Nuwan Kulasekara, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been released on bail after he was involved in an accident that caused the death of a 28-year-old, according to an SLC release

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2016Nuwan Kulasekara, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been released on bail after he was involved in an accident that caused the death of a 28-year-old, according to an SLC release.”Preliminary inquiries have revealed that Mr Kulasekara was returning to Colombo from Kandy, when the unfortunate motorcycle rider who was travelling in the opposite direction had lost control of his bike whilst trying to overtake a bus and got flung into Mr Kulasekara’s path,” the release said.Kulasekara, 34, retired from Test cricket in June in order to focus on his limited-overs career.

USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake says a poor bowling performance was the main reason his side fell to Denmark by four wickets on Wednesday at WCL Division Four in Los Angeles

Peter Della Penna in Los Angeles 04-Nov-20162:06

‘It’s all about how we come back’ – Dassanayake

USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake gave credit to Denmark’s death bowling unit, saying their ability to bowl yorkers at the death saved them 30 runs in the final four overs that was a turning point in USA’s four-wicket loss on Wednesday at WCL Division Four. Dassanayake believes it is something USA must learn from when preparing to take on good teams in tournament play.”The major difference is that our bowlers didn’t bowl well and especially the main bowlers, our spinners,” Dassanayake said. “It was a decent batting track but defending 260 I would never doubt it but we bowled pretty badly. Having said that, Denmark bowled really well at the end. Almost every ball was a yorker and they defended about 30 runs in that period because of the way that they bowled. A lot of credit to them but it’s and eye-opener for our bowling department and at the death overs how we’re going to handle it if that situation comes again.”One area to come under scrutiny is not just USA’s poor bowling performance but the bowling strategy itself. USA captain Steven Taylor pulled specialist left-arm spinner Danial Ahmed from the attack after just one over for nine runs and didn’t use him for the rest of the game, the second time Taylor has done so in the tournament and instead opted to use himself and Alex Amsterdam to fill out those overs with part-time offspin. Taylor finished with 3 for 46 in ten overs while Amsterdam took 0 for 32 in seven.Ahmed bowled a superb spell of 0 for 29 in ten overs a day earlier against Oman and though he is wicketless so far in the tournament, he has had numerous chances put down off his bowling. Ahmed’s overall economy rate for the tournament is 4.27 and Dassayanake says he has confidence in Ahmed heading into the Jersey match.”I haven’t thought about any changes yet for Friday,” Dassanayake said. “We know Danial’s capability. Against Oman the way he bowled ten overs really contributed a lot to win that game. We have to keep building confidence in him. We’ll meet and see our best combination for Friday and come back with it. The things I have with the reserves, Jessy and Prashanth as bowlers, there are lots of options for me to select. I’m not blaming Danial, especially I don’t think anyone can blame him today because he only bowled one over. It’s just about giving that confidence to him and come back hard on Friday.”However, Dassanayake didn’t rule out other potential changes. Ali Khan has been bowling the last two games with a hamstring strain while Ravi Timbawala has been troubled since the first match of the tournament with a right thumb injury. Jessy Singh bowled well in the first two games of the tournament for USA before making way for Khan while hard-hitting Abdullah Syed is waiting to make his debut as a batting reserve.”We have to look into our injuries,” Dassanayake said. “Ravi is struggling with his thumb. Ali from the beginning had the hamstring injury but slowly he is getting better. There are a few other niggles. Still again we will assess all the injuries and see who is the best XI available for Friday.”Dassanayake remains bullish on USA’s chances of promotion despite the loss to Denmark. USA sits at 3-1 in a three-way tie for first place with Oman and Denmark, though USA has by far the best net run rate, which is the tournament tiebreaker. USA comes up against Jersey on Friday at Wong Cricket Field, a team currently 1-3 in the tournament whose only victory so far has come against winless Italy. A win for USA will clinch promotion to Division Three and set up a potential rematch in the final against Denmark, who take on Oman in a virtual semi-final at Severn Cricket Field.”When you lose it’s tough to take but still I am comfortable to say that USA is the best team in this league,” Dassanayake said. “It’s just one bad session we had in the evening. With my experience in World Cricket League, it always happens in these tournaments at this level. It’s all about how we come back hard on the next day. Everybody has to stay cool and come back and do their best on Friday and I’m pretty confident what we’re going to do. No one is panicking in our group. We have lots of confidence to get through this tournament. It was just a bad half day.”

