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Three-tiered structure to be spread across the three provinces, beginning with the city associations and ending with talented players moving up to the highest level

Umar Farooq31-Aug-2019The PCB made official on Saturday its tweaked domestic structure that, the board believes, will improve the quality of the game in Pakistan and internationally.Domestic cricket in the country has often been a major target of criticism for Pakistan’s often-poor performances in the international arena, with suggestions that the system was not robust enough to produce world-beating players. For the last two decades, therefore, the structure has undergone various changes: the first-class competition, for example, has had regional and departmental teams playing separately one season and against each other the next. Stability, however, has remained elusive.

The six associations

Sindh Cricket Association: Karachi, Hyderabad and Larkana
Balochistan Cricket Association: Dera Murad Jamali and Quetta
Southern Punjab Cricket Association: Multan and Bahawalpur
Central Punjab Cricket Association: Faisalabad, Sialkot and Lahore
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cricket Association: Peshawar, FATA and Abbottabad
Northern Cricket Association: Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Azad Jammu Kashmir

This year, under the directions of Imran Khan, the country’s prime minister as well as patron-in-chief of the PCB, the board has opted for an overhaul. The old departmental cricket model has been scrapped altogether from the PCB constitution, and the new structure will involve only six provincial teams, who will play all the formats in the domestic circuit.Previously, there were as many as 16 teams playing, adding up to a total of 69 first-class games per season. With the new structure, six teams will play only 31 first-class games – and 16 T20s and 31 one-dayers – and they will be required to regulate the game across levels – the main team, the second XI, the Under-19s, the Under-16s, the Under-13s, and intra-city cricket.”Until we have quality and competitive cricket, we can’t have consistency,” Wasim Khan, the PCB managing director, said while explaining the new model to the media. “We understand players crumbled under pressure, and this means the system isn’t right and things have been haphazard. We are presently standing at No. 7 in Tests, sixth in ODIs, and No. 1 in T20Is – this is our present landscape. We don’t need to forget this. We don’t want this.”We want consistency and if we get to the top, we should stay at the top. Consistency will come on its own when the system is right. With this new system, we had to take tough decisions, but had to be balanced.ALSO READ: What the new domestic structure means for Pakistan cricket“This new system is a clear pathway laid out for club cricketers to graduate to provincial-level cricket at the top level. We firmly believe this structure will not only help the PCB raise a team that can play in the 2021 World Test Championship final but also give an opportunity to talented and skilled cricketers to represent Pakistan in the purest format of the game. So this new structure is full of context and narrative in every aspect.”To put the model on the road, the PCB will form an eight-member committee for each of the six teams, which will run their association and later hand things over to the respective provinces. The panel will be made up of PCB’s own nominees, representatives of the associations and principal sponsors, with the CEO, the CFO, and the selection committee helping them.The structure will have three tiers.

• In the first, the lowest, the 90 city associations will be responsible for organising club and school cricket in their respective jurisdictions and subsequently forming their city cricket teams
• In the middle tier, the city teams will participate in intra-city events within the jurisdiction of their cricket associations
• In the final tier, the best performing players from the intra-city competitions will form the six respective cricket association sides to participate in the PCB-organised tournaments

“The PCB will provide assistance to the provincial associations in setting up the structure, which will include helping them in assembling a council – which will look after the affairs – and aiding them in attaining sponsorship deals,” PCB chairman Ehsan Mani explained. “The idea is to make them self-sustainable and gradually decentralise them. Ultimately, these are the ones who should be running the model and we will only oversee them.”The first-class season starts on September 14, with every team playing ten matches, home and away, on a double round-robin basis. The first-class and non-first-class (second XI) tournaments will run concurrently, providing the six associations depth to choose the best XI for their first-class matches. The same will be the case for List A and T20 cricket.The scheduleQuaid-e-Azam Trophy (first-class, four-day matches, final will be a five-day fixture): September 14 to October 8; October 28 to December 13National U-19 tournament (three-day and one-day tournament): October 1 to November 12Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (2nd XI, three-day matches, final will be a four-day fixture): September 14 to October 10; October 28 to November 29National T20 Cup (both first and second XIs will play at the same time): October 13 to 24; first XIs will play in Faisalabad, second XIs will play in KarachiPakistan Cup One-Day Tournament (both first and second XIs will play simultaneously): March 29 to April 24, 2020

