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Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been handed a Grade A contract by the BCCI for the 2014-15 season, a promotion from the Grade B contract he had last season

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-20143:51

Ugra: Clear the selectors don’t want to go back to Yuvraj, Gambhir

The BCCI’s contracts list for 2014-15

Grade A

MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
In: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Out: Sachin Tendulkar

Grade B

Pragyan Ojha, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami
In: Mohammed Shami, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane
Out: Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh

Grade C

Amit Mishra, Varun Aaron, Wriddhiman Saha, Stuart Binny, Pankaj Singh, Vinay Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni, Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa, Karn Sharma, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul
In: Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, Pankaj Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, Robin Uthappa, Manoj Tiwary, Karn Sharma, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul
Out: Dinesh Karthik, Jaydev Unadkat

Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been handed a Grade A contract by the BCCI for the 2014-15 season, a promotion from the Grade B contract he had last season. He joins MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and R Ashwin in the top level, after being one of the successes for India on the tour to England this summer, where he claimed 19 wickets from seven Test innings at 26.63.Mohammed Shami, Ambati Rayudu and Ajinkya Rahane have been promoted from Grade C to Grade B, while Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik and Jaydev Unadkat have been dropped from the contracts list.There are several players who did not have contracts last year but have been included in Grade C this time, including Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, Pankaj Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, Robin Uthappa, Manoj Tiwary, Karn Sharma, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav and KL Rahul.Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma have been retained in Grade B, while Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha, Vinay Kumar and Mohit Sharma remain in Grade C.The BCCI said in a release that players who have not received contracts but play for India in any of the three formats this season will be given Grade C contracts once they debut.The only players in India’s 30-man probables list for the 2015 World Cup who had not made it to the contracts list are batsmen Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav, and fast bowler Ashok Dinda.Wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha, who was called up to the India Test team as injury cover for Saha and Dhoni during the series in England earlier this year as well as the ongoing series in Australia, has not been given a contract.The BCCI did not announce how much the players will be paid under each grade, since their fees are decided at the AGM. The AGM is usually held before September 30 every year, but has not been held for 2014-15 as the BCCI is embroiled in a legal tussle following the 2013 IPL corruption scandal. Last season, a Grade A contract came with an annual retainer of Rs 1 crore for Grade A players (US$ 158,000 approx), Rs 50 lakh for Grade B players (US$ 79,000 approx), and Rs 25 lakh for Grade C players (US$ 39,000 approx).

Arvind Apte, the former India batsman who played one Test in 1959, has died in Pune aged 74, of prostate cancer

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Aug-2014Arvind Apte, the former India batsman who played one Test in 1959, has died in Pune aged 79, of prostate cancer. He was the younger brother of Madhav Apte, who played seven Tests for India in the early 1950s. Arvind Apte was survived by a daughter.Born in Bombay in 1934, Arvind Apte was taken on the tour of England in 1959 as a reserve opener. An attacking opening batsman with a wide range of strokes, he met with modest success on the tour, scoring 881 runs in 19 matches with three centuries, averaging 27.53. His best score was 165 against Derbyshire. Given a chance in the third Test at Leeds following an injury to Nari Contractor, Arvind Apte was out for 8 and 7, falling to Alan Moss both times.He continued to play first-class cricket till the early 70s, finishing with an aggregate of 2782 runs at 33.51, with six centuries. He represented Bombay and Rajasthan in first-class cricket.

After failing to move past the group stages in the past two editions, Perth Scorchers will be hoping to translate their strong performances in the Big Bash League to the CLT20 as well