David Warner’s sixth century in 2016 coupled with bruising half-centuries of varying degree from Steven Smith, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh helped Australia seal the series

The Report by Daniel Brettig06-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFourteen years and one month after Nasser Hussain infamously offered Australia first use of a Gabba pitch that proved brimful of Ashes runs, Kane Williamson gambled similarly and was left with an equally bitter taste of defeat, surrendering the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in the process.Now, as then, there were mitigating circumstances: the pitch looked to have something in it after rain, and humid, overcast weather suggested apt conditions for swing. But after a couple of useful early deliveries things cleared for Australia’s batsmen; so much so that they accelerated to the team’s second highest total on home soil.David Warner and Steven Smith set a platform that a supercharged Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh took full advantage of, leaving Williamson’s visitors to chase in hope rather than expectation. Granted so many runs to defend, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc all put in strong stints, while Head’s part-time off spin was frugal.After the toss was delayed by more than half an hour due to light drizzle in Canberra, the hosts were given an ideal start by Warner and a noticeably tighter Aaron Finch, getting through an early period of new ball movement to ease the pathway for the rest.Warner’s hundred combined judicious shot selection with plenty of hustle between the wickets and power off the bat, his sixth in ODIs this year. Most notable were his muscular, punched drives down the ground that gave New Zealand’s seamers very little margin for error.Smith, following up from his ground record 164 at the SCG on Sunday, produced another innings of substance and style in Warner’s wake, as the pair combined for a stand worth 145 at better than a run a ball. Head was promoted above Marsh when Warner exited, and vindicated the decision by clattering 57 from 32 balls, before Marsh himself followed up with a bullying 76 from 39 – the swap appeared to suit both players.Needing to win to keep the series alive, New Zealand dropped Lockie Ferguson after his Sydney debut for the more experienced swing bowler Tim Southee. Australia dropped Adam Zampa from the side that won handsomely at the SCG, replacing him with the allround skills of James Faulkner.Having gambled on overcast skies and the potential for a slightly tacky pitch, Williamson needed early wickets but did himself no favours when placing only two slips for Warner. In his first over, Trent Boult found enough swing and bounce to draw an edge from Warner, but it flew past Jimmy Neesham’s outstretched left hand at slip rather than straight into the lap of where third slip might have been.Finch, meanwhile, showed he had worked on his first ball dismissal at the SCG, getting forward and across to cover the moving ball, and ensured that Williamson resorted to the spin of Mitchell Santner in only the 11th over of the innings. By the time Finch was bowled behind his pads trying to sweep Santner, there were 68 runs on the board and a platform had been laid.Smith wasted little time picking up the thread left by his Sydney innings, while Warner played shots all round the ground without ever losing control of his tempo. Through strong running and the occasional boundary, he pushed on to three figures, doing so with near enough to 20 overs of the innings still remaining.It took a fine low catch from Williamson at cover to account for Warner, before Smith skied an attempt to loft over cover and so missed out on consecutive hundreds. Head was rapidly into stride, pinging boundaries with relish, in contrast with a more halting effort from Marsh.These two had traded places in the batting order, and it was not hard to imagine Head keeping his new-found place at No. 5 in the future, even if Marsh gradually found his rhythm to strike the ball with the sort of power associated with his best batting days. He put an exclamation point on the innings with a trio of straight sixes in the final over from a humbled Matt Henry.Of the New Zealand bowlers, only Santner avoided considerable punishment; a trio of no-balls and the resultant free hits did not help either. They commenced their pursuit with a brazen Martin Guptill, following up from his SCG hundred. But Guptill was robbed of his opening partner Tom Latham via a return catch from Josh Hazlewood, before the ball of the night from Pat Cummins found his outside edge.From there the visitors were always facing a dreadfully difficult task. Williamson put together a typically organised innings, and had staunch support from Neesham – even after he was struck a stinging blow to the right arm by Mitchell Starc. But their efforts did little to prevent the asking rate blowing out, and the consequent pressure delivered a steady stream of skied catches to Smith’s infielders.After a horrid start to summer, the Australians have found a little of their former strut – Hazlewood and Starc can expect to be given a breather from the third match at the MCG on Friday. Williamson’s men, meanwhile, have some thinking to do, starting with the coin toss.

South Africa made inevitable progress towards the victory in Cape Town that would bring them a Test series win against a Sri Lanka side whose batting naivety has become more apparent as the series progresses

The Report by David Hopps04-Jan-2017
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:32

#PE: Should Herath be SL’s batting coach?

