After getting a green signal from the BCB, Shakib Al Hasan has signed for Gazi Tank Cricketers for the 2014-15 Dhaka Premier League season
Mohammad Isam28-Aug-2014Shakib Al Hasan signed for Gazi Tank Cricketers on Thursday, the second and final day of the 2014-15 Dhaka Premier League players’ transfer window. After some deliberation within the BCB, he was given the green signal to sign for his club of choice like the rest of the players.The resolution brings to an end the three-day debate over whether Shakib would be considered a national pool player in the transfers. As in previous seasons, the BCB had set aside a group of players who had played international cricket this year. Earlier this month, the Dhaka Premier League clubs chose up to three players each from this “national pool” but Shakib at the time was suspended so could not take part in the transfers.On Wednesday, the opening day of the normal transfer window, the tournament’s organising committee, the CCDM, was unsure whether to add Shakib to the pool and had asked the BCB to take a call on the matter. There was talk of having a special lottery to sell Shakib’s services at a price of Tk 40 lakh among clubs who had not selected a national pool player for the season. But it is understood that when Gazi Tank confirmed to the board their advance payment to Shakib months ago, it smoothened the process overnight.”The CEO [Nizamuddin Chowdhury] called me today to say that I can do my transfer like all the other cricketers,” Shakib later told reporters. “This is completely the board’s decision and they would never want something bad for a player. It was a normal decision. Since I was suspended, I wasn’t in the national pool so it created complications. I think it was resolved through discussions.”Apart from Shakib, 133 other cricketers completed transfers during the two-day window. The 2014-15 Dhaka Premier League is scheduled to begin in October.
Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, is hopeful Chris Gayle will be fit for the first Test against New Zealand, which starts on June 8 in Kingston. Gayle had suffered a back injury after the World T20 in Bangladesh and missed a few games for his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2014. After his team’s run in the T20 league ended, he travelled to Germany to consult a specialist for his injury.”He’s here. He was told he had to be at the camp on June 1,” Gibson said. “He went to Germany to see a specialist so over there, he had some injections for his back. The specialist said he would need to take a couple of days rest and after which he should be able to take full part in cricket. The first Test match starts on June 8, so he has enough time to get enough cricket. He had a couple of hits in the nets today and he did some catching on the field, so he has enough time, once we get to Jamaica, to get himself settled down.”Apart from Gayle, the squad for the first Test also has fit-again pacers Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach and a spinner Sulieman Benn. Taylor and Roach returned from long injury layoffs, while Benn has not played a Test since December 2010.Shane Shillingford, who was cleared for an international return after rectifying his bowling action, is likely to play his first Test since the suspension. With Sunil Narine absent from the squad, the spin-bowling department comprises Shillingford and Benn but Gibson was reluctant to commit to a two-spinner strategy in Jamaica.”We have to get there first. What we do is we tend to get there first and see the conditions and then think of the make-up of the team,” Gibson said. “We have three quality fast bowlers who have done well this week and two world-class spinners, with Benn coming back into the team after a long absence and Shane, who’s had his issues with his bowling action and stuff. We are very happy we have two of those guys in our midst. If the wicket suits two spinners, then I guess two spinners can play. If not, we have three quality seamers that will take the field.”Gibson was pleased with the form of the batsmen and bowlers during the practice matches against local opposition, held as part of the preparatory camp in Barbados.”Darren Bravo got a hundred in the first game, Kraigg [Brathwaite] came in and he got some runs yesterday. Shiv [Chanderpaul] spent some good time in the middle,” he said. “The reason why we come here and prepare ourselves physically and then we do a lot of technical work is to make sure that when we get to Jamaica it is just about performing. In Jamaica, we will have a look at the conditions, the pitch we are likely to play on we pick the best possible team from the 13 guys we have and we work really hard and try and win the first Test match.”
