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Ravi Shastri’s appointment at the helm of India’s coaching staff has led to continuation of all three assistant coaches, who had been with the India squad ever since Shastri was roped in midway through the tour to England last year

Amol Karhadkar13-Jun-2015Ravi Shastri’s appointment at the helm of India’s coaching staff has led to continuation of all three assistant coaches, who had been with the India squad ever since Shastri was roped in midway through the tour to England last year.Two of the three assistant coaches – bowling coach B Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar – had been assured of renewal of their contract before the team’s departure to Bangladesh. However, batting coach Sanjay Bangar had not been communicated at all about whether his services would be required beyond the Bangladesh tour or not.

India coach to be known in next BCCI meet – Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly, a member of the newly-formed cricket advisory committee and joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, has said that the next BCCI working committee meeting, which is likely to be held in mid-July, will finalise India’s coach. ESPNcricinfo in the last three days has reported that Ravi Shastri will continue to head the coaching staff.
“We don’t have any news on this now. During next meeting of the board, it will definitely be known who will be India’s coach,” Ganguly told reporters in Kolkata on Sunday. The appointment of the coaching staff will be formalised during the next BCCI working committee.

However, ESPNcricinfo understands that there is a change of stance and according to a BCCI insider, Bangar is likely to continue in his role. The details of his contract – tenure and compensation – are likely to be finalised once the team returns from Bangladesh on June 25.The lack of communiqué with Bangar was indeed because the BCCI was considering to replace him. According to a BCCI insider, the board was considering to rope in a new batting coach following “apprehensive feedback from a couple of batsmen”. While Praveen Amre was being considered the frontrunner for the post, Lalchand Rajput and WV Raman were also in contention.Shastri, who had played a pivotal role in getting Bangar on board last year, is understood to have stood by him. Since Shastri ensured that he would be in charge of the Indian team on his own terms, Bangar’s continuation hints as his first move to not let anyone else, especially cricket advisory committee, interfere in the India team’s affairs.It is understood that the three experienced batting coaches on the domestic circuit may be offered coaching stints at the restructured National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Sri Lanka’s sports minister has expressed his confidence that Sri Lanka Cricket’s current standoff with the ICC will be resolved, while the ICC has agreed to release a small percentage of the sum it is holding in escrow

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Apr-2015Sri Lanka’s sports minister has expressed his confidence that Sri Lanka Cricket’s current standoff with the ICC will be resolved, while the ICC has agreed to release a small percentage of the sum it is holding in escrow. Navin Dissanayake, the sports minister, said SLC would shortly receive USD $300,000 from the ICC, which amounts to about 2.5% of the payment due to the board.The release of this money, which is effectively Sri Lanka’s prize money from the 2015 World Cup, is seen by SLC as a step toward the board’s full reintegration at the ICC. Dissanayake said he had also received a letter from ICC last week, and expects to respond over the next few days. He hopes to outline his reasons for suspending the SLC elections and appointing an interim committee.”I can say that the letter from ICC was very cordial and there was nothing confrontational about it,” Dissanayake said. “So I am certain, we can sort this out with ICC. I am meeting ICC Chief Executive David Richardson and ICC Chairman Srinivasan to negotiate the matters shortly.”The ICC’s constitution does not allow for government interference in cricket administration in full member nations. However, the SLC comes under the sports ministry’s purview, according to Sri Lanka’s sports law. This, Dissanayake said, was the crux of the wrangle.”There is a conflict between Sri Lanka Sports Law and ICC regulations,” he said. “It can be negotiated. ICC has to understand the situation in member countries.”Dissanayake also said Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department would probe the awarding of local broadcasting rights of Sri Lanka matches to Carlton Sports Network as part of a wider investigation.Meanwhile, a collective of Sri Lanka Cricket stakeholders, most from voting clubs and associations, has urged the Sri Lankan government to reinstate elections at Maitland Place. Sixty-eight members of cricket associations had met over the weekend, and expressed concern that SLC had been sidelined by the ICC.The collective issued a release which said “outgoing office bearers” would seek an appointment with the government “to discuss this issue in order to minimize the damage that could cause to Sri Lanka Cricket and the restoration of the democratic rights of the membership.”