South Africa made inevitable progress towards the victory in Cape Town that would bring them a Test series win against a Sri Lanka side whose batting naivety has become more apparent as the series progresses. Four down at stumps, with their victory target merely a dot on the horizon, Sri Lanka can be expected to lose heavily on the fourth day and go to Johannesburg 2-0 down with one to play.As Sri Lanka’s batsmen floundered for a second time, there was reason to conclude that South Africa’s first-innings lead of 282 would have been ample for an innings win. As it was, they had eschewed the follow-on on the previous day and instead the declaration came at 224 for 7, 75 minutes into the afternoon session.A lead of 506 was impregnable. Well, not quite impregnable. There was always the slight possibility that a Russian cyberattack could send cricket scoring systems across the world haywire and Sri Lanka could emerge, somewhat sheepishly, with a win with two sessions to spare. The reality was somewhat more prosaic: 130 for 4 by the close of the third day, with the captain Angelo Mathews and his deputy Dinesh Chandimal hoping to save face on the morrow.While South Africa’s bowlers picked off Sri Lanka a second time, Board representatives were arranging a meeting with Kyle Abbott’s agent, hoping to arrest his planned international retirement to join Hampshire, thereby making it one of the few occasions when it could be fairly observed that the administrators had a tougher job than the players. As for Abbott, the fates have playfully decreed (so far at least) that he remains wicketless.

Consistent SA openers and SL pace success

• 3 Consecutive Tests at home in which South Africa’s openers have scored two 50-plus scores. There have been only ten such instances since readmission from 121 home Tests.

• 23 Number of wickets taken by the fast bowlers of Sri Lanka in this Test series – the most in any series for Sri Lanka against South Africa.

• 410 The highest score by Sri Lanka in the fourth innings of a Test, made against Australia in Hobart in 2007.

There was a recognisable quality to Sri Lanka’s dismissals, their limitations skilfully exposed, which emphasised South Africa’s authority all the more. An inexperienced top order must learn the hard way while seasoned batsmen such as Chandimal and Upul Tharanga plug gaps lower down. The demands are high, perhaps unfairly so for some.Dimuth Karunaratne had departed by tea, shrewdly set up by Vernon Philander before an inswinger drew an airy drive and rattled into his stumps through bat and pad.Kusal Mendis is just as likely to end up as Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper-batsman as a Test No. 3 (although Kumar Sangakkara managed both). He replaced Kusal Perera at first-wicket down here, but he has batted skittishly and failed twice. After a top-edged sweep against the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj in the first innings, he succumbed to a catch at third slip as he drove on the up in Philander’s fifth over. On this pitch, so early in the innings, it was a liberty.Kaushal Silva has a stubborn streak, but the short ball looks capable of unsettling him and when Kagiso Rabada upped his pace in his second spell, a venomous rising delivery was fended to short leg. Dhananjaya de Silva is only in his seventh Test, so could be forgiven perhaps for walking off for a debatable lbw decision in Rabada’s next over, but had his captain, Mathews, at the non-striker’s end, thought to suggest a review, the ball would have been shown to be sailing past leg stump.It was not all delight for South Africa. Hashim Amla would have liked to have walked out to bat for his 100th Test at the Wanderers next week with his reputation reasserted. Instead he will take guard with continued chatter about his form after a duck before lunch.Amla’s sequence without a half-century now stretches to 10 innings, his latest failure coming with a fifth-ball nought in an otherwise dreary phase of the Test of little consequence in which South Africa, resuming with a lead of 317 and all wickets remaining, engaged in some cricketing arithmetic for more than three hours as they totted enough runs for a fail-safe declaration. And then some.Presumably Amla might now join those malcontents who thought, with good reason, that South Africa should have enforced the follow-on and sought to wrap the game up in three days. After all, only three sides have ever lost a Test after putting the opposition back in and, having dismissed Sri Lanka in 43 overs, South Africa’s bowlers were hardly in need of recuperation.At least it would have spared Amla that sinking feeling when he pushed routinely forward to an excellent delivery, seaming away around off stump, from Suranga Lakmal and felt the nick that was heading inexorably to the wicketkeeperAs ducks go, it was a highly respectable one. But it was still a duck. It will not quieten the discussions about how Amla tends to get caught on the crease, his graceful footwork no longer quite decisive enough. Only big runs will do that, and everybody presumes they will come. The only time he has had a sequence of failures as long as this was a year ago – and then he shot back with a double hundred against England in Cape Town. Jo’burg, on a historic personal achievement, might relight his fire.Lakmal has had a good series and he matched the admirable standards that had brought him five wickets in Port Elizabeth, finishing with 4 for 69. He brightened Sri Lanka’s morning with a double-wicket maiden. Five balls before he dismissed Amla, he accounted for Stephen Cook, a regulation slip catch for Karunaratne. JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis followed. Nuwan Pradeep reappeared after his thigh strain but was out of luck.Dean Elgar, in trim after his first-innings hundred, seemed suited to such a morning. A measured tread with little pressure to talk of was right up his alley and another half-century was bagged. But the appearance of Rangana Herath’s left-arm slows drew from Elgar an unexpected friskiness. He advanced down the pitch to a guileful third delivery which beat him in the flight. If he had not been caught at slip, he would have been stumped. Even on the most inconsequential mornings, satisfaction can be found and Herath, who looks capable of coping contentedly with mornings when nothing much happens, had drawn as much pleasure from it as anyone.

