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The board is set to hire a consultant to look into the feasibility of the idea

Umar Farooq24-Mar-2022The PCB’s plan to bring drop-in pitches from Australia has been delayed. The board is now likely to hire a consultant who will first advise it on whether it is feasible to have the Australian-made pitches in Pakistan. Instead, ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB is likely to get soil in from Australia and seed it at multiple venues as part of a trial.The original plan was to have two readymade pitches as a short-term solution to help Pakistan prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is to be held in Australia in October-November. It was also part of a broader plan to overhaul the standard of pitches across the country – a key plank in the chairmanship of Ramiz Raja.Related

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• Rawalpindi pitch gets 'below average' rating from ICC match referee

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The company given the contract to import the drop-in pitches has been asked to hold the purchase, which, in any case, would have been a fairly lengthy process, potentially taking up to 10 months. The PCB had signed an MoU with the investment company Arif Habib Group, which was to bear the PKR 37 crore (USD 2 million approx) procurement cost. That money is still likely to be used in the development of pitches.Since he took over as PCB chairman, Ramiz has been vocal about various issues that he sees afflicting Pakistan cricket. Pitches have become his most urgent priority. “Until pitches are fixed, we aren’t going anywhere as it’s the heartbeat of cricket,” he had told ESPNcricinfo last year in December.”It is Ramiz’s vision and mission to improve the quality of the pitches at all international and domestic cricket venues,” a PCB spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo. “In this regard, we’ve hired an Australian expert on drop-in pitches as a consultant, who will tour Pakistan in April and visit all potential venues for a complete assessment and evaluation before suggesting next steps.”As we don’t have experts on drop-in pitches, we need to have a feasibility about everything around it. There are several critical elements to the success of this initiative, including weather conditions, usage of the venues, soil requirements and overall design and outlook of the venue.”The MCG, like a number of Australian venues, features a drop-in pitch•Getty Images

Drop-in pitches are prominent in Australia and New Zealand, where a number of stadiums host multiple sports. A portable turf pitch is installed whenever a cricket match is to take place. In Pakistan, however, the PCB either leases out cricket stadiums or owns them directly, and cricket is the only sport played at these venues. The PCB maintains all stadiums through the year, employing their own curators for each venue.Pitches have been in the spotlight during Pakistan’s ongoing Test series against Australia, in general for their flat, docile nature. In particular, the surface in Rawalpindi came in for heavy criticism after just 14 wickets fell over five days of a drawn first Test, and it ultimately earned a “below average” rating from the ICC.Soon after, Ramiz conceded that the pitch had been prepared, in part, to nullify Australia’s strengths and account for injury-enforced absences in the Pakistan side. The nature of that pitch was in contrast to Rawalpindi’s reputation as the most seam-friendly of Pakistan’s main venues.In fact, Pakistan’s pitches since the return of Test cricket to the country in late 2019 and until this series had been widely viewed as sporting surfaces with something in them for batters, fast bowlers and spinners.But the surfaces for the first two Tests against Australia in Rawalpindi and Karachi pushed the PCB to hire Australian curator Toby Lumsden to assist the local curator while preparing the pitch for the ongoing third Test in Lahore, in a bid to produce a more helpful track for spinners. But the Test match has been dominated by the fast bowlers, who took 17 of the 20 wickets to fall on the first three days.

Jasprit Bumrah named vice-captain; Shardul Thakur rested for both Test and T20I series

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2022Ravindra Jadeja and Sanju Samson have returned to India’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, which begins in Lucknow on February 24.Both Jadeja and Samson have recovered sufficiently from injuries while Shardul Thakur has been rested for both the T20I and Test series. Jasprit Bumrah, who had been rested for the white-ball series at home against West Indies, also returned to the squad, as vice-captain. He will lead a seam attack comprising Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj and the uncapped Avesh Khan.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, who had exited the Kolkata bubble after helping India wrap up the T20I series against West Indies, have been rested for the T20I series against Sri Lanka.Pant’s absence created an opportunity for Samson but he is not there in mere place-holding capacity. Chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said: “Sanju is in our scheme of things. Most importantly we have to see which is a cricketer who will be useful on Australian wickets. He is definitely in our scheme of things [for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year].”Related

• Injured Deepak Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav ruled out of SL T20Is

