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.”

New Zealand paid the price for trying to be too aggressive without earning the right to, in the first Twenty20 in Durban, according to their new captain Brendon McCullum

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2012New Zealand paid the price for trying to be too aggressive without earning the right to, in the first Twenty20 international in Durban, according to their new captain Brendon McCullum. The visitors collapsed for 86 and were beaten by eight wickets in the opening fixture of their tour of South Africa.”We obviously wanted to be aggressive today, and we wanted to put South Africa under pressure right from the get-go, but we learned a lot about earning the right to do so first,” McCullum said after the game. “Ensure that you stick to your fundamentals, and first and foremost give yourselves that opportunity to be able to be aggressive. I think one thing we’ll definitely take out of this game is that we were just a little over-keen to try and put some pressure on South Africa from the outset.”We 100% believe that we can win the next game, we’ve just got to fine tune a couple of areas. I can’t fault people for being overly keen to want to get into a series. It’s just that we didn’t quite earn the right to be as aggressive as we wanted to be and put South Africa under pressure. And we’ll ensure that in 48 hours time, we’ll definitely put up a much better performance …”After choosing to bat at Kingsmead, New Zealand had slumped to 36 for 6 by the ninth over, with only Colin Munro making it to double figures among the top-seven batsmen. Munro was one of four debutants New Zealand included in their XI. Corey Anderson, Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell McClenaghan were the others.”It was a bit two-paced,” McCullum said of the pitch. “I think some balls were keeping a little low, especially the cross-seamers were keeping a little bit low, and some kicked a little bit … We just played too many out-shots early on when we weren’t quite set. We didn’t get the pace of the wicket, so that’s something we can definitely learn from.”Faf du Plessis, the South Africa captain, said his team had learned from the mistakes New Zealand’s batsmen made. South Africa achieved the target in the 13th over, with du Plessis top-scoring with an unbeaten 38 at No. 3. South Africa also had three debutants – Henry Davids, Chris Morris and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock – and du Plessis was pleased with the attitude of the new-look Twenty20 side.”We put a lot of emphasis on that we’re a young side, so we want to have a lot of energy and we want to have a good presence,” du Plessis said. “That’s what I was telling the guys, we’ve done an excellent job of doing that. He [Quinton de Kock] surprised me. As a young guy coming in, you’d think that he’d be a little bit more nervous but he made it look easy. That’s what we strive for as a team, and so he did very well.”South Africa and New Zealand will play the second Twenty20 international in East London on December 23.

Shahriar Nafees’ century, the first by a Bangladeshi batsman in Twenty20s, provided a boost to his team, and the tournament

Mohammad Isam24-Jan-2013Shahriar Nafees had a stunned look in his eyes after he had completed his hundred, the first by a Bangladeshi batsman in Twenty20s. Ordinary performances in the format by him made this innings a bit surprising, but according to his opening partner Lou Vincent, who has scored two centuries in Twenty20s, Nafees looked good for a big one this evening.Vincent and Nafees put together an unbroken 197-run opening stand, a world record for the first innings in a Twenty20 game, and pumped some much needed life into a dull tournament. They hugged each other at the press conference, after hearing it was the first time a team hadn’t lost a wicket in the first innings of a Twenty20 match.”I have never played such an innings, at least not in T20s,” Nafees said. “I didn’t think about reaching a hundred until I had crossed fifty. I just wanted to bat till the end.”Nafees smiled broadly while explaining the final moments of his innings, as he reached his century off 67 balls. “It is a bit unbelievable that I have scored a T20 hundred,” he said.His opening partner Vincent played a major hand in his innings by freeing him up to let him play his own game. Vincent, in his unbeaten 51-ball 89, struck eight sixes, hit long and hard, and he said that batsmen with more strength are far more likely to hit Twenty20 hundreds. “You have to set the tone by utilising the field by hitting boundaries over the top in the first six overs,” Vincent said.”Then you have to build from that. It is always good to get a Twenty20 century. Chris Gayle has nine but that’s pure strength and class. Little guys like us, we have to run real fast.”Nafees, for his part, was resourceful at the crease. He used its depth and placed the ball in gaps in several parts of the ground. He lofted the ball quite a few times too, especially against the spinners, and had three of his boundaries dropping just short of the rope. Nafees has the ability to play all around the wicket, which showed in this innings. His repeated use of the scoop is, however, a new addition.The knock also injected some motivation into his team-mates after they went down in the first three games. Khulna Royal Bengals have finally given their hometown something to cheer about, and Nafees’ century could improve attendances at the ground, a factor that has been a worry for the BPL this year.