Both sides make just one change with a flatter pitch expected at the SCG and some wet weather forecast

Alex Malcolm04-Jan-2022

Big Picture

It feels like an eternity since the end of the Boxing Day Test with the early finish on the morning of day three plus a later start to the New Year’s Test in Sydney only adding to the wait.But there is not much to wait for as the SCG prepares to host yet another Ashes dead rubber. Sydney cricket fans have not seen an Ashes Test where the urn is still to be decided since 1994-95, although the 1998-99 and 2010-11 series could still have been drawn there.Australia are in a luxurious position having secured the Ashes inside 12 days. They have lost Travis Head due to Covid-19 but there is a ready replacement in Usman Khawaja with 44 Tests experience and eight Test match centuries including one in the last Ashes Test played at the SCG four years ago. They have a bevy of fast bowlers to choose from and can now afford to look forward to their Asian tours mid-year although they have resisted the urge to give legspinner Mitchell Swepson a debut with the future in mind.England’s tour has gone from bad to worse with nine members of the support staff contracting Covid-19, including coach Chris Silverwood. As a result, their preparation in Sydney has been disjointed and challenging. Pressure remains on both Silverwood and captain Joe Root in terms of their leadership futures beyond this series while the ECB has taken fire from all quarters over the state of England’s red-ball cricket.Unlike some of the random Sydney selections England have made on the previous two tours, they are set to make one change with Stuart Broad returning to the side in place of Ollie Robinson while the batters get another chance to atone for a horror showing in Melbourne.

Form guide

(most recent first)
Australia WWWLD
England LLLLWPat Cummins relaxes ahead of a team photo at the SCG•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Usman Khawaja has not played Test cricket since he was dropped during the 2019 Ashes series. On that occasion he was squeezed out due to Marnus Labuschagne’s form and again in this series he was on the wrong end of a tight selection call at the Gabba. Now with a first-team player out with Covid-19, Khawaja has an opportunity, not unlike Labuschange’s in 2019. He can create a real headache for Australia’s selectors with a big score in Sydney and make a case to return to the side permanently.Jonny Bairstow has played one Test fewer than Steven Smith and is on his third Ashes tour of Australia. Although he was rushed in without any red-ball match preparation for the MCG Test, on the most challenging surface of the tour to-date, he showed he has the class and skill to counter Australia’s pacemen with 35 in the first innings. He then fell the wrong side of a 50-50 lbw call in the second. At 32, he still has a lot of time to add to his six Test hundreds and improve his overall Test record. England need him desperately to do so and a good batting pitch in Sydney is the perfect place to start.Related

• Steven Smith's search for rhythm one of Australia's good problems

• Scott Boland retains spot with Josh Hazlewood not ready to return

• Root hopes for SCG turnaround despite 'disjointed and challenging' situation in England camp

• Travis Head tests positive for Covid-19 as Australia scramble for replacements

Team news

Australia have made just the one forced change from the side that won by an innings in Melbourne with Khawaja replacing Head at No.5. Josh Hazlewood is not ready to return from his side strain and Jhye Richardson has also been held back due to his shin. Scott Boland retains his place after it was remarkably under threat despite his 6 for 7 in Melbourne.Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Usman Khawaja, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott BolandOlly Robinson is out and Stuart Broad is in•Getty Images

Robinson has been left out after labouring a touch in Melbourne and Broad is his replacement having played just one Test in the series so far. England’s batting remains the major issue but no changes have been made despite only two players reaching 30 across two innings in Melbourne.England: 1 Haseeb Hameed, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Joe Root, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Mark Wood, 9 Jack Leach, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson

Pitch and conditions

The SCG now has the mantle of the flattest pitch in Australia after the MCG’s rejuvenation in recent years. The pitch had plenty of grass on it a day out from the match but it is expected that curator Adam Lewis will shave some of it off prior to the first ball. The lone Sheffield Shield game played there this season produced a decent contest between bat and ball. The weather could well play a factor with showers forecast throughout the game.

Stats and trivia

• England’s record at the SCG is better than any other venue in Australia. They have won 22 times in 56 Tests and it is the site of their last Test victory in Australia in 2011.
• Khawaja has been in and out of Australia’s Test team several times since his debut in the fifth Ashes Test in 2010-11. But this is his longest stretch between Test appearances having last played in August 2019. His previous longest was two years and three months between August 2013 and November 2015.
• Nathan Lyon averages 40.94 with the ball at the SCG, his least effective ground in Australia where he has played multiple Tests. Mitchell Starc averages 42.30 at the SCG, his worst ground in Australia by some margin.
• England’s average of 18.75 runs per dismissal is their worst average in any Ashes series of three or more matches played in Australia. England averaged 20.20 in 1882 but won that series 2-1.

