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Mashrafe said he is pursuing the political opportunity because of his open-ended future after the 2019 World Cup, which he hinted could be his last international tournament

Mohammad Isam04-Dec-2018Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said that he will not be distracted by his election campaign in the lead up to, and during the upcoming ODI series against West Indies. After the three ODI series ends on December 14, Mashrafe is scheduled to contest in the Narail-2 constituency elections in his home district, with the polls scheduled to be held on December 30Mashrafe said that he is pursuing the political opportunity considering his open-ended future after the 2019 World Cup which, as he had suggested previously, and also on Tuesday, could be his last international tournament.”My mindset is completely focused on training and the ODI series that’s coming up,” Mashrafe said. I will only concentrate on that [the election campaign] after December 14. If I play till the World Cup, I have about seven or eight months remaining in my playing career. I don’t know what I am going to do in the following four-and-a-half years. The Prime Minister has given me an opportunity to serve the people.”Mashrafe said that he particularly held the press conference a day before the ODI side began training so that it wouldn’t cause a distraction like how it had on the day his nomination was confirmed by the governing party, Bangladesh Awami League.”I don’t want to talk about politics during the ODI series, which is why I held a press conference today. I personally felt that if there are to be questions about my political career, it should be today.”I discussed it with [media manager] Rabeed that I would have to face these questions, so it should be before the series gets underway,” he said.Mashrafe’s fitness had kept him from retiring after the 2017 Champions Trophy, but this time around, he said he would “review” his career path at the end of next year’s World Cup.”My mindset was made up for the World Cup. At one point I didn’t know if I could go further than the Champions Trophy [last year], but fitness kept me going. I will review my decision if I feel differently after the World Cup. My personal goal was to play till the World Cup, which is eight months away. During this time I will be playing within my plan. Whether I will review my decision [to quit after the World Cup] or not, time will tell,” he said.

This is the second time in the last two years that the former Pakistan captain has turned to the lower level in a bid to extend his playing career

Umar Farooq11-Jan-2019Misbah-ul-Haq is set to play Quaid-e-Azam Grade Two competition for his home side Faisalabad ahead of the Pakistan Super League, which begins on February 14. This is the second time in the last two years that the former Pakistan captain has turned to the lower level in a bid to extend his playing career. He will be joined by batsman Ahmed Shehzad, who is aiming to work his way back from his ban.Misbah retired from international cricket in 2017 and has since been active in the domestic circuit. Last season, he played both List A and the four-day games for SNGPL. Ahead of the PSL draft last year, he backtracked on his agreement to mentor Islamabad United, saying he wanted to play in the 2019 season. He was picked by Peshawar Zalmi in the Diamond category in the draft.The 44-year-old led Faisalabad to a win in 2017 in the Grade Two tournament and helped them qualify for the country’s premier first-class tournament Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. They, however, lost six straight games out of the seven, with one abandoned, following which they were relegated.”The biggest motivation for me is to help Faisalabad regain their Grade One spot,” Misbah said. “We were relegated last season and our aim is to qualify for first-class cricket again; this is what we can strive to do for our region. Such events also provide an opportunity to work with younger players, to spend time with them to work on their game and transfer experience. On a personal note the tournament should help me prepare for the PSL.”Meanwhile, Shehzad will return to competitive cricket after serving a five-and-half-month ban for violating the board’s anti-doping rules. He was initially handed a four-month suspension but it was extended by six weeks after he was found guilty of breaching the ruling on the original ban. As a result, he missed playing the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he was to play for Sui Southern Gas Corporation after his contract was terminated by Habib Bank Limited.”The last few months were very tough for me; I badly missed playing cricket especially since the sport is a childhood passion of mine and an integral part of my life,” Shehzad said.”I am more focused than ever and have worked hard on improving my mindset and other aspects of the game. I am really looking forward to representing Faisalabad. Grade Two is a platform from where a lot of players have emerged and I am eager to deliver to the best of my ability for my team.”

