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England allrounder Ben Stokes was bought for INR 14.5 crore ($2.16 million approx) by Rising Pune Supergiants at the tenth IPL player auction in Bangalore on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-20171:56

How the bidding war for Stokes progressed

England allrounder Ben Stokes has become the most expensive overseas player ever bought at an IPL auction, going for INR 14.5 crore (USD 2.16 million approx) to Rising Pune Supergiants. He is also the second highest paid player among those currently active in the IPL, behind Virat Kohli, who is paid Rs 15 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore per season.England fast bowler Tymal Mills also set a new record price for a specialist bowler: he was the second most expensive sale at the tenth player auction, in Bangalore on Monday, and bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 12 crore (USD 1.8 million approx). Allrounder Chris Woakes was the third England player to get a hefty payday; he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 4.2 crore (USD 625,000 approx).Three other England players bought – all at base price – were: batsman Eoin Morgan for INR 2 crore (USD 300,000 approx) to Kings XI Punjab, batsman Jason Roy for INR 1 crore (USD 150,000) to Gujarat Lions, and allrounder Chris Jordan for INR 50 lakhs (USD 74,000) to Sunrisers Hyderabad.While demand for England players was expected, Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi, 18-year-old legspinner Rashid Khan, and UAE batsman Chirag Suri became the first Associate players after Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate to get an IPL bid. The Afghanistan players were bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad – Rashid for INR 4 crore (USD 595,000 approx) and Nabi for INR 30 lakh (USD 44,000 approx) – while Suri went to Gujarat for INR 10 lakh (USD 14,000).Delhi Daredevils were the most active team in the early bidding. Their purchases of Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews for INR 2 crore (USD 300,000 approx), New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson for INR 1 crore (USD 150,000 approx), South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for INR 5 crore (USD 750,000 approx) and Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins for INR 4.5 crore, (USD 670,000 approx) exhausted their quota of nine overseas players in the first 90 minutes of the auction.6:07

IPL auction trends – ‘Left-arm quicks in high demand’

Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, did not bid for any of the first 22 players up for sale despite having a squad of only 13 available players before the auction. They were successful in the first player they bid for, buying New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult for INR 5 crore (USD 750,000 approx).Of the first 108 players that went on sale in the main draw of the auction, only 33 were bought and among them only two from Australia: Mitchell Johnson to Mumbai Indians at his base price of INR 2 crore (USD 300,000 approx), and Cummins to Delhi. More Australians – Nathan Coulter-Nile, Billy Stanlake, Dan Christian and Ben Laughlin – were bought in the second round of bidding after lunch. Coulter-Nile was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 3.5 crore (USD 520,00 approx.) while Stanlake, Christian and Laughlin went at base prices.The trend among Indians was for the more experienced players to get no bids – Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parvez Rasool and RP Singh were unsold – while several uncapped players were picked up at high prices.Fast bowler Mohammad Siraj was bought by Sunrisers for INR 2.6 crore (USD 390,000 approx), left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary by RCB for INR 2 crore (USD 300,000 approx.), K Gowtham by Mumbai for INR 2 crore ($300,000), T Natarajan by Kings XI for INR 3 crore (USD 445,000 approx), Basil Thampi by Gujarat for INR 85 lakh (USD 125,000 approx), Karn Sharma by Mumbai for INR 3.2 crore (USD 475 approx), Eklavya Dwivedi by Sunrisers for INR 75 lakh ($110,000), Varun Aaron by Kings XI for INR 2.8 crore (USD 415,000) and M Ashwin by Delhi for INR 1 crore (USD 150,000).India allrounder Pawan Negi, who was bought for INR 8.5 crore last year and then released by Delhi, was bought by RCB for INR 1 crore (USD 150,000 approx).

