The state is seeking more clarity on the situation before agreeing to a funding reduction

Daniel Brettig26-May-2020Queensland’s chairman Chris Simpson has confirmed the state association remains allied with New South Wales and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) in questioning Cricket Australia’s chosen remedy for the financial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, as all three organisations continue to push the governing body for more information.While Queensland Cricket announced on Monday that it would be cutting 32 staff from its books in anticipation of a 25% funding cut from CA, Simpson said this move was necessary largely because his state was in a far weaker position than NSW, the other dissenter. Queensland’s most recent annual report listed reserves of A$7.6 million among total assets worth A$18.3 million, far less than NSW or Victoria, to name two states, can call upon.At the same time, Simpson outlined that, as reported by ESPNcricinfo, Queensland’s board was trying to ensure that its agreement would see any reduction in distribution for 2020-21 revised back upwards if the summer produced a more favourable financial result than CA is currently forecasting.ALSO READ: Players’ association casts doubt on Cricket Australia’s financial warnings“We have not signed the agreement,” Simpson told . “We are trying to learn how long their proposed cuts run for. It is a bit ambiguous how they have presented it. We want clarity on the term and we also want to make sure 25% is the ceiling.”We also want to make sure that should things be better than what they are modelling – and every day we are getting more positive about the prospect of serious cricket content this season – we don’t want to lock into something that is to the detriment of the states.”Simpson’s words are similar to those conveyed by the NSW chairman John Knox and his chief executive Lee Germon to staff and stakeholders earlier this month. “As a result of the Cricket Australia proposal, some states have already reduced their commitment to community cricket, potentially impacting the long-term future of the game,” they said in an email. “We believe that any decision to reduce the agreed state distributions should be delayed until there is a better understanding of whether international cricket will be played next season.”The ACA has contacted states and indicated a willingness to preserve community staffing and programs via financial assistance from the “grassroots fund” carved out of MoU cash and overseen by both the ACA and CA. The fund has dished out almost A$4.5 million in funding for equipment and facilities since 2017, and is expected to have about A$3 million available this year. CA is due to give its latest indicative forecast of Australian Cricket Revenue – from which the players’ fixed percentage of revenue is derived – by Friday.Queensland’s cuts have included a major downsizing of the Brisbane Heat’s operation and the exit of the long-serving selector, coach and manager Justin Sternes. They have also seen community cricket programs significantly affected, but Simpson said the state had been left with little option.”We have been told for a long time how big a deal the Indian tour is, so to hear that optimism brings the depth of the cuts into focus,” Simpson said. “Eighty percent of our funding comes from one source [CA] and they have said they potentially have solvency issues, so it is our duty to act on that information. We disagree with a lot of the information provided but we still had to act. NSW have a very big book and they can ride it out. We can’t.”The Australia and NSW fast bowler Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, has given his strong support to the state’s own decision to push back against CA. “In terms of NSW they’ve been pretty strong in holding their position and I think from the little updates I’ve read from NSW, it’s a big part of their plan – to be part of growing the game in the state,” he said”That’s obviously where we have all come from, as international and elite cricketers, we’ve come from the junior clubs to grade clubs all the way to international cricket. Full credit to the NSW board in trying to, at this stage, hang onto all of their staff and their grass roots at the moment.”Cricket hasn’t lost any games yet in this country, obviously the Bangladesh [tour] has been postponed but there hasn’t been any cricket lost yet. So it’s going to be an interesting few weeks with state contracting then us all returning to training – I guess we’re going to see what staff we’ve got.”

Seamer tested for Covid-19 and cleared to fly to England on Saturday

Matt Roller18-Jul-2020Ireland have added seamer Stuart Thompson to their expanded squad that will travel to England on Saturday ahead of their three-match ODI series.The ECB had arranged for four Hampshire academy players to make up the numbers for Ireland’s training camp at the Ageas Bowl and for their intra-squad warm-up game on July 22.ALSO READ: Campher, Garth the new faces in Ireland squadBut one of those four has been ruled out through injury, and due to Covid-19 protocols, Hampshire were unable to provide a replacement. As a result, Thompson, who was a surprise omission from the original 21-man group, has been tested and cleared to join the squad.The three Hampshire academy players who will take part in the camp are Harry Petrie, Ollie Southon and James Trodd. Thompson’s inclusion means that Shane Getkate is the only centrally-contracted men’s player not to be making the trip.The squad will leave Dublin on a charter flight on Saturday, before travelling by bus to the Ageas Bowl where they will stay for two-and-a-half weeks. They will play an intra-squad practice match on July 22 and a warm-up against England Lions on July 26, after which a 14-man squad for the ODI series will be finalised.Ireland squad for England ODIs: Mark Adair, Andy Balbirnie (captain), Curtis Campher, Peter Chase, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Jonathan Garth, Tyrone Kane, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Stuart Thompson, Lorcan Tucker, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

