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Chandrakant Pandit moves from Vidarbha to MP as head coach

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“I was very happy with Vidarbha but it’s time for a new challenge,” says decorated domestic coach

Saurabh Somani25-Mar-2020Chandrakant Pandit, the former India player and one of the most successful coaches in Indian domestic cricket, has decided to move from Vidarbha to Madhya Pradesh for the 2020-21 season. Pandit had coached Vidarbha to back-to-back triumphs in the Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy in 2017-18 and 2018-19, having earlier achieved Ranji Trophy success with Mumbai too.Pandit, who has also been in charge of Maharashtra and Kerala in the past, said he would always have fond memories of his time with Vidarbha and the support he received from the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA), but it was time for him to embrace a new challenge.”I have coached Vidarbha for three years. Normally I always do my coaching stints for two years or three years. The idea is to always move forward. It’s good to take a new challenge,” Pandit told ESPNcricinfo. “There is no doubt I was very happy with Vidarbha – the way the team has played, the way I got support from the association. From Prashant Vaidya (VCA vice-president and chairman of the cricket development committee) and Anand Jaiswal (VCA president). So it is not anything else, but just to move forward and take a new challenge. I was very happy with Vidarbha. I respect the support I received, and that will always be part of my life.”I had played for MP for six years in the past. So when they contacted, I accepted. Because I was not going to continue with Vidarbha. It was purely my call, nothing untoward (had happened).”This year, MP were coached by Abbas Ali – the grandson of Mushtaq Ali – with Devendra Bundela being the batting coach and Harvinder Singh Sodhi, who has been the coach of the team previously, doubling up as bowling coach and manager.An official with the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association said that it was too early to take a call on whether any of last season’s coaches would continue to be with the team, but confirmed that Pandit had been given a letter of intent to be the MP coach from next season. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown in India, Pandit has not been able to sign the contract formally yet.ALSO READ: Chandrakant Pandit: Less of a general, more of a 12th man“We’ll have to wait till things improve definitely,” Pandit acknowledged. “Ultimately it’s for the good of everyone (staying indoors for now). We have to take care of that. I’ll definitely be contacting players and drawing up plans. It’s like people who are working from home, I’ll have to do that for now till things get better. I’ll have to start planning for the MP team. Though I may not be able to get in touch with the players personally, but definitely, communication with the association, the secretary is there. I can put forward my plans so they can be ready with that. I’ve been talking to them and they have already told me that let things get better and then we’ll start. At the same time I’ll be trying to figure out what are the things I can do.”Pandit’s departure from Vidarbha comes on the heels of Wasim Jaffer also announcing his retirement, leaving a bit of a void in terms of experience in the Vidarbha think-tank. Pandit, however, was confident that the processes put in place would hold the team in good stead.”See whatever we have done in the last three years, we have developed a good, young team,” he said. “There was very healthy competition created. So I hope they maintain that and continue it. I’m sure the young boys coming through – the Under-23 side has won the CK Nayudu Trophy – they will be able to take it forward with whoever takes charge.Vidarbha had come into this Ranji Trophy season as double defending champions, but although they began well, they faltered midway through, and ended up finishing seventh on the combined Groups A and B table, where only the top five teams make it to the quarter-finals. A loss against Delhi in the middle of the season hurt them particularly. Vidarbha declared on 330 for 3, with the lead being 347, to set Delhi a steep chase. It was a declaration made with the intent of going for full points rather than playing safe and getting only first-innings lead points, but Delhi had an inspired fourth-innings chase led by Nitish Rana’s 105* off 68 balls and they hunted down the target.

Tim Bresnan calls time on 19-year career at Yorkshire

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Allrounder seeks immediate move to further career after playing key role in two Championship wins