231-run stand between 36-year-old club captain and 20-year-old rookie sets up home win

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay20-Aug-2025Tom Westley and Charlie Allison chalked up career-best List A scores while posting a 231-run third-wicket partnership that underpinned Essex’s third successive Metro Bank One-Day Cup victory.The Essex captain’s 141 was his eighth List A century, while Allison’s 131 was his first in the white-ball format but his fourth of a summer in which the 20-year-old has established himself as a forceful and elegant middle-order stroke-maker. As a statistical curiosity, both players’ innings lasted 113 balls.Allison slammed five sixes and 15 fours, while Westley chipped in with 16 fours and three sixes. Simon Harmer made sure the target was beyond Glamorgan with a 22-ball cameo including four sixes in 42 and then ripped through the visitors’ brittle batting with best bowling figures of 5 for 47.Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson smashed four sixes in a defiant 36-ball 64, and Asa Tribe a pedestrian 71 from 79, but it only delayed the inevitable in a day-night match that barely reached nightfall. The reigning champions, still without a win this season, succumbed to 181 all out to lose by 190 runs inside 33 overs.Having elected to bat on a well-used hybrid wicket, Essex lost both openers inside the first eight overs. Matt Critchley attempted to loft Zain ul Hassan straight down the ground, instead hitting high but barely clearing the square, before Robin Das fizzed a delivery from Ned Leonard low to backward point.However, Essex’s tentative start gave way to a free-flowing partnership. Both batsmen dealt almost exclusively in boundaries for a spell, Allison hitting three in an over from Dan Douthwaite. He also added back-to-back fours off Carlson, the first through extra cover, the second a very late cut, before launching the off-spinner over long-off for six.Westley was no less aggressive, whipping Leonard through midwicket, driving the same bowler through the covers and next ball hooking a third boundary.
Allison brought up the century partnership with a second six over long leg off Ben Morris. A third six over extra cover off Asa Tribe took Allison beyond his previous best of 85 as well as marking the pair’s 150-run stand. Soon after, he turned Leonord off his legs to reach a 92-ball hundred.Neither player gave a chance until Westley, on 99, drove uppishly to short extra cover where he was dropped by a leaping Henry Hurle while reaching three figures from 93 balls.Eddie Byrom dropped Allison at deep square leg on 126 but made amends shortly after when he held on at cow corner to give Tribe the first of two wickets in four balls. Luc Benkenstein sliced to long-off to give Hurle some compensation.Westley added two more sixes but fell to a similar catch in a similar position to the same fielder as Allison to complete the symmetry of their respective innings.Harmer kept up the barrage before he was caught in the deep from the last ball of the innings to give ul Hassan a third wicket.Jamie Porter struck with his first ball in Glamorgan’s reply when he had Byrom edging to slip and Shane Snater upped the pressure when Hurle nicked behind in only the fifth over.However, Kiran Carlson took up the challenge almost single-handedly. He dominated the first fifty runs of the 78-run third-wicket stand, to which Tribe contributed just seven, and reached his own half-century from 31 balls with an audacious reverse-sweep off Harmer for his third six. A fourth maximum, to cow corner off Benkenstein, followed before he fell, driving Harmer to mid-off.Then the collapse began in earnest. Will Smale lasted just four balls before attempting a lavish sweep against Benkenstein and was lbw. Billy Root didn’t hang around much longer, sweeping Harmer to the square-leg boundary, while ul Hassan’s three-ball stay ended when he was caught behind. Harmer claimed a simple caught-and-bowled to remove Douthwaite and then bowled Tribe for his fifth wicket.

Afghanistan bowlers bundled Ireland out for 124 before Ihsanullah’s unbeaten 57 sealed the three-ODI series 2-1 with an eight-wicket win

