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.

Angelo Mathews brushed off suggestions that Sri Lanka have arrived in England without adequate preparation, but identified his side’s batting as the area of most concern.

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2013Angelo Mathews brushed off suggestions that Sri Lanka have arrived in England without adequate preparation, but identified his side’s batting as the area requiring most attention, as they build up to the Champions Trophy with three warm-up matches at Edgbaston.”There has been a little bit of doubt; people kept saying that the boys are in India and they haven’t had good preparation,” Mathews said. “But I want to write it off because we are professionals and we need to get prepared for this kind of tournament because it’s a huge event for everyone, personally and as a team. So I think we’ve done our preparation as a team and individually.”Mathews backed his senior batsmen, like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, who failed to perform in the IPL; Sangakkara, in fact, was left out of the playing XI for the second half of the IPL. They were also unable to return to Sri Lanka to train with the remainder of the squad, despite a written request to the BCCI from Sri Lanka Cricket.”I think the senior batsmen have been world class for us. It’s not even a concern when it comes to a tournament like this because they’ve been here, they’ve done it, and I have the confidence in them.” he said “I’m really proud to have these guys in my team because I can get a lot of information and help.”Nine of Sri Lanka’s probable first XI arrived in Sri Lanka piecemeal over the last two weeks. They will now attempt to transition from the slow, turning pitches in the India to conditions better suiting fast bowlers in England, in just over a week.Those who did not travel to India however, played in a practice tournament in Pallekele, which sought to ready Sri Lanka for English conditions by attempting to recreate the seaming pitches they might encounter there”We’ve been playing in low [and] slow conditions and very hot and humid conditions in the past couple months. I think trying to adjust to the conditions is going to be the main challenge.” said Mathews. “Especially early summer is always going to be like this; wet, and it’s going to swing and seam. I think that’s our main challenge as batters especially,”He believed his bowlers would have an easier time adjusting, citing both their experience and their propensity to excel in swinging conditions. Sri Lanka drew an ODI series with Australia in January, where Nuwan Kulasekara, in particular, extracted substantial movement to trouble batsmen, while Thisara Perera and Mathews are also capable of moving the ball off the pitch to good effect.”I think the bowlers have got the firepower. We haven’t got the pace, but we know how to go in these conditions. In one group guys like Lasith Malinga, Perera have got that firepower. Malinga and Kulasekara, have been our strike bowlers the past three or four years, so we bank on them.”Sri Lanka have been one of the most consistent sides in major tournaments, making four ICC finals and a semi-final in the last six years. Mathews could not put his finger on why they have been unable to convert those chances, but was hopeful of maintaining their impressive run in major events.”Most teams won’t be complacent with us, but I think our past consistency is just a platform, because we need to raise the bar a bit. We’ve done pretty well on the big stage, and it’s just that I can’t really point out what went wrong in the finals and semi-finals, but we are hoping to better those performances But I think for now, as a team, we just want to make the maximum out of the first 10 days in England.”

Trent Copeland, the Australia seamer, will return to boost Northamptonshire’s hopes of achieving promotion

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2013Trent Copeland, the Australia seamer, will return to boost Northamptonshire’s hopes of achieving promotion. Copeland was initially signed for the first half of the season, claiming 36 Championship wickets in seven games, and he will now return for Northants’ final three fixtures.Copeland returned to Sydney in June with Northants unbeaten and top of the table, having averaged 49.3 with the bat and 16.25 with the ball. Since then, the club have drawn once and lost twice to Lancashire, who have also overtaken them as Division Two leaders.In all competitions Copeland claimed 50 wickets but he was replaced for the FLt20 by Australia allrounder Cameron White and South Africa opener Richard Levi. Northamptonshire’s head coach, David Ripley, had previously indicated they might try to re-sign the tall fast bowler, who has played three Tests for Australia.”This news will give everybody involved with Northants a lift,” Ripley said. “Trent made an outstanding contribution in his first stint with us, both on and off the field, we look forward to welcoming both him and his wife Kim back to the County Ground.”Northamptonshire currently lie second in Division Two, a point behind Lancashire having played a game more than the teams around them. With six fixtures left, they are 38 points clear of Worcestershire in the race for automatic promotion.

