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Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has been barred from bowling in competitive cricket after his action was found to be illegal

Amol Karhadkar27-Dec-20144:02

Agarkar: Ban answers question why Akshar picked over Ojha

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has been barred from bowling in competitive cricket after his action was found to be illegal. ESPNcricinfo understands that following a request made by the Hyderabad Cricket Association, Ojha’s home association in domestic cricket, Ojha’s action was tested at the ICC-recognised centre in Chennai. The tests, it is understood, concluded that Ojha’s elbow flexed more than the permissible limit of 15 degrees.The BCCI informed the HCA in a letter on Friday that Ojha cannot bowl in competitive cricket till his action is cleared, and the bowler was subsequently withdrawn from Hyderabad’s squad for their Ranji Trophy game against Services, which begins on Sunday.It is understood that Ojha’s action had been under the scanner for more than a year now, which was one of the reasons why he disappeared from the selectors’ radar despite being one of the quickest Indian bowlers to reach 100 Test wickets. Ojha is believed to have discussed the issue informally with the national selectors, which resulted in him getting his action tested in Chennai.Purshottam Agarwal, the HCA joint secretary, admitted that the association had “received a letter” from the BCCI, but denied that the HCA had asked for Ojha’s action to be evaluated. Hyderabad’s coach Abdul Azeem, meanwhile, said he was surprised by the setback to his team, particularly since there had been “no whispers about it”.Former Test umpire AV Jayaprakash, a member of the BCCI’s committee to eradicate suspect bowling actions, had told ESPNcricinfo in October that Ojha had been asked to undertake corrective measures in the past. Following Jayaprakash’s claims, which came during the Duleep Trophy, Ojha started bowling in half-sleeves. In the Ranji Trophy this season, he bowled 133.4 overs in Hyderabad’s three matches, picking up four wickets at 75.25. It is understood that Ojha did bowl his arm-ball throughout the season, a delivery which is believed to have come under the scanner.Earlier this month, Ojha was released by Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2015 IPL season.

England have not won successive Tests or a series since the summer of 2013, and this is their last opportunity to score a victory until the 2015 World Cup

The Preview by George Binoy06-Aug-2014Match factsAugust 7-11, 2014
Start time 1100 local (1000 GMT)Big PictureIf India have worked as hard on their game as they have to get James Anderson punished in the previous week, they will almost certainly win at least a session at Old Trafford. They could not manage that in the third Test. The visitors had a nightmare in Southampton: their lead bowler was passed unfit before the toss and the rest of the cast was flat, they dropped catches and mis-fielded, and their batsmen got out soon after they got in. MS Dhoni’s glass was certainly half-full when he said of his batsmen, “getting starts is more difficult that converting starts.”India had 13 double-figure scores at Ageas Bowl but Ajinkya Rahane’s 54 was the highest. They had 11 partnerships over 20 but only three over 50 and none more than 74. A first-innings score of 330 is respectable, but it won’t win Tests unless the opposition collapses, and England had amassed 569. The batting problems, however, seem more fixable than the bowling worries. Apart from Anderson and Stuart Broad, England’s back-up seamers did not trouble the Indian batsmen in Southampton, and the visitors should back themselves to negotiate Moeen Ali’s offbreaks better than they have done in previous Tests.The challenge for Alastair Cook’s team will be to replicate their flawless efforts at Ageas Bowl. England’s out-of-form batsmen made runs, two out of the three new players they brought in were successes, and their spinner proved he was no part-timer. A second performance of such magnitude would be proof that the first one – which ended a winless run of 10 Tests – was not merely happenstance. England have not won successive Tests or a series since the summer of 2013, and this is their last opportunity to score a victory until after the 2015 World Cup.Form guide (last five matches, most recent first)