The Report by Ankur Dhawan31-Aug-2018
Rashid Khan takes flight•Getty Images

Ireland opted to bat upon winning the toss on a tired pitch, but that was about the only thing they did right as their batsmen surrendered meekly against a disciplined Afghanistan attack and were shot out for 124. After that, not even Tim Murtagh, with eight wickets in the last two matches, could save them the ignominy of a heavy defeat as the visitors hurtled to their target to clinch the series 2-1.The moth-eaten adage you miss, I hit couldn’t have been reinforced stronger as five Ireland batsmen fell lbw to a very straight line of attack, largely due to their penchant for wanting to work the ball square off their pads, three of those off Rashid Khan’s staple googly. Their troubles, however, started much sooner, between overs nine and 11 to be specific.Till then, they had done well to recover from the early loss of Paul Stirling, who fell caught behind for two in his 100th ODI, poking at a length ball from Aftab Alam that moved away fractionally. William Porterfield and Andy Balbirnie looked set before the former became the first of six Ireland batsmen to cross double figures and squander the start. Looking to drive Alam, he was early into the shot, offering a simple catch to Asghar Afghan at mid-off, who fumbled twice before latching on. Porterfield fell for a painstaking 34-ball 14, followed by Niall O’ Brien, who was slightly unlucky to be adjudged lbw off Gulbadin Naib to one that looked to be going over the stumps. When Balbirnie, the in-form batsman with two fifties in the series, nicked Gulbadin to the wicketkeeper four balls later, Ireland had suddenly been reduced to 39 for 4 in the blink of an eye.Curiously, the next 31 balls was the most productive phase for Ireland as Kevin O’Brien and Simi Singh counter-attacked. The 15th over yielded 13 runs – comfortably the most in the innings – as both batsmen used the pull shot to good effect against some wayward bowling from Gulbadin. But the next over saw the introduction of Rashid and he struck off the last ball the over, trapping Kevin O’Brien plumb in front as the batsman looked to work a googly towards square leg, and missed. Simi fell to the same mode of dismissal in Rashid’s next over, leaving Ireland reeling at 72 for six. Gary Wilson and Andy McBrine then had a 37-run stand, also the best of the Ireland innings, but that it came so late was part of the problem rather than the solution. And when captain Asghar pinned Wilson in front for only his second ODI scalp, the end was imminent as Rashid and Mohammad Nabi polished off the tail.In response, Afghanistan appeared in a hurry to get the runs and lost Mohammad Shahzad early in the process. Shahzad’s poor tour continued as his upper cut off Boyd Rankin landed in the lap of third man. But that hardly made any difference to Afghanistan’s gung-ho approach, as opener Ihsanullah, who had replaced Hazratullah Zazai, and Rahmat Shah continued to attack, taking Afghanistan to 53 in quick time, before the latter fell lbw to Murtagh at the stroke of lunch. Ihsanullah was unperturbed by the break in play and returned to complete his third ODI fifty in the company of Hashmatullah Shahidi, who struck 34, as the duo took Afghanistan home.

All the live updates and analyses from the Australia v New Zealand game

Alan Gardner29-Jun-2019

The CoA said that it was forced to issue the fresh directive because of the “difficulties” being created by the current set of office bearers

