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BCB president Nazmul Hassan met Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, during the third India-Pakistan ODI in Delhi in a bid to restore bilateral relations, but no firm commitment of a future tour was made

Mohammad Isam07-Jan-2013BCB president Nazmul Hassan met Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, during the third India-Pakistan ODI in Delhi in a bid to restore bilateral relations, but no firm commitment of a future tour was made during the meeting. Last week, Bangladesh had pulled the plug on a proposed tour to Pakistan in the wake of the the security situation in Pakistan, about which the ICC has also expressed its concern.”The BCB president assured Mr. Ashraf that he will have detailed discussion on the Pakistan tour with the board’s ad hoc executive committee on his return to Bangladesh after attending the Asian Cricket Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur,” Jalal Yunus, the BCB’s media committee chairman, said. “The two boards also decided to work closely to find out an appropriate time to tour Pakistan.””They also talked about participation of Pakistani players in the second edition of Bangladesh Premier League.”After the BCB voiced its reluctance to tour Pakistan, the PCB retaliated by questioning its players’ availability in the BPL scheduled to begin on January 18. The domestic Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is also going to run during the same time but the BCB are confident that the Pakistan players will show up.”When the request was made to send the Pakistani players to the BPL, the PCB president neither agreed nor denied so we have to wait and see,” Yunus said.Meanwhile, Dave Richardson, the ICC CEO, has said that the PCB has a lot to do to encourage teams to tour Pakistan. “It’s premature to say whether it’s still safe to tour Pakistan or not. They’ve got a difficult situation there. They still have a lot of work to do in convincing the international world that it is safe to go to Pakistan,” he said.In March when the BCB had first announced of its desire to tour Pakistan, the ICC had issued “special dispensation” for cases that required local match officials in a bilateral series if they can’t send neutral officials.

Nasir Jamshed has said he wants to boost his reputation on the tour of South Africa, the first time he’ll be playing outside Asia

Umar Farooq20-Jan-2013Nasir Jamshed has said he wants to boost his reputation on the tour of South Africa, the first time he’ll be playing outside Asia.Jamshed made his international debut in early 2008, in the home ODI series against Zimbabwe. He had a relatively tidy stint between 2008 and 2009, playing mostly against Asian teams in Asia, before missing out due to fitness issues. After two-and-a-half years he returned to international cricket last year, scored 602 runs at 66.88 with three hundreds and three fifties. He played 22 ODIs and 11 T20Is, all in Asia; his grade-cricket career too was confined to the subcontinent. His limited-overs credentials, though, ultimately won him a Test call-up for the tour of South Africa.Jamshed, who struck back-to-back centuries in the ODI series against India, is currently Pakistan’s best batsman in terms of form and consistency. He is keen on becoming a complete batsman who can adjust to any conditions around the world. “I don’t want to be tagged as an Asian-oriented batsman,” Jamshed told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s the line between an average and a world-class player,” he added, claiming success around the world was key.”I admit I haven’t played outside Asia and the tour to South Africa without doubt will be my first real test and I am prepared for it.”Jamshed, 23, who, so far, has played against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Australia, said he is yet to face a “tough” bowler in international cricket. In South Africa, though, he is expecting tougher competition. “I haven’ played out of Asia; similarly I am yet to face tough bowlers, so it would be a unique experience for me to bat against South Africa’s world-class bowlers in their own backyard.”Pakistan have toured South Africa on four occasions since 1995. The pitches in South Africa have always tested Pakistan’s batsmen. Among the openers, Taufeeq Umar and Saeed Anwar managed to score centuries, with the current vice-captain Mohammad Hafeez averging 16.5 in six innings played in 2007. “I never been to South Africa at any stage of my career but the pitches there are always challenging,” Jamshed said. “I don’t know what happened in past but every day is a new day and things do improve with time. It obviously will be tough but we are well prepared for it and I have my plans as an opener.”I know they have done some homework on me and I am not worried at all but I have to think ahead of them and give them nothing. There is no need to rush. If they want to bowl hard, I have all the strokes and patience required for Test cricket. I have also worked so hard on my defence, making it more solid.”Pakistan’s Test squad left for South Africa on Sunday morning from Lahore.