England WLDLD
India LWDDL
In the spotlightSam Robson has not yet done enough this summer to suggest he has succeeded where Nick Compton, Joe Root and Michael Carberry failed, in making the opening slot vacated by Andrew Strauss their own. Robson had one century and three low scores in two Tests against Sri Lanka, and after a half-century against India on a lifeless Trent Bridge track, he has not passed 30 in his next four innings. With England taking a hiatus from Test cricket at the end of this series until April 2015, Robson potentially has four innings to ensure he isn’t forgotten. Moeen Ali is faring marginally worse than Robson with the bat in this series, but all anyone is talking about is his 15 wickets.Can any combination of Indian bowlers take 20 wickets in a Test? No one was asking that question after Lord’s, but it has almost become rhetorical after Southampton. With Ishant Sharma injured, Bhuvneshwar Kumar tiring, Mohammed Shami averaging 73.20 for five wickets, Pankaj Singh luckless, and Ravindra Jadeja being outbowled by Moeen Ali, the lack of depth on India’s creaking bench has been exposed, as many thought it would be over five Tests. There is talk of offspinner R Ashwin and fast bowler Varun Aaron bolstering the attack, but Ashwin averages nearly 75 in away Tests and Aaron hasn’t played since his debut in 2011.Team newsEngland played the near-perfect Test in Southampton, but Chris Jordan’s performance – his lithe slip catching apart – had plenty of room for improvement. He did not bat, and when he bowled he posed almost no threat and went wicketless. If the Old Trafford pitch is fast, England could give Steve Finn a comeback, but they will probably stick with their successful XI.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Sam Robson, 3 Gary Ballance, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Joe Root, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Chris Jordan/Steve Finn, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.India are likely to bring in Ashwin and Aaron for Rohit Sharma and Pankaj. Shikhar Dhawan could miss out too, but if India decide not to play Gautam Gambhir, they could retain Rohit and push everyone one slot higher.India (probable) 1 M Vijay, 2 Shikhar Dhawan/Gautam Gambhir, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Varun Aaron/Pankaj Singh.James Anderson has two Man-of-the-Match awards this series, one Level 3 hearing appearance, no ban, and is 13 wickets away from becoming England’s top wicket-taker•PA PhotosPitch and conditionsThe pitch at Trent Bridge made for dreary cricket; the Lord’s surface resembled a budding lawn but its bark was worse than its bite; and Ageas Bowl rewarded only the bowlers who had the skills to exploit its strip. Old Trafford is tipped to have the quickest pitch – although not grassy – of the series so far, but the lead-up to the Test has been wet.The forecast for the first day is fair, but it is worse on Friday and progressively so over the weekend. The temperature is expected to be between 18C and 20C, so it is certainly sweater weather, for the Indians at least.Stats and trivia India last played a Test at Old Trafford in 1990, when Sachin Tendulkar made a match-saving maiden century; they have drawn five and lost three matches at the venue. England have won six and drawn two of their last eight Tests in Manchester; their last defeat there was against Pakistan in May 2001. Anderson had taken 12 wickets at 35.33 apiece in four Tests at Old Trafford, his home ground. His new-ball partner Stuart Broad has only two wickets in two Tests at the venue, at an average of 108.50. Ian Bell averages 78.57 in six Tests in Manchester. He has 550 runs in ten innings there, with two hundreds. Cook has scored 431 runs at an average of 53.87 at the venue.Quotes”We put a lot of wear and tear into the Indian bowlers in that game [third Test], that’s how you win Test-match series. We put a lot of miles in their legs like they did to us at Trent Bridge, which affected us at Lord’s. At the start of this game it’s nil-all and you’ve got to earn the right to put miles in their legs again.”
“The match will tell us how fresh they really are, but at the same time the best we could have managed is to work on fitness and manage their workloads, and we have done that really well. So we will turn up on the field and see if they will be fresh and raring to go.”

