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England no longer regard themselves as underdogs after the “unacceptable” way Pakistan’s batting collapsed in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan’s coach Waqar Younis has said

Andrew McGlashan19-Oct-2015Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has called the team’s second-innings batting in Abu Dhabi “unacceptable” after they were left grateful for the arrival of dusk to prevent defeat in a Test where the final day had begun with the first innings incomplete.England declared with a lead of 75 and Pakistan were rocked early by James Anderson, who struck twice in an over, followed by the run out of Mohammad Hafeez. A stand of 66 between Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq had appeared to calm the nerves and confirm the draw, only for Younis to spoon Adil Rashid into the covers and Misbah to charge down the pitch at Moeen Ali and miss his expansive shot.”It’s unacceptable to bat like we did in the second innings,” Waqar said. “It should have been a straightforward draw but we allowed them to threaten us and beat us. We allowed them to come that close, we allowed them to threaten us and run away with the game. We should realise that we are a very good Test side but we committed some silly mistakes, especially in the batting which could have cost us the game.””The way they played, we have to really pull our socks in the second Test. What happened was not on and we have to really improve on that if we want to win the series. We have experience in our batting, we know our batting and know it should have lasted the final day, or the final session but we didn’t and that we have to consider.”I am confident that my side can bounce back but we have to realise that it is all about playing all sessions equally well and if you don’t in one session the opponents come down hard on you as England did.”Waqar knows that Pakistan will be boosted by the return of legspinner Yasir Shah, who missed the opening Test after suffering a back spasm the day before the game, but said that they cannot afford to purely rest on the comeback of their star bowler, even suggesting the favourites tag has shifted in the series.”Fair enough we will get Yasir back but they will be thinking that they can compete. Before the series started it was their own verdict that they were underdogs but now we are the side which have to stage a comeback.”Yasir’s return, at the expense of either Rahat Ali or Imran Khan, will also be welcomed by England according to their coach Trevor Bayliss who said the “ego” of international cricketers meant they wanted to be tested by the best players.”The boys want to be the best team in the world and that means you have got to play the best players and he is the best player,” Bayliss said. “I’m sure these guys would like to test themselves against any of the best players and come out on top.”At this level the egos are right up there, they want to play the best and show the best that they are better than them. They will want to show him they can play him as well as any other these other players.”The lack of specialist spin cover in the original squad to cover for a circumstance like Yasir’s injury has angered Misbah and could lead to more back-up being available this time. Bilal Asif, the offspinner whose action is currently being tested, has been added to the squad for the second Test.

Five of the six first-class teams will have Test players as captains, while a second XI competition will also run concurrently

Umar Farooq26-Sep-2022The Quaid-e-Azam trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament, is set to start from Tuesday with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) defending their title in the 31-match event.Five other teams – Northern, Central Punjab, Southern Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan – will be taking part in the tournament, which will kick off with three simultaneous games in three of the five venues: Abbottabad, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad. Karachi and Islamabad, which were initially slotted as venues, have been replaced by Multan and Lahore due to logistical challenges. The larger part of the tournament is slotted in the Southern and Central Punjab region with the final scheduled for November 26.Five of the six teams will be led by Test players, the only exception being KP, who will be captained by veteran domestic allrounder Khalid Usman. Hasan Ali has moved from Central Punjab to South Punjab as captain while Azhar Ali will be leading Central. Sarfaraz Ahmed – who last played a Test for Pakistan in 2019 – will take Sindh’s reins. Umar Amin will lead Northern while legspinner Yasir Shah will captain Balochistan.The Cricket Associations Championship, which is a non-first-class red-ball tournament consisting of second-XI players (Grade 2), will commence simultaneously at three different venues within Karachi. The majority of the Associations Championship will be played in Karachi – with UBL complex, NBP sports complex and KCCA stadium the designated venues – and three games are scheduled for Quetta’s Bugti Stadium.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Recapping last season

