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Gujarat's best shot at title after 66-year wait

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Mumbai have won a formidable 41 out of 45 Ranji finals, but this will be Gujarat’s best chance after waiting more than six decades to have a shot at the title

Shashank Kishore in Indore09-Jan-20172:26

Kishore: Gujarat used to batting big, batting long

India had not yet recorded their first Test win when Gujarat last had a shot at Indian domestic cricket’s biggest prize a lifetime ago, in 1950-51. Polly Umrigar was their captain then. Chandu Sarvate, Jamshed Bhaya, Madhavsinh Jagdale and Syed Mushtaq Ali, after whom stands are named at Indore’s Holkar Stadium, the venue of the 83rd Ranji Trophy final starting Tuesday, were in the opposition camp. Deepak Shodhan, who until May last year was India’s oldest living Test cricketer, played in the game which they lost to Holkar. Multiple generations of cricketers from Gujarat don’t know what it is to feature in a Ranji final.In comparison, Mumbai have converted 41 of their 45 finals appearances into championship wins. The last time they lost in the summit clash was to Haryana in 1990-91, a game where Dilip Vengsarkar was inconsolable after Mumbai lost by two runs. Since then, they have qualified for the finals on eleven occasions, and have won every single time, the last of which was against Saurashtra, who were crushed in little over two days last year in Pune.

Teams (likely)

Mumbai: Aditya Tare (capt, wk), Akhil Herwadkar, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Nayar, Siddesh Lad, Tushar Deshpande/Akshay Girap, Vijay Gohil, Shardul Thakur, Balwinder Sandhu
Gujarat: Parthiv Patel (capt, wk), Samit Gohel, Priyank Panchal, Bharghav Merai, Manprit Juneja, Rujul Bhatt, Chirag Gandhi, Rush Kalaria, RP Singh, Mehul Patel/Chintan Gaja, Hardik Patel

Yet, this is Gujarat’s best possible chance at glory, for they have shown more than just glimpses of old Mumbai in the way they have set up games, by batting big, batting long and then using the scoreboard pressure to skittle opponents. It was this tactic that worked when the sides last met in Hubli in November. But Jasprit Bumrah, whose five-for snuffed out Mumbai’s quest for a lead there, will be missed; he has been named in India’s limited-overs squad for the England series.That puts the onus on RP Singh, fresh from a nine-for in the semi-final, to spearhead the young bowling attack.They will be buoyed by the return of Rush Kalaria, who didn’t bat or bowl in the second innings during the semi-final, because of a shoulder injury. One of Mehul Patel or Chintan Gaja is in line to replace Bumrah.It’s the batting, however, that is more formidable. Priyank Panchal is on the cusp of an all-time Ranji record – he needs 146 more to beat VVS Laxman’s record for most runs in a season, achieved in 1999-00. With 1270 runs, he’s miles ahead of other batsmen for runs this season.Among batsmen from in this match, Samit Gohel, his opening partner, comes a distant second with 889 runs. Parthiv Patel, the captain, can be a thorn to any bowling attack. The domestic veteran’s grind for more than a decade now cannot be understated. Manprit Juneja and Chirag Gandhi, both of whom played key roles in building a substantial second-innings lead in a crisis during the semi-final, have shown the ability to adapt at different times.Priyank Panchal and Gujarat are both in line to break records of high standing•Sunny Shinde