Hampshire are safely over the penultimate fence but dragged their hind legs through it

Alex Winter at the Ageas Bowl18-Sep-2014
ScorecardWill Smith withstood the late push by Kent’s spinners•Getty ImagesHampshire are safely over the penultimate fence but dragged their hind legs through it. They just about avoided disaster against Kent via Will Smith’s splendid rearguard century and now take a 10-point cushion into the final week over the fast-finishing Essex.Hampshire were striding to promotion like Crisp to the 1973 Grand National with thumping victories over Kent at Canterbury and Leicestershire last week. But they were outplayed here and Essex are coming with another late surge, whittling down a 44-point deficit at the start of the month, and are looking to get up near the line like Red Rum in ’73.Hampshire’s task remains straightforward. Any kind of victory at Glamorgan next week will see them promoted. But if Hampshire only draw, Essex will be guaranteed to pip them if they take 23 points against Worcestershire. If Essex draw at Chelmsford, Hampshire will need four points at Cardiff to guarantee promotion.The margin for error at Glamorgan would have been far less without Sean Ervine, whose day three century produced three batting points that were wholly unexpected, and Will Smith batting through the final day to secure a draw.”Over the last couple of days you’ve seen two of the best hundreds you’re likely to see in the county game,” Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams said. “The five points could be crucial, they might not matter, but in terms of the team showing resilience we’ve shown to be a tough team to beat this year. It’s nice going into the last game with something riding on it.”Smith’s century, his second in the Championship this season, capped a fine week where he also passed 1000 runs in a season for the first time and signed a new three-year contract with Hampshire. Crucially, he delivered five extra points for his side to give them a buffer for next week.”I was due an innings like that,” Smith said. “It was very very tricky. But over the years I’ve developed a method where I think I’m okay at staying in and gradually I’ve found a way to score as well. Given the situation, concentration wise and knowing what it means to the club to get those extra points it’s got to be right up there as my best hundred.”Much credit is also due to No. 11 James Tomlinson, who held out gamely for Ervine in the first innings and Smith on the fourth evening. In total he ate up 69 deliveries in the match. Hampshire were also helped by the morning session on the final day being washed out in an electrical blaze.Saving the game looked as straightforward as building a hotel on an empty piece of land with no planning restrictions with Hampshire only three down with 36 overs left in the day. But just as the collapse of the contractors stalled the hotel project at the Ageas Bowl, six wickets falling in 10.1 overs, including three in 13 balls straight after tea, held up Hampshire’s promotion push.Kent’s two offspinners, Adam Riley and James Tredwell, shared eight scalps as the wicket began to crumble. When James Vince had slashed Calum Haggett to first slip – third man out, brilliantly caught by Darren Stevens – there was no hint of a problem. But the wicket began to turn.Tom Alsop became the first of four lbw victims playing back to Riley, who then twice turned deliveries past the outside edge of Sean Ervine as signs of concern grew. In the first over after tea, Riley beat Ervine’s inside edge to earn another lbw. There was no second rescue act. Matt Coles also got a good stride down the wicket but that still did not deter Nigel Cowley giving him out lbw.Imran Tahir blasted Tredwell over long-on for six but, next delivery, Tredwell turned one past Tahir’s forward grope and bowled him. Over 20 overs remained but once again Tomlinson held firm and Smith extended the lead to a safe distance. Kent captain Rob Key offered his hand with 10 overs left in the day.Smith had little trouble against the spinners, getting well forward – particularly to Riley who bowls a little quicker than Tredwell – and right back to ride the turn. Unbeaten on 66 overnight after steadily seeing Hampshire through a potentially tricky third evening, he tucked and nudged his way to what he described as up there with his best centuries.From early on in this match it was apparent Hampshire’s final home match of the season would feature no promotion party – chairman Rod Bransgrove was away on business anyway – but the Ageas Bowl season still ended with an exciting day.There is much about Hampshire on the field that can be likened to the hotel still being built at the Northern End of the Ageas Bowl. Eastleigh Borough Council have not quite had to step in to pay Jimmy Adams’ wages or Imran Tahir’s business class flight but like the hotel, the date of when Hampshire’s Championship side are going to be back competing with the best in the country continues to be pushed back.Both could be next spring, the latest completion date for the hotel and when Hampshire will begin their first campaign in Division One since 2011 should they gain the required points next week.

Kent earned the draw that had looked odds-on the night before but could so easily have eluded them once the visitors scented blood during a morning session of pressure cricket that was wonderful to watch

David Lloyd at Canterbury10-Jun-2014
ScorecardDaniel Bell-Drummond was far away from T20 mode during his 257-ball innings of 92•Getty ImagesProfiles of Daniel Bell-Drummond refer to his “aggressive style and lavish strokeplay” – and there is no doubt the young batsman can give it a biff because he scored 59 off 30 balls in a T20 match just a few weeks ago. But, on the evidence of this contest, “bolt-tight defence, cast-iron temperament and appetite for a fight” can be added by way of description.Bell-Drummond’s first-innings half-century was overshadowed by first Brendan Nash and then Darren Stevens, both of whom made run-scoring look relatively easy – but only after the 20-year-old opener had battened down the hatches following a couple of Essex successes with the new ball.On Tuesday, though, no one was in any doubt who deserved star billing as Kent earned the draw that had looked odds-on the night before but could so easily have eluded them once the visitors scented blood during a morning session of pressure cricket that was wonderful to watch.Bell-Drummond, promoted to opener from No. 3 a couple of weeks ago and playing only his 29th first-class match, stood firm and unflinching as Essex struck three times in the space of eight overs while only two runs were added. The contest had reached a real crisis point, from Kent’s perspective, because at 73 for 3 they led by just 20 runs.There was no shortage of chat in the middle and precious little respite. But Bell-Drummond seldom looked like succumbing and, while never able to express himself as he might have wished, his reward was a Championship-best score. The former England Under-19 player deserved a maiden hundred in the competition but was denied that by Essex’s somewhat unlikely bowler of the match, Jesse Ryder, who pinned him lbw for 92 as he moved across his stumps in an attempt to flick to leg.’One of my most important knocks’

Daniel Bell-Drummond knew he was not at his fluent best while making a gritty half-century during the first innings of this match but reckoned that helped him to knuckle down second time around.
“It was tough work today,” he said after batting for five hours and 21 minutes. “I just tried to back my defence, not take any risks and put as big a price on my wicket as I could. I should think that’s the longest I’ve ever batted in an innings so I’m pretty happy with that and it is definitely one of the most important knocks I’ve played because it went a long way towards saving the game.
“I’m disappointed I couldn’t get my first Championship hundred but I can’t really complain. Hopefully the hundred will come before too long.
“Getting through the morning session was really tough – probably one of the toughest sessions I’ve faced as a batsman. I needed a bit of luck but it was a good education for me.”