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the fifth ODI between Australia and West Indies in Melbourne

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale09-Feb-2013

Match facts

Aaron Finch is yet to really grab his ODI opportunities this summer•Getty Images

February 10, MCG
Start time 1420 (0320 GMT)

Big Picture

It is difficult to imagine a harder home contest to hype than this game, barring a top-end series in the middle of winter against Bangladesh. For starters, it’s a dead rubber and the best a lacklustre West Indies can hope for is a consolation win to make the scoreline 4-1. Secondly, Australia’s selectors and team management are already half focused on the fast-approaching Test tour of India, Matthew Wade, Glenn Maxwell and others having already flown to Chennai (David Warner would have joined them but has stayed back a few days to nurse his broken thumb). Thirdly, the captain Michael Clarke is sidelined by a hamstring injury, and George Bailey might be as well. And fourth, for reasons out of cricket’s control, all the sporting headlines in Australia this week remain centred on allegations of drugs and match fixing in other codes.But for all that, a few interesting sub-plots remain. Can Australia’s stand-in captain Shane Watson follow his 122 and 76 with another big score? Watson has made no secret of his desire to return to the Test team as an opener and his success at the top of the order in this series has already turned the spotlight a little in the direction of Ed Cowan, who has been a solid and consistent, but not spectacular Test performer. Can Aaron Finch finally grab his ODI chance or will this be a summer of wasted opportunities for him in the 50-over format? If Shaun Marsh, on standby for Bailey, returns for his first ODI in nearly 18 months how will he cope with the attention? And what will the Sydney century do for the confidence of Kieron Pollard, that rarity in the West Indies side, a man who can thrill as much as Chris Gayle?

Form guide

(Most recent first)
Australia WWWWW
West Indies LLLLL

In the spotlight

Anybody who has seen Aaron Finch‘s one-day and Twenty20 performances at domestic level over the past few seasons knows he is immensely talented. John Inverarity’s selection panel knows it too. They want to groom him as a permanent member of the side with a long-term view to the 2015 World Cup. But at some point Finch needs to repay their belief. Since making his ODI debut against Sri Lanka last month he has scored 16, 4, 10, 11, 38 and 25. The lack of a big score is particularly notable in comparison to Phillip Hughes, who debuted alongside Finch last month and already has two centuries and an 86. Finch needs a score like that for his own confidence, and to retain the confidence of the selectors.Sunil Narine caused a few problems for Australia’s top order in the fourth game, beating Phillip Hughes in flight and accounting for Aaron Finch with variation in pace. He has taken only five wickets in four matches so far this series but his variations make him a constant threat, and those remaining Australians who are part of the Test squad, including Hughes and Watson, will be especially keen to score some more runs against spin before they fly to India.

Team news

Without Glenn Maxwell, who has flown to India to prepare for the Test series, Australia will consider bringing Xavier Doherty back in, while five fast men including the uncapped Nathan Coulter-Nile may be competing for four places. The most likely scenario is for Coulter-Nile to sit out and make his international debut in the T20 on Wednesday. Clarke is missing due to his hamstring problem and there is also an ongoing question mark surrounding George Bailey, who missed Friday’s game with a hamstring niggle.”George is certainly in the mix,” Watson said on the eve of the match. “We hope that his hamstring will be able to continue to recover really well and be right for tomorrow. Shaun Marsh is on standby for him at this point in time. We’ve all got our fingers crossed for George because it’s been amazing how well he’s been batting and I know from experience that you want to be able to continue the momentum when you are batting well and not let injury give you a couple of weeks off and maybe take a little bit of that form away.”Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson (capt), 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Phillip Hughes, 4 George Bailey / Shaun Marsh, 5 Adam Voges, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 Mitchell Johnson, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Ben Cutting, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.Chris Gayle was left out on Friday after hurting his left side during the third ODI and he will again have a fitness test on Sunday before his availability is decided. Tino Best should retain his place after bowling well in Sydney, where he took the place of Kemar Roach.West Indies (possible) 1 Kieron Powell, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Narsingh Deonarine, 7 Devon Thomas (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Andre Russell, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Tino Best.

