Steven Smith went on to score his 14th Test ton, despite receiving a blow on his helmet prior to tea, a break that helped “let the shock settle”

Brydon Coverdale21-Feb-2016The bouncer was a key part of Neil Wagner’s weaponry on day two at Hagley Oval, and a weapon that eventually brought him the wickets of Joe Burns and Steven Smith, but it also led to a moment of serious concern. On 78, Smith ducked into a short ball from Wagner and was struck flush on the helmet, falling face-down on the ground and requiring attention from team doctor Peter Brukner before being cleared to resume his innings.After pausing for a few minutes to recover, Smith pulled his next delivery gamely for a single, and Burns faced out the remaining two deliveries of Wagner’s over. It was the last over before tea and the break came at the perfect time for Smith, who in the words of Burns was able to “let the shock settle” for 20 minutes before resuming in the final session, and going on to post his 14th Test hundred.”Not nice is it, it’s a bit of a shaky feeling,” Wagner said after play. “It’s never anyone’s intention to try and hit someone in the head and see them go down like that so I think a hell of a lot of credit to him to take a blow like that and stand up and bat the way he did shows the character of the bloke that he is. Credit to him he did pretty well from that. Hell of a knock.”I ran up straight to him and he sort of flashed his eyes a little bit and I was a bit worried at the start, and then he said he’s fine and he took a bit of time, which we all said make sure you take enough time and get yourself ready, we’ll give whatever you need. So he did and he looked fine after that.”The New Zealand players all moved to check on Smith after the blow, as did his batting partner Burns, who was quickly joined by team physio David Beakley as well as Brukner, who assessed Smith on the field. Burns said Smith got a new helmet and used the tea break to “reset himself” after the incident.”Certainly it’s always a concern when you see someone get hit in the head,” Burns said. “It got him quite flush as well, which was a concerning part. But fortunately the medical staff were out there very quickly and they gave him the all clear.”Luckily the tea break was just around the corner, so it gave him a chance to sit down for 20 minutes and I guess just let the shock settle. And then yeah, he came out after tea and was 100%, so all good.”Smith went on to score 138 before he eventually fell to another bouncer from Wagner, which was pulled straight to Martin Guptill at square leg. Burns had fallen for 170 in almost identical fashion in Wagner’s previous over, but not before his partnership of 289 – an all-time record for Australia in New Zealand – put Australia within touching distance of a first-innings lead.”When you have a long partnership with anyone it’s very satisfying,” Burns said. “The fact that we just applied really basic game-plans for long periods of time is the most satisfying thing. But getting towards stumps we were talking about how we really wanted to be two down at stumps. I guess that’s the disappointing thing, that we’re four down, and it just changes the game a little bit.”However, New Zealand still have a considerable amount of work to do in order to restrict Australia’s lead, with six wickets still in hand, only seven runs in arrears, and the prolific Adam Voges at the crease. Wagner said it had been hard work for New Zealand’s all-pace attack on day two with the Hagley Oval pitch having lost some of its pace.”It definitely slowed down quite a bit and the wicket definitely flattened out a touch,” Wagner said. “But credit to Joe Burns and Steve Smith, they batted exceptionally well and never gave us a chance. I think we bowled well in patches and periods of time where we asked good questions. They just batted really well.”

Concerns over the slow recovery of Lasith Malinga’s knee injury have grown stronger ahead of the World T20 – the paceman now in doubt for Sri Lanka’s first match on March 17

Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Mar-20161:11

Fernando: Malinga’s full availability not guaranteed

Lasith Malinga has offered to step down as Sri Lanka’s T20 captain, after concerns over the slow recovery of a knee injury have grown. The board is yet to make a final call on whether a change of leadership is needed, but Malinga has handed the board a letter voicing reservations about keeping the job when he cannot guarantee his availability for Sri Lanka’s full campaign.An MRI scan on Monday confirmed substantial damage to Malinga’s knee, but also suggested that he could manage the injury with painkillers over the next few weeks. The team is scheduled to leave for India on Tuesday, but Malinga is considering staying in Sri Lanka to receive further treatment. He may not depart to India until the days before Sri Lanka’s first match, on March 17.This overuse injury to the left knee – on which he lands during the delivery stride – has troubled him since West Indies’ series in Sri Lanka in November last year. He missed Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand in December and January, and was later ruled out of the T20s in India, in February. Then, Malinga played only one match of four during the Asia Cup, taking four wickets in Sri Lanka’s solitary victory against UAE, before sitting out games against Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. It is understood he has not bowled in the nets since the UAE game, though, he is not a player who generally requires extensive net bowling before matches.The recovery date for this injury has always been vague, but has been much slower than initially expected, prompting particular worry. It was hoped Malinga could be fit for the T20s in New Zealand, and he was picked for the Asia Cup on the understanding he could play a substantial role in that tournament.This is also the third serious injury to hit Malinga’s career. He had previously been plagued by a similar overuse injury in his right knee, which he said forced him to retire from Tests in 2010. Then in 2014, a long-term ankle injury was operated on in the months leading up to last year’s World Cup. It now appears possible that this current injury could end his international career. In the approach to the Asia Cup, Malinga had hinted the World T20 might be his final foray for Sri Lanka.Angelo Mathews appears the likeliest captaincy candidate if Malinga does step down, though Dinesh Chandimal is also an option. Malinga’s potential absence as a bowler is perhaps the bigger blow to Sri Lanka’s campaign. He has been instrumental to Sri Lanka’s march to three World T20 finals over the last four tournaments, and is also the World T20’s most successful bowler. He has been a diminished threat since his ankle surgery in 2014, but remains – at least in spirit – Sri Lanka’s limited-overs spearhead.

Ben Stokes has spoken about the “complete devastation” he felt after the last over of the World T20 final

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2016Allrounder Ben Stokes has spoken about the “complete devastation” he felt after the last over of the World T20 final when Carlos Brathwaite had taken him for four consecutive sixes to snatch the title away from England.In the immediate aftermath of the conclusion to the final, Stokes admitted trying to block out the emotions and he said it is only since returning home that he has really reflected on what took place.The final over began with West Indies needing 19 to win and England favourites despite having struggled to 155 for 9 with the bat. But then Brathwaite swung Stokes’ first delivery over deep square leg, then connected sweetly against two full deliveries to suddenly level the scores and leave a distraught Stokes with his head in his hands.”I thought, ‘I’ve just lost the World Cup’. I couldn’t believe it,” he told the . “I didn’t know what to do. It took me so long to get back on my feet. I didn’t want to get back up. It was like the whole world had come down on me. There weren’t any good things going through my mind. It was just complete devastation.””It is probably only now really that all the emotions have started to come out about it. I couldn’t reflect on it at the time. There was just shock.”Stokes had developed his reputation as a death bowler during the tournament with important spells against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. He said he did not panic after the first ball of the last over had cleared the boundary and was still backing himself to defend 7 off 4 before being crushed by the third six.”It was not until they needed one off three that I knew the game was gone. When they needed seven I was still backing myself to get us over the line but I just couldn’t. It was amazing hitting. I just did not execute what I wanted to do.”A host of current and former players – not just from England – have come out in support of Stokes, praising his desire to be the man under pressure at the end, and he said he would not have a second thought about putting himself back in that position.”A hundred per cent. Definitely. It is something I work at a lot. Some days they go well. Some days they don’t. That was a bad day but I won’t be shying away from it. You almost want it to happen because if you nail it everyone forgets.”Stokes was at the centre of another spat with Marlon Samuels during the final – Samuels was fined 30% of his match fee for foul language – and Samuels was far from glowing about Stokes during his post-match press conference. Stokes has no issue with how events transpired and acknowledged Samuels played “a brilliant” innings.He also revealed that Brathwaite, who was fulsome in his praise of Stokes, had asked for a signed shirt.”We did not have a beer with them afterwards but Brathwaite came up to me and asked for a shirt. He is a brilliant lad. I wanted to make sure I spoke to them and say well done because I did not want people to think I was bitter. I wished them all the best. It is about respect to the opposition.”Stokes will return to action for Durham on April 24 in their County Championship match against Middlesex.