After nearly five-and-half hours of defiance it was no wonder that Bell-Drummond had to drag himself from the field. But while this innings, like the first, was not blemish-free – he survived a difficult, one-handed slip chance to Nick Browne off Tymal Mills when 26 – there was plenty to be proud about.Essex, too, deserved enormous praise and if any county in the second division pack can make an impression on the current top two, Worcestershire and Hampshire, one suspects it might be James Foster’s men. Here, they came so close to suffocating their opponents during a terrific passage of play after an early morning ball change.David Masters did his bit with a typically accurate spell, which allowed captain Foster to tighten the grip still further by posting two slips, two leg slips and two short legs. But, as in the first innings of this match, it was Ryder who did the damage by plucking out Rob Key’s middle stump, having Sam Northeast caught on the drive at second slip and flicking Nash’s glove.Somehow, the hosts had to break free. They succeeded to an extent with Ben Harmison taking advantage of a couple of short, leg-side deliveries from first change Mills but they still looked far from comfortable. And Bell-Drummond’s reprieve reminded them just how much work was still to be done.In the end, the crucial partnership was one of 86 for the fifth wicket between Bell-Drummond and Stevens. But Kent kept losing batsmen just when they were close to safety, and even their young opener was not quite able to complete the job. Bell-Drummond had taken them near enough, though, and all that really mattered thereafter was a final wicket for Ryder. Having never taken five wickets in an innings, the medium-pacer had now done it twice in the same match to finish with 10 for 110.

The scenes at the Wankhede Stadium were scarcely believable as Mumbai Indians’ turnaround of a campaign that had begun so disastrously culminated in the most fairy-tale of finishes

The Report by George Binoy25-May-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details8:56

Isa Guha: Rajasthan deserved to lose

The scenes at the Wankhede Stadium were scarcely believable as Mumbai Indians’ turnaround of a campaign that had begun so disastrously culminated in the most fairy-tale of finishes. As Aditya Tare swung his first ball – James Faulkner’s leg-stump full toss – over long leg to give Mumbai the boundary they needed to claw into the playoffs, Rahul Dravid rose from the dugout and flung his Rajasthan Royals cap to the ground as the team he was mentoring completed the most spectacular of meltdowns to lose an un-loseable game.The shambles that caused Dravid to lose his temper would have broken less-composed men much sooner. Despite the mad-scientist experiments in their last few matches, Royals had gone into this game with a hand full of aces. Mumbai Indians, having decided to chase, needed to achieve whatever target they were set in 14.3 overs to get ahead on net run rate. Royals set them 190.Corey Anderson, whom Mumbai picked in place of fast bowler Marchant de Lange, played the attack-shredding innings he had been bought to play but had failed to produce so far in the tournament. However, when Mumbai needed nine off three deliveries to win in 14.3 overs and qualify for the playoffs, Anderson could manage only a single off Faulkner’s first to move to 95 off 44 balls and take his place at the non-striker’s end.Faulkner had eight runs to defend off two balls, but that equation lurched heavily in favour of Mumbai when he delivered a leg-stump full toss that Ambati Rayudu smacked over the long-leg boundary. Rayudu then mis-timed what should have been the decisive ball of the match into the covers and would have been run out had Shane Watson hit at the bowler’s end. But the throw was inaccurate and Rayudu was eventually run out attempting the overthrow that would have given Mumbai all they needed.That moment in the field capped a horrendous match for the Royals captain. Watson’s timing had been incredibly poor during his struggle for 8 off 18 balls after opening the innings, and then he conceded 33 off two wicketless overs. As Mumbai began building the momentum of a runaway train, Watson looked listless and frazzled, and at times Brad Hodge was seen marshalling fielders to their positions.As Rayudu sank to his knees after his dismissal, gutted because he thought Mumbai had fallen so agonisingly short, chaos broke out around him. Calculators went to work off the field, the batsmen and fielders crowded the umpires for clarification, and play halted for several minutes. Some Royals players had begun to celebrate – 14.3 overs had been bowled and the scores were only tied, Mumbai had not won – but substitutes ran out with the message that it was not done yet. If Mumbai hit a boundary off the next ball, they would make it. And then Faulkner bowled a staggeringly loose full toss, Tare hit it for six, got in Watson’s face, tugged his jersey over his head and celebrated like a footballer. Beyond the boundary, Dravid threw down his cap.The hero on the night was the man striding off the field, chest puffed, and wearing a smile as broad as his shoulders. Anderson had played only because Mumbai were in desperate need of men who could hit a long ball. His team-mates – Lendl Simmons, Michael Hussey, Kieron Pollard and Rohit Sharma – came out swinging but soon ran out of steam. Anderson’s guns never stopped firing.Coming in at 19 for 1, he hammered his first ball – from Watson – to the cover boundary and pulled his second into the crowd beyond deep midwicket. Anderson then watched Kevon Cooper york Hussey and pocket Pollard with a slower ball. Cooper conceded only four runs in the seventh over, leaving Mumbai needing 115 off 45 balls to qualify. They scored more than 14 in all but two of the remaining overs, and never less than 11.Anderson slog-swept Tambe’s legbreaks and googlies to and over the deep-midwicket boundary and repeatedly pummeled the seamers between long on and long off. Only 11 of his 95 runs came behind the wicket. In Rayudu, Anderson found an equally aggressive partner and they put on 81 in 5.1 overs. When Mumbai needed 51 off 21, Rayudu hit three fours and Anderson a fourth in a Watson over to turn the game. Cooper, Tambe and Faulkner were entrusted with the remaining overs to delay Mumbai beyond 14.3, but a battered Royals outfit had no self-belief. Mumbai had it all.The despair Royals felt at the end of the night had rendered the achievements of their two youngest batsmen all but forgotten. Having watched their captain Watson flounder on a pitch that made the ball grip, Sanju Samson and Karun Nair batted fluently, repairing the innings to 59 for 1 after 10 overs before launching an unexpected salvo.Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai captain, used five bowlers between overs 11 and 15 and Samson and Nair took more than 10 runs of everyone, scoring 75 runs in this period. They carved over the off side and slog-swept over the leg, they played reverse and orthodox shots and they timed everything sweetly. Samson brought up his 50 off 36 balls and Nair got his in 26; the century stand took only 9.2 overs.After they fell in the space of four balls in the 15th and 16th over, Royals finally abandoned their inexplicable tactic of preserving Hodge and Faulkner for later. The Australians finished strongly, and had Royals used them better the previous games, they might have already had their playoff spot before tonight. But they had given Mumbai an opening, and fell to pieces as Anderson broke the door down.