• Kohli, Pant exit Kolkata bubble

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Allrounder Hardik Pandya, who will be captaining the new franchise Gujarat Titans in the IPL, was not considered as he was not yet fully fit. “Hardik was a very important part of the Indian team,” Chetan said. “But after the injuries, until he is 100% fit, until we get a confirmation he is 100% fit, ready to go and that he is bowling and is match fit, we can’t consider him.”Hardik has not played any domestic cricket since being left out of the Indian team but his IPL team named him the captain despite the fitness record. Chetan was asked if the selection process was being compromised if Hardik comes back to the World Cup squad based on his performance in the IPL. Chetan said runs in IPL was no guarantee to get his place back, but asked for support for Hardik. “What Hardik has done for the country, you shouldn’t forget in one minute.”

Ryan Carters, the wicketkeeper-batsman who has played 11 first-class games for Victoria over the past three seasons, has signed a rookie deal with New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2013Ryan Carters, the wicketkeeper-batsman who has played 11 first-class games for Victoria over the past three seasons, has signed a rookie deal with New South Wales. Carters, who is originally from Canberra, did not have his Cricket Victoria contract renewed and instead has joined the Blues as one of the five rookies in their large squad for the 2013-14 summer.Batsmen Tim Cruickshank and David Dawson and the spinner Luke Doran have been delisted by the Blues, who also confirmed Test spinner Nathan Lyon as their major interstate import. Lyon was keen to return home to New South Wales having established himself as a domestic and international player with South Australia.There were no real surprises in the New South Wales contract list, with the fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu predictably upgraded to a full deal from his rookie contract after winning the Steve Waugh Medal last summer. New rookies include the wicketkeeper-batsman Jay Lenton and the left-arm pace-bowling allrounder Ben Dwarshuis.”Even with seven New South Wales players being contracted to Cricket Australia, Cricket New South Wales has still been able to name a very talented contract list for 2013/14,” John Warn, the Cricket New South Wales chairman said. “The addition of Nathan Lyon to our squad to play alongside a group of younger players that are developing rapidly, plus having someone of the ability of Trevor Bayliss to bring the group together, means that we have the depth and experience to challenge in both forms of the game next season.”New South Wales squad Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Michael Clarke (Cricket Australia contract), Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins (CA), Brad Haddin (CA), Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Scott Henry, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon (CA), Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Steve O’Keefe, Josh Lalor, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc (CA), Chris Tremain, David Warner (CA), Shane Watson (CA). Rookies Nic Bills, Ryan Carters, Harry Conway, Ben Dwarshuis, Jay Lenton.

Buttler, Archer, Livingstone, and Jaiswal are the frontrunners for the remaining three slots

Nagraj Gollapudi25-Nov-2021Sanju Samson is the first player Rajasthan Royals have retained for IPL 2022. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the 27-year old will continue as captain after agreeing to an INR 14 crore per season contract this week.Samson, it is learned, was first on the list of players Royals wanted to keep before the retention window closes on November 30. The frontrunners for the remaining three slots (in no particular order) are – wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, fast bowler Jofra Archer, allrounder Liam Livingstone – and uncapped opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.Samson joined Royals in 2018 for INR 8 crore. He was elevated to the captaincy last season and though he couldn’t take the team into the play-offs he still finished 2021 with 484 runs at a strike-rate of 137.Ben Stokes (INR 12.5 crore), Archer (INR 7.2 crore) and Buttler (INR 4.4 crore) also cost the Royals big money but they’ve been big-impact players. Archer even won Player of the Tournament in 2020 but had to sit this year out due to injury. The Royals management is keen to hold onto their star fast bowler, however, his fitness has become a point of debate.Buttler is expected to sign off on the retention soon but Stokes’ position is unclear. Although the talismanic allrounder took a break from cricket in 2021, and has only just returned to training, the key question concerning him is money and whether the franchise will have enough of it to make an offer.As per the IPL rules, a team can retain a total four players of which a maximum of two can be overseas. This arrangement costs INR 42 crore but still leaves the owner with INR 48 crore to spend at the auction. Royals are expected to seal the final three retentions by November 28. And, while they are paying Samson INR 14 crore, INR 16 crore will be debited from their account since he is the first of four players the franchise has chosen to keep.