Former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Guy de Alwis, 52, died on Saturday night after a battle with cancer

Sa'adi Thawfeeq13-Jan-2013Former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Guy de Alwis, 52, died on Saturday night after a battle with cancer. De Alwis is the fourth* Test cricketer from Sri Lanka to pass away after Sridharan Jeganathan, Anura Ranasinghe and Roshan Guneratne.He represented Sri Lanka in 11 Tests and 31 ODIs from 1983 to 1988. De Alwis topped his country’s batting averages in the 1983 World Cup with 167 runs at 55.66, including unbeaten half-centuries against Pakistan and England.”When Guy felt pain in his stomach in the first week of November (2012) he underwent a biopsy test. It was then revealed that he had cancer in his pancreas,” said Ken, de Alwis’ brother. “The doctors said it was too late to do anything. Arjuna (Ranatunga) came to his help and through him we managed to seek ayurvedic treatment. He was under treatment till his death.”De Alwis, who like Ranatunga, played for the Sinhalese Sports Club, served in Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee headed by the former captain in 2008. He was also a former chairman of selectors and secretary.”Guy was not only a committed cricketer but a person who fought for justice,” Ranatunga said. “As a selector he was not afraid to pick players on merit. As an administrator he was strongly against corruption and went to a great extent to try and eliminate it. He was one of the best wicketkeepers produced by Sri Lanka.”Standing six foot tall, de Alwis was a hard-hitting lower-order batsman and wicketkeeper for Sri Lanka during the infancy years when the country was fighting to find its feet as a Test nation.Following regular wicketkeeper Mahes Goonatilleke’s decision to go to South Africa on the rebel tour in 1982, de Alwis got a break in the Sri Lanka team that visited New Zealand in 1982-83. He and Amal Silva had a constant tussle for the wicketkeeper’s position in the national side. De Alwis was superior behind the stumps although Silva edged him out on the batting front.After his playing career, de Alwis was coach of the Sri Lanka women’s team and later married one of the national women cricketers. They have two daughters aged ten and eight.* 08:15 am GMT: This article, now amended, earlier referred to de Alwis as the third Test cricketer from Sri Lanka to pass away

Ian Bell’s third one-day century guided England to a consolation victory in the fifth and final ODI to bookend an ultimately disappointing tour with a second win

The Report by Alan Gardner27-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIan Bell scored his third ODI century as England ended the series as they began, with a victory•BCCI

Ian Bell’s third one-day century guided England to a consolation victory in the fifth and final ODI against India to bookend an ultimately disappointing tour with a second success. Although the series was already lost, a 3-2 defeat represents a marked improvement on recent efforts in the country, but Alastair Cook’s chief regret will be that his side took so long to put in a second accomplished performance, after they had taken a 1-0 lead in Rajkot a little more than two weeks ago.The bowlers, lead by Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn and James Tredwell, had made good use of Cook winning the toss to restrict India to 226, despite a fighting 83 from Suresh Raina, and England looked to have a modest hike ahead of them in order to secure only a third ODI win against India at home in 23 attempts. At times, the target seemed to loom higher than the Himalayas visible behind Dharamsala’s multicoloured pavilion but Bell is an experienced climber these days and Eoin Morgan brought along his spare oxygen canister to ease the ascent at the end.

Smart stats

• Ian Bell’s century was the ninth by an England batsman in ODIs against India in India. The last century was scored by Andrew Strauss in the 2011 World Cup game in Bangalore.

• Bell’s century was his second against India and third overall. His strike rate of 79.02 was his lowest for a 100-plus score.

