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Sussex collapse to 109 for 9 in second innings, an overnight lead of 136

ECB Reporters Network08-Sep-2020Spinners Dan Moriarty and Amar Virdi put the skids under Sussex’s second innings at the Kia Oval to reduce them to 109 for 9 in a frenetic final session of the day and bowl Surrey dramatically back into the final Bob Willis Trophy fixture.Moriarty took a career-best 6 for 60 from 16 overs and Virdi 3 for 31 from 13 and it took a 40-run ninth wicket partnership between former Surrey fast bowler Stuart Meaker and Jack Carson to rescue Sussex from the depths of 62 for 8.Meaker remains on a fighting 32 not out, but Moriarty had Carson caught at slip for 6 three overs from stumps and tomorrow Sussex will resume with an overall lead of 136.But Surrey will hope they are not chasing much more than 150 in the final innings on a dry surface as they seek a first win of the competition, following four defeats in the south group, even after earlier battling their way to 388 in reply to Sussex’s first innings 415.It was a stand of 112 in 24 overs for the seventh wicket between Will Jacks and Jamie Overton which first rallied Surrey on day three, after they had initially slipped to 256 for 6 after resuming on 171 for 4, but Sussex still had a halfway lead of 27.That soon didn’t seem much of an advantage, however, as 20-year-old slow left-armer Moriarty took the new ball, alongside Overton, and whistled out the first three Sussex batsmen.Aaron Thomason even survived an edge to Rory Burns at slip before falling later in Moriarty’s opening over for 9 when another delivery turned sharply for keeper Ben Foakes to pull off a smart stumping.Tom Haines had just driven Moriarty for six in his third over when, to the very next ball, he advanced again but miscued an ill-judged push-drive high to Hashim Amla’s right at mid off. The veteran former South Africa batting star made good ground to dive and hold a tremendous catch.Moriarty, in the same over, then had Harry Finch held at slip by Burns for 13 and 31 for 3 soon became 58 for 6 as off spinner Virdi, replacing Overton, struck three times in his first four overs to send back Ben Brown, Delray Rawlins and James Coles.Virdi, already Surrey’s senior spinner at the age of 22, had Brown leg-before on the back foot for 7 and Rawlins caught at backward point trying to force a ball which turned and bounced. The 16-year-old debutant Coles, Sussex’s youngest first-class cricketer, was dropped at second slip on 1 off Moriarty before, on 10, falling lbw to one from Virdi that scuttled into his pads.Moriarty completed a maiden ten-wicket match haul, in just his second first-class game, by spinning one out of the footholds to have left-hander George Garton leg-before for 1 in his seventh over and then, in his next over, seeing David Wiese lift a drive straight to short extra cover.Earlier, Jacks finished unbeaten on 84 from 119 balls, with ten fours, but Surrey’s first innings ended in something of a flurry of wickets too as 19-year-old off spinner Carson took the last three tailend scalps to earn himself deserved career-best figures of 5 for 93 from 34.5 impressive overs.Overton, on his Surrey red-ball debut, made 55 from 78 balls with a six and eight fours before mis-hitting Wiese’s medium pace to mid on and Surrey lost their last four wickets for 20 runs as Carson had James Taylor caught at long off for 3 before yorking Moriarty for 1 and having last man Virdi caught off bat and pad at short leg two balls later.Sussex had also bowled well in the morning session to restrict Surrey from their overnight 171 for 4 to 259 for 6 at lunch, with Coles bowling Foakes for 39 with his tenth ball in first-class cricket after being given two overs immediately before the interval.Coles was mobbed by his teammates after his magic moment, producing a classic slow left-arm delivery which pitched on middle and took Foakes’ off stump out of the ground as one of county cricket’s most in-form batsmen groped forward defensively and was beaten by the turn.Rawlins had already struck an important blow for Sussex with his slow left-armers, claiming the prized wicket Amla, who had started the day on six but was leg-before for 26 in the 23rd over of the morning after battling for more than an hour against Carson and the accurate fast-medium of both Henry Crocombe and Wiese.Bermudan all-rounder Rawlins, introduced to bowl his left-arm spin in the 67th over of the innings, straightened one just enough to beat Amla’s forward defensive and hit him on the back pad in front of off stump.Foakes batted in composed and responsible fashion before succumbing to Coles, but after lunch Jacks and Overton counter-attacked in increasingly breezy fashion to bring Surrey back into the match.