Quotes

“We are very privileged to get the opportunity to represent our country and we’ve got two games here to show how much we care about that, and to make sure that we put in better performances than we have done so far in this tour. Those guys in that dressing room really care about it and we’ve got to sort of find a way of showing that now in the field.”
“Traditionally here over the last 10 years, it’s been pretty hard work for the bowlers. I don’t see a lot that’s going to be different this week. There’s a bit of grass, there’s going to be a bit of weather. I don’t think we’re going to see it break up and turn or have that traditional kind of dusty spinning wicket from maybe 10-plus years ago. We’ll wait and see but it looks really even at the moment.”

Former Test captain advocates radical change with call for ECB to impose Hundred template on first-class game

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2021Former England batter Kevin Pietersen believes that the ECB must create a first-class competition with a similar structure to the Hundred if the men’s Test team is to “return to its former glories”.Pietersen, an Ashes winner in 2005, 2009, 2010-11 and 2013, was part of Sky Sports’ commentary team for the inaugural edition of the Hundred this summer and suggested that players involved “will have improved markedly” due to the concentration of talent.In a column for Betway, Pietersen said that the standard of County Championship cricket had fallen markedly since his debut for Nottinghamshire in 2001 and described the competition as “not fit to serve the Test team”.Related

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“The best players don’t want to play in it, so young English players aren’t learning from other greats like I did,” Pietersen wrote. “Batters are being dismissed by average bowlers on poor wickets and the whole thing is spiralling.”When I first started playing first-class cricket in England, the intensity of a County Championship match was like a Test match. It was as tough as anything. I learned my trade against some of the greatest players in the world every week.”The Leicestershire side we came up against in 2003 featured Virender Sehwag, Brad Hodge, Paul Nixon, Jeremy Snape, Phil DeFreitas and Charlie Dagnall [but] when I made 355* against Leicestershire in 2015, I would have made 250 without pads on. It was a moment when I realised just how far county cricket had fallen.”Pietersen suggested that the Championship could continue as a “feeder system… where players develop until they’re ready to step up” but said that English cricket needs an eight-team, round-robin competition in the heart of summer in order to better serve the interest of the Test side.”In the Hundred, the ECB have actually produced a competition with some sort of value,” he said. “They now need to introduce a similar franchise competition for red-ball cricket, whereby the best play against the best every single week.”They would make money available to attract some of the best overseas players in the world and the top English players would benefit from playing alongside them.”It would be a marketable, exciting competition, which would drive improvement in the standard and get people back through the gates for long-form cricket.”We need to produce lucrative, high-quality, interesting competitions that reward and improve the best players. This could be one. This Ashes defeat needn’t be a total failure if they [the ECB] can use it to implement proper change for the Test side.”The charge that the Championship is failing to produce Test-quality players has been levelled by several senior figures within the England set-up since their innings defeat in Melbourne saw Australia take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Ashes, with Joe Root, James Anderson and Graham Thorpe among those to criticise the county game either implicitly or explicitly.Michael Atherton, the former England captain and broadcaster, proposed in his column that the Championship should move to three divisions of six, with each team playing 10 games between May and July, and encouraged more representative games. “North v South, Best v Rest, Lions games… should be used as a bridge between the county and Test game,” he wrote.Atherton also suggested Andrew Strauss and Ed Smith as candidates to replace Tom Harrison and Ashley Giles as the ECB’s chief executive and managing director of men’s cricket respectively; called for split-format coaches to replace the “out of his depth” Chris Silverwood; and said that it was “time for someone else” to take over from Joe Root as captain, proposing Ben Stokes as “a viable alternative”.

Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Yasir Ali get Test contracts; Mahmudullah and Mustafizur Rahman included only in ODIs and T20Is

Mohammad Isam10-Mar-2022Shakib Al Hasan is among five Bangladesh men’s cricketers to be handed central contracts by the BCB for all three formats this year. The decision was taken despite Shakib’s unavailability for four Tests so far this year.Shakib skipped the New Zealand Tests in January citing personal reasons, and created a stir when he said his condition – physical and mental – wasn’t allowing him to tour South Africa later this month. The BCB subsequently granted him “rest” from all international cricket matches till April 30.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

On Wednesday, the BCB’s cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus said that Shakib had stepped back from his initial request to keep him away from Tests till mid-November. But the announcement on Thursday suggests the BCB was expecting Shakib to be available for the rest of the Tests this year.Apart from Shakib, the BCB continued with Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam for the all-formats contracts, just as they had in 2021.Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Yasir Ali are the two new entrants with Test contracts, while the BCB offloaded Mohammad Saifuddin, Soumya Sarkar, Saif Hassan, Abu Jayed and Shamim Hossain.Similar to last year’s contracts, Tamim Iqbal, who announced that he was taking a six-month break from T20Is this year, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz have been handed Test and ODI contracts.Mahmudullah, who retired from Tests last year, and Mustafizur Rahman have ODIs and T20Is in their contracts. Taijul Islam got a slight demotion after he was given a Test-only contract, a change from his Test and ODI contract last year.The BCB, however, didn’t announce the monthly salaries or the match fees for each format.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh among eight teams to play the first round to try and qualify for the Super 12s stage

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Jul-20210:31

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Playing Pakistan ‘exciting’ but ‘always a pressure match’

India and Pakistan will meet in the Super 12s stage of the 2021 men’s T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the UAE and Oman between October 17 and November 14. This will make it the first face-off between the two teams in more than two years, their last fixture having come in the 2019 50-over World Cup.On Friday, the ICC announced the make-up of the groups – both for the first round and for the Super 12s stage – for the big-ticket tournament, which will be the first multi-team, global event organised by the ICC since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic early last year. The final of the World Test Championship, featuring India and New Zealand, was hosted in Southampton last month.Related

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The ICC did not unveil the schedule for the 16-team tournament, which is expected to be finalised shortly.The first-round matches will be split between two groups, with the games to be played in the UAE and Oman. Group A has Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands and Namibia, while Group B has Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 12s, which will be played in the three UAE centres – Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.Teams in the Super 12s have been pooled into two groups as well. India and Pakistan are in Group 2 alongside New Zealand, Afghanistan and two qualifiers – B1 and A2. Group 1 comprises defending champions West Indies along with England, Australia and South Africa and the other two qualifers – A1 and B2. The groups, the ICC confirmed, were selected on the basis of the team rankings as of March 20, 2021.In the 2020 edition of the tournament, which was originally scheduled for Australia and was later postponed by the ICC because of the Covid-19 pandemic, India and Pakistan were in different groups because they were No. 1 and No. 2 in the ICC T20I rankings at the time of the deadline. That would have been the first time the two teams would not have contested in the group stage of a global tournament since the 2011 50-over World Cup.This time, India are second behind England, and ahead of New Zealand, followed by Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, Afghanistan and West Indies.The last time India and Pakistan faced off was in Manchester in the 2019 50-over World Cup•PA Images via Getty Images

“There are some great match ups offered by the groups and it starts to bring the event to life for our fans as our first multi-team event since the onset of the global pandemic draws closer,” Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s acting chief executive, said in a statement on Friday. “Given the disruption caused by COVID-19, we selected the cutoff date as close as possible to the event to ensure we were able to include the maximum amount of cricket in the rankings which determine the groups.”There is no doubt we will witness some highly competitive cricket when the event gets underway in just three months.”The tournament was earlier scheduled to be played in India, but owing to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic in the country, the BCCI decided to move it overseas, even though the Indian board continues to be official hosts for the event.‘Good to get Oman in the frame of world cricket’ – Ganguly
The ICC had named the UAE as the back-up venue for the tournament in 2020 itself. Recently, it decided to add Oman as a venue keeping in mind the volume of cricket that the UAE – especially Abu Dhabi – has hosted since the pandemic began. The UAE will also host the remainder of the 2021 IPL from September 19 until mid-October.The ICC felt having Oman as an additional venue would help keep the main grounds in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah fresh for the Super 12s stage. An ICC team is in Oman this week to inspect the two ovals at the Oman Cricket Academy.”It is good to get Oman in the frame of world cricket with the hosting of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, said. “It will help a lot of young players take an interest in the game. We know it will be a world class event in this part of the world.”Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary who is also the current president of the Asian Cricket Council, said Oman, who are one of the teams participating in Round 1, deserved to be on the global map: “Co-hosting the World Cup will put Oman Cricket on the global stage. They are also playing the Qualifiers and it will be an icing on the cake if they make it to the Super 12s.”