Pitch and conditions

There were plenty of runs available in the one-day international at the MCG last month, when Australia scored 5 for 305 batting first against Sri Lanka. The forecast for Sunday in Melbourne is for a morning shower or two and a top of 23C.

Stats and trivia

• The teams have met in 27 ODIs at the MCG and remarkably West Indies did not lose until the 14th meeting, but have now won only one of the past 14 contests
• Dwayne Bravo needs two more wickets to reach 150 in ODIs. If he gets there in this game he will be the third-fastest West Indian to the milestone, behind Curtly Ambrose and Malcolm Marshall but ahead of Courtney Walsh.

Quotes

“We want to win 5-0. We’re almost there and then we’ll focus on India.”

A round-up of the Ford Trophy matches played on March 10, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2013
Scorecard Canterbury went to second place in the Ford Trophy table after beating Northern Districts by 108 runs. Rob Nicol was the star of the match, scoring a blistering, unbeaten hundred after Canterbury chose to bat. Coming in to bat at No. 3, Nicol blasted 171 off 116 balls and hit 12 fours and 10 sixes. His knock pushed Cantebury’s innings from 271 for 6 at the start of the 46th over to a final score of 362 for 6.Canterbury’s bowlers defended the large total well, striking regularly to render the Northern Districts chase ineffective. Where most of the top order failed, Northern Districts’ tailenders resisted stubbornly, lifting the innings from 152 for 8. Jono Boult, Graeme Aldridge and Anurag Verma helped Northern Districts reach 254 before they were dismissed in the 40th over.
ScorecardOtago registered their first win of the tournament, beating Central Districts by four wickets in a closely contested match.Batting first, Central Districts scored 283, riding largely on contributions from Carl Cachopa and Kruger van Wyk, who scored 93 and 90. The pair put on 125 runs for the fifth wicket and restored some solidity to the innings after Central Districts were struggling at 70 for 4 in the 16th over. Van Wyk and Ben Smith then added 59 runs for the sixth wicket before the Otago bowlers broke through to dismiss the lower order.The Otago reply was led by Neil Broom, who shared two important partnerships with captain Derek de Boorder and Nathan McCullum. After Broom was out lbw to Andrew Mathieson, McCullum guided the chase, taking Otago past the target with nine balls to spare.

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches on March 21, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2013

East Zone

Odisha qualified for the next round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy with a 34-run win over Bengal, who also made it through. Chasing a total of 130, Bengal were restricted to 95 for 7 after Suryakant Pradhan (4-0-8-3) and Basant Mohanty (4-0-14-2) kept the Bengal batsmen in check. Earlier, Odisha, who chose to bat, were dismissed for 129. Govind Podder top-scored with 46 but none of the other batsmen fired. Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Iresh Saxena took three wickets each.Assam comfortably chased Jharkhand’s 148 in Agartala. Jharkhand were in a spot of bother at 20 for 3, with Arup Das’ twin strikes. A 70-run stand for the fourth wicket between Saurabh Tiwary and Keshav Kumar helped lend stability. Kumar finished with 56, and along with Shiv Gautam (24), pushed the total to a competitive 148. Assam struck regular partnerships as Rishav Das (28), Pallavkumar Das (50) and Dheeraj Jadhav (38), set up the foundation for a successful chase. Mithun Mukherjee had best figures of 3 for 32.