The opener struck her maiden T20I century to help West Indies clinch the series 3-0

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2019Hayley Matthews’ maiden T20I century helped West Indies women rout Ireland by 72 runs in the third and final T20I, thus clinching the series 3-0.Matthews’ 107 not out off 62 balls, studded with seven fours and nine sixes, powered West Indies to 188 for 1. Along with Chedean Nation, she added 162 in a record second-wicket stand – it was the fourth-highest stand in women’s T20Is and the highest for the second wicket. In response, Ireland opener Mary Waldron scored an unbeaten 55 off 62 balls but they could manage only 116 for 3 in their 20 overs.Kim Garth, captaining Ireland once again in the absence of Laura Delany, put West Indies in after winning the toss. Matthews and Britney Cooper added 26 for the opening stand in five overs before medium-pacer Sophie MacMahon got Cooper caught-behind. Nation then joined Matthews and the two hammered the bowlers by scoring at 10.80 runs per over.West Indies brought up their 100 on the last ball of the 14th over. Until then, Matthews was still on a relatively sedate 39-ball 41 but the next four balls – bowled by legspinner Celeste Raack – produced 22 runs, including three successive sixes. After that, Matthews hit at least one boundary per over, except the 18th. She brought up her century off 59 balls with a four off the first ball of the final over, while Nation remained unbeaten on 63 off 46.It was never going to be an easy chase; a target of 189 or more has been chased down only once in women’s T20Is. Ireland themselves have never touched 180. Still, they fought, with Waldron and Garth putting up 94 for the second wicket. But they couldn’t keep up with the climbing asking rate.Waldron brought up her maiden half-century – off 59 balls – in the 19th over but the result was decided well before that.

An unbeaten 18-run stand for the tenth wicket took India past the finish line after the hosts were reduced to 190 for 9

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2018
Smriti Mandhana flicks the ball in front of square•BCCI

How would you describe the 2017 Women’s World Cup final? A thriller? If so, the next ODI between India and England turned out to be nothing less – this time in the opener of the three-match series in Nagpur.It took a last-wicket stand of 18, between Ekta Bisht and Poonam Yadav, to help the World Cup runners-up beat World Champions England in a thrilling finish. Before their performance with the bat, the two India bowlers also took seven wickets to dismiss England for 207.A collapse, one reminiscent of their failed run-chase in the World Cup final at Lord’s, had reduced India from 166 for 3 to 190 for 9, but with 18 needed off the last three overs, Poonam joined Bisht at the crease and scored four runs – all in singles – in the 48th over.A front foot no-ball off the first delivery of the 49th over from stand-in captain Anya Shrubsole, the Player of the Match in the World Cup final, conceded five as Bisht found the backward-point boundary. Three nervy singles and another four, from Poonam, made it 12 runs off the over. Shrubsole hung her head, clutching her knee in dismay, and India needed two to win off six balls.Bisht then worked a single towards third man off Natalie Sciver, before a wide down the leg side sealed victory in 49.2 overs. The run-a-ball scores of 7 by Bisht and 12 by Poonam handed India their first win in the 50-over format this home season, following a 3-0 hiding against Australia in Baroda last month.India should not have struggled in the low chase after Smriti Mandhana made 86. With the equation reading 37 needed off 72 balls, Veda Krishnamurthy, Sushma Verma and Jhulan Goswami played out 46 balls for 13 runs, before left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone removed all three batsmen in consecutive overs. Her 4 for 37 followed offspinner Danielle Hazell’s 2 for 24 that had left the hosts wobbling at 41 for 2 inside the Powerplay. One of Hazell’s wickets was that of Mithali Raj, lbw for a duck in her 192nd ODI appearance.Georgia Elwiss is bowled by Ekta Bisht•BCCI