That Mumbai are a step away from the title without having a single batsman or bowler in the top 10 list this season is as much due to their typical ‘khadoos’ mentality symbolized by Abhishek Nayar. The veteran, who has been a part of five title-winning teams, has often rescued the sides with telling contributions lower down the order – none more important than at the semi-final in Rajkot, where he made 58 and struck vital partnerships with the tail to not just take the lead but also stretch it past 100, which proved decisive. In the quarter-final too, against Hyderabad, he picked nine wickets in a low-scoring game which Mumbai won by 30 runs.The emergence of a young 17-year old opener in Prithvi Shaw, a schoolboy wonder, who stroked an under-pressure century on debut in the semi-final, has given Mumbai a fresh look. He will be partnered by Akhil Herwadkar, who missed the previous four games because of a foot injury. That means Praful Waghela could miss out. Herwadkar, Mumbai’s second-highest run-getter last season, was given an extended workout at an optional net session on Sunday. Shreyas Iyer – Mumbai’s highest run-getter this season without being the intimidating batsman he has been in his first two seasons – Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare, the captain, and Siddesh Lad complete a formidable batting set that has shown capability of rising to the big occasions in the past.On a red-soil surface that promises bounce and has a green cover, Mumbai could possibly have a healthy headache: do they go in with two frontline seamers in Shardul Thakur and Balwinder Sandhu alongside Nayar’s more-than-useful seam-ups, or do they play a third seamer? If they decide the latter, Tushar Deshpande is likely to come in. After the debut season he has had, there can’t be much doubt over the place of left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil, unless he is injured. That means the recalled Vishal Dabholkar, who has tweaked his action after being reported earlier in the season, could sit out.The numbers favour Mumbai – they have lost just two out of the 61 matches against Gujarat, the last of which was in 1977-78. But in a crunch game, where both sides have shown why they deserve to be here, both captains insist no one had the edge over the other. That can’t be a bad thing after all.

Tarun Nethula 'surprised' at selection

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Legspinner Tarun Nethula has said he was surprised to know he’d been picked in the New Zealand squad for the three-ODI series against Zimbabwe starting on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2012Legspinner Tarun Nethula has said he was surprised to know he’d been picked in the New Zealand squad for the three-ODI series against Zimbabwe starting on Friday. It would have been be less of a surprise, he said, if he had been called up to the Test squad.”It was more a surprise because I’d never really put myself into contention for the limited-overs format,” Nethula told the . “I didn’t make any winter tours, either for the A side or Emerging Players. I thought there were a couple [of players] ahead of me. It took a while to sink in.”Nethula, 28, was born in Hyderabad but moved to New Zealand at the age of 11. He picked up 28 wickets in the 2008-09 season for Auckland, helping them with the first-class competition, and then moved to Central Districts.”The main reason was to try and really challenge myself to play all forms of the game,” Nethula said, explaining the reason behind his move. “I was desperate to play limited-overs cricket. Auckland had an abundance of allrounders and spinners. I approached CD and I’m quite grateful they gave me an opportunity.”Nethula has played 27 first-class matches, picking up 78 wickets at 35.92. He’s played fewer List A games, taking 17 wickets in 12 matches, and has 10 wickets in nine Twenty20 games. His aim is to keep his place in the squad for New Zealand’s winter tours to West Indies, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa.”It is one of my goals to finish the season in a really strong manner and put myself in the frame to get on a winter tour,” Nethula said. “If there is an opening for a second spinner, I definitely want to be the one putting my hand up. But it’s baby steps for now.”Nethula will not be playing the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Dunedin, as he’s not been picked in the squad of 12 for the game.

Yuvraj, Kohli get Grade A contracts

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Yuvraj Singh has been rewarded for his stellar World Cup with a Grade A contract from the BCCI for 2011-12, while Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma have both been given Grade A contracts for the first time

