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Board under scrutiny as former official John Holder claims of ‘years of racism’ in appointments

George Dobell16-Nov-2020Former Test umpire John Holder is among those calling for an independent inquiry into the lack of non-white match officials in English cricket.While Holder enjoyed almost three decades as a professional umpire, he is concerned that no non-white umpires have been appointed to the first-class list since 1992. He also claims there has never been a non-white Pitch Liaison Officer, Cricket Liaison Officer, Match Referee, Umpires’ Mentor or Umpires’ Coach.In partnership with Ismail Dawood, the former county player whose career in umpiring stalled when he could not gain promotion, Holder is now accusing the ECB of “years of racism” and calling for an independent QC-led investigation and an investigation from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.While the pair have shared many of their concerns with ECB officials, they say they have “no faith in the ECB handling of complaints” and have a dossier containing “evidence of deliberate obstruction and interference” in the handling of those complaints.ESPNcricinfo understands that a senior member of the ECB’s staff was recently suspended following claims of racial discrimination in connection with this issue. It is believed the employee, who we have chosen not to name, was cleared of wrong-doing and is expected to return to work shortly.Vanburn Holder, who retired at the end of the 2010 season, was the last non-white umpire on the ECB’s first-class list. He was also the last appointed to that list in 1992. While numerous other non-white candidates have expressed an interest in the profession – including high-profile figures such as Devon Malcolm – none have progressed.”I’ve lived in England for 56 years,” John Holder told ESPNcricinfo. “And I can tell you, hand on heart, I have never experienced racism before. But when you look at these figures, when you understand what is going on, it is hard to reach any other conclusion.”When I stopped working for the ICC, I contacted the ECB to offer my services to mentor umpires. I didn’t even get a reply. Instead, ex-players, some of whom have never stood as umpires, were appointed to the role. That is ludicrous. It’s like employing someone who can’t drive to be a driving instructor.”I’d have had no chance if I was looking to start a career as an umpire today. If Devon Malcolm, who is not only a fine cricketer but an exceptional man, cannot progress, what chance would I have had?”My suspicion is that there has been a definite policy of only employing whites for this position. There needs to be a transparent policy related to selecting, training and mentoring umpires, which presently does not exist.”Dawood, meanwhile, was described as a “sound, technical umpire” in his performance appraisal but was told that consideration also had to “made about who best fits in”. Dawood’s final year on the ECB’s reserve list was 2014.ALSO READ: What has English cricket been like for black players?“The glass ceiling is incredibly low for BAME individuals, with systematic racism at the heart,” Dawood says in a statement to be released shortly. “I feel I have encountered racial discrimination, dishonesty and misinformation, cronyism, bullying, all which is deep rooted in the organisation. It was an isolating place for a person from a BAME background.”The language I have heard over the years has been horrendous, words such as P**is, C**ns, N***ers featured from individuals attached to the ECB. Some of this language was used in front of Senior ECB managers, which I found extremely disturbing. Having worked in different progressive sectors to cricket, I feel the ECB is the last colonial outpost. It is archaic and any change is mere marketing rhetoric.”While unaware of being named in the statement, Malcolm supported the call for an independent inquiry.”It’s true that I did express an interest in umpiring,” Malcolm told ESPNcricinfo. “I love cricket and I love watching cricket. I did a bit of umpiring and it turned out I was pretty good.”But I was basically told ‘I wouldn’t bother if I was you’. It was quite a knock-back at the time. I felt there was no chance. A few years later, I had another go and I passed my Level One exams. But if my initial enquiry had met with a more positive response, I’d be well on my way by now.”We all know the lack of black players and coaches needs to be addressed. So yes, I’d support the calls for an enquiry. But it really would have to be independent.”The ECB, having been sent a draft of this piece, responded to ESPNcricinfo with a statement. It read: “Today’s group of professional umpires don’t reflect the diverse ECB we are determined to be. We want to see more BAME representation among our officials, and recognise we still have a long way to go as a game to achieve this.”Earlier this year we commissioned a full independent employment investigation into allegations made against an individual, and while these were not upheld, the investigation did identify areas where we need to be better and do more to be inclusive and diverse.”The ECB has now commissioned a review, with Board oversight, to look at how we can reform our approach to managing Match Officials. This will set out actions as to how we can improve our systems and processes to increase the diversity of umpiring, inspire the next generation of umpires and match referees, have a world class umpiring programme and ensure a culture of inclusivity and fairness throughout the umpiring system.”