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Mar-20184:23

Ugra: CoA’s approval of player contracts first step in this transfer of power

For the first time since being appointed last January by the Supreme Court, the Committee of Administrators has finally decided to take complete charge of the BCCI. In a bold move, the CoA has arrested all the powers of the current set of office bearers with immediate effect, to avoid any roadblocks that could be raised by the administrators pertaining to the functioning of and decision-making at the BCCI.Issuing a fresh set of directives on Thursday, the CoA decided that the office bearers cannot convene any meetings including working committee or selection meetings, or conduct any travel without getting prior consent.The CoA said that it was forced to issue the fresh directive because of the “difficulties” that were created by the current set of three office bearers comprising CK Khanna (acting BCCI president), Amitabh Choudhary (acting BCCI secretary) and Anirudh Chaudhry (BCCI treasurer). “These difficulties include decisions being taken without consulting the Committee of Administrators, delay in providing feedback/inputs to the Committee of Administrators (when sought on particular issues), and extensive travel being undertaken by office bearers without the Committee of Administrators knowing the purpose of such travel,” the CoA said.The battle for power between the CoA and the office bearers has been raging ever since the court asked the former to become the supervising authority of the BCCI on January 30 last year. As far as the office bearers are concerned, they feel the CoA has sidestepped the sole role it was assigned by the court: to help the BCCI implement the Lodha Committee recommendations. The CoA, the three office bearers have pointed out, has instead been busy making decisions that do not come under its purview.One such significant decision recently taken by the CoA was approving the player contracts for national and domestic players, both men and women. The office bearers complained that they were never consulted and pointed out that, as per the existing BCCI constitution, it is the board’s finance committee that recommends the contracts structure which is ratified by the board’s general body at the annual general meeting.Responding to that assertion, the CoA chairman Vinod Rai said that the contracts structure was sent to the board’s finance committee well in advance, but the panel never reverted. So the CoA decided that it could not afford to wait any longer, especially since the players could not be insured without having their contracts in place.In the fresh set of directives, the CoA has made it clear that any contract valued over INR 25 lakh would need its approval. Once the CoA gives the consent, the contract can then be signed by the acting secretary and board’s chief executive officer. In case the secretary does not sign within five days, the CEO (Rahul Johri) becomes the sole signatory. “Once a contract/appointment letter has been signed by the CEO as per the directions of the Committee of Administrators, the same shall be binding on BCCI,” the CoA said.If the secretary or the treasurer delay or do not process any payment or implement any decision, then the CoA has assigned the board’s chief financial officer (Santosh Rangnekar) and general manager of cricket (Saba Karim) to be the alternative signatories.The CoA has also said that henceforth the BCCI will not be paying for any legal advice sought by or individual pleas filed by the office bearers in the ongoing hearing in the court concerning the implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations.This latest diktat of the CoA is only further going to deepen the divide between the office bearers and the BCCI management. Recently both Rangnekar and Johri had filed petitions in the court highlighting the conduct of Chaudhry, who they alleged was imposing himself on them and interfering with the daily functioning of the board.Incidentally, the office bearers have asked the court have a re-look at one of the reforms suggested by the Lodha Committee pertaining to the division of powers between the executive wing and the BCCI management. For the past few months, the court has been postponing hearing the matter owing to a large number of issues of national importance on its docket.

Vidarbha’s Aditya Thakare got 4 for 59, as India B folded for 115 in pursuit of 373

Shashank Kishore22-Sep-2024Arshdeep Singh’s first-class career-best of 6 for 40 helped deliver a consolation win for India D in the final round of the Duleep Trophy 2024-25, in Anantapur. Set 373 for victory in a little over two sessions, India B folded for 115 in just 22.2 overs, with Arshdeep and Vidarbha seamer Aditya Thakare, who got 4 for 59, picking up all ten wickets between them.Arshdeep’s strikes across both innings included the big one of Suryakumar Yadav, who only managed scores of 5 and 16 in his first first-class fixture in over a year. Left-arm seamer Arshdeep, who picked up only his second five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, finished with a match haul of 9 for 90.India B’s allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was the only batter to offer any semblance of resistance, remaining unbeaten on 40 when Arshdeep fittingly picked up the final wicket to clinch a 257-run victory before tea on the fourth and final day.As well as Arshdeep contributed, it was batter Ricky Bhui who was named the Player of the Match. Bhui top-scored in the second innings with an unbeaten 119, going with 56 in the first, to swell the lead after India D found themselves in trouble at 18 for 3 in the second innings. Bhui, who began the day unbeaten on 90, completed his 20th first-class century quickly as India D added 59 more to their overnight 244 for 5 even as spin-bowling allrounder Saransh Jain didn’t come out to bat due to an unspecified injury.India B’s hopes of going after the target needed a stable base from the top order, but that wasn’t to be, as they quickly found themselves three down inside eight overs. Musheer Khan, who had opened the tournament with a backs-to-the-wall 181, was out for his second duck in four innings since, to end a tournament that had promised much more.Nitish, who himself hadn’t contributed as much as he would have liked with the bat, ended the tournament on a brighter note, albeit in a losing cause. He managed two wickets with the ball during the competition, where he showed the ability to bowl long spells and move the ball both ways at a brisk pace.Arshdeep aside, Saurabh Kumar, the left-arm-spinner, enjoyed a productive outing; his five-wicket haul in the first innings setting up a 67-run lead for India D. In other positives for them, Shreyas Iyer, who was leading the side, hit 50 off just 40 balls in the second innings, while Sanju Samson, the first-innings centurion, played a cameo in the second to set up a total they were able to eventually defend.For India B, Abhimanyu Easwaran was among their bright spots. Having begun the tournament with two very uncharacteristic dismissals, he bounced back with twin hundreds in his subsequent outings. However, a loss in the final game ended his side’s chances of clinching the Duleep Trophy, as India A are all but certain to gain three points from their ongoing fixture against India C.