Patriots’ hopes for semi-final qualification all but over after heavy defeat

Sreshth Shah02-Sep-2020Trinbago Knight Riders made it eight wins in eight matches while St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were all but knocked out of semi-final contention after the table toppers won by 59 runs in Tarouba.Knight Riders rested Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Fawad Ahmed and Jayden Seales as Dwayne Bravo captained the side on the day, but despite their stars missing, they rollicked to victory with Patriots never quite giving their 175-run target a chase. That Knight Riders made 174 for 4 was thanks to Lendl Simmons, who returned to form with an innings of 96 after a sedate CPL 2020 thus far. His highest score entering the contest this season was 32.Simmons shows his classThe CPL’s second-highest run-getter showed why he remains one of the tournament’s most prolific batsmen after cracking his second-highest score in the tournament. At first, Sheldon Cottrell and Alzarri Joseph kept Simmons and T20 debutant Amir Jangoo quiet. But after the left-handed Jangoo was run-out trying to pinch a single off Cottrell in the third over, Simmons and No. 3 Colin Munro changed gears, getting to 29 for 1 after four overs.A blow to the gloves in the fourth over forced Munro to retire hurt during the rain break that briefly paused proceedings, and Simmons then took charge in the company of Darren Bravo. Although Bravo had a bit of trouble playing Rayad Emrit and Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Simmons kept finding the occasional boundary, and his third six brought up his maiden fifty of CPL 2020. The duo eventually added 130 in 14.3 overs with Bravo contributing only 36 and when he fell, the Knight Riders were at 159 for 2 in the 19th over.With four balls to go in the innings, Simmons looked for a big shot of Dominic Drakes to reach his maiden CPL hundred, but he found Cottrell at deep midwicket, and left the ground with his head sunk, although the Knight Riders dug out stood up to applaud him for 63-ball 96 that included seven fours and six sixes.Lendl Simmons trudges off after falling four runs short of a second T20 century•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

Patriots strangled by spinPatriots’ opening pair of Evin Lewis and Chris Lynn were welcomed by left-arm spinners Akeal Hosein and Khary Pierre, who both bowled three overs each in the Powerplay. Frustrated by the lack of runs in the first two overs, Lewis tried to cut Pierre over point but found 48-year old Pravin Tambe’s safe hands as the Indian dived to his left to hold on to a tough catch.Joshua Da Silva at No. 3 looked to give Lynn company for long enough for the Australian to begin his acceleration in the manner how Simmons did in the first innings. But when he continued to see Lynn hovering at a strike rate of around 75 after 12 overs, he looked to go big, and was out caught-and-bowled by Tambe, who deceived both batsmen with an assortment of legbreaks and googlies. That happened in the 13th over, and with the required rate hovering over 12, Lynn (34 off 46 balls), Ben Dunk, Denesh Ramdin and Drakes fell in the next four overs. The last three of them were dismissed by the offspin of Sikandar Raza as Patriots slumped from 83 for 3 to 94 for 6.Hosein then went full and wide to dismiss Joseph to get on the wickets tally, and with seven wickets gone and the target well and truly out of reach, Patriots captain Emrit and Imran Khan put on a short stand of 17 for a tiny bit of consolation. Tambe conceded just 12 in his four overs, while Hosein conceded only 15 in his four.