A round-up of the sixth day’s action at ICC World Cricket League Division Five in Jersey

Peter Della Penna in Jersey 28-May-2016Aamir Kaleem’s stellar tournament with bat and ball continued as he claimed his second straight Man of the Match award in Oman’s two-wicket win over Guernsey at St Clement. Kaleem put his stamp on the match today in all three disciplines: running out opener Tom Kimber with a direct hit from point, taking 2 for 12 in ten overs including the prized wicket of Matthew Stokes, and top-scoring with 35 to lift up Oman after entering at 13 for 4 in the fifth over.With net run rate tiebreaker at play in the WCL, Oman crucially won the toss and inserted Guernsey. It meant Guernsey entered the day needing to not only win but do so by at least 100 runs in order to pass Oman on net run rate, having entered the day +1.188 behind them.They would also have to do it without captain Jamie Nussbaumer, who missed the game with a leg injury. It caused a reshuffle to the batting order with Stokes dropping down to take Nussbaumer’s spot at No. 4 while Kimber, who replaced Nussbaumer in the XI, opened instead of the team’s leading scorer Stokes.Despite the urgency of the day with promotion up to Division Four at stake, Guernsey employed a cautious approach from ball one and eventually finished on 141 for 8. They only scored from 11 deliveries in the first 60 balls bowled by Oman over the course of the opening Powerplay to reach 23 for 1. GH Smit was the batsman to fall in that stretch, spooning Rajeshkumar Ranpura to mid-on for 13.Even after the new-ball spells of Ranpura and Munis Ansari were negotiated, Guernsey’s top order could not get out of a rut against the first-change tandem of seamer Sufyan Mehmood and the left-arm spin of Kaleem. From the 14th through the 16th overs, Kimber and Oliver Newey played out 17 straight dots. Newey’s own streak of 14 straight dots was broken with a bit of luck, as an edge off Mehmood split the keeper and slip to go for four.However, Newey’s vigil ended two overs later as this time another edge off Mehmood was safely pouched by Swapnil Khadye behind the stumps for 11. Three balls later, Kimber ran himself out pushing for a risky single as Kaleem swooped in and fired a direct hit that connected with Kimber well short at the non-striker’s end. Kaleem then struck again in back-to-back overs to nab Stokes first and then David Hooper both defending down the wrong line to arm balls for a pair of lbw decisions to make it 48 for 5 in 24 overs.With the exception of the 37th over, Oman kept all eleven fielders inside the ring from overs 25 through 42 to pile the pressure on stand-in captain Ben Ferbrache and Oliver Nightingale. Ferbrache eventually fell driving to mid-on for 10. After 41 overs, Guernsey’s run rate was still crawling at two per over with the score on 82 for 6 before Jason Martin produced a late surge with 33 off 32 balls.A straight six by Martin off Zeeshan Maqsood in the 42nd followed by a scoop off captain Ajay Lalcheta over fine leg finally forced Lalcheta to push the field back. Guernsey eventually scored 51 off the final eight overs – the 45th and 46th were the only two of the entire innings in which 10+ runs were scored – to provide faint hope of an improbable result, with the final equation being that they needed to bowl Oman out for 39 in order to pass them on net run rate.Newey made it look briefly possible with his new-ball burst. He began by forcing a false drive from the tournament’s leading scorer, Maqsood, to Ferbrache at mid-off and struck Vaibhav Watagaonkar on the toe with a yorker next ball to make it 10 for 2. Ferbrache dismissed Jatinder Singh edging behind while Khawar Ali was also given out caught at the wicket as Guernsey erupted in the field.Kaleem’s cool head steadied Oman’s nerves though and by the time Noorul Riaz was caught at cover for Newey’s fourth wicket, the score was 39 for 5, meaning Oman needed a single to guarantee promotion regardless of the match result. On the same ground where Kaleem and Lalcheta produced a vital 101-run stand against Nigeria, the pair added another 53 against Guernsey with Kaleem unfurling a series of cuts and pulls among his five boundaries.Left-arm spinner Max Ellis wound up removing both men, but Khadye finished off the job for Oman. Khadye shepherded the tail superbly to finish 33 not out with the winning run taken off a bye.Oman will face Jersey in the final after the hosts put in a clinical display to defeat Nigeria by ten wickets at St Martin. Jersey inserted Nigeria at the toss and bowled them out for 93 in 26.4 overs. Ben Kynman took 6 for 18, a new best for a Jersey bowler in WCL tournaments eclipsing Andy Dewhurst’s 6 for 20 against Bahamas at WCL Division Five in 2008.The game was on pace to end well before Oman’s chase against Guernsey began and with Jersey starting the day behind Guernsey and Oman on net run rate, they set a brisk pace chasing down the target as insurance to go ahead of Guernsey on net run rate in case Guernsey defeated Oman. Nat Watkins made an unbeaten 50 off 41 balls with nine boundaries while captain Peter Gough finished 41 not out off 44 balls with victory achieved in just 14.1 overs to mark Nigeria’s second ten-wicket loss of the tournament, a result that guaranteed relegation to ICC Africa regional qualifying.Tanzania will join them despite beating Vanuatu by seven wickets at St Saviour. Vanuatu was the only team to choose to bat first on winning the toss on Friday, a decision they regretted after losing two wickets without any runs on the board, including star allrounder Nalin Nipiko. It brought captain Andrew Mansale to the crease and he remained for the rest of the innings, making 60 not out off 124 balls in his side’s total of 149 in 48.5 overs.Mansale’s innings was crucial in the context of the tournament as a low total followed by a rapid Tanzania chase would have clinched relegation for Vanuatu and allowed Tanzania a crack at staying in Division Five. Instead, Tanzania’s equation required them to get to the target in 18.1 overs, but never made a serious challenge. Their only double-digit over in that span was a ten-run eighth and by the deadline they had settled for 63 for 1. Kassim Nassoro made 50 not out off 73 balls as a consolation victory was eventually achived in 42.1 overs.Saturday’s final between Oman and Jersey will be played at St Saviour while the third place game for the chance to stay in Division Five will be played between Guernsey and Vanuatu at St Martin. The fifth place game will be played between Nigeria and Tanzania at St Clement.

Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed Kent coach Simon Willis to the post of high performance manager

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-May-2016Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed Kent coach Simon Willis to the post of high performance manager. Willis – who has been involved at Kent for 23 years, becoming the county’s high performance director in 2009 – will oversee SLC’s cricket academy based in Khettarama and play a key role in identifying talent and developing cricketers within the Sri Lankan system. He takes up his new position on June 1, having been specifically sought out for this job by the board.”I am very grateful to Sri Lanka Cricket for offering me this exciting new opportunity,” Willis said. “I see it as an exciting time to get involved with Sri Lanka Cricket and I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”Kent won the T20 cup in 2007 and were finalists in two one-day tournaments in 2008, during which time Willis worked under Graham Ford, Sri Lanka’s current coach. When Willis moved on to the post of high performance director, Paul Farbrace, the former Sri Lanka coach, became Kent’s head coach. Farbrace and Willis are understood to have worked closely together for two years. Willis also played a leading role in launching the county’s cricket academy in 2003.Willis holds a number of coaching qualifications, including the ECB’s Level 4 certificate, a Level 4 specialist wicketkeeping qualification, and a Level 3 certificate for coach education. His work as a coach educator is understood to have impressed Sri Lanka’s board, who had sought someone capable of developing coaches as well as players. He will report to the SLC CEO, and work in coordination with current head of coachng Jerome Jayaratne.Willis played 16 first-class matches for Kent as a wicketkeeper-batsman.

Jeet Raval, the lone new face in New Zealand’s 16-man squad for the tour of Africa, hopes to treat the opportunity as a learning ground to pitch for higher honours

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2016Batsman Jeet Raval, the lone new face in New Zealand’s 16-man squad for the tour of Africa, hopes to treat the opportunity as a learning ground to pitch for higher honours.Raval, a 27-year old left-hander, was picked ahead of Hamish Rutherford as the back-up opener for Tom Latham and Martin Guptill, after scoring 780 runs at 55.71 in the 2015-16 Plunket Shield, New Zealand’s first-class competition. He made 202 not out, 139, 90 and 147 in his last five matches.”For me it’s about learning as much as I can and just be myself,” he said after New Zealand’s first training session in Pretoria, where the team will be based for a week before flying to Zimbabwe for the first Test starting on July 28. “The coaches have told me that I’m here only because I love the game and that there’s no need to change anything. So when I get the opportunity, I’ll be ready to go.”Raval, who admitted to being surprised at the call-up, said his induction into the national team had been enjoyable so far. He said it was very different to the culture shock he had to overcome when he migrated from India to New Zealand with his family as a 16-year old in 2004.”It’s a nice and relaxed environment. All the boys have been welcoming, so I’m really enjoying my time so far,” he said. “We moved to New Zealand with the family when I was 16 with mum and dad deciding we wanted a lifestyle change. At the start I completely hated it. It was a massive cultural change.”I couldn’t understand a word of what the teacher said on my first day of school at Avondale College because I couldn’t speak English. I went home and started crying to my mum and said, ‘Mum let’s got back to India because I don’t know what’s going on here.'”But now, I’ve found a new home here in Auckland for the last few years. I’ve scored a few runs, and got a call from Gavin Larsen when I was playing club cricket in UK. I told my wife first, and then called my dad back home in New Zealand. He was over the moon. So I want to just enjoy this opportunity and be myself.”New Zealand start their tour of Zimbabwe with a three-day warm-up fixture in Harare from July 22, before they move to Bulawayo for two Tests. They will then return to South Africa for two Tests.

