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Rookie shows she’s ready to nail down role after guiding England’s chase in thrilling style

Valkerie Baynes11-Jul-2022If England had sent Emma Lamb in to bat at any position, she reckons she would have tried to grab her chance with both hands. That the opportunity came knocking in her favoured opener’s role and resulted in a century as England swept South Africa aside by five wickets in their opening ODI made it “amazing”.Making just her fourth international appearance, Lamb’s 97-ball 102 accounted for much of England’s successful pursuit of 219 in Northampton to take a four-points-to-two lead in the multi-format series, with two more one-day matches and three T20Is to play.A fortnight ago, Lamb made 38 on Test debut opening alongside Tammy Beaumont as the sides drew in Taunton. That followed a second-ball duck during the third ODI against Australia during the Ashes in February and she wasn’t required to bat as England opened with Beaumont and Danni Wyatt in their nine-wicket win against Pakistan at the World Cup.”You always want to prove yourself, don’t you?” Lamb said pitch-side at Wantage Road on Monday, when asked about those earlier ODIs. “I suppose that was kind of like a little drive, a little thought in the back of my mind but I feel like any opportunity that I got, even if it wasn’t opening, I would have taken it and tried to do the best I could with it.”Wyatt has moved up and down the order as England wrestled with an opening conundrum. She replaced Lauren Winfield-Hill at the top during the World Cup and scored a century in the semi-final against South Africa. Here she dropped down to No. 6 and struck the winning runs with an unbeaten 14 off five balls after Lamb had done the heavy lifting alongside an explosive 55 off 36 by Nat Sciver.Heading into the Test match, England head coach Lisa Keightley had said she was keen to see what Lamb could do as an international opener, having played the majority of her domestic and regional cricket there, and she acquitted herself well in a 65-run stand with Beaumont.Here Lamb took a lead role after Beaumont fell in the third over and she ran with it.”I felt pretty comfortable,” Lamb said. “I went in today knowing my role and having the coaches and my team-mates back me, I felt pretty happy with what I needed to do.Related

• Lauren Bell relishing chance to join generation next

• Lamb's maiden ton, all-round Sciver, fiery Brunt help England go 1-0 up

• Danni Wyatt set for return to middle-order despite World Cup semi-final century

• England challenge Emma Lamb to make her mark as an opener

“When you lose an early wicket there’s a little bit of pressure on me but I was still wanting to play my game and not change anything. When I got past the 50-mark, I was really happy but when I got to 100, obviously I was over the moon.”She played beautifully to the off-side and when she brought up her ton with an open-faced drive off Nadine de Klerk, Heather Knight, her captain was at the opposite end of the pitch, with a fist-pumping hug at the ready and looking almost as thrilled as Lamb until the latter removed her helmet and turned to the changing room with a beaming smile and arms raised aloft.”She was just so buzzing for me,” Lamb said of Knight. “It’s a little bit emotional. I think when anyone gets a hundred it can be like the best thing in the world and a little bit emotional but yeah, it was very nice to be out there with the skipper and get a hundred and hug her.”Heading into the second match in Bristol on Friday, Lamb indicated England were keen to ride a wave of positivity against a South African side which beat them in the group stages of the World Cup and had come into this match wanting to atone for their semi-final defeat.That the match wasn’t particularly close after Sciver and Katherine Brunt had combined to take seven wickets between them to contain their opponents did not come as a surprise to her either.”I’m not surprised because I think it was a big mindset thing for us,” she said. “We just wanted to be really positive and our bowlers did really well today on a very good wicket.”We just wanted to be positive with the bat and when we play our best cricket, we can easily dominate and win easily like we have done.”