Northern and KP faced each other in the final in December 2021. KP’s 169-run win was fuelled by Iftikhar Ahmed’s hundred. Sindh finished third, despite having the same number of wins, losses, and draws as KP while Central Punjab (fourth) and Southern Punjab (fifth) had two and one wins respectively. Balochistan were winless and finished last.Muhammad Hurraira, who was 19 at the time, became the first player to top the run charts in his debut season. He made history by becoming the second-youngest batter to score a first-class triple century in Pakistan, behind Javed Miandad, who made 311 in the Kardar Summer Shield final, at 17 years and 310 days. Hurraira’s knock was the second triple-hundred of the season, following Ahsan Ali’s 303* for Sindh.Mubasir Khan, the offspinning allrounder, was the player of the tournament. He amassed 458 runs at 32.71 – mainly at No.6 – along with 30 scalps, adding to the run-fest from his brief 2020/21 season where he made 307 runs at 51.16. His exploits earned him a PSL call-up with Islamabad United in the emerging category.Last season was also the season where Pakistan opener Abid Ali, who was batting on 61 for Central Punjab against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, withdrew from the match abruptly due to chest pain. After being taken to hospital, he was diagnosed with a case of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and underwent a stenting procedure in his artery. He did return to white-ball cricket after extensive rehab, but the upcoming Quaid-e-Azam will mark his return in the longer format.Left-arm spinner Ali Usman was the leading wicket-taker with 43 dismissals at 27.93 while Sohail Khan (30) and Sameen Gul (31) were the only two pacers to be among the top five leading wicket-takers. Mohammad Ali (32) and Mubasir (30) were other prominent spinners. Rohail Nazir, with 21 catches and ten stumpings, was the wicketkeeper with the most dismissals. He was handy with the bat, too, scoring 198 in 10 games.How is this season different?
The tournament continues to be played on a double-league basis though the arrival of foreign coaches to lead a couple of teams will be worth following. Nottinghamshire assistant coach Paul Franks will be the head coach of Central Punjab while Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon will take up the same role with Sindh.Bilal Shafayat, who is working with Notts’ age-group levels and second XI, will be assisting Franks as fielding coach for Central Punjab. John Sadler will be Sindh’s fielding coach, while some other names include Richard Stonier (Central Punjab), and Ian Fisher (Sindh), who will help with strength and conditioning.The second XI Cricket Championship will also be played on a double-league basis, across formats. The three-day tournament that used to be played as a pathway to first-class cricket will now extend to a four-day league [though they will not be officially recognised as first-class fixtures.] And just like the T20s and the 50-over tournaments, each side will get a minimum of ten matches.New and improved central contracts
Ahead of the tournament, the PCB has given an increment to the 192 domestic players in their monthly retainers and match fees – across all formats and levels – for the season. As per the new financial model, a player featuring in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will now get a match fee of PKR 100,000 as opposed to the previous sum of PKR 60,000. Similarly, the match fee for the Cricket Associations Championship has been increased from PKR 25,000 to PKR 40,000.

He is also “open to” moving down the order in Tests, if asked to by the team management

