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Sri Lanka Cricket has informed the West Indies board that it is willing to postpone the five-match one-day series on account of the current spell of poor weather in Sri Lanka

Sa'adi Thawfeeq08-Dec-2010The boards of Sri Lanka and West Indies are in talks over postponing to January the five-match one-day series on account of the current spell of poor weather in Sri Lanka. The first two matches of the series were scheduled to be played on Thursday and Saturday at Hambantota, one of the new venues that will host 2011 World Cup games. But incessant rain has prevented the teams from holding any outdoor practice since arriving at the venue three days ago.A spokesman for Sri Lanka Cricket said both boards had tentatively agreed to call off the series and instead play a three-match series in late January. The Test series between the two sides was also hampered by rains and ended in a stalemate, leading Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara to term it as the worst series of his life.An official announcement is awaited, though West Indies opener Chris Gayle tweeted that the tour had been officially called off.

Stuart Broad and James Anderson, the two England bowlers at the centre of the recent ball-tampering controversy, have steadfastly defended their actions during the third Test against South Africa

Cricinfo staff09-Jan-2010Stuart Broad and James Anderson, the two England bowlers at the centre of the recent ball-tampering controversy, have steadfastly defended their actions during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.TV pictures showed Broad standing on the ball while Anderson was seen picking at the leather which led South Africa to “raise concerns” about the condition of the ball. However, the home side didn’t take their complaint forward to official levels which prompted Andrew Strauss to call it “malicious” and England coach Andy Flower said if they’d had a problem it should have been raised in the formal way.Broad has now said he took “great offence” at being implicated by the South Africans and wasn’t impressed with the way they announced their concerns through a press conference.”I find it astonishing that South Africa should walk into a press conference and say they had raised concerns about the condition of the ball and then not follow that up by making a formal complaint. That is very poor behaviour,” he told the “My actions in stopping the ball with my boot have been questioned but I am not the first bowler to stop a ball with his size 12s and I will not be the last.”It was close to 40 degrees Celsius out there in Newlands at the time, and, if I was guilty of anything, it was just laziness in not bending down to pick up the ball. Ball-tampering? That’s astonishing.”Former England captain Michael Vaughan was critical of England’s part in the controversy, but Anderson is disappointed that he wasn’t more supportive of players he led until 18 months ago. Anderson said he and Broad were nothing more than “a bit absent-minded and lazy.””To be caught up in suggestions of ball-tampering was a huge disappointment,” he told the . “It led to a lot of comment and cast a shadow over me and Stuart Broad when we’d done nothing wrong except be a bit absent-minded and lazy.”I know my old England captain Michael Vaughan is entitled to his opinion but I was a little bit hurt by some of the comments he made about me, because I’d like to think he knew me well enough to know I wouldn’t do something like that.”I’ve got a lot of respect for Vaughany as a team-mate and as a captain and I learnt an awful lot under his wing in the England side so he knows the sort of player I am.”South Africa’s concerns over the ball stemmed from the fact that England have managed to find early reverse-swing during this series – often by the 15th over – while the hosts haven’t had the same success. However, Broad said that instead of casting doubts over what the bowlers are doing they should be praised for their skill.”Not too long ago, people were asking why English bowlers could not take wickets overseas on flat pitches with the old ball,” he said, “but what someone like Jimmy has done is become highly skilled at the difficult art of reverse-swing and all people can do is question that.”

On either side of Nurul’s blitz was an obstructing the field incident and an argument involving Tamim Iqbal on an action-packed evening

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2025Nurul Hasan hit three sixes and three fours in the final over of Rangpur Riders’ chase against Fortune Barishal in a Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match in Sylhet on Thursday, to take his team to a last-ball win.It was the third highest last-over score in a men’s T20, behind Somerset’s 34 runs in a nine-ball over against Somerset in the T20 Blast in 2015 and Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) 31 against Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2023.Nurul was on 2 from one ball after walking out in the 18th over of Rangpur’s chase of Barishal’s 197 for 5. First, he saw Shaheen Shah Afridi and Jahandad Khan send four batters back by the end of the 19th over – including Mahedi Hasan given out obstructing the field. Then, up against Kyle Mayers’ medium pace with Rangpur needing 26 runs to win the game, Nurul went 6 (scythed over cow corner), 4 (shovelled over fine leg), 4 (just short of the rope at deep square), 6 (into the stands at deep midwicket) and 4 (through the covers) to leave two runs to get off the last ball, which he smashed square on the leg side for six more. At the start of that over, it seemed like Rangpur’s unbeaten run in the competition was over. At the end of it, they had made it six wins out of six and were six points clear at the top.Most runs successfully chased in the last over of a T20•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

After the game, Nurul remembered another final over where he could not get the job done. “I always regretted not being able to take 20 runs off the last over against India, in the [2022] T20 World Cup,” he said. “We got close but I couldn’t finish the job in that big stage.”*This time around, he produced one of his “best knocks”. “Khushdil [Shah], who struck two sixes in the 19th over, said that we can still win this game. [Non-striker Kamrul Islam] Rabbi told me to play all six balls in the last over. I think the first six gave me the most belief. They have a good bowling attack. Twenty-six runs was a lot of runs… I was just hoping that I got the balls in my zone.”It is nothing new – people often forget my knocks of twenties or thirties. It is not a big deal as long as I can contribute for the team. Since I could win the game for the team, this is one of my best knocks.”