Alastair Cook’s next international cricket match will not be until the English season after he confirmed he would sit out the short one-day series in West Indies.

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2014Alastair Cook’s next international match will not be until the English season after he confirmed he would sit out the short one-day series in West Indies.The move was always on the cards after the demands on Cook during the Ashes tour and also because the West Indies trip comes just before the World Twenty20, in which Cook will not play. Stuart Broad, the T20 captain, is expected to step up and make use of an extended opportunity to work with England’s limited-overs coach, Ashley Giles.Asked on Sky Sports if he would be on the West Indies tour, Cook said: “No I won’t be. The Twenty20 guys have got their World Cup in Bangladesh and I think we see it as a great six weeks for them to start building the team.”They’re never together very often and it gives them, and Broady and ‘Gilo’ time, to really have six weeks together to build for Bangladesh.”Although there are three ODIs in the Caribbean before the three T20s, which Cook could have captained to further expand his skills ahead of the World Cup next year, it has been viewed as the chance to give him a longer break and allow the Twenty20 players some extra match practice even if it is a longer format.The one-day leg of the tour is now likely to be captained by Broad, who leads the T20 side, although Eoin Morgan would be another option and has been touted as the man to captain the 50-over side in the long term.However, after voicing doubts over his captaincy future after the defeat in Sydney last week, Cook was more buoyant about his role in Perth and said he was “desperate” to carry on as both the ODI and Test captain despite the debilitating tour of Australia. He is due to have talks with Andy Flower, England’s team director, and Paul Downton, the new managing director, about future planning once back in the UK.Pending any further changes of heart, his first match back in England colours could be the ODI against Scotland on May 9 or the start of the one-day series against Sri Lanka on May 20. England’s schedule has been switched for the 2014 season with the Tests not starting until June 12 at Lord’s.”It has been a challenging tour for me. I can’t not say that,” Cook said. “It’s been a real tough tour for me. I am not exhausted, but I’m ready to put the pads away for a couple of weeks or so. I will enjoy seeing my pregnant wife. I’ll enjoy seeing a few sheep [on the family farm] for a bit.”Cook can be expected to be in action for Essex at the start of the English county season, which begins for his team on April 7 with a match against Cambridge MCCU although his first outing may come the following week in the County Championship opener against Derbyshire from April 13. England’s Test players, especially those not part of the World T20, are expected to feature heavily at the start of the county season.

The Madras High Court has restrained Zee Media Corporation Limited and News Nation Network Private Limited from airing any interviews or news related to fixing allegations against MS Dhoni