Nottinghamshire missed an opportunity to secure a semi-final place in the Yorkshire Bank 40 as they slumped to a 38-run defeat against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge

13-Aug-2013
ScorecardMoeen Ali made 28 and took three wickets in Worcestershire’s 38-run win•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire missed an opportunity to secure a semi-final place in the Yorkshire Bank 40 as they slumped to a 38-run defeat against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge. Set a target of 221 in 37 overs after afternoon showers had delayed the start, the home side were bowled out for 182, with James Taylor remaining unbeaten on 67.Taylor had been left with the lower order after Worcestershire had reduced Nottinghamshire to 83 for 5, with Moeen Ali claiming the wickets of Samit Patel, David Hussey and Riki Wessels on his way to figures of 3 for 28.Daryl Mitchell had earlier top-scored with 56 as the visitors posted 220 for 8 after being invited to bat first. Mitchell shared in an opening stand of 58 with Ali (28) before pairing up with Alexei Kervezee, who hit a run-a-ball 31 in a second-wicket partnership worth 49.Tom Fell added 25 and Thilan Samaraweera, who launched the only maximum of the evening, continued the momentum before being trapped lbw by Jake Ball for 38, who ended with 2 for 38. In a comical conclusion to the innings, Ross Whiteley survived three run-out attempts on his way to making just 6 and Brett D’Oliveira was bowled by a Harry Gurney no-ball in the penultimate over.Ajmal Shahzad claimed figures of 3 for 54, conceding a flurry of late runs as the lower order tried to scramble their way to a respectable total, and Harry Gurney collected 2 for 39.Paceman Graham Cessford, on his Worcestershire one-day debut, came under an early assault from both Michael Lumb and Alex Hales, who picked him off for five boundaries in his first two overs. But Lumb then fell to Jack Shantry before Ali blew a hole in the batting card with three quick wickets, while Charlie Morris removed Hales for 31.Taylor passed fifty for the fifth time in this year’s competition but then lost partner Chris Read, who holed out for 25. A direct hit from point by D’Oliveira ran out Steven Mullaney, who had received his county cap prior to the start, and the same fielder then caught Shahzad to give Cessford his maiden wicket at this level. Morris delivered the final blow as he clean-bowled Gurney with four overs left unbowled.While Worcestershire celebrated only their fourth win of the year, Nottinghamshire were left still needing victory over either Sussex or Kent from their final two matches to reach the last four.

Saeed Ajmal took four wickets but couldn’t prevent a resilient Zimbabwe from taking a 32-run lead

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran04-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Saeed Ajmal was again Pakistan’s best bowler, taking four wickets•AFP