Mahedi out obstructing the field

That last over was not the only drama in the game. The 19th over, which Khushdil began with consecutive sixes before falling, produced three wickets: the second one falling via an obstructing-the-field incident.Mahedi Hasan was facing his first ball, with Nurul at the other end. Mahedi lobbed the ball down the pitch, Nurul set off to get the strike, and the bowler Jahandad Khan hared towards his left to collect the aerial lob. Nurul and the bowler collided halfway down the pitch, as the latter was looking to complete the return-catch. An appeal followed and Mahedi was given out in accordance with Law 37.3.1 that states “if the delivery is not a no-ball, the striker is out obstructing the field if wilful obstruction or distraction by either batter prevents the striker being out caught.”Nurul said of the incident: “I was trying to take a run. He just came in front of me. I didn’t change my way. I didn’t have any intention to obstruct the bowler. The umpire informed us that whoever was the striker in that instance, would be declared out.”The final bit of drama came after Nurul’s winning six, when Barishal captain Tamim Iqbal was seen being held back from an argument with members of the opposition. “I saw it partly but I am not aware what it is about,” Nurul said.Barishal coach Nafees Iqbal described the incident thus: “I just saw that there was some excitement after the game. Emotions often carry over after this sort of match. I hope it is nothing serious. Possibly something was said, which prompted the reaction. I don’t think it is serious.”Rangpur batter Alex Hales who was involved in the incident told : “He [Tamim] was upset about something. I am not sure but maybe because his team had just lost. We shook hands. Nothing was said. He asked me if I have something to say, say it to his face. I didn’t say anything. He was getting very personal.”*

Chelmsford to play host to two fixtures as club seeks to reduce overheads of outgrounds

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2023Middlesex will play two of their home fixtures in next year’s Vitality Blast at Essex’s home ground of Chelmsford, in a bid to alleviate the growing financial pressures on the club.Middlesex, which leases its primary venue, Lord’s, from MCC, has recently used Radlett Cricket Club and Merchant Taylors’ School near Watford as its preferred outgrounds.However, with the club embroiled in a long-running legal dispute with its former chief executive Richard Goatley, and having been fined £150,000 for financial mismanagement by the ECB in September (£100,000 of which was suspended until October 2025), the current CEO Andrew Cornish has confirmed further cost-cutting measures.”We have gone to lengths to be transparent and open with our members when discussing the financial position the club is in, and moving forwards we need to continue to take every step we can to ensure we remain rigorous in our control of the club’s costs,” Cornish said in a statement on Middlesex’s website.”The cost of setting up the infrastructure of an out-ground venue is a significant liability the club has historically had to factor into our financial model every year – increasingly so in recent seasons with the enhancements we have made to the member experience at out-ground matches.”As a consequence, Middlesex will play home fixtures at Chelmsford against Kent on May 31, and against Gloucestershire on July 18, as well as a third visit to face Essex on June 2, for which they will be the away team. They are due to play one Blast fixture at Radlett against Hampshire on July 6, as well as a brace of One-Day Cup games in August when Lord’s will be in use for the Hundred.”As we continue to scrutinise every cost the club incurs, out-ground set-up costs stand out as an area which we could make a significant positive impact on,” Cornish added.”We have, as a result, been in discussion with our friends at Essex, who have been very receptive to the idea of hosting us at the Cloud County Ground for two of our Blast matches this year.”