The squad will be permitted to train and play, while otherwise abiding by the current lockdown in Victoria

Daniel Brettig13-Feb-2021Victoria’s squad for one-day and Sheffield Shield fixtures against New South Wales in Sydney will be travelling north on Sunday morning after agreement was reached to allow them to escape the current Covid-19 lockdown in the state.Following lengthy talks involving Cricket Victoria (CV), Cricket NSW, Cricket Australia and the NSW and Victoria state governments, the squad will be permitted to train and play, while otherwise abiding by the lockdown conditions currently being applied in Victoria until at least Thursday.NSW are set to host Victoria in a one-day game at the North Sydney Oval on Monday with up to 1100 spectators allowed, before a Shield match between the sides at the SCG from Wednesday.Related

• Shield and Marsh Cup to forge ahead despite uncertainty

• Pucovski could miss rest of domestic season due to surgery

“The Victorian men’s team will travel to Sydney under the Victorian Government’s essential workers provision for professional athletes,” a CV spokesman said. “The squad will be permitted to train and play, and will adhere to current Victorian lockdown conditions while in Sydney as per NSW Government requirements.”Cricket Victoria would like to thank the NSW Government, the Victorian Government and Cricket Australia for their support and guidance on the matter. The squad is scheduled to depart Melbourne on Sunday morning ahead of their first Marsh One-Day Cup fixture on Monday against NSW at North Sydney Oval.”The Monday fixture is also significant for being Australia national team’s current vice-captain Pat Cummins’ state captaincy debut, as he will be leading NSW in the white-ball games, while Peter Nevill retains the Shield leadership role.

Key is to “make sure we’re understanding the issues and supporting our people”

Daniel Brettig11-Nov-2019Australian cricket’s new overseer of national teams Ben Oliver admits the game still has a lot to learn about dealing with the mental health of its players, coaches and staff in the wake of the withdrawals of Glenn Maxwell and Nic Maddinson from national duty over the past few days.As one part of a two-man high-performance team – the other being former Olympian Drew Ginn – that replaced Pat Howard earlier this year, Oliver’s commission is to work closely with the national men’s and women’s teams and their coaches Justin Langer and Matthew Mott.He quickly surmised that closer and better management of people would be critical to the role, whether those in the national set-up or others working in the state system. To that end, the bravery of Maxwell and Maddinson to pull back from playing the game in order to look after their own wellbeing, rather than suffering in silence as many past generations have done, has been welcomed, but Oliver agreed that in the tension between a highly competitive sport and the wellness of its practitioners, Cricket Australia was trying to develop better understanding.”Each individual person will have a whole range of different circumstances and that presents a challenge but it also means we can’t make a broad-brush statement about this or in fact a broad-brush approach to it,” Oliver told ESPNcricinfo. “Just because people are going through different challenges in their life doesn’t mean they’re also not able to perform at a really high level and so our aspiration is to make sure we’re giving our players and staff the best chance to thrive on and off the field.ALSO READ: ‘We want guys being honest and able to talk’ – Carey“I’m incredibly proud of both Glenn and Nic in feeling as though they could share what they were experiencing and really be open and honest about that. Equally proud in terms of our response to that. The coaching and support staff response and their care and empathy for both Glenn and Nic. And more broadly my view is it’s a really complex issue, something that all of society is grappling with and, as a sport, we’re part of society.”We’re not immune to it, and we’ve got to continue to find ways to understand the issues and we’re doing all we can and applying our support and resources around players and staff on their own health and wellbeing. There’s lots to do, I think there’s lots to understand and we’re really committed to making sure we give our players and staff the best possible support we can.”Australian players currently have the option of reporting mental health problems or spiralling feelings via the wellness apps used to track their physical and mental wellbeing, but are also able to discuss their state of mind with coaches, medical staff and team psychologists.”We’ve got some systems in place where players are tracking their experience,” Oliver said, “but equally, we’ve got a whole range of coaching and support staff who are working with players on a daily basis and get to understand them very well.”I don’t think there is any one effort that is better or worse in terms of understanding where a player is currently at, I think it’s a combination of those aspects that will ultimately allow us to better understand where a player is at and provide support at any given time. We’ve got a couple of ways in which we are trying to understand where a player is at and how to respond.”In his former role with Western Australia, Oliver dealt with numerous instances of players and staff battling mental health and wellbeing issues. Ashton Agar is one WA cricketer who has spoken publicly about learning how to “ride” the peaks and troughs of personal wellness, having taken time out of the game for that reason in the past.”I spent six or seven years in WA and we had a whole range of challenges on and off field for players and staff and that’s a reflection of the world we live in and some of the challenges people are going through,” Oliver said. “And it reinforced to me the great opportunity we have as a sport to really lead the way and show how we can care and support our people. Whether it was with WA or this role or other states and territories from a cricket perspective, we’re all increasingly aware of the challenges people are going through and we’re learning how they go through that.”Certainly not the first time this has come up, I’m sure it won’t be the last, and our obligation is to really make sure we’re understanding the issues and supporting our people. If and when they’re going through different challenges we provide them with the best care and support. I don’t think they’re necessarily mutually exclusive, there’s certainly opportunity for us to continue to perform at a high level on the field and support people off it.”It’s just a case of building really strong relationships with our players in this case around how they’re travelling, what they’re experiencing and making sure we’re supporting them in that, helping them prepare, and ultimately go out and perform.”Oliver has built up plenty of respect over time as a calm and considered presence in cricket administration, having previously held roles with Cricket Victoria, CA and also the ICC prior to moving to WA. In joining CA less than a year after the announcement of damaging findings from the cultural review that followed the Newlands scandal, he is well attuned to the attitude of listening and learning that so many of the governing body’s partners had demanded.”It’s certainly clear to me and important to me coming into this role that Australian cricket is prioritising its people, players and staff,” Oliver said. “So that becomes a really important part of what we stand for as an organisation. That’s been really clear that is a priority, an important part of what the future looks like, and I’ve been really pleased with the endeavour going in to understand how we best do that. Really proud of the players and their willingness to be open and honest about what they’re experiencing.”One of my initial observations coming into the role is the intensity of international cricket and the complexity of the schedule and those things are obviously real challenges for us to find the best possible solutions for. That’s all part of what players, coaches and staff are experiencing and mechanisms for that. Really comfortable that players are feeling confident to be open and honest and really proud of our staff for being able to care and support them when they do present that way.”One set of fresh information about the mental health of Australian cricket is set to land early next year, with the results of a study begun three years ago by the youth mental health consultancy Orygen to be handed to CA in February.