Channel Nine has paid AUD 48.5 million to air the 2019 Australian Open, leaving Seven free to air Tests and BBL matches in high definition on their main channel

Daniel Brettig25-Jun-2018A looming broadcast conflict has been averted after the Seven and Nine networks agreed terms to allow the latter to air the 2019 Australian Open tennis – a year earlier than originally scheduled. This leaves Seven free to air Tests and Big Bash League matches in high definition on its main channel.Cricket Australia’s AUD 1.18 billion television and digital rights deal with Fox Sports and Seven, announced in April, had meant that Seven held the rights for both cricket and tennis for the summer of 2018-19, with a contractual obligation to air the first Grand Slam of the year on the network’s primary channel.However, after more than a month of negotiations, Seven has agreed to on-sell the final year of its tennis rights to Nine for AUD 48.5 million, meaning the Test matches against Sri Lanka and the BBL matches also scheduled to clash with the Australian Open will not have to compete for airtime with tennis on the same network. CA is understood to have been prepared to accept secondary billing in the first year of their six-year deal with Seven, which has unveiled Ricky Ponting, Damien Fleming and Michael Slater as commentators.For the first time in the history of Australian cricket, two of three men’s formats – ODIs and Twenty20 internationals – will be hidden behind a paywall. Nine had effectively exited the contest for rights to cricket in Australia when it revealed a five-year, AUD 300 million deal with Tennis Australia to broadcast the Open and other lead-up tournaments.Hugh Marks, the Nine chief executive, underlined the reasons for the network’s decision in confirming the deal to gain the tennis rights a year early. He had been seeking to reduce spending on sports rights, after the network parted with more than AUD 500 million for the rights to international cricket from 2013-18.”There’s an air of excitement at Nine about being the new home of tennis, so to be able to start our new deal a year early brings us all much delight,” he said. “As I said back in March, the timing of tennis and the audience demographics it delivers are a perfect fit for Nine and its advertisers. We’re also mighty pleased to have been able to settle on a price for the additional year that is consistent with our original offer to Seven.”CA on Monday announced it had secured another major sponsor in the form of the digital real estate seller Domain, which is majority-owned by Fairfax Media. The four-year deal makes for an intriguing mixture of partnerships given that Fox Sports, provider of the bulk of the broadcast rights money, is owned by Fairfax’s media rival News Corp.The Domain deal, alongside that with Alinta Energy, will account for the prime presenting and advertising space at Australian cricket grounds over the summer. They were both signed in the wake of the financial firm Magellan’s withdrawal from a previous deal with CA as part of the fallout from the Newlands ball tampering scandal.”Domain is delighted to begin a partnership with Cricket Australia. Our aligned audience strategies in mobile and content represent a unique opportunity for both brands,” Domain’s chief editorial and marketing officer Melina Cruickshank said. “We believe the ‘spirit of cricket’ is resilient and look forward to the growth opportunities this partnership will provide.”A new executive is set to join CA in August, with the recruitment of Karina Keisler as executive general manager for public affairs, government relations and infrastructure. Keisler will replace Mark O’Neill, whose contract expired at the end of March. She had previously held roles with Telstra, Vodafone and most recently the NBN corporation, which has faced numerous battles over its rollout of the national broadband network.