• Tim Bresnan’s 4 for 45 was his fourth haul of four or more wickets in ODIs. His best bowling performance of 5 for 48 also came against India in the 2011 World Cup.

• For only the fourth time in ODIs against India, England had three fifty-plus stands for the first four wickets. All four instances have come in ODIs played in India.

• Suresh Raina’s 83 was his 11th half-century against England and second in consecutive matches. In 27 matches against England, Raina has 997 runs at 47.47.

• Raina became the fourth batsman overall and the first Indian batsman to make four fifty-plus scores in four innings in a bilateral ODI series. Only Yasir Hameed has had more fifty-plus scores (5) in a series (max five innings).

• The number of runs conceded by James Tredwell (25) is the second-lowest by an England spinner in a completed spell in ODIs against India since 1990.

Like Raina, whose fourth half-century in as many innings helped drag India from a potentially disastrous 79 for 5 earlier in the day, Bell was not entirely secure at the crease, twice edging past his stumps early on and struggling to time the ball as the surface got slower. But he stuck around as England lost two wickets for 11 runs in 6.2 overs and after a diligent, restorative partnership with Joe Root, he began to look more imposing, stepping out of his crease to hit the disappointing R Ashwin for six and striking timely boundaries whenever the asking rate began to enquire a little more urgently.Although Root was bowled by Ravindra Jadeja, slogging across the line in ungainly fashion after another level-headed knock, Morgan buckled down before adding a few flourishes of his own to ease England past their target with 16 balls to spare. At 1317 metres above sea level, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium is among the loftiest international grounds in the world and Morgan seemed keen to see just how far he could hit a six in the thin mountain air.Despite being described as a match of “no consequence” in some local papers, India chose not to experiment with their line-up, again leaving Cheteshwar Pujara on the bench. They could perhaps have done with his monkish self-discipline, as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli departed to consecutive deliveries via loose drives outside off to trigger a top-order collapse. It was left to Raina, India’s leading run-scorer in the series, and Jadeja, who has also toyed regularly with England over the last month, to pull things together with a spiky, 78-run partnership, before some late hitting from the tail, combined with a rash of dropped catches, helped the score towards respectability.Before the match, Raina had expressed a desire to usurp one of his colleagues up the order and he made good use of a longer spell at the crease after coming in during the seventh over. A harsher judge, however, may conclude that he failed to construct the truly big innings that the situation provided an opportunity for.England have been quiescent opponents in the past for Raina, who improved his average against them to 47.47 with his 11th fifty, but he was allowed let-offs on 5 and 61 before pulling idly to midwicket with a hundred in sight. The first was a difficult, diving chance that would have completed a hat-trick of slip catches for Tredwell but the latter opportunity, grassed by Cook at backward square leg, was much more straightforward.Perhaps Raina was deserving of some benevolence after the fiery start England’s bowlers made in chilly, if bright, conditions. The Dalai Lama is based in exile at nearby McLeodganj but the early exchanges were far from peaceable on a hard, fast surface with enough juice in it to make a Tibetan monk sit up and blink.There was initial seam movement on offer for Finn but it was Bresnan who made the first incursion, removing ersatz opener Rohit. Having timed one exquisite square drive for four, Rohit attempted a reprise to a slightly wider delivery that drifted further away from his crease-bound push, the ball slicing off the outside edge to the right of Tredwell at second slip, where he took a tumbling catch. The very next ball produced a facsimile swish from Kohli, though Tredwell went in for a bit of variety on this occasion, juggling the ball three times in front of the kneeling Cook before grasping it for good with a giddy grin.When Yuvraj got a thick edge to point trying to turn Finn through square leg, the match was beginning to resemble an early season encounter in England – at least in temperature and bowling conditions, if not the setting. It could have been even better for England had Raina’s edge off Chris Woakes – replacing Jade Dernbach – stuck but he battled pugnaciously after being hit on the shoulder by his first ball, from Finn.Tredwell has spent the one-day series doing a passable impression of Graeme Swann, particularly to left-handers, and he had Gautam Gambhir caught by the sprawling Bell at point. The wicket came from Tredwell’s second ball, an immediate, Swann-esque intervention, and England’s delight ratcheted up further when Finn won an lbw decision against MS Dhoni. Only during the spells of the part-time bowlers, Root and Samit Patel, did India’s batsmen display any sense of comfort. Their combined 11 overs cost 80 runs as Raina gave India one last spin of the prayer wheel in pursuit of 4-1 – but he could not turn a molehill into a mountain.

