without Smith and Warner

A matter of weeks ago, Australia’s touring team arrived in India with quiet optimism but little else. There had been scarcely a break since a draining home summer, and in the case of Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, all participants in the Big Bash League final, only a few snatched hours of sleep before they were on the plane to India.Benefiting from the rare format continuity, the T20 side emerged victorious in the two-match entree, but after a pair of opening defeats in Vizag and Bangalore, the second from a position where the Australians really should have won, it appeared that both the ODI sides; time in the wilderness would be continuing.Finch’s side had other ideas however, and over the ensuing three matches something notable emerged. Suddenly, Australia looked to be balanced, confident and capable, able to win game on three different pitches and in a variety of scenarios. Ashton Turner’s fireworks in Mohali were undoubtedly the highlight, taking the team coached by Justin Langer into the sort of territory that will cause even the World Cup fancies England to be worried, but there was much to savour in Ranchi and Delhi also.Most importantly, the Australians have emerged from India with belief in their plans and their ability, whether it was in putting runs on the board beyond the opponent’s reach or chasing down a mighty total in Mohali that was also kept within reach by the excellent late innings bowling of Pat Cummins. Spin bowling has also been a feature: both Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon can expect World Cup inclusion on the strength of their displays here.”The resilience and fight that we showed being down 0-2, it would have been easy to roll over in those small moments in the game, just let them drift away and India win the series,” Finch said. “But the fight that we showed, we’ve had our backs against the walls for quite a while now so I’m really proud of the group.The victorious Australian team poses with the trophy after winning the series•Getty Images

“From 2-0 down to win 3-2 is pretty special. I’ve been coming here for a while now trying to win and haven’t, so have a lot of Australian players, so it’s a special moment. People have written us off for quite a while now. We always knew that the plans and the style that we wanted to play are all there, can win us the World Cup, win us big series against great teams and India are definitely a great team.”It’s about ourselves believing we’re good enough and sticking to our game plan. We did that for four of the five games and India were too good in a close one in Nagpur. To get over the line in three of them was a great series all round.”Reflecting on how Australia had found the right balance, albeit with a combination of circumstances dating back to the bans on Steven Smith and David Warner, and then more recently an injury to Marcus Stoinis that allowed Turner his chance, Finch reflected on the fact that the selectors had looked for a better combination of heavy hitters and strike rotators, namely Peter Handscomb and Usman Khawaja.”If you go in with all attacking players in these conditions you’re going to struggle, because we know the wickets slow up and the quality of Chahal, Kuldeep, Jadeja these guys they’re too good to just walk out and blast them out of the park,” Finch said. “You need good batsmanship on these wickets and guys who know how to play situations.”Another man with something to prove was Cummins, who did not enjoy being bullied by England’s top order in the home ODI series a little more than a year ago and has subsequently pointed out that he needed more time to hone his white-ball skills. In India, Cummins was granted the new ball for the first time in some years and used it expertly before returning to the crease later in the innings with equally strong effect.”I’ve played a little bit of one-day cricket before but it felt like I hadn’t really clicked in this format,” Cummins said. “It felt like I bowled well in the Australian summer, so glad it keeps on clicking. Hopefully it continues for the World Cup.”We always seem to peak around the World Cup. I wouldn’t want to be a selector, it’s going to be a tough job whittling the team down to 15 and there are obviously a few to come back as well. Especially the batsmen, I thought the way they played the spin let alone the quicks, to get those scores on these kind of wickets, they made it look a lot easier than they were.”As far as selection is concerned, Cummins isn’t wrong. From a time a few weeks ago when Australia looked forlornly towards the returns of Smith and Warner. The success of the India tour now means that the suspended pair will have to do something many have wondered about in the 11 and a half months since they were ruled out: actually earn their places.

There is a World Cup at stake, but if South Africa are under any extra pressure, it won’t be coming from inside their camp