Allrounder points to throwaway comments on skin colour and a lack of cultural training for professional cricketers

Daniel Brettig08-Sep-2020Casual racism within Australian cricket has been allowed to fester through a lack of adequate cultural awareness education for players, support staff and officialdom over the past two decades, leaving many to consider their past behaviour through the prism of the Black Lives Matter movement.This is one of many uncomfortable conclusions to be drawn from Cricket Australia’s first attempt to reckon with its past and present mistakes in dealing with Indigenous players and issues of race more generally. It takes the form of a series of discussion panels under the banner of Cricket Connecting Country that will air on the governing body’s digital platforms on Wednesday night, hosted by the CA board director Mel Jones.In a discussion featuring two noted experts on race and culture in Nyadol Nyuon, a commercial litigator with the Melbourne law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, and Janine Mohamed, chief executive of the Lowitja Institute dedicated to Aboriginal health, the Indigenous Australian cricketer Dan Christian catalogued the extent of casual racism he had experienced, largely around ignorant critiques of his Aboriginality based on his appearance.”I think it is an issue in Australian cricket, I don’t think it’s as ‘in your face’ as you might see around the world or even elsewhere in Australian culture,” Christian told the panel. “I think it’s definitely there, it’s more of a casual racism, just little throwaway lines here and there, made to be jokes and a lot of that for me personally has been around the colour of my skin and the fact that I don’t look Aboriginal or whatever that means. That’s the most noticeable thing for me.”It’s just something that comes with a lack of education and an ignorance. I don’t think a lot of people say it with any kind of malice, it’s just that they don’t understand and don’t know. When all the BLM stuff came out in the last couple of months, one of the things I related to the most was Meyne Wyatt’s monologue on QandA, which I thought was absolutely brilliant. There’s one little section of that where he talks about being asked that question and his comment back to whoever asked it was ‘well what part am I, is it my foot, is it my arm, is it my leg’. I’ve had those kinds of questions a lot and it was a pretty good way to look at it.”However I’ve received a lot of messages over the past few months from people I’ve played with and against that have said ‘sorry if I’ve ever said anything to you that you’ve been offended by, please help, I’d love to know more about your personal story, your family story, things that I can do in the community to try and help out’ and so from that perspective I think it’s been a wonderful thing to have happened to be able to have that conversation and for people to want to make change.”Christian noted, somewhat ruefully, that he had received more education about cultural awareness and understanding of the many and varied racial backgrounds in Australian life during a brief stint in a public service job prior to his professional cricket career, than in any of the many seasons since.”Before I started playing cricket I was working for the government in the Indigenous employment branch in the department of employment and workplace relations in the early 2000s, and one of the first things I did when I had that job, and the whole department had to go through it, was cross-cultural awareness training,” he said. “So you learned all sorts of things about our own culture and other cultures and how to integrate, and all that stuff.”It was all really interesting, fantastic, relevant stuff. That was in the early 2000s. I’ve been playing cricket ever since, and not once have I ever been through any kind of training or heard about any kind of training like that throughout cricket. So that’s one thing we could at least do to raise some awareness and to educate people within our sport. I just don’t think that’s something we’ve ever looked at in the past, and I think, particularly now is a great chance to do something like that.”Australia’s cricketers are still on their own journey to a better understanding of the game’s rich Aboriginal history, including the 1868 tour of England by an Indigenous team that was the first ever overseas visit by any representative sporting team from this country. In many ways the women’s team has been able to progress more fully on the path towards proper understanding and connection than their male equivalents.Dan Christian in his follow-through•Getty Images

This was underlined by how, after the men’s limited-overs team captain Aaron Finch stated that the team would not be “taking a knee” in recognition of the BLM movement before their first T20I in England last week, the Australian women’s team vice-captain Rachael Haynes stated that a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture and its connection to cricket had made numerous observances, both last year and in planning for the season to come, so much more meaningful.”The great thing about being involved with it was that it wasn’t a superficial event,” Haynes said of the team donning Indigenous-inspired uniforms for the Reconcilitation match played against England last summer. “Quite often when we do things on the field, you walk out as a player and you’re just part of that one moment and then you move on and you play the game. One of the things I really enjoyed about being involved in it was it started perhaps six months before that moment.”CA came and presented to us on the whole concept and then spoke about the jersey that was going to get produced and we did some activities leading into it as well to get an appreciation of indigenous culture and for me as a player that was much more valuable than just stepping out onto the field and going through the ceremony and not perhaps understanding different moments you were part of.”I think that’s something sport has a responsibility to do, is just because the lights and cameras are out and flashing, that’s not just the moment you’re looking to capture. If you want to be impactful long-term, you’ve actually got to take the opportunity leading in to educate the players on what they’re doing and why they’re doing it and what the opportunity is as well. Rather than just getting them to step out onto the field and be part of a ceremony which is really symbolic and great to be part of, but that shouldn’t be where it stops and starts.”Nevertheless, Haynes acknowledged the fact that instances of racist language and behaviour were still far more frequent in Australian cricket than anyone should condone, citing a recent example she had witnessed personally.”When I did hear it I was really taken aback in the moment and the situation, because it came from a place where it didn’t come from a teammate or the team environment, it came from a place surrounding that, and in a moment where I didn’t envisage that would happen,” Haynes said. “I did say something to call it out, but it really hit home to me that much of the points that are being raised around casual racism, even how its ingrained in some younger children, not even really knowing that’s what they’re being taught.”There’s lots of things we need to do to overcome that, how we talk in the media, how we call out behaviour. I think there’s a huge role for sport to play in that. We’ve started to see that as well even with other codes, people are really starting to call out poor behaviour, we’ve seen that a lot on social media. So sport has a huge role to play in trying to make people accountable for some of the things they’re saying.”Nyuon and Mohamed concluded their own many insights by noting that any “allies” to the cause of Black and Aboriginal justice needed to be well stocked with resilience and willingness to struggle. This first episode of Cricket Connecting Country, to be followed by two others, helps CA to enter into the many difficult conversations that will entail.