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2020Tim Bresnan, the Yorkshire allrounder who helped England to victory on their Ashes tour of Australia in 2010-11, has agreed to leave the club with immediate effect, in a bid to secure first-team opportunities in the final years of his career.Bresnan, 35, made his Yorkshire debut against Northamptonshire in 2003, and went on to play an integral role in the club’s back-to-back County Championship titles in 2014 and 2015.However, he arguably had his finest season the following year, when he was named Yorkshire’s Player of the Year after excelling with bat and ball. His stand-out performance came in the Championship decider against Middlesex at Lord’s, where his unbeaten 142 came close to securing a hat-trick of titles.In his career to date, he has claimed 557 wickets in 199 first-class matches, and scored 6714 runs at 28.81. In List A games, he has picked up 315 wickets and scoring 3221 runs in 173 appearances.”I would like to thank Yorkshire for giving me 19 fantastic years and the opportunity when I was younger to kick-start my career,” said Bresnan. “Hopefully with me moving aside, the younger players will get their opportunity to kick-start their careers as well.”It has given me immense pride to represent the county for the best part of two decades. My Yorkshire cap is one of my proudest possessions. I would also like to thank the Members for their support during my time at Yorkshire.”I didn’t take this decision lightly but now is the best time to move on. There is still plenty of fire in my belly and I look forward to what the future brings.”On the international front, Bresnan became a vital part of the England team that not only rose to become the No.1 Test side in the world in 2011, but also claimed England’s first global trophy, the World T20 in the Caribbean in 2010.From the moment he made his Test debut against West Indies at Lord’s in 2009, Bresnan played a part in 13 Test victories in a row – most notably on the 2010-11 Ashes tour where he came into the side for the fourth Test at Melbourne and helped to bowl Australia out for 98 on the first morning of the match.In addition to the World T20 win, Bresnan played a part in Perth Scorchers’ Big Bash win in 2017, and later that year claimed 6 for 19 in a T20 Blast win over Lancashire at Headingley, the best T20 bowling figures in the club’s history.Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket said: “Everyone at the Club has huge respect for Tim for what he has achieved in his career for Yorkshire and England. He has represented the Club with huge pride and distinction for 19 years.”His contribution both on and off the field has been immense and we wish him every success for the future.”

Shane Warne v Steve Waugh – how a stats piece reignited 21-year-old grudge

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In 1999, Waugh had dropped Warne for the final Test against West Indies with the series on the line

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2020Last week ESPNcricinfo published a stats piece about run-outs, with the top figure being that Steve Waugh had been involved in the most of any player during an international career – and that on 73 occasions it was his partner who ended up walking back.There were a host of other interesting nuggets, but this is the one that caught the attention. And it reignited a 21-year-old grudge.After some encouragement through social media, Rob Moody, who has been a saviour to many cricket fans during the Covid-19 lockdown, was persuaded to edit together a video of the 73 times Waugh’s partner was run-out. After 24 hours of work, he got the majority of them in an hour-long compilation. A great bit of a fun content (which also showed many of the run-outs were hardly shockers). And then things really took off.Shane Warne noticed the stat and Moody’s work, and couldn’t help but comment. “Wow! So S Waugh was involved in the most ever run outs in test cricket (104) & ran his partner out 73 times – is that correct? Mmmmmmmmm”, Warne tweeted. He then he added: “For the record AGAIN & I’ve said this 1000 times – I do not hate S Waugh at all. FYI – I picked him in my all time best Australian team recently. Steve was easily the most selfish cricketer that I ever played with and this stat…….”Waugh the most selfish cricketer? This goes back a long way, to 1999 in fact when Waugh dropped Warne for the final Test of the series against West Indies in the Caribbean. Australia were 2-1 down, Warne had endured a poor series – figures of 2 for 268 as Brian Lara dominated – and he was left out in favour of Stuart MacGill and Colin Miller. Australia won the match to level the series and retain the Frank Worrall Trophy, but Warne never moved on.”I lost a bit of respect for him after that. I believe he should have backed me – as I always believe the art of captaincy is to support your players and back them every time,” he wrote in his autobiography. “This gains the respect from the players and makes them play for you. He didn’t, it’s history, but I never found it easy with him after that.”Warne’s latest reaction sparked analysis and comment. Waugh, himself, gave a brief response to the and .”People keep saying it’s a feud,” Waugh said. “But to me, a feud’s between two people. I’ve never brought into it, so it’s just one person.”His comments are a reflection of himself, nothing to do with me. That’s all I’d say.”Warne has confirmed he is planning a tell-all documentary about his life. Wonder if we’ll hear this story again?