Liam Brickhill18-May-2019There is a World Cup at stake, but if South Africa are under any extra pressure, it won’t be coming from inside their camp. As his team departs for a tournament where – for once – they won’t start as one of the favourites, captain Faf du Plessis is not demanding anything extraordinary from them.Rather, he believes that a focus on enjoyment and on sticking to what has worked for them after a home summer during which they won 11 out of 13 one-day internationals and beat Australia 2-1 away, will provide a formula for success.ALSO READ: South Africa prepare to feel the heat … with one eye on England’s heavens“In previous World Cups, we wanted to do Superman things,” du Plessis said on the eve of South Africa’s departure for England and Wales. “We thought we had to be more special, we had to do something more than we usually do, and we did not do what was good enough. We haven’t always got that right in the past, to play our best cricket at the World Cup, because we put so much pressure on ourselves. We want to just focus on enjoying our cricket.”Seven members of South Africa’s squad, including du Plessis, were part of the 2015 World Cup campaign, when the side crashed out with a four-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the semi-finals. Du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir, JP Duminy and Dale Steyn were also part of South Africa’s team at the 2011 tournament, when they came off second best in another high-pressure encounter with New Zealand.”We believed you had to be really special to win the World Cup, that you had to do something more than you usually do, which is not true,” du Plessis said of previous campaigns. “Whatever we’ve been doing consistently, the way we’ve played while beating teams that will work. We have to do the basics as well as possible, teams don’t win the World Cup by someone scoring a century off 50 balls or taking 7 for 20.”Du Plessis is a thinking captain, but he is also a feeling one. Rather than shying away from the pressures that come with international competition, he has urged his team to grapple with them in positive ways – and he hasn’t been afraid to talk openly about the mental aspect of South Africa’s game in the media either.”We started a year or two ago with a real focus on mental preparation and, as a captain, I probably speak more about that than previous captains, but I really believe it’s an area we can get better in,” du Plessis said. “I’ve been there and I know the pressures, I understand how to deal with them. There’s a reason why we want the guys to play freely – because we don’t want them to have a fear of failure, which is what the World Cup is for some of them. Our success in England over the next couple of months depends on how well we release that aspect of our play – we need that for the team to be at our best. Each player needs to find out his own strengths.Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis helped South Africa overcome a slow start•Getty Images

“The players relate better to fellow players and I’m on the same level as the coach when it comes to the importance of the mental side. I’m a big believer in positive visualisation, how to remain calm, and I feel it has had value for my own game. So I can relate that to the players, how important it is to be present in the moment; for instance when there’s been a dropped catch, there’s nothing you can do about it and it’s about how you change your mindset to make sure you are still strong mentally.”Du Plessis’ pragmatic approach will also be seen in South Africa’s selections during the tournament. He suggested that playing XIs would be picked on primarily on form, though he was also quick to point out that a player such as Amla, whose form – or lack thereof – has a been a major talking point in the lead-up to the World Cup, brings invaluable experience to the squad whether or not he is making runs.”In terms of team selection, that’s a call we will make when we get to that first game,” du Plessis said. “We have two warm-up games. Generally, we want to pick on form. If we believe Hash is the guy with the best form for the first game then he will be picked. But if we feel there are other guys that are more in form [we will pick them]. Form does play a huge role in a long competition like this – so hopefully Hash can go into those warm-ups, and bang, bang two centuries in a row and then we can smile from there.”At 36, and with 174 ODIs under his belt, Amla is one of the most experienced members of South Africa’s squad. He has played 18 of those ODIs in England, averaging 56.73, and has been part of two previous World Cup campaigns.”As an experienced player, he is important in our squad and that was one of the key reasons he was picked,” du Plessis said. “You cannot substitute experience. When I speak about the experience, I speak about experience having played in tournaments like the World Cup before. He understands what it means to play in a big tournament.”Whether that means runs or not, no one can give us that guarantee. But it’s just the calm composure Hashim has. Even if he doesn’t play a game, just the knowledge and experience that he can share with someone like an Aiden Markram is something you can only get from a guy like Hashim. He can talk him through those first 10 overs, he has a lot of experience playing county cricket, so his experience is vital to the group.”

Shadab Khan will be available for the World Cup, with Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed confirming he was fit