South Australia’s captain gave them hope of a draw after Victoria’s monumental opening stand

Andrew McGlashan01-Nov-2020For the second match running, captain Travis Head led South Australia’s quest to salvage a draw after the record-breaking feats of Marcus Harris and Will Pucovski where the Victoria openers added a record Sheffield Shield partnership of 486.Pucovski might have managed a triple hundred, but instead was unbeaten on a career-best 255 – his second double century at the age of just 22 – when Peter Handscomb declared the moment Nic Maddinson fell to the first ball after lunch.Having chased leather for 139 overs, South Australia were soon 2 for 10 as Scott Boland struck twice in his second over with the new ball and a three-day finish look a possibility, but Head set about restoring some Redbacks pride with his second century in consecutive innings. There is no shortage of in-form Australian batsmen.As he did against Tasmania, where he made an unbeaten 171, Head took a positive approach and though he slowed up close to three figures the mark still came from a healthy 155 deliveries.The ball after, Henry Hunt brought up his half-century as he provided a solid foil for Head and absorbed 207 deliveries during a partnership that stood at 162 by stumps. Having enjoyed a bit of early life in the surface on the opening day, Victoria’s young pacemen found it much harder work while there was not much on offer for the spinners.Having spent such a long, dispiriting, innings in the field it was a commendable show of character from Head and Hunt to repel the bowlers for the rest of the day even on a surface now friendly for batting.Victoria will still hope to press for victory, but at the start of the day it was all about the record books. Their opening pair resumed on 0 for 418 with Pucovski on 199 and he reached double off the first ball of the day as he and Harris moved briskly up the charts.Harris was dropped at slip by Callum Ferguson with the score on 436 and it was his cover drive which took the stand to 465, surpassing the Mark Waugh-Steve Waugh landmark which was made against Western Australia at the WACA in 1990-91.As attention turned to the all-time first-class partnership lists and a 500-stand loomed, South Australia finally ended the stand when Harris gloved a short ball from Wes Agar to the keeper. After 123 overs with the pads on, Handscomb finally walked in at No. 3.

Thirteen-run win in third and final ODI ended a five-match losing streak for India

Sidharth Monga02-Dec-2020India were five down in 32 overs, staring at a below-par total, and with that a series clean sweep, when Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja came together to nearly double their then score of 152, which turned out to be just enough thanks to a gun spell from Jasprit Bumrah in the end. Pandya ended up with a career-best unbeaten 92 off 76, and Jadeja doubled up his 50-ball 66 with the wicket of a set Aaron Finch and a smart low catch in the field. Australia’s chase went similar to India’s innings – the fourth wickets fell at the exact same point, 123 in 25.3 overs – but the hosts kept losing wickets to fall short by 13 runs.The pitch wasn’t as flat as was expected when India won the toss, and it showed in how they managed to successfully defend what was only the third-highest total in a full-length ODI at this heavy-scoring ground. That slightly tricky surface, and the lack of depth in India’s XI probably resulted in a slightly cagey first half of the innings. There was a stretch where Virat Kohli, who had made a fluent start, went 50 balls without a boundary. Keeping that in mind, the effort of Pandya and Jadeja – 150 in 18 overs – was all the more special.Hardik Pandya bottom-edges a pull past the keeper•AFP

That being the big difference between the two sides, Pandya and Jadeja only really went after the bowling in the last five overs when there was no other option. They were good enough on the day to take 76 off those last five. Australia, though, kept going after the bowling, with Glenn Maxwell adding a 38-ball 59 to an already impressive series. He nearly brought it down to a run a ball with four wickets in hand and a little over five overs to go, but this is when Bumrah bowled him with a yorker to end the contest.

