Harbhajan Singh has been fined $15,000 for his outburst directed at batsman T Suman after dismissing him

Cricinfo staff29-Mar-2010Harbhajan Singh, who starred with bat and ball in Mumbai Indians’ victory over Deccan Chargers in the IPL fixture in Mumbai, has been fined $15,000 by match referee Gundappa Viswanath for his outburst directed at batsman T Suman after dismissing him.The sanction was confirmed by IPL chief executive Sundar Raman, through his twitter update shortly after the match. “Harbhajan fined USD 15K by the referee. Found guilty – level one offence. During Suman’s dismissal,” Raman’s twitter-feed read.Harbhajan was in his element in the match, smashing an 18-ball 49 to lift Mumbai to a good score, and then snaring three wickets to help them defend 172. Suman was dismissed caught and bowled by Harbhajan, after which the bowler gave him an invective-ridden send-off.Harbhajan later pleaded guilty to a Level 1 offence (Article 2.1.4), which relates to “excessively audible or repetitious swearing”, and Viswanath imposed the fine on him. For Level 1 breaches of the IPL Code of Conduct, the IPL match referee’s decision is final and binding.Harbhajan’s fine is the first disciplinary action taken on a player during this IPL. During the course of the tournament, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara have been slapped with fines for the failure of their sides to complete their overs on time. Kings XI Punjab emerged as a repeat offender, as a result of which their captain Sangakkara was handed a one-match ban.

Shane Warne has said that total transparency and no favouritism to any franchises is the best way to take the IPL into a fourth season

Cricinfo staff30-Apr-2010Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals captain, has put forward his suggestions to take the IPL into its fourth season and beyond, with total transparency and the absence of any favouritism to any franchises the main principles. Two radical ideas – expressed in an article on his website – are a mid-tournament player transfer window and franchises being allowed three ‘super rounds’, where they can field an extra international player.The current three-year player contracts will expire before the 2011 season, in which two new franchises will be included, and Warne’s own participation is in doubt.There is much speculation, and concern on the part of some players such as Sachin Tendulkar, over whether franchises will retain the core of their current teams. If this happened, Warne felt, it would be a disadvantage to the new franchises; instead, he suggested all players be put up for auction and the original franchises be allowed to buy them back for a premium.”No retention of players is a must for to achieve total transparency in regards to the salary cap. It will increase the creditability of the IPL as the players’ final price will be established at the auction, whatever that may be,” wrote Warne on his website. “However, the player can then be offered back to his original franchise for an extra $50,000.”If the player is important to the franchise, the extra $50,000 will be paid to the player to keep him at the franchise; if not, he plays for his new franchise. All players bought at the auction should continue to receive three-year contract for the auction value per year.”He called for a raise in the salary cap from the proposed $7million to $9 million; he explained that around $5 million would be spent on half a dozen key players alone.He also stressed that all franchises appoint their captains well before the auction and not include them in the salary cap.”If a franchise wants a particular captain, either their existing captain or a new one, they need to negotiate and agree to a deal,” wrote Warne. “If current captains cannot agree to a deal, he can potentially move to a new franchise as their captain or enter the auction. This will allow for owners, coaches and the captain to make their plans and strategies well before auction time.”As for the way the tournament panned out, Warne said franchises should be allowed three ‘super rounds’, to be used at their discretion, where they could play five overseas players instead of four.Warne also advocated a trade period be put into place during the mid-point of the tournament to allow franchises swap one player if they felt the need. This would not be compulsory, he said. “If they did choose to trade a player, it would be on a loan basis for a set amount of games, perhaps three This could be a great option to recruit an international player who is not being used by another franchise.”

A century partnership between Ian Westwood and Rikki Clarke restored Warwickshire’s resolve at Edgbaston after they had registered their lowest total in 11 years