Dane Vilas’ century enabled Lancashire’s victory against Durham in their final group game but neither side qualified for the final stages of the Royal London Cup

ECB Reporters Network16-May-2017
ScorecardDane Vilas’ hundred could not assauge Lancashire’s disappointment•Getty Images

South African Dane Vilas’s second century of the series allowed Lancashire to win their final Royal London Cup group game by 28 runs against Durham at Chester-le-Street.But neither side made progress. Durham could have gone ahead of Nottinghamshire into third place, but the one point the Outlaws gained from the washout at Northampton ended Lancashire’s hopes.Paul Collingwood’s three wickets saw Lancashire stumble to 126 for 4 after a good start, but Vilas’s onslaught helped them to gather 135 runs from the last 15 overs, compared with 76 off the previous 15.The second 50 in his 83-ball century came off 26 balls and his fifth-wicket stand of 118 in 16 overs with Steven Croft proved crucial.Excellent bowling from left-arm spinner George Harding, as well as Collingwood, put the brakes on Lancashire after they were put in and got off to a flier.Paul Coughlin, otherwise expensive, made the breakthrough on 59 after Karl Brown clubbed him for six and four in the tenth over then miscued to mid-off.Haseeb Hameed and Liam Livingstone both fell to Collingwood. Extra bounce surprised Hameed, who steered to a wide slip, and after settling in sensibly Livingstone went for a big hit and skied to deep mid-on.Opener Alex Davies played strongly off the back foot in reaching 50 off 54 balls but then lobbed a slower ball from Collingwood to mid-wicket.Vilas and Croft progressed quietly for ten overs before the floodgates opened in the 37th, bowled by Coughlin.
Vilas scooped him over the wicketkeeper for four as 14 came off the over and the return of Chris Rushworth was greeted by two pulls for four either side of a straight driven six.Croft departed for 41, bowled when trying to sweep Harding, but Ryan McLaren helped to maintain the momentum until he sliced James Weighell to deep cover in the 49th over.Weighell’s next ball, a slow full toss, bowled Vilas for 108, providing some solace after the bowler began the over with none for 67. Like Coughlin, he dropped short too often.Lancashire did not make the same mistake. The accuracy of Kyle Jarvis was rewarded when he knocked back Keaton Jennings’ off stump then Stephen Cook edged James Anderson to slip.Graham Clark contributed 32 to a stand of 57 in ten overs with Michael Richardson before picking up Danny Lamb to deep square leg, where Brown back-pedalled to hold a one-handed catch high to his right.On 35, Richardson had to send for a runner and shortly afterwards Collingwood was slow to respond after playing the ball to short third man. He was run out for 20, and Richardson went for broke, taking 16 off an over from Anderson before inside-edging Stephen Parry into his stumps for 58.There were brief flurries from all the middle order and the last-wicket pair added 44. But Durham never looked likely to get close.

The format of the qualifying stages of the World T20 means that Ireland have one step out of the door already, following their shock two-wicket defeat to Oman on Wednesday

The Preview by Sidharth Monga10-Mar-2016

Match facts

Friday, March 11, 2016
Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT)4:51

One bad day doesn’t make us a bad team – Murtagh

Big Picture

The format of the qualifying stages of the World T20 means that Ireland have one step out of the door already, following their shock two-wicket defeat to Oman on Wednesday. But given how Bangladesh too were rattled by the Netherlands despite the eight-run win, Ireland should be positive about making a comeback.And if that is not enough, Ireland will be playing against a team that has two of its bowlers’ actions being questioned by the ICC. The coach Chandika Hathurusingha hit back by saying he also questions the ICC on the matter, but the news will only make Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny look over their shoulder when they bowl on Friday.Ireland’s other advantage at this point is the fact that they have experienced playing in the late evening in Dharamsala and how dew becomes a factor. The manner in which the ball kept slipping out of Max Sorensen’s grip in that fateful final over was enough suggestion that the team defending a total must have more than enough on the board.They have the batting to do it, but they must realise the value of putting less pace on the ball so that they can benefit from a generally slow pitch. The inclusion of George Dockrell could remedy this problem in their pace-heavy bowling attack.They will first however have to deal with the in-form Tamim Iqbal. He forced the issue once he was hitting them well, and until that happened, he was taking a lot of singles and twos. The field often spread for him and, for a change in a T20 innings, Tamim mostly hit the gaps. He was smart too, by hitting straight most of the time, and he has always been very good at hitting through the off-side in-field.The other Bangladesh batsmen who have been struggling to either start well (Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim) or capitalise on the start (Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman) can take a tip or two from Tamim’s innings. If Bangladesh are to knock out Ireland, a more wholesome batting effort will be required given that their bowling attack could yet be depleted.