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2014The Madras High Court has restrained Zee Media Corporation Limited, an Indian television conglomerate, and News Nation Network Private Limited, another private television news channel, from airing any interviews or news related to fixing allegations against MS Dhoni. The interim order was passed on Tuesday after the India captain sought Rs 100 crore from four respondents, including police officer G Sampath Kumar, as damages for tarnishing his image.In his affidavit to the court, Dhoni stated his hard-earned reputation was at risk from unverified reports. Dhoni had earlier issued notices to ZMCL, Zee News editor and business head Sudhir Chaudhary, Kumar and News Nation. Justice S Tamilvanan, in his interim order, stated, “I am of the view that there is a prima facie case and the balance of convenience is also in favour of the plaintiff. Hence, interim injunction granted for a period of two weeks,” the judge said in his order after perusing Dhoni’s affidavit.*In his affidavit, Dhoni, represented by the firm of BCCI lawyer PR Raman, accused all four respondents of intentionally projecting Dhoni as an object of hate and ridicule, thereby maligning his image in the eyes of cricket lovers, especially fans of Chennai Super Kings.This is the first time Dhoni, albeit through his lawyers, has reacted in any manner to the IPL scandal. He had been silent at the time, even after the arrest of Super Kings official and the BCCI president N Srinivasan¹s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan.The reports surfaced following the submission of a sealed envelope – said to contain names of high-profile players allegedly involved in corrupt practices – to the Supreme Court by the Justice Mukul Mudgal committee investigating the IPL fixing case. Kumar, who had deposed before the Mudgal committee, had alleged in an interview to various news channels that Dhoni’s name had been mentioned by an alleged bookie during interrogation with regard to fixing the game between Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals on May 12, 2013. The charge sheet filed by the Mumbai Police against Meiyappan and 21 others also mentioned that fixing allegations had surfaced about the same match.While establishing Meiyappan as a CSK official, the Mudgal committee in its report last month noted that Dhoni, along with Srinivasan and officials of India Cements took the stand that “Mr Meiyappan, had nothing to do with the cricketing affairs of Super Kings and was a mere cricket enthusiast supporting CSK”.* – March 18, 2014, 1615 GMT – story was updated with the interim injunction

The third day’s play of the Bengal-Railways quarter-final witnessed controversy over a ball change during Bengal’s second innings, for which Railways have been issued a warning and face a five-run penalty in case of a repeat offence.

Rachna Shetty in Kolkata10-Jan-2014A day of controversies

For the Railways side, the day ended on a controversial note off the field, too, after pacer Anureet Singh almost got into a fight with spectators who had been heckling the Railways team, especially captain Murali Kartik. The incident took place as the players were leaving the stadium and the matter was quickly resolved. The Cricket Association of Bengal has assured that security will be alerted following the incident.

The third day’s play of the Bengal-Railways quarter-final witnessed controversy over a ball change during Bengal’s second innings, for which Railways have been issued a warning and face a five-run penalty in case of a repeat offence. The incident took place during the drinks break in the second session when on-field umpires Pashchim Pathak and Suresh Shastri decided to change the ball in the 15th over, after noticing it had been damaged earlier.The match is being played with the backdrop of a controversial Mankading incident in the league match between these two teams last month that prompted angry statements from both sides.Rajendra Jadeja, the match referee, said that the call to change the ball was taken by the on-field umpires but there was no official complaint filed. “There were some issues with the ball. The ball was damaged,” he said. “The on-field umpires brought the matter to my notice after changing the ball. There was one warning. Since the ball was changed, the matter ended. If there is a second complaint, a five-run penalty will be imposed on Railways and the matter will be referred to the BCCI disciplinary committee.”Abhay Sharma, the Railways coach, denied any knowledge of allegations of tampering and said he had not been informed of the incident by the match referee. “I don’t have any knowledge of such an incident, and I have come to know of it now through you [the media],” Sharma said after the day’s play. “Nobody has spoken to me about this.”The umpires had spoken to Railways captain Murali Kartik during the drinks break and Sharma was asked what he made of the conversation. “I don’t know what the conversation was,” Sharma said. “You can only assume things. There is no point in assuming things unless and until it comes to my knowledge.”Sharma suggested that the ball could have been damaged after hitting the iron barricades outside the boundary rope but didn’t specifically say it was the reason for the change. “You may not have noticed but there were iron barricades, with sharp ends, around the ground,” he said. “The ball may have been damaged after hitting that end.”The matter came to light when Bengal’s administrative manager, Debabrata Das, alleged after the day’s play that Kartik and the other Railways fielders had been picking at the ball. “Suresh Shastri, the umpire, warned him [Kartik] twice, but he didn’t stop and after a while Ashok [Malhotra] and I went to the match referee and told him. The ball was changed after a few more overs.”