Firdose Moonda02-Aug-2022Aiden Markram won’t say it quite yet, but in spite of the bottleneck of top-order batters in South Africa’s T20I squad, he is fairly sure of his place to Australia for the World Cup. And you would think he should be.Markram is ranked third on the ICC’s T20I batting rankings, averages 42.60 in T20Is, strikes at 146.55 and contributes with part time offspin. But he has only played one of South Africa’s eight T20Is this year, missed the series against India after contracting Covid-19 and was benched for two of the three games against England in favour of Heinrich Klaasen. So if he was feeling uncertain, it would be understandable. Luckily for him, South Africa have a plan and it almost certainly includes him.”The communication has been really good from coach, management team and captain. It makes it easier to understand why they are doing it (rotating players). Building up to World Cups you want to pick your best squad and it’s important to give guys fair opportunities before you select the team,” Markram said ahead of South Africa’s two-match T20I series against Ireland, which starts on Wednesday in Bristol.Although South Africa don’t have many matches left to experiment before the T20 World Cup (their two against Ireland are followed by three in India just before the tournament), they have tinkered with the top order in the absence of captain Temba Bavuma. They started off the England series giving Klaasen an opportunity at No. 4, but even though he is capable of hitting the ball hard, Klaasen may have had his run with scores of 20 and 19 against England. Markram replaced Klaasen for the third game and hit an unbeaten 51 in the deciding match.Who bats above Markram is yet to be fully decided. Quinton de Kock will get in on reputation, if not current form, and Reeza Hendricks has done everything asked of him to open the batting with de Kock with three successive half-centuries against England. But if Bavuma is fit, that means either Hendricks is squeezed out or moved down the order, where Rilee Rossouw returned to the national set-up with an unbeaten 96 in the second match against England. If Rossouw moves down, that impedes on Markram and possibly further down where David Miller and Tristan Stubbs make up the middle order.It’s a problem of plenty, which South Africa may not yet know how to solve apart from Markram, who can see a clear role for himself in that mix.”Rilee, Tristan and Reeza are exciting for us as a team and creates some good competition for us as a squad. For me, it’s just about playing the situation. If they get us off to a flier, it’s about coming in and matching their intensity. And if not, it’s for me to up the intensity,” he said.”I would still love to be involved in all three formats and will put as much work as I can to try and keep that dream of playing in all three formats alive”•Getty Images

Energy in the middle order is where South Africa’s squad has seen its biggest change from the team they were a year or two ago. Rather than rely on one player to finish an innings – Miller historically – they now have Markram, Stubbs, Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo with Stubbs adding a new dynamic to the squad. “It’s exciting for us to have a player with his x-factor ability,” Markram said. “He (Stubbs) is on cloud nine now and it’s about staying there and enjoying every second. He is a bit of a free spirit and has always got a smile on his face.”The hype around Stubbs may remind some of the same hope Markram brought with him after South Africa won the 2014 Under-19 World Cup and he was promoted to senior international cricket three years later. Markram said he “hasn’t quite got it worked out,” how to manage those expectations but his advice to Stubbs is that since “it’s been an awesome six months for him, the longer he can drag that out, the more awesome things will come for him.”That’s how Markram has played since the IPL, where he had a “decent bit, not amazing” tournament for Sunrisers Hyderabad, with three fifties in his 13 innings. “Confidence is a massive part of this game. This IPL tournament provided me with that confidence, that belief that I was lacking [earlier],” Markram said.While Markram may be fairly sure of himself in T20Is, he can’t be quite as assured in other formats because “I can appreciate that I might have not scored as many runs as I should have.” Specifically, his role as a Test player will come into sharp focus later this month, when South Africa play England for three games, starting on August 17.Markram has been included in the squad, after missing the series against Bangladesh because of the IPL and following a particularly poor run. Before that, Markram had gone 13 Test innings with only one half-century and an average of 16.38. He has since been replaced by Sarel Erwee as Dean Elgar’s opening partner, and does not think he will find his way back into the XI anytime soon. “I am not even expecting to play to be honest,” he said. “If you look at the makeup of the top three, they’ve done really well over the past few series. I’m over the moon for the three of them.”Asked if he could consider moving down the order in the longest format, as he has done in shorter ones, Markram said, “it’s something I would be open to,” but that South Africa haven’t had any planning around that yet. “We haven’t had too many discussions with regards to red-ball cricket. That will be next week,” he said. “I’ve only ever done top of the order stuff but it’s something I would be open to. If there is a role to fill in the middle order and the coaches and selectors think there is a space for me, I would be open to trying it and I would have to prepare accordingly. And make those slight mental adjustments.”Wherever, or perhaps whether, he finds himself in the line-up, Markram remains committed across longer and shorter formats even as an increasing number of players find themselves choosing between them. “I would still love to be involved in all three formats and will put as much work as I can to try and keep that dream of playing in all three formats alive.”