Tom Fell’s first century since his recovery from cancer kept alive Worcestershire’s chances of a quarter-final place in the Royal London Cup with a four-wicket victory over Lancashire

ECB Reporters Network31-Jul-2016
ScorecardTom Fell hit his maiden List A hundred (file photo)•Getty Images

Tom Fell’s first century since his recovery from cancer kept alive Worcestershire’s chances of a quarter-final place in the Royal London Cup with a four-wicket victory over Lancashire at New Road. Fell made 116 not out, his highest List A score, as Worcestershire successfully chased 268 with 14 balls to spare and in the process killed off their opponents’ hopes of going through to the knockout stage.Worcestershire now have to win their final group game against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on Monday and look for favourable results elsewhere.For Fell, it was an emotional milestone in his eighth innings since returning to the side a month ago. Having completed two fifties in that time, he moved up a gear to score his maiden List A hundred in an innings of high quality on a pitch where Lancashire found it difficult to dictate to spinners or the slower-paced seam bowlers.Going in as early as the fourth over, when Daryl Mitchell was caught behind off Saqib Mahmood, Fell was into his stride in a partnership of 58 with Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who got to 30 before he was caught at cover off Tom Smith.Worcestershire had a wobble in six balls from Stephen Parry. Joe Clarke was caught low down at short extra cover for 25 and Brett D’Oliveira was stumped after charging the left-arm spinner. Ross Whiteley then restored stability with 38 out of 83, and although he was bowled by a quicker ball by Steven Croft, the crowd was ready and waiting for a standing ovation when Fell reached three figures in 104 balls by cutting Parry for his 14th four.The 22-year-old collected one more boundary and could afford to take a back seat as Ben Cox powered Worcestershire towards their target with 31 from 25 balls.In making 267 for 7, Lancashire owed much to their captain, as Croft featured in two significant partnerships during the “pace off” period. Legspinner D’Oliveira bowled 10 overs for 27 runs and at the same time medium-pacer Mitchell delivered his first full ration in white-ball competitions this season.The home skipper finished with 1 for 41, his wicket an important one when the dangerous Karl Brown was out for 43, giving wicketkeeper Cox his third catch of the innings.At that stage Lancashire were beginning to repair early damage caused by Kyle Abbott’s most effective contribution in Worcestershire’s overseas position. The powerfully built South African emerged from a sharp opening spell with 2 for 24 from six overs. Smith was first to go, mishitting to mid-off, and Alviro Petersen went for 32, a first victim for Cox.Offspinner George Rhodes accounted for Liam Livingstone with assistance from Cox. This brought in Croft to make 33 out of 64 with Brown before adding 99 in 14 overs with Luke Procter.Croft made 78 from 105 balls, hitting a six and six fours before falling to Ed Barnard. He was brilliantly caught by Whiteley, running in from deep midwicket, but Joe Leach, at short fine leg, hardly had to move to hold Procter’s mistimed ramp shot on the return of Abbott. The left hander made 47 at almost a run-a-ball.