Limiting Nepal to 112 for 8 in a rain-hit match, Kenya then chased down a target of 95 with five wickets and 11 balls to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Shem Ngoche finished with figures of 3 for 18 from six overs•AFP

The efforts of Kenya’s bowlers, particularly left-arm spinner Shem Ngoche, set the base for their five-wicket win (Duckworth-Lewis method) as they limited Nepal to 112 for 8 in a rain-affected match in Kirtipur.The match was reduced to 38 overs a side after a delay due to rain and Kenya, having opted to field, immediately stifled Nepal. The hosts lost their first five wickets with only 66 on the board from 23 overs and, at 82 for 8 in the 32nd over, were in danger of being bowled out for less than 100. However, a ninth-wicket partnership of 30, the best for Nepal, between Shakti Gauchan and Sompal Kami lifted them to 112 for 8 before rain arrived again in the 36th over. Gyanendra Malla, captaining the side in place of Paras Khadka, top-scored with 27 while Ngoche had returns of 3 for 18. Ngoche was well supported by Nelson Odhiambo, who took 2 for 17, while three others bowlers took a wicket apiece.Upon resumption, Kenya were set a revised target of 104 off 29 overs. Spinners Sagar Pun and Basant Regmi quickly prised out Kenya’s top three by the seventh over, with Pun striking off successive deliveries to dismiss Irfan Karim and Dhiren Gondaria. However, Collins Obuya and Rakep Patel kept the chase on course with a steady 44-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Rakep carried on after Obuya was dismissed, stitching a useful stand with Gurdeep Singh. The score had reached 76 for 5 in the 22nd over before another rain break left the side with a revised target of 94 from 26 overs. Patel ended the match with a six off Sompal Kami to finish unbeaten on 34 and seal Kenya’s fifth win in the tournament so far.

Derbyshire’s seamers recovered from a patchy opening hour to offer the Kent batsmen a stern examination on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship clash at an overcast Canterbury

ECB Reporters Network21-Apr-2017
ScorecardWill Davis began Derbyshire’s fightback•Getty Images

Derbyshire’s seamers recovered from a patchy opening hour to offer the Kent batsmen a stern examination on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship clash at an overcast Canterbury.When bad light ended play with 15 scheduled overs remaining, Kent had battled on to reach 238 for 8 after 81 overs, having been seemingly in charge and sitting pretty at 83 without loss after the opening 99 minutes of the match.Fielding first after an uncontested toss, Derbyshire bowlers had made a sloppy start in offering too many leg-side and overpitched deliveries which Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson (41) happily dispatched to pick up 15 boundaries in their opening stand.That was the precursor to a dramatic collapse that saw the hosts lose four wickets for five runs in the space of 15 deliveries. Will Davis started the rout with two wickets in as many balls. Dickson drove loosely at a wide away swinger to nick to the keeper, then Joe Denly departed for a duck when he played outside the line of an in-ducker to go lbw after barely moving his feet.Sam Northeast survived the hat-trick delivery, but Bell-Drummond followed for a season’s best 38 when he nibbled at one from left-armer Luis Reece for Darren Smit to dive in front of first slip and pull off a stunning one-handed catch.Kent’s misery continued when Will Gidman played outside a Davis in-swinger to go leg before for a duck as Kent limped in at lunch on 91 for 4, while despite bowling the tidiest of bowling stints, Tony Palladino ended the session wicketless.In-form fifth-wicket partners Northeast and Darren Stevens hauled their side’s total into three figures after lunch but, with his score on 17, Stevens got a leading edge to a late-swinging delivery from Tom Milnes to chip a low, return catch back to the bowler.After helping to post 48 for the sixth wicket Northeast departed for 32 after 103 minutes at the crease. Pushing with firms hands at one from Reece, the Kent skipper edged behind to give Gary Wilson, the keeper, a second catch.Fresh from an unbeaten half-century at Hove in his only previous innings of the season, Wayne Parnell contributed a useful 41 before he fell to Reece. Prodding down and squared up by late away swing, the left-hander edged to third slip to make it 193 for 7.James Tredwell and Adam Rouse saw Kent through to 200 for their first batting bonus point but, with his score in seven Tredwell perished to the fifth ball of the day from leg-spinner Jeevan Mendis. Working across the line to one that dipped late, Tredwell went lbw to one that hit him flush on the right boot.The floodlights came on for the final session of the day when, after an initial ten-minute stoppage for bad light, the day’s events finished early at 5.51pm with Rouse, who played the longest innings of the day, and James Harris, still unbeaten with their side still 12 shy of a second batting bonus point.After spending the last two hours of the day at the crease, Rouse argued that Kent already have a decent score on the board. He said: “We felt Derbyshire got their lengths slightly wrong at the start there before they really started to hit their straps and make it tougher for us.”By the time I got in it was a case of digging to get us through a tricky period and I’d like to think that partnership at the end can give us a bit of momentum going into tomorrow. We’ll push for a second bonus point, but the first hour will be crucial.”Derbyshire skipper Billy Godleman praised his side’s character. He said: “After electing to bowl first we would have wanted to have put the ball around the off or fourth stump area a lot more than we did in that first hour, but we showed great fight and courage to go again thereafter.”We reassessed our position and went back to the plans we’d talked about before the start and to everyone’s credit we fought back. We fielded well, threw ourselves around and took good catches because we were clear that every run on this wicket and in these overcast conditions may well be vital.”The hosts made one change to the side that comfortably defeated Sussex last week. Harris, the Middlesex loanee seamer, getting the nod at the expense of the unfortunate Mitch Claydon, who had taken five wickets in the win at Hove.