Sri Lanka Cricket has reiterated its commitment to holding elections before the end of January next year, in the wake of the ICC’s warning that “further non-compliance” could result in more sanctions

Andrew Fidel Fernando30-Jun-2015Sri Lanka Cricket has reiterated its commitment to holding elections before the end of January next year, in the wake of the ICC’s warning that “further non-compliance” could result in more sanctions.SLC interim committee chairman Sidath Wettimuny, who recently attended the ICC annual conference as an observer, maintained that while the ICC had publicly urged SLC to hold elections before the end of October, that date served only as a soft deadline. Sports minister Navin Dissanayake had already said SLC elections would be held in January.”Ideally the ICC would like us to have elections before October, but in a letter they’ve said that by the latest we must hold elections by the following meeting on January 26,” Wettimuny said. “If we go beyond that, then we’re getting into trouble. I don’t think we should do that. If we do, they can then ask for an inquiry and take the next step.”We must make sure we don’t let them down, because we have promised to do things in a certain way. We have an excellent relationship with ICC and we must continue that.”Wettimuny said SLC had also extended invitations to ICC president Zaheer Abbas, and chairman N Srinivasan, ostensibly in order to iron out kinks in the board’s relationship with ICC.SLC also expressed protest at their observer status in ICC meetings, arguing that the governing body’s constitution does not allow it to deny Full Members voting rights. However, in the interests of keeping the peace, SLC has so far been willing to accept its reduced role in global cricket governance.

England captain hails “best white-ball cricketer in the world” after Dutch demolition

Matt Roller17-Jun-2022Eoin Morgan labelled Jos Buttler “the best white-ball cricketer in the world” after his innings of 162 not out off 70 balls led England to a record ODI and List A total against the Netherlands in Amstelveen, while Buttler suggested he was playing the best cricket of his career.Buttler hit seven fours and 14 sixes, a boundary every 3.33 balls, after England’s bright start saw him promoted to No. 4 and his partnerships of 184 off 90 balls with Dawid Malan and 91 not out off 32 with Liam Livingstone saw them fall two runs short of the first 500-plus score in 50-over history.Morgan, England’s white-ball captain, said Buttler was “in a world of his own, like he has been for the last year or two,” and said that his hitting made him “incredible” to watch. “It’s not something that we ever get sick of and it’s not something that we take for granted,” he said. “It is amazing cricket, and it’s the reason he is probably the best white-ball cricketer in the world at the moment.”Buttler came into this series after a short break with his family following a remarkable IPL season for Rajasthan Royals, in which he hit four hundreds and won the orange cap and the MVP award. He said he felt “in good touch” ahead of this three-match ODI series and that he had focused on “getting back to enjoying cricket” after a disappointing Ashes tour.”The IPL couldn’t have gone better for me,” he said. “I absolutely loved it, and that gives you a lot of confidence. Coming here I was feeling in good touch: I turned up with a lot of motivation and freshness which I think is really key.Related

• Dutch courage required in face of England's ruthless six-hitting machines

• Unburdened, unshackled, unbelievable: Jos Buttler channels AB de Villiers in record onslaught

• Pieter Seelaar admits to 'frustrations' as key Netherlands players put county over country

• Eoin Morgan: 'I can still contribute to a World Cup win'

• England re-write record books with mammoth 498 in crushing win over Netherlands

“Obviously any time you manage to play like that as a team is fantastic. I’ve said many times, this is the most fun environment I’ve ever played in, so it’s great to be back and it’s been great to be on a normal tour and being able not to worry about bubbles and that kind of thing.”Buttler’s promotion to No. 4, the role mastered by his idol AB de Villiers, was in keeping with a general theme of England pushing him up the order to capitalise on strong starts in recent years, but also hinted at their desire to give their most valuable asset the best opportunity to influence the game.”Over the years, when we’ve got off to good starts, I’ve sometimes been pushed up to No. 4 and today we got off to a fantastic start with [Phil] Salt and Malan,” he said. “We’re pretty flexible as a group and if that’s what they want to do on the day. I enjoy that middle-order role in one-day cricket so I’m very happy with the role I’ve got.”Buttler also laughed off the suggestion that there might be some disappointment at having fallen two runs short of the 500-mark as a team, but said that coming as close as they did highlighted England’s attacking intent.”We keep trying to push the boundaries, keep trying to take the game forward and take the game on. Everyone who played today, we really stuck to that. We’ll have to keep trying: it’s a tough thing to try and achieve, you have to play on a belting wicket and a small ground but the biggest thing, irrelevant of the score, is the mentality that we’re showing as a team and we keep trying to better that and be aggressive and brave when we play.””We don’t take days like this for granted at all,” Morgan added, asked about the prospect of reaching that 500 milestone as a team in the future. “We earned the right to give it a nudge. We’ve worked incredibly hard to earn days like today.”