Central Zone

A collective bowling performance from Uttar Pradesh gave them a nine-wicket win over Rajasthan in Nagpur. Rajasthan started promisingly, as their openers added 43, but lost their next nine wickets for only 60 runs. Ankit Lamba top-scored with 51, one of two batsmen to score in double-figures, as Rajasthan compiled 103. Imtiaz Ahmed took a career-best 4 for 5, and RP Singh and Ali Murtaza took two wickets each. Uttar Pradesh comfortably chased Rajasthan’s total within 15 overs, with Eklavya Dwivedi (65*) and Prashant Gupta (33) leading the way. Uttar Pradesh share the top spot with Vidarbha in the Central Zone table.
Madhya Pradesh registered their second win of the tournament beating Railways by three wickets. MP reached their target of 159 with four balls to spare after captain Udit Birla scored a 36-ball 48 to lead his side’s chase. Earlier, Railways were restricted to 158 for 7 after being put in to bat. Anand Rajan picked up three wickets but was also expensive, conceding 48 runs in his four overs.

North Zone

Himachal Pradesh chased Jammu & Kashmir’s 133 with five wickets to spare in Gurgaon. J&K were in a spot of bother at 33 for 2, but Parvez Rasool (44*) and Bandeep Singh (20), helped propel the score to 133. Gurvinder Singh had best figures among Himachal’s bowlers, taking 3 for 18. Himachal’s chase was anchored by innings from Vikramjeet Malik (30) and Paras Dogra (50), who helped their side to victory in the 19th over.Punjab beat Services with seven wickets to spare. All Punjab bowlers picked up wickets, as Services’ batsmen failed to capitalise on their starts, ending at 114 for 9. Rahul Sharma took 3 for 20, and was ably supported by Manpreet Gony (2-24), and Rajwinder Singh (2-21). Punjab’s chase was hampered by the regular fall of wickets, as Services’ bowlers did their best to keep the chase tight. They were able to hold off Services till the final over, when Gony and Sharma finished off the match.Delhi‘s bowlers held their nerve to eke out a two-run win over Haryana. Parwinder Awana played a key role in Delhi’s defence of 110, picking up three wickets for 11 runs off his four overs, as Haryana finished at 108 for 8. Batting first, Delhi were dismissed for 110 in their 20 overs with as many as four run-outs in their innings.

South Zone

Mayank Agarwal’s maiden T20 century and four-wicket hauls from K Gowtham and Manish Pandey set up Karnataka’s 12-run win over Hyderabad. Sent in to bat, Agarwal and Pandey started well and Lokesh Rahul also chipped in. However, their innings went awry in the last over by C Milind, as they went from 185 for 3 to 185 for 7 losing four wickets in four balls. In reply, Hyderabad had a strong start but lost their way after Gowtham and Pandey dismissed the top order.Kerala chased down a target of 184 to beat Tamil Nadu by four wickets with four balls to spare. Opener VA Jagadeesh scored 75 off 51 balls to guide Kerala’s chase, after a poor start had left them at 29 for 2 in the third over. Earlier, Tamil Nadu posted a strong total of 183 for 3 with contributions from Arun Karthik (66) and forties from Dinesh Karthik and Abhinav Mukund.Andhra successfully chased Goa’s 146 with three balls to spare in Shimoga. Goa lost their openers early, with Swapnil Asnodkar (50), Ravikant Shukla (15) and Saurabh Bandekar (18) providing the only meaningful contributions. Andhra’s response was led by Srikar Bharat’s 51. The rest of the batting order chipped in with valuable knocks as Andhra scraped to victory with three balls left.

West Zone

Aditya Waghmode’s 66 helped Baroda chase Saurashtra’s 133 in Ahmedabad. Saurashtra’s openers started strongly with a 74-run stand. But once Bhushan Chauhan (43) and Jaydev Shah (49) fell, the rest of the batting folded meekly, as Saurashtra scraped to 133 for 8. Bharghav Bhatt was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 28. Baroda’s reply was shaped by innings from Ambati Rayudu (47) and Waghmode (66), as they chased Saurashtra’s score within 17 overs.A 63-ball 109 from Vijay Zol and a career-best five-wicket haul from Rahul Tripathi set the foundation for Maharashtra‘s 17-run win as Mumbai crashed to their fourth defeat of the tournament. Maharashtra powered their way to a first-innings score of 215 for 4, thanks largely due to Zol and Kedar Jadhav. Zol struck 11 fours and five sixes during his maiden T20 century. In reply, Mumbai floundered as Maharashtra’s bowlers, led by Rahul Tripathi, took regular wickets. Tripathi finished with career-best figures of 5-27 in only his second T20 match.