Yorkshire have advised they will make no comment on the alleged incident involving Surrey’s Ryan Patel until they hear officially from the ECB about the matter

Paul Edwards27-Jun-2018Yorkshire and Surrey are awaiting the response of the ECB after a Surrey player reported that he had been racially abused by a spectator on the first day of the County Championship match against Yorkshire in Scarborough.Ryan Patel, the 20-year-old Surrey all-rounder, is understood to be the player named when the incident was reported to the umpires, Peter Hartley and Paul Pollard, who informed the cricket liaison officer, Wayne Noon. Yorkshire have advised they will make no comment on the alleged incident until they hear officially from the ECB about the matter.Surrey’s director of dricket Alec Stewart said: “We’re fully aware of this unsavoury incident and have every confidence that the ECB and Yorkshire will deal with it in the appropriate manner.”It is not thought that the spectator involved was approached by stewards or by members of the Scarborough or Yorkshire club.Ryan Patel in action•Getty Images

Bill Mustoe, a Yorkshire vice-president and former Scarborough chairman, said that the club had responded once the complaint had passed through the system and the umpires had informed both counties.”Plain clothes spotters were put in the area to monitor the situation,” he said. “Nothing more was established and we’ll see what happens as a result. It was just disappointing. We’re not sure of exactly what was said, so we’ll just have to wait.”Yorkshire will also privately point out that the overall mood of the crowd was not hostile – quite the opposite. On the first day at North Marine Road spectators in the packed stand at the Peasholm Park End gave the Surrey offspinner Amar Virdi a huge round of applause at the end of the over in which he dismissed both Cheteshwar Pujara and Harry Brook.Scarborough attracts one of the biggest and most vociferous Championship crowds in the country and the intimate nature of the ground, which has often been described as a natural amphitheatre, means that any cries or barracking from the crowd can often be clearly heard.Patel, born in Sutton, is a Surrey Academy graduate who has been in the system since the age of eight. He shot to prominence with an extraordinary spell of six wickets for five runs in 23 balls against Somerset in Guildford last week.

Middlesex have had a tough period which has brought the exit of head coach Richard Scott but victory against Surrey in front of a big Lord’s crowd lifted their mood

George Dobell05-Jul-2018
ScorecardMiddlesex survived a dramatic mid-innings collapse to open their Blast campaign with a win against local rivals Surrey.Apparently cruising to victory at 88 for 1, Middlesex lost four wickets from the next seven deliveries to leave the game wide open. Had Morne Morkel, at mid-off, held on to a chance offered by Hilton Cartwright on nine, the match may well have turned.But the chance – tough, but one Morkel would have expected to take – went begging and Cartwright went on to make a decisive 38 to help Middlesex to a three-wicket win with six deliveries unused.It’s hardly surprising that this was a nervy performance from Middlesex. What might have been anticipated as a promotion-winning Championship cruise has become bogged down in mid-table mediocrity, while a disappointing Royal London campaign ended at the first hurdle. The head coach, Richard Scott, paid for the lack of progress with his job a few days ago and there are players in the squad contemplating an uncertain future. Tellingly, their fielding – so often the barometer of a side’s confidence – was wretched. It cost them every bit of 12 runs and possibly more.