A round-up of East Zone matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy played on April 5, 2014
ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2014Bengal qualified for the second round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a nine-run win over Odisha in a low-scoring game at Eden Gardens.Rajkot, Mumbai to host Super League
The ten teams that have qualified for the Super League stage will be split into two groups, with Rajkot hosting the Group A matches and Mumbai the Group B games. The final on April 14 will be staged in Mumbai. Group A Haryana, Goa, Jharkhand, Gujarat, UP Group B Delhi, Kerala, Bengal, Baroda, Rajasthan
Opting to bat, Bengal managed a score of 121 for 7, propped up by knocks from opener Vivek Singh (38), Manoj Tiwary (22) and Arnab Nandi (29), even as the rest of the line-up struggled to get past a score of 10.Odisha, needing a win to boost their chances of progression, unfortunately followed Bengal’s template as only three batsmen got into double-digit scores. The Bengal bowlers, particularly medium-pacer Sanjib Sanyal and Nandi were the most effective, taking two wickets each while conceding few runs. For Odisha, the best innings came from Govinda Podder, who top-scored with 39 in an innings of 112 for 9.Jharkhand rode on knocks from opener Ishan Kishan and captain Saurabh Tiwary to become the second team from the East Zone to qualify for the next round, with an eight-wicket win over Assam in Kolkata.Kishan struck 48 off 35 balls with six fours, helping his side overcome the early loss of opener Ishank Jaggi in a chase of 128. Saurabh Tiwary then got into the act, slamming an unbeaten 36 off 21 balls while adding 55 runs with Virat Singh to see the side home with 22 balls to spare.Earlier, Assam’s batsmen got off to starts but failed to bat long enough to play a substantial innings as they closed at 127 for 8. Left-arm spinner Sarfaraz Ashraf, who picked up a five-for in his last game, had another impressive outing with returns of 3 for 22.
Seamer Ravi Rampaul and offspinner Sunil Narine picked up four wickets each to set up Trinidad & Tobago’s five-wicket victory against Leeward Islands at Shaw Park in Scarborough
ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2014 ScorecardSunil Narine finished with 4 for 16•WICBFast bowler Ravi Rampaul and offspinner Sunil Narine picked up four wickets each to set up Trinidad & Tobago’s five-wicket victory against Leeward Islands at Shaw Park in Scarborough.Leeward Islands, choosing to bat, struggled to muster any meaningful partnerships at the top of the order and lost wickets at regular intervals to stumble to 46 for 4 by the 18th over. Devon Thomas and Jahmar Hamilton briefly stopped the slide with a 67-run association for the fifth wicket, but once Thomas fell for 42, the team once again collapsed.From 113 for 4, Leeward Islands were bowled out for just 140, as Rampaul and Narine ran through the remaining batsmen in 43.2 overs. Rampaul ended with 4 for 20, while Narine, the Man of the Match, conceded only 16 runs for his four scalps.Fast bowler Gavin Tonge gave the visitors some hope of snatching an unlikely victory by effecting three dismissals to leave T&T precariously placed at 75 for 4. However, with only a paltry total to defend, those ambitions were quickly quashed as Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin put up a fifth-wicket stand of 65 to seal T&T’s first win of the season.
Former Test cricketers Richard Hadlee, Martin Snedden and Geoff Allott are among eight recommended people who are likely to be voted in as New Zealand Cricket’s new board of directors.To be elected, each candidate needs more than 50% of the votes cast by the delegates representing all Major Associations and District Associations at a Special General Meeting in Auckland on September 19.The other five recommendations, selected by an appointments panel, were Greg Barclay, Neil Craig, Liz Dawson, Stuart Heal and Don Mackinnon, all of whom have experience in sport and corporate administration and governance. Barclay, Heal and Mackinnon are current NZC directors seeking re-election. The three former cricketers also have extensive experience in administration of the sport.”It was a difficult job selecting the eight candidates from a range of quality nominees,” NZC president Stephen Boock said. “I am confident that through this thorough process we have found a group of people with the combined skillsets to drive cricket forward in this country.”The upcoming vote is an outcome of the new NZC constitution that was approved in July.