Parthiv Patel and Mohit Thadani were out to controversial decisions by umpire Virender Sharma on day three of the Irani Cup clash between Gujarat and Rest of India in Mumbai

Arun Venugopal in Mumbai22-Jan-2017There was controversy surrounding two umpiring decisions made by Virender Sharma during Gujarat’s second innings on the third day of the Irani Cup at the Brabourne Stadium. First, in the 48th over, Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel was adjudged caught at short leg – a fine, diving effort from Akhil Herwadkar – after the ball lobbed off his pads, with his bat and gloves nowhere near the ball.As he walked off, a visibly annoyed Parthiv was seen looking at Sharma’s direction and heard on the stump microphone saying: “” (why do you officiate?). He was later also seen having a word with the match referee, Chinmaya Sharma. “I can’t do anything about it,” Parthiv said when told his comments were picked up by the stump mic. However, he refused to comment on the umpiring decision.”I cannot make any comment on it because I will obviously get charged for what I have done,” he said after the day’s play. “Everyone has seen it. I don’t think I can make any comment on the decision; it’s under the rule.” Parthiv also said he wasn’t aware that he was five short of 10,000 first-class runs when he was given out.The other contentious decision came when Mohit Thadani was adjudged caught at slip off left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem in the final session. Nadeem’s delivery appeared to hit Thadani’s pads on the half volley before deflecting to Manoj Tiwary at first slip.The initial assumption among everyone, including the television commentators, was there was no bat involved, and that Thadani was rightly adjudged lbw. However, it was later confirmed that umpire Sharma had given him out caught. The commentators now discussed the possibility of an under edge, but the batsman would have been not out in that case, as the ball bounced after passing the bat.Nadeem said he didn’t think the ball hit the bat and that he was appealing for an lbw all along. “The batsman said, ‘It hit my bat’. So, I said: ‘If it has hit the bat, you are caught at slip. If not bat, then you are lbw. Decide what you want,'” hesaid. “I didn’t even know what the umpire ruled it as.”The knock-on effect of both these dismissals was the fall of another wicket almost immediately. Manprit Juneja got out within four overs of Parthiv’s dismissal, and Thadani’s wicket was followed by Chintan Gaja’s inside four overs. Parthiv admitted they could have been better placed – especially considering how Rest of India had chased down 480 to beat Mumbai last year – but wasn’t too unhappy.”See, we are ahead by 359. Chasing it in the fourth innings is obviously not easy, so yeah things definitely would have been better but we are happy with whatever we have,” Parthiv said. “I wasn’t there last year. I didn’t even see the game; I just know the scores. But any team will take the situation we are in. We have the experience of a recent final where we were chasing only 300. We lost a couple of early wickets and we were under pressure. Chasing 400… how many times has it happened? I know they are a quality side, but runs on the board is very important.”When asked about the practice of state captains submitting official reports on umpiring decisions at the end of a game, Parthiv said the system has not been in place since last season. “That report was about umpiring, ground conditions and how the game was handled and everything. But, it is not there since last year,” he said. He said the issues highlighted in the captains’ feedback were usually addressed.”At every captains’ meeting, quite a few senior captains were very vocal about urging all the captains to be fair and try to take the time out and make sure you give a proper report on umpiring decisions, irrespective of the result of the game,” he said. “So, I am sure [from] whatever I have been told by officials, it’s been addressed. Whenever there is an umpiring seminar or anything, whatever concerns we have raised, they have been put across and I am sure all actions have been taken.”This isn’t the first time Sharma’s umpiring has come under the scanner. During this season’s Ranji Trophy semi-final between Tamil Nadu and Mumbai, he ruled Dinesh Karthik out lbw when the ball was missing the leg stump by some distance. Sharma was also one of the two umpires criticised by Vidarbha seamer Shrikant Wagh during his team’s league-stage game against Karnataka last season.