The organisation of the upcoming World Twenty20, scheduled for March next year, received a major logistical boost after the Bangladesh government granted land for an international stadium in the town of Cox’s Bazar

Mohammad Isam28-Feb-2013The organisation of the upcoming World Twenty20, scheduled for March next year, received a major logistical boost after the Bangladesh government granted land for an international stadium in the town of Cox’s Bazar.During an inter-ministerial meeting for the global event on Thursday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the civil aviation authority to hand over the coastal town’s golf course to the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Many BCB presidents have sought land in the country’s most popular tourist destination.”The decision to build a stadium in Cox’s Bazar was among the primary decisions taken during the meeting,” sports secretary Noor Mohammad said. “The land belongs to the civil aviation authority, so the BCB will sit with them to build the ground. They will understand the technical issues better. The sports ministry will also assist in whichever way necessary.”The BCB will be looking to host the women’s section of the World Twenty20 in Cox’s Bazar, particularly because of the number of hotels already existing in the town that is famous for having the longest sea beach in the world.The BCB has recently had to deal with hotel shortage in Khulna where three international matches and some BPL games were held since November last year. Bangladesh have traditionally used two cities during an international series at home, but with plans to develop the new stadium in Cox’s Bazar as a major venue, it could only help in the country’s cricket depicting a more exotic picture.

Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin will both fly home from Delhi on Saturday morning while their team-mates attempt to fight their way back into the fourth Test

Brydon Coverdale22-Mar-2013Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin will both fly home from Delhi on Saturday morning while their team-mates attempt to fight their way back into the fourth Test. Clarke will have scans on his back in Sydney after being ruled out of the Test before play on the first morning at the Feroz Shah Kotla, while Haddin has been released from the squad after arriving in India halfway through the tour as cover for the injured Matthew Wade, who missed the Mohali Test but was fit for Delhi.Australia’s medical staff wants to monitor Clarke’s back problem, which has troubled him since he was 17, and his participation for Pune Warriors in the IPL must be in doubt given Australia’s busy winter schedule with the Champions Trophy and an Ashes tour. Clarke’s absence allowed Shane Watson to become Australia’s 44th Test captain and while Clarke was not seen on the team balcony during the day, the batsman Steven Smith said he was still active around the group.”He was given until the last point to prove his fitness,” Smith said. “Shane was given a little heads-up to say ‘prepare mentally and get yourself ready, just in case I don’t come up’. He in the end was in a bit too much pain to get into this match and there’s a lot of big series coming up and he wants to get his body right and prepare well for them. They told us this morning.”He [Clarke] was grabbing a few guys’ gloves and giving them to the boys to run out. He was trying to do his part in the sheds like he always does. It’s disappointing not to have him out there in this game.”Australia certainly missed Clarke’s batting in the first innings as their top order collapsed to 129 for 6 in challenging but far from unplayable conditions. Smith was one of only two Australians to survive for 100 deliveries – the other was the No. 9 Peter Siddle – and he said the pitch was likely to be much harder to bat on as the match wore on.”That’s probably not the day-one wicket that I’m used to playing on,” Smith said. “It’s broken up a fair bit to start up with. It’s going to get tougher and tougher to bat throughout this match and 231 at the end of the day is not a bad day I don’t think. Hopefully we can grind out another 50 or so tomorrow and I think that will be quite competitive as a first-innings score on that wicket.”