The ICC has handed official warnings under its pitch and outfield monitoring process to Kingsmead in Durban and the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2016The ICC has handed official warnings under its pitch and outfield monitoring process to Kingsmead in Durban and the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. Kingsmead hosted the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand from August 19 to 23, and the Queen’s Park Oval the fourth Test between West Indies and India from August 18 to 22. Both matches were heavily curtailed because of outfield conditions.Andy Pycroft and Ranjan Madugalle, the match referees for the two Tests, both rated the outfields “poor” in their official reports.Madugalle and Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager, reviewed CSA’s response to the “poor” rating, while Allardice and match referee David Boon reviewed WICB’s response.Since this was the first occasion either ground had received a “poor” rating, the grounds stood to receive either a warning or a fine not exceeding USD 15,000, along with “a directive for appropriate corrective action”.”The sanctions take into account Durban and Port of Spain venues’ history of producing good conditions for international cricket and commitment by both the boards to take appropriate steps to ensure similar events are not repeated in future,” an ICC release said.In all, 11 sessions out of 15 were lost to a wet and soft outfield at Kingsmead. Only 22 overs of play were possible in the Port of Spain Test, with no play at all on days two, three, four and five despite largely sunny weather.

The Supreme Court has put off passing the order concerning the BCCI’s implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations until its next working day, which is October 17

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-20162:49

Supreme Court wants BCCI president to clarify approach to ICC

The Supreme Court has put off passing a final order concerning the BCCI’s implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations until its next working day, which is October 17 because the court breaks for holidays for a week.The court had initially given the board one day to provide an undertaking that it would accept the recommendations “unconditionally” by October 7, but the delay was because the entire three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justices AM Khanvilkar and DY Chandrachud, which had heard the matter on Thursday, was not available after lunch on Friday.The matter had been listed for the “end of board,” which meant the order would be announced after all other cases for the day were heard, but Justice Chandrachud, who was presiding on a different bench on Friday, had left for the day before the other matters in the Chief Justice’s courtroom were concluded.As a result, the court passed an interim order in which it noted that the BCCI had been “non-cooperative in its attitude” based on the status report submitted by the Lodha Committee and also the arguments raised by amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium on Thursday.”The sequence of events that have taken place since 18th July, 2016 and referred to in the status report prima facie give an impression that BCCI has far from lending its fullest cooperation to the Committee adopted an obstructionist and at times a defiant attitude which the Committee has taken note of and described as an impediment undermining not only the Committee but even the dignity of this Court with several statements and actions which according to the Committee are grossly out of order and may even constitute contempt,” the order stated.The court said it would leave a final decision for a future date, but reminded the BCCI about its attitude. “All that we need mention is that in the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee, the BCCI appears to be non-cooperative in its attitude.”Chief Justice Thakur also said in court that BCCI president Anurag Thakur must file a personal affidavit to respond to whether he had approached the ICC asking for a letter that may have aided the board in not implementing the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.The Chief Justice was referencing a story in on September 12 that quoted ICC chief executive David Richardson as saying that Anurag Thakur had asked the ICC to address a letter to the BCCI, asking it to clarify whether the recommendations of the Lodha Committee did not amount to government interference in the board. As per ICC regulations, member boards cannot have government interference in their functioning. ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, Richardson said, had been reluctant to get involved in the matter unless “formally” requested to.The Supreme Court has asked BCCI president Anurag Thakur for a personal affidavit•Hindustan Times via Getty Images

“Mr. Anurag Thakur, President of the BCCI shall file a personal affidavit whether he had asked the CEO of the ICC to state that the appointment of Justice Lodha Committee was tantamount to Government interference in the working of the BCCI,” the court said in the order.A BCCI official ESPNcricinfo spoke to, however, said the board would continue to stick to its stance that it will not give the undertaking asked by the court to “unconditionally” implement the recommendations of the Lodha Committee. When asked whether the postponement of the hearing to October 17 would give the BCCI time to reach out to the state associations and form a response, the official said the absence of the top brass of the board would be a hurdle.The official said both BCCI president Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke would be in Cape Town to attend ICC board meetings between October 10 and 14. They would return by October 16.On Thursday, the court had given the BCCI one day to return with such an undertaking, but a board official had indicated later that evening that it was not in a position to do so in such a short time frame. The court had set the deadline while hearing the BCCI’s response to the Lodha Committee’s status report, which had been filed in the Supreme Court on September 28 and recommended that the court “supersede” the board’s office bearers with “immediate effect” because they were hindering the implementation of the recommendations.