Veteran allrounder dedicates 190 to late father as he turns on the style

David Hopps21-May-2021Darren Stevens, Kent’s veteran crowd-pleaser, revealed how his Kent team-mates joked about how he had waited for spectators to return before ending a lean run of form to play one of the finest innings of his 25-year county career.Stevens, whose 190 from 149 balls against Glamorgan made him the oldest man, at 45 years and 21 days, to hit a first-class century in England for 35 years, also admitted that the memory of his late father, who died last year of a Covid-related illness, had still affected him during games this season.On a week when limited numbers of spectators have been allowed into county grounds, Stevens said: “It was good just to get bums on seats, it feels like a proper game now, whereas the last year or so, I know they’ve been first class games but it’s not felt the same, it’s felt a little bit like a pre-season game.”The lads said to me ‘Oh, the crowds come in and you show up, don’t you!’ I’ve had six, eight innings where I’ve not really got any runs. To get 190 is just remarkable really and I’m just pleased I’ve got us into a good situation.”Kent were 128 for 8 on a day when gusts of winds touched 50kph but Stevens’ assault took them to 307 and it was enough for their captain, Sam Billings, to make a speech after the day’s play about his impact upon the county’s cricket.”There were a couple of words flying around like ‘freak’,” he said. “It’s nice. ‘Bilbo’ has just done a nice little speech. I’ve played a few knocks like this, there’s a few young faces, newcomers to the side that have not seen me play as well and there were a few rumours flying around about how I do play, so they’re just really pleased to see it and I’m pleased to perform and get us in a great position.”Stevens expanded more about his tactics as he bludgeoned 15 sixes – one below the all-time English first-class record – and 15 fours in a ninth-wicket stand of 166. His batting partner, the West Indian Miguel Cummins, blocked for 1 from 55 balls in that time, but helped himself to a cathartic pulled four after Stevens’ dismissal to finish with 7 from 61.”We were in a tough situation,” Stevens said. “We got into a bit of a routine, a bit of a rhythm, it actually worked quite well for a few overs and I’ve probably got us into quite a good situation. I tried to use the wind as much as I could because it was tough out there. I tried to use it to our advantage.Related

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“As long as I got it aerial, I thought the wind would take it with it when I was batting at the Pavilion End. When I was at the Nackington Road End it was a little bit different because they were bowling wider. I played one when I tried to flick it leg side and I got dropped at slip, I think, and then I thought about hitting the sight-screen and I thought if I can hit the sight-screen and they come straighter then fine. It was a game of two halves really.”Stevens, although one of the most committed trainers around, accepts that occasional injuries are part and parcel of his career in his mid-40s.”I’ve had a bit of a niggle, it’s been a bit of a pain in my left hamstring so I’ve been struggling to get forward but since the Sussex game I’ve had a good four or five days off when I’ve not done anything and I’ve rested it a little bit, so I felt a little bit better yesterday in the nets.”Stevens’ father died in a care-home last summer, and the memory has stayed with him. “The old man, I’ll tell you, I don’t shy away from stuff like this… like the game up at Northants, I got pretty emotional, I had to pull out a few times.”You know I miss him, we all miss him, having a bench down here and having a coffee with him every morning, but yeah he’s looking down on me and he will be for a long time.”

Shem Ngoche’s four-wicket haul set up Kenya’s convincing seven-wicket win over Netherlands in the T20 Quadrangular series in Windhoek on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShem Ngoche’s four-wicket haul set up Kenya’s convincing seven-wicket win over Netherlands in the T20 Quadrangular series in Windhoek on Saturday.Kenya immediately reaped the rewards of putting Netherlands into bat, as Nehemiah Odhiambo struck with the first ball of the match, taking a return catch to dismiss Netherlands wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi. The batting side never recovered from that start, losing wickets at regular intervals, and were dismissed for 113 in the 19th over. Ngoche was the most successful bowler, though he was expensive, picking up four wickets for 34 runs off four overs.In reply, Kenya needed just 74 balls to achieve the target, as Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya and Rakep Patel guided the chase with useful partnerships. Obuya and Patel put on an unbeaten 69-run stand for the fourth wicket, with Patel contributing 46 to the stand. His innings, which came off 20 balls, included five sixes and two fours.