Mandhana subsequently steered the chase with two fifty partnerships en route to her sixth half-century in seven matches. With Harmanpreet Kaur (21 off 38) she added 51 for the fourth wicket and shepherded India close to the hundred-run mark, before sharing a 71-run stand with Deepti Sharma. Variable bounce and turn on the Nagpur pitch forced Mandhana to be cautious, but she managed to hit five fours and three sixes.England had also collapsed after opting to bat. They slid from 71 for no loss to 124 for 6 in the middle overs. Leading the undoing for the visitors was legspinner Poonam, who dismissed Danielle Wyatt (27) and Amy Jones in the 12th over. She followed up with a second caught-and-bowled dismissal in the 16th over – Tammy Beaumont for 37 – before Bisht ran through the middle order with three wickets.A semblance of resistance, however, came from Fran Wilson, whose 78-ball 45 hauled England to 181 for 8 on the back of three partnerships, including the 40-run eight-wicket stand with Hazell. After Wilson holed out in the 46th over, Hazell provided a final flourish. Her 52-ball 33 lifted England past 200, but Bisht bowled her in the final over to set India a target of 208.

Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of the rest of Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa with a fractured hand

Firdose Moonda22-Jan-2017Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of the rest of Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa with a fractured hand. He sustained the injury during the shortened opening T20I on Friday night, at Centurion, when he was struck while trying to take a catch in his follow through in his first over.Farhaan Behardien hit a low full toss straight back to Pradeep, who put up his hand in an attempt to take the catch, but it served more as evasive action as the ball was heading straight at his face. He managed to complete his two overs, but was ruled out of Sunday’s T20I at the Wanderers and was spotted with his right hand in a sling during the match. He will return to Sri Lanka this week.Sri Lanka’s other injury concern is opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka, who was earmarked to open the batting in the T20s but has hampered by a back injury. Gunathilake is being assessed by Sri Lanka’s medical team and a call will be taken on his availability as soon as possible. Sri Lanka’s team manager Ranjit Fernando told ESPNcricinfo the prospects of Gunathilake playing in this series are “not good.”

After having to deal with some tragic news off the field, Luke Wright continued his good form with another match-winning innings for the Melbourne Stars, helping them to an eight-wicket win against the Hobart Hurricanes

The Report by Will Macpherson06-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLuke Wright has had to deal with much more than some good form on the field•Getty Images