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In the end, though, the bright start provided by Paul Stirling proved defining. Chasing what was probably a target as many as 20 under par, Stirling thrashed a 22-ball half-century. He took three fours and a six off Morkel’s first over – a no-ball saw it cost 22 – timing the ball beautifully and targeting a small boundary to one side with both power and precision.Combined with his canny bowling earlier in the piece – Stirling took three for 26 with his waspish off-spin – it was hardly surprising he was named man of the match.Perhaps Surrey may rue their selection, too. While a combination of issues – mainly injury and international calls, but Mark Stoneman is absent for personal reasons – biting deep into even their resources, they decided to give a first-team debut to 17-year-old Jamie Smith. He is, without doubt, an outstanding talent. But to play a batsman at No. 8 and not select a second spinner seemed like an error on a dry pitch that offered a little help to such bowlers. Tellingly, while Middlesex bowled 10 overs of spin, Surrey had only four to offer.And, with Dwayne Bravo – representing his 20th T20 team in professional cricket – playing his 392nd game in this format bowling and bowling to Smith at the death, it is hardly surprising the final four overs of the Surrey innings realised just 17 runs.Paul Stirling starred with bat and ball•Getty Images

Despite Sam Curran being released to play this match – he will return to Cardiff in order to be available for Friday’s IT20 against India – Surrey looked some way under strength. And while their development system is a wonderful thing – gone are the days when they seemed to rely disproportionately on the cheque book for their next player – and here saw them field a side including eight men who had come through their own youth system, the lack of experience probably told. So instead of an overseas player, they had four men aged 20 or younger and instead of big-hitting top-order – the likes of Jason Roy, Aaron Finch or Nic Maddinson – they had talented all-rounders (the likes of Ben Foakes, Clarke and Curran) who all looked as if they were batting a place or two too high.Tellingly, it was Surrey’s older players who turned in their side’s key performances. With the bat it was 36-year-old Rikki Clarke, with his first T20 half-century in three-years, who led the way, while with the ball it was 40-year-old Gareth Batty who sparked the collapse with a mean four-over spell that cost just 18. 88 for one became 89 for five as first Batty and then Morkel found themselves on a hat-trick and Middlesex started to pay for a lack of composure.Cartwright just about help his nerve, however, and with James Fuller providing calm support, they just about held their nerve.Earlier Tom Helm gave another demonstration of his promise with an array of beautifully disguised slower balls, generally delivered – to perfection – out of the back of his hand. With the Surrey top-order lacking fire power and Ollie Pope perhaps batting too low at No. 6, Middlesex’s spinners suffocated Surrey’s progress after a bright start – they were 56 for one after the first six overs – while Bravo’s variations ensure there was to be no late acceleration.So, an encouraging start for Middlesex but a worrying one for Surrey. They have earned a strong reputation for their ticket sales in recent years – London will see more than 50,000 people at two Blast matches across Thursday and Friday – but it has not quite been matched by their performances on the pitch. They expect to have their overseas players within days but by then they may be playing catch-up. Friday’s sell-out match against Kent is already looking important.

England still need 210 but Brook and Root have added 58 in the last ten overs, after India’s early incision

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2025

There’s never a shortage of belligerence when Harry Brook’s batting•AFP/Getty Images

Lunch Harry Brook launched an exhilarating counterattack to help England recover from the loss of two wickets on the fourth morning, keeping the fifth Test in the balance. India were on top when Mohammed Siraj trapped Ollie Pope lbw, leaving England 106 for 3 in pursuit of 374, but Brook and Joe Root added 58 in 10.3 overs to put their seamers back under pressure.Brook made the play, and was given a life on 19: he picked out long leg with a miscued pull off Prasidh Krishna, only for Siraj to step on the advertising toblerone on the boundary rope after completing the catch. He continued to attack, lashing Prasidh through cover and cutting him past gully having cracked back-to-back boundaries off Akash Deep’s previous over.It was Prasidh who struck the first blow of the morning, dangling a carrot outside off stump which Ben Duckett snatched at. He was drawn into driving at a fuller ball in the channel, and KL Rahul made a sharp chance at second slip look straightforward. India came out fired up, their close fielders vocal, and regularly beat the bat in the first hour.

Pope, England’s stand-in captain, hit three boundaries in an over off Prasidh to pass 300 runs for the series, but was trapped plumb in front by Siraj’s nip-backer and took a review with him. He has only reached 50 once since his first-innings century in Leeds, and incredibly, the 27 was his second-highest score in the fourth innings of a Test.Root started uncharacteristically skittishly, surviving a tight lbw shout from Prasidh, but steadily grew into his innings. He was happy to play in Brook’s slipstream, and is the key wicket for India as they bid to square the series.