Form guide

Ireland LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Bangladesh WLWWW

Watch out for

It was not just because of his 34-ball 38, the team’s highest score in their shock defeat to Oman. Gary Wilson also took the limelight for his Superman-like save on the boundary in the dying stages, saving his side five runs. More runs and such saves would be required against Bangladesh.Tamim Iqbal batted against the Netherlands like he did in the Pakistan Super League by starting off with a lot of singles and then finding the boundaries. Bangladesh would want him to follow up with another big one against Ireland.

Team news

Bangladesh will still wait on Mustafizur Rahman’s fitness and while the batting line-up doesn’t really require a change, left-arm quick Abu Hider could be called up if the team is looking to give Taskin Ahmed some time off with his bowling action being questioned by the ICC.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Al-Amin Hossain, 10 Arafat Sunny, 11 Taskin AhmedLeft-arm spinner George Dockrell should return in place of one of the pace bowlers given the conditions in Dharamsala siding with the spinners.Ireland (probable) 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Gary Wilson, 4 Niall O’Brien (wk), 5 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Andrew Poynter, 7 Andy McBrine, 8 Max Sorensen, 9 Tim Murtagh/George Dockrell, 10 Boyd Rankin, 11 Craig Young

Pitch and conditions

The spinners will have a say despite the pitch being generally flat and good for batting. The weather forecast however isn’t great as rain is in the radar on Friday evening.

Stats and trivia

• Shakib Al Hasan is 21 runs away from becoming the first Bangladeshi batsman to reach 1,000 T20I runs. Tamim Iqbal is close behind too, needing 58 runs to reach the same milestone
• Bangladesh has a 3-1 win-loss record over Ireland in T20Is but their last game was in July 2012

Quotes

“Our bowlers are doing pretty well over the last few months. If our batsmen fire as a group, we can put a good score on this ground. Then, always, our bowling is our strength.”
“It’s not the first time our backs have been against the wall. We’ve been in bad situations before and come out on top. We’ve got a pretty decent record against Bangladesh. We’re really looking forward to playing this.”

Six wickets between the fast bowlers Ishwar Pandey and Mohammed Shami helped India A beat South Africa A by an innings and 13 runs in the first unofficial Test in Rustenburg

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Mohammed Shami dismissed Dean Elgar and JP Duminy in the same over and South Africa A never recovered•Associated Press

