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Fast bowler will travel with the squad on Friday having been forced to miss a UAE training camp

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2025Saqib Mahmood has finally received his visa for England’s upcoming limited-overs series in India, meaning he will be able to travel with the team to Kolkata on Friday ahead of Wednesday’s first T20I.Mahmood, who is of Pakistani heritage, had encountered a delay in obtaining the travel document, forcing him to miss an England training camp in the UAE. Two other members of the T20I squad of similar background – Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed – had received their visas earlier.The Lancashire seamer had encountered similar issues in the past when, in 2019, he was replaced for an England Lions tour of India following a drawn-out visa process. In 2024, he sat out Lancashire’s pre-season tour having anticipated the same problem, months after England offspinner Shoaib Bashir missed the first Test against India in Hyderabad due to the slow processing of his visa.Mahmood was supposed to attend a pace-bowling camp in Abu Dhabi ahead of the India tour, led by fast bowling consultant James Anderson, which featured the likes of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood. Those plans were scuppered by the fact the Indian Embassy still had his possession of his passport, with Mahmood having originally intended to travel to the UAE with the group last Thursday.The 27-year-old has been on something of a comeback trail, overcoming consecutive lower-back stress fractures to return to the international fold last year, and was named player of the series during England’s T20I series in the Caribbean in November, taking nine wickets at 10.55. With 29 appearances in all formats, including two Test caps against West Indies in 2022, Mahmood will be keen to impress head coach Brendon McCullum who is now in charge of England’s red- and white-ball sides.

Chasing 191, West Indies’ batting struggled against the spin of Ashwin, Jadeja and Bishnoi

S Sudarshanan29-Jul-2022In the first international game at the Brian Lara Stadium, India’s move to play three spinners – as opposed to West Indies’ one – reaped rich dividends as Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi combined to pick up five wickets, helping the visitors to a 68-run win in the first T20I of the five-match series.In T20s before Friday at this ground, spinners had an economy rate of 6.31, which is the fourth-lowest at any venue in the West Indies, and they had averaged 20.91 – the fourth-lowest at any Caribbean venue where spinners have bowled in more than ten innings.Related

• Karthik strengthens his case for finisher's spot at 2022 T20 World Cup

• Hetmyer returns for T20Is vs India, New Zealand

• Samson replaces Rahul in India's T20I squad for West Indies series

India managed to post 190 for 6 on a seemingly slowish surface, thanks to captain Rohit Sharma’s half century and Dinesh Karthik’s unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls at the finish, before West Indies’ batting was entangled in the web of spin.Another partner for Rohit
After India were put in to bat, Rohit walked out with a new partner, Suryakumar Yadav, the seventh opener for India in T20Is this year. Suryakumar got going quickly with a four off Obed McCoy in the first over and then another off Jason Holder in the next. His trademark wristy flick for six over fine leg also made an appearance against debutant Alzarri Joseph.Akeal Hosein’s introduction, however, stalled Suryakumar’s progress. He was dropped off the first ball from the spinner before a top edge off the next ball evaded the bowler running back. Hosein had the last laugh in his next over when Suryakumar’s attempted whip resulted in a thick leading edge to short third.Change in pace leads to change of momentum
India had raced to 44 inside five overs but Suryakumar’s wicket slowed them down. Despite finding a couple of boundaries early on, Rohit struggled to get the ball away. With the odd ball gripping the surface, Hosein and McCoy thrived, the latter dismissing Shreyas Iyer for a four-ball duck.Rohit and Rishabh Pant then added 43 off 25 balls before West Indies struck again, dismissing Pant and Hardik Pandya – who ramped Joseph straight to deep third for his maiden T20I wicket – in quick succession to leave India 102 for 4 with over eight overs remaining.Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin added an unbeaten 52-run stand to take India to 190•Associated Press