ECB confirms schedule for Pakistan, Ireland visits

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Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl to host Test, T20I and ODI series

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2020England have confirmed Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl as the venues for fixtures against Ireland and Pakistan this summer. Ireland will visit later this month for three ODIs, while Pakistan have already arrived in the country ahead of Test and T20I series.The ECB has been working to salvage as much of its home international programme as possible after the Covid-19 shutdown, and said that discussions remained ongoing about the possibility of Australia touring, and a proposed women’s tri-series featuring England, India and South Africa.Ireland had been due to play their series, part of the World Cup Super League, in September but agreed to move the games forward, with all three ODIs to be held behind closed doors in Southampton from July 30 to August 4.The first Test against Pakistan will begin a day later in Manchester, with the teams then moving down to Southampton for the second and third matches at the Ageas Bowl, starting on August 13 and 21. They will return to Manchester for T20Is at Emirates Old Trafford on August 28, 30 and September 1.”Confirmation of these matches against Ireland and Pakistan is another important step for our game as we begin to safely stage international cricket again, but also to minimise the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had, and will continue to have, on cricket at all levels,” ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said.”It has taken significant effort and expertise to allow us to reach a position where cricket is now ready and able to return to the field of play from the elite level to recreational cricket.”We owe a significant debt of gratitude to the players, staff and administrators of the Cricket West Indies, Cricket Ireland, and the Pakistan Cricket Board for their willingness and co-operation to get international cricket back up and running and allow these matches to be staged.”Sports fans across the world will benefit as international cricket returns to our screens while it will also provide much-needed financial aid at all levels of cricket in England and Wales as we aim to withstand the challenges in front of us.”It must be reiterated that there is still much work for the ECB and the cricket network to do as we try to plot a path through this pandemic. Chief amongst our priorities is to build on our commitment to support and grow women’s cricket and at the elite level discussions continue to progress to determine the best and safest way to host a tri-series against India and South Africa.”We also continue to explore options for our England men to play white-ball series against Australia this summer and hope to have news on those series soon.”The majority of Pakistan’s 29-man squad flew to the UK in late June, despite disruption caused by a number of positive Covid-19 tests. Ten players did not take the initial flight, but all but one have now returned the two negative tests required to participate in the tour.Like West Indies and Pakistan, Ireland’s players are expected to given an ‘opt out’ by the selectors in case any have concerns about Covid-19 in the UK.

Aaron Finch and David Warner accept blame for failed chase but Australia's middle order exposed

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Australia failed to score 39 off 35 balls after an opening stand of 98 in 11 overs

Andrew McGlashan05-Sep-2020David Warner and Aaron Finch accepted the blame for not being able to take Australia across the line in the opening T20I at the Ageas Bowl, but the startling collapse renewed the focus on their middle-order which has been the one area of the team to struggle when needed.After an opening stand of 98 in 11 overs, Australia’s equation came down to 39 off 35 balls – seemingly a canter with Warner and Steven Smith going well – but Adil Rashid struck twice in his last over, the second scalp when Glenn Maxwell opted not to see out the legspinner, and the recalled Marcus Stoinis laboured in finding the rope.The final six overs of Australia’s chase brought just one boundary when Stoinis managed to heave Tom Curran over long-off in the last but he was then unable to scramble the nine needed off the final four balls.The limp end had echoes of Australia’s only other recent T20I defeat against South Africa, at Port Elizabeth, when they couldn’t chase 160 despite being 98 for 1 in the 13th over with Warner and Smith set. On that occasion, Warner was left stranded as the middle-order managed just a single boundary between them. This time Warner was part of the collapse when he was cleaned up giving himself room to a Jofra Archer yorker.ALSO READ: Eoin Morgan hails bowlers’ belief as England steal improbable epic“We pride ourselves on being there at the end,” Warner said. “We talk about one batter being there and in, and the next guy comes in and tries to take those calculated risks – and we bat to the end. If you get a good delivery you can’t do anything about it but that’s what we pride ourselves on and that’s basically what our game is built around.”Finch defended the shot selection of Smith, picking out deep midwicket, and Maxwell who slammed a drive to cover in Rashid’s final over.Alex Carey chops on to his stumps•AFP

“They were both playing to a gameplan, so I think if you can separate the execution and the gameplan, you can look a bit deeper into it,” he said. “T20 games are about making sure you take on your options and matching that up with the right gameplan so there’s plenty to work on. I’d probably be more critical of myself and Davey, who got us off to good start and neither of us really kicked on to have a match-winning contribution.”While Australia had won seven of their eight completed T20Is last season against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa, the middle-order was not overly tested during that period due to the success of the top three. However, the defeats here and at Port Elizabeth in February highlighted that it is the weakness of this side.”We knew that England were going to keep coming hard and they executed really well,” Finch said. “We just struggled to find the boundary a bit in that 12-18 over mark. That is something to keep working on and that’s not the first time it’s happened, so as long as the boys keep learning and improve at it, lesson learned.”It is notable that the top score of a batsman at No. 4 to No. 8 in that period – those who could be viewed as needing to finish an innings in a variety of situations – was Smith’s 30 off 15 balls when he was pushed down to No. 5 against South Africa in Cape Town.There has also been a reasonable turnover of players in those positions including Ben McDermott, Ashton Turner, Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh. The latter two are part of this tour but were the players to make way in this match for the return of Maxwell and the slightly surprising recall of Stoinis.