Six wickets between the fast bowlers Ishwar Pandey and Mohammed Shami helped India A beat South Africa A by an innings and 13 runs in the first unofficial Test in Rustenburg, as a fighting 65 from Temba Bavuma went in vain.South Africa A resumed their first innings on 312 for 9 and frustrated the Indian bowlers, as Kyle Abbott and Andrew Birch added another 45. Suresh Raina eventually trapped Birch in front to end the innings on 357, 76 short of the follow-on target.Cheteshwar Pujara asked South Africa to bat again and his decision was immediately vindicated, as Pandey, who had claimed 4 for 46 in the first innings, bowled Reeza Hendricks off the third ball of the innings. Shami dismissed both Dean Elgar and first innings top-scorer JP Duminy in the sixth over to leave the hosts on 15 for 3 and staring at a deficit of 210.Rilee Rossouw continued his counterattacking ways, taking three fours off Shami in the 10th over. But as in the first innings, he failed to capitalise on his start as Raina bowled him for 34.South Africa resisted through Bavuma who, having departed for a duck in the first innings, produced a gritty half-century. Justin Ontong and Thami Tsolekile were stopped in their tracks as Shami and Pandey returned for their second spells.Ontong struck two fours off Shami in the 25th over before his stumps were disturbed and Tsolekile lost his to Pandey in the 35th. Wayne Parnell holed out to Shikhar Dhawan at deep midwicket off left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, to leave South Africa A on 140 for 7.Bavuma soldiered on, collecting two fours off the 44th over from Nadeem to reach his fifty but pulled Rohit Sharma’s first delivery of the innings to midwicket. Rohit also induced the edge from Abbott to the wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha after ten overs of further resistance and finished with 2 for 19 in eight overs, to go with his century from the first innings. Pandey bowled Birch in the 67th over to end with match figures of 7 for 71.Pujara, named the Man of the Match for his 137 in the first innings, lauded the efforts of his bowlers. “If you want to win a Test match you have to get 20 wickets and to do that in two days in these conditions is fantastic,” Pujara said. “Our experience of playing in Indian conditions where you get similar wickets to this one has helped. Normally the wickets are flat and the bowlers are made to work hard for their wickets and that experience shone through today.”South Africa A coach Vincent Barnes said his players had learnt a lot from the match despite the defeat. “I tell the players that these are the type of conditions you are going to play in most of the time and you have to have the game plan and the skills for it,” Barnes said. “That is what international cricket is about, a few of the guys stepped up, some stuck in and batted well to get us into a good position, especially in the first innings.”At the end of the day these tough conditions give me an idea of the character of the players under situations like this,” he said. “If they got 590 and we scored 480 we would walk off learning very little about ourselves and the game. There is a lot that we have learnt, I think the players understood that they are playing against world-class opposition and it was tough.”The teams will square off in Pretoria for the second and final unofficial Test starting on August 24.

Kevin Pietersen has apologised to the ECB over the derogatory text messages that he sent about members of the England dressing room to South Africa players

David Hopps and George Dobell14-Aug-2012Kevin Pietersen has apologised to the ECB over the derogatory text messages that he sent about members of the England dressing room to South Africa players in a last-ditch attempt to gain forgiveness and be selected for World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.Pietersen and his representatives were waiting on Tuesday evening for the ECB to respond to his gesture with Saturday’s deadline for naming England’s World Twenty20 party looming ever closer.The apology presumably constituted an admission of guilt and as such leaves him at risk of a heavy fine, a suspension or both. If England’s managing director, Hugh Morris, continues to pursue a hard line it could automatically rule him out of a tournament in which he desperately wants to take part.The ECB would make no official comment on Tuesday night, perhaps recognising that leaks in the past have been unhelpful in the reconciliation process.ESPNcricinfo understands a decision, nevertheless, is expected on Wednesday, at which point extensive statements from both sides can be anticipated. There was a growing sense at Lord’s of the need to settle the issue before the final Test against South Africa at Lord’s which begins on Thursday. England, 1-0 down in the series, need to win the Test to retain their status as the No 1 Test side in the world.The ECB have failed to make Pietersen available for Surrey in their vital relegation championship match against Middlesex, at the Oval, beginning on Wednesday, as both parties recognised that it would be inappropriate as confidential negotiations were reaching a delicate stage.The decision for the ECB was when to replace punishment with rehabilitation.In another development in the Pietersen soap opera, Stuart Broad issued a statement denying any part in the creation of a parody Twitter account that so infuriated Pietersen and led him to suspect that his England team-mates were secretly deriding him.Broad, the England Twenty20 International captain, and Alex Hales, who took Pietersen’s place at the top of the order in England’s T20 side, were both alleged to have been involved in the account by Pietersen’s friend, the chatshow host Piers Morgan.The real creator of the parody account, Richard Bailey, came forward on Monday and not only apologised for the trouble he had caused, but clarified that he had worked alone. While Bailey is a friend of Broad and Hales, all parties insist that no professional players were in any way involved either in setting up the account or supplying information.”Following last night’s statement by Mr Richard Bailey that he was responsible for creating a parody Twitter account in Kevin Pietersen’s name, I would like to confirm that I had no involvement in this whatsoever,” Broad said”I met with the Managing Director, England Cricket, Hugh Morris this morning and assured him that I did not play any role in the creation of this account or provide Mr Bailey with any information regarding Kevin Pietersen or the England team.”As has been widely reported Mr Bailey is a friend of mine, but we had no conversations regarding this issue at all and I am pleased that he has now decided to close the parody account down.”Broad’s words echo the results of an ESPNcricinfo investigations last week that identified the creator of the parody account, but found no evidence that any England player had been actively involved in it at any stage. That information was communicated to senior officials of the ECB.Morris added: “Having discussed this matter with Stuart, I am fully satisfied that he acted in a professional manner at all times and did not breach any confidences regarding fellow England players.”ECB also accepts the apology Mr Bailey offered last night to the England team via his Twitter account and his re-assurances that no professional cricketers were involved in the creation of this site.”