“We, as CSA, literally killed the careers of these two gentlemen”

Firdose Moonda03-Aug-2021Cricket South Africa is to blame for the decline in the coaching careers of Geoffrey Toyana and Paul Adams, who were both on the radar to take over the national team in 2017, but missed out in favour of Ottis Gibson. Former CSA CEO Thabang Moroe, speaking at the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings, detailed how Toyana and Adams were overlooked and held CSA’s administration responsible for their fate, saying the pair should have been involved at international level.”It is testament to how we, as administrators, have behaved over the years. This is how people of colour have kept missing opportunities that could have been afforded to them by us,” Moroe said. “We, as CSA, literally killed the careers of these two gentlemen. These are the inequalities that are glaringly there if you look at the landscape of South African cricket.”Moroe, who served as CSA’s vice-president from 2016 to 2018, revealed how the board agreed that after Russell Domingo, who was South Africa’s first head coach of colour from 2013 to 2017, South Africa would have another head coach of colour. A sub-committee on the board, the cricket committee, earmarked Toyana and Adams as candidates to succeed Domingo.Related

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“When Russell’s tenure ended, CSA’s cricket committee identified two coaches we would need to look at to replace Russell as the coach of the national team. Those were Geoffrey Toyana and Paul Adams. They were the two most successful coaches in the country,” Moroe said. “It was a no-brainer that either both would be hired, with one as an assistant, or one would definitely be made coach. At board level, we discussed the cricket committee’s paper and the one thing the board agreed on was that we would hire a black coach.”An adhoc committee, which did include Moroe, was instated to advertise, shortlist and interview candidates and make a recommendation on Domingo’s replacement. “During that period, even at board level, we were talking about how Geoffrey Toyana was head and shoulders above other coaches, purely because of his performances,” Moroe said. “When the chairperson of the adhoc committee announced that they preferred Ottis Gibson to be the coach, it came as a surprise to us because we were talking about the short period the coach would have before the next World Cup and how we wanted a coach that was familiar with all our players in the system, with the South African environment and somebody who was going to be able to hit the ground running. Choosing somebody who didn’t even live in this country came as a surprise given all these things we had listed as concerns.”It also raised questions specifically about Toyana, who was the first black African coach in the franchise system. He had overseen the Lions to four trophies in as many seasons and was considered the frontrunner to succeed Domingo.”Some board members, including myself, asked where Geoffrey Toyana’s shortcomings were because we were all sure Geoffrey would be the coach,” Moroe said. “The chairperson of the adhoc committee then told us they were not happy with how he articulated himself and they were not happy with his presentation skills. That was concerning feedback because we were not hiring him to do presentations or public speaking. We wanted somebody who knew how to coach the crop of players we had at the time and somebody who could give us good results. Although we were going through the formal process, we all felt Geoffrey was the guy, only to be told he would not be the guy.”Although unhappy, the board accepted the recommendation to appoint Gibson but, “we said we should ensure Paul Adams or Geoffrey Toyana becomes the assistant,” Moroe said. “The majority felt Geoffrey should be the one we push for with Paul Adams coming in as a spin-bowling coach.”Moroe was tasked with welcoming Gibson into the country and informing him about the board’s decision on the assistant coach position, which Gibson did not support. “Immediately Ottis Gibson raised concerns and one of the concerns he raised was that we were specifically hiring him to win the World Cup and if we wanted him to win the World Cup, we needed to give him leeway to choose his support staff,” Moroe said. “He felt he can only win the World Cup with a support staff that believed in him which, we felt, was a fair point.”According to Moroe, Gibson wanted to hire someone, whose name Moroe could not recall, who was demanding a salary higher than Gibson’s. CSA refused. Then, Gibson asked for Dale Benkenstein, but CSA refused again. “Benkenstein was a high school cricket coach at the time and did not have the necessary qualifications to be coaching in the national team, let alone being assistant coach,” Moroe said.Thabang Moroe: We, as CSA, literally killed the careers of Geoffrey Toyana and Paul Adams•Getty Images