31-May-2010
ScorecardA century partnership between Ian Westwood and Rikki Clarke restored Warwickshire’s resolve at Edgbaston after they had registered their lowest total in 11 years. Dismissed for 100 by Durham, they were in danger of a rapid slide to a third successive defeat in the County Championship when forced to follow on 279 behind.Deep in trouble at 62 for 3 when legspinner Scott Borthwick took two wickets in his first seven balls, they managed to halt Durham’s charge by reaching 229 for 4 at the end of the third day. The fourth-wicket stand of 114 helped to trim the deficit to 50 and, although Durham are still favourites to chalk up a third win in defence of last season’s title, Westwood and Clarke gave their team a much-needed shot of confidence.The durable Westwood was ideally suited to the captain’s role, batting through 72 overs for an unbeaten 86 and Clarke found some form for his first half-century of the season. He hit a dozen fours before he was lbw to Ian Blackwell for 66.The morning session had been a nightmare for Warwickshire. With nine wickets falling for just 82 runs, it became their least productive batting performance since they collapsed for 86 against Essex at Chelmsford in April 1999.The absence of England duo Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott was only a partial excuse for their failure to reach 150 in the first innings for the third match in succession. The pitch was neither spiteful nor an absolute turner and there was only a hint of swing to assist a Durham attack missing four front-line seamers in Steve Harmison, Graham Onions, Mark Davies and Callum Thorp.It was an indictment of the top order that Andrew Miller, the nightwatchman, was the highest scorer with 35 from 81 balls. The former Lancashire paceman came into this match with a career record of 19 runs from 10 first-class innings and yet he was able to outshine everyone in terms of application and good sense.Having defended quite comfortably for 90 minutes, he only lost his wicket in a sudden rush of blood. Not content with a six and four from successive balls, he was bowled by Blackwell when lining up another big hit.New-ball pair Mitchell Claydon and Chris Rushworth shared Warwickshire’s first five wickets. With Darren Maddy dismissed overnight, Claydon had figures of 3 for 5 when late movement accounted for left-handers Westwood and Jim Troughton.When Durham switched to Blackwell’s spin, the allrounder had Richard Johnson caught at slip from his second delivery and, at the other end, Liam Plunkett cleaned up the tail with 3 for 16.

Makhaya Ntini, the South Africa fast bowler, has said the existing structure to identify black cricketers in the country’s rural areas is not yielding the desired results

Cricinfo staff06-Jun-2010Makhaya Ntini, the South Africa fast bowler, believes the existing structure to identify black cricketers in the country’s rural areas is not yielding the desired results. Ntini, among his country’s most renowned sporting personalities and himself a product of that structure, is raising funds to build an academy in the Eastern Cape and hopes it will help in the development of more black cricketers.”We do have a structure in South Africa where they are looking for black cricketers outside the usual areas, the cities. They go to the rural areas to try and find promising youngsters,” Ntini told . “But when you are talking about whether it’s developing, or it’s still going down a bit, it’s a very rare person who will answer in the first way. I would say cricket from the point of view of the black community is not the same as when Khaya Majola or Dr Ali Bacher were around, when it was booming, we had all the schools getting together to play some games.”Then it was easier to see who was a very good cricketer, who could go to the high schools and develop their cricket. Now it’s not so easy. I would like that to change.”Ntini is South Africa’s ambassador for the FIFA World Cup which begins in the country in less than a week. For a cricketer to represent his country in that capacity at a global event, Ntini said, was very special. “As a cricketer for me to be there, and part and parcel of what’s going on in our country, it’s a huge thing, something I’m proud of as a country, as a person and as an individual.”Ntini acknowledged cricket in South Africa was still a sport dominated by whites, and for black cricketers to compete and succeed, they had to work that much harder. “Cricket in South Africa is not exclusively white, but it is more white-dominant. The football is more black-dominant, so they are two different ball games in every respect,” Ntini said. “For those of us who don’t play football, we have to make sure we are 10% ahead of anything else, regarding fitness, regarding preparation, everything, for us to compete with the other players. In a white-dominant sport, to stay there for longer, those kind of things we have to go through.”Earlier in the year, in the Test series against England, Ntini became the fifth South African cricketer to play 100 Tests. His performance, however, had been on a decline and he was dropped after his 101st. He is currently representing Kent in the English domestic season but remains hopeful of a return to international cricket. “I have enjoyed my time [with Kent] and I would definitely love to come back, but first I must sort out my cricket life back home and see if I am still involved with the national team. If not, playing county cricket will be my second option,” he said.”I only need 10 [Test] wickets to get to 400, and I am crossing my fingers I will be given that opportunity. If it was not me, if it was anyone else, only 32 and still needing 10 wickets for 400, he would definitely [get the chance]. You know, ‘We’ll try and get him those wickets’.” Ntini had expressed his disappointment at not having heard from the selectors since being dropped. Andrew Hudson, Cricket South Africa’s chief selector, responded saying Ntini will be considered for selection for the national side’s upcoming series, following his encouraging stint with Kent.