A round-up of the Sunfoil Series matches played from October 5-8, 2016

Firdose Moonda07-Oct-2016It took Dolphins just 11.5 overs on the fourth morning to take the remaining three Warriors wickets and seal victory by an innings and 70 runs in East London. Fittingly, it was left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj who took the winning wicket to rack up career-best match figures of 13 for 157.The win was set up by a solid batting performance from the Dolphins on the first two days. After losing Imraan Khan on the first ball of the match, Dolphins rebounded strongly courtesy good returns from the rest of the top five. While No. 3 Daryn Smit top-scored with 121, he was well supported by Sarel Erwee (59), Vaughn van Jaarsveld (90) and Khaya Zondo (81). But, coming in at No. 9, it was Maharaj who made the difference between a decent first-innings total and a very good one. He struck 72 off 71, sharing a 108-run eighth-wicket partnership with Zondo, to help Dolphins up to a final score of 478.Then came the bowling heroics. In the first innings, Maharaj took 7 for 89 to spark a collapse from 132 for 1 to 230 all out. Edward Moore (62) and Colin Ackermann (68) scored fifties for the Warriors, but the next highest score was 29 by No. 9 Andrew Birch. Dolphins imposed the follow-on and there was no let-up in Warriors’ second innings. Maharaj collected 6 for 68 as the Warriors crumbled to 178 all out, handing the visitors an emphatic victory to start their season.Test opener Stephen Cook struck an unbeaten 97 in Lions’ successful chase of 160•Getty Images

Lions wrapped up a 10-wicket win against Cobras early on the third day in Johannesburg. Chasing a modest 160, Lions romped to victory, with Test opener Stephen Cook top-scoring with an unbeaten 97.On a spicy surface, Cobras, having been embroiled in off-field issues over the future of their coach Paul Adams, chose to bat and were quickly skittled for 102. None of their batsmen made more then 29 runs while wickets were shared between Lions’ four seamers. Debutant Wiaan Mulder, who will begin his final school examinations shortly, enjoyed the best returns with 3 for 10.Cobras then hit back by reducing Lions to 99 for 8. Dane Paterson and Vernon Philander made the early inroads but it was another youngster, former Under-19 World Cup squad member Jason Smith, who claimed the biggest haul – 4 for 24. Temba Bavuma, who made an unbeaten 76, with support from Nono Pongolo, ensured the Lions gained a 52-run first-innings advantage.Cobras were in danger of another embarrassment when they tumbled to 17 for 4 and then 113 for 7, at the hands of Hardus Viljoen and Mulder. Smith showed his value with 95 while Dane Piedt provided some tail wagging and made 41, batting at No.9. Viljoen finished with 6 for 75 as Cobras managed to eke over 200 in their second dig.It was late on day two that Lions’ chase began and they looked to end the match quickly. They faced 18 overs and racked up 117 runs but bad light dragged the match into a third day. None of the Cobras bowlers enjoyed any success as Cook and Rasssie van der Dussen reached the target to give Lions maximum points: 15.08.Marchant De Lange claimed career-best figures of 7 for 23 in Knights’ four-wicket win•Getty Images

Down the road at SuperSport Park, Mark Boucher’s coaching career did not get off to the start he would have wanted. Titans suffered a four-wicket defeat at the hands of Nicky Boje’s Knights, whose squad had been bolstered by a host of former Titans players.Marchant de Lange’s career-best 7 for 23 gave Knights just 171 to chase. Theunis de Bruyn then stayed unbeaten on 90 and took them to the target.De Lange did not do the early damage, though. That was down to Duanne Olivier and Mbulelo Budaza, who reduced Titans to 97 for 4 on the first morning. Among the early wickets was Dean Elgar, who was making a comeback after an ankle injury. He scored 33 off 71 balls, including five fours. Heinrich Klaasen and David Wiese shared a sixth-wicket stand of 142 to take Titans to a competitive 287, which was made to look even better when they bowled Knights out for 174.This meant Titans gained a first-innings lead of 113 runs, but then they slumped. In 14.2 overs on the second afternoon, de Lange and Olivier ran through them. Titans were bowled out for 57 with just three of their batsmen getting into double-figures. Knights closed the day on 41 for 1, with victory in sight.The third morning brought a thriller as Rowan Richards and Malusi Siboto kept the Knights in check. At 92 for 5, they still needed 79 runs and with a long tail, that was a tough ask. De Bruyn, though, held firm, and found support from Shadley van Schalkwyk, to steer his team home.