The perfect finish

In the interim Rohit got to his 27th half-century in T20Is off 35 balls. Just when he had begun accelerating, he slapped Holder straight to sweeper cover. At 131 for 5 in 15 overs on a track that was slowing down, India looked on course to finish at around 170.But Karthik once again aced the finisher’s role to move India well past that score. He used the crease well to put the bowlers off their lines and lengths, and, in the company of Ashwin, took a toll on Holder and McCoy to help India amass 36 off the last two overs.Spin to win
In their pursuit of 191, Kyle Mayers got West Indies off to a rapid start, helping them score 11 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first over and as many off the first two legal balls of the next over, bowled by Arshdeep Singh. However, Arshdeep deceived Mayers with an off-pace short ball immediately afterwards, and India’s bowlers had landed their first blow.Holder, sent in at No. 3, couldn’t see off Ravindra Jadeja’s spin, while Ashwin sent back the left-hand batters Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer. Ravi Bishnoi then dismissed Rovman Powell and Odean Smith in successive overs to pretty much seal the game.

Imran Tahir six in the final over helps Surrey scramble to level the scores off the last ball

ECB Reporters Network26-Jul-2019Twelve days after his heroics in the World Cup final, Jofra Archer made a highly impressive return to action with two wickets as Sussex Sharks tied with Surrey in a Vitality Blast thriller at Hove.The 24-year-old showed no ill effects from the side injury which troubled him throughout the World Cup during four hostile overs, bowled in three spells at a cost of 21 runs, during which he picked up the wickets of Aaron Finch and Surrey’s top scorer Ollie Pope, who was dropped on 16, for 43.Fifteen days after removing him for a golden duck in the World Cup semi-final, Archer had Finch well caught on the square-leg boundary by Delray Rawlins. He returned in the 14th over with a superbly disguised slower ball to dismiss Pope, who had just hit four boundaries in an over off Danny Briggs and appeared to be guiding Surrey to victory.Archer had bowled in the nets under the supervision of England’s medical staff earlier in the day and could now be in the Ashes squad when it is named on Saturday.A 6000 sell-out crowd had given Archer a standing ovation when he went out to bat earlier in the evening and they were treated to a thrilling finale. Surrey looked favourites with 29 needed off the last five overs with five wickets in hand but Tymal Mills dragged Sussex back into contention when two searing yorkers accounted for Tom Curran and Ryan Patel in the 18th over.Then off the final ball of the 19th Rikki Clarke holed out to long-on leaving ninth-wicket pair Gareth Batty and Imran Tahir with the task of scoring 12 from the last over from David Wiese, who was bowling his only over of the night.Wiese conceded singles off the first two balls then Tahir stylishly uppercut a full toss for six. One run came off the next two deliveries, leaving Batty to score three to win off the final ball. He drove to long-on and the pair scrambled back for a second after Sussex missed with two throws at the stumps, either of which would have run him out had they been on target.Earlier, Sussex had finished on 144 for 8 which was something of a disappointment after skipper Luke Wright and Phil Salt had smashed 50 in the first four overs.Salt, dropped by Curran off his second ball when on nought, hit 27 off ten balls including successive sixes off Jade Dernbach. But the Sharks were never the same when he holed out later in the same over and it needed an unbeaten 76 from skipper Wright to get them to a competitive total.Sussex only managed six boundaries after the sixth over with Wright unable to go onto the offensive because wickets were falling too regularly at the other end. Veteran offspinner Batty had figures of 3 for 8 at one stage while only Ben Brown got into double figures. Wright hit 14 off Jordan Clarke in the 18th over and finished with 76 off 59 balls including a six and nine fours.