Brydon Coverdale19-Sep-2014How they got to the CLT20Craig Simmons scored the fastest T20 hundred in Australia, during the 2013-14 Big Bash League•Getty ImagesThe most consistent performers in Big Bash League history, Perth Scorchers have won the hosting rights for the final in all three years the competition has been played. After losing the first two deciders, they finally broke through to secure their first title in 2013-14. In the final, it was the Marsh brothers, Shaun and Mitchell, who set up a winning total of 191. Four of the 12 balls faced by Mitchell Marsh cleared the boundary, and the Hobart Hurricanes left themselves too much work to do with the bat.The Scorchers were far from unbeatable during the preliminary rounds, though, and finished third behind the Melbourne Stars, who won all eight of their games, and the Sydney Sixers. But as the season progressed, they found an unlikely superstar whose form got them to the final. Opening batsman Craig Simmons had been little more than a fringe state cricketer whose time appeared to have passed. Single-figure scores in his first three games for the Scorchers did little to change that perception. Then came a 39-ball hundred, the fastest ever scored in a Twenty20 match in Australia, followed two matches later by 58-ball 112 in the semi-final against the Sixers. From being almost unknown, Simmons, 31, became a BBL cult hero.With the ball, the Scorchers got plenty out of their overseas signing Yasir Arafat, who claimed 12 wickets in six games but missed the finals due to a thumb injury. Then there was the ageless Brad Hogg, who took nine wickets and went at just over six an over. Left-arm fast bowler Jason Behrendorff was also a strong performer.StrengthsOn paper, the spin combination of Hogg, Michael Beer and Ashton Agar should encourage Scorchers fans. Beer is a canny, effective T20 bowler and Hogg, now 43, continues to trouble batsmen with his wrong’un, and his form earned him a place in Australia’s World T20 squad in March. At last year’s Champions League, the Scorchers struggled to contain opposition batting line-ups, but the talent is there for them to do so in spinning conditions. Behrendroff, Arafat and, if he plays, Nathan Coulter-Nile, could form a solid pace unit.WeaknessA lack of batting experience. Simon Katich was the team’s leading run scorer at the BBL last summer but has since then retired and will not be part of the squad. Nor will Shaun Marsh, who is among the 20 highest run scorers in Twenty20 history, but is recovering from elbow surgery. That is 233 matches and 6509 runs gone between them. It leaves captain Adam Voges as the only batsman with more than 50 games of experience.Player to watchCraig Simmons is in the unusual position of currently being signed with the Adelaide Strikers, yet playing for the Perth Scorchers. His success in last summer’s BBL led to an offer of a three-year deal from the Strikers, which was too good for Simmons to refuse. But he will first play one last campaign for the Scorchers, and his BBL form showed he is the kind of batsman who is hard to stop once he gets going.Newbie to watch out forLast year at the Champions League, Sam Whiteman was the backup wicketkeeper behind Tom Triffitt, but there is no question he is now the main man. Australia’s selectors were so excited by Whiteman’s promising 2013-14 that they gave him a chance for Australia A this winter and he responded with 174 in a first-class match against India A. Whiteman played only one game at the Champions League last year, but his performance was strong: 51 not out from 32 balls.Past recordThe Scorchers have played at the past two Champions League tournaments but failed to progress past the group stage. In 2012, they were plagued by off-field discipline problems in South Africa and won only their last game, against Auckland. Last year, they ended their campaign without a single win after losing to Otago, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee has been fined for breaching the Code of Conduct following a confrontation with Kirk Edwards on the second day of the Test against West Indies in Port-of-Spain

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2014New Zealand pacer Tim Southee has been fined for breaching the Code of Conduct following a confrontation with Kirk Edwards on the second day of the Test against West Indies in Port-of-Spain.The incident occurred around the 31st over of West Indies’ first innings and a release from the ICC said Southee ignored previous warnings from the on-field umpires, Ian Gould and Rod Tucker. The over was bowled by legspinner Ish Sodhi, who dismissed Edwards for 55 off the third ball.Southee was fined 30% of his match fee by the match referee Chris Broad after he pleaded guilty to breaching Article 2.1.8, that relates to “conduct contrary to the spirit of the game”.”Southee’s behavior towards Edwards was unacceptable and contrary to the spirit of the game,” Broad said. “He disregarded the on-field umpires’ previous warnings and continued to engage with Edwards, which required the intervention of the umpires in the middle of the pitch. In doing so, Southee neither showed respect to his opponent nor to the umpires, something which has no place in our sport.”