Greg Chappell had recently called Kohli the “most Australian non-Australian cricketer of all time”

Sidharth Monga16-Dec-2020Arguably in an Australian manner, Virat Kohli has refused to accept being called the most Australian non-Australian, instead choosing to identify himself as a representative of a “new India”, which “stands up” to all challenges. The reception for Kohli on this tour of Australia has been unprecedented, with former Test players, newspapers and TV stations talking only about Kohli and the impact his absence will have on the three Tests that Kohli won’t play.The most telling comment has come from Test great and former India coach, Greg Chappell, who, in a column, wrote that “Kohli is the most Australian non-Australian cricketer of all time”.Kohli, though, was happy being himself.”Firstly I would like to say that I have always been myself,” Kohli said. “The way my personality and character is, I think it is a representation of the new India. And for me that’s how I look at it. It’s not as such in my mind a comparison to me being similar to Australian mindset or anything like that.Related

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“For me it’s how we have started to stand up as the Indian cricket team. And my personality has always been this way from day one. This for me is a representation of the new India where we want to take on challenges and move forward with optimism and positivity and make sure we are up and ready for any challenges that come our way.”Kohli did acknowledge, though, that Australia, the country, does open up its arms to those who do well on its shores. “I have been touring this place for many years now, and it is a wonderful place to play cricket,” Kohli said. “When you perform well here, you earn the respect of the public. Obviously there will be anticipation and chat around wanting to see you play. Similarly with Jasprit [Bumrah] as well. Last time around he performed really well here. There is obviously going to be anticipation and excitement around him to watch him bowl. Similarly for me I have been coming here for many years.’I am sure he will do a tremendous job in my absence as well’ – Virat Kohli on vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane•AFP via Getty Images

“For us, more importantly it is all about the general public wanting to see India perform as a team, which was the highlight of our last tour as well. Our focus remains that. All the external things are not in our control. That is great for the publicity of the series but the focus truly and simply remains on how well we can perform as a team here.”Knowing the Indian team, the others will be happy to fly under the radar and let Kohli take all the attention. That is true of the man who will take over the team when Kohli leaves. Ajinkya Rahane is a completely different personality to Kohli but the India captain promised similar intensity once he leaves.”We have had a lot of mutual understanding and respect over the years,” Kohli said of his vice-captain. “We have had great partnerships batting together, which is based on trust and understanding of what is needed for the team. Jinks has done a tremendous job in the two practice games. He seems to be very composed and he knows the strengths of our team and how we need to go about things.”Actually the way that we have played our cricket has been a collective effort of the whole team. It is a cultural effort and not only down to me strategising things and putting things in front of people. It is the whole team that has bought into it. They already know the template we play with and how we want to go about things. We are absolutely on the same page.”I am sure he will do a tremendous job in my absence as well but the focus remains till the time I am here to provide captaincy and leadership and performances as a player to the best of my abilities and then from then on I am pretty confident that Jinks will do a tremendous job. I have said this before that I feel like this is his time to really step up and perform strongly as an individual and then captain as well.”

Mohammed feels West Indies have put in the right kind of preparation for the series