Tim Paine hinted that Australia wouldn’t hold back on the bouncer with his view that it was underused against India, but with their top six shuffled again, Sri Lanka may be in with a chance

Andrew McGlashan23-Jan-2019No one has been able to breach the Gabba fortress since West Indies in 1988, and Sri Lanka’s winless record in Australia does not suggest they can be the team. The visiting captain Dinesh Chandimal, however, hopes for a “miracle” as he chases his dream of securing a Test victory in the country.Sri Lanka have lost 11 of their 13 Tests in Australia but the vibe around the team is that they will never have a better chance of breaking their duck against a vulnerable home side who have again shuffled their top six.”It will definitely be a challenge for us,” Chandimal said. “If we can take this challenge as a batter or bowler, if you can give your best shot…we can do some miracle here. That’s what we want to do as a team.”If Sri Lanka are to make history, they will have combat a pitch which has proved too much for most touring sides over the last 30 years. There was a good tinge of green the day before the match, and allied with the day-night factor, there could be some testing periods for batsmen, although the previous floodlit Test at the Gabba, against Pakistan in 2016, included totals of over 400 for each side.”I hope it’s nice and fast, the usual sort of Gabba wicket,” Tim Paine said. “Hopefully there’s plenty of bounce and it’s good to watch.”There was also a strong hint from Paine that Australia wouldn’t hold back on the short stuff, with his view that it was underused in the series against India. Australia’s bowling tactics often came under scrutiny, especially in the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, with them unable to gain a single lbw for the quicks in the four matches but Paine believed that smart use of the bouncer could also bring the stumps into play.”Clearly we need to be hitting the stumps a little bit more than we were and it’s been spoken about, but I also didn’t think we used our bouncer as much as we would like,” he said. “When you are using your bouncer a couple of times an over and then when you pitch up it’s a bit more effective. We know the majority of the time we want to be hitting the top of the stumps a bit more, but there’s also a way to set that up.While Chandimal expected his batsmen to have their techniques challenged by the Australia quick bowlers, he was confident he had the firepower to respond in kind. “When you look at the pitch you can see a lot of grass on the wicket, but we have got really good fast bowlers who can bowl over 140.”He also wanted his batsman to take a leaf out of Cheteshwar Pujara’s book and force Australia’s pacemen back for multiple spells. Whatever balance of side Australia select, they won’t have more than three pace-bowling options, although Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins were rested from the India ODIs with this series in mind.”Pujara made a difference, especially these days the weather is really hot here. They brought the Australian bowlers back for more spells. That’s what I think Pujara did, and after that it helped the other batters enjoy their batting in the middle. That’s one area I think we learned in the India-Australia series.”Chandimal drew on the memories of his Test debut against South Africa in 2011, when Sri Lanka secured their first victory in the country, in Durban. He scored two half-centuries in the match to play a key part in a 208-run win.”That was a really good memory. I made my Test debut against SA and we won that game and that was the first time we won a game in SA in their soil,” he said. “One of my dreams as a captain and player is to win a Test match here. But that’s not an easy thing coming here. You have to do a lot of hard work…that has to come from all 11 players for all five days. That’s what we are looking at as a team. It is a really good opportunity to make history and we just want to do that as a team.”

In the absence of their star allrounder Kamau Leverock, Bermuda collapsed from a strong position and never recovered

The Report by Peter Della Penna29-Apr-2018Peter Della Penna

Freddie Klokker’s unbeaten 108, coming on the back of left-arm spinner Bashir Shah’s excellent spell, propelled Denmark to an eight-wicket win over Bermuda in their WCL Division Four clash at the Royal Selangor Club.However, perhaps the day’s bigger news came at the start, when Bermuda left out star allrounder Kamau Leverock. The move came less than 24 hours after his expletive-laden public tirade at the team’s final training session at Kinrara Oval, before the start of the tournament.Bermuda had a solid opening stand without Leverock, after being sent in at the toss, as Okera Bascome fired away to 63 off 41 balls in an 81-run partnership with captain Terryn Fray.But by the end of the day, Leverock’s absence was telling, as Bermuda collapsed from 134 for 1 to 155 for 7. Though the top three each made solid contributions, only one other batsman made double figures subsequently. Shah crippled Bermuda with 3 for 17 in 10 overs, whereafter Charles Trott tried to resuscitate the innings with 36 off 45 balls at No. 8. Bermuda were eventually bowled out for 209 in the 48th over.Klokker opened the chase and stayed till the end, striking eight fours and a six. He shared an 89-run opening partnership with Zameer Khan (38 off 56 balls) before an unbroken 115-run stand with the new captain Hamid Shah (48 not out off 59 balls) took Denmark across the line with 49 balls to spare.