Shane Watson, who slammed 70 off 34 balls on a pitch that aided the seam bowlers to help Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings, said he had “instinctively known” that offspinner R Ashwin was the one to go after during the chase

ESPNcricinfo staff13-May-2013Shane Watson, who slammed 70 off 34 balls on a pitch that aided the seam bowlers to help Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings, said he had “instinctively known” that offspinner R Ashwin was the one to go after during the chase.After the match had gone three-fourths of its way without a single six being hit, and Super Kings’ pace bowlers had Royals in a tight corner needing 93 off 60 balls in a chase of 142, Ashwin came on only to be dispatched for 23 runs in one over by Watson and Stuart Binny. That over turned the match, and Royals eventually breezed home with 17 balls to spare.”We knew instinctively that Ashwin was going to be someone we have to really try and score runs off,” Watson told the IPL site after the match. “We had to get a big over through that period of time. We were struggling to find the boundary. It just worked out nicely that Ashwin came on and bowled a couple of balls that we were looking for. In the end I suppose it was about batting on instinct like myself and Stuey were doing, with the hope he bowls in the areas that were in our favour.”Batting earlier on was tough in the seamer-friendly conditions, Watson said, but when he went after the bowling everything just fell into place: “It took me a little while to get going. There was a little bit in the wicket early so initially I was a little bit hesitant to try and take any risk but in the end I knew I needed to as the run rate was getting up high. I knew we had to start to take a few risks and when I did, it started to come off nicely, so it was just one of those days you dream of when everything you try, every shot that you are hoping for, comes off.”Royals had crawled along in the first 10 overs of the chase, shackled by excellent pace bowling from Jason Holder, Mohit Sharma and Chris Morris. In that difficult period, they had promoted James Faulkner and Sanju Samson ahead of Watson, leaving the experts questioning their think-tank. The decision to play bowling allrounder Faulkner up the order, Watson said, was influenced by his being used to batting in such feisty conditions in Australia. “The thought was that there was going to be a bit of pace and bounce in the wicket and also maybe a little bit of seam with the new ball. Jimmy Faulkner certainly knows how to bat in those sort of conditions, batting where he does back in Australia. So we thought, that would have been a good option.”It didn’t work out but that’s okay, we knew the reason why we were doing it and what it could have provide for the team. But on other days it has worked, like having Sanju up at No. 3 has paid off. So we just wanted to give it a try and hope that it comes off, but unfortunately it didn’t.”

Alastair Cook expects England to raise their standards at the start of the home international season