Two days before the series, coach Justin Langer had said that he saw Stoinis as having to force his way back into the side at the top of the order which is where he had a prolific Big Bash last season but in the end he returned at No. 5.”I think we just have to try to be a little bit smarter and work out how we’re going to hit our boundaries,” Warner said of the failed chase. “We have to try to keep rotating strike and keep finding the boundary in those middle overs.”However, after what was their first international for more than six months, Finch was not too downbeat despite having seen the opening match slip from Australia’s grasp.”There was plenty of stuff to be positive about. If you can separate the result and just look at it at individual points, I think there was some great stuff. Obviously it would have been ideal to get over the line, but England are a bloody good side.”You look at how they went approached their middle overs as well and they were quite one-dimensional with how they went about it, but it was a simple plan and they executed it which was the most important thing. We had a couple of good hit-outs against each other but when you pull on the colours against England, it’s a different thing.”

Sadashiv Patil, the former India allrounder, dies aged 86

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He played one Test for India and also led Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2020Sadashiv Raoji Patil, the allrounder of the 1950s and 1960s who represented India in one Test match in 1955, died in his sleep in the early hours of Tuesday at his residence in Kolhapur. He was 86, and is survived by his wife and two daughters.In a 36-match first-class career – primarily for Maharashtra, a team he also captained in the Ranji Trophy – between 1952 and 1964, Patil scored 866 runs and took 83 wickets.Though he played only one Test, he did well in it, in Mumbai against New Zealand, when he scored 14 not out from No. 10 in India’s only innings and picked up a wicket in either bowling innings, John Reid his victim on both occasions.Mourning Patil’s death, the BCCI said in a statement: “Patil, a medium-pacer, had made an instant impact on his first-class debut for Maharashtra in the 1952-53 season. Playing against Mumbai, he bowled unchanged to skittle the domestic champions for 112 after Maharashtra were bowled out for a mere 167. In the 2nd innings, he took three wickets for 68 as Maharashtra secured a 19-run win.”He earned the prized India Test cap (No. 79) when he made his debut at the Brabourne Stadium against the visiting New Zealand team in 1955 under the captaincy of Polly Umrigar. Bowling with the new ball, he picked up a wicket in each innings in India’s big win by an innings and 27 runs. Patil had impressed the selectors earlier when playing for West Zone against the Kiwis, he returned match figures of 7/74.”Though he never played for India again, Patil continued to play for Maharashtra and also played in the Lancashire League, where he featured in 52 matches, taking 111 wickets in two seasons (1959 and 1961).”

Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals look to revive their campaigns with time running out

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With both sides having lost six of their nine games, a win will give their playoffs pursuit a push

Sruthi Ravindranath18-Oct-20207:04

Should Jadeja bat ahead of Dhoni? Could Tahir replace Bravo?

Big picture

The Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals are in a bit of crisis at this point in the tournament. Both sides have lost six of their nine games. Both lost their respective last matches, which were close contests, and desperately need their wicketkeeper-batsmen to click. But there were positives in their respective losses too – a few of their batsmen showed good hitting form, albeit a bit too late into the tournament. Or maybe not.ALSO READ: CSK vs RR Fantasy Pick – Take a risk, make Uthappa your captainThe chopping and changing of the line-up has not been fruitful, but the Royals’ batting looked in much better shape in the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, with a few drastic but much-needed changes in place. While Robin Uthappa’s promotion to the top of the order worked well, captain Steven Smith at his usual No. 4 position hit form with a half-century and gave them the required impetus in the middle order. Sanju Samson, however, has continued to struggle with the bat after a dream start to the tournament. In the end, an incredible AB de Villiers assault and the gamble of giving Jaydev Unadkat the penultimate over instead of Jofra Archer cost them two points.For the Super Kings, however, it was fielding slip-ups that proved costly in the game against the Delhi Capitals. Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis, although a bit slow to get off the blocks with the bat, laid out the foundation. Their middle order, which had lacked firepower up to that point, stepped up and plundered 57 runs off the last four overs against arguably the best death bowling attack in the tournament. Jadeja, coming in after MS Dhoni’s yet another low score, struck a 13-ball 33 not out as Ambati Rayudu helped from the other end with an unbeaten 25-ball 45.While both sides’ campaigns are nearing a point of no return, a win for either of these teams will give their playoffs pursuit a push.