Even after the strong showing of their bowlers on the first day in Harare, doubts persisted over whether Zimbabwe would pose a challenge, given the fragility of their Test batting, especially in the absence of Brendan Taylor, and the quality of Pakistan’s attack. Those concerns were heightened soon after lunch, when both the set batsmen Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza were dismissed off consecutive deliveries.However Malcolm Waller, who found form over the past week after a miserable series against India, and the debutant Sikandar Raza underlined Zimbabwe’s ability to stand up to the bigger teams with a 127-run partnership for the fourth wicket that put the hosts on course for the lead. They were ahead by 32 at stumps, and will probably need a few more considering they have to bat last in the game, when Saeed Ajmal’s bag of tricks will prove a handful.For the second day in a row, Ajmal did his bit to keep Pakistan from falling too far back in the game. On Tuesday, his unbeaten 49 had rescued Pakistan from 182 for 8, and today, after being dismissed first ball in the morning, he snared four wickets to keep Zimbabwe’s lead from getting out of hand. Still, there can be no doubts over which of the two sides will be happier at this stage of the Test – Zimbabwe’s stand-in captain Masakadza sported a huge grin and even tried out a couple of dance moves as he watched the final overs of the day.The only time Pakistan looked like they could take control of the game was early in the second session, when Zimbabwe slipped to 68 for 3. Junaid Khan, the pace spearhead, was rewarded for a probing over in which he tweaked his line and length till he got it perfect on the final delivery, inducing Sibanda to nick to the keeper. Off the next ball, Ajmal fired in a straighter one and Masakadza was bowled as he played for the offspin.Raza was playing his first Test and Waller hadn’t scored a half-century in any format since his 55 at the start of the Bangladesh series in April. With the wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami not being a recognised batsman, the lower order didn’t inspire too much confidence.Waller, though, wasn’t cowed by the situation, showing his confidence by hitting his first ball for four, a cover drive off Ajmal. That shot made a frequent appearance as Waller sprinted to 33 off 30 balls, with seven boundaries. In what had been a low-scoring game, that burst of run making shifted the pressure back on Pakistan, and made it easier for Raza to settle. Waller batted with an open stance and regularly cashed in on the width offered, slapping the ball past point, bringing up his half-century with one of those shots.Raza was more cautious early on, but swiftly grew in confidence. He was assured while using his feet against the spinners, and after having spent an hour in the middle, he was bold enough to charge out and launch Abdur Rehman over his head for four. He also employed the sweep shot, and Pakistan’s challenge began to fade around tea. In 10 overs either side of the session, Waller and Raza picked off 54 runs, and Zimbabwe were clearly on top.That was the cue for Ajmal to produce another of his moments of magic, getting Waller to edge to slips. Raza then slammed a catch to midwicket, leaving Pakistan with an outside chance of taking the lead. Elton Chigumbura, however, has been a regular source of runs lower down the order, and once again he delivered, ending the day unbeaten on 40 to put Zimbabwe well ahead.The lower-order resistance mirrored the resolve shown by the top order before lunch. Pakistan’s quicks, Junaid and Rahat Ali, produced a number of testing deliveries but couldn’t maintain a consistent line, though Junaid ended Tino Mawoyo’s comeback innings ended on 13.The other opener, Sibanda, had a difficult time early on, particularly against Rahat, and was struck on the forearm and later just above the waist. He played some graceful strokes as well when the bowlers erred, the highlights being effortless off-drives down the ground. When Rahat lost his line and length in the 19th over, Sibanda took him for three fours. Keeping him company was Masakadza, who launched a six onto the sightscreen in Ajmal’s first over.Zimbabwe then had their post-lunch wobble but showed enough spine to finish the day as frontrunners.

Hashim Amla became the third South African to win the CSA Cricketer of the Year award on two separate occasions, and picked up four awards on the night

Firdose Moonda09-Sep-2013

CSA Awards 2013

International Awards:
SA Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla
Sunfoil Test Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla
Momentum ODI Cricketer of the Year: AB de Villiers
KFC T20 International Cricketer of the Year: Dale Steyn
SA Players’ Player of the Year: AB de Villiers
SA Fans’ Player of the Year: Hashim Amla
KFC ‘So Good’ Award: Hashim Amla
RAM Delivery of the Year: Jacques Kallis
SA Newcomer of the Year: Kyle Abbott
Momentum women’s Cricketer of the Year: Marizanne Kapp
Domestic Awards
Sunfoil Series Cricketer of the Season: Johann Louw (Cobras)
Momentum One-Day Cup Cricketer of the Season: Richard Levi (Cobras)
RAM SLAMMER of the Season: Quinton de Kock (Lions)
Coach of the Year: Geoffrey Toyana (Lions)
Domestic Players’ Player of the Year: Kyle Abbott (Dolphins)
CSA Fair Play Award: Lions
SACA Most Valuable Player Award: Roelof van der Merwe (Titans)
Domestic Newcomer of the Year: Ayabulela Gqamane (Warriors)
Professional Awards: Operations
CSA Groundsman of the Year: Chris Scott (Wanderers)
CSA Scorers’ Association of the Year: Gauteng Cricket Board
CSA Umpires’ Umpire of the Year: Shaun George
CSA Umpire of the Year: Johan Cloete