South Africa went about trying to secure a 3-0 series whitewash by following up a first-innings score of 426 with four top-order wickets before the close of the second day

The Report by Alan Gardner13-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:41

Moonda: Ideal conditions for debutant Olivier

At least one Sri Lankan enjoyed himself at the Wanderers. The third Test followed a largely predictable path as South Africa went about trying to secure a 3-0 series whitewash by following up a first-innings score of 426 with four top-order wickets before the close of the second day but Nuwan Pradeep’s ferocious four-wicket burst at least gave Sri Lanka something for their tour diary as the Wanderers lived up to its billing as one of the premier arenas for fast bowling.South Africa maintained a grip on the match despite losing their last seven wickets for 88, with Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada picking up a brace apiece to take their combined tally in the series to 31 at 15.03. Bad light brought an early close to the evening session, with Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal having battled through several overs of insistent probing as the clouds closed in above the ground. Sri Lanka’s hopes of respectability will lie with their two senior batsmen.They needed their top order to show steady heads after Pradeep and his whirling limbs had brought Sri Lanka back into the contest by taking 4 for 1 in 18 balls before lunch but Philander reinforced South African conviction that they had established a match-defining position with his first over with the new ball. Dimuth Karunaratne survived a review for caught behind to his third delivery but made certain of his fate two balls later when some seam movement from Philander’s immaculate line drew a clearly discernible edge to Quinton de Kock.Kaushal Silva and Kusal Mendis survived the odd streaky moment to reach tea but both fell soon after to Rabada. Another thin edge behind did for Silva to end a 47-run stand before Mendis, who struck six fours and a six and also saw the debutant Duanne Olivier put down a straightforward caught-and-bowled chance during a lively knock, was chiselled out by Rabada’s bouncer, a simple catch lobbing off the gloves to gully. In the next over, Dhananjaya de Silva speared a drive point as Sri Lanka subsided to 70 for 4.

SA collapse and Pradeep’s four-fers

• 88-7 South Africa’s score on the second day. They began at 338 for 3 and were all out for 426. They scored those runs at rate of 2.57, compared to 3.75 on the first day

• 6 Number of four-wicket hauls for Nuwan Pradeep, without a five-for. Only Australia’s Wayne Clarke, with seven, has taken more such hauls in Tests.

• 68.54 Percentage of South Africa’s runs that came from the single partnership of Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, 292 out of 426 – the third-highest contribution from a partnership in an all-out innings for South Africa. The highest for them is 70.77%, when Alviro Peterson and Amla made 209 out of a total of 296 at Eden Gardens in 2009-10.

• 33 Wickets taken by Sri Lanka fast bowlers in this series – the second-most for them in any away series. Their highest is 41 wickets in New Zealand in 1990-91.

Success for the home quicks was not unexpected after Pradeep had gambolled in to cause havoc during the morning. South Africa’s position was already bulwarked by the 292-run stand between JP Duminy and Hashim Amla but any hopes they had of batting on at their leisure disappeared amid a clatter of wickets in the second hour.De Kock was the only South Africa batsman to make a notable contribution to the scorecard after the two first-day centurions and he was last man out as the persevering Lahiru Kumara also finished with four wickets. Following a slide of 4 for 14, with Pradeep on the rampage, De Kock’s 34 helped swell the total to still-daunting proportions: only once in home Tests have South Africa lost after making 400 in the first innings.The sight of the ball seaming, swinging and flying through with a hungry cordon awaiting was double-edged for Sri Lanka, foreshadowing as it did another searching examination for their batsmen. The first session was nevertheless one to savour for the tourists, arguably their best during a difficult series, as Pradeep’s interventions caused South Africa to tumble from 364 for 4 to 378 for 8 in a rambunctious 30-minute period of play.South Africa’s captain Faf du Plessis – who was hit several times during his stay at the crease – may have spent lunch reflecting with satisfaction on his decision to get runs on the board first. This surface looked like only getting more treacherous to bat on.Even if the odds were stacked against Sri Lanka, after a dispiriting first day in which South Africa made 338 for 3, Suranga Lakmal and Mathews began with just the sort of tight, probing spells needed if they were to wrest the match back their way. Amla and the debutant nightwatchman, Olivier, had added just eight to the total in as many overs, during which ball regularly beat bat, when Mathews finally made an incision, with the aid of DRS. Olivier pushed at a rising ball in the channel and tickled a fine edge to Chandimal.The first hour was a cagey affair, as Amla attempted to retrench himself after marking his 100th Test with a revivifying hundred. Only 26 runs came, Olivier went and it could have been even better for Sri Lanka but for Mendis making an awful hash of taking a thick edge from du Plessis that looped to second slip, only to squirm from his grasp inches above the ground.Lakmal was the unlucky bowler on that occasion and figures of 7-4-9-0 were scant reward for a spell of controlled away swing. Pradeep had no such complaints, however. In humid conditions and with the pitch having seemingly quickened up overnight, he proceeded to rip through South Africa’s middle order.Du Plessis, who had been worked over by several blows to the body, enjoyed a let-off on 1 but was taken at the second time of asking by Mendis when Pradeep had him fending at a back-of-a-length delivery. Two balls later, Temba Bavuma reached for an ill-advised drive only to see Silva snap up a sharp, overhead chance at third slip, extending a poor series for South Africa’s No. 6.There was more to come, too, as Pradeep feasted on the Bullring’s famed pace and bounce. Amla was squared up by a beauty and Chandimal threw himself bodily to his right to cling on one-handed in front of slip; then Philander, having successfully reviewed a caught-behind off Kumara when his glove came off the handle, was removed by an absolute snorter that leapt from a length to take his thumb before settling in Chandimal’s gauntlets once again.De Kock and Wayne Parnell chanced their arm to good effect in adding 46 for the ninth wicket to stave off a complete collapse and take South Africa past 400. Pradeep was denied a maiden Test five-for when Karunaratne, the lone slip, could not hold on to diving chance to his left with Parnell on 21 but he was dismissed in the following over when he carved a square drive off Kumara straight to deep point. De Kock then fell in similar fashion two overs later, slicing a cut with only Rabada for company.