In the news

Dwayne Bravo’s groin injury kept him off the field during the Capitals’ chase, which eventually prevented him from bowling the crucial final over of the match. Coach Stephen Fleming said Bravo would miss “a few days or a couple of weeks”. The Super Kings could look to bring back Josh Hazlewood or go for an extra spinner in Imran Tahir.

Previous meeting

A Samson special ensured a win for the Royals in their opening match of the season in Sharjah. Samson slammed a 32-ball 74 and took Royals to 216. In response, the Super Kings fell short by 16 runs even as du Plessis scored a 37-ball 72.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Sam Curran, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Deepak Chahar, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Karn Sharma, 11 Josh Hazlewood/ Imran TahirRajasthan Royals: 1 Jos Buttler (wk), 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Ben Stokes 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Shreyas Gopal/Mayank Markande, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Kartik Tyagi

Strategy Punt

  • The Super Kings could use Sam Curran as a floater. Curran opened the innings in the last two games with contrasting returns: against the Sunrisers, he made a 21-ball 31 but was dismissed for a duck against the Capitals. He could be used in the middle overs to counter the Royals’ spinners as he averages over 50 and strikes at 241 against spin this season.
  • Are the Royals missing a trick by pushing Jos Buttler down the order? Buttler has been at his best while opening the innings and is the only opener, apart from Chris Gayle, to average over 40 and strike at 150-plus in the IPL. Meanwhile, Stokes has not been particularly successful in his new role at the top. Will the Royals swap their positions?
  • Will the Royals bring in Mayank Markande against the Super Kings? The Super Kings haven’t exactly been at their best against spin this year, with a scoring rate of only 7.7. This might prompt the Royals to bring in Markande and bowl him along with Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia, also considering the fact that their legspinners picked up four wickets during the reverse fixture earlier in the tournament.

Stats that matter

  • The Super Kings and the Royals were among the top spin units in 2019 but their spinners have been misfiring this season. While the Super Kings spinners have been the most expensive this season, with an economy of 9.1, the Royals’ have taken the least wickets (12).
  • Jofra Archer has been the key for the Royals this season, both in the powerplay and at the death. Among fast bowlers who have bowled at least 20 overs this season, Archer has the best economy (7).
  • Dhoni is set to be the first to 200 matches in the IPL.
  • The Royals have lost the most wickets in the powerplay compared to other teams this season. They’ve lost 27 wickets in nine matches and on average, have lost a wicket almost every 16th ball.
  • Rayudu is five short of 5000 T20 runs.

Fleming: Dwayne Bravo will be out for 'few days or couple of weeks'

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Fleming revealed that Bravo had sustained a groin injury