Hashim Amla has become the third South African to be named as Cricket South Africa (CSA) Cricketer of the Year on two separate occasions, after previously winning the award in 2010. Amla joins Makhaya Ntini (2005 and 2006) and Jacques Kallis (2004 and 2011) as the only dual winners of the award.That was not all for Amla, as he picked up four awards on the night, including Sunfoil Test Cricketer of the Year, SA Fan’s Player of the Year and the KFC ‘So Good’ Award for his unbeaten 311 against England last year.The awards night, organised by CSA in Sandton on Monday, sought to hail international and domestic players who put in remarkable performances over the 2012-13 season. The period under consideration ended in June, so South Africa’s poor Champions Trophy campaign and series in Sri Lanka were excluded.Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive, gave full praise to the team and Amla for their performances over the year. “This has been another amazing year for our top players,” Lorgat said. “It is not easy to keep finding special words to speak about Hashim. He has set South Africa record Test scores against both England and Australia, and he is the first player to score a Test treble century for our country. As if that is not remarkable enough, he is also the No. 1 rated player on the ICC rankings for Test and ODI batsmen.”The greatest quality he brings to the game is his attitude and humility, which aptly displays the true spirit of cricket. This transcends all his international statistics and we are indeed very lucky to have such a wonderful role model for our children to emulate.”AB de Villiers, the South Africa ODI captain, was also among the accolades as he was named Momentum ODI Cricketer of the Year and the SA Players’ Player of the Year. Dale Steyn was the KFC T20 International Cricketer of the Year, while Kyle Abbott, who picked up 7 for 29 on Test debut against Pakistan in February, was the SA Newcomer of the Year. Marizanne Kapp, who played for South Africa during the 2013 Women’s World Cup in India, rounded off the evening with the award for Momentum women’s Cricketer of the Year.On the domestic front, Cape Cobras’ Johann Louw was selected as Sunfoil Series Cricketer of the Season. Geoffrey Toyana, the Lions coach, who this season became the first black African coach in the domestic structure, was handed the distinction of Coach of the Year. Richard Levi, who also plays for Cobras, was awarded Momentum One-Day Cup Cricketer of the Year, while Lions’ Quinton de Kock picked up Ram Slammer of the Season.Kyle Abbott was hailed as the Domestic Player’s Player of the Year, while Lions were handed the CSA Fair Play Award. Roelof van der Merwe, playing for Titans, was awarded as SACA Most Valuable Player, while Warriors’ Ayabulela Gqamane was given the distinction of being Domestic Newcomer of the Year.

The legal wrangle ahead of what is expected to be an interesting BCCI annual general meeting (AGM) continued on Monday, with developments in two separate court cases

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2013The legal wrangle ahead of what is expected to be an interesting BCCI annual general meeting (AGM) continued on Monday, with developments in two separate court cases. While the BCCI has challenged an order restraining it from holding its special general meeting (SGM) on September 25 to decide the fate of former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) secretary Aditya Verma has moved the Supreme Court, pleading that BCCI president N Srinivasan not be allowed to contest the board’s election.A Delhi trial court had issued an order on September 21, barring the BCCI’s SGM on Wednesday, and expectedly the board has now moved the Delhi High Court. Even though the lower court had stayed the SGM, it had declined to pass an order on Modi questioning the appointment of Sanjay Patel and Jagmohan Dalmiya as BCCI’s secretary and head of day to day affairs, respectively, by president N Srinivasan who had stepped aside in the wake of IPL spot-fixing scandal.After hearing the BCCI’s argument against the trial court’s order, which was based on the court having no jurisdiction to pass the same, Justice VK Shail decided to continue the hearing on Tuesday and also hear Modi’s cross petition against the appointment of Patel and Dalmiya.Senior advocate CA Sundaram, on behalf of the BCCI, told the judge that since the SGM was slated to be held in Chennai, a trial court in Delhi could not pass an order staying it. “The Delhi court has no jurisdiction to pass such an order as the BCCI headquarters is in Mumbai and SGM was to be held in Chennai where Srinivansan resides. Just because the disciplinary committee meeting [which found Modi guilty on eight different charges] was held in Delhi, Modi has approached the city court,” Sundaram was quoted as saying by . “In the SGM, the report of the disciplinary committee will be considered and if the report will be accepted, then a show cause notice will be issued to Modi to make his defence.”Even if the High Court gives the go-ahead for the BCCI to conduct the SGM on Wednesday, the BCCI camp is expecting Modi to move Supreme Court in what is believed to be “delaying tactics”.In the other case, CAB secretary Verma moved an application in the Supreme Court seeking an interim injunction against Srinivasan from contesting the BCCI election pending the verdict on the special leave petition (SLP) filed by Verma against the BCCI. The Supreme Court, on September 12, had run out of time and hence failed to hear the SLP where the BCCI lawyers were expected to enter final arguments against the CAB petition that had challenged the Bombay High Court order for failing to appoint a fresh probe panel to investigate corruption in the IPL despite ruling the BCCI probe panel was constituted illegally.On Monday, Verma, through his counsel Gagan Gupta, entered a prayer in the Supreme Court asking it to restrain Srinivasan from not only standing for the BCCI president’s polls (scheduled to be held during the board’s AGM on September 29) but also bar him from being part of any of the board’s committees. The court is expected to give a date of hearing on Tuesday.The Bombay High Court had pointed out in its order that Srinivasan had “prima facie” a hand in the appointment of the two-man probe panel that had cleared the owners of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals of corruption charges. The High Court had called the finding “illegal”. The BCCI had filed its own SLP challenging that order. The Supreme Court is yet to announce the next date hearing for this.The main reason behind the BCCI’s SLP was to erase the black mark on Srinivasan left by the High Court order. Lawyers on both sides confirmed that Srinivasan was free to attend the BCCI AGM as well as stand for the president’s elections despite the CAB petition.The significance of the CAB prayer cannot be determined at this stage. Verma’s intention from the beginning has been to restrain Srinivasan from performing his BCCI duties till the courts conclusively clear him of all allegations.