Luke Wright has had a strange few days. It began, on Saturday night, with the innings of his long career, on the night of the Big Bash League’s short life. Perhaps the most significant statistic was 80,883, but Wright’s unbeaten 109 won the Melbourne derby for the Melbourne Stars. It was a knock of staggering, bunted beauty, short-arm-jabbing and clearing the front leg for his life.Hours after, however, everything looked a whole lot less rosy. Getting back to his hotel at 4.30am, at least two sheets to the wind, he checked his phone. There lay a raft of messages from England, asking him to call urgently.The news, inevitably, was bad. Sussex – the county Wright captains – fast bowler Matthew Hobden had died, aged 22. Details were hazy. Hobden was a popular, friendly, gentle, perhaps slightly slow, soul, the sort no one dislikes. The sort everyone will miss, and the sort with everything before him. For Wright, memories of the death of another good friend taken far too soon, after Tom Maynard, were all too fresh.”From the best night ever to the worst,” he tweeted upon waking with a headful of dust on Sunday morning. Wright’s immediate plan was to fly home, to be with those close to Hobden at Hove, and to play his part in Sussex’s strong front in the face of unthinkable, shocking tragedy. After a million and one phone calls, it was decided he would stay in Melbourne, and soldier on with the Stars.Wright and his Sussex team-mate and good friend George Bailey asked the Stars and the Hobart Hurricanes to wear black armbands for today’s fixture in memory of their mate Matt.And so his strange few days ended the same way it started, with a match-winning knock at the MCG for the resurgent Stars. Wright’s 99-run stand with an uncharacteristically sedate and straight Glenn Maxwell saw the hosts home after a slightly rocky start to their pursuit of 125.Earlier, had the Stars written out their exact game plan in note form, it might have looked something like this: win the toss, bowl first. Bowl probing, nagging, frankly irritating spin first up, and snag a wicket in each of the first two overs. Field like demons, and nab a pair of run-outs for your trouble. Remain patient in the middle overs, in the knowledge that your earlier efforts have left your opponents with limited wiggle room. As the death overs approach, let the pressure tell and see off the set batsmen. Then, to the finisher and the tail, bowl yorkers. Just yorkers. The result: 124 all out, four wickets in the first six overs, six in the last five. What a simple game.Maxwell took the first wicket, Tim Paine slapping the third legal delivery to James Faulkner, who took a fine jumping catch at mid-on. Three balls later, Michael Beer had strangled Kumar Sangakkara down the leg side, although it may have just hit his pad, and an over after that, Bailey ran out Ben Dunk, who had pierced the infield in a manner he has not managed in recent weeks. Having been 20 for 3 against the Melbourne Renegades two nights ago, the Hurricanes were 21 for 3 now.Bailey ran the rebuild, but soon lost Dan Christian to a fine Wright direct hit, running to his left from mid-on. Bailey found a magnificent cover drive off Adam Zampa, launched Faulkner for a long and straight six and sent Scott Boland over Kevin Pietersen at long-off. But his partner for 10 overs, Jonathan Wells, was done in the flight by Zampa, and by the over’s end Bailey was gone too, beaten for pace.Faced with the magnificent John Hastings and Boland, who continuously aimed for the toes, Hurricanes’ tail was unable to drag them to respectability, with the innings finishing with three wickets in three balls; Cameron Boyce and Sam Rainbird bowled by Boland’s toe-crunchers, then Shaun Tait was run-out looking to improve the score, with a single.Hurricanes bowled well first up, and when Pietersen hared towards Wright – whose scream of “no” came a little too late for the ever-eager Pietersen – a steadying influence was required. Or two, as it proved. Wright and Maxwell took no risks in picking off their target, and remained in utter control. As the end approached, Maxwell launched Boyce over cow corner, then down the ground for four.Then, consecutively, they brought up their fifties – Wright’s with a pull to the wide long-on boundary, followed by a long look at the night’s sky – before Maxwell ended the over, the game and his BBL season (he, along with Faulkner and Boland, will join up with Australia in Perth on Friday) with a skipping six over long-on.Wright had done a smiley stint on the mic for and, post-game, his typical cheeriness belied all that had gone before. He admitted that five days on, his first knock still hadn’t quite sunk in. “What a terrible celebration,” he lamented, “but it’s one of those moments I can tell my grandkids about.” One senses that the news that came in between may take rather longer to compute.

Trent Johnston, who has been in the vanguard of Ireland’s recent renaissance, has announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the year

Ger Siggins15-Jul-2013Trent Johnston, who has been in the vanguard of Ireland’s recent renaissance, has announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the year. The 39-year-old will play in the World T20 qualifiers in UAE in November, and finish his Ireland career in the ICC Intercontinental Cup final in Dubai in early December.”It’s been a difficult decision and I’ve racked my brains ever since I came back from the UAE tour in March”, Johnston said. “It’s becoming harder to recover after matches now, so much so that I can hardly walk for a couple of days.”He explained that after that two-week tour he could only put on and take off his socks with the help of his children, Charlie (10) and Claudia (13). “I knew then my time was limited and although it would have been great to play in another World Cup in Australia, it was just beyond me. It’s time to move on to new things and give Phil Simmons a chance to find somebody to replace me.”Johnston’s announcement comes just after Ireland qualified for the 2015 World Cup and the final of the Intercontinental Cup. “I’d set myself personal goals at the start of the year and I’ve been slowly ticking those boxes as we go along. I always knew we were going to qualify for the 2015 World Cup with the squad we have, and the standard we’ve been playing at for a few years now. I’ve achieved a lot in my career and I’m pretty happy with how it’s all went.”A native of Wollongong, New South Wales, Johnston played several first-class games for that state before he was released in 2000. During the 1990s he had played as a club professional in Dublin, where he met his Irish wife Vanessa, so was intrigued by an approach by a former team-mate, Jason Molins, who was by then Ireland captain. Molins had worked out that by virtue of his marriage Johnston was now entitled to an Irish passport – and a place in the team currently taking shape under Adrian Birrell (who was last week appointed assistant coach to South Africa).He packed his bags and made his Ireland debut one week after his 30th birthday – and went on to play 186 games for his adopted country, including 65 ODIs, 28 T20Is and 27 first-class games. His 264 wickets is the third-highest ever for Ireland, while his 60 appearances as captain is second only to his successor, William Porterfield.It is as the charismatic captain of the first Irish side to play in a World Cup that he will be best remembered. Their first two results, a tie with Zimbabwe and win over Pakistan, took them into the Super Eights, with Johnston’s six into the grandstand the final blow for Inzamam ul-Haq’s team.