Andrew McGlashan15-May-2013Alastair Cook expects England to raise their standards at the start of the home international season to ensure the performances in New Zealand are viewed as a blip rather than the beginning of a trend.Cook will lead England for the first time in a Test on home soil. The early days of his full-time captaincy have already included peaks and troughs, ranging from the high of winning in India to the shock of narrowly avoiding defeat in New Zealand.England’s players will be grateful that they now have a chance to improve on the displays during March having spent the last month fielding questions about whether they were complacent, under-prepared or just out-played. Naturally, Cook continued to deny that his players were anything less than fully committed to those three Tests but knows it is important not to begin this season on the back foot.”I don’t think it was a lack of effort or a lack of application. In hindsight you always start looking at things and I think if you go back to the warm-ups and what we did in our preparation, I remember talking to Andy Flower and saying I think we’ve had a really good preparation period, we’re ready to play.”Obviously we’ve been looking at these reasons behind closed doors and they’ll obviously stay there. It certainly wasn’t to do with lack of attitude.”Cook, as ever, was keeping his counsel on what the team had discussed leading into this series but England were certainly stung by the events in New Zealand. “Anyone who plays for England, whether you’re the captain or the coach, you expect high standards and when those high standards aren’t met that’s a perfectly opportune moment to be cross,” he said.Unlike New Zealand’s approach – where they are quite relaxed about discussing selection issues – England refused to give anything away before the match but it was worth noting that Cook said that leaving out Graeme Swann and playing four quicks “has crossed our minds.” However, England missed Swann in New Zealand and have recent experience of omitting him from a home Test when they selected a full hand of fast bowlers against South Africa, at Headingley, last year.The final choice remains likely to be between Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan. Reports from the county game have suggested Finn, who is now back on his long run-up, has not been on top of his game early in the season but Cook did not hold the same concerns. “The guys watching him bowl say it’s coming out at good pace, and in the nets today I was glad I wasn’t facing him,” he said.A slightly more prosaic issue for Cook to contend with on his first day as a Test captain in England will be ensuring he has his England blazer with him, which has so far proved easier said than done. He forgot to take it out to India and needed Swann to fly it out for him after a brief trip home, then in New Zealand it was due to be delivered by his wife whose arrival was then delayed.”I think it’s at the hotel but if it’s not I can drive home and go and get it,” he said. “It’s not like flying halfway round the world.” Cook wants to look sharp and now his team need to play sharp.

India captain MS Dhoni remained unforthcoming when asked about the corruption issues in the IPL at his first press conference in England

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2013India captain MS Dhoni remained unforthcoming when asked about the corruption issues in the IPL at his first press conference in England, ahead of the Champions Trophy, saying he would speak on the subject when the time was right. Dhoni, who had not been allowed to answer such questions before leaving Mumbai, only said that the reputation of Indian cricket had not “gone” and that some individuals had been more mentally weak than others.”If I have not answered Indian journalists, there is no reason why I should answer you … at the right time (I will speak),” he said in response to the first question on corruption in Birmingham.Dhoni said he did not want to speak on the issue at the moment because he wanted to “keep our side away from everything as of now.”When asked if the image of Indian cricket had taken a hit, Dhoni said: “It is not that the reputation has gone. If I go ahead to explain that I would rather answer his question also. When the right time comes, I will answer it.”As of now, I don’t think we have lost the opportunity because whatever the set up is throughout the world or any sport, still you have some people who would be slightly mentally weak as compared to some of the others. I would have loved to elaborate but at the right time I will do it.”

Surrey made it two wins from three Friends Life t20 South Group matches by beating Kent by 31 runs at Canterbury with a second brilliant bowling performance inside three days

30-Jun-2013
ScorecardLuke Wright continued his recent good form with 81 off 49 balls•Getty Images