Mohammad Isam19-Jan-2021A few hours after India’s historic three-wicket win over Australia, the first question posed to Jason Mohammed, West Indies’ ODI captain, during a virtual press conference, was about how his makeshift team of newbies and returnees can take inspiration from Brisbane.Mohammed, himself returning to the ODI side after more than two years, said that India, who had an inexperienced side after several injuries, showed what belief could do to a group of cricketers on a tour to a country where the home side wins often.West Indies are in Bangladesh where the home side has won the last three ODI series, one of them against a much stronger West Indies side two years ago. If this West Indies side, and certainly Mohammed, can relate to India’s situation in Australia, they can definitely be inspired to do something similar.”It is something that we will look to,” Mohammed said. “It depends on how you play on the day. Obviously, a lot of the guys will be making their debut. Once you have the belief within yourself and within the team that you can win games, these things are achievable. It showed in the India-Australia Tests. We have the same mindset, to play some good cricket starting tomorrow, and hopefully results can go on our side as well.”But it remains an uphill task. West Indies has had to make do with several newcomers after much of their main squad pulled out of this tour, their third during the pandemic. It is a subject that nobody on tour wants to talk about, at least publicly, but it is a subject that is hardly going away.Mohammed, a middle-order batsman who also bowls part-time offspin, said that he has told his team to enjoy the moment of playing for the West Indies, and trying to bring together their performances for the team’s cause. “We are just looking to enjoy the series and our first game. It is a big opportunity for all of us here representing the West Indies. We just want to do well as individuals, but importantly, bring it together and do it for the team. We want to have some good results here. There’s a lot of positive going around. We had couple of days in Bangladesh. We have prepared well. Hopefully we can use whatever we learned here, and put in practice in the game,” he said.Mohammed said that he feels they are well prepared, despite the short window that they got to train in Dhaka over the last week, to tackle Bangladesh’s spin. Mainly, they have to ensure that they can thwart Shakib Al Hasan, who is returning to international cricket after his 12-month ban.”We have a lot of positives. We had a couple of practice sessions and the game within ourselves. The batters looked pretty good I must say. The main thing coming to Bangladesh is a lot of spin. We just have to play it as we see it in the game. Whether we attack, defend or rotate.”It is going to be a little bit challenging but I think we prepared well, and we are up for the challenge. We have to play (Shakib) as we see it. We know he is one of the best going around the world. We just have to stay positive against him. If there are balls that we can score off, we have to score. If it is good balls, we have to defend,”

The Indian board would prefer for tournaments to be allocated, as they have been before

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Feb-2021The BCCI has again expressed its unhappiness at the ICC’s new bidding policy to find hosts for its global events in the 2023-2031 cycle. The reservations are not new but were reiterated at a meeting for ICC members on Wednesday.The meeting wasn’t a formal ICC Board meeting, but one with relevant members with a single point on the agenda – the events hosting process from 2023. The BCCI was represented by its current president Sourav Ganguly, the first big meeting he has attended since he was hospitalized twice recently after suffering a heart attack in January.The decision to get members to bid to host events was a marked departure from how event locations were decided upon in the previous eight-year cycle: all the major global men’s events were essentially divvied up by the Big Three of Australia, India and England between themselves. On the surface, it would seem none of those three boards are especially happy.In February last year the ICC sent out an email to all members, Full, Associate and Affiliate, asking them to tender expressions of interest for any of the 20 global tournaments – in both men’s and women’s cricket – listed in the 2023-31 cycle. To lobby interest Manu Sawhney, the ICC’s chief executive officer, went on a whistle-stop tour visiting a number of countries but not India. The objective, Sawhney told countries, was to make cricket a more global sport. A number of members have expressed interest, including the PCB, who have said in the past they would put in joint bids with the Emirates Cricket Board. However, none of the BCCI, ECB and Cricket Australia expressed any interest.Related