The Caribbean Premier League draft was held in Jamaica on June 5, with squads of 15 finalised for each of the six participating franchises
ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2013
Kieron Pollard will play for Barbados in the Caribbean Premier League•Randy Brooks/WICB Media
The Caribbean Premier League draft was held in Jamaica on June 5, with squads of 15 finalised for each of the six participating franchises.Marlon Samuels has been named a franchise player for Antigua and Barbuda, Kieron Pollard for Barbados, Sunil Narine for Guyana, Chris Gayle for Jamaica, Darren Sammy for St Lucia, and Dwayne Bravo for Trinidad & Tobago. The West Indies franchise players, who were in London because of the Champions Trophy, were tuned in online during the draft process. “I really enjoyed the entire draft process. I can’t wait for the CPL to get started, and I love my team,” Bravo said.Among the overseas players, Ricky Ponting, Steven Smith and Justin Kemp will play for Antigua and Barbuda while Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, and Shakib Al Hasan will play for Barbados. Mohammad Hafeez, Martin Guptill, and James Franklin will represent Guyana, and Muttiah Muralitharan, Shaun Marsh, Vernon Philander, and Jacques Rudolph have been enlisted by Jamaica. Herschelle Gibbs, Albie Morkel, and Tamim Iqbal have been signed by St Lucia, and Ross Taylor, Aaron Finch, and Kevin O’Brien will turn out for Trinidad & Tobago. Adam Gilchrist, last week, pulled out of the Caribbean Premier League due to an ankle injury.Players in the league were originally divided into three groups. Pool A featured international cricketers – 14 from West Indies and 12 from overseas. Pool B included six international and over 100 local players, a few of whom have represented West Indies. Under-23 players from across the Caribbean islands made up Pool C.A head coach, assistant coach, one West Indian and one international player, designated as ‘franchise players’ (who are among the 15 in each squad) made up the team’s selection committee, and was in charge of strategies for the draft. These franchise players were not part of the three pools and were appointed to each team by the league.Apart from the two franchise players, each team could pick four players from Pool A, seven players from Pool B and two from Pool C. Players selected from Pool C have to be under 23 years of age before September 1, 2013. However, five of the six franchises picked just three international players instead of four. Jamaica was the only one that picked four international cricketers.A total of 24 matches will be played in the competition that starts on 30 July and ends on August 24.Antigua and Barbuda: Marlon Samuels, Ricky Ponting, Kieran Powell, Johnson Charles, Kemar Roach, Steven Smith, Sheldon Cotterell, Dave Mohammed, Devon Thomas, Gavin Tonge, Justin Kemp, Rakheem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton, Anthony Martin, Montcin Hodge.Barbados: Kieron Pollard, Shoaib Malik, Dwayne Smith, Shakib Al Hasan, Umar Akmal, Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel, Rayad Emrit, Ashley Nurse, Carlos Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Kyle Mayes, Devendra Bishoo, Kirk Edwards, Ramon Reifer.Guyana: Sunil Narine, Mohammad Hafeez, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, James Franklin, Christopher Barnwell, Martin Guptill, Krishmar Santokie, William Perkins, Steven Jacobs, Ronsford Beaton, Trevon Griffith, Narsingh Deonarine, Veerasammy Permaul.Jamaica: Chris Gayle, Muttiah Muralitharan, Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Shaun Marsh, Vernon Philander, Danza Hyatt, Carlton Baugh, Nikita Miller, Jacques Rudolph, Chadwick Walton, Jermaine Blackwood, Akeem Dewar, Dave Bernard, Nkrumah Bonner.St. Lucia: Darren Sammy, Herschelle Gibbs, Albie Morkel, Tino Best, Tamim Iqbal, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Andre Fletcher, Garey Mathurin, Liam Sebastien, Dalton Polius, Kavem Hodge, Kenroy Peters, Nelon Pascal.Trinidad & Tobago: Dwayne Bravo, Ross Taylor, Darren Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Aaron Finch, Samuel Badree, Kevon Cooper, Kevin O’Brien, Sulieman Benn, Adrian Barath, Delorn Johnson, Nicholas Pooran, Yannick Cariah, Miguel Cummins, Justin Guillen.