The England fast bowler had words with Kumar Dharmasena after a review was unsuccessful on umpire’s call

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2018James Anderson has picked up one demerit point and been fined 15% of his match fee for dissent, after getting into an argument with on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena over an lbw appeal against Virat Kohli that was turned down.The incident happened in the 29th over of India’s innings at The Oval, when Kohli – then on 16 – was struck on the pads. Dharmasena gave it not out, and England went for the review, only for Kohli to be saved by umpire’s call on impact.At the end of the over, Anderson snatched his cap and jumper from Dharmasena and then spoke to him in “an aggressive manner”, which invited the sanctions from match referee Andy Pycroft. Anderson admitted to the offence and accepted the sanctions, so there was no need for a formal hearing.This was Anderson’s first offence since the ICC’s revised Code of Conduct was introduced in September 2016.Kohli was eventually out to Ben Stokes for 49, and India ended the second day of the fifth Test on a precarious 174 for 6, still trailing England’s first-innings’ 332 by 158 runs.England already have a series-winning 3-1 lead, but Kohli has been the standout batsman from either side, having exorcised the demons of the 2014 tour that brought him only 134 runs in 10 innings. This time, his exchanges with Anderson have been particularly in the spotlight all series, since Anderson had the better of Kohli in 2014. While Kohli has gone on to score 593 runs in nine innings so far, Anderson is yet to dismiss him in the series.

The BCCI has done a u-turn on the appointments of Zaheer Khan as bowling consultant and Rahul Dravid as overseas Test batting consultant

Sidharth Monga15-Jul-20171:39

‘It was a recommendation, not an appointment’ – Vinod Rai

The BCCI has done a u-turn on the appointments of Zaheer Khan as bowling consultant and Rahul Dravid as overseas Test batting consultant; the appointments were announced on July 11.Now, the chairman of the committee of administrators (CoA) has said those were mere recommendations that needed action from the CoA “in consultation with the head coach”. Ravi Shastri, India’s new head coach, meanwhile, is set to get his own support staff as that has been decided “in consultation with the head coach already”.As for Dravid and Zaheer, yet another committee has been formed to decide if they are needed at all, and terms of engagement if they are. The committee, comprising acting BCCI president CK Khanna, secretary Amitabh Choudhary and CoA member Diana Edulji, will have a meeting with Shastri. The meeting will be convened by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.This is yet another process after a month-long farcical drama finally ended with a definitive BCCI release on July 11. It said, “The BCCI announces the appointment of Mr. Ravi Shastri as the Head Coach, Mr. Zaheer Khan as the Bowling Consultant and Mr. Rahul Dravid who will be the Overseas Batting Consultant (Test cricket) for the Indian Cricket Team.” It was followed by praise for the appointees and gratitude for the cricket advisory committee (CAC) comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, who had been tasked with identifying the new coach. The release was signed by Choudhary.