Benkenstein was later brought on as a batting coach, and split those with his responsibilities at Hilton College. Gibson, meanwhile, went on to ask for “one-on-ones with all professional coaches in the country so that he could choose who he felt was the guy who could take over as assistant,” Moroe said.”He met with all the coaches in the franchise system, had one-on-ones with them, watched them coaching their teams and some during live games and he had come to a conclusion in terms of who he felt was suited to be assistant coach. He said he would prefer Malibongwe Maketa to be his assistant. That surprised me. At the time we had Paul Adams and Geoffrey Toyana and Malibongwe had only been a franchise coach for one season. He hadn’t really been tested in the system to say he has got what it takes. He hadn’t built [up] enough track record. I told Ottis of my concerns but supported his decision.”Maketa, who was the Warriors coach at the time, went on to work as Gibson’s assistant coach but lost his job when Gibson was fired after the 2019 World Cup. Maketa is now the South Africa A coach. At the time of Maketa’s appointment, Toyana and Adams continued as franchise coaches, but not for much longer.”If you look at Geoffrey Toyana and Paul Adams’ careers, immediately after the announcements were made of appointing Ottis and his support staff, they somehow started having misunderstandings with their own players in their franchise teams, started fighting with their own boards and then they were not coaching in franchise cricket.”Toyana was moved sideways at the Lions after 2017-18 season and then replaced by Enoch Nkwe. His most recent work was as assistant coach for the Titans. Last year in a radio interview, former CSA president Chris Nenzani said Toyana being overlooked for the national job was “unfortunate.” Moroe said it was “just wrong,” for Nenzani to say that when he was in charge of the board at the time. “We had an opportunity as a board to do what we knew was right at the time,” he said.Adams lost his job at the Cobras to Ashwell Prince and has since been appointed head coach of Border, who will play in the second division of the restructured domestic scene. Adams has also given testimony at the SJN, in which he spoke about being nicknamed, “brown s***” by his team-mates, while Toyana is due to appear at the hearings later this week.Moroe moved on from vice-president of the board to CSA CEO, and it was under him that Gibson was dismissed and Nkwe made interim team director. When Moroe was suspended for misconduct, CSA underwent an administrative overhaul and Nkwe was replaced by Mark Boucher. Nkwe is now Boucher’s assistant, while Moroe was sacked last August after being found guilty.

Glamorgan imploded in spectator style when in sight of victory on an afternoon of astonishing drama that saw Glen Chapple rally Lancashire to victory

Paul Edwards at Colwyn Bay03-May-2013Lancashire 123 (Glover 3-29, Hogan 3-31) and 272 (Katich 65, Glover 3-41) beat Glamorgan 242 (Goodwin 69, Kerrigan 4-48) and 139 (Kerrigan 5-32, Chapple 4-64) by 14 runs
ScorecardGlen Chapple, so often Lancashire’s hero, took four wickets to inspire a miraculous victory•PA Photos