Marcus North, the Western Australia captain, will take his tally of English counties that he has represented to six after signing a two-year deal as Glamorgan’s overseas player

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Aug-2011Marcus North, the Western Australia captain, will take his tally of English counties that he has represented to six after signing a two-year deal as Glamorgan’s overseas player.North will bring with him more than 11,000 first-class runs and replaces Alviro Petersen, the South Africa opener, who has captained Glamorgan this season. He won’t be called away on international duty having lost his Test place during the 2010-11 Ashes series.”Glamorgan are in a similar position to WA in that they are chasing success after a period without any silverware and I am really keen to take up the challenge,” North said. “My 100% priority is to WA cricket. It always has been and that will never change. The decision to take up a county contract is not one I took lightly and I would not have committed to Glamorgan unless I knew it was going to be beneficial to my role within WA cricket.”At this point in my career I want to be playing as much cricket as I can,” he added. “I have had five previous stints in English county cricket but this will be a fresh start in Cardiff under Matthew Mott and it is very exciting.”North, who scored a century on his Test debut against South Africa, has previously had spells with Derbyshire, Durham, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Lancashire.

Mazhar Majeed, the man at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal, has been released on bail without charge by Scotland Yard but will be questioned further at a later date

Cricinfo staff30-Aug-2010Mazhar Majeed, the man at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal, has been released on bail without charge by Scotland Yard but will be questioned further at a later date. Majeed was caught on camera by claiming to have bribed Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif to bowl no-balls at previously agreed moments during the Lord’s Test. He was arrested on Saturday, following the expose that claimed he was paid £150,000 to arrange a fix with the Pakistan team, but was bailed on Sunday evening.”He is obliged to return for further questioning at a specified date,” a Scotland Yard spokesman told Cricinfo. However, he refused to confirm what date that would be.Sharad Pawar, the ICC president, said the game’s governing body would wait for the police report on the issue before deciding on a course of action.”Until and unless the British authorities complete the investigation, which we hope will be done in two-three days, and establish there is prima facie case, it is difficult for the PCB to take appropriate action,” Pawar said after a teleconference with ICC officials, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and ECB chairman Giles Clarke. “ICC is waiting for the British police to complete investigation. ACSU is also looking into the details. It is also preparing a report in two to three days. The report by British Police and ACSU will give us a proper picture.”Pawar said it was the desire of the ICC, PCB and ECB that Pakistan’s tour of England should continue. “We discussed in depth the Pakistani players’ issue. One thing is that the British Police have not completed their investigation,” he added. “Neither any player has been arrested. As per our information, PCB president is preparing a confidential report which will be submitted to the president and prime minster. He wants guidance from the country’s leadership.”Many boards have already reacted, some of them airing concerns over the fate of planned series against Pakistan. New Zealand Cricket appealed for a swift resolution to the issue to avoid any fallout on Pakistan’s year-end tour of the country . “Justice needs to be done, but also swiftly to stop this dragging on,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan told . “It’s very important that we have their best team and that we prepare as well as possible for the World Cup which immediately follows the tour.”Pakistan will play three Twenty20 matches, two Tests and six one-day internationals against New Zealand between December 26 and early February. Before that, Pakistan are set to host South Africa in the UAE for two Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20, but Cricket South Africa has said the series will go ahead as planned.”The tour of Pakistan is part of the ICC Future Tours’ program, which we have to honour, unless instructed otherwise by the ICC,” Gerald Majola, CSA’s CEO, said. “As such, the tour will go ahead as planned.”The BCCI said the matter was for the PCB and ICC to handle. “The BCCI has got nothing to do with it,” its media and finance committee chairman Rajiv Shukla said. “Even if some Indian bookies are involved, the Indian police will look into the matter.”Yawar Saeed, the touring side’s manager denied that the allegations proved that Pakistan cricket was institutionally corrupt. “I would not like to say that. Yes, one has heard and one has read [the allegations], but I would not like to go that far,” said Saeed, insisting that the tour itinerary would continue as planned.