Hampshire moved off the foot of the County Championship Division One table with their second win of the season, crushing injury-hit Kent by an innings and 111 runs at the Rose Bowl despite late defiance from South African Martin Van Jaarsveld

07-Jul-2010

ScorecardDominic Cork removed James Hockley as Kent collapsed•PA Photos

Hampshire moved off the foot of the County Championship Division One table with their second win of the season, crushing injury-hit Kent by an innings and 111 runs at the Rose Bowl despite late defiance from South African Martin Van Jaarsveld.Kent captain Robert Key broke a finger trying to fend off a delivery from Dominic Cork and last man Amjad Khan was nursing a hamstring problem when he batted with defeat looking inevitable. Hampshire had started the third day on 408 for 5 in their first innings and went on to 553 for 7 before Cork declared for a huge lead of 302.James Vince shared in a stand of 101 with Nic Pothas for the sixth wicket as Kent struggled to cope without Amjad who was only able to bowl eight overs in the Hampshire innings. Alex Blake had Vince (57) lbw to claim his first wicket in first-class cricket and Pothas went on to make 78 before he gave Malinga Bandara his first wicket.Bandara’s success came at a heavy price, his solitary wicket costing 167 runs as the most successful of a disjointed attack. Kent showed no stomach for a fight when they began their second innings so far adrift.Key had made only four when he was forced to leave the crease and he could be out for three weeks with his broken finger. Without their captain Kent showed little spirit with Joe Denly and Geraint Jones both departing with the total on 14.Sam Northeast fell with the total on 59 and James Hockley to a diving catch by Michael Carberry at backward point 19 runs later. Blake edged James Tomlinson to the wicketkeeper with the total on 114 and Bandara was the next to depart at 145, leg before to spinner Danny Briggs the ball after hitting the same bowler for six.As the wickets tumbled around him Van Jaarsveld held firm, putting on 27 with Cook as defeat loomed. Sean Ervine came into the Hampshire attack and swiftly claimed Cook to a catch at the wicket and then removed Robbie Joseph’s off stump.Amjad at least delayed Hampshire’s celebrations by unexpectedly coming out to join Van Jaarsveld in his determined attempt to take the match into a fourth day. But with the total on 191 David Balcombe bowled Amjad to leave Van Jaarsveld stranded on 82 not out, with his 11 fours coming from 158 balls faced.Cork claimed two wickets to give him seven for the match and there were two each also for Balcombe, Tomlinson and Ervine.

A three-wicket haul by Timycen Maruma ensured Zimbabwe XI comfortably beat Netherlands on the final day, despite Pieter Seelaar resisting with 81

Cricinfo staff28-Jul-2010
Scorecard
A three-wicket haul by Timycen Maruma ensured Zimbabwe XI comfortably beat Netherlands on the final day, despite Pieter Seelaar resisting with 81. Resuming at 134 for 4, Eric Szwarczynski and Seelaar extended their partnership to 51 before Szwarczynski was bowled by Natsai Mushangwe for 72. Peter Borren then joined Seelaar and the pair tried to get Netherlands back on track with a patient half-century stand.Maruma, the legspinner, then made decisive strikes to turn the match firmly in the visitors’ favour. He had Borren caught for 38, and a short while later, he dismissed Maurits Jonkman for 9. Seelaar was gradually running out of partners and when Maruma trapped Berend Westdijk lbw, it was game over for Netherlands as Ruud Nijman was absent hurt. Seelaar remained unbeaten on 81, hitting nine fours.Zimbabwe now head to King City to take on Canada from August 2 while Netherlands travel to Dublin to take on Ireland from August 11.

Only 39 overs were possible at Lord’s where Leicestershire did their utmost to
edge toward a first-innings lead over Middlesex despite persistent showers