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2011Yuvraj Singh has been rewarded for his stellar World Cup with a Grade A contract from the BCCI for 2011-12, a year after being demoted to Grade B. Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma have both been given Grade A contracts for the first time.Rohit Sharma moved up from Grade C to B, as did R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, but Ashish Nehra, who had a Grade B contract, did not make the list of contracted players at all. Harbhajan Singh, who was not picked for the one-day series against England or for the upcoming first Test against West Indies, remained in Grade A.Yuvraj had a forgettable 2010, with indifferent form and fitness dogging him through one of the toughest phases of his career. He bounced back superbly to be Man of the Tournament in the World Cup, before injury cut short his tour of England.The total number of contracted players ballooned from 24 to 37, with Umesh Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Sharma and Varun Aaron receiving contracts for the first time. Aaron and Yadav impressed with their pace in the recent home one-day series against England. The pair, along with legspinner Rahul Sharma, were included in the squad for the first Test against West Indies starting on November 6. All three players were given Grade C contracts.Munaf Patel, who missed out last year, was also in Grade C as was Ajinkya Rahane, who made his ODI debut in England this year. Cheteshwar Pujara, who recently recovered from injury and has not played since the IPL, retained his Grade C contract. Meanwhile M Vijay was moved from B to C after struggling on the tour of West Indies earlier this year.The annual retainers are worth Rs 1 crore (approximately $205,760) for Grade A, Rs 50 lakh (approximately $102,880) for Grade B and Rs 25 lakhs (approximately $51,440) for Grade C.The BCCI’s working committee also voted to classify the IPL as List A cricket at its meeting today in Kolkata and stated their opposition to the new sports bill being promulgated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.The ministry had drafted a sports bill ostensibly to bring accountability and transparency to India’s sporting bodies, but the idea met with stiff opposition. A first draft was sent back to the ministry for redrafting, and the BCCI said it would oppose the latest version as well.”While the BCCI is all for good governance and transparency in sports bodies, certain aspects of the bill seek to destroy the autonomy of the board and dilute the rights of its members,” the BCCI said in a statement. “Therefore the Board is totally opposed to this bill and will be communicating its objections to the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports shortly … The bill tends to encroach upon fundamental rights of sports bodies.”Among the committee’s other decisions was to appoint Evan Speechly as the Indian team physiotherapist on a two-year contract, replacing Ashish Kaushik. Speechly, a South African who was with the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL team, will join the India squad for the third Test between India and West Indies.In addition the committee approved in principle a proposal to allot a certain portion of the gate receipts from the IPL playoffs for the benefit of retired cricketers. They also created an award for the best allrounder in the Ranji Trophy and India’s domestic limited-overs tournaments, named after the late former India captain Lala Amarnath. The award will comprise a trophy and a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakhs ($5000) in each category.Grade A: Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma.Grade B: Praveen Kumar, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja.Grade C: Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhimanyu Mithun, Vinay Kumar , Ajinkya Rahane, Munaf Patel, M Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary, Piyush Chawla, Dinesh Karthik, Jaydev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron.

Cowan and Bailey give Tasmania victory

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A 134-run stand between Ed Cowan and George Bailey steered Tasmania to a four-wicket victory over Western Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2010
Scorecard
A 134-run stand between Ed Cowan and George Bailey steered Tasmania to a four-wicket victory over Western Australia and ensured that Test-reject Xavier Doherty’s fine spell of 2 for 46 from 12 overs did not go to waste.Cowan stroked 82 at better than a run a ball while Bailey finished unbeaten on 79 to guide his team home with four balls remaining despite a flurry of late wickets.Doherty had opened the bowling after Bailey chose to field first and despite his accuracy the visitors got off to a steady start with Shaun Marsh and Liam Davis. The pair reached 70 before Davis was trapped in front aiming a sweep at offspinner Jason Krejza for 35 but Marsh and Luke Pomersbach ensured further slip-ups before the 20-over suspension.In the second stint Marsh went on to make 52 before becoming the first of two victims for Doherty. Adam Voges contributed a quick-fire half-century, striking seven boundaries in the process but it was a 62-run sixth-wicket stand at the end of the innings that carried the total towards 245.The brisk opening stand between Mark Cosgrove and Rhett Lockyear was in stark contrast to the approach adopted by Western Australia and ensured the home side were in good shape responding to Western Australia’s 20-over score. The openers fell in quick succession, however, just before the break to give the visitors an opening before Cowan and Bailey’s steadied the ship.Tasmania needed a further 150 to win when Cowan and Bailey resumed their stand. While neither battered the boundary boards with expansive shots both ran well between the wickets and picked up runs smartly to build a perfect foundation to the victory. Cowan had reached 82 before he offered a catch to Marsh and Travis Birt was run out for 1 an over later. Jonathan Wells kept Bailey company in an important 35-run stand and despite two more wickets, Bailey held firm to give his team victory.