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2019Pakistan look set to confirm Shadab Khan in their World Cup squad, after the PCB announced in a press release* that the legspinning allrounder had been cleared to join up with the squad after their ODI series with England.Their captain Sarfaraz Ahmed had already allayed doubts about Shadab’s fitness in comments ahead of the third ODI in Bristol. Shadab, who was struck down with a bout of hepatitis ahead of the England tour, has been recuperating back home since the start of the ODI series.But speaking at the toss in Bristol, Sarfaraz told Sky Sports: “We have good news about Shadab. He will be fit for the World Cup and we are excited to have him back.”He is now set to leave Pakistan for England on Thursday, where he will again see a London-based specialist, before joining up with the rest of the World Cup party on Monday. Shadab’s fitness to play a part in Pakistan’s World Cup warm-up games will be determined nearer the time.Shadab was quoted by the PCB release as saying: “I am delighted to know that the blood tests are negative and I can now return to competitive cricket. I was always very confident that I would fully recover from the viral infection and will be available for the World Cup.”The development is a massive boost for Pakistan, who had selected Yasir Shah for this series instead. However, Yasir’s ODI form is a far cry from the quality that has marked him out as an elite Test match bowler, with an ODI average of nearly 50, and he was omitted from the Bristol match after a poor game at the Ageas Bowl on Saturday.It effectively left Pakistan with two options: taking Yasir to the World Cup, or deciding to go in without a legspinner at all. Shadab’s all-round ability also gave the team more flexibility with the batting order and squad selection, and as a legspinner, he is far and away the premier choice for Sarfaraz’s side.Whether he will be fully fit right from the outset is unclear yet. The virus was discovered in his blood following routine medical tests that the PCB conducts on its players. However, its early detection is believed to have helped his recovery, and one day after Mohammad Amir’s diagnosis of chicken pox all but ruled him out of the World Cup, Shadab’s arrival will certainly be a fillip.”It is fabulous news and on behalf of the Pakistan cricket team, I look forward to welcoming Shadab back in the squad,” Pakistan’s coach Mickey Arthur said. “Shadab is one of the finest of his generation and is an influential figure in the team. His presence in the dressing room and on the field of play keeps the side geared up and motivated.”Shadab’s inclusion also balances what is a young but extremely talented squad. I understand it will take Shadab some time to be back at his brilliant best as he has not played cricket for a few weeks, but our first game is on 31 May and he has got two weeks to regain complete form and fitness.”He is a brave lad and the way he has fought back to regain fitness is a testament to his attitude and approach, which gives us the encouragement that he will be hopefully available for selection for our World Cup opener.”*1500 BST – This story was updated with news from the PCB release

The Australia and Perth Scorchers opener revealed she took an indefinite break because “people couldn’t see behind closed doors where I was really struggling”

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jun-2019Australia opener Nicole Bolton has spoken about her battle with mental health following her return to action after a five-month break and said if it hadn’t been for stepping away from the game she may have been forced to retire.When Bolton started her indefinite break in the middle of the fourth edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in January, citing personal reasons, an air of concern hung over her withdrawal. It wasn’t, after all, a drop in form that had triggered the decision; she had just smashed a fifty for the Scorchers against Sydney Thunder and picked up 2 for 26. However, that Player-of-the-Match performance also brought the curtain down on Bolton’s season.More than five months on from the start of that hiatus from competitive cricket – she was unavailable for selection for the three-match home ODI series against New Zealand in February – which ended with a recall to Australia’s Ashes squad, Bolton revealed that her pull-out had been down to “alarm bells” around her mental well-being that nearly forced her to consider retirement.ALSO READ: Nicole Bolton relieved after bouncing back from first-baller ahead of Ashes“Personally a few things happened to me away from cricket which was a bit of a challenge in itself,” Bolton told . “There is still a lot of stigma around mental health, depression and anxiety. I don’t think I’d be sitting here talking to you if I didn’t take a break. I potentially would have retired to be honest.””It was what people couldn’t see behind closed doors where I was really struggling. Physically my body started to fail me in a sense. It was like alarm bells because I was like ‘this isn’t normal’.”A battle that has been faced by some of Bolton’s top-flight competitors such as England’s Sarah Taylor and Kate Cross, posed her a similar challenge: to speak up. And Bolton admitted she “wasn’t completely honest” with the Perth Scorchers team doctor, to whom she had only described symptoms of potential burnout.”I was almost covering up how I was really feeling,” Bolton said. “I didn’t want to rush it. It was something I knew that if I was going to take the time off, I had to do it properly. If that meant never coming back to play for Australia, then that’s what it meant.”During her time away from the game, Bolton found a confidant in the Australia and New South Wales men’s allrounder Moises Henriques, who had taken leave from the Big Bash League in late-December 2017 due to mental-health reasons.”He doesn’t know the role that he’s played, but it’s unbelievable really,” Bolton said of Henriques, who would try to lift her with words of encouragement on WhatsApp.Nicole Bolton gets set to play a sweep•Getty Images