Other decisions made on Saturday

• Advertisement to be released inviting applications for the jobs of administrative managers of the India, India A and India Under-19. The deadline for applications for the senior team is July 21, and the manager’s term will be one year. The manager will be a college graduate, and will preferably be a first-class or international cricketer who has preferably “successfully” managed a state team in India or an international team. Alternatively the candidate could hold at least 10 years of work experience in public or private sector. “Sound knowledge of cricket and playing conditions” will be non-negotiable.

• The committee of Khanna, Choudhary, Edulji and Johri will decide on the India manager on July 22 in Delhi. Before that it will meet Shastri in July 18 and finalise coaching requirements and appointments, and also the financial terms of the coaches’ contracts.

• To ensure proper co-ordination and implementation, the CoA has now decided to invite the BCCI office bearers to its meetings.

On July 13, an unnamed source from the CoA – which was about to be reduced from three to two members – was quoted as saying that the CAC had exceeded its brief in appointing the two consultants. On the same day, the CAC wrote an email to the CoA expressing its displeasure, and saying it had appointed Dravid and Zaheer after discussions with Shastri.On July 15, the CoA met some BCCI officials in Delhi, and then its head Vinod Rai confirmed the u-turn. “There is no such thing as a contract yet,” Rai said, when asked if the appointments of Zaheer and Dravid had been put on hold. “It is not an appointment. The recommendation has been made. And the CoA has to act on the recommendation. That recommendation will be acted upon in consultation with the head coach.”When asked if Shastri had demanded his own support staff, Rai said: “The support staff has been decided in consultation with the head coach already. There is going to be a core support staff, which will be fielding, batting and bowling, which has been decided. Any other ancillary etc, he [Shastri] will be coming back tomorrow [from England] and we will decide.”It has been widely reported that Shastri wants B Arun back as the bowling coach. Arun, Shastri’s team-mate from Under-19 and India days, was India’s bowling coach during Shastri’s previous stint as team director too.Rai’s latest assertions, though, go against yet another BCCI release, titled “COA hails CAC coach recommendation”, sent on July 12. The email was not signed by any person, but it said, “The Cricket Advisory Committee has made its recommendation regarding the coach. It is a comprehensive recommendation covering all aspects of the coaching requirement of any team. They have applied themselves to the cause at hand with dedication and commitment. This is exactly what we had expected from a committee of such distinguished cricketers. On behalf of all interested in ‘Cricket India’, BCCI and the COA, I thank them for the service so willingly rendered by them. We accept their recommendation in totality.”The release went on to use the term “new combination”. “Now that they have made the choice, we sincerely feel that the new combination will steward the team to number 1 position in the World Cup,” the release said. “We need to put the immediate past events to rest and wish the team, the Captain, coach and support staff a very ‘happy Innings’ in the run up to the World Cup.”The BCCI’s tweets on July 11:

The CoA’s role in the coach-appointment saga has been curious to say the least. On July 10, the day the candidates were interviewed, the CAC had announced in a press conference that it needed more time and more consultation with captain Virat Kohli before it could decide on the coach. The following morning, though, various BCCI officials confirmed that they were asked by the CoA to announce the name of the new coach “as soon as possible”. The name of Shastri as new coach was then announced late on July 11.”I don’t know what exactly happened because I was not in the country at that time,” Rai said about the sudden change in timelines. “The CAC decided to decide the next day; they made the announcement.”When asked if the CoA had given any instructions, Rai said, “We need not go into the details of any of those things. There was a process, that process was followed, and the announcement was made well in time.”Explaining the CoA’s role in the whole matter following the announcement of the appointments, Rai insisted on calling them “recommendations”.”Recommendations have come to the CoA, it will be discussed with the office bearers, and it is only courtesy that we discuss with the head coach as to who the other coaches should be,” he said.When told of the CAC’s displeasure with the new turn of events, especially because, according to the CAC, it had consulted Shastri before making its choices, Rai confirmed Shastri had indeed been consulted, but only by the CAC.”It is a fact that he was consulted,” Rai said. “There was some conversation that took place. I can’t clarify on that because I was not a part of it. We didn’t know. We had left it entirely to the CAC to decide, we were told that he was consulted, but since we were not privy to it…”When asked about the CAC’s letter to the CoA, which expressed severe disappointment with the media reports attributed to the CoA, Rai neither denied nor confirmed receiving such correspondence. “CAC members have corresponded a lot with the CEO, and me also,” he said. “Some of the emails have come to me, some have been copied to me. We reacted to each one of those things.”Rai went on to add that they needed to check if Dravid and Zaheer were in conflict of interest if given these roles. “The fact of the matter is they have made a recommendation,” Rai said. “Before we put that recommendation into fact, we have to find out conflict-of-interest issues, their willingness issues, their availability issues. We have to do that.”When asked if the CAC hadn’t already spoken to the two, Rai said, “They may have spoken; we haven’t. Rahul, I am sure, is engaged elsewhere. Zaheer is also engaged elsewhere. So we have to ascertain their availability.”

Shaminda Eranga has been discharged from hospital in Dublin after doctors found nothing unusual in the tests they had conducted on him, the Sri Lanka team management has said

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Jun-2016Shaminda Eranga has been discharged from hospital in Dublin after doctors found nothing unusual in the tests they had conducted on him, the Sri Lanka team management has said.Eranga had been taken to hospital when his heart-rate had spiked in the innings break of the second ODI against Ireland, and had been under observation for over 24 hours.Though his heartbeat had been recorded as high as 220 beats per minute, he had been in a stable condition since the initial incident, and has now been given the all-clear to fly home.The Sri Lanka side has already travelled to Nottingham for the first ODI against England, but Eranga is unlikely to join them, as he has been suspended by the ICC, who have deemed his action illegal. Eranga now faces the challenge of remedying his action before he can return to international cricket, though he is free to play domestic cricket.”Eranga will have to go back, work with the fast-bowling coaches, and come back strong,” captain Angelo Mathews said ahead of the first ODI. “We are very confident he will come through both – his condition as well as his action – so we are very supportive of him and the whole team are behind him.”Eranga has not been a fixture in Sri Lanka’s limited-overs sides over the past three years, but when fit, he has been in the frontline Test attack. He has 57 Test wickets at an average of 37.50, from 19 matches.

Sussex’s Natwest T20 Blast fixture with Surrey was abandoned after 18.4 overs following a collision between Surrey’s Rory Burns and Moises Henriques when attempting to take a high catch

Will Macpherson at Arundel14-Jun-20151:41

‘The medics were on immediately’