Botha to succeed Smith as SA Twenty20 captain

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Offspinner Johan Botha has been named captain of South Africa’s Twenty20 team, replacing Graeme Smith, who stood down earlier this week

Cricinfo staff21-Aug-2010Offspinner Johan Botha has been named captain of South Africa’s Twenty20 team, replacing Graeme Smith, who stood down earlier this week. Smith remains captain of the Test side and will continue to captain the one-day side until the end of the World Cup.”Johan was the unanimous choice of the Board and we have every confidence that he will do an excellent job leading up to the next edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2012,” Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola said.Botha stood in for Smith during the limited-overs leg of South Africa’s tour of Australia in 2009, leading the team to a series win. That experience appears to have convinced CSA he is the right man for the job.”Johan has an excellent record as a leader,” selection convener Andrew Hudson said. “He was an inspirational captain when he stood in for Smith in the ODI series victory in Australia in 2009. His appointment is part of the process of refreshing our Pro20 squad and also deciding whether to follow the route of having different captains for different formats of the game.”Botha said he had enjoyed his earlier taste of the captaincy was hopeful he would do well enough so that when the time came, he would be considered for the one-day captaincy as well.”I really enjoyed the captaincy when I stood in for Graeme before, and I am proud to be offered the job now. I am looking forward to working with such a special team. I will have three Pro20 games before the World Cup and hopefully we can play some good cricket during that period.”As far as the 50 overs captaincy is concerned, I will have to see how my own form goes and how the team performs. If everything goes according to plan I would like to think I have a chance of captaining in the 50 overs format as well when Graeme stands down at the end of the World Cup.”Botha has played 21 Twenty20 internationals, taking 22 wickets at an average of 19.18 and scoring 113 runs at an average of 18.83.

Collingwood, bowlers set up big win for Delhi

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Paul Collingwood outshone a glittering batting line-up to give Delhi Daredevils a big total, which their bowlers defended comfortably despite a late assault from Ross Taylor who tried to sweep them into oblivion

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga04-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outPradeep Sangwan’s yorkers proved hard to put away•Indian Premier League

Paul Collingwood outshone a glittering batting line-up to give Delhi Daredevils a big total, which their bowlers defended comfortably despite a late assault from Ross Taylor, who tried to sweep Bangalore to victory. Virender Sehwag and David Warner played their cameos, but it was Collingwood who carried Delhi in the later half of their innings.The first half of the match was a series of punches and counter-punches. Bangalore bounced back from aggressive knocks with wickets, but kept getting pushed back by knocks even more forceful. Sehwag’s 22-ball 35 was ended by Abhimanyu Mithun, only for Warner to start hurting Bangalore. A smart catch from Virat Kohli stopped Warner at 33 off 22, only for Collingwood to provide the innings the final, and most important, thrust with an unbeaten 46-ball 75.After Anil Kumble left out Dale Steyn and Praveen Kumar to accommodate Taylor and left-arm spinner KP Appanna, Bangalore’s inexperienced attack could have been blown away by Sehwag and Warner. Kumble made sure Delhi didn’t run away by bowling a two-run first over, and Mithun responded by removing Sehwag second ball.Between that, though, Sehwag raised hell, hitting five fours and two sixes, taking Delhi to 35 in 4.2 overs despite that Kumble over. That second six was a demoralising hit off Mithun’s first ball in this IPL, but he came right back with one that nipped back at Sehwag. The Bangalore fielders responded, running out Gautam Gambhir, and getting Warner with an overhead catch on the long-on boundary.Between those wickets, Warner had done some hell-raising himself, hitting three fours and two sixes to take Delhi to 83 in 9.4 overs. The immediate response to that wicket was an elegant straight-drive from Dinesh Karthik, but Bangalore struck again via a blinder from Cameron White at extra cover. This was the lift in fielding standards that the tournament desperately needed.Collingwood, however, had quietly played himself in by then and reached 14 off 15 courtesy a six-inch back-lift six while charging down to Jacques Kallis’ slower ball. And his immediate response to Karthik’s dismissal was to raise the back lift a little more and punish White with two sixes and a four in his only over, taking Delhi to 111 after 12.No real explosion came in the next six overs, mainly because Delhi lost Kedar Jadhav too, but Collingwood kept Delhi going with two sixes – not into the stands, just over the fielders. The first of those hits brought up his fifty, but at 154 after 18 overs Delhi needed a big finish.Collingwood was up to it again, this time punishing the youngster Mithun’s length bowling. These two sixes were massive and 31 came off the last nine balls Collingwood faced. Even though Vinay Kumar finished with a decent last over, 30 runs in the last two overs set up a delicious chase for a line-up boasting Kallis, Kevin Pietersen, Robin Uthappa, Taylor and White.It proved to be a bit of anti-climax, though. Bangalore opened with White and Kallis but, on a slow pitch, they never could free themselves from Delhi’s choke hold after an 11-run first over. Farveez Maharoof, Amit Mishra and Daniel Vettori bowled in the Powerplay, giving them neither the pace nor the room.White took Mishra level with purple-cap-holder Muttiah Muralitharan when he holed out to long-off in the fourth over. Mishra would go ahead and claim the purple cap with two tail-end wickets. Maharoof came back to concede just one run in the sixth over, consigning Bangalore to perhaps their worst Powerplay effort, at 38 for 1.Rajat Bhatia, with his slow leggcutters, and Pradeep Sangwan, with his yorkers, conceded only 13 in the next three overs. One of Sangwan yorkers consumed Pietersen in the 10th over, and Uthappa couldn’t quite recreate his fireworks, and holed out to long-on, making it 76 for 3 after 11.5.While Kallis stroked his way to another fifty, off 38 balls, same as Collingwood, Bangalore were missing an innings that would rattle Delhi. Taylor tried to do that, sweeping Mishra for three sixes in the 14th over, but Bhatia trapped him too far across in the next over.Kallis’ wicket in the over following ended the contest, leaving Kohli and Rahul Dravid 67 to get off 25, and also raised the question if one of those two batsmen, and not Manish Pandey, should have made way for Taylor.