10-Aug-2010

ScorecardOnly 39 overs were possible at Lord’s where Leicestershire did their utmost to
edge toward a first-innings lead over Middlesex despite persistent showers.Resuming on their overnight score of 105 for 2, the visitors reached 186 for
5 and trailed by only 33 runs when heavier rain forced the sides from the
field at 2.35pm.Former England Under-19 batsman James Taylor scored a dogged, unbeaten 65 from
160 balls in a shade under four hours. The 20-year-old battled through seamer-friendly conditions with Pedro Collins, Tim Murtagh and Toby Roland-Jones all impressing for the home attack.After overnight rain delayed the start by 30 minutes, Taylor lost his
third-wicket partner Greg Smith in the third over of the day when he tamely
chipped a short one from Murtagh into the hands of Scott Newman at mid-wicket
having added only a single to his overnight score of 64.Five overs later former England wicketkeeper Paul Nixon (10) followed a Collins
out-swinger and edged to first slip, where Dawid Malan allowed the ball to slip
from his grasp, only for it to lodge between his thighs. The fielder finally got the ball under control to claim the catch and, after brief consultation between umpires Peter Willey and Nigel Cowley, Nixon was sent packing.On the stroke of lunch Tom New attempted to cut a wide delivery from
Roland-Jones through backward point only to drag the ball onto off stump and
make it 147 for five at the interval. Taylor reached a 123-ball half-century soon after the break, but only 13 overs into the afternoon session the heavens opened, forcing play to be abandoned for the day at 4.30pm.

The BCCI has asked the IPL’s Kochi franchise owners to register themselves as a company or risk being scrapped

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Sep-2010The BCCI has asked the IPL’s Kochi franchise owners to register themselves as a company or risk being scrapped. The ultimatum was delivered following the board’s AGM on Wednesday by its president Shashank Manohar, who said the franchise had broken down into two factions that made it difficult for the board to communicate with any one legal entity.”We will issue them a show-cause notice and give them a timeframe that you have to incorporate your company within this timeframe,” Manohar said. “Otherwise we are going to cancel this franchise because we can’t work with groups within a franchise.”He also had strong words for the Punjab and Rajasthan franchises, which, he said, had also been issued notices “for various irregularities committed by them during the period of their contract”.Officials at Punjab and Rajasthan said they would comment only after receiving the notices, while nobody at Kochi was available.Rendezvous Sports World, a consortium of five companies, became the tenth IPL franchise in March after a successful bid of US$333.33m but almost immediately ran into trouble over the composition of its ownership, after the IPL found out that there were a few “secret partners” in the consortium. A reviewed agreement was then signed by both the parties but fresh controversy broke out for Kochi, when Lalit Modi, the then IPL chairman, made the ownership details public on his Twitter feed.Those tweets, ironically, set in motion a chain of events that led to Modi’s own ouster from the IPL. The break-up of the Kochi consortium, according to Modi, included 25% free equity to Rendezvous. “Why is 25% of Kochi team given free to Rendezvous sports for life,” Modi asked. “The same equity is non-dilutable in perpetuity. What does that mean?”Though Modi is no more part of the Indian board or the IPL – his ouster was confirmed today – the BCCI has now assumed the role of interrogator. “The bid was given by individuals who came together and formed a consortium. Now there is no legal entity as such that is incorporated,” Manohar said today. “So we asked them to incorporate a company, a joint venture company and then come to the BCCI. They haven’t incorporated a company and they have a recent dispute between the five persons who are there in the consortium with regards to the shares, sweat equity and other things. Therefore they are not able to resolve those issues. Both the groups have sent letters to the Board saying. ‘Don’t recognise the other group, recognise only me.’ The Board cannot work with such a franchise.”Manohar did not mince words when asked if the BCCI would scrap the franchise if Kochi did not get its act together. “We might play with nine teams or eight teams, we don’t know,” he said.The same fate could await Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, who have been under a cloud since April when the BCCI questioned their ownership pattern in their chargesheet against Modi. At the time the board said it was perturbed by the different ownerships at the two franchises, a stand it apparently has not changed.Asked if there was a definitive deadline by which the three franchises needed to respond, Manohar said it would be soon, because the BCCI wanted to be well prepared for the IPL player auction scheduled for November, which he said would be held in Mumbai. “We will do it immediately because the auctions will come up and before the auctions we have to finalise the action against them. We will take all decisions before that.”