Moises Henriques suffered a broken jaw in three places and Rory Burns facial injuries after the two collided in a sickening blow that saw both left unconscious and hospitalised and Surrey’s match against Sussex at Arundel abandoned after 18.4 overs.Until Steffan Piolet top-edged an innocuous Tom Curran delivery into the offside, this had been an unremarkable afternoon at Arundel. But as Burns, running in from deep cover and Henriques, peddling back from point, collided at pace and with their eyes on the ball, completely unaware of the other’s locality, its entire complexion changed.The severity of the situation was immediately clear, as both players lay motionless on the ground and their Surrey team-mates gestured and called for help. That help arrived instantly, as an ambulance and medical staff rolled onto the field and the remaining players took their leave.Henriques’ jaw had collided with Burns’ cheek, lacerating his face and leaving Henriques with a broken jaw. An update from Surrey on Sunday evening said he was awaiting surgery while Burns would need stitches on “head and facial” injuries.Both had been knocked unconscious by the collision and placed in neck braces and on spinal boards, while being given oxygen and intravenous painkillers.Concern among the 8,500-strong crowd grew as the group around the players expanded. More medics arrived, a second and third ambulance, Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart paced about and captain Gareth Batty remained by his team-mates’ side, utterly helpless. The rest of the players stood huddled on the boundary on the far side of the ground.After 30 minutes or more, there was progress as Australian international Henriques was lifted, on a stretcher, into an ambulance, waving an arm as he did so. A minute later and the ambulance was on the move. Ten more minutes and Burns – who lay motionless longer and whose situation had initially appeared far more serious – was stretchered into an ambulance as well, offering a double thumbs up with his father by his side. Both players were sat upright by the time they left the ground.”Both players weren’t with it when we got out there, but by the time they left the ground they were conscious,” said Sussex physio John Marrale.As the second ambulance crossed the boundary, the announcement of the game’s abandonment was made official. Not a word was uttered in protest. The players were whisked off on the 10-mile journey to St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, where Henriques’ jaw was x-rayed and Burns – while waiting to see a maxillofacial surgeon – was chatting to hospital staff. More will be learned of their condition on Monday, when Surrey are set to start a County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Guildford. The game will go ahead as scheduled.”Two people were injured but the impact went right across the game,” said Sussex chief executive Zac Toumazi. “The decision to call the game off was an easy one and everyone responded as quickly as possible. It was important that the measures that we have in place, that were tested, worked. The number one priority was the players’ welfare.”A vast crowd had rammed into the most idyllic of all the English outgrounds, but they aired no disappointment at the fixture’s abandonment. A signing session was organised and while most Surrey players left swiftly, Kevin Pietersen – who was playing his last game on English soil, perhaps ever – stayed with Sussex’s Mahela Jayawardene to sign autographs and pose for selfies.Sussex captain Luke Wright described it as an “easy decision”, while umpires Alex Wharf and Jeremy Lloyds had no hesitation in contacting Lord’s and calling the fixture off. There was no alternative course of action and the officials – whether medical or cricketing – handled a horrid situation outstandingly.Lloyds described the incident as “horrendous” and said he had never seen anything of the sort in 40 years as a first-class cricketer and umpire. “You knew there was something horribly wrong as Rory was flat out,” he said. “It was like slow motion, you felt helpless. The response was absolutely brilliant and the paramedics were out very quickly.”Wharf said: “It’s a horrific situation for the players and we wish them a speedy recovery. Player safety is paramount – we spoke to Lord’s and the ECB and got their gauge but we knew straight away that something horrific had happened and our chances of playing again were very slim.”The long shadow cast by the death of Henriques’ friend and team-mate Phillip Hughes in Sydney in November last year meant quiet panic was quick to break out among the crowd at Arundel. The incident bore more resemblance to Jason Gillespie’s collision with Steve Waugh against Sri Lanka in 1999 but the poor state of both players in this case meant the snap reaction was to fear the worst.That an umpire in Israel has been killed and a policeman in India blinded by balls since Hughes’ passing only heightens such fears and reminds of the game’s inherent dangers. This incident will once more be labelled freakish, with the blow sickening, the impact audible and the aftermath – with concern growing as fast as the number of medical staff – horrible.Thankfully, this will be filed under near misses and the signs – if nascent – are hopeful. While a period of recovery will be required for both players – Chris Rogers has missed a whole Test series with the effects of a concussion – the worst appears to have been averted. As the crowd filtered out and the afternoon wore on, Arundel – and the game of cricket – exhaled a great sigh of relief.

Guyana have missed the WICB’s deadline to submit their squad list for the Caribbean Twenty20 that will be held in January 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2012The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has missed the WICB’s deadline to submit its squad list for the Caribbean Twenty20 that will be held in January 2013. The deadline was November 22, but the West Indies board issued a release stating it would approach the GCB once again and ask it to submit its list of players.”The board has directed the WICB management to again request the GCB to provide a Guyana team to participate in the Caribbean Twenty20 and for WICB Management to set a date by which the Guyana team is to be submitted,” the release said. “The WICB Management will set the date and once finalised will communicate same to the GCB and the public.”The issue is part of an ongoing conflict between the GCB and the Guyana government, which began when the Guyana government dissolved the GCB due to a dispute over its July 2011 elections. The elections were boycotted by some of the board’s constituent members, one of which, the Berbice Cricket Board, took the GCB to court, claiming the new administration was not properly established. The Chief Justice recommended that “there may be immediate need for the minister responsible for sports to impose his executive will in the national interest.”Following that ruling, Guyana’s sports minister Dr Frank Anthony appointed an Interim Management Committee (IMC), headed by ex-West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, to run cricket in Guyana. The WICB, however, refused to acknowledge the IMC, in keeping with the ICC’s stance against government intervention in cricket administration, and said the only authority it would recognise was the GCB.Guyana’s participation in this year’s Caribbean T20 had also been under a cloud due to the problem, but they eventually played.The WICB release also said the board’s directors were very concerned about the lack of a breakthrough in the Guyana impasse, and reiterated their backing of the GCB. “The WICB, at a meeting of the board of directors, on Saturday and Sunday, expressed grave concern at the length of time it is taking for a resolution to be had to the situation in Guyana. The board further implores all parties involved to use their best endeavours to ensure that the situation with regard to cricket in Guyana returns to a level of acceptability in the shortest possible period.”The board reiterates its position that it recognises the Guyana Cricket Board as the sole governing body responsible for the administration, management and development of cricket in Guyana.”