Pakistan fought back after poor starts in either innings of the game but fell well short

Danyal Rasool16-Nov-2024It looked like it would be a run fest, but then it evolved into a low-scoring thriller. In a shapeshifting T20I in Sydney, Australia adapted better than Pakistan, holding their nerve to defend a modest total of 147 and edging to a 13-run victory, which gave them the T20I series.Spencer Johnson was the star of the show with 5 for 26, taking wickets at the top and the end and keeping Pakistan penned in, but he had plenty of support from his mates in a disciplined bowling effort. It was matched by a first innings where six batters reached double-figures, the clump of cameos ensuring the batters gave their bowlers enough to work with.Pakistan looked like they were on track for a hammering when Australia reached 50 in 3.1 overs – the fastest they have ever got to the mark in a T20I. But Pakistan, led inevitably by Haris Rauf, hit back through the middle overs. However, their fielding lapses proved costly, and in a game of fine margins, that proved to be one of the points of difference between the sides.They will also rue their lack of intent early on with the bat. Pakistan limped along for the first half of the innings and left themselves too much to do at the back end. Usman Khan – who scored his first T20I half-century – and Irfan Khan made a fist of it to get within 13 runs of victory, but just couldn’t do enough to undo the damage of the first part of the innings.Australia made sure they did just enough things better than Pakistan, and on that count, ended up worthy winners.Matthew Short played his part in giving Australia a rollicking start•Getty Images

The flight, and the uncontrolled descent

Australia began the game as if they had drawn inspiration from India’s batting show against South Africa on Friday. Shaheen Afridi was bowling into the arc as if feeding a slot machine, and Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk were only too happy to oblige. Naseem Shah similarly failed to keep it out of the arc, and 15 balls into the game, Australia had sped along to 47, having hit five fours and three sixes already.As Pakistan have learnt over the white-ball tour, when in doubt, give Rauf the ball, and that worked the charm again. He was the only man who could arrest the slide, and it didn’t take him long. A pacy bouncer that Fraser-McGurk couldn’t get on top off and slogged to the cover fielder punctured Australia, before a leading edge sent Josh Inglis on his way.Abbas Afridi – who bowled beautifully all innings – struck with the slower ball to dispatch Short, and suddenly, it turned into an even contest. After the first 15 balls of the powerplay had leaked 47 wicketless runs, the last 21 balls saw just 14 scored, with Australia’s top three back.Haris Rauf struck twice in an over to check Australia’s rapid start•Getty Images

Pakistan sloppy in the field, again

Pakistan tend to take one of their most famous characteristics each game, and turn the dial up to 11. Sometimes it’s the unpredictability, at other times it’s the fast bowling. Today, they went for the comic ineptitude in the field they have picked up a reputation for.The warning signs were there from the first over, which was when Naseem made a mess of a Fraser-McGurk top edge, and it only got worse from there.Salman Agha put Marcus Stoinis down off Rauf, while Shaheen reprieved Glenn Maxwell off Sufiyan Muqeem in the eighth over. Rauf made a mess of an effort in the field off Naseem that went for four, while Babar Azam put Tim David down before the batter went on to get ten runs off the next three balls. Those were just the highlights and, in a low-scoring game, it all counted.Mohammad Rizwan struggled during his 26-ball 16•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Pakistan’s no-power play