Greece international blunts Middlesex attack after Helm’s burst brings him nine match wickets

ECB Reporters Network22-Jul-2022Debutant Sussex tailender Aristides Karvelas thwarted Middlesex’s hopes of victory with a defiant career-best half-century to secure a draw at Lord’s despite Tom Helm’s best efforts with the ball.Karvelas, a Johannesburg-born Greece international, batted for over two hours to blunt the Middlesex attack after Helm’s morning burst – which earned him record match figures of 9 for 146 – had raised the prospects of a final-session run chase.Helm picked up three wickets in 14 balls to reduce Sussex to 96 for 7, an overall lead of just 134, but a stubborn partnership of 45 between Karvelas and Archie Lenham steered the visitors towards safety.The 28-year-old was eventually dismissed after top-scoring with 57, but by then his efforts had saved the game and the captains agreed on a draw with Sussex on 181 for 9 in their second innings.Although Ali Orr perished cheaply for the second time in the match – run out by Toby Roland-Jones’ direct hit from mid-off – there were few indications during the opening hour that a clatter of wickets might accelerate the game.Tom Clark batted well for a chirpy 56, hitting successive fours off Roland-Jones and also depositing Helm over the short boundary for a maximum as Sussex progressed to 53 for 1.But Helm, following up a tight spell by Tim Murtagh at the Nursery End, then blitzed the visitors with a trio of rapid wickets – including the prize scalp of Cheteshwar Pujara, a rising delivery looping off the shoulder of the bat to second slip.When Clark played on to Umesh Yadav on the stroke of lunch, Sussex had slid to 69 for 5 and were looking vulnerable – even more so after Helm claimed his fourth wicket, with Delray Rawlins taken low at first slip.Sussex’s advantage still looked fragile when Murtagh bowled Dan Ibrahim through the gate, but Karvelas swiftly increased it by heaving a series of short-pitched deliveries from the Middlesex captain away to the short boundary.Murtagh rotated his seamers without success as Sussex’s eighth-wicket pair repaired the damage, using up 16.2 precious overs before Roland-Jones finally made the breakthrough, with Lenham (19) leaving the ball alone as it careered back to hit off stump.However, former Middlesex man Steven Finn joined Karvelas to snuff out any thoughts of a positive result, finishing 10 not out after his partner was finally dismissed, pushing forward at Sam Robson and offering a catch to gully.

Less than a month after joining the BCCI’s cricket advisory committee, Sachin Tendulkar has agreed to be a part of the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) as a special invitee