Nasir Jamshed, the former Pakistan opener, and one other man have have been arrested in the UK in relation to the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the Pakistan Super League (PSL)

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2017Nasir Jamshed, the former Pakistan opener, and one other man have been arrested* in the UK in relation to the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The National Crime Agency (NCA) released a statement on Tuesday saying that it was “working closely” with PCB and ICC anti-corruption units and that both men had received bail.The NCA statement said: “Two men in their thirties have been arrested by National Crime Agency officers in connection with bribery offences as part of an ongoing investigation into international cricket match spot-fixing.”The men were arrested on Monday 13 February and have been released on bail until April 2017 pending further enquiries.”As part of the ongoing investigation we are working closely with the Pakistan Cricket Board and International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption units. The Pakistan Cricket Board has launched its own investigation which has resulted in the suspension of three players.”Jamshed was arrested on the same day that he was provisionally suspended by the PCB, the third player to face that fate after the allegations first emerged. Pakistan openers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were provisionally suspended from the PSL last week over alleged breaches of the anti-corruption code. Three other players were questioned by anti-corruption officers in relation to the investigation: Mohammad Irfan, Zulfiqar Babar and Shahzaib Hasan. None was suspended and they were cleared to continue playing at the PSL.The next step for the PCB is to issue show cause notices to the suspended players and initiate a disciplinary inquiry into the breaches of the code. Any inquiry, in the shape of an independent tribunal, is likely to be headed by a retired High Court or Supreme Court judge.”We had a lot of evidence on which we based our decision,” Najam Sethi, the PSL chairman, said on his talk show on , before the announcement of the arrests. “We know what we are doing. We have all evidence. We had this for a while, we had information – we cannot talk about stuff right now but a charge sheet will be given to players soon.”We had definite information, and not just us, we were collecting it. We knew it was happening, we had identified a few players and then at final stages we knew the ICC had some information as well and when we compared it the information was the same, then we decided to act on this.”Sethi said the PCB investigation into alleged corruption had begun before the PSL’s second season began.”You will know in 3-4 days what the plans were, what they were going to do, we have these players’ phones in which there is more information. Who they were in touch with, what they talked about, their text messages, WhatsApp messages.”We had an idea this was happening. We had also infiltrated into Pakistani bookies and we had some information from there as well before we got here. The league was huge last year and we knew it would attract bookies. We were waiting for it and we knew some players outside the PSL would be involved in it.”We suspended Nasir Jamshed as well, about whom we know what role he played. We nipped it in the bud.”*18.15 GMT – This story was updated with new information

Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been charged by the ICC for violating the anti-doping code

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2017Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been charged by the ICC for violating the anti-doping code. Shahzad was tested on January 17 at the ICC Academy in Dubai, in an out-of-competition test, and the sample was analysed at a WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City. It was found to contain a prohibited substance, Clenbuterol, according to the ICC.As per the ICC’s anti-doping regulations, Shahzad will be provisionally suspended 12 days after issuing the notice of charges being laid – that is, from April 26. He has the right to request that his B sample be tested within five days from the notice, and to challenge the suspension within 12 days. If he challenges the suspension, a hearing will take place and the suspension will not be imposed till the outcome of the hearing is known.Shahzad also has to respond to the charge withing 14 days. If he does not respond, it will be considered to be an admission of guilt.The big-hitting Shahzad, who has played 58 ODIs and 58 T20Is, was last seen in action during Afghanistan’s series against Ireland in Greater Noida, India. In December 2016, he was named the Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year by the ICC, for the period running September 2015 to 2016.