Australia atop World Cup Super League table

Australia displaced England at the top of the inaugural Men’s World Cup Super League points table following their 2-1 victory over India that gave them 20 points, to take their tally to 40.
India, who are assured of a 2023 World Cup berth by dint of being the hosts, earned nine points from the series and are placed at the No. 6 position. World Cup holders England occupy the No. 2 slot, with 30 points.
The 13-team World Cup Super League was introduced earlier this year to impart context to bilateral ODIs as well as to determine the seven direct qualifiers for the next 50-over World Cup, in 2023.

This ended a five-match losing streak for India, and accordingly it didn’t come easy. They lost a wicket early after winning the toss in what was a bat-first series, and then were thwarted by the spin combination of Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa. Shikhar Dhawan chipped Sean Abbott to short cover before Shubhman Gill and KL Rahul fell lbw when sweeping Agar, and Shreyas Iyer edged Zampa to point. It is a chicken-and-egg question: did the falling wickets necessitate a Kohli slowdown or did the slowdown bring about ambitious shots from the other end that resulted in those wickets?Kohli did push up the intent towards the 30th over only for Hazlewood to come back and get him out for the third time in this series. If the previous two short balls got Kohli on the pull, this one was wider and took the nick as he played it on the walk. He ended the year without an ODI century, but any mortal would take two half-centuries in a three-match series in what is bound to be a rusty year.This brought together two allrounders whose batting has been under pressure to justify their selection. With Pandya not bowling, the tag of specialist batsman brings its own pressure while Jadeja – remarkable as he has been upon return – keeps out one wicket-taking spinner. However, their batting has improved a lot in the last couple of years; it was on display in unison at Manuka Oval.Both batted like proper batsmen, getting into their innings without hugely sacrificing strike rate, especially with Pandya keeping the bowlers on their toes. With only two specialist quicks in the XI – debutant Cameron Green did put in four overs – Hazlewood and Abbott had to bowl all of the final six overs. This usually brings familiarity and the opportunity to line bowlers up, which is exactly what Pandya and Jadeja did.Pandya first got stuck into Abbott, taking 17 off the 46th over, reaching 75 off 66 by the end of it. In the last four overs, though, it was all Jadeja as the bowling disintegrated. Abbott failed to bowl to his fields, providing Jadeja relatively easy opportunities to hit boundaries, which he took with both hands. By the end, he had hit more sixes than Pandya and his strike rate was higher too.Debutant T Natarajan gave India their first powerplay wicket in six matches as makeshift opener Marnus Labuschagne played on, but the big one came when Thakur strangled Smith down the leg side for his first non-century score of the series. Finch, whom India reprieved three times in the field, kept the pressure on, but Thakur came back to get rid of Moises Henrqiues, who pulled a long hop straight to midwicket. Debutant Green then got stuck at the start, which brought about a low-percentage loft from Finch.However, Australia kept challenging India. Green, Alex Carey and Agar provided support for Maxwell to accelerate at the other end. Sweep, reverse sweep, switch hit, pull, slog – everything came off as Maxwell took them to 39 required off the last six overs with four wicket in hand.India had to go to Bumrah now. Two singles and two wides later, it seemed Australia were one final push away from breaking the chase down. Bumrah, who had had a catch dropped earlier, found the timber as Maxwell backed away to go through cover. Natarajan and Thakur then came back well to close the game out.