A glance at the scorecard for this match will do little to convey the intricacy of the contest over three days or the astonishing drama that unfolded on Friday evening when Glamorgan seemed to be progressing to what would have been a deserved victory in facile fashion, only to implode in spectacular style when within sight of 20 points.Needing to score 154 in a maximum of 47 overs on the third evening, Glamorgan cruised to 94 for 2 in 18.2 overs before losing the remainder of their wickets for 45 runs in 19.2 overs.Destroyer-in-chief was Glen Chapple, who once again proved that age is just a number when you have skill and core fitness in abundance. He had been roughly treated early in the innings yet he returned to take four wickets including top scorer Will Bragg for 61. Accurate and penetrative, Chapple is always at the batsmen, but so is Simon Kerrigan, the sorcerer’s apprentice. Bowling from the Penrhyn Avenue End, Kerrigan contained the batsmen and among his five wickets was the vital scalp of Murray Goodwin, caught by Simon Katich for 11 when attempting a cut.It was Kerrigan who had last man Michael Hogan spectacularly caught by a leaping Ashwell Prince on the long-off boundary as Hogan sought to score the 15 runs his team needed in something like three blows. That wicket sparked joyous scenes in front of the Colwyn Bay pavilion by Chapple and his players who were celebrating their first Championship win in 11 matches, a run stretching back to last June’s triumph on a gloomy Saturday evening at Chester-le-Street.But at first it had been the Glamorgan batsmen who were racing towards victory. Spectators settling down after tea expected the siege of Stalingrad; instead they got the Battle of M’boto Gorge from Blackadder Goes Forth. Wallace’s openers seemingly had little truck with arguments suggesting cautious accumulation was the best policy. Ben Wright and Will Bragg garnered 38 runs off the first 27 balls of the innings, a result of some over-pitched bowling, a few edges and a fast outfield, before Wright cut James Anderson low to Karl Brown in the gully. It seemed both teams had plans for Saturday. Now Lancashire’s players may be nursing the odd sore head while Glamorgan’s will be wondering where it all went wrong.”That win’s right up there with any we have achieved over the last two years,” Chapple said. “It’s a terrific victory and a great boost for the lads who have worked hard. It’s been a difficult week for us in some ways because we have not played our best cricket but we hung on and kept believing. We’ve come away with a victory we’ll remember for a long time.”But as Glamorgan discovered to their cost, getting into a winning position is one thing; sealing the victory – “bringing home the bread” as they call it in parts of Manchester – is very much another. At 12.22pm on the third day of this match Simon Katich essayed a drive at Glamorgan seamer John Glover but only succeeded in edging the ball to wicketkeeper Mark Wallace. His departure for a well-made, fighting 65 left Lancashire on 164 for 7 in their second innings and their lead was a piffling 45. It seemed Glamorgan were on their way to consecutive victories.Then again, this is cricket, a game which delights in taking the absurdly improbable and making it so. First Chapple and Gareth Cross added 42 for the eighth wicket, Chapple whacking Hogan into the back garden of a nearby house during his innings of 26. Then, when Chapple had holed out at mid-on off Mike Reed when the lead was 89, Kyle Hogg joined Cross, who was himself playing on the ground of the club he has represented in the Liverpool competition for some years. Together, these Lancastrians put on a further 63 runs with a mixture of shrewd aggression and unsparing vigilance.Rarely has Cross, a naturally aggressive batsman, played with more responsibility than he did during his 143-minute innings of 26; it took a fine two-handed diving catch by Dean Cosker to remove him. One run later Hogg gave Glover his third wicket when he stretched to drive and trudged off having made 47, yet another reminder of a frequently unfulfilled talent. All the same Lancashire’s lead was 153. It was, as they say, game on.The first session of the day had been as well contested and involving as its predecessors. Lancastrian hopes that Jimmy Anderson would frustrate the Glamorgan bowlers in the classic manner of the specialist nightwatchman were quickly demolished when the England batsman was beaten all ends up by Jim Allenby in the third over of the day when only a single run had been added to the overnight total.But likewise, Welsh fancies that the visitors’ batting would disintegrate like candyfloss in a high wind were similarly unfounded. Instead Katich and Steven Croft batted with busy, acquisitive competence to add 49 runs in fifteen overs before both batsmen perished caught behind attempting to drive in the space of three overs. Croft was the first to go, playing loosely at Reed, then Glover took the key wicket of Katich when he drove in a flurry of dust and footholds and Tim Robinson decided he had edged the ball. Not everyone was convinced but Katich trooped silently off. Never walk, never complain. He had made 65, an innings which had certainly kept his side in the game. As things turned out, it played a large part in winning it.

Kevin Pietersen’s exile from the England side has ended with his addition to the squad for the tour of India