The PCB has said that its signing off on the new Test and ODI leagues will depend on the BCCI honouring a bilateral commitment signed over three years ago.

Osman Samiuddin and Nagraj Gollapudi23-Oct-2017Pakistan will continue applying pressure on the BCCI and, indirectly, the ICC, in the hopes of securing 24 matches with India in the new international calendar. At the ICC board meeting in Auckland earlier this month, the PCB, along with all Full Members, approved in principle a fresh league structure to be implemented after the 2019 World Cup. But the PCB maintained that its final decision will depend on the BCCI honouring a bilateral commitment signed over three years ago.That is a stance the PCB first revealed last month, and it means not only will the Test and ODI leagues remain tied to Pakistan’s pursuit of India games, but also to their efforts to seek legal redress for two bilateral series against India that never took place. That case came into the spotlight over the weekend, after comments made by former chairman Shaharyar Khan and the leak of the bilateral agreement the two boards signed in April 2014.In Auckland, the Full Members unanimously agreed on a two-year, nine-team Test league as well as a 13-team ODI league. But the real business of what the actual schedule will look like – with details of who plays whom and how often – has not been finalised. Board chief executives have been working on that at scheduling conferences, and will continue to do so at another tentatively scheduled for November. The plan is for a schedule to be completed by January and presented at the next ICC board meeting in February.The PCB is resigned to not playing India in the leagues – that is something the BCCI has insisted upon – but want matches outside the structure, in an eight-month window when sides are free to play whoever they choose.At the joint session in Auckland between board directors and chief executives (in which the plan for the leagues was approved), the PCB said it was happy with the new structure on the provision it contained the 24 international matches Pakistan were guaranteed to host against India, by the terms of a previously signed MoU. Though there was no reaction, the stance was noted.A page from a letter from former BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel to Najam Sethi on the bilateral series between India and Pakistan•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The agreement, and the legal case, has been the subject of renewed scrutiny over the last few days. Over the weekend, speaking to a local TV channel, Shaharyar suggested that the PCB’s case against the BCCI at the ICC’s dispute resolution committee was not especially strong.”To an extent, it is a weakness [in our case],” he said, having been involved in these discussions until he stepped down as chairman in August. “The weakness is that it is written in there that both sides need government permission [before playing each other]. We have our government’s permission. They haven’t got permission yet, so they could say that it is written that until they haven’t got permission they cannot come and play. These are problems but it’s okay to bring them under some pressure as well.”However, Shaharyar went on, almost immediately, to disown those words. In a signed statement distributed to the media on Saturday, he said: “I strongly deny a statement attributed to me in the media in which I am supposed to have said that the PCB’s case against the BCCI is weak. How could I say such a thing when, in fact, as Chairman and with the approval of the PCB’s Board of Governors, I authorised preparation of a case on the advice of PCB’s lawyers and a prominent QC in the UK who agreed that PCB had a strong case against India.”Not long after, the letter that spells out details of the 2014 agreement was leaked on social media. Officials from both boards have confirmed the authenticity of the letter. Printed on plain paper, without a letterhead and dated April 9th, the letter [see pic] is written by Sanjay Patel, the former BCCI secretary, and addressed to Najam Sethi, the current chairman of the PCB who was, at that time, the interim head of the board. It makes no mention of either side needing government approval.The basis of the agreement is well known: six bilateral series between December 2015 and November-December 2022, with the BCCI making “all efforts” for a short, limited-overs-only tour to Pakistan in November 2014 as well. As categorically stated in the letter, the agreement applied only if the Big Three resolutions for the revamp of international cricket were signed off in June that year, which they duly were.But the November 2014 and December 2015 tours did not materialise and are the subject of the PCB’s legal case. The BCCI argued it did not have government permission to play Pakistan. The 24 international matches the PCB want incorporated in the new calendar are the three remaining tours to Pakistan as part of this MoU: nine games in December 2019, 10 in August 2020 and five in November-December 2022.A page from a letter from former BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel to Najam Sethi on the bilateral series between India and Pakistan•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The legal case has not, strictly speaking, yet begun. Though the PCB intends to file the official notice of dispute that will start the process at the ICC’s dispute resolution committee, it has yet to do so. In fact that process has been delayed slightly because there was a change in the Terms of Reference of the committee at the Auckland meeting. Once they do send in the notice, a panel of adjudicators will be constituted, who will then ask the BCCI to reply. The way of these things suggests that any resolution is still some time away, and what impact that may have on the implementation of a new calendar is uncertain.In Auckland, the PCB also asked that a new Future Tours Programme (FTP) Terms and Conditions document be created to govern the administration of the new calendar. Such a document is likely to detail how older FTP commitments fit into a new calendar, which could determine the status of this agreement.The prospect of India-Pakistan games will also come up for discussion at the next scheduling conference. If the PCB recognises the adversarial nature of a legal case works against that, there is also a suggestion it is using the case as a pressure tactic of sorts, to push the BCCI into agreeing to some bilateral contests.The Pakistan board is confident it has a strong case and that, in particular, their 2014 agreement with the BCCI has all the ingredients that would constitute the basis of a legally binding contract in a court of law. Its argument rests on whether the Indian government has explicitly, and in writing, denied the BCCI permission to play against Pakistan.The BCCI seems unperturbed by the public appearance of this agreement and believes it stands on firm ground whenever the time to defend itself comes. “It is a plain piece of paper,” one official said. “Even if you take this as a letter of intent there was never a formal agreement that happened.”The BCCI official reiterated that the Indian board did not have the authority to commit to a bilateral series with Pakistan without permission from their government.