Domestic cricket in Bangladesh should be scheduled during the cooler part of the year, and venues must have better facilities, the former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud has urged

Mohammad Isam22-May-2017Domestic cricket in Bangladesh should be scheduled during the cooler part of the year, and venues must have better facilities, the former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud has urged. Mashud has asked the BCB to make these changes after many players suffered in the ongoing heat wave across the country.In the 2016-17 season, the National Cricket League first-class tournament began in September but took a break to accommodate the Bangladesh Premier League T20 competition, which was held from November 8 to December 9. The NCL ended after a second phase that stretched from December 20 to January 6.The Bangladesh Cricket League, the four-team first-class competition, then took place from January 28 to March 8. The Dhaka Premier League, which began this season on April 12 and is likely to end in mid-June, has a history of scheduling delays as the major clubs want the top cricketers to participate in the List A competition. Since September last year, the Bangladesh team has been busy playing home or away, so it was hard for the BCB to make the clubs agree to start the DPL in March, when the top cricketers were in Sri Lanka.Mashud, who is also Prime Bank Cricket Club’s coach, said the major domestic competitions such as the DPL and the two first-class competitions must be completed by mid-April.”Implementing the domestic calendar during the season is everyone’s priority,” Mashud wrote in a Facebook post. “It won’t be possible to hold back the [Dhaka Premier] league this season but these concerns should be addressed ahead of the next season. I would urge the BCB to finish the longer-version and one-day competitions by mid-April. They can think of a T20 tournament when the weather gets hotter. I believe such a step will help Bangladesh cricket.”The temperature in Bangladesh touched 38 degrees last week. Mashud cited the examples of Gazi Group batsman Jahurul Islam and Prime Bank wicketkeeper Zakir Hasan, who suffered severe cramps during DPL matches. Zakir was particularly affected during Prime Bank’s May 21 match against Gazi Group Cricketers, suffering seizures despite being given an ice massage in the dressing room. He still hasn’t recovered from his cramps.The DPL has had to deal with other issues too. Avishek Mitra, the Mohammedan Sporting Club batsman, suffered a hamstring injury at the BKSP ground, where there was no ambulance to take him for treatment. In the end, the team had to improvise and use a cycle-van.Mashud also pointed out the effect of power failures, at the BKSP and Fatullah grounds, on players.”Like every other place in the country right now, power failure is also affecting the stadiums,” he wrote. “Cricketers don’t get adequate rest after returning from fielding for 50 overs. While there are generators in place for international matches, it is not the case for domestic games.”It is quite embarrassing to find such a situation in the only List A tournament in the country in which local and foreign stars participate. A bigger challenge awaits from May 24 when the Super League begins. Ramadan is also starting on May 27 which is a major concern for me as a coach.”

The former Tasmania seamer will be in charge of the side until the World Cup in New Zealand next year

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2017Former Tasmania seamer Damien Wright has been appointed as the head coach of the Bangladesh Under-19 team. He will be in charge of the side until the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand next year.Wright, 41, has a solid pedigree in coaching. He has had stints with New Zealand, Tasmania, Victoria and Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League, after ending his playing career in 2011. He had made his first-class debut in 1997-98 and went onto represent Australia A and several English counties, including Somerset and Sussex.Wright, in his new role, will be assisted by Abdul Karim Jewel, who is currently running the Under-19 training camp at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.Wright will return to Australia before arriving in Dhaka in July to oversee the side’s preparations, heading into the World Cup.”We will hit the ground running in the build-up which will include a lot of scenario stuff,” Wright said. “We will play some trial games. The guys look fit and strong. They look like they’ve been working really hard, which is great. I can see there are a number of wickets in our disposal, so we have no excuses.”We are all in here to make sure we are improving slowly and peaking at the right time. I don’t want to peak right now, but certainly want to peak when we get to New Zealand.”