Kallis absence evens the scales

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This is now a four-match series after the abandonment at the Wanderers left everyone kicking their heels

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan21-Nov-2009

Match facts

Sunday, November 22, 2009
Start time 10.00 (08.00GMT)James Tredwell could leapfrog Adil Rashid for a place in the England side•Getty Images

Big picture

This is now a four-match series after the abandonment at the Wanderers left everyone kicking their heels. The significant development in the last couple of days has been the news of Jacques Kallis’ absence from the series due to a rib fracture, so his partnership with Graeme Smith will be a non-starter.England’s injury situation remains unchanged with Stuart Broad (shoulder) and Graeme Swann (side) already ruled out of the match, but the delayed start to the series will have helped Paul Collingwood and James Anderson recover from their niggles. With the forecast more promising for Sunday’s game, Collingwood should finally have the chance to become England’s most capped ODI player with his 171st appearance, overtaking Alec Stewart’s record.Really, though, it’s as you were in the build-up to the opening match although the rain has taken some of the sting out of the hype. Andrew Strauss won’t mind that, having refused to be drawn into any mind games with the South Africans but, when the action does finally start, the attention will still be on Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott.With one match already gone from the schedule, there is less room for error and therefore even more important to hit the ground running. At least on Saturday the teams were able to train outdoors, and whichever side clicks into gear the quickest after a frustrating few days will be in prime position to take control of the series.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa – WWLWL
England – LLWWW

Team news

With Kallis out of the series, Hashim Amla is set to be given another chance to open alongside Smith, a position he has filled with decent results. South Africa will also have to decide whether to go with a full hand of seamers or play one of their spinners. Without the services of Kallis’ fast bowling and the recent wet weather, the former could be the preferred route.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Alviro Petersen, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Ryan McLaren, 9 Charl Langeveldt, 10 Lonwabo Tsotsobe, 11 Dale SteynEngland may hand an international debut to James Tredwell, who has been called up as cover for Graeme Swann. Quite what Adil Rashid, the second spinner in the original squad, will make of that remains to be seen but Tredwell has the advantage of spinning the ball away from South Africa’s clutch of left handers. However, they too may decide on a full hand of quicks, especially with Collingwood’s troublesome back. The other question is how many batsman to play, and if one misses out it is likely to be Joe Denly.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Jonathan Trott, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Graham Onions, 11 James Anderson