Sri Lanka Cricket has outlined an ambitious plan to increase the number of match-day tickets sold to 100,000 per Test series, over the next four years

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Jul-2016Sri Lanka Cricket has outlined an ambitious plan to increase the number of match-day tickets sold to 100,000 per Test series, over the next four years. SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala said presently a three-Test series would draw an aggregate of fewer than 40,000 spectators, but the board aims to identify spectator-friendly Test venues and then improve facilities within those grounds to attract a larger audience.Improvements to bathroom facilities and an increase in the number of big screens and televisions will be among the ground upgrades. SLC also announced a move towards online ticket sales, for which Indian company BookMyShow has been contracted. SLC said online ticket sales will begin during the Australia tour, but traditional ticket outlets will also be operational.”When spectators go to a match, they want to be guaranteed their seat, and for it to be as easy a process as possible,” Sumathipala said. “We also want to make sure the spectators are entertained during their time at the ground.”The Galle Cricket stadium, which is located close to the centre of town, ordinarily draws a substantial Test-match crowd, while the Asgiriya Stadium had also been a well-patronised venue during its years of operation. Sumathipala said this suggested that venues within the city limits, where spectators may arrive and leave as their day allows, will be prioritised as Test venues. Asgiriya has not hosted a Test since 2007, but Sumathipala said SLC would look into upgrading facilities there with a view to resuming international cricket at the venue.”At the moment, Galle is a successful venue, and SSC is successful, but I don’t think venues like Dambulla or the Premadasa Stadium are as successful,” Sumathipala said. “The reason is, when people come in a bus, train or three-wheeler, and they see someone is getting close to a fifty or a hundred, they want to come into the ground and see that.”There’s a culture of people participating in a Test match whenever there is some excitement. We prefer to have the Test venues built up in a different way from the limited-overs venues. It has to be done in a scientific way. There also have to be facilities for women and children.”