IPL franchises are likely to have two options to keep the core of their teams intact ahead of the 2014 season: the usual practice of player retention, and a new system of ‘right to match’ cards that can be used during the auction

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Dec-2013Salient points from the Singapore meeting

IPL teams could be allowed to retain five players, and they could be given ‘right to match’ cards in order to buy back more players at the auction

The auction is likely to be held on February 12 and 13

The salary cap for the 2014 auction is likely to be Rs 600 million (approximately $10 million) and could increase by 10% each year. For the first time, the purse is in Indian Rupees and not dollars

If a franchise chooses to retain five players, it will likely lose Rs 390 million from its auction purse

The contracts for players retained or signed at the auction will likely be valid for three seasons, with the franchise holding the right to renewal at the start of each of season

The number of players in a squad is also likely to be reduced from 33 to 27, and the number of foreign players cut from 11 to nine per team

IPL franchises are likely to have two options available to keep the core of their teams intact ahead of the 2014 season: the usual practice of player retention, and a new system of ‘right to match’ cards that can be used during the auction. A team is expected to be able to retain up to five players and the IPL has recommended three ‘right to match’ cards per franchise, which means up to eight players could be retained, salary cap permitting. The auction is likely to be held on February 12 and 13 at a yet-to-be-decided venue.The franchises were also informed that the 2014 general elections in India will have an impact on the venue for the tournament. Once the Indian government announced the election dates, the IPL will work out a feasible venue for next year’s edition, the franchises were told.The idea of the ‘right to match’ card was discussed during a two-day IPL workshop in Singapore on November 28 and 29 that was organised by the BCCI. A card would allow a franchise to buy back a player during the auction by simply matching the highest bid. For example, if two or more franchises were bidding for a player who had represented a different team in the 2013 season, then that team’s owners could buy back the player if they wanted to by matching the highest bid for him.During the discussions in Singapore, one suggestion was to bring all the players back into the auction but the IPL was not interested in abandoning the retention policy. Although officials did not specify the reasons, the feeling was that a retention policy allowed certain powerful franchises to hold on to the players that formed the core of their side over the previous seasons.It is understood that the idea of a ‘right to match’ card was floated to offset the retention rule, which some franchises felt was detrimental to their chances. Before the 2011 auction, franchises were allowed to retain up to four players from their old squads, but for every player retained, the franchise would lose a certain amount from the salary cap of $9 million available for spending at the auction. For the first player retained, $1.8 million was deducted from the salary cap, for the second player it was $1.3 million, the third $900,000 and the fourth $500,000. However, these were not necessarily the amounts paid by the franchise to the retained players. So a team that kept four players went into the auction with only $4.5 million to spend.”There were some franchises that did not retain any players, but still ended up paying more money [for four players in the auction] than a franchise that retained four players and paid just half the salary cap,” a franchise official said. “In fact these teams [which retained players] obviously paid more money although that was never made public. So that was a perfect way for teams to go to an auction with half the purse and also circumvent the salary cap.”Not all franchises were in agreement about the ‘right to match’ card, though. “It works for teams where players are asking for a big price [to be retained],” an official who did not agree with the concept said. He felt it was unfair that a franchise, which had not participated in the bidding for a player, could walk away with that player only because of a ‘right to match’ card, when there were other teams actively involved in the bidding. “If two franchises are locked in a bid to buy a player and then suddenly a third franchise comes and says he has the right to buy the player, you might end up paying more [in order to discourage teams from using the card].”The salary cap for the 2014 auction is likely to be Rs 600 million (approximately $10 million) and is likely to increase by 10% each year. For the first time, the purse in is Indian Rupees and not dollars. If a franchise chooses to retain five players, it is likely to lose Rs 125 million from the purse for the first player, Rs 95 million for the second, Rs 75 million for the third, Rs 55* million for the fourth and Rs 40 million for the fifth – a total of Rs 390 million, leaving them with Rs 210 million for bidding during the auction.It is not clear at the moment whether there is a restriction on the number of Indian or foreign players that can be retained. “There is nothing definitive,” a BCCI official said. “All five can be Indians or all five can be overseas. Or there could be a mix of both.”According to the official, a higher purse was unhelpful for the smaller teams, as they had lesser money to spend compared to sides like Mumbai Indians or Chennai Super Kings. With the 2014 purse likely to be capped at Rs 600 million, the playing field will be more level because that was the average expenditure of the smaller teams in terms of player payments and operation costs. The salary cap had been $12.5 million (approximately Rs 750 million at current exchange rates) in 2013.The contracts for players retained or signed at the 2014 auction are likely to be valid for three seasons, with the franchise holding the right to renewal at the start of each of season. The number of players in a squad is also likely to be reduced from 33 to 27, and the number of foreign players cut from 11 to nine per team. Another important change is that all Indian domestic players, who have either played first-class or List A cricket, will be eligible for sale at the auction. Previously only players who had played for India or played a certain number of games for their IPL teams could be auctioned.All these suggestions and recommendations will now be discussed by the IPL governing council, which has to ratify the changes for them to take effect. The Singapore meeting was the first gathering of IPL officials and franchises since the betting and spot-fixing scandal marred the 2013 season. Ravi Sawani, the head of BCCI’s anti-corruption unit, addressed the franchises and gave a presentation on the various corruption-related events in the past two IPLs. Sawani also spoke of the various measures his team would put in place to protect the integrity of both the players and the tournament.December 3, 2013, 05.50 GMT: This figure was earlier stated as 50 million