Trent Johnston’s career highlights

• He has played 65 ODIs and 28 T20s for Ireland picking up 65 and 29 wickets respectively

• He captained Ireland in 60 matches, the second-most after his successor William Porterfield

• He is the third-highest wicket-taker for Ireland with 264 wickets

• He led Ireland in their maiden World Cup appearance in 2007 when they beat Pakistan and qualified for the Super Eights

• He won the ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2005 and 2007

• Ireland were awarded ODI status under his leadership

• He announced an indefinite break from cricket in March 2008

• He returned to the game and resumed leading the Ireland attack from July 2008

• Ireland fell four runs short of beating England in August 2009, after Johnston’s Man-of-the-Match performance of 4 for 26 and 21* off 15

• He claimed his best international figures of 5 for 14 against Canada in the final of the 2010 World Twenty20 Qualifiers

• He introduced cricket to the ‘chicken dance’ during the 2011 World Cup

“I was incredibly proud to wear the shamrock and to lead your country 60 times including a World Cup was just massive for me”, he said. “That first World Cup put Irish cricket on the map and it has kick-started the cricketing expansion that we’re witnessing now. It was a privilege to be part of that.”With Johnston’s doing a ‘chicken dance’ after each wicket, Ireland went on to further impress in the second phase, beating Bangladesh to elevate them to the official ODI status at which they continue to challenge the Full Members. He also captained Ireland to their first international trophies, the Intercontinental Cup wins of 2005 and 2007.After a brief retirement following a gruelling tour of Bangladesh in 2008, Johnston returned to lead the Irish attack for four more years. That he is still a leading figure in Associate cricket on the brink of 40 is down to a Spartan work-ethic and being able to concentrate full-time on the game since being centrally-contracted in 2009. “The back-up I’ve got from Cricket Ireland, and my friends and sponsors Philip Smith and Patrick Nally of RSA, has given me a chance to play on long after I expected,” he said.Johnston intends to move into full-time coaching, and has already racked up a strong CV with the Leinster Lightning, who have dominated Ireland’s new regional competitions. “The Lighting has been a great experience for me, and a big step up from coaching clubs in an amateur set-up”, he told ESPNcricinfo. “Because funds are tight I’ve had to do a lot more and take more responsibility. You’re involved in selection, media work, and organising training sessions and game plans so it has brought a new dimension which is really interesting.”Towards the end of my Ireland career Simmo gave me extra responsibility in preparing the bowling department and working with the guys there, which was good experience, and I also went to the Women’s World Cup qualifier in 2011 as Jeremy Bray’s assistant.”Cricket Ireland isn’t in a position to hire Johnston, but hopes ICC funding down the line might provide an opportunity. “Warren Deutrom has been honest with me, but I don’t really know if I can stay in Ireland to progress my coaching career,” Johnston said. “It would be great to pick up a job as an assistant or bowling coach and continue to learn the trade. But I know to do that I’d have to travel, which would present challenges. That’s something we’ll deal with if it arises. Hopefully there will be offers and it’s my main priority now to get something nailed down for after December.”Current Ireland captain William Porterfield said: “It’s pretty hard to sum up the impact that TJ has had on Irish cricket and what he has achieved. He has brought so much to the squad both on and off the field, leading by example not only with the new ball, but in showing what it means to pull on the Irish jersey by his work ethic off the pitch. I look forward to enjoying the rest of the season with him and sending him out on a high in the Intercontinental Cup final in December.”Coach Phil Simmons also knows he has a large hole to fill in his attack. “Trent has been one of the pillars of this team. He’s been incredibly consistent and gotten vital wickets at crucial times spearheading the bowling unit. His experience has been invaluable, his dedication and work ethic has been exceptional.”Irish supporters will give the man they call ‘TJ’ a fitting send-off on September 3 when Ireland play England in the RSA Challenge at Malahide.