Jofra Archer gave Sussex a glimpse of victory but it was not to be as Ggloucestershire steadied a failed run chase to take draw points

ECB Reporters Network29-Jun-2017
ScorecardJofra Archer was in the wickets for Sussex [file picture]•Getty Images

Another eye-catching performance from Jofra Archer allowed Sussex to glimpse an improbable fourth championship victory over Gloucestershire at Hove.Gloucestershire had been set 351 to win in 75 overs – a motorway maximum of seventy an hour over five hours.At lunch, at 30 for three, they were out of it. Once again Archer had been at the heart of the Sussex challenge, with two wickets. He had Chris Dent caught behind and then plucked out Gareth Roderick’s off stump with a snorter in the last over before the break. Abi Sakande had taken the first wicket, bowling Cameron Bancroft for 13.After lunch it was Archer the fielder who inspired his side, with two magnificent catches at long-leg off the bowling of Chris Jordan. First he dismissed Phil Mustard, high above his head and inches away from the ropes. Then, just before tea, he pulled off an even better one, this time diving forward to catch George Hankins. The obdurate Hankins had provided Gloucestershire’s main middle-order resistance, with a two-hour 51.That left Gloucestershire in serious danger of defeat, at 117 for six with one session to go. But Jack Taylor played a feisty innings in the gloaming, scoring 69 not out, and they did not lose another wicket.Gloucestershire had declared their first innings overnight, on 150 for one, conceding a disadvantage of 208 runs.When Sussex batted in their second innings it resembled the sort of pre-declaration bowling that was so common on Tuesdays and Fridays in the days of three-day cricket.But with 150 overs lost to bad weather, including the whole of the second day, both sides needed to do something positive to produce the excellent finish we saw on Thursday.Sussex thrashed 142 from 18.1 overs in their second knock, for the loss of just one wicket. It took them only 55 minutes. Harry Finch scored 74 from 59 balls, with a dozen fours, and Luke Wells hit five fours and a six in his 44.The bowling, though, was very friendly, opened by Will Tavare and Bancroft, a fine young batsman, an occasional wicket-keeper but only a very occasional bowler, with only six balls in first class cricket before this spell, in which he conceded 67 runs from seven overs. Some lobbed-up leg-breaks from Mustard added to the general geniality of the attack. But it all contributed to an absorbing conclusion.

Mignon du Preez was signed by the Southern Vipers after Dane van Niekerk was forced to withdraw from the Kia Super League due to injury

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2017South Africa batsman Mignon du Preez has replaced Dane van Niekerk in the Southern Vipers squad for the upcoming Kia Super League. Van Niekerk had earlier pulled out of the tournament with an injury after the conclusion of the Women’s World Cup. India’s Harmanpreet Kaur, who pulled out of the tournament because of a shoulder injury, will be replaced by South Africa opener Lizelle Lee for Surrey Stars.Du Preez finished the World Cup as South Africa’s third-highest run-scorer with 229 runs in seven games at an average of 57.25, including an unbeaten 76 in the semi-final against England.”I consider ourselves fortunate in that we have found such a talented and experienced player to replace Dane van Niekerk,” Bob Parks, Southern Vipers general manager, said. “She will certainly add value to our batting unit and comes with a high reputation as an excellent fielder.”The Vipers, though, will miss the all-round services of van Niekerk, who finished the Women’s World Cup as the leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets at an average of 10. She also contributed with 99 runs in seven games.The Southern Vipers open the tournament against Western Storm on August 10.

In an email to team-mates leaked on social media, the Pakistan offspinner said she could not continue in the current set up and team management

Danyal Rasool26-Sep-2017The Pakistan women’s team have been rocked by the refusal of their highest-profile player – Sana Mir – to attend a training session and fitness camp along with the rest of the team.In an email to her fellow players, which was leaked on social media, Mir stated, “I won’t be coming to the camp or travel with the team unless some crucial issues regarding women’s cricket are addressed, which I have communicated to the top PCB management.”Mir confirmed the authenticity of the email to ESPNcricinfo, saying it was intended “for her fellow players”, and describing the leak as “unfortunate”. It is believed that the main subject of her unhappiness is the women’s wing general manager. While she didn’t take names, she mentioned the management in her email, saying it had “compromised players’ respect, merit, and physical and mental well-being. I am not willing to work in this setup unless things change for the betterment of women’s cricket.”There were signs of problems between Mir and the management in the wake of Pakistan’s winless campaign at the World Cup in July, when she was captain. In August, the women’s team coach Sabih Azhar called Mir “self-centred, egotistical and being wrapped up in oneself”, before Mir responded by saying she would not continue with the current set-up. The training camp was ahead of the team’s upcoming tour of New Zealand, for which the PCB announced New Zealander Mark Coles as the new coach of the side.