Neither player entered tour bubble ahead of Sri Lanka series after two Covid positives detected

Firdose Moonda22-Dec-2020
Beuran Hendricks and Keegan Petersen have been withdrawn from South Africa’s Test squad to play Sri Lanka.Neither player entered the tour bubble when the playing group convened on Saturday, after two positive Covid-19 results were detected last week. CSA cannot, for reasons of doctor-patient confidentiality, name who the infected players are.The other 17 squad members have tested negative on all three occasions, thus making the environment bio-secure. South Africa will not add any players to the squad for the two-Test series which starts on Boxing Day.Having cleared three rounds of testing, South Africa can begin training as a full squad on Wednesday after having staggered sessions so far. They will also no longer be confined to their hotel rooms at the Irene Country Club and can use communal areas, with social distancing rules in place, but will not come into contact with Sri Lanka, who are housed at the same venue. In addition, they will not be permitted to leave the venue except to travel to SuperSport Park and the Wanderers for the duration of the series.Related

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Cricket South Africa have enforced stricter controls for this series than they did for the England tour – in which players were allowed to play golf at various courses around the Western Cape province – both at the behest of Sri Lanka Cricket and because the England tour was unsuccessful.Three South African players tested positive for Covid-19 – one before the tour, one after entering the bubble and one after the T20 series – as did two hotel staff, and the one-day series was postponed. Two members of England’s touring party also tested positive although, on verification, their results were confirmed as false positives. South Africa, who are also due to host Australia this summer, need the Sri Lanka series to take place without incident to get their international hosting back on track.For that reason, they pushed the final round of domestic first-class matches, which were due to start last Sunday, into next year following positive cases in two of the three matches that began on December 13. Hendricks, Petersen and eight other players in the national squad were part of two of those games.At SuperSport Park, the match between the Titans and the Dolphins was called off after the first day because a Dolphins’ players tested positive while in Bloemfontein, the game between the Knights and the Lions continued despite a Lions’ player testing positive on day three. Several more Dolphins and Lions players were also found to be infected.The impact has been felt by the national squad who have lost at least one certain starter for the Sri Lanka Tests. Hendricks, who has only played one Test, would most likely have been the third seamer in the absence of the injured Kagiso Rabada. Hendricks debuted at the Wanderers last summer and took six wickets in the match, including 5 for 64 in the second innings, and is familiar with conditions up-country, having made the Lions his domestic home. Instead, South Africa will rely on Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje for experience and could hand a debut to Glenton Stuurman, Migael Pretorius or Lutho Sipamla.Petersen was less likely to play than Hendricks but, after three summers averaging over 50 domestically, he made a strong case to be considered at No.3. He should also have been the next man in line after being a non-playing member of the squad last season but will have to make way for one of Sarel Erwee, Raynard van Tonder or Kyle Verreynne for now.Updated squad: Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Sarel Erwee, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne, Migael Pretorius, Dwaine Pretorius, Lutho Sipamla, Raynard van Tonder

Will Sutherland and Hannah Darlington took the young player honours

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2021Shaun Marsh has made it back-to-back male domestic player of the year titles at the Cricket Australia awards with Elyse Villani named the female player of the year. Will Sutherland and Hannah Darlington took the respective young cricketer titles.The voting period of the awards is December 11, 2019 to December 9, 2020. For the men that takes in last season’s BBL, the latter part of last season’s Sheffield Shield and the first part of this season, which was played in an Adelaide hub, and for the women that latter part of last season’s WNCL and this season’s WBBL.During that period Marsh scored 1058 across all formats for Western Australia and Melbourne Renegades. That is split as 609 runs at 55.36 in the Sheffield Shield, which included three centuries earlier this season, and 449 runs in the BBL.He is the fourth player to win the award in multiple years after Darren Lehmann, Michael Klinger and Cameron White.Villani’s award comes after she lost her place in the Australia team in early 2019 and further emphasises the depth on offer. She made 360 runs at 27.69 and a strike-rate of 120.80 in Melbourne Stars’ WBBL campaign, forming a strong opening pairing with Meg Lanning, in which they reached the final before defeat against Sydney Thunder. That followed a strong finished to the 2019-2020 WNCL season for Victoria where she averaged over 50.”To be voted by them is a huge honour and something I don’t really take lightly,” she said. “When my career does come to an end one day, I know I’m going to look back on it really fondly because it’s such a huge honour to be thought of by all the girls.”Player voted awards are so special because it really highlights the respect that players have for one another and I know that’s something the girls really value.”Sutherland, who plays for Victoria and Melbourne Renegades, reached Australia A level this season when he faced India at the SCG. He took a career-best Sheffield Shield return of 6 for 67 against South Australia late last season.”They are strong competitions we have been playing in in the Sheffield Shield and Big Bash with a lot of good young cricketers coming through, so to get that recognition is pretty exciting for me at this point of my career,” he said.Meanwhile, Darlington continued to show herself as one of the most promising young bowlers in Australia by excelling in the Thunder’s WBBL-winning campaign, especially standing out at the death, taking 19 wickets with an economy rate of 6.19.