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has issued an apology for the comments he made during the one-day series between England and Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2010Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has issued an apology for the comments he made during the one-day series between England and Pakistan when he claimed the hosts’ players had taken “enormous amounts of money” to lose the third ODI at The Oval. The England players have accepted Butt’s apology and withdrawn the threat of legal action which had loomed since the outburst.In a joint statement issued by the PCB and ECB, Butt admitted he had no evidence to back up his claims – which he repeated to multiple media outlets – and that he regretted the “misunderstanding” that followed even though he initially refused to back down from his comments.”I wish personally and on behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board to withdraw the comments I made concerning the England and Wales Cricket Board and each of the England players who played in the one-day International at The Oval on Friday 17 September. It is regrettable that there was a misunderstanding arising from my comments.”I would like to make it quite clear that in the statements which I made that I never intended to question the behaviour and integrity of the England players nor the ECB nor to suggest that any of them were involved in any corrupt practices or in a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket.”In particular, I wish to make it clear that I have never seen any evidence of any wrongdoing by any England player or the ECB at any time,” he added. “I deeply and sincerely regret that my statements have been interpreted to cast doubt upon the good names of the England players and the ECB and hope that this public withdrawal will draw a line under the matter.”Butt also acknowledged the role the ECB are playing in trying to keep Pakistan on the international scene despite the team being unable to play at home due to security concerns. Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, heads the Pakistan task force and the team played a neutral series against Australia during the English season and plans had been in place for them to return next year until the spot-fixing scandal erupted.”The ECB and its chairman have been and continue to be a friend of and hugely supportive of Pakistan cricket,” Butt said. “I am very grateful for their efforts in that regard and for their hospitality this summer. We at the PCB, like all other cricket governing bodies, are committed to a zero tolerance policy to corruption in the game and will continue to work hard with the relevant authorities to eradicate it.”Following Butt’s outburst Andrew Strauss, with the full backing of the board, said the players would pursue all their legal avenues if Butt didn’t respond to a letter demanding a full and public apology. “The ECB and the England players who played at The Oval warmly welcome this withdrawal and now regard the matter closed,” the statement concluded. “Giles Clarke confirmed that following this statement he is continuing in his role as the ICC Pakistan task team chairman.”Earlier in the day Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, had rebuked Butt for not going through the official channels if he had concerns about match-fixing. “I would have been much more satisfied had it been a direct approach to us or ACSU inspectors,” he said.ESPNcricinfo also understands that the ICC considered suspending Butt over the remarks but gave the chairman time to issue an apology.

Saurabh Tiwary will make his ODI debut during the three-match series between India and Australia, India captain MS Dhoni has said.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2010Saurabh Tiwary, the middle-order batsman who played for Mumbai Indians, will make his ODI debut during the three-match series against Australia that starts in Kochi on Sunday, India captain MS Dhoni has said. Tiwary has been part of India’s one-day squad since June and Dhoni said the time has come to give him the opportunity to prove himself.”He has got exposure against the best bowlers in the IPL and CL T20. I think it is an ideal opportunity for us to give him a place in the final XI and let him play the kind of cricket he plays.”Dhoni said Tiwary was ideally suited to bat at six or seven, where he could go after the bowlers. “He backs himself and he is hard working and spends his time at net sessions. He is good character to have. With proper guidance and with little more exposure to international cricket, he can be really successful.”Tiwary, 20, served notice in the 2009 Ranji Trophy, where he scored three centuries in five games at an average of 98.83 for Jharkhand in the Plate League. During the third season of the IPL he emerged as the poster-boy of Mumbai’s young and dynamic middle-order, hitting 419 runs with three fifties as his team made the finals of the tournament.When Tiwary does make his debut, he will be only the second cricketer from the central Indian state of Jharkhand to play for India, after Dhoni. “It is slightly tougher for a player to come from a small state and represent your country,” Dhoni said. “It is not a restriction anymore because most of cricket played in India is covered by media in a beautiful manner and selectors will notice.”Dhoni confirmed that M Vijay will open the innings in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, but was non-committal on whether Yuvraj Singh would play, saying “you will have to wait and watch”. It is unlikely that Yuvraj will be left out though, as India is already missing three of their senior-most batsmen.Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has received plenty of support from Dhoni in the past, however, needs to perform better if he is to cement his place in the team for the World Cup. Dhoni said a few places are still up for grabs, including one for a fast bowler and another for either an allrounder or a big-hitting lower-order batsman.”When he [Jadeja] came to the side, he was more of a batsman than a bowler. But in the last few seasons he has really done well with the ball. He has not so far contributed well with the bat. For a player like him, he has to contribute with both.”More often than not, we tend to play with four bowlers and one part-timer who can contribute. We still want to keep it the same – with that someone coming down the order at No. 7.”Australia has won every one-day series in India since 1998, but both sides are without some of their first-choice players and Australia captain Michael Clarke expects an even contest. “I think the opposition we are playing is very tough, especially in Indian conditions, but I am confident that if we play to our best, we will win the series. As I said earlier this series is going to be fought evenly.”