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Issues with the bidding process are part of a broader battle between the Big Three and ICC management, and some of the other Full Members; the BCCI, ECB and CA are also opposed to the ICC plan for an extra global event in the next cycle, which will ensure one global tournament is played every year from 2023 to 2031.The BCCI’s main objection has been that when the original decision approving the extra set of events was taken, during an ICC Board meeting in October 2019, the Indian cricket board did not have an elected administration. That meeting, though, was attended by former BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhury, who did not have the consent from the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, which was supervising the BCCI until October 2019.Nonetheless, at the time the BCCI chief executive officer Rahul Johri, sent out an email to the ICC stating the final decision on an extra event in the 2023-31 cycle should be put on hold until an elected administration took seat. As for the number of events including the extra world tournament, Johri noted that it would have “wide ranging” repercussions on the bilateral calendar and should not be taken in a rush.Ganguly’s administration has carried forward that objection. Before Ganguly, Arun Dhumal, the BCCI treasurer, too, is understood to have raised similar objections at the ICC chief executive committee meeting recently. Although Ganguly was unavailable, a senior BCCI official confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that India remained opposed to the ICC decision.The root of the BCCI’s objection does not lie completely in a potential expansion of the hosting market, though that is part of it. But there is also an objection to being asked to bid. They would prefer for events to be allocated, as they have been before. According to the official India, Australia and England should have been given priority for the marquee events. “Why should one bid?,” the official asked. “Why is there a bidding process when India, England and Australia have not even bought the bid document? Cricket is not like Olympics or football where 100 countries are vying for the interest? Out of the top 10 countries there are just three who have the infrastructure and skillsets to host it. It has to come by rotation. You cannot ignore these three countries and think of hosting it in smaller countries.”At the negotiation table Ganguly has been more open to potential expansion, to explore both old and new markets. The BCCI, for instance, would be supportive of a men’s World Cup held in Africa, co-hosted by a number of countries including South Africa. It also is backing a global T20 event in the Americas. But it does want to ensure that some of the marquee events are hosted in old and established markets like India.The official also pointed out that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the wider economic landscape across the globe and that would have an impact on smaller countries bidding for an event. The biggest challenges, the official pointed out, would be paying a hosting fee to the ICC, creating the infrastructure and sustaining it. Even bigger countries like the USA might struggle where cricket remains a minority sport despite the large diaspora.Despite strong reservations from the BCCI, an ICC Board member said that the differences were not insurmountable. Another person, privy to the developments, said that the ECB had not bought any bid document also because it was said to be concerned by one pre-condition which called for total government support in hosting a world event. The ICC has not been satisfied with financial returns from the three world events hosted in England: the 2017 Champions Trophy and the women’s ODI World Cup and the 2019 men’s World Cup.India’s own position as a potential host is not straightforward, given that a long-running tax dispute between the board and the ICC is yet to be resolved.Discussions are expected to continue until the next ICC board meeting in March.

Jimmy Adams said that fitness requirements had to be strict as four players missed out on the squad

Matt Roller28-Feb-2021Sunil Narine’s absence from West Indies’ T20I squad to play Sri Lanka next month came after he told the selectors that he was “not ready” to return to international cricket.Narine played four games for Trinidad and Tobago in the Super50 Cup – though missed Saturday’s final through injury – but has not played for West Indies in any format since August 2019. He was placed on a ‘warning list’ amid suspicions of an illegal bowling action during last year’s IPL, but has since been cleared to bowl.”Sunil Narine had indicated earlier that he is not ready to return to international cricket,” Roger Harper, Cricket West Indies’ lead selector, said. “He’s still fine-tuning his game and getting himself ready. From that perspective, he wasn’t considered for this series.”In Narine’s absence, Akeal Hosein, Kevin Sinclair and Fabian Allen will be West Indies’ main spin options in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, which starts on Wednesday, March 3. Harper confirmed that Gudakesh Motie, the left-arm spinner who was the Super50’s leading wicket-taker going into Saturday’s final, had been considered for selection but said that the selection panel wanted to give Hosein another opportunity after his impressive performances in Bangladesh.Related

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“He [Motie] certainly had an outstanding season and drew a lot of attention to himself,” Harper said. “But we must recall that we had just selected Akeal Hosein for the tour of Bangladesh. He acquitted himself very well and he’s a left-arm spinner, so naturally we continued with him in this series.”You may have also noticed that we included young Kevin Sinclair who is another spinner, but he’s an offspinner. What he offers is, if needed, some variety and a different option. That was the reason that Motie was not selected and we chose Sinclair, [but] certainly Motie is at the forefront of our thoughts.”West Indies will be without four players – Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer and Oshane Thomas – during the white-ball fixtures against Sri Lanka, all of whom failed to reach the minimum fitness standards agreed with CWI. Hetmyer’s absence was a particular surprise after he hit 113 off 80 balls in the Super50 semi-final against the Windward Islands, but Jimmy Adams, CWI’s director of cricket, said there was no room for discretion.”The policy asks for a minimum standard in certain aspects of fitness testing,” Adams said. “It’s pretty simple, and it’s something all the players are aware of: failure to get to [the minimum standard] makes them unavailable for selection.Shimron Hetmyer was one of the players not to meet fitness requirements•BCCI