Kyle Mills, the New Zealand fast bowler, has said West Indies opener Chris Gayle will test New Zealand’s bowlers on the upcoming tour of the USA and the Caribbean

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2012Kyle Mills, the New Zealand seamer, has said West Indies opener Chris Gayle will test New Zealand’s bowlers on the upcoming tour of the USA and the Caribbean, which starts with two Twenty20s in Florida on June 30.The New Zealand squad left for the tour on Sunday to play two Twenty20s, five ODIs and two Tests. Mills said that though West Indies lost their last two series against Australia and England, the inclusion of Gayle will give them a huge boost. “(Gayle is) the hottest batsman in the world at the moment,” Mills told . “He’s going to have his moments where he’s on top of you. It’s how you respond to that. It’s a test of character and a test of you as an international cricketer. Personally I’m really looking forward to it.”Mills, 33, said that his side will rely on the experience of its bowling attack to make early inroads. “We need to be ready from ball one. The quicker the bowlers find their rhythm the better off we’ll be. People like Jacob (Oram), Tim (Southee) and myself have been around the circuit a wee while so we’ve got a really good understanding of our own game and what needs to be done.”Mills added that while New Zealand had a fair idea about what kind of conditions to expect in the West Indies, they were less prepared for the two T20 matches in Florida. “The wicket wasn’t the best (in 2010). It was a slow wicket and it wasn’t a very high scoring game.”They think it’s going to be a bouncier wicket this time, which I’m sure will bode well for the batsmen. But it’s a great opportunity for New Zealand to showcase the game of cricket in a foreign country where there’s massive potential for the game to grow.”Mills said he used the three-month gap in the international calendar to work on his bowling variations. “In the off season I’ve been doing a lot of rehab, a lot of work on my game and the last four weeks have come around pretty quickly, but I’ve really been looking forward to it.”I’ve really concentrated on a few slower balls, because from my understanding over in the West Indies they’re going to be low slow wickets.”Edited by Carlyle Laurie

Michael Hussey has given a cautious thumbs-up to some of the proposed new rules for next season’s Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2011Michael Hussey has given a cautious thumbs-up to some of the proposed new rules for next season’s Big Bash League. The eight-team tournament might include features such as a super-over in which the batting team has its runs doubled, and the possibility that spectators could keep balls hit into the crowd.Cricket Australia asked fans to voice their opinions on the ideas via an online survey last week, seven months before the tournament is expected to kick off. Hussey has just arrived back in Perth after playing a key role in the IPL final victory for Chennai Super Kings, and he said the concept of the super-over “sounds all right”.”Who calls which over it is? The captain? I’d like it if I was batting, I’d call the super over as soon as I got out there,” Hussey said. “I haven’t thought about it too much but the concept sounds all right, especially if there was a Chris Gayle at the crease. He had a couple of overs in the IPL where he went for 27 and 34 runs off overs. It could almost be game over if he had one of those overs.”Hussey said the idea of fans being able to keep balls hit into the crowd had some merit. However, he said it was important the batsman was not disadvantaged for having cleared the fence.”It depends how green the wicket is,” he said. “If it gets to the 15th over and the wicket is still green, I don’t want a new ball coming out, that’s for sure. But I think it’s a good idea, a bit like baseball, maybe a souvenir for a kid out there. They are going to need a lot of back-up balls of the same over range. I don’t think it’s the worst idea.”Another proposal would allow bowlers to send down two bouncers per over, which Hussey said was fair for what has otherwise been seen as a batsman’s game. Hussey has never played a Big Bash match for Western Australia, having been on international duties during December and January ever since the tournament began.He’s just as unlikely to feature in this summer’s tournament, with the eight city-based sides almost certain to be without Australia’s star players due to international commitments. That looms as a potential problem for the Big Bash League, which Hussey said would never be as big as the IPL.”It won’t be of the same magnitude because of the volume of money they spend on their tournament compared with what we could spend on ours,” Hussey said. “But I think in terms of the quality of cricket we can definitely compete, attract some overseas players.”I guess we are a little limited in that we can’t attract all countries because when they play domestically clashes with our summer. But we can attract some real quality international players and we know that our first class system and our core players are very, very good.”