In an error-strewn match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav bowled equally immaculate spells, but it was Kolkata Knight Riders who came away with their third win of the season and jumped to the top of the points table

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu15-Apr-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:41

Agarkar: Sunrisers too reliant on Warner

In an error-strewn match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav bowled equally immaculate spells, but it was Kolkata Knight Riders who came away with their third win of the season and moved to the top of the points table.Robin Uthappa nicked his first ball to the keeper, but umpire Anil Dandekar did not spot it. Uthappa continued to lead a charmed life and struck 68 off 39 balls, which formed the crux of KKR’s 172 for 6. They could have got more had Bhuvneshwar not nailed his lengths. For the 11th time in an IPL match, Bhuvneshwar went for a run-a-ball or less from his four overs, all bowled in the Powerplay or the last five overs. He finished with 3 for 20, but it was not enough for Sunrisers.David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan sauntered to 45 for 0 in the Powerplay, but Kuldeep’s dismissal of Warner derailed the chase. They lost 6 for 83, and eventually their second successive match.Brought down to earth
On Thursday, Sunil Narine and Gautam Gambhir ran up 76 in in 34 balls, taking KKR to their best Powerplay score. They were also helped by some lacklustre bowling from Kings XI’s seamers, who kept feeding Narine with hip-high balls, which he comfortably swatted away, taking 23 off his 37 runs through the leg side. At the other end, they kept offering Gambhir width.Narine usually camps back in his crease, which means the perfect ball to him is a yorker. Kings XI did not bowl a single yorker to him, but Bhuvneshwar bowled one in his second over and scythed through the defences of Narine. Gambhir again went after anything that was remotely full and outside off. Then, in Rashid Khan’s first over, he was bowled, attempting to cut a non-turning legbreak, and KKR were kept to their first sub-50 score in the Powerplay this season.Robin Uthappa and Kuldeep Yadav were central to Kolkata Knight Riders’ win•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Uthappa, Pandey cash in
Uthappa thickly edged his first ball to the keeper but got away. Dhawan then missed a direct hit when Uthappa was on 15. Uthappa went on to bring up a fifty off 27 balls. It wasn’t wild slogging. He read Rashid’s googlies and lined up the short balls that sat up on a surface that was drier than the one used for the Kings XI game. Uthappa took Rashid for 21 runs in 12 balls, the most any batsman has scored off him in this IPL.Pandey could have been dismissed for 8 had Naman Ojha not missed a stumping chance off left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma. Pandey was on 26 off 26 balls, including two fours, at one point, but hit three boundaries off his next five balls.Staying alive at the death
In the previous season, Bhuvneshwar had picked up 13 wickets in 162 balls in the death overs – the joint highest with Shane Watson. After bowling two overs in the Powerplay, he returned to the attack in the 18th over and nabbed Pandey with a slower offcutter. In his next over, Bhuvneshwar cleaned up Colin Grandhomme with an inswinging yorker.Kuldeep turns it around
Warner and Dhawan punished width, and hit a collective eight fours in the Powerplay. The introduction of Kuldeep, however, applied the brakes on the chase.Kuldeep had harried Sunrisers last season, collecting 3 for 35 in the Eliminator. So, it wasn’t really surprising that he was picked ahead of Piyush Chawla for this game. Warner, however, was surprised by Kuldeep’s dip and turn. He managed only 7 off 13 balls against Kuldeep before skying a catch to long-off. Chris Woakes backed that up by removing Moises Henriques in the next over.When Yuvraj Singh fell, Sunrisers needed 61 off 31 balls. It was too tall a task, and KKR secured their fifth win in as many matches against Sunrisers at Eden Gardens.