Shikhar Dhawan is likely to miss at least the opening match for Sunrisers Hyderabad, as he recovers from his hand injury sustained while fielding during the recent Mohali Test against Australia. Dhawan fractured his left hand and was ruled out for six weeks, keeping him out of the fourth Test in Delhi. Sunrisers play their first game on April 5 against Pune Warriors.”Shikhar Dhawan at this stage will not be available for the first game. We are obviously working closely with the BCCI and the medical team with regard to his progress,” Sunrisers coach Tom Moody said before the team’s first official training session in Hyderabad.”We are hoping that within a couple of weeks he will be available to join the team.”Dhawan had made history in Mohali, his 187 being the fastest by a debutant in Tests. His knock opened India’s chances for pushing for a win in a high-scoring game, despite the opening day being washed out. He hurt his hand on the fourth day of the Test but wasn’t required to bat during the second innings.Dhawan was the leading run-scorer for Deccan Chargers – as it was previously known before the ownership changed – in the 2012 season, scoring 569 runs with five fifties. He was one of the few positives in what was a forgettable campaign for the team, which finished second from last.
West Indies completed a tight seven-run victory over Sri Lanka in Colombo take the five-match T20 series 4-1
ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2013 Scorecard West Indies completed a tight seven-run victory over Sri Lanka in Colombo take the five-match T20 series 4-1. Deandra Dottin, the opener, had a quiet series before this but found form in her innings of 43, which included two fours and three sixes. That delivered a strong start for West Indies after they chose to bat. Juliana Nero supported Dottin with 25 at No.3, but both fell in quick succession. Wicketkeeper Kycia Knight and Shaquana Quintyne then helped take the score to 122.Sri Lanka were in trouble early, reduced to 24 for 5 in 8.4 overs at one stage. But Eshani Kaushalya threatened a turnaround with her big-hitting abilities. She smashed 44 in 26 balls, including four sixes, and gave her team a strong chance of bouncing back but fell with the team score on 90 in the 17th over, off the bowling of Tremayne Smartt. Sri Lanka’s chances grew tougher after Kaushalya’s departure, and though Dilani Manodara made an unbeaten 29, wickets fell quickly at the other end. Shanel Daley finished with 4 for 33, three of those wickets coming in the final over off which Sri Lanka needed 12.
A round-up of the Caribbean T20 matches that took place at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad on January 12
ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jan-2013 ScorecardDarren Bravo hit his highest Twenty20 score as Trinidad & Tobago crushed Guyana in Port of Spain to move to the top of the table. Guyana asked T&T to bat and removed their openers Lendl Simmons and William Perkins cheaply. They even managed to restrict Dwayne Bravo to a run-a-ball 19 but Darren Bravo kept the runs coming for T&T. Guyana hadn’t allowed T&T to blaze away, though, and when Denesh Ramdin became the fourth wicket to fall, the score was 127 in the 16th over.Kieron Pollard came in, and took the game further away from Guyana. Pollard blitzed five sixes in making an unbeaten 44 off just 17 deliveries. Darren Bravo himself swung four sixes in his 51-ball stay, which also brought him eight fours.An asking rate in the region of ten runs an over much was to prove much beyond Guyana, who failed to build any momentum during the chase. Most of the T&T bowlers were among the wickets, with Rayad Emrit taking two, and Sunil Narine returning 1 for 12 from four overs. Shivnarine Chanderpaul played a lone hand with a half-century at the top of the order, but the next highest score was 14 by Narsingh Deonarine. Guyana were left to reflect upon a heavy defeat, which hurt their net run-rate and sent T&T’s soaring. ScorecardLiam Sebastien’s four wickets helped Windward Islands beat Leeward Islands in a low-scoring game. Windwards batted first, but managed a highest individual score of 29, by Miles Bascombe, despite all their top five batsmen getting starts. Windwards did have a base of 50 for 1 after nine overs but lost regular wickets after that. Three Leewards bowlers had two wickets each, with Chesney Hughes returning 2 for 8 from three overs.Leewards were to find scoring more difficult than Windwards had, with a slow opening stand of 33 between Lyndel Richardson and Kieran Powell. After Delorn Johnson made the initial breakthrough by dismissing Powell, Sebastien got four of the next five batsmen to fall, including Devon Thomas for 20. Leewards were soon reduced to 64 for 7 and even though Justin Athanaze tried with a 15-ball 24, it was too late.