At the time, Bolton’s decision to step away from the game was met with support by her club and national team-mates, including the likes of Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry.”You speak to anyone around the country in women’s cricket and she would have had an impact on them in some way or another,” Perry, the Sydney Sixers captain had said. “She’s a great mate of mine and I know she’s got a huge amount of support from everyone. She won’t be a stranger, that’s for sure.”Bolton’s Scorchers and Australia captain, Lanning, echoed Perry. “It’s a family at the Scorchers and we’re right behind her,” Lanning said. “She knows that so hopefully she can get into a good spot and we’ll see what happens from there.”The support from her colleagues has been palpable since her return to the Australia squad for the multi-format seven-match Ashes, which starts next month and will kick off a busy international season that includes a tour of Sri Lanka in September, a tri-series involving England and India in January next year, leading up to the home T20 World Cup in February-March. There’s also the first standalone WBBL, running from October to December, on the domestic calendar.”Coming back into the squad, they were just rapt and even the staff were pumped,” Bolton said. “I never once felt alone, I knew I had the support I just needed a bit of help to get there. To be picked to play for Australia again I think is a massive achievement.”You get so caught up in the pressure and expectations and it can just grind away at you. Now I feel like I’ve got other things going on in my life that if cricket is not going well, well it’s okay. In time, I hope I can share my experience and maybe help someone else. It was an important time in my life and I’m glad I’ve been able to come through it.”

New Zealand concede pitch turned ‘more than we though it would’ as Babar Azam and Harris Sohail take game away

Melinda Farrell at Edgbaston 26-Jun-2019New Zealand are arguably the best side when it comes to reading pitches in tournament play but on a slow Edgbaston track that turned considerably there were admissions after their loss to Pakistan that they had missed a trick by picking just one frontline spinner and omitting Ish Sodhi from the team.In the absence of Sodhi’s legspin, New Zealand turned to the part time offspin of Kane Williamson to partner Mitchell Santner, as they tried to defend 237 and break up the key partnership between Babar Azam and Haris Sohail. After the match, Santner admitted they were deceived by pitch and thought it would offer more for the pace bowlers.”Obviously there was a bit of turn out there, probably more than we thought there would be,” Santner said. “Obviously at the toss, only going with one spinner, we thought it might be a bit better than that.Babar Azam shouts to Mohammad Hafeez•Getty Images

“It’s the spinner’s role to take wickets on a surface like that but I think credit has to go to the way Pakistan batted throughout the middle. That partnership through the middle there was pretty special. There were a couple of chances there but it’s about trying to build up pressure from both ends and stuff like that, but the way they were able to manipulate the field, and get their ones, when you’re only chasing 230, is the way to go about it.”I think we fought pretty well to the end and I guess they only got it in the last over. It was obviously a tough surface and we just had to stick at it. If we could put a couple on it, a couple of wickets on throughout that chase it might have been a little bit different.”After New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat, James Neesham made an unbeaten 97, his highest ODI score. He was one of eight bowlers used by Williamson, highlighting the desperation with which New Zealand were seeking a breakthrough.Watch on Hotstar (India only) – Neesham’s 97 not outBefore their previous match at Edgbaston, a final-over win against South Africa, New Zealand had spoken to Warwickshire captain and former Black Cap Jeetan Patel for advice on the pitch. Colin de Grandhomme has also played for the Birmingham Bears in the past two seasons.But Neesham suggested the information they gleaned before playing Pakistan was not especially accurate.”I think we can only obviously work on what we’re told leading into the game,” Neesham said. “We probably selected the team based on the information we had. In hindsight, it’s easy to say an extra spinner would have been useful, but I think with the balls we had, the quality we had at the bowling crease was enough to defend that total, and unfortunately, it just didn’t fall our way today.”

He is set to return to top-flight cricket by the end of the year after he met with the PCB and both parties agreed on a roadmap for his return

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2019Sharjeel Khan is set to return to top-flight cricket by the end of the year. The update comes after he met the PCB and both parties agreed on a roadmap for his return following, for the first time since he was banned, Sharjeel offering an “unconditional apology” for “irresponsible conduct that brought embarrassment to everyone” and asking for forgiveness.Sharjeel did not specifically address what he was apologising for, even evading repeated media enquiries on the matter after his statement had been submitted. But it appeared enough of an admission of guilt for the PCB, which announced that Sharjeel’s suspended sentence would be waived and he would undergo complete rehabilitation to allow him to reintegrate into the game.”I offer my unconditional apology to the Pakistan Cricket Board, my team-mates, fans and family for the irresponsible conduct that brought embarrassment to everyone,” Sharjeel said in a statement. “I request for forgiveness and assure I will show more responsibility in my future actions.”I remind all cricketers to strictly and religiously follow the PCB Anti-Corruption Code as breaching it will only earn momentary gains but the consequences will be severe and last for rest of the career. I have agreed on the future course of action with the PCB, including helping it in its education sessions on anti-corruption. I will soon return to club cricket but will not rush into domestic cricket as I have been away for nearly 30 months and need time to reclaim my fitness and form.”PCB agreed to waive Sharjeel’s suspended sentence following his ‘unconditional apology’•Umar Farooq/ESPNcricinfo