Deivarayan Muthu17-Oct-20201:20

Fleming: Jadeja was the only option for last over with Bravo’s injury

Dwayne Bravo, the Chennai Super Kings’ designated death bowler and highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket, is injured again and will miss a “few days or a couple of weeks,” according to their head coach Stephen Fleming.Fleming revealed that Bravo had sustained a groin injury, which was serious enough to keep him off the field, and hence he couldn’t bowl the final over against the Delhi Capitals in Sharjah. In the injury-enforced absence of Bravo, Dhoni tasked Ravindra Jadeja with the responsibility of defending 16 off the last over, but centurion Shikhar Dhawan and Axar Patel sealed the chase with a ball to spare, handing the Super Kings their sixth defeat in nine games.”He seems to have a right groin injury, I think, and it was obviously serious enough to keep him off the field,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference. “He’s obviously desperately disappointed that he couldn’t bowl the last over – that’s what he’s pretty much in the team for. He will have to be reassessed going forward, but at this stage you’d imagine it’s going to take a few days or a couple of weeks, but we will assess that tomorrow.”Bravo had turned up for the IPL in the UAE with a different injury – a knee problem suffered during the CPL – and missed the Super Kings’ first three games. He didn’t bowl in the CPL final because of that injury and instead played as a specialist batsman for the Trinbago Knight Riders. During their first three games, the Super Kings used fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi and Josh Hazlewood, but then Bravo returned to the XI against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and has since been part of the side.Bravo impressed with his yorkers and slower variations in the Super Kings’ return fixture against the Sunrisers and the Kolkata Knight Riders, providing more depth to both the bowling attack and the batting line-up. In six matches so far in IPL 2020, Bravo has bowled 14 yorkers, according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data. Only Mumbai Indians’ Jasprit Bumrah (19) and Sunrisers’ T Natarajan (40) have bowled more yorkers than Bravo in the tournament.Bravo’s injury depletes a Super Kings squad that is already without two other first-choice players in Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, who had both opted out of the tournament for personal reasons. However, Bravo’s absence could open up a spot for Imran Tahir, who was the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2019, with 26 strikes at an economy rate of 6.69. Tahir was also the Guyana Amazon Warriors’ highest wicket-taker in the CPL and third overall, with 15 scalps at an economy rate of 5.82 from 10 games.New Zealand spin-bowling allrounder Mitchell Santner is the other overseas option for the Super Kings. Tahir and Santner are the only overseas players to have not played for the Super Kings this season. With the UAE tracks tiring in the second half of the IPL, the Super Kings will look to one of these two spinners to fill the Bravo-sized hole.The Super Kings’ next match is against the Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

New transformation targets suspended temporarily by CSA interim board

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Requirement to field seven players of colour by 2022-23, including three Black Africans, put on hold

Firdose Moonda04-Dec-2020Cricket South Africa’s interim board have temporarily suspended new transformation targets imposed on national teams which would have required them to field seven players of colour, including a minimum of three black African players, by the 2022-23 season. The message was communicated to team management on Thursday and is effective immediately, and board will deliberate on the best way to ensure representation at its next few meetingsThat means that, for now, the South African team is required to stick to the old target, calculated on average over the course of a season, which asks them to field a minimum of six players of colour, of which two are black African. They had begun the international season under instruction to increase that to three black African players – which they stuck to in all three T20s against England although they fell short of the overall players of colour requirement – but can now revert to two black African players if they decide to.”The documents regarding transformation by the previous board are held in abeyance until the interim board is able to apply to its mind. We have asked that be communicated to [director of cricket] Graeme Smith, [selector convenor] Victor Mpitsang and [head coach] Mark Boucher,” Judith February, a member of the interim board, told ESPNcricinfo.The interim board had, up to this point, not had the opportunity to address transformation targets as it continues to work through the forensic report which was used to fire former CEO Thabang Moroe. The report also implicates company secretary Welsh Gwaza, who has since been suspended. Gwaza was a permanent invitee on every CSA committee, including the transformation one, although it is not known how much influence he had on the new targets, which were presented to South Africa’s sports minister Nathi Mthethwa by former independent board member Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw, who has since resigned.As reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier this week the new targets would require 25% of the national team to be made up of black African players (up from 18% until the end of last season). Next season, 2021-22, the percentage is set to increase to 27%, and in the 2022-23 season it would sit at 33%. The number of players of colour required overall sits at 58% now, and is set to increase to 63% by 2022-23.ALSO READ: CSA release forensic audit in wake of firing of CEO Thabang MoroeWhile the percentages do not always equate exactly to a set number of players, it meant that, this season, South Africa needed to field between six and seven players of colour in a team, of which at least three would have to be black African more often than not. Though the targets were not made public, they were evident in practice, when Anrich Nortje missed out on the first T20. With Kagiso Rabada ruled out of the ODIs, the target could have proved difficult to maintain.The interim board has not set a timeframe when they will pronounce on new targets, though they are only expected to be in their positions for three months, ending in January 2021. That means things could change again for the national team during the course of this season. It also remains to be seen how the ministry, who have previously criticised CSA’s transformation record, will receive new targets.Mthethwa has given the interim board the scope to “have no holy cows” in doing as much as it can to stabilise CSA, and has described them as “a group of people who would know what to do”.