England six down and struggling despite Ollie Pope’s unbeaten half-century

Alan Gardner17-Aug-2022South Africa took a grip on proceedings on a rain-affected first day at Lord’s, plucking out six England wickets before the weather closed in half an hour into the afternoon session. Kagiso Rabada struck twice in his opening spell and Anrich Nortje’s pace brought three more to keep the home side under the cosh.Dean Elgar cited the “overheads” for his decision to ask England to make the running with the bat for the first time this summer (all four of the Tests won under Ben Stokes’ captaincy have been based on a template of chasing a target in the fourth innings), and his seam attack responded with the perfect blend of skill and aggression in cloudy, humid conditions.England were grateful to Ollie Pope, whose proactive half-century made sure they were not completely sunk by the time forecast rain arrived, moments after Ben Foakes had been bowled off his inside edge, poking tentatively at Nortje in the post-lunch murk.Elgar had announced in his final press conference before the start of the series that he was “not going to entertain” any more talk of Bazball – as England’s new approach to Test cricket has been dubbed – and the focus of the morning quickly became how Stokes’ team might tailor their preferred batting style to setting up a game in the face of a probing examination from South Africa’s four quicks.England’s most-productive stand was 45 added for the fifth wicket between Pope and Stokes, the only two batters to get into double-figures. Both openers fell cheaply, and there was little of the buccaneering intent that brought four successive victories at the start of Stokes’ tenure as captain. Joe Root was lbw for 8, a marginal decision backed up by DRS in the impressive Marco Jansen’s second over, and Jonny Bairstow lost his middle stump to Nortje as England slumped to 55 for 4.South Africa, buoyed by winning the toss, could call on Rabada as their attack leader after he “pulled up 100%” following an ankle ligament injury, and he was on the mark from the outset. Alex Lees got away with one ambitious swipe that flew over the slip cordon but fell in the same over, wafting away from his body to be caught behind.Zak Crawley, retained as Lees’ opening partner despite averaging 17.75 from four previous Tests this summer, did his best to negotiate a thorough examination around off stump, largely packing away his aggressive strokes. But having squirted a thick outside edge through gully for a second boundary, he was undone by Rabada’s wobble-seam delivery, which produced just enough movement to find the edge and present a low catch to the cordon.South Africa lost a review when asking for a second look at Lungi Ngidi’s lbw appeal against Pope, but things continued to go their way when Jansen struck from the Pavilion End, where he regularly used the slope to bring the ball back in to England’s right-handers. Having declined another lbw shout that ball-tracking showed would have just clipped the top of Pope’s leg stump, Nitin Menon raised his finger in the affirmative to the politest of appeals against Root. The former Test captain reviewed, but in vain.Root has actually been usurped as England’s most in-form Test batter, with Bairstow coming into the series on the back of a stellar run against New Zealand and India. But following four hundreds in five innings, he notched the 16th duck – and the 38th dismissal bowled – of his Test career, as Nortje brought one back through the gate to make a mess of the wordwork.England had only scored four boundaries during the first hour, but Pope took Nortje for back-to-back fours and, although he survived some close moments against Jansen’s left-arm inswing, played punchily through the morning to bring up a 69-ball fifty.Stokes did produce a familiar charge at his sixth ball, swiping and missing at Jansen, and flirted with danger while also finding the boundary four times. Pope, too, was fortunate when an edge off Nortje evaded the diving Keegan Petersen at third slip in the final over before lunch. But Nortje finished a strong morning showing for South Africa by jagging one away to find Stokes’ outside edge and end a minor recovery.Nortje picked up his third shortly after the break but, with the floodlights on amid heavy cloud cover at Lord’s, England No. 8 Stuart Broad only had to face two balls before the umpires took the players off. Rain came steadily before turning torrential, an early tea followed by the abandonment of play at 4.30pm.

Home advantage does not carry quite the same weight as it used to do

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2021The final act of the Australian season starts on Thursday with the Sheffield Shield final between Queensland and New South Wales at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.New South Wales are aiming to defend the title awarded to them last season when the tournament was curtailed by the onset of the pandemic while Queensland last won the Shield in 2017-18.Queensland finished top of the table after the final-round draw against New South Wales in Wollongong, but that does not carry the significant advantage it used to do when, in the event of a drawn final, the leaders would be awarded the title.Now if there is a draw the title would be decided by the same bonus points system that is in place during the regular season. It was brought in as a trial in the 2018-19 season (although wasn’t needed as Victoria won the final outright) and after last season’s final was cancelled it will be used again should the situation arise.This is how the bonus points system works: the batting side earns 0.01 points for every run scored above 200 in the first 100 overs of the first innings and the bowling side earns 0.1 points for every wicket taken in the same period.So, if we use the previous match between these two sides last week as an example it would work out like this: New South Wales were 4 for 310 after 100 overs so that earns them 1.1 batting points and Queensland get 0.4 bowling points. Queensland were then 4 for 293 after 100 overs earning them 0.93 batting points and New South Wales 0.4 bowling points.In total that would be 1.5 bonus points for New South Wales and 1.33 for Queensland.”It means the game is in play the whole time,” Mitchell Starc said. “We’ve seen in years gone by the home team don’t have to win so they can play the way they want and not have to worry about pushing for victory. To have the bonus points system there is a big carrot for us, we’ll be in the game for the five days.”The one caveat with the bonus points is that they only become the decider if a minimum 270 overs have been bowled in the match. If weather means that mark hasn’t been reached then the tiebreaker reverts to who led the table. Also, if the bonus points are tied in a drawn game the top team is declared the winner.The final is played over five days so there is extra time to get an outright result. The forecast also looks good for the duration of the game with just a few showers predicted for Saturday at the moment. The last Shield match in Brisbane, which was set to take place at Ian Healy Oval, was abandoned without a ball bowled largely due to a saturated outfield following heavy rain. The match before, at Allan Border Field, had just 76 overs across the first two days.The other factor with the final taking place much later than usual is the length of daylight hours (Allan Border field doesn’t have floodlights). Play will begin at 9.30am to try and ensure the 96 overs per day can be completed.