Watch out for

Kevin Pietersen was called back into action a couple of days early when England were hit by injuries ahead of the second Twenty20, but looked in decent fettle for his 29. The 50-over warm-up against South Africa was more of a struggle as he scratched 4 from 17 balls, but he looks eager to make up for lost time. His three ODI tons in South Africa four years ago are still talked about and England would dearly like to see a return of that free-flowing, care-free Pietersen rather than the mentally strained and restrained figure that has been on show for much of 2009.JP Duminy‘s international numbers are already impressive and an ODI average of 37.57 indicates his talent. However, against England, he has struggled to make a mark with 88 runs in six matches with a best of 24. The South African management are giving him the chance to build an innings by promoting him to No 4, and with the absence of Kallis now is the time for Duminy to repay that faith.James Anderson…but not for his bowling. If he gets his turn to bat, Anderson will use the Mongoose bat which made much fanfare last season. It has a shorter blade and longer handle – meaning, in theory, better striking power – and Jimmy has got his hands on one. Without being too harsh, it might be a little wasted.

Stats and trivia

  • Collingwood, as well as being one away from an England cap record, also needs three wickets to reach 100 in ODIs

Quotes

“I was actually organising a trip to India for the start of December, so they had to tell me pretty sharpish so that I didn’t put my passport in for a visa.”

Jayawickrama gets one-year ban for breaching anti-corruption code

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He has admitted to breaching article 2.4.7 of the code, which relates to obstructing or delaying an ACU (anti-corruption unit) investigation

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2024The ICC has banned Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama from all cricket for one year, of which the last six months are suspended, after he admitted to breaching the global body’s anti-corruption code.In August the ICC charged Jayawickrama with two breaches of the code. He has admitted to breaching article 2.4.7, which relates to: “Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU [anti-corruption unit], including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.”Related

  • Sri Lanka spinner Praveen Jayawickrama faces ICC corruption charges

The charges, according to an ICC release, relate to international cricket and the Lanka Premier League (LPL).Having made his international debut in a Test against Bangladesh in April 2021, Jayawickrama has played five Tests, five ODIs and five T20Is. His last appearance for Sri Lanka was in a T20I series at home against Australia in 2022.In LPL 2021, Jayawickrama was a part of the Jaffna Kings side that won its second title. He played one match that season, taking two wickets. In LPL 2024, he turned out for Dambulla Sixers.

Daniel Hughes, Harrison Ward pound Middlesex in nine-wicket win

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Robinson in the wickets as Sussex seal home quarter-final for Sussex

ECB Reporters Network19-Jul-2024Sussex Sharks secured a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast after thrashing Middlesex by nine wickets in front of a sell-out crowd at Hove.They leapfrogged Somerset, who lost heavily to Glamorgan in Cardiff, and back into second place after securing a ninth win in the South Group and will host the team who finish third in the North in the last eight when the competition resumes in September.The pitch at the 1st Central County Ground was being used for the third time but Middlesex’s 159 for 9 never looked like being enough and conditions were put into perspective by Sussex openers Harrison Ward and the Australian left-hander Daniel Hughes, who put on 141 in 15.1 overs, Sussex’s fourth highest stand for any wicket in T20.Hughes is now the top scorer in what is his debut season in the Blast after taking his aggregate to 560 runs with an unbeaten 96 while Ward, who had been drafted into the Hundred for the first time with Oval Invincibles earlier in the day, celebrated by easing to his third half-century in this season’s competition.Apart from a mix-up which nearly ended in Hughes being run out, the Sussex pair did much as they pleased until Ward was caught at deep mid-wicket for 56 (42 balls, 5 fours, 1 six).Hughes faced just 54 balls, hitting 12 fours and three sixes – the third to win the game with 22 deliveries to spare as he equalled his T20 career-best with his fourth fifty.Some disciplined bowling had set Sussex up. They had reduced Middlesex to 22 for 3 by the third over with Ollie Robinson picking up a wicket with the first ball of his first two overs. The dangerous Leus du Plooy was superbly caught at short-cover by Daniel Hughes and Danny Lamb produced an even better effort to remove Max Holden, flinging himself to his left to hang on to a full-blooded slash at backward point.Later in the same over Lamb put down a much more straightforward chance to reprieve Jack Davies on nought and had to go off with an injury to his right shoulder. It left Sussex a bowler light but slow left-armer James Coles (2 for 28) and off-spinner Jack Carson (2 for 23) strangled Middlesex’s attempts to accelerate, although Davies celebrated his reprieve by making 52.Davies hit four boundaries in an over off Scott Currie and also swiped three sixes but Carson got him in the 14th over courtesy of one of three catches on the mid-wicket boundary by Tom Clark.Luke Hollman made 28 at the end but Hughes and Ward soon had Sussex’s chase under control as Middlesex finished another disappointing campaign second from bottom after winning just three games.