New Zealanders bowled Jamaica Select XI out for 90 in just 32.5 overs to wrap up a 123-run win in their final warm-up game at the Trelawny Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-2014
ScorecardFile photo – Ross Taylor scored an unbeaten 55 in New Zealanders’ second innings•Getty ImagesNew Zealanders bowled Jamaica Select XI out for 90 in just 32.5 overs to wrap up a 123-run win in their final warm-up game at the Trelawny Stadium. They must have wished, however, that the match had gone on longer than it did, considering the lengths they went to get in more practice for their bowlers ahead of the first Test, which starts on Sunday.When Select XI lost their eighth wicket with their score at 43, their opening batsman Horace Miller walked in to bat for a second time in the innings. When they lost Miller 7.4 overs later, he was replaced by his opening partner John Campbell, also batting a second time. And after Select XI were bowled out, New Zealanders continued bowling to their batsmen, till the scheduled 5.00pm finish.The day began with the umpires deciding that the pitch used for the first two days was too dangerous to continue playing on. The new pitch was too damp for play to begin immediately, however, and the start was delayed by 40 minutes.Resuming on 65 for 7 in their second innings, New Zealanders went on to declare on a score of 132 for 9, with Ross Taylor, who batted at No. 8, unbeaten on 55 off 62 balls. Medium-pacer Derval Green took both the wickets that fell in the morning to finish with figures of five for 41.Set 214 to win, Select XI got off to a disastrous start, with Trent Boult and Tim Southee reducing them to 3 for 3 inside seven overs. Offspinner Mark Craig then struck three times in the same over to have them 20 for 6. There was no recovery after that, even though Paul Palmer, Select XI’s captain, went on to score 52 off 67 balls. Craig finished with four wickets in the innings and five in the match, to go with three in New Zealanders’ one innings of bowling in the first tour game and stake a claim for a Test debut in Kingston.

Dinesh Chandimal embraced the hopes that have been heaped high upon them, instead of downplaying Sri Lanka’s prospects in the World Twenty20

Andrew Fidel Fernando15-Mar-2014Top-ranked in the format for 17 months, exultant and exalted after the Asia Cup win, all after six loss-less weeks in Bangladesh – if World Twenty20 has a favourite, it must be the Sri Lanka team. There is the small matter of final-phobia, seemingly induced by pressure, but captain Dinesh Chandimal is not a man to back away from a challenge, even when he is outmatched. As the team prepares to leave for Bangladesh, he embraced the hopes that have been heaped high upon them, instead of downplaying Sri Lanka’s prospects.”There’s a lot of expectation among the fans that we will win the tournament as well, and even within the team, there is a belief that we can win this,” Chandimal said. “We played in Bangladesh for two and a half months, so we have some experience on how the wicket is behaving there and also when the dew factor comes into play. Most of the players in the World Twenty20 squad played in the Bangladesh tour, so that’s a big advantage.”It’s a great opportunity, but we can’t take it for granted. We will have to put in a lot of effort, and take it from game to game – first working towards the semi-final. We have some things up our sleeve. We have a game plan for each team. Everyone is set for the short format, and we’re looking forward to that.”Sri Lanka have England, South Africa and New Zealand in their group, in addition to a yet-to-be-determined qualifier, and though Chandimal acknowledged the fickle nature of Twenty20 cricket, he felt his team were well-placed for the group stage.”There’s a big advantage in our group, because out of the four teams, three aren’t very familiar with subcontinent conditions. But we don’t take any team lightly. In Twenty20, a match can turn in one or two overs. But we have plans for each team, and we’ll use that.”Perhaps the most obvious chink in Sri Lanka’s game, has been Chandimal’s own Twenty20 form. He averages 13.36 in the format – worse in the past 12 months. Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya suggested team management would back Chandimal to the hilt in the tournament, but Chandimal himself did not warm to the notion of moving to a preferred spot up the order to improve his output.”I’ve been a little uncomfortable in the middle, but I’ve been practicing hard,” he said. “The question is not whether I can play better at No. 3, it’s what will be better for the team. If I can come in and perform, then I will bat in that position. But if there is someone better suited to that position, he will go in. We are looking at what the team needs to do and how the team can win. That’s how we’re approaching it.”Chandimal did not speak of Sri Lanka’s recent history of botched finals, but Jayasuriya – who had been similarly upbeat about the team’s World Twenty20 chances – said Sri Lanka’s jinx had now been lifted.”Since 2007 we have done well in ICC events, but unfortunately we faltered in the final. But I think during the Asia Cup we came out of that barrier. We won chasing 260. That gave us confidence. We put undue pressure on ourselves when we scores of 260 or so, but I think now the players are experienced enough to adapt to such situations. We didn’t win the finals, but the good thing is that we have reached those finals.”