Cricket Australia is expected to pour more money into growing the game at grassroots level and appealing to a more diverse fan-base after the new A$590 million broadcasting rights deal

Brydon Coverdale04-Jun-2013Cricket Australia is expected to pour more money into growing the game at grassroots level and appealing to a more diverse fan-base after receiving a massive financial boost thanks to the new A$590 million broadcasting rights deal. The organisation has been pushing for some time to increase its appeal to a wider multicultural demographic, which has continued with the offering of special marketing contracts to Fawad Ahmed and Gurinder Sandhu.Ahmed, a refugee from Pakistan, could yet play in the Ashes if legislation before federal parliament is passed in time to allow his Australian passport to be fast-tracked, while Sandhu, whose parents are from India, was New South Wales’ Player of the Year last summer.CA hopes both men will take up the marketing contracts, a concept which was introduced as a result of the reduction in the number of central playing contracts recommended by the Argus report. Under an agreement with the Australian Cricketers’ Association, players from outside the central contract list could be offered deals based on marketing appearances, and CA’s chief executive James Sutherland said Ahmed was a good fit for such a contract.”In terms of someone like Fawad, he’s done very well in domestic cricket at the end of last season and he’s got a different sort of background,” Sutherland told ESPNcricinfo. “Part of our real focus at the moment is to grow and diversify our participation base. There are a number of players from different cultural backgrounds who are playing in domestic cricket and I guess there are opportunities to really highlight that and for them to be some sort of inspiration to others in our community to be part of the Australian cricket scene.”That broader aim of appealing across cultures will continue to be a major focus of CA over the next few years and it will have significantly increased funds with which to tackle the issue as a result of the broadcasting deal. The new five-year arrangement with Channel Nine and Channel Ten is worth 118% more than the previous deal and while some of that increase will be directed to the elite teams and players, grassroots cricket will also be a winner.”How you spend your increases in revenue is just as important as the revenue itself,” Sutherland said. “We have a very clear strategy and approach that says that at least 75% of our revenue will be spent of fans, Australian teams and participants, and that will be a very sharp focus for us over the next five years.”Clubs are a really important part of the fabric of Australian cricket and whilst it’s difficult to be absolutely specific, what we are very focused on is ensuring that cricket is a sport of choice for fans and participants. Growing our participation base, diversifying our participation base is really important.”A fundamental within all of that for clubs is having good facilities and having the resources around them to attract people. It’s competitive out there. There are lots of sports options. Kids today play four or five sports at the same time. We’re really intent on making sure cricket is at the top of the list in summer time and part of that in our view will be looking for opportunities to improve facilities around clubs and communities to make sure that cricket is even more likely to be that sport of choice.”

Kent left-arm spinner has his career cut short at the age of 27

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2021Imran Qayyum, the Kent left-arm spinner, has retired from all cricket because of a shoulder injury.Qayyum, 27, played 82 matches for Kent across all formats since joining the county in 2014 after playing for Middlesex youth teams and second XI stints with Northamptonshire and Sussex.Having made the first of his six first-class appearances against Northamptonshire in May 2016, Qayyum specialised in the white-ball formats, particularly T20s, in which he took 45 wickets at an average of 25.73 and with an economy rate of 8.07.He took a career-best 5 for 21 against Somerset in Kent’s first home match of the T20 Blast in 2019 and he took 4 for 45 against Pakistan’s one-day touring side at Beckenham in April of the same year.Related

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“It’s disappointing that my career has been cut short, but I can look back with pride on the contributions I’ve made as a Kent player,” Qayyum said in a statement. I’ll have nothing but good memories. I’m very grateful of the opportunity that Kent Cricket gave me to live my childhood dream.”Kent recently signed Qais Ahmad, the Afghanistan legspinner, for their entire 2021 Blast campaign and two County Championship fixtures. The club also signed Mohammad Amir for the second half of the upcoming Blast season.Kent were knocked out of last year’s Blast at the quarter-finals stage by Surrey.