David Hopps18-Oct-2012Kevin Pietersen has been added to England’s squad for the forthcoming Test series in India, so bringing to an end one of the most extraordinary stand-offs in the history of the game between a star player and those appointed to rule.It has taken 73 days for England and Pietersen to patch up their differences since he followed up what should have been one of the most triumphant moments of his career – a stirring century in the Headingley Test against South Africa – by talking of deep and perhaps irreparable divisions with the ECB and some members of the England dressing room.Once the parties began to talk, the “reintegration process” of Pietersen into the England side took only a couple of days. It just took them an extremely long time to talk.Pietersen flew back to England from the Champions League in South Africa this week for a series of meetings in Oxford and London with Andy Flower, England’s director of cricket, the captain Alastair Cook and key England players with whom his relationship had become increasingly fractious. Even a delayed flight could not prevent the speedy patching up of their differences.Confirmation that the Cold War was coming to an end came in Colombo a fortnight ago when Giles Clarke, the chairman of the ECB, flanked by a nervous Pietersen, pronounced that it was time for “forgiveness” and a reintegration into “our society.”Hugh Morris, England cricket’s managing director, made what followed all sound eminently straightforward, saying: “We were keen that Kevin should hold a series of face-to-face meetings with team management and senior players before the Test squad departs for the UAE and India next week.”The meetings were constructive and cordial and all outstanding issues have been resolved. All the England players and management are now keen to draw a line under this matter and fully focus on the cricketing challenge that lies ahead in India.”In their desire to impress upon Pietersen that no player, however talented, was greater than the team, England lacked their most destructive batsman and arguably failed to qualify for the World Twenty20 semi-finals in Sri Lanka while he was employed instead as a pundit in a Colombo TV studio.Considering the political machinations that have gone on behind the scenes, the announcement by Geoff Miller, the chief selector, of Pietersen’s return to England’s fold could not have sounded more deadpan.”We are pleased to welcome a player of Kevin’s proven international calibre back into the Test squad for such an important Test series,” his statement read. “As we anticipate that Ian Bell will return home for the birth of his first child around the time of the second Test in Mumbai, the team will benefit from having an extra batsman in the squad and all players who were originally selected for the tour will fly out as planned next week.”The addition of Pietersen will give England more options at the top of the order, bringing the possibility that he cdould bat at No 3, so allowing Jonathan Trott to be considered as an opening batsman in preference to the two other batsmen originally earmarked for the role, Nick Compton or Joe Root.Pietersen has been given licence to fulfil his Champions League commitments with Delhi Daredevils before joining up with the squad. He gave his reaction on Twitter: “BOOOOOOOOM!! The happiest days of my career have been playing cricket for ENG. Long may that continue! Thanks everyone for your kind words.”Pietersen returns then, but he returns on very different terms. It could not have been made more apparent that Flower, as England’s director of cricket, must be entirely respected, whether in judging how hard he trains or what training top he should wear to do it.Flower, who had seen the last England coach, Peter Moores, lose his job after Pietersen, as captain, encouraged and then led a rebellion, will now expect unerring loyalty.The England hierarchy is convinced that their uncompromising stance has brought Pietersen to heel and that their assertion that the team ethic is more important than any glorious individual achievement has been pronounced from the rooftops. Pietersen now has what England see as a final chance to harness his abilities to the demands of the team.Clarke, in his announcement in Colombo, made it sound as if Pietersen had been released from imprisonment. In that case, we can presume that, in England’s mind, he is still tagged, his every move watched for evidence of regression.Pietersen is back, but who knows for how long? Relationships with several England players remain frosty, particularly with the Nottinghamshire pair of Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad, who captained England in the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.He has played his most exceptional innings when he has felt the adulation of the crowd and acceptance of his fellows. Exuberance, overstatement and an arrogant belief in his own ability are part of his DNA. He must now perform for England in India in an atmosphere, irrespective of the “success” of the integration process, which will not be healed overnight.It remains to be seen whether he will find inspiration from that or whether England, in taming their most unpredictable talent, may also have damaged him beyond measure.

BCCI president also confirms that day-night Tests would be played in every home series going forward

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2021Tickets for the third India vs England Test, a day-night affair to be played with the pink ball in Ahmedabad from February 24, are already sold out, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed on Tuesday.”Ahmedabad is totally sold out, the day-night Test match, because it’s the first game there after a long period of time,” Ganguly told Star Sports in an interview. “So, happy to see normalcy back. It’ll be fantastic, it’s sold out. I speak to Jay [Shah, the BCCI secretary] who’s very keen on these Test matches. Just for him also cricket is coming back to Ahmedabad after six-seven years because they built the new stadium, and I’ve told him we’ve set an example with pink-ball Test last year in Calcutta [Kolkata], so it cannot go beyond that and we want to see every seat and stand full. And that’s what it is, the tickets have gone, as well as for the T20s [which will follow the Tests].”We wanted them (fans) back. We could have had them in the first Test in Chennai but we decided to go with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, who said let’s see how it goes for the first one because it’s our first game after a long time and we’ll open it up for the second [Test for fans].”The renovated Sardar Patel Stadium is now the world’s largest cricket amphitheatre with a seating capacity of over 110,000, but is expected to fill only to 50% of the capacity, just like the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai for the second Test, because of concerns around Covid-19. Although the Indian government, in its directive issued in late January, had allowed outdoor sports events to have full-capacity crowds, the BCCI has decided to ease that measure by restricting the spectators at the venues during the England series to 50%.Ahmedabad last hosted international cricket in 2014 – an ODI between India and Sri Lanka – and will also host the fourth India vs England Test from March 4 and all five T20Is on March 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 before the three ODIs are played in Pune.Ganguly also confirmed that day-night Test matches would be played in every home series going forward. “Absolutely. One Test a series is ideal. Every generation goes through changes, pink ball is one of the main changes for Test match cricket, and to keep Test match cricket alive,” he said. “I think with Ahmedabad packed stadium in the next week will be another great sight for everyone.”I know the Gujarat Cricket Association will add a bit more to the cricket, not just with the game but a lot of other things around the game. It’s going to be a great Test match for everyone.”There are also plans for spectators for the 2021 IPL, which the BCCI is hoping to host in India, and not in the UAE like in 2020. “This year is going to be big as well because of what it is,” Ganguly said. “We’ll see whether we can get the crowd back into the IPL, it’s a decision we’ll have to take very shortly. But it’s going to be another great tournament.”On the personal front, Ganguly, who had been hospitalised twice in Kolkata last month, said he was “fit and fine” and back at work. His bout of ill-health had coincided with part of the Indian team’s historic Test series win in Australia. “I think Australia was remarkable,” he said. “That’ll always be very, very special. What they did in Australia gave all of us goosebumps. To watch that fight on the last day in Brisbane was remarkable.”