Amol Karhadkar25-Jun-2015Less than a month after joining the BCCI’s cricket advisory committee, Sachin Tendulkar has agreed to be a part of the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) as a special invitee.Dilip Vengsarkar, who became the MCA vice-president last week and will be chairing the committee that will look after all of its cricket activities, announced Tendulkar’s first formal involvement in MCA affairs.”I spoke with Sachin today and he has agreed to share his views on improving Mumbai cricket and attend CIC as a special invitee whenever he is in town,” Vengsarkar said during a media conference on Thursday.The eight-member CIC includes six former international cricketers – Vengsarkar, Ajit Wadekar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Pravin Amre, Ajit Agarkar and Diana Edulji – apart from Amol Muzumdar and Deepak Patil.The CIC, a brainchild of the MCA president Sharad Pawar, was formed in 2001 to look into cricketing affairs. It was disbanded in 2011 after Pawar exited the MCA for a term. It was reconstituted earlier this year but didn’t serve any purpose since it was formed towards the end of the domestic season.Vengsarkar said the first CIC meeting would be held early next week. The first major responsibility of the committee will be to finalise selectors and coaches for all Mumbai teams. Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team is without a coach, with Amre clarifying that he isn’t interested in extending his stint.The MCA, Vengsarkar said, would also form a disciplinary committee to keep a check on indiscipline by cricketers on and off the field. “We will not tolerate any indiscipline by any player, be it the best superstar or an under-14 cricketer,” he said.Last year, Suryakumar Yadav stepped down as Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy captain midway through the season following prolonged disciplinary issues, including spats with teammates. That was followed by Sarfaraz Khan making obscene gestures at selectors while playing an Under-19 match, after being dropped from the Ranji team. The MCA had decided to withhold both players’ match fees as security deposit for decent behaviour.Vengsarkar also announced that the Kanga League, the only wet-weather tournament in India, will revert to its traditional monsoon format. It had been rescheduled from October to February for the last two years. This year, the tournament will be played from August 2 to October 25.The managing committee also decided, Vengsarkar said, to allot one membership of the clubhouse at the MCA’s Bandra-Kurla complex to each of its 329 affiliates. The promise of membership was one of the decisive factors in the Pawar-Mahaddalkar panel’s sweep in last week’s election.

West Indies’ victorious cricketers have been reprimanded by the ICC for their actions and comments in the wake of their World T20 triumph in Kolkata earlier this month

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2016West Indies’ victorious cricketers have been reprimanded by the ICC for their actions and comments in the wake of their World T20 triumph in Kolkata earlier this month.The team, which secured an emotional four-wicket victory in the final against England, had come close to withdrawing from the tournament before a ball had been bowled, due to a long-running contract dispute with the WICB.In a speech on the podium in Kolkata, prior to accepting the trophy, West Indies’ captain Darren Sammy turned on the board in a highly politicised speech in which he thanked his team-mates, the team’s supporters and the heads of CARICOM – in particular Keith Mitchell, the Prime Minister of Grenada, who helped to broker a last-minute deal – but added that no one from the board had been in touch in spite of their team’s triumph.”People were wondering whether we would play this tournament,” Sammy said during the live TV broadcast. “We had a lot of issues, we felt disrespected by our board … I’m yet to hear from [them]. That is very disappointing.”Sammy’s stance was echoed by his team-mates, among them Dwayne Bravo, who went on to describe the WICB as the “most unprofessional” board in the world. The board president, Dave Cameron, Bravo added, was “immature”, “small-minded” and “arrogant”.However the ICC board, which met in Dubai on Sunday, reserved its congratulations for the WICB, whose teams completed an “unprecedented treble” in also securing the Women’s World T20 and the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh that took place in February.Instead, the ICC turned on the West Indies players, describing their comments as “inappropriate, disrespectful and [bringing] the event into disrepute”. Serious consideration, it added, had been given to levelling Code of Conduct charges against the players, which could have resulted in fines and/or bans.”The board considered the behaviour of some of the West Indies players in the immediate aftermath of the final, and unanimously agreed that certain comments and actions were inappropriate, disrespectful and brought the event into disrepute,” read an ICC press release.”This was not acceptable conduct at ICC events played out on a world stage in front of millions of people around the globe.”The board acknowledged an apology by the WICB but was disappointed to note that such behaviour had detracted from the success of what was otherwise a magnificent tournament and final.”Marlon Samuels, West Indies’ player of the final, was also singled out for tacit criticism by Shashank Manohar, the ICC chairman, after his ungracious remarks in the aftermath of victory, not least his disparaging comments about England’s Ben Stokes.”The sport of cricket is proud of its unique spirit and this involves being gracious in victory as well as defeat and respectful at all times to the game, one’s opponents, the sponsors and the fans,” Manohar said.The ICC also praised the BCCI for its staging of the event, in spite of numerous logistical issues including the relocation of India’s group-stage match with Pakistan and doubts as to whether Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla stadium would be cleared to host the first semi-final between England and New Zealand.”The Board also complemented the BCB [hosts of the Under-19 World Cup] and the BCCI for the successful staging of these events and also thanked its broadcasters, commercial partners, fans and media for their support in making these events a success from a fan engagement perspective.”