“As is best practice around the world, there are going to be times when players for different reasons might be unable or incapable of achieving minimum standards across either the whole battery of tests or certain aspects of it, and there are exemptions that are given to these players.”The four main areas that are considered would be age, individual physiological limitations, their injury history and their training history. This is standard across many high-performance environments and we’re no different. There are quite a few players at the moment who have been exempted under one of these four headings. It’s not a secret. It’s been communicated to players.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“This is not a conversation that we like having with players. For me, the minimum standard isn’t something that should apply to an international player. But we draw the line there before there are other considerations outside of just a person’s ability to bat, bowl or field. If you start talking about making it provisional on whether someone has made a score or taken wickets, it doesn’t take us as a team in the direction that we want to go.”Harper also said that Thomas’ absence had been a key factor in Fidel Edwards’ recall to international duty, more than eight years since his latest appearance for West Indies.”As we build towards the defence of our T20 [World Cup], we’re looking to put together the sort of squad and team with the sort of players that will best serve us in that defence. What a player like Oshane Thomas offered us is the sort of firepower that can take wickets early and at the end, and really unsettle batsmen.”With him not being available and not performing at the sort of level we expected of him, we looked for the type of bowler that can offer us that. When we looked around the only bowler we thought offered us that sort of pace and firepower and penetration at this time was Fidel Edwards.”You’d recall our performance in some of the T20 games in New Zealand and where we were deficient. I would hope that the message that is sent [by Edwards’ selection] is the standard they need to attain, and that guys will work harder at developing their skills to reach that level.”

Stead believes there could be up to 30 players pushing for selection in the coming years

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2021New Zealand coach Gary Stead believes there could be up to 30 players vying for positions in the ODI side heading towards the 2023 World Cup in India.New Zealand return to the ODI format for the first time in a year against Bangladesh on Saturday – they have only played four matches since the 2019 World Cup final – and while the focus is not yet firmly on the next edition, circumstance will bring some new faces in the side.Kane Williamson will be missing the whole series with an elbow injury, Ross Taylor has been ruled out of at least the first game in Dunedin and Colin de Grandhomme is also unavailable as he has surgery on an ankle problem that has plagued his season.Related

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“It is exciting as coach when you sit round the selection table and start looking at the names you expect to keep coming through the way they are developing,” Stead said. “It’s hard to write 15 names down when there could be up to 30 vying for those spots, that’s a good place to be though.”The strength of New Zealand cricket at the moment is seen in the Blackcaps but it’s also driven from below that with our New Zealand A programmes, the domestic game as well is also in good heart because we are producing people who perform well when they come to international level.”There could be three debutants on Saturday with Devon Conway and Will Young set to replace Williamson and Taylor, while allrounder Daryl Mitchell is an option for the middle order depending on the balance of the side.New Zealand have used 26 players so far this season across the T20I and Test series against West Indies, Pakistan and Australia, with this era considered to be the greatest depth the game has had in the country.The match in Dunedin will be the first time since 2014 that neither Williamson nor Taylor have featured in an ODI for New Zealand. The captain is certain to be part of the 2023 campaign and Taylor has previously spoken as having the desire to push towards the tournament, but having a new combination at Nos. 3 and 4 – even if only for a short time – will have its value.”They are two positions in the order that we have a lot of faith in and strength in New Zealand cricket,” Stead said. “The opportunity for Devon and Will to come in is really exciting for them. They are both fine players which we’ve seen in our domestic formats and also international cricket to date.”Both have made their international debuts this season: Conway in the T20I side, where he has scored 366 runs at 52.28 and Young in the Test series against West Indies, where he first replaced the injured BJ Watling then the absent Williamson who was at the birth of his first child.