Johnny Mullagh belatedly inducted to Australian Hall of Fame

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Mullagh was the outstanding member of the Aboriginal team that toured England in 1868

Daniel Brettig28-Dec-2020No-one in the history of Australian cricket has waited longer for induction to the game’s hall of fame than the 152 years since Johnny Mullagh made his name as the outstanding member of the Aboriginal team that toured England in 1868.Mullagh’s belated induction to a hall of fame, that has until now been populated purely by white cricketers, takes Cricket Australia closer to righting the many wrongs of the game’s history in relation to Aboriginal Australia, along similar lines to the efforts being made among the current generation of elite male and female players.But it speaks volumes for how far the game’s custodians need to go to better acknowledge lesser-known pockets of the game’s history that Mullagh, from the Wimmera region of western Victoria, is not only the first Aboriginal cricket to enter the hall of fame, but also the first person of colour.Related

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  • Cummins, Paine's 'huge shift' in understanding racism

  • The Indigenous hole at Australian cricket's heart

Prior to Mullagh, whose image will also adorn the medal awarded to the winner of the individual match award for the Boxing Day Test this year, the list of the game’s inducted greats also served as a reminder of how monocultural Australian cricket’s corridors of achievement and power have commonly been. The 54 names previously inducted in order since 1996 are a roll call of not just whiteness but narrow western European origins:Fred Spofforth, John Blackham, Victor Trumper, Clarrie Grimmett, Bill Ponsford, Sir Donald Bradman, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall, Dennis Lillee, Warwick Armstrong, Neil Harvey, Allan Border, Bill Woodfull, Arthur Morris, Stan McCabe, Greg Chappell, Lindsay Hassett, Ian Chappell, Hugh Trumble, Alan Davidson, Clem Hill, Rod Marsh, Monty Noble, Bob Simpson, Charles Macartney, Richie Benaud, George Giffen, Ian Healy, Steve Waugh, Bill Lawry, Graham McKenzie, Mark Taylor, Doug Walters, Shane Warne, Charlie Turner, Glenn McGrath, Mark Waugh, Belinda Clark, Adam Gilchrist, Jack Ryder, Jeff Thomson, Wally Grout, David Boon, Matthew Hayden, Betty Wilson, Norm O’Neill, Ricky Ponting, Karen Rolton, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Dean Jones, Billy Murdoch, Sharon Tredrea and Craig McDermott.Criteria for inclusion has traditionally been based on the strict requirement of playing at least 20 Test matches, scoring at least 1000 runs or taking at least 100 wickets. Mullagh doesn’t fit that, but Ian Chappell had twice put his name forward to be added to the Hall of FameThe hall of fame’s chairman, Peter King, described Mullagh’s omission from this list for the first 24 years of inductees as an “oversight” by its judges. “This was probably a bit of an oversight in retrospect,” he said. “We have chosen Johnny as a representative of that era … The ongoing inductee criteria hasn’t changed beyond that. That record speaks for itself and really should have been acknowledged previously. He was a standout in that era.”In this case we wanted to acknowledge the impact Indigenous players have had on the game. That was a decision we made, which I think is a great decision. His record pretty much speaks for itself and it really should have been acknowledged previously, but he’s a stand out character in that era.”It’s a little bit difficult to get a lot of background on it, we’ve been searching for people related to Johnny but we’ve been unsuccessful in that pursuit at this point. He was born in 1841, he was about 50 when he died and he was about 27 when he went on the tour to England. There’s some patchy information around the rest of his career.”Among other notable Aboriginal figures in Australian cricket, Aunty Faith Thomas stands as the first ever Indigenous woman to represent Australia in sport, playing her one and only Test match against England in February 1958. In more contemporary times, Jason Gillespie played the last of his 71 Tests for Australia in 2006, claiming 259 wickets and also scoring a memorable double century against Bangladesh – he has been eligible for inclusion since 2011, five years after retirement. Both must be in contention to be inducted in coming years.”I think this is really opening the way to the future, and hopefully going to be engaging a lot more with Indigenous talent,” King said. “We’ve seen this in other sports and I think there’s opportunities for cricket to embrace that relationship with Indigenous people a lot more strongly. They were the first touring team to travel outside of Australia, so they did pave the way and hopefully this will open a bit more of an engagement opportunity with the rest of the talent that’s out there.”Australia’s captain Tim Paine and his deputy Pat Cummins, recently discussed their ignorance of the many private battles fought by cricketers of colour. “My learnings are how much it affects some of my teammates and me being unaware of that for probably 15 years as a professional cricketer,” Paine said. “So just the shift in that now.”

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