ECB recommends fines, bans against former Yorkshire players in Azeem Rafiq racism case

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Total of £37,500 in fines includes £8000 plus eight-week ban for Gary Ballance

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2023The ECB has recommended an eight-week ban and £8000 fine for Gary Ballance for bringing the game into disrepute through the use of racist language against Azeem Rafiq while the pair were at Yorkshire. The board also recommended a combination of fines and suspensions for five other former players at a Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) sanction hearing on Wednesday.The players were found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute by using racist language by the independent three-person CDC panel at the end of March, after a five-day hearing conducted at the start of that month. The charges laid against them, as well as Yorkshire, came from claims originally made by Rafiq and covered a period of nearly a decade from 2008. The panel cleared former England captain Michael Vaughan of having made a racist remark before a T20 game in June 2009.As well as Ballance, the ECB asked for a combination of fines, suspensions, reprimands and education courses for Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Richard Pyrah and John Blain – all of whom either played at Yorkshire, or worked as coaches while Rafiq was there. The ECB asked for Hoggard and Pyrah to be fined £7500 each, Bresnan and Blain £5000 and Pyrah £4500 and asked for all six to receive reprimands from the CDC and to take part in a racism and discrimination course. They have also recommended a four-week suspension for Gale, should he return to coaching in cricket run by the ECB.Related

  • Michael Vaughan cleared of racism charge by ECB disciplinary committee

  • Cricket Discipline Committee racism hearings: The verdicts

  • Gary Ballance retires from all cricket after brief Zimbabwe comeback

Vaughan was the only one of those charged who appeared to defend himself at the hearings. While Ballance had admitted to using the term “P***” among other racist phrases, Bresnan, Gale, Pyrah and Blain have denied all charges against them. The four were found guilty of using racist slurs that ranged from terms such as “you lot” to “P****” on multiple occasions.As well as Ballance, Hoggard made a qualified admission to similar charges, denying that he used the language with any racist intent. Those admissions led to the ECB asking for reduced fines in both cases. “We understand there has been a significant impact on Mr Ballance’s mental health, and that, in April 2023, Mr Ballance announced his retirement from professional cricket,” Jane Mulcahy KC, legal counsel for the ECB, told the panel. “So the ECB therefore suggests there be a reprimand, Mr Ballance be fined £8,000, reduced from £12,500, to take in effect his admissions. And also an eight-week suspension, reduced from 10 weeks, if Mr Ballance ever returns to ECB-regulated cricket as a player.”Ballance retired recently from all cricket, having first left Yorkshire late last year and then switched to play for his native Zimbabwe. He played one Test for them scoring a hundred, and eight internationals overall before he announced his retirement.The CDC panel will now deliberate over the recommendations before returning final sanctions on the players which could take several more weeks yet.Yorkshire were also found guilty by the CDC panel last month, having admitted to four charges laid against them. Their sanctions will be discussed at another hearing on 27 June.