ESPNcricinfo previews the fifth Investec Ashes Test at The Oval

The Preview by Alan Gardner20-Aug-2013Match factsAugust 21-25, The Oval
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)Chris Tremlett has a “good chance” of coming back into the side for a first Test appearance since January 2012•Getty ImagesBig Picture Not since 1981 have England arrived at The Oval for the last Test of an Ashes summer with the series already won. The possibility that lies tantalisingly before them is even rarer. Never before have Australia been beaten 4-0 by England and only once have they lost by such a wide margin (the 5-1 home defeat in 1978-79, when Packer was a dirty word). After a demoralising six weeks, when Australia have regularly misplaced their key moments, they will have to find extra reserves if they not to be swept away by an English tide.Metaphor aside, Australia have again delved into their squad to supplement an ever-changing cast, with James Faulkner called on to make his Test debut. Only Mathew Wade of the original 16-man party has not been utilised and, with the additions of Ashton Agar and Steven Smith, Australia will have used 17 different players over the course of the series – not to mention a batting order that has changed with every Test. England, by contrast, have been their usual, methodical selves and only an injury to Tim Bresnan will force them to alter the team for the first time since Steven Finn was dropped for the second Test at Lord’s. It is not only the scorelines that have changed in Ashes cricket.It may not be the cauldron of expectation experienced in 2005 and 2009, then, but The Oval has a recent record of producing memorable finales. Despite England’s supremacy, this series has at times brought to mind the joke from about a conversation between two elderly women at a resort in the Catskill mountains: “One of them says, ‘Boy, the food in this place is terrible.’ The other one says, ‘Yeah, I know, and such small portions.'” There has been a shortfall in quality on both sides – only Ian Bell, Graeme Swann and Ryan Harris can claim to have had outstanding series – but the Investec Ashes continues to serve up irresistible moments.Form guideEngland: WDWWW
Australia: LDLLL
Players to watchJonny Bairstow has been attempting to nail down a spot in England’s Test side for over a year now but, despite frequent encouraging episodes, the hammer keeps descending at a crooked angle. His 67 at Lord’s was crucial in helping to right England’s first innings and 203 runs at 29.00 in the series puts him above both Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott but doubts about his technique and temperament persist. England have not had a century from their No. 6 batsman since Eoin Morgan in 2010 but it feels like Bairstow needs a three-figure score to be sure of his place this winter.When you have backers like Shane Warne in your corner, big things are expected and James Faulkner has provided plenty of evidence of his talent since his debut for Tasmania as an 18-year-old. Now 23, Faulkner averages 30.31 with the bat and 22.87 with the ball in first-class cricket and his feisty, competitive spirit has been to the fore in a handful of limited-overs appearances for his country. That aside, Australia may hope the fact Faulkner hails from Launceston, hometown of Ricky Ponting, is enough to make England edgy.Team newsAlastair Cook said that Chris Tremlett has a “good chance” of coming back into the side for a first Test appearance since January 2012. Bresnan’s back injury means a space has opened up in the attack and Tremlett will be up against Chris Woakes – more of a like-for-like replacement for the all-round talents of Bresnan – and Finn. Giving Simon Kerrigan a debut alongside Graeme Swann remains an outside possibility, though England have not played two spinners at home since Cardiff 2009.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Joe Root, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Chris Tremlett 11 James AndersonAustralia have announced their XI in advance, with Faulkner set to make his debut and Mitchell Starc returning. Usman Khawaja and Jackson Bird drop out and, with allrounder Faulkner coming in at No. 7, Australia will rejig their batting order again. After two innings at No. 6 (and one at No. 4), Shane Watson moves back up the order to first drop, a position that has caused Australia a deal of grief in recent times, while Brad Haddin is now in the top six, above a lengthy, if doughty, tail.Australia 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steven Smith, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 James Faulkner, 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Ryan Harris, 11 Nathan LyonPitch and conditionsThe Oval has been on the slow side and more liable to turn in recent years but, although the pitch for the fifth Test is dry, there is an expectation that it will be quicker and bouncier than usual. The weather is forecast to be warm, although there is the possibility of showers interrupting a couple of day’s play.Stats and triviaEngland have only lost six times to Australia at The Oval, against 16 wins, making it their most successful home ground.The last time Australia went two consecutive series without winning a Test was in 1986.After 98 and 96 Test matches respectively, the batting records of Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook are separated by 33 runs and 0.21 in average. Pietersen is marginally ahead of his captain but Cook has two more centuries (25 to 23).James Faulkner will become the 435th player to represent Australia in Tests.Quotes”I think it would be very special to win the Ashes 4-0. That is what our motivation is as a side and we are hopefully going to pick the right side – the side that we think can win this Test match.”
“He is an extra option to help us take 20 wickets but it is the overall package that James Faulkner brings. His toughness and performances of late in whatever format and the fact that he is not just a bowler. He can make some very handy runs for us.”