A round-up of the action from the second round of National Cricket League 2011-12 matches

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2011Any doubts about the playing conditions at the Sylhet Stadium were blown away by Sohag Gazi’s whirlwind first-innings 140 for Barisal Division, but, ultimately, it was Abdur Razzak’s record-breaking first-class figures of 15 for 193 (bettering Elias Sunny’s 13 for 106 against Sylhet Divison in 2008-09) that gave Khulna Division a smooth eight-wicket win.Gazi’s maiden first-class century included 20 fours and three sixes, an innings that rescued Barisal from being shot out for a low total. Khulna replied in kind, with Razzak hitting 69 of 63 to help his side take a 30-run lead. He followed up an eight-for with seven wickets in the second innings that kept Barisal Division to 194, as only Salman Hossain offered some resistance. Khulna Division then chased down 165 in little over 40 overs, with Amit Majumder and Tushar Imran hitting unbeaten half-centuries and sharing a 120-run third-wicket stand.Dhaka Metropolis continued to be in top form in the National Cricket League, beating Dhaka Division by seven wickets, within two days, at the Shahid Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi. The stadium’s pitch was in the spotlight over the weekend, but the low scores were more the batsmen’s fault than that of the surface, which offered some sideways movement.It was Dhaka Division who took a first-innings lead of 24 runs, despite being bowled out for 132, as newcomer Mohammad Shahid bowled a fiery spell late on the opening day. But Dhaka Metropolis bounced back to skittle out the divisional side for just 140 in their second innings, Arafat Salahuddin completing eight wickets in the match with his Ian Austin-like medium pace. Rony Talukder hit 80 out of the total of 140, putting the other batsmen’s early-season form into perspective. Dhaka Metropolis lost two early wickets in the fourth innings before Asif Ahmed and Mohammad Ashraful added 129 for the third wicket, setting up an easy win and 12 points for their side.Rajshahi Division prevailed in the battle of the northern teams, beating Rangpur by 58 runs at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra. It was the first win of the season for the defending champions, who were rolled over by Dhaka Metropolis in the first round.Rangpur Division, however, had the better of the exchanges in the first innings. They took a 24-run first innings lead courtesy half-centuries from Liton Das and captain Tariq Ahmed, and handy cameos by Dhiman Ghosh and Saymon Ahmed. Farhad Hossain’s 84 in Rajshahi Division’s second innings helped them to a modest 186 run lead, which proved to be more than enough. Rangpur Division were bowled out for 128 on the final day. Farhad Hossain contributed with the ball too, picking up four wickets, as did left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib.Nafees Iqbal’s hit a first-class century for the first time in almost three years to set up Chittagong Division‘s six-wicket win over Sylhet Division at the BKSP No. 2 Ground in Savar.Nafees, the elder brother of Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal, struck eleven boundaries in a seven-hour knock that ensured Chittagong Division crossed Sylhet Division’s first innings score of 270, which was painstakingly piled up in their usual style. The innings took them into the tea break on the second day, forcing a declaration when nine down, after which Chittagong Division took almost the same number of overs to make 425. Sylhet Division were poor in their second innings, as Kazi Kamrul Islam, Noor Hossain and Faisal Hossain took three wickets each. As a result, Chittagong Division had to chase a mere 29 runs on the final day. They made rather heavy weather of the paltry target, losing four wickets before Aftab Ahmed hammered two sixes to seal their second win in a row.