West Indies have been hit by a bunch of injuries ahead of the third one-dayer against South Africa in Dominica

Cricinfo staff26-May-2010West Indies have been hit by a bunch of injuries ahead of the third one-dayer against South Africa in Dominica. The struggling home side, yet to win a match in the series, will be without experienced batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan (left hamstring strain), left-arm-spinner Nikita Miller (right side strain) and fast bowler Kemar Roach (left ankle soreness) at least for the next two ODIs.The West Indies selectors have also dropped the out-of-form Andre Fletcher from the 13-man list for the third and fourth one-dayers. Two players who weren’t picked for the first two matches, Jamaican allrounder David Bernard and 21-year-old batsman Darren Bravo, have returned to the squad.Bravo forced his way back into contention with a Man-of-the-Series performance in the recent A team tri-nation series in Bangladesh, where he scored a hundred and three half-centuries in five innings to make a tournament-high 309 runs. Bernard, who has been in and out of the West Indian one-day side since being selected last June after a six-year absence from international cricket, gets another chance to cement his place.West Indies are 2-0 down in the five-ODI series against South Africa, and lost both Twenty20s which preceded the one-dayers as well.West Indies: Chris Gayle (capt), Dwayne Bravo (vice-capt), Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Dale Richards, Darren Sammy, Jerome Taylor

Retired Scotland seam bowler had been accused of making racial slur by former team-mates

Andrew Miller10-Jun-2024John Blain, the former Scotland and Yorkshire fast bowler, has called for a “full and transparent inquiry” into the country’s cricket authorities, after revealing that he was cleared of allegations of racist behaviour in January, only for Cricket Scotland and sportscotland to fail to make those findings public.Blain, who played 118 matches across formats for Scotland, was accused by his former team-mates, Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh, of using a racist slur on a tour of Kenya in 2007, and was subsequently suspended from Cricket Scotland’s Hall of Fame.Blain’s case was one of numerous referrals that stemmed from an independent review in July 2022 that found Cricket Scotland to be institutionally racist and led to the resignation of the board. However, following a year-long investigation – carried out jointly by two law firms and Sporting Equals, the race inclusion charity – the claim has been rejected, with ESPNcricinfo understanding that the vast majority of incidents cited will also have no case to answer.On January 12, the interim Cricket Scotland CEO Pete Fitzboydon wrote to Blain to confirm that the allegations against him were “unfounded” and that no further action would be taken. At the time, Blain was asked to keep that judgment confidential, to enable the board to communicate the news to the complainers.Related

• Cricket Scotland chief exec: 'I'm determined to find a way through this for everyone'

• Cricket Scotland's CEO calls Blain's public comments 'very disappointing'

• John Blain threatens legal action as Cricket Scotland race row descends into acrimony