A century from Tom Cooper was unable to win Netherlands their Intercontinental Cup game against Namibia in Windhoek, as the hosts won by 82 runs on the fourth day

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A century from Tom Cooper was unable to win Netherlands their Intercontinental Cup game against Namibia in Windhoek, as the hosts won by 82 runs on the fourth day. Netherlands were set 320 for victory and began well with a 52-run opening stand in 46 balls. Stephan Myburgh struck 41 off just 29, but the team was in trouble soon after, slipping to 54 for 3. Seamer Louis Klazinga picked up two of those wickets.Cooper then took charge of the chase with a century that included 12 fours and a six, but there simply wasn’t much support from the other end. He added 59 with Daan van Bunge, but lost his partner and captain Peter Borren in quick time. He put together 56 with Tim Gruijters and 53 more with Mudassar Bukhari before he fell himself, the seventh wicket with the score on 232. The star for Namibia was 23-year-old left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz, who took 5 for 58, his fifth haul of five wickets or more in first-class cricket. Cooper was among his victims, and Netherlands were bowled out for 237.Namibia have now won three out of five games, while Netherlands are yet to open their account in the competition.

Bangladesh are in prime position to record a maiden victory in the country and square a series they seemed destined to lose

Firdose Moonda in Harare27-Apr-2013Three days ago, Zimbabwe were readying themselves to win consecutive Tests for the first time in 12 years. Now, Bangladesh are in a strong position to record a maiden victory in the country and square a series they seemed destined to lose.The turnaround has been as emphatic as it was unexpected. Bangladesh have put in an improved all-round performance, led by their strike bowler Robiul Islam and followed up through the senior batsmen.The playing field has levelled too, literally. Members of both camps confirmed a “much better” pitch in the second Test, compared to the one that was used in the first. The sideways movement and uneven bounce is gone. There is still something in it for the bowlers to make use of but an enterprising batsman can reap rewards.Shakib Al Hasan did so in both innings. He left well, accelerated at the right times and even though he gave his wicket away twice, he formed the spine the others needed. He would have been one of those that was chastened by the showing a week ago and took it upon himself to fix some of the failing of the first Test.”We were disappointed after the first Test, in all facets, but in particular our batting,” Corey Richards, the Bangladesh fielding coach, said. “We thought we had good plans and the guys wanted up to show how good they have been recently, because they were so good for us in Sri Lanka. So, they were pretty embarrassed and there was a general hunger to do better. Fortunately a bit of experience showed in Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim.”Bangladesh are 272 runs ahead and have five wickets in hand, which puts them in prime position to bat Zimbabwe out of the match. But they have been known to deal with expectation poorly in the past. This time, Richards said team management have a plan to ensure they are not overwhelmed.”Individually we’ve got what we feel is a goal-setting plan and the players have had a lot of buy-in to that,” he said “They are pretty simple and realistic goals and that makes it a lot easier to know where you are heading.”

Corey Richards on Robiul Islam

Bangladesh have the series’ leading wicket-taker to thank for muscling them back into contention. So far, Robiul has taken 14 wickets at 17.14 and is the only Bangladesh seamer to have consecutive five-wicket hauls. He has also bowled an entire day of overs on his own – his 90 overs amount to more than the rest of Bangladesh’s seamers put together and he has put his hand up to lead the attack in future.
“He missed the first Test in Sri Lanka and that fired him up to become our spearhead,” Richards said. “With a few injuries, he got his opportunity here. He is a little bit older and he has got the best first-class record of any of our bowlers. He knows how to get wickets and so far on this tour he’s put the ball in the right areas more often than not and that’s what you’ve got to do in these conditions.”
While Bangladesh will rely on him to secure victory in the match, Richards is aware that he needs careful management going forward. “Robiul’s efforts have been unbelievable. Yes, he has bowled a lot of overs but he has got a lot of energy and a lot of self-belief. And he has got rhythm. When you’ve got good form and rhythm the overs seem to come easily. We will need to look after to him tonight because there’s a big job for him to do in this match.
“In an ideal world, it’s not great for one of your strike bowlers to bowl lots and lots of overs but we’ve needed him to and he has done it. After this fourth innings, he is not going to have a lot of cricket for a while so he will have a break.”