According to a PCB statement, the rehabilitation includes attending and delivering lectures on the PCB anti-corruption code, as well as visits to orphanages as part of his social responsibility, before he takes part in “integration sessions” with the national squad.Sharjeel, 29, was banned in 2017 from all forms of cricket for his role in the spot-fixing scandal that marred the PSL’s second edition. On the opening night, Sharjeel and Khalid Latif, playing for Islamabad United, were charged with five major breaches of the PCB’s anti-corruption code and were found guilty on all five counts by a three-man tribunal. Sharjeel was handed the minimum mandatory punishment on each of his charges. Latif received a five-year ban, with no chance of a waiver before the period ended.Whether Sharjeel’s suspended sentence would be waived was in doubt as recently as last week, when, with his ban set to expire, the player appeared not to have admitted his guilt, shown remorse for his actions, or taken part in any rehabilitation programmes.During his ban, Sharjeel maintained his innocence and denied all charges, appealing against the ban before an independent arbitrator, and then in court, only to have it rejected. Since then he has been weighing his options, and finally chose to write to PCB chairman Ehsan Mani, requesting him to use his discretion to waive the remainder of the ban.That appears to have been accepted, with the statement from the cricketer a part of the deal. The PCB also confirmed that the rehabilitation and reintegration would run side-by-side. It represents something of a departure from norm, where reintegration into cricket only becomes possible after the player has completed his rehab, but the PCB’s stance has softened in the wake of Sharjeel’s apology.Lt Col (R) Asif Mahmood, director of the PCB’s security and anti-corruption unit, said, “We met Sharjeel today in which he showed remorse and regret for his actions. The PCB never takes pride in penalising its players, but it has a non-negotiable and zero-tolerance approach to matters relating to corruption.”I hope this serves as a reminder to all those who think they can get away with violating rules as the PCB is vigilant and committed to eliminate the menace of corruption from the game.”

PTI reported that Dravid will be meeting Justice DK Jain in person in Mumbai on September 26

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2019Rahul Dravid, who was recently appointed head of cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru by the BCCI, has been asked to appear before the board’s ethics officer Justice (retired) DK Jain over allegations of conflict of interest. According to , Dravid will meet Justice Jain in person in Mumbai on September 26.Allegations of conflict of interest against Dravid were brought up by Sanjeev Gupta, a life member of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, who said that the former India captain should not be on the BCCI payroll because he was a long-term employee of Chennai-based India Cements, the company owned by former board president N Srinivasan that also owns Chennai Super Kings.In response, ESPNcricinfo understands that Dravid had written to Justice Jain explaining that he had suspended his employment with India Cements and was getting no pay. That then got him the full backing of the three-member Committee of Administrators (supervisory authority of BCCI) to remain in his NCA role.Along with Dravid’s case, Justice Jain will also hear one pertaining to Mayank Parikh, a senior official in the BCCI’s operations wing, who owns six cricket clubs in Mumbai – both Gupta and the CoA had pointed out that, as per the BCCI constitution, one cannot operate cricket clubs and be employed by the state cricket association or the board.Also read: Conflict-of-interest rule has to be ‘practical’, says Sourav GangulyThe conflict of interest issue has been in focus of late, with a number of high-profile former cricketers being questioned. Sourav Ganguly, who is caught up in it as well, said last week that the BCCI had to make the conflict of interest rule more “practical” and allow people to perform multiple roles. VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar are among the other big names in Indian cricket to have found themselves in similar situations of late.”I wouldn’t say an exception be made to the rule [for celebrated former players but] the rule has to be practical,” Ganguly said at an event in Mumbai. “And what is conflict of interest? Today Rahul Dravid is appointed NCA head and there are issues about his conflict of interest of his job with India Cements. So you’ve got to be practical on that.”You never know whether you will become NCA head or not, three years later you may not remain NCA head, but these [other] jobs are permanent and these jobs remain with you. So it has got to be practically solved – even when you do commentary or coaching, I don’t see it as a conflict of interest.”Ganguly’s roles came into question since he is both president of the Cricket Association of Bengal and part of the coaching staff of IPL team Delhi Capitals, while also doing media work as a commentator and columnist.