Luke Wright smashed 81 off 49 balls as Sussex posted an impressive 202 for 3 on their way to a 24-run victory over Middlesex in the Friends Life t20 South Group clash at Lord’s.Dawid Malan hit back with 61 in 43 deliveries but even before he fell, heaving across the line in the 14th over, Middlesex had begun to lose their way. Neil Dexter blasted 27 off just 10 balls but it was too little too late for the hosts who finished on 178 for 8 – which included six penalty runs for Sussex’s slow over rate – with Michael Yardy taking 3 for 30.After winning the toss, Chris Nash got the visitors up and running with a swept six off Tim Murtagh in the third over. Murtagh suffered further punishment a couple of overs later when Wright hit four successive boundaries including a straight six.Sussex were pegged back briefly when Nash, who made 45 off 30 balls, dragged an attempted drive off Adam Voges on to his stumps to make it 84 for 1 in the 10th. But two overs later Rory Hamilton-Brown brought the hundred up for the Sharks with a sweetly timed four through extra cover off Voges.Wright then posted a 37-ball half-century in almost identical manner, off the bowling of Dexter, before flat-batting Josh Davey back over his head for six. Wright, whose impressive month had already brought him a first-class best 187 against the same opposition here at Lord’s, a YB40 century against Kent and a half-century in a Twenty20 international, was eventually caught at long-on off Murtagh for 81 but Hamilton-Brown, supported by Dwayne Smith, ensured there was no let-up.Hamilton-Brown scored 47 in 29 deliveries, including a straight six off Gareth Berg, before giving a steepling return catch to Kyle Mills in the final over. Smith, who had swatted the 34-year-old New Zealander over square leg for a maximum, finished with an unbeaten 21 off 12 balls to leave Middlesex needing to better the second-highest total at Lord’s in domestic Twenty20 cricket.Paul Stirling got the hosts off to a decent start by cover driving Chris Liddle for six in the third over of the Panthers’ reply and the Irishman was given a life on 28, when he was dropped at extra cover off the bowling of Yardy. Yardy had his revenge when Stirling (33) was caught a wide long-on and Joe Gatting then pulled off a superb one-handed catch, low to his right, off Will Beer to account for Joe Denly.Malan celebrated a 37-ball fifty by lifting Beer over long-on for a maximum but the pressure of needing to score at 10 an over eventually told and he was bowled by Nash for 61 before Voges reverse-swept Yardy to short third man. Adam Rossington fell to another good catch, this time by Chris Jordan running in from the midwicket boundary, though not before Dexter had lifted Yardy for a maximum.The Middlesex captain followed it up with two successive sixes off Liddle in the 17th over to leave his side needing an improbable 56 off 18 deliveries. The departure of Dexter, caught in the deep off Jordan, ended the Panthers’ hopes.

The BCB has vowed to pay local players their dues from the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League before the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays

Mohammad Isam29-Jul-2013

Other decisions at the BCB ad-hoc committee’s meeting

• Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League will now begin on September 3, and the players’ recruitment will take place on August 25. It is the fifth such date given by the BCB.

• Umpire Nadir Shah’s mercy plea will only be considered after a year of his 10-year suspension is completed.

• BCB will seek councillors’ names from all districts and clubs on August 12, and give them 10 days to select the councillors (who will vote to elect BCB directors). In the meantime, they will ask the National Sports Council to set up an election commission and begin the process to elect a BCB president.

• Quick bowler Abul Hasan will be sent abroad to seek treatment for his back injury, pending a medical committee’s recommendation.

The BCB has vowed to pay local players their dues from the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League before the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays. The decision was taken at a BCB ad-hoc committee meeting as several franchises have not yet completed payments to the players or the board, after the board conditionally terminated the contracts of some franchises.The BPL’s schedule for the next season is still unclear, and it may even be held before the end of the year if a slot is available in the domestic calendar.”Many of the domestic and foreign players are still unpaid, because the franchises didn’t make payments after the first 25% was cleared,” BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said. “The board has decided to pay 45-50% to the domestic players before Eid-ul-Fitr. According to the tripartite agreement, the board has to pay the players if the franchises fail to make payments.”Before BPL’s second season began, it was announced that player payments would be completed in three instalments. It has now changed to four instalments: the first being before the tournament started, the second during the tournament, the third within three months after the tournament and the last of which is on August 19, six months after the 2013 edition ended.The BCB’s role as guarantor has meant that it has to make payments when the franchises default, according to the three-way agreement between the BCB, players and the franchises. The players who have been paid 25% will receive a further 25%, while those who have already been paid 50%, will have to wait for the rest of the money.Those present in the press conference however could not clarify when the next stage of payment after the Eid one will be. “We will settle what we owe, and look into the future when the time comes,” Mahbubul Anam, another member of the BCB ad-hoc committee said. “We have to clear the due first, and the last payment is at the end of August.”The board is also hopeful that it can have a window for BPL-3 as early as December if the 2012-13 Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League is completed by October. Their hope lies in the promise made by the Dhaka Premier League clubs who have apparently assured BCB chief Nazmul Hassan that they will play the league from September and continue to do so in October without the national players.”Since the Dhaka Premier League clubs have said they are willing to play without the national players, we can hold the league in October too,” Yunus said. “In that case we can hold the BPL after the two first-class tournaments – the National Cricket League and Bangladesh Cricket League.”