The immediate one is to get “a lead of over 400,” Richards said. “Not too many teams in the history of cricket have chased over 400 but whatever we get from here on in will be difficult to get.”Stephen Mangongo, Zimbabwe’s interim coach, disagreed. “There is nothing to stop us batting one and a half days and chasing the target,” he said. The evidence of the last innings may contradict that statement. Zimbabwe batted 96 overs and their top-order lasted for fewer than 23 but Mangongo was confident they will rectify that in the second dig.”With have got faith in the top-order, that’s why they are in the team,” he said. “Some guys have been in the doldrums for some time and they are due for some runs. We are still in it big time.” Some guys like Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza are who he might be referring to and they have only a few hours to come up with a plan to negate Robiul.It could mean that Zimbabwe will have to depend on the middle- and lower-order, as they have so far, but they will take heart from knowing another of that lot has returned to form. Elton Chigumbura recorded his highest Test score and changed the course of the Zimbabwe innings by scoring quicker than the rest, something Mangongo has urged him to keep doing.”Elton is a strokeplayer and we want to give him the role of the enforcer – to liberate him and allow him to play his natural game,” he said. “When he came in yesterday evening with 15 overs to go, playing his shots, orthodox cricket people would have said he was mad. He looks like a fool when it doesn’t pay off but he is an attacking player and we want him to play that way.”Another member of the squad who has been urged to do what feels most natural is Shingi Masakadza. He opened the bowling with success and with Keegan Meth unable to bowl so far, he will have to play a major part in ending Bangladesh’s innings early. “Shingi was always out-and-out away swing bowler and someone who hits the deck hard,” Mangongo said. “He has been trying to get the ball to come in so we’ve gone back to basics. We’ve told him to run in, hit the deck and get the ball to move away and it’s working.”Not everything about Zimbabwe cricket is doing the same. After dominating in the first Test, they are scrambling in this one and they already seem to have a ready-made excuse if things don’t go their way. “We are building. We don’t have a team at the moment,” Mangongo said. “There are a lot of hungry players out there and we will only know who the best are when the guys put their hands up consistently.”

BCB president Nazmul Hassan has confirmed that a Bangladesh player was questioned by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) officers last week

Mohammad Isam31-May-2013BCB president Nazmul Hassan has confirmed that a Bangladesh player was questioned by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) officers last week. There will be a meeting between the BCB and the ACSU on Monday, which will be the first meeting between the two to discuss suspected match-fixing and spot-fixing allegations in this year’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).According to reports, the ACSU have been investigating a number of BPL matches involving Dhaka Gladiators, in particular three games which they lost. The Gladiators went on to win the 2013 tournament.Hassan said he had talked to the Bangladesh batsman Mohammed Ashraful. “He (Ashraful) told me that the ACSU talked to him and he told them everything,” Hassan said. “Whatever he knew, whatever’s the truth, he can’t disclose these things because of the ACSU’S bindings. I think what Ashraful has said is not the bigger matter. The bigger deal is the ACSU’s report and what kind of decision we take [in light of the investigation].”On Monday, we will have our first sitting with them [ACSU] after the investigation. I will come to know then what’s going on. Regarding the BPL, spot-fixing or match-fixing, everything depends on their investigation. Because we haven’t done any investigation of our own we gave the responsibility to them. Saying anything before that is difficult.”Hassan also stressed on punishing the parties that are found guilty of corruption, but he doubted one clause in the ICC’s anti-corruption policy which he said states that a team that loses a game for strategic reasons can escape punishment.”We have to know what grade of offence this is. The ICC has its grading. I heard that if a team throws the match for strategic reasons that won’t be a fault. So after listening to this I was shocked. In my opinion that’s match-fixing, but the ACSU doesn’t consider it. I need to know the laws properly. We will consult our legal advisors after finding out what the report is. We will give a stern decision.”If franchises are responsible obviously they will get punished. If I run a team then the team is mine, I take my players, I train them so I have a big influence on the team. Whether the players agree or not [with the franchise’s decision], they might have to agree. So what happened and who is responsible, we need to figure that out. So did I do the wrongdoing out of no hope or was it out of my own wish? We need to find this out. But obviously everybody will get punished.”Hassan, however, said he did not believe the BPL would “close down because of this incident.” He said if the BCB could “handle this situation this time and punish the ones who deserve to be punished then I am sure that BPL won’t face this problem in the future.”