• Scotland racism investigators deny 'exonerations' were within their remit

• Hoggard, Bresnan, Blain withdraw from ECB racism hearing

Now, however, after what he described as “five months of delay and prevarication”, he has chosen to go public with a scathing critique of the process and his accusers. “To describe the way sportscotland and Cricket Scotland initially handled that report as a ‘kangaroo court’ is an insult to marsupials everywhere,” Blain wrote in a post on X/Twitter.”It’s obvious to me that, rather than publish this very clear and detailed judgement which fully exonerates me, Cricket Scotland is once again running scared of the small “anti-racist” cabal which has exerted such a malign influence over our sport,” he added. “My life has been on hold for too long and it’s time that the truth is finally told about one of the biggest sporting scandals of recent times.”Addressing Majid and Qasim, whose testimony formed the basis of the damning 2022 report “Changing the Boundaries” that led to the charges being levelled, Blain expressed his disbelief that they would make “such false and disgraceful accusations” after he had given both men “considerable support during their careers”.”If he truly believed I was a racist, why did Majid try so hard to persuade me to join his club, Clydesdale, as professional player-coach in 2015, eight years after he claimed I’d used a racist word, and also recommended me to a string of Asian players for one-to-one coaching,” Blain said.”Likewise, if Qasim really believed I was a racist, why did he seek me out for one-to-one coaching in 2014 to help him regain his Scotland place – something I gladly did for free?”Blain added that the inquiry’s findings also called into question the legitimacy of his ECB sanction – a reprimand and £2500 fine imposed by the Cricket Discipline Commission in May 2023 following Azeem Rafiq’s testimony about his treatment during his time at Yorkshire. Blain, along with five other former players at the club, refused to participate in a process that he described at the time as “irredeemably flawed”.Only Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, chose to appear at the CDC hearings, where he was subsequently cleared “on the balance of probabilities” of making a racist remark ahead of a Yorkshire T20 fixture in 2009.”Crucially, the in-depth Scottish investigation did not accept Majid’s allegation that I had used the P-word during a tour to Kenya in 2007,” Blain said. “That’s the exact same allegation the England and Wales Cricket Board panel used to support their finding against me.”Majid’s false allegation was used as corroboration of Azeem Rafiq’s equally untrue allegation and was central to the ECB verdict against me, which must now be deemed unsafe.”What’s worse, the ECB tribunal stated that because I had not engaged with their flawed process, they were entitled to conclude that I had no answer to the allegations against me … their reasoning was lazy and made no attempt to reconcile Majid’s account with the contradictory evidence of four other witnesses.”In response, an ECB spokesperson insisted that the CDC process had been “extensive and thorough”, and that Blain had been given every opportunity to defend himself during the proceedings.”The Cricket Discipline Commission upheld the charge against John Blain for using racist language at Yorkshire in or around 2010 and 2011 after considering all the evidence before it, including Mr Blain’s defence and a number of supporting witness statements filed by him (through his then legal team) before he withdrew from the process. He declined the opportunity to appear before the commission to defend himself in person.”In a joint statement, Aamer Anwar, Majid’s and Qasim’s solicitor, expressed the pair’s own frustrations at Cricket Scotland’s handling of the issue, including the fact that many of the complainants referenced in Fitzboydon’s letter to Blain still had not been informed of their outcomes, adding that they intended to go public with “the full facts” in the coming weeks.Blain was further accused of continuing to “target and label” Majid and Qasim in his latest comments, with Anwar adding that the two men remained “victims of racism who continue to be abused, vilified and excluded for daring to speak out”. However, he also called for a public inquiry into a governing body that “has once again let down the real victims, which include not just Majid and Qasim, but many other cricketers”.”Cricket Scotland hoped this matter would simply go away, it will not, as they will see in the coming days,” the statement continued. “The one thing we can all agree with, is the need for the facts to be made public now. My clients have engaged in good faith in a process that has taken too long, and resulted in yet another case study for why Scottish cricket needs to accept institutional racism and put in place urgent changes to stop this happening again. The culture of denial remains rife and the dinosaurs are very much alive and well.”In a brief statement on Monday afternoon, Cricket Scotland said that it would continue to respect the independence of an investigation that it described as “complex, challenging and emotive”, and promised to comment further at its conclusion.”We will continue to respect that independent process, with the welfare of all involved as a priority, in order that we can reach a conclusion that enables our sport to move forward with unity,” the statement continued. “We will comment further upon the conclusion of the independent investigative process, whilst continuing to offer support to all those involved.”