Hampshire still trail by 41 with seven wickets down as contest gathers pace

Valkerie Baynes14-May-2021With three wickets on the first evening, Kyle Abbott felt he’d found his rhythm for the first time this season. By halfway through the second day, he’d slayed his gig at Lord’s with a haul of six to bowl Middlesex out for just 172.But then the Middlesex bowlers got in on the act and ripped that to shreds as Hampshire, who slumped to 9 for 3 at one stage, closed at 131 for 7 in reply on a day when 13 wickets fell in total.James Vince’s fighting half-century, which included a partnership worth 54 with Keith Barker, kept Hampshire in the contest, just.At the close, Barker, who scored an unbeaten 52 in a losing cause against Somerset last week, was not out on 23 with Abbott yet to score after Ethan Bamber and Tim Murtagh had claimed five wickets between them to dig Middlesex out of a hole.Bamber had impact from the outset, bowling Ian Holland for a duck with a gem that angled in slightly and crashed into off-stump.He then had Joe Weatherley out edging to Martin Andersson at third slip and, next ball, Murtagh dismissed Tom Alsop lbw to put Hampshire in terrible trouble inside seven overs.It looked like it would come down to the experienced duo of Sam Northeast and Vince, their captain, to steady the visitors but when James Harris trapped Northeast clearly lbw, they were seriously struggling.Vince and Liam Dawson returned from tea with their side 47 for 4 but they were unable to form the big partnership that was so desperately needed, with Dawson caught by a leaping first slip Robbie White as Murtagh claimed his second wicket.With Lewis McManus going cheaply and unarguably lbw to Bamber, Vince continued to build a tenacious innings with Barker in support. But then 19-year-old Blake Cullen tempted Vince into a missed drive and pegged back his off-stump with a fuller ball that nipped back a little to end his knock on 62.”It was a hard day for batting, it felt really tough out there,” Vince said. “It got a little bit easier as the ball got softer but there was always something happening. The ball is taking some divots out where there is still grass on the pitch.”I think I used every part of the bat out there with some of them even coming off the back. I rode my luck a bit and tried to strike a balance between trying to hang in there until the ball got a bit softer but trying to score runs as well.”Related

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Mohammad Abbas provided excellent backing for Abbott after bowling well for no reward on a rain-affected first evening, as he claimed the other three Middlesex wickets to fall on the second day.Abbott struck in the third over when he had John Simpson out lbw with a ball that pitched on off-stump and struck the knee-roll in line with middle, with the hosts having added just one run to their overnight score of 90 for 4.Andersson brought up Middlesex’s hundred with a lovely square drive to the boundary off Abbas, just moments before he was floored by a delivery from the same bowler hitting him in the groin. By the time he made it back onto his feet some minutes later and still in obvious pain, play was halted for bad light with just half an hour of the morning session gone, the stricken batsman no doubt thankful.After a delay of 15 minutes, the players returned to the field, Andersson among them but ever so briefly, facing just one ball before he fell lbw in an Abbas double-strike which also claimed Andersson’s replacement, Harris, who was bowled for a second-ball duck.With the floodlights on but the overcast sky still brighter and much drier than the previous day when the start was pushed back until 4.15pm, the temperature remained far too frigid for mid-May.Gubbins gritted out his fourth half-century of the season and will have some bruises to show for it after being struck on the left thumb by an Abbott delivery that spat up off a length, before wearing a Brad Wheal ball painfully on his left hip.Gubbins threw a few punches himself, a finely struck four off Abbott through point followed by two off Wheal, square of the wicket on either side. But, after adding just one more run after lunch, Gubbins fell to Abbas’s great line and length, deciding late to leave and deflecting the ball onto his stumps.Abbott claimed his five-for when Cullen, who had faced 77 balls for his 27, prodded at a length ball outside off and found Vince at first slip. Abbott then wrapped up the innings with his sixth, an excellent delivery on middle stump which struck Bamber low on the pad, directly in front.