A match-shaping 146 by the talented teenager Matt Renshaw put Queensland in a strong position over South Australia after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2016
ScorecardMatt Renshaw struck his second first-class century on the trot and both have been big – 170 v NSW followed by 146 v SA•Getty Images

A match-shaping 146 by the talented teenager Matt Renshaw put Queensland in a strong position over South Australia after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.In a fixture that features two members of the Australian Test squad for New Zealand in Joe Burns and Chadd Sayers, neither man was able to have a major impact on proceedings. Burns reached 35 in partnership with 19-year old Renshaw before he was bowled by the left-arm spin of Tom Andrews. Further partnerships ensued between Renshaw and Chris Lynn, then Sam Heazlett capitalised on the platform he was given by spanking 75 from a mere 83 deliveries.Renshaw himself as many as seven sixes in his second consecutive first-class hundred, having compiled 170 for the Bulls against New South Wales at Mackay before the Big Bash League break. He was ultimately dismissed by Joe Mennie with the second new ball, edging through to wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman.Sayers, meanwhile, was taken for 76 runs from his 22 overs for the sole consolation of Lynn’s wicket. Mennie and Andrews claimed two wickets apiece.

Munir Hussain, the legend of Urdu cricket commentary in Pakistan, has died aged 83 of a cardiac arrest in Karachi

Umar Farooq29-Jul-2013Munir Hussain, one of the pioneers of Urdu cricket commentary in Pakistan, has died aged 83 of a cardiac arrest in Karachi. A former right-arm seamer, he played a single first-class match for Kalat District in 1969-70, taking two wickets against Quetta in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.Born in November 1929, Hussain had earned many accolades during his distinguished commentary career spanning several decades. He was presented the Best Urdu Commentator of the Decade Award (1985-95), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, and the PCB’s World Cup Legends Award presented on the 10th anniversary celebrations of Pakistan’s victory in the 1992 World Cup.He was also the founder of the first Urdu cricket magazine . He also wrote a popular weekly column in the Urdu daily for years, and had commentated on the game on television and radio in the 1970s.”Munir , a journalist and broadcaster of renown from the early 1970s, had a fan following of his own,” Najam Sethi, the PCB’s acting chairman, said. “He was an informed, easygoing and affable personality; his death will be widely mourned by the journalist and broadcast community as well as the cricketing fraternity across the country.”

PCB have hired a vigilance officer and a security officer to help tighten security and prevent players from unsolicited approaches

Umar Farooq13-May-2013Pakistan’s tour to England in 2010 was embroiled in controversy as the spot-fixing debacle created waves around the cricket world. To protect players from unsolicited approaches and avoid a repeat of the affair, the PCB has decided to deploy a security officer and a vigilance officer who will monitor player activities, with the intention of protecting them from unwanted social contact and media interviews.This will be Pakistan’s first visit to England since that ill-fated tour. They will depart on Monday night and stop briefly in Scotland and Ireland to play two ODIs against both countries, before heading to England for the Champions Trophy.”It’s a very sensitive tour,” Naveed Akram Cheema, the team manager, told reporters at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. “All the players realise the importance of it, and they should maintain strict discipline as we don’t want a repeat of events. Players [have been] told to restrict their off-field movements and focus on the game.”Security has been increased in light of the spot-fixing controversy, which erupted during the fourth Test against England at Lord’s in 2010. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who were involved in the incident, were sentenced in November 2011 at Southwark Crown Court for conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat.”They are all spirited players and over the last two-three years have played as a unit. The tour is sensitive in that there are lots of people who could have vested interests, and we have to counter that,” Cheema said. “Psychologically, they are motivated and united.”Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq was “optimistic” about the side’s chances in the Champions Trophy, but was wary that the team would face a dual test, both on and off the field, during the tournament.Dav Whatmore, Pakistan’s head coach, also expressed high hopes for the team. “We begin every series with an intent to win,” Whatmore said. “We feel we’ve got the best fifteen that we can possibly have at the moment. ICC events are slightly different to bilateral series as there is a requirement to win and finish in the top two. Our objective in all cases is to win tournaments.”