Three changes to the squad since last international fixtures in December 2019

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2021Scotland have named a 14-man squad for their two-match ODI series away against Netherlands later this month, their first international fixtures since December 2019.There are three changes from the squad that travelled to the UAE for four Cricket World Cup League 2 fixtures, their most recent international engagement: Josh Davey and Michael Jones both miss out to fulfil county commitments with Somerset and Durham respectively, while Stuart Whittingham was forced to retire with a back injury in September.Seamers Gavin Main and Adrian Neill, neither of whom won a central contract last month, are both included, while Michael Leask also returns after missing out on the most recent squad. Tom Sole is the only centrally-contracted player to miss out, and is a non-travelling reserve along with Chris Greaves and Oli Hairs.Scotland returned to training in early April after a period on furlough during the latest Covid lockdown, and head coach Shane Burger said that he had been “impressed by how hard everyone has worked and the energy that we have in the squad at the moment”.”It’s just great to have cricket to look forward to,” Burger said. “After such a long period without any matches, it’s really important for the guys to get out there and play again. They’re absolutely raring to go. It’s the start of an important six months for us and I know we would like to go out and perform to the expectations that we have set ourselves and also play a brand of cricket that will excite our fans.”Netherlands are yet to name a squad, but it is unlikely that players will be withdrawn from county contracts for the series. As a result, there will be significant overlap with the ‘A’ team squad currently playing a three-match series in Ireland.Scotland squad: Richie Berrington, Dylan Budge, Kyle Coetzer (captain), Matthew Cross (wicketkeeper), Alasdair Evans, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, Gavin Main, George Munsey, Adrian Neill, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark WattFixtures: 1st ODI – May 19, 2nd ODI – May 21 (both to be played in Rotterdam)

An outsider entered the bubble when Shakib was having a batting session at the indoor facilities of the Shere Bangla National Stadium

Mohammad Isam05-Jun-2021The Bangladesh Cricket Board has started an investigation on a biosecure bubble breach during a practice session of the ongoing Dhaka Premier League. This is the first such report incident since the tournament started on May 31, with match venues and four team hotels coming under the board’s biosecure bubble.The incident reportedly took place on Friday, during Mohammedan Sporting Club’s training session, when captain Shakib Al Hasan was having a batting session at the indoor facilities of the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The BCB is investigating the entry of an outsider although the identity of the person remains unknown.”We are disappointed to note this incident,” Kazi Inam Ahmed, the chairman of Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), said. “Both the CCDM and the BCB have taken this very seriously. The health and safety of our teams, players, and officials are most important to us. We have invested a significant amount of finances and efforts to make sure the BSE (bio-security environment) protocols are in place including the best possible accommodation and logistics. This incident is being looked into and necessary actions and further precautionary measures will be taken.”The tournament’s disciplinary committee is supposed to investigate the incident. The BCB said before the tournament that any breach could mean a fine, suspension, and even point deductions for the club.The DPL is taking place during the latest phase of lockdown, which began on April 5. Bangladesh is experiencing a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic with 43 deaths and another 1447 positives cases in the last 24 hours.The BCB though remain hopeful that the tournament can finish this time, after it was postponed in March 2020. For that, the board has pulled out all the stops, including shortening the tournament to T20 format and paying for the biosecure bubble of all 12 teams and match officials, who are put up in four five-star hotels in Dhaka. The cost of the bubble is in excess of Taka 7 crore (USD 825,230 approx). Bangladesh’s first-class competition, the National Cricket League, also remains postponed since April this year.