Half-centuries from Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie ensured the visitors had little trouble in chasing down the paltry total

Himanshu Agrawal04-Jun-2021Four wickets each from Josh Little and Craig Young bundled out Netherlands for 157 before half-centuries by Paul Stirling and captain Andy Balbirnie helped Ireland level the series in the second ODI in Utrecht. Stirling and Balbirnie added 82 for the second wicket after Logan van Beek removed William Porterfield for a duck in the second over of the chase.While Balbirnie remained unbeaten on 63 from 127 deliveries, Stirling was the more attacking partner, with five of his six fours coming in the first ten overs of Ireland’s reply.Timm van der Gugten seemed to have slowed things down but Stirling found the fence off the first ball of left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar’s third over, the 22nd of the innings. Seelaar though was to have the last laugh when he had Stirling caught at mid-on for 52 as the batter tried to hoick him across the line. But with only 67 runs left to get from more than 26 overs, Balbirnie and Harry Tector, who ended unbeaten on 30 from 59 balls, batted calmly and finished off the chase with seven overs to spare.Earlier, the Ireland bowlers, led by Little and Young, folded the hosts up for a paltry total despite Netherlands’ openers Stephan Myburgh and Max O’Dowd adding 44. Little first bowled Myburgh for 11 in the 14th over before dismissing Ben Cooper caught behind on the very next delivery. Though the hat-trick was averted, that set the tone for Little and Ireland to continue making inroads.O’Dowd too was bowled by Little for 36 soon after before Young joined the party with the wicket of Seelaar. The collapse saw Netherlands lose their last seven wickets for just 72 runs as Young continued to hurt them with repeated strikes. Briefly, Scott Edwards looked to take his side to a competitive total but was caught behind off Young for 23, who ended with figures of 4 for 18.And though there were fighting efforts from van Beek, Brandon Glover and Saqib Zulfiqar, who came out to bat after retiring hurt, they didn’t amount to much.Little was named the Player of the Match for his 4 for 39 as Ireland pocketed ten points to climb up to ninth in the ODI Super League table.

Khawaja’s 70 in vain as Islamabad United fall short by 30 runs

Varun Shetty21-Jun-2021Multan Sultans beat Islamabad United for the first time this season to seal their spot in Thursday’s PSL final. The win in the first qualifier also put aside their dubious record of being the only PSL side without a final appearance so far; league-toppers United head into the second eliminator on Tuesday for another shot at the finals.Sultans were set in motion by Sohaib Maqsood after they elected to bat, gained momentum after a slump though Johnson Charles’ cameo, and finished strong with a blitz from Khushdil Shah who hit four sixes in the 19th over to help them post 180.In chase, United were three down before their powerplay was halfway through and never really recovered. Sohail Tanvir had only one wicket in the season before the game, but this three-for proved timely, and the experience of Imran Tahir – and his two wickets – meant that any potential scares from United’s lower order were safely handled.Tanvir bosses the defense and Khawaja’s lone battleUnited probably aren’t intimidated by most totals given their campaign so far, but Tanvir certainly put the fear in them with the new ball. Colin Munro walked down the pitch to him, first ball, in an effort to negate his inswingers – only to york himself and have middle stump tonked.Tanvir then had Shadab Khan lunging at a slower delivery to be caught at point; in between it all, No. 3 Muhammad Akhlaq was sent back with a direct hit from Imran Khan at short fine leg. United were 14 for 3 in the third over; historically, not a lot of teams have won in this format after losing that many wickets in the powerplay. And that would eventually be the case for United.Khawaja was the only batter – even during the collapse – to have a plan to score, using characteristic touch play to minimise risk and still find boundaries. But the chase did hinge on whether he could take the innings deeper with Iftikhar Ahmed and Asif Ali, the two other experienced batters in the side, and that wasn’t to be. Iftikhar was done by bounce trying to cut Blessing Muzarabani, and Asif walked past Imran Tahir’s legbreak to be stumped.At 61 for 5, the chase was all but done. Khawaja did open up – getting 18 off four Muzarabani deliveries at one point – and the batting depth meant United did throw in a late flourish. But the damage at the top was too much to overcome.Maqsood keeps the rate flowingMohammad Rizwan’s decision to bat first didn’t begin well on a personal front; he was adjudged caught behind off the glove – on review – for a duck. But a tight first two overs from United was only a temporary win as Maqsood stamped himself on the game next over onwards, starting Faheem Ashraf’s over with a dominant slap over extra cover and following it up with two more perfectly timed drives. It was the first indication that this was a pitch that assisted boundary-scoring.The next few also came from Maqsood’s bat, in the form of two sixes over square leg, one off the front and one of the back foot. While Shan Masood was kept quiet at the other end, the scoring rate did stay up – they finished the powerplay on 44 for 1.Shadab punches, Charles and Khushdil punch backAny indications of the pitch being a pure belter were put to doubt when Shadab brought himself on. After being pulled through midwicket off his first two balls – in the first instance, literally through Hasan Ali’s legs – he got one to rip back into Masood and trapped in front. Two balls later, Rilee Rossouw played for the googly on the front foot and was also trapped lbw – on review – when the legbreak caught him in front of middle. Sultans were suddenly 59 for 3 after a budding partnership of 53 had stabilised them.But Johnson Charles was in the mood for attack – and it showed from his first ball, when he brought out a controlled sweep against Shadab for four. From there, he took on the aggressor’s role. A knock of 41 off 21 balls, with a boundary almost every over he was in, and three slogged sixes took Sultans to 122 in the 15th over before he was dismissed.Maqsood eventually holed out in the 17th over, and United seemed to have pulled things back – only eight runs came off the eight balls after his dismissal. But the 19th over went woefully wrong as Khushdil hauled them from 145 to 174, with four sixes in a row against Akif Javed; three of them swung over the leg side, and one ending up at third man as he looked to swing it over the leg side. It was the finish Sultans needed after seemingly falling away on a good pitch.