Organisers of the World T20 in Chittagong will use on-site generators to run floodlights at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, rather than off the main electric grid, to try and ensure against another loss of power.

Alan Gardner in Chittagong26-Mar-2014Organisers of the World T20 in Chittagong will use on-site generators to run floodlights at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, rather than off the main electric grid, to try and ensure against another loss of power.The Super 10 game between Netherlands and Sri Lanka on Monday evening was interrupted for around 10 minutes by a set of the lights failing. This was the second time that Netherlands had seen the lights go out, after a power cut at the ground led to their warm-up match against Afghanistan having to be shortened.AZM Nasiruddin, a BCB director from Chittagong, played down the problems but admitted a switch to using the generators would be made.”These things can happen and they certainly did not turn out over the whole world,” Nasiruddin said of the floodlight failure. “Earlier we used the line from the Power Development Board and kept the generators for back-up, but from now on the games will be totally dependent on the generators.”In Sylhet, Ireland’s match against UAE was decided on Duckworth-Lewis after the combination of a power cut and bad weather saw the lights go out. Before the tournament, several fertiliser factories were reportedly asked to cease production to ease demand.

James Faulkner has become a central part to Australia’s World Cup 2015 plans as the team looks to be chopped and changed in preparation to the big event

Daniel Brettig18-Jan-2014James Faulkner’s rare temperament, as much as his powerful hitting, will make him a central part of Australia’s already advanced planning for the 2015 World Cup. The great escape Faulkner engineered at the Gabba to thoroughly demoralise England was not his first, evidence of the clear thinking and even temper that has made him so valued by team-mates at the age of 23.The vice-captain Brad Haddin, who watched Faulkner’s innings from the dressing room after being one of several batsmen to fall in the chase while essaying the sort of aggressive strokes the younger man would choose so wisely, placed the innings in perspective. He felt Faulkner had been fortified by engineering a similar chase in Mohali against India last year, and that he had always shown an ability to learn quickly.”That was an extraordinary finish last night. We were in no position to win the game until James hit the four through cover in the last over,” Haddin said. “The funny thing about that, it’s not the first time he’s done it. He’s done it in Mohali before, but to get us out of the position we were in last night was an extraordinary effort.”I think Mohali’s helped him. He understands now that if [he] can get the game deep he has the power to clear the rope at the end. He paced his innings pretty well last night. He’s a guy’s who learns quicker than most. He’s only young but he takes everything on board. He picks up things and puts them into action.”He has been a part of our set-up for the whole summer and he’s obviously an exceptional talent. He’s got that competitive edge you want in a cricket team.”Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, has outlined his desire to bring a strong squad mentality to the limited-overs dressing room, where players know their roles and can come in to fill them seamlessly, whether they start a tournament or not. Harking back to his own playing days, Lehmann has outlined the value of squad players to Australia in past World Cups, from Tom Moody in 1999 to Andy Bichel and Andrew Symonds in 2003 and Shaun Tait in 2007.Unlike the Ashes success in which the same 11 players pushed themselves through the five Tests to deliver a sweep of England, Lehmann has made it clear that he will need more than a single team’s worth of contributors for a tournament that will be played in contrasting conditions – from the slow, low drop-ins of New Zealand, to the faster tracks of Brisbane and Perth.So the emergence of role-players like Faulkner will be critical to Australia’s chances of wresting back a title they lost in 2011, as will the further perpetuation of the winning habit, now well established against an increasingly forlorn England.”We’re trying to put a squad together now leading into the World Cup, so we’re giving guys an opportunity to show their worth,” Haddin said of Australia’s burgeoning squad. “It’s massive, every game for us now, because we’re fighting for World Cup selection. We all want to be part of the World Cup.”People say winning is a habit and so is losing and I think that was no more evident than last night. We probably lost wickets at crucial times and didn’t close out the game like we should have and no one in our top four went on and got a hundred. England did all that and we won the game. Winning is a habit and so is losing.”We’re enjoying the cricket we’re playing at the moment and we’ve got a chance tomorrow at the SCG to close the series down and that’s what we’re looking to do. We go into every series hoping to win and we’re hoping after last night we can open a few more scars in Sydney and finish it off. It’s a massive achievement if we can do that tomorrow.”As for England’s surrender of such a dominant position when Australia’s ninth wicket fell, Haddin was in no mood to offer any sort of sympathy. “Obviously they won’t be feeling well but that’s not for me to judge,” he said. “We were in a position last night when England batted, bowled and fielded a lot better than us, and we won the game.”We’ll obviously take a lot of confidence out of that leading into this game in Sydney. I don’t need to worry about what Alastair Cook says to his team. We’ve all been on the end of a few floggings from England, so I’m not worried about what he says to his team.”