The BCCI technical committee has proposed measures to make Ranji Trophy matches more result-oriente

Amol Karhadkar29-Apr-2015The BCCI technical committee has proposed measures to make Ranji Trophy matches more result-oriented. The changes suggested by the Anil Kumble-headed committee include increasing the number of overs per day from 90 to 95 and doing away with the point currently awarded to a side for saving a match.The preliminary suggestions were discussed in the working committee meeting on April 26. The BCCI’s governing body has asked for a final proposal in its next meeting. The technical panel is likely to provide that after meeting again next month.

Ranji Trophy points system

Till 2006-07, four points were awarded for a win, five for a bonus win, two for the first-innings lead and none for the team that conceded the lead in a draw
In 2007-08, the system changed to five for a win, six for a bonus win and three for the first-innings lead. A point for the team conceding the lead but saving the match was introduced
In 2012-13, an additional point was introduced for a victory: six points for a win and seven for a ten-wicket or innings win

It is understood that the working committee responded positively to the suggestion of points modification. However, some members were wary about increasing the number of overs. It was pointed out that teams struggle to bowl 90 overs even with half an hour’s extension, so bowling 95 would be impractical.After assessing last season’s Ranji results, which had results in 62 out of 115 games, the technical committee suggested adding five overs to each of the four days’ play to increase the possibility of a result.Kumble and Co have also proposed to do away with the single point for salvaging a draw after conceding the lead. The working committee was briefed that with the existing format, teams are content with the first-innings result in most cases since both teams gain points, with three awarded for gaining the lead.As a result, the side that concedes the lead doesn’t really push for victory, making the second innings redundant on numerous occasions. The technical committee felt by taking away a point for earning a draw, the teams will end up being more aggressive.The other major suggestion was to increase the number of overs to be bowled in a day to 95, without adding additional playing hours. This would not only give 20 more overs to produce results but would also make the game faster. It is observed that the Ranji Trophy sometimes sees too many stoppages, with teams happy to slow down proceedings. The suggestion is drawn from Australian domestic cricket, where 96 overs are bowled in a day in a first-class game.