Suzie Bates leads with bat and ball as Vipers secure title shot against Western Storm

Matt Roller at Hove01-Sep-2019Southern Vipers overcame a mid-innings wobble to edge past Loughborough Lightning and advance to the final of the Kia Super League in a nerve-jangling run chase at Hove.Suzie Bates and Danni Wyatt had started the Vipers’ chase of 144 with real intent, as they took the score to 71 for 0 off the powerplay.But Loughborough spinners Sarah Glenn and Kirstie Gordon both struck in the middle overs to cause a hiccup and, as scoring became harder, only a crucial 22-run stand for the sixth wicket snuck the Vipers over the line and into the final.”That was probably our best bowling and fielding performance of the tournament, and that set us up really,” said Tammy Beaumont, the Vipers captain. “Danni and Suzie were exceptional in the powerplay. Danni is seeing it beautifully at the moment and Suzie is so experienced and then the middle order managed to see us home.”We did so well with the ball. At one stage I thought we were going to be chasing 160 on what was a good wicket so to keep them to 143 was an outstanding effort.”Loughborough’s attack laid claim to being the best in the competition when at full strength, but they were two bowlers short and it showed in a ragged powerplay. Kathryn Bryce (Scotland) and Hayley Matthews (West Indies) were both on international duty, and Shabnim Ismail, the overseas replacement fast bowler, missed the final group game and was unavailable as a result.Ismail had originally been reported as unavailable due to visa problems, though according to Kate Cross, the Lancashire seamer on , they were largely of her own making: as it turned out, she had failed to apply for one.It meant that Lightning were at least one bowler light, and when Wyatt and Bates decided to attack early on, they had few answers. Wyatt thrashed 19 off the second over, bowled by Jenny Gunn, and Bates followed suit as the pair put on 71 in the powerplay alone.Quick wickets then pegged the Vipers back. Gordon bowled Bates with a delivery that was little short of a slow left-armer’s dream, pitching on middle and spinning away from the bat to hit the top of off, before Wyatt was smartly stumped by England opening partner Amy Jones off Glenn’s legspin.Beaumont cut a frustrated, busy figure in her innings of 24, which also accounted for Maia Bouchier via a sloppy run-out, and after slashing four boundaries she chopped a Gunn slower-ball onto her stumps to leave the Vipers reliant on their lower-middle order.Fi Morris struggled for timing in a scratchy, 16-ball 7, and Paige Scholfield and Amanda-Jade Wellington endured a nervy couple of overs where they could only scrap singles and the Lightning turned the screw. But Wellington’s reverse-swept four off Glenn left them needing single figures, and Scholfield then charged down to deposit a length ball for another boundary over midwicket to seal the win.Loughborough’s innings of 143 was a frenetic affair, which jagged and veered rather than ebbing and flowing, and looked not far short of a par score on a wicket that offered something for the spinners.Lauren Bell, a tall, wiry seamer who bowled with good pace and found prodigious swing, struck twice early. First, Jones – who had put a miserable Ashes series behind her by scoring 300 runs at 37.50 in the tournament – was perhaps fortunate to survive a convincing lbw appeal, before attempting to ramp a ball that moved in from outside off and succeeding only in playing it onto her off stump.Then Bell struck again inside the powerplay to remove the dangerous Chamari Atapattu, trapping her lbw from around the wicket. While Bell is still a raw talent, as evidenced by the five wides and two no-balls she bowled, the makings of a future England player are there for all to see. She touched 70mph, and has regularly been part of their academy squads – at 18, she has a bright future.Skipper Georgia Elwiss led the rebuilding job alongside Georgia Adams after the powerplay, and the pair added 55 in 6.1 overs, but when Elwiss flicked a Tash Farrant ball out to Wyatt at midwicket, she decided to take on one of England’s best fielders and was duly run out coming back for a second run.From there, things only got more frenzied. Mignon du Preez’s international career has seen her play the role of accumulator, but she has struck at comfortably over 140 this season, and whacked a pair of sixes before holing out to Wyatt to end a tumultuous 11-ball innings of 21.Gunn and Abigail Freeborn both did their best to keep things moving, but Bates cleaned up the tail in her final over, with Wyatt claiming her third catch at deep midwicket before Gordon’s stumps were rearranged.Western Storm did the double over both sides in the group stage, and will be confident of getting past the Vipers in the final, but flashes of form from Wyatt and Bates will have made it clear that they will need to strike early with the ball.