Decision to play taken at SLC’s executive committee meeting in Colombo; Tharanga likely to skip the match

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2017Sri Lanka Cricket on Monday confirmed their decision to send its team to Pakistan for the third T20I in Lahore on October 29. The board deliberated on the issue at its executive committee meeting in Colombo, before coming to the conclusion, which came only two days after Sri Lankan players had expressed strong reluctance to travel to Lahore by signing a letter requesting the match to be moved to a neutral venue.ESPNcricinfo understands Upul Tharanga, Sri Lanka’s limited-overs captain, has pulled out of the match. A squad of 22 will be announced on Tuesday and the list is expected to be pruned to 15 by October 20. It remains to be seen if the selectors will name a full-strength squad or a second-string side as 40 contracted players had signed the letter.”SLC have over the past two months conducted a thorough evaluation with the assistance of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Government of Pakistan, the PCB and independent Security experts,” an SLC release stated.”The Executive Committee evaluated the reports obtained together with the recommendation of the International Cricket Council – which successfully conducted the Independence Cup tournament in Lahore fielding a World XI Team – and having been fully satisfied with the stringent security measures in place, the SLC ExCo unanimously decided to play the third T20 in Lahore on October 29.”SLC said its president Thilanga Sumathipala will accompany the team to Lahore. The board officials had also stated earlier that Sri Lanka’s players had been promised the same level of security afforded to the World XI team in September, and that the ICC was also willing to send its match officials to Pakistan.Sri Lanka’s batting coach Hashan Tillakaratne said it was the board’s duty to help Pakistan, who had aided the country during the 1996 World Cup. Following withdrawals by Australia and West Indies at the time due to security concerns, India and Pakistan had sent a combined team to play in Sri Lanka.”SLC has already announced that we will tour Lahore. In 1996, Pakistan helped us by forming the combined India-Pakistan side, and now it is our duty to help them,” Tillakaratne said.The PCB, which successfully hosted three T20Is against a World XI squad last month in Lahore, has been confident of hosting the game despite initial fears. Thisara Perera, currently part of the ODI squad in the UAE, was Sri Lanka’s only representative in those matches.The T20I on October 29 will mark the return of high-profile bilateral cricket back to Pakistan as only Zimbabwe and World XI have played international matches in the country since the Sri Lanka team bus was attacked in Lahore in March 2009.

Andy Balbirnie’s swift 83 was in vain as Bangladesh A chased down a target of 171 with four balls to spare in a match that was reduced to 20 overs a side

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Andy Balbirnie goes for the sweep•Getty Images/Sportsfile

Bangladesh A clinched the one-day series against Ireland A with a four-wicket win in the fourth game in Cox’s Bazar. The match was a 20-over per side affair – both teams agreed to a shortened fourth match as they did not want to play three one-dayers in as many days. The final match of the series, on October 26, will be a 50-over match.The home side strode towards the 171-run target through a quick third-wicket stand between captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Al-Amin. They added 58 runs in just 5.2 overs, with Shanto’s 26-ball 47 including four boundaries and three sixes.After Shanto’s dismissal in the tenth over, Al-Amin took Bangladesh A within ten runs of victory, before he was dismissed for 67 off 40 balls. He struck eight fours and two sixes. Barry McCarthy took two wickets while there was one each for Andrew McBrine, Peter Chase, Stuart Thompson and Simi Singh.Earlier, Andy Balbirnie’s quickfire 83 took Ireland to a competitive 170 for 7. Balbirnie struck seven fours and four sixes in his 51-ball innings. He added 65 runs for the fourth wicket with Sean Terry, who made a run-a-ball 28. Pace bowler Imran Ali Enam took three wickets while Mahedi Hasan, Abu Hider and Abul Hasan took one each.