Ireland and Scotland have said they would welcome the chance to field teams in the County Championship

Tim Wigmore26-May-2015Ireland and Scotland have said they would welcome the chance to field teams in the County Championship. As revealed by ESPNcricinfo last week, the ECB is considering, among many options, a proposal to expand the competition to 21 teams and three divisions of seven.No decision on the future format of county cricket is expected until after the season. But the ECB are open to European Associates providing some of the extra three teams in a 21-team Championship, and it is understood they have already informally contacted Cricket Ireland, who are very keen on the idea, about the possibility. While Scotland have yet to be contacted, they are also eager to explore the concept. It is unlikely that Netherlands, the third strongest European Associate, could commit to playing 12 Championship games a season.”We’d be very interested because our ambition and goal is to play Test cricket,” says Richard Holdsworth, the performance director of Cricket Ireland. “To play in a first-class structure with the English counties would help our players develop and would allow them the match time that they need in order to develop as international cricketers and ultimately play Test cricket.””We don’t get much opportunity to play first-class games so this would create an opportunity to help fill that gap and help develop our next bunch of players who may be the bunch to play Test cricket come 2018 and 2019.” But, even if invited to do so by the ECB, Ireland would not intend to participate in county T20 and 50-over competitions.While Ireland have an existing multi-day competition – which they would retain even if they were included in the County Championship – at this stage it is probably unsatisfactory preparation for playing Test matches against Zimbabwe, let alone stronger opponents. Three sides play each other twice each in three-day games home-and-away every year – a total of four games each a season.The lack of variety in opposition is far from ideal while conditions tend to favour medium-pace seam bowlers who, as was painfully exposed in the World Cup, struggle against Full Members on flat wickets.So for an estimated cost of around €350,000 (£250,000), the benefits for Irish cricket of playing 12 four-day fixtures in the Championship a year would be great. These could extend not just to those based in Ireland – including young hopes Craig Young, Andy McBrine and Stuart Thompson – but also many of the 11 Irishmen currently on the books of county sides. Andy Balbirnie, George Dockrell and Paul Stirling, three important members of Ireland’s side in red-ball cricket, have played just one Championship match between them this season.Ireland’s prospects in the Intercontinental Cup, and ultimately Test cricket, would be far better served by such players playing in the County Championship rather than 2nd XI cricket. As the ECB now allow players to go on loan in certain competitions, Middlesex could continue to use Stirling in white-ball cricket while allowing him to play for an Irish team in the Championship.A side in the County Championship could also make Ireland more attractive to Irish-qualified players from overseas. Nick Larkin, an Australian with an Irish passport who scored 78 and 130 for New South Wales against South Australia in November, spent the last two seasons in Irish domestic cricket – but Ireland is a long way to go for only four multi-day matches, and he is not due to return in 2015. “Playing regular first class cricket would be more likely to entice players like Nick to want to come and play in Ireland and try and make the national team,” Holdsworth said.Although Cricket Ireland expect to receive more from the ICC when the new rights cycle kicks in later this year, they would still not be able to match what counties could pay men like Ed Joyce, Will Porterfield, Gary Wilson and Niall O’Brien. So Ireland would field something equivalent to an A-team side in the Championship and brand the side as such. This would allow them to develop depth in red-ball cricket beyond their first choice eleven.Another attraction for Ireland would be the predictability of the fixture list: at the moment, Ireland’s only guaranteed game against Full Members is a one-off ODI against England every two years. Six Championship games in Ireland every year would, the board believes, make it easier to attract sponsorship and government investment to upgrade cricket facilities. It could also make Cricket Ireland membership more attractive.For Cricket Scotland, the notion of participating in the County Championship is also very attractive. “If people wanted to talk about it with us, I’m certain we would want to talk,” said Willie Donald, the acting chief executive.In the context of the introduction of a pathway to Test cricket, he sees the idea as “very pertinent for our thinking right now.” Donald believes that inclusion in the Championship “could broaden and deepen our developmental base of players in Scotland.”Preston Mommsen, Scotland’s captain, agreed. “It’s a brilliant idea – it would grow the game massively in the country. It would be a huge step in the right direction. Personally I learned my cricket playing in the CB40 competition between 2010 and 2013 and I think it’s made a huge difference for us not playing in that competition. For us to be exposed to that level of cricket that can only be a good thing.”After the excitement of the World Cup, Mommsen has found the paucity of high-quality cricket since the World Cup a “mental challenge”; the most competitive game he has played since was against Durham 2nd XI. He believes that 