The BCB has made an appeal to the ICC to reconsider Taskin Ahmed’s suspension from bowling in international cricket

Mohammad Isam20-Mar-2016The BCB has made an appeal to the ICC to reconsider Taskin Ahmed’s suspension from bowling in international cricket. The communication was made personally by the BCB president Nazmul Hassan, who said that he spoke to the ICC chairman Shashank Manohar and chief executive Dave Richardson.While Hassan did not reveal what the BCB’s main argument was, he said they were not convinced with the ICC’s independent assessment report on Taskin’s bowling action.”We are not convinced about Taskin as of now. We don’t have any reason to be satisfied with the report,” he said. “And that’s disappointing, so we have appealed to the ICC. We have a few grounds and we have said these things according to logic. Only the ICC can withdraw the ICC’s decision, which is why I am talking to the ICC directly. It won’t be right to disclose what we presented as our logic. I can tell you that we have done everything possible.”Hassan said the BCB was trying to circumvent the normal procedure of appealing in a bid to quickly overturn the decision made on Taskin. The ICC had said on Saturday that “not all of Taskin’s deliveries were legal”.”The promptness with which we have taken the action is quite different to the way we responded to the others,” Hassan said. “I read the [ICC’s independent assessment] report today morning and instantly called the ICC CEO Dave Richardson and chairman Shashank Manohar, who said they will respond to us after talking to their legal team.”We are trying to do something outside the normal procedure where the player requests a reassessment, which we feel is a complex process. I don’t think we can do anything more that what we have done. I believe that the ICC will observe our points and give a logical reply.”Hassan also ruled out the possibility of taking the legal route against the ICC, which he feels will be too lengthy and would not give Bangladesh what they are looking for – a quick return for Taskin.”If we take the legal way, then we can forget Taskin playing in the World T20. I don’t think it will be solved any time in the future. It would be a lengthy procedure but as of now I am trying to avoid that way, and trying to see if something can be done immediately through a shortcut. It’s very difficult, but I have not left hope as yet. I feel that there is a slight possibility for Taskin to join us as soon as possible.”We have never heard or seen a decision getting immediately changed by the ICC but regarding Taskin even if that happens, I won’t be amazed. I am hopeful.”Though the ICC has never lifted a suspension on a bowler at such a short notice, they did lift a ban on Shoaib Akhtar within 11 days in 2000. Akhtar was banned on December 30, 1999, but 10 days later, he played for Pakistan in an ODI against Australia in Brisbane, arriving a few hours after the match had started, having been in Perth when the ICC had taken the decision.

A round-up of all the Ford Trophy matches played on Januray 3, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2016Corey Anderson continued his good run of form with a brisk 98 that shaped Northern Districts‘ 101-run win over Auckland at the Eden Park.Put in, James Fuller cut through Northern Districts’ top order, as the visitors slumped to 15 for 3 in 5.1 overs. Anderson then partnered with Anton Devcich to add 141 for the fourth wicket, taking Northern Districts past 150 before Devcich fell for 53. Anderson’s knock, that included nine fours and three sixes, ended in the 37th over, with the visitors at 184. Daryl Mitchell and BJ Watling (39) drove Northern Districts closer to 300 as Mitchell smashed four fours and two sixes in his 39-ball 55. Northern Districts eventually managed 302 for 8 in their 50 overs.The hosts were dented early in the steep chase by Brett Hampton and James Baker, as the pair reduced them to 60 for 4 within 15 overs. Robert O’Donnell (62) was the only Auckland batsman to cross 35 as Northern Districts’ bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets to dismiss them for 201 in 40.3 overs. Hampton was Northern Districts’ best bowler with returns of 4 for 30 in 7.3 overs.Wellington were reduced to 32 for 3 before rain washed out their match against Canterbury in Christchurch. Ed Nuttall struck in consecutive overs to dismiss Wellington’s openers in what was meant to be a rain-curtailed, 41 overs a side fixture.Central Districts and Otago‘s fixture at the Pukekura Park in New Plymouth was rained out without a ball being bowled.