Lehmann will step back into an assistant role despite signing a new deal earlier this year

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2021Wade Seccombe has been tipped as a future Australia coach amid a restructuring at Brisbane Heat which has seen him take the head coach position while Darren Lehmann steps back into a senior assistant role for the BBL.Seccombe, a former wicketkeeper-batter, is the Queensland head coach with the side the current Sheffield Shield champions, and will now be at the top of all formats of the men’s game in the state. This latest changes follow the stepping down of Chris Lynn as the Heat’s captain.He will have James Hopes and Andy Bichel, appointed as Queensland’s batting and bowl coaches respectively, also working alongside him in the BBL with Queensland Cricket looking to bring their two senior men’s set-ups closer together.The coaching move was partly instigated by Lehmann who only a few months ago signed a one-year extension as the Heat’s head coach but now feels this change offers him a better balance while also helping promote Seccombe.”Darren came to us with some thoughts on how the Heat could develop further, and one of the things we talked through was that there was a chance for us to expand our coaching depth and focus to better prepare our players for a role in the T20 format,” the Queensland Cricket CEO, Terry Svenson, said”The change in responsibility was Darren’s initiative and we’re supportive of that. He was keen to play a role to ensure Wade was best positioned to have the right experience to take on the national coaching role in the future.”We think Wade is a future coach for Australia and we want to make sure that he’s given every opportunity.”Related

• Mujeeb Ur Rahman back to Brisbane Heat for a fourth BBL stint

• Lynn steps down as Brisbane Heat captain

The Heat reached the Challenger final last season where they were knocked out by Perth Scorchers, the first time in four seasons that they had made the finals. Their only BBL title came back in the 2012-13 campaign.”The BBL is very important to the health of the game and for Queensland Cricket, it was the chance for us to look carefully at how we resource the Heat,” Svenson said.”This was an area that the recent external review of the Heat had identified and so the coaching staff and Bennett King, our High Performance GM, worked on an integrated model that can utilise the skills and experience of our coaches with the Bulls and Heat players.””Darren and Wade will play very important roles for us across the whole season, not just the BBL, when it comes to developing players.”Lehmann, who suffered a heart attack in early 2020, had reflected on his role over the last few months. He will shortly be heading to the UK for his spell as head coach of the Northern Superchargers in the Hundred after which he will focus on the BBL build-up with the competition expected to start in mid-December.”I said when I re-signed that overall, I really enjoyed the season we had and that hasn’t changed,” he said. “But I have also had a chance to reflect on what is going to be best for me and my family going forward.””Having a heart attack reinforced how special my family is to me, and I have the chance now to continue to enjoy coaching but also to spread some of the workload and pressure that comes with the job.”