12 first-class games a year would be crucial in helping Scottish players develop. “The standard would be very challenging for us – but at the same time you’re going to find a way to adapt and raise your game to meet those standards.”But inclusion in the Championship would also bring significant challenges for Scotland. They would seek reassurance that inclusion would not compromise their integrity as an international nation, although there are numerous examples – like Namibia playing in South African domestic cricket, England Lions and Ireland playing in the Caribbean, and countries playing in England in the past – to suggest that it would not.Hosting six Championship games a year would also require significant improvement in Scotland’s facilities. “We’d have to be absolutely sure that we could afford the infrastructure and meet the commitment from a financial perspective,” Donald said. “We wouldn’t shy away from that.”Participation in the Championship would further stretch Scotland’s financial resources at a time when, together with Ireland, they are developing plans to build a new cricket-playing facility in Spain, where matches could be played in September and October from as early as 2016.Nick Larkin, an Australian with an Irish passport, could be a player Ireland tried to tempt back•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Scotland would also need to expand their number of full-time contracted players from 11 (with a further eight contracted to counties) if they played 12 Championship games a year. “We don’t have a big enough pool of professional players right now to meet that workload,” Donald said. Existing full-time contracted players would also need to be paid more.Unlike Ireland, Scotland would also ideally like to be included in the one-day and T20 formats too. “I could imagine in Edinburgh on a Friday night against Surrey or Middlesex that would be a whizz-bang up here. That would be fantastic – we would definitely get big crowds. It would be very exciting if that were part of the package,” Donald said. “From an income stream perspective I could guess that it would give that business model a substantial boost.”Netherlands could hardly contain their excitement about the prospect of returning to limited-overs county cricket. “We’re queuing up – we can’t wait, it’s as simple as that,” said Alex de la Mar, the cricket operations and finance manager. “If that happened it would be absolutely super for Dutch cricket because we need good opposition.” He also believes that it would make it “far easier to sell the game to sponsors”.Like Scotland, Netherlands did not want to leave county cricket when the ECB restructured the one-day competition before 2014. But inclusion in the Championship would be altogether more complex. “It would need quite a lot of discussion and sorting out as to whether we could even afford that,” de la Mar said. “It’s a lot of travelling, it’s a lot of games, and can you do that with half the team amateurs?”Shorn of ODI status, Netherlands’ funding from the ICC is less generous than that enjoyed by Ireland or Scotland. They only have five full-time contracted players, so there would be major issues with player availability for Championship matches; de la Mar also fears the prospect of tussles getting players released from their clubs for games.There is also an even deeper issue: the complete lack of culture of multi-day cricket in the country. While Ireland have long made their ambitions to play Test cricket palpable, and Scotland are now doing the same, Netherlands does not regard it as realistic. Spending huge swathes of a very finite budget on first-class cricket would be difficult to justify, so an elusive 21st team in the Championship might have to come from within England.Still, those who think some altruism from the ECB is overdue should be very encouraged by the prospect of Ireland and Scotland joining the Championship. “Full Members should take more responsibility in helping associates,” Mommsen said. “There’s a huge untapped market here and this would be huge in terms of helping us out.”

The three-member Lodha Panel will, on Tuesday, announce the quantum of punishment for Gurunath Meiyappan, Raj Kundra and their respectively franchises, for the pair’s alleged involvement in the IPL 2013 corruption scandal

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2015The three-member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India, RM Lodha, will, on Tuesday, announce the quantum of punishment for Gurunath Meiyappan, Raj Kundra and the teams they were part of – Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals respectively – for their alleged involvement in the IPL 2013 corruption scandal.The Lodha committee was appointed on January 22 by the Supreme Court to decide on the punishment for Kundra, Gurunath and their respective franchises. Kundra and Gurunath had been found guilty of betting by the Supreme Court. The committee had been given six months to pronounce its decision.Gurunath had been chargesheeted in the IPL 2013 corruption scandal and though Kundra wasn’t among those chargesheeted, he was found guilty by the first Supreme Court-appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal committee of betting on IPL matches.The court had also directed the Lodha panel, which also includes former judges Ashok Bhan and RV Raveendran, to make recommendations and suggest amendments to the processes followed by the BCCI. The panel is likely to seek more time to announce its findings on the restructuring of BCCI administration. Senior BCCI functionaries are likely to discuss the possible ramifications of the Lodha panel findings in a conference call on Sunday.