The equation is simple ahead of the New Zealand-Bangladesh game: the winner will remain in contention for a semi-final spot, if England beat Australia or their match is washed out

The Preview by Mohammad Isam08-Jun-2017

Match facts

June 9, 2017
Start time 1030 local (0930 GMT)

Big picture

3:01

Agarkar: Bangladesh need to step up with the bat

The equation is quite simple ahead of the New Zealand-Bangladesh game: the winner will remain in contention for a semi-final spot if, on June 10, England beat Australia or their match is washed out. However, if Australia beat England, then both New Zealand and Bangladesh are out of the Champions Trophy.Disappointment of an early exit won’t be setting in for either camp at this point. Staying abreast of the situation is what both New Zealand and Bangladesh will be striving for. They have been meeting quite regularly in the last six months, with New Zealand getting the better of most exchanges.Back in December, New Zealand won their home ODI series 3-0. But in the second of two encounters in Ireland last month, Bangladesh claimed their first overseas win, albeit that New Zealand were missing five of their first-choice XI. New Zealand now have the likes of Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Tim Southee back in their line-up, and hope to upend Bangladesh’s progress in their first Champions Trophy campaign since 2006.So far, however, New Zealand haven’t had a great tournament themselves. They were unlucky against Australia, with rain forcing them to share the points. Williamson struck 100 but their much-vaunted allrounders couldn’t quite turn a strong start into a flying finish as they were bowled out for 291 with an over of their allocation to spare.Against England too, Williamson’s 87 had put them on course to chase down a stiff target of 311 in Cardiff, but James Neesham, Corey Anderson and Mitchell Santner mustered 31 runs between them. New Zealand banks on the push from these allrounders in the last 10 to 15 overs of their innings, in addition to their bowling skills.Bangladesh will have to stop this trio, and Colin de Grandhomme too if he is picked, to have any footing in the game. But that’s after they’ve accounted for Martin Guptill, Luke Ronchi and Williamson at the top of the order. Williamson, of course, has two big scores to his name, though the dangerous Guptill has twice made strong starts without yet going big.Bangladesh will also have to bat well as a collective to beat New Zealand, and not leave it all for Tamim Iqbal to do. The left-handed opener has been Bangladesh’s version of Williamson so far in the tournament – making 128 and 95 – while the rest (apart from Mushfiqur Rahim against England) have been sub-par. It is therefore time for the likes of Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman to make significant contributions.Both teams may also have to put up with the threat of rain in this game, although New Zealand have more to fear on this front. A wash-out would confirm their elimination, whereas Bangladesh could still qualify on net run-rate if England beat Australia by a greater margin than they managed against Bangladesh in the tournament opener at The Oval.Strangely, it sounds like New Zealand have nothing to lose – a role in which Bangladesh have excelled in recent years.

Form guide

New Zealand LLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Bangladesh LWWLLKane Williamson’s form has been one of the highlights of New Zealand’s campaign•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Corey Anderson hasn’t been hitting his stride since the 2015 World Cup. He has made just 191 runs at 14.69 during this period, with a top score of 35. But this is the sort of occasion that Anderson should excel in, given how highly he is rated as a ball-striking allrounder.Mustafizur Rahman has had a quiet tournament so far, with the pitches not really conducive to his cutters. Essentially, the ball isn’t gripping as he would like it to, a problem that spinners often face on smooth surfaces.

Team news

New Zealand could look at Colin de Grandhomme as an option in the lower middle-order. Tom Latham also awaits a chance, especially having done well against Bangladesh recently, but even though Neil Broom has struggled it seems unlikely they will make a change to the batting.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Luke Ronchi (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 James Neesham, 7 Corey Anderson, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent BoultBangladesh could look at streamlining their batting line-up by asking Imrul Kayes to open with Tamim Iqbal and bringing in Mosaddek Hossain in the lower middle-order. But they might just stick to the same XI that played against Australia to give that line-up another chance to redeem itself.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

Rain is forecast in Cardiff early on Friday, but it is likely to drift away after 11am. Both teams may look to bat first despite the rain threats; the last four ODIs here have featured teams topping 300 runs, but only once have those targets been chased successfully, by Pakistan last year. This match will be played on a fresh pitch with a decent covering of grass so all eyes will be on whether it misbehaves at all later in the game.

Stats and trivia

• In Bangladesh’s only previous ODI in Cardiff, they famously beat Australia in 2005. New Zealand meanwhile have won three out of five games at this ground.
• Neil Broom has been a thorn in Bangladesh’s side in their last five ODIs against New Zealand, scoring 339 runs at an average of 84.75.
• Tamim Iqbal needs to score 16 runs to topple Mohammad Ashraful as Bangladesh’s leading run-scorer in England. Ashraful’s 300 runs came in 10 ODIs – including a century here in 2005 – while Tamim has made 285 in just five games.

Quotes

“I think there was some big positives to take out of the performance against England. We took wickets through the whole innings and kept them to definitely a score that was chase-able.”
Trent Boult“The way we are playing the last two, three years, there’s a lot of matches we have won and also a few matches we should have won but couldn’t. We know if we can create chances we have to grab them and play hard.”