Bangladesh doesn’t have an Elite Panel umpire, forcing the ICC to make the appointment

Mohammad Isam25-Jan-2021The ICC has named Richard Illingworth as a match official for Bangladesh’s Test series at home against West Indies next month. This will make Illingworth the first neutral umpire in a Test since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.In June last year, when international cricket resumed after the global lockdown because of the pandemic, the ICC had temporarily removed neutral umpires for all international formats owing to the “current logistical challenges with international travel”.But Bangladesh doesn’t have an umpire in the ICC’s Elite Panel, necessitating the appointment of Illingworth. He arrived in Chattogram on January 24, 11 days before the first Test, which will start February 3.Like all inbound travellers from the United Kingdom, Illingworth, too, is currently undergoing mandatory institutional isolation in accordance with the January 13 directive from Bangladesh’s civil aviation authority. All passengers from the UK are required to isolate for four days after their arrival in the country regardless of the result of their first Covid-19 test. After a second test, the passengers must go into home quarantine for another ten days. The strict measures have been put in place following the appearance of the new strain of the Covid-19 virus in the UK.However, since Illingworth has already arrived in Bangladesh, he is expected to go through a shorter quarantine as the BCB usually negotiates with the government for exemptions relating to cricketing assignments. The BCB has already got similar exemptions for their coaching staff as well as the West Indies contingent and TV crew, who arrived from the UK a little over two weeks ago.Illingworth will officiate the two Tests alongside home umpire Sharfuddoula, who will stand in his first Test match. He will become the fifth Bangladeshi umpire to stand in a Test match after Enamul Haque, AFM Akhtaruddin, Mahbubur Rahman, and Showkatur Rahman.

He replaces Malinga, who is understood to be out of contention for selection, having not trained with the squad in the past few months

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Feb-2021Dasun Shanaka has been appointed the Sri Lanka men’s team’s new T20I captain, replacing Lasith Malinga, who is understood to be out of contention for selection, having not trained with the squad in the past few months. Shanaka has previously led the T20 side – on the 2019 tour to Pakistan, where Sri Lanka won 3-0. More recently, he has also captained the Dambulla Viiking franchise at the Lanka Premier League. He has been handed the captaincy over Thisara Perera, who has also led Sri Lanka in the format before and had also been the captain of the winning LPL franchise.Shanaka’s first assignment will be the three-match T20 series in the West Indies beginning on March 3, and on this tour, Sri Lanka have two uncapped batsmen to choose from. Opener Pathum Nissanka and middle-order batsman Ashen Bandara have both been chosen in the 20-strong squad – Nissanka’s selection in particular having resulted from strong domestic performances.Dilshan Madushanka, a 20-year-old fast bowler with only four senior matches on his record, is the other uncapped player in the squad, while allrounder Dhananjaya Lakshan, who was among the finds of the LPL, has been overlooked.Making a return, meanwhile, is spinner Akila Dananjaya, who last played for Sri Lanka in September 2019, before serving a one-year suspension over an illegal bowling action. Dananjaya has since remodeled his action, but was not especially successful in the three LPL matches he played in since his return. He is one of three frontline spinners in the squad, alongside legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga, and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan. Two allrounders also add spin-bowling options – the offspin of Ramesh Mendis is available, as is the ambidextrous finger spin of Kamindu Mendis.On the fast bowling front, Sri Lanka will miss Lahiru Kumara, who tested positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the team’s departure to the Caribbean. In his place, the selectors have chosen Suranga Lakmal. Nuwan Pradeep, Asitha Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera and Madushanka are the other quicks in the squad.After Shanaka leads the team in the T20s that begin the tour, Dimuth Karunaratne will take over for the ODI and Test legs that follow. These teams last faced each other early in 2020, in Sri Lanka. On that tour, West Indies had won the T20s 2-0, and Sri Lanka swept the three-match ODI sereis.Sri Lanka squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (ODI captain), Dasun Shanaka (T20 captain), Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Ashen Bandara, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Thisara Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Nuwan Pradeep, Asitha Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Akila Dananajaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilshan Madushanka, Suranga Lakmal