Medium-pacer Zia-ul-Haq picked up three wickets, before a 96-ball 62 from Saud Shakeel helped Pakistan Under-19 to a three-wicket win over England Under-19 in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2013
ScorecardPakistan Under-19’s bowling attack restricted England Under-19 to 168, before a 96-ball 63 from Saud Shakeel helped Pakistan to a three-wicket win in Abu Dhabi.Pacers Zia-ul-Haq and Irfanullah Shah led the attack for Pakistan, who after electing to field, bundled England out in 43 overs. The opener Ryan Higgins top-scored with 80 off 84 balls, but received little support from the rest of the batsmen. Zia finished with 3 for 32, while Shah and Karamat Ali chipped in with two wickets each to run through an England batting order in which seven of their players failed to get into double digits.England made a bright start during the chase as the seamer Josh Shaw picked up three early wickets to leave Pakistan rattling at 39 for 4 in the 11th over. But Imam-ul-Haq and Shakeel led the recovery, adding 71 for the fifth wicket, before the former fell for 49 in the 31st over. Saifullah Khan was immediately dismissed in the next over, but Shakeel and Zafar Gohar contributed 53 for the seventh wicket to all but seal Pakistan’s second straight win of the tournament.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Ashish Bagai will lead Canada for their last two matches of the World Cricket League Championships against Netherlands

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2013Wicketkeeper-batsman Ashish Bagai will lead Canada for their last two matches of the World Cricket League Championships against Netherlands. Bagai was recalled to the squad in May this year, after spending some time away from the game pursuing an academic degree.The two matches will be held in King City on August 27 and 28. While Canada, who are placed last on the table with three points, will look to salvage some pride, Netherlands will look to strengthen their case for direct qualification into the 2015 World Cup. The top two teams in the WCL Championship gain direct entry into the World Cup and Ireland have already sealed their place with an unassailable lead. Netherlands, second on the table with 15 points, will look to win both matches to open up a lead ahead of Scotland and Afghanistan, who are also on 15 points. Teams that finish between the third and seventh places will play a second qualifying tournament in 2014The two teams will also play their final league match of the Intercontinental Cup on August 22-25. Canada are placed last with 23 points in six matches, while Netherlands are second from last with 36 points from six matches. Canada’s squad for the Intercontinental Cup match will be led by Amarbir Hansra.Squads for the WCL Championship games
Canada Ashish Bagai (capt), Harvir Baidwan, Damodar Daesrath, Jeremy Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Amarbir Hansra, Kenneth Kamyuka, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Salman Nazar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Raza Rehman, Junaid SiddiquiNetherlands Peter Borren (capt), Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan Van Bunge, Ben Cooper, Tim Gruijters, Timm Van Der Gugten, Ahsan Malik, Stephan Myburgh, Michael Rippon, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Michael Swart, Eric SzwarczynskiSquads for the Intercontinental Cup match
Canada Amarbir Hansra (capt), Ashish Bagai, Harvir Baidwan, Damodar Daesrath, Jeremy Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Salman Nazar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Cecil Pervez, Raza Rehman, Junaid SiddiquiNetherlands Peter Borren (capt), Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan Van Bunge, Tim Gruijters, Tom Heggelman, Vivian Kingma, Ahsan Malik, Paul Van Meekeren, Stephan Myburgh, Michael Rippon, Pieter Seelaar, Michael Swart, Eric Szwarczynski