Pakistan looked at the way Australia had been dragged back and perhaps thought “this won’t happen to us”. It didn’t, because they never got going at the front end of the innings in the first place. They did lose Babar (pick-up flick to deep square leg) and Sahibzada Farhan (pull straight to deep midwicket) to careless shots, but for much of the first nine overs, there were scarcely any attempts to hit a boundary.Mohammad Rizwan struggled through an especially curious innings where he was either happy with dot balls or poked the ball away for singles. It wasn’t until the tenth over that a boundary off the bat was finally struck as Rizwan cleared his front leg and slog swept Johnson over cow corner to pick up four.But Rizwan attempted the same shot off the next ball, only to miscue it for David to take a superb catch diving forward. By this time, the asking rate was approaching ten, and Pakistan’s top order had written cheques they unfairly expected their lower order to honour.Usman Khan battled hard to give Pakistan a chance•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Johnson brilliance

When Johnson began the innings with a wide down leg side that went for five, and followed it up with a wide outside off that would have done the same had first slip not done brilliantly, any comparisons with the other Johnson, Mitchell, would have only pertained to the phase in his career that spawned the unfortunate “he bowls to the left, he bowls to the right” chant. But it took the South Australian no time to turn his fortunes around, controlling his high pace and exploiting sideways movement beautifully to rip through Pakistan.Farhan’s soft dismissal was only the beginning, and Pakistan were dented during the middle overs, and that proved telling.Rizwan fell in Johnson’s return spell before Salman fell the very next ball, leaving Pakistan’s ultra-long tail one wicket away from being exposed. When Usman and Irfan put up a 58-run stand, it was once again Johnson who struck, taking two more in an over when his extra pace saw Usman smear a pull into the air before Abbas was dispatched in similar fashion. It allowed Adam Zampa’s double-wicket over effectively seal the game despite Irfan’s presence.

Tom Banton’s 81 goes in vain as visiting bowlers get the job done at the death

ECB Reporters Network11-Aug-2023Sam Curran asserted his influence with bat and ball as in -form Jordan Cox led Oval Invincibles to victory in their top-of-the-table Men’s Hundred clash, holding off a thrilling Northern Superchargers fightback by nine runs.Curran hit 24 off 12 balls late on as the league-leading Invincibles posted a commanding 185 for 5 before taking a superb catch and a wicket as the Superchargers slipped to 23 for 2. Superchargers opener Tom Banton crashed a brilliant 81 off 43 balls to recover them – and at 146 for 3 after 75 balls, they were favourites needing 40.But left-arm seamer Curran returned to have Banton caught at deep midwicket by a diving Ross Whiteley and finish with 2 for 31 from 20 balls with Gus Atkinson defending 19 off the last set of five balls.Superchargers finished on 176 for 8, losing their first game in four. The Invicibles, for whom unbeaten Jordan Cox top-scored with 73 off 38, won their third game in four to strengthen top spot on seven points.South Africa international Heinrich Klaasen hit six sixes in an entertaining 46 off 22 for the Invincibles.Australian quick Spencer Johnson had conceded only one off an incredible 20-ball spell in their home win over Manchester Originals on Tuesday but conceded five off his first ball here, including a wide, at the start of the visiting defence. He finished with 1 for 36.Jason Roy flicked the contest’s first ball – a Reece Topley full toss – down deep backward square-leg’s throat.Opening partner Will Jacks got things moving with a crisp 40, but he was then caught off Callum Parkinson, bringing Klaasen in at 69 for 2 after 44 balls.Klaasen hit a blistering 60 against the Originals and was similarly destructive here despite not hitting a four.Pacer Brydon Carse bore the brunt, conceding three sixes in five balls as the score moved from 85 for 2 after 60 to 104 for 2 after 65. One went arrow straight and the other two high over backward square-leg.Like Jacks, Klaasen then miscued to long-on. This time, Adil Rashid struck. But the Invincibles were on course for an imposing total at 124 for 3 after 74.Even though Cox reached 50 off 30 balls, he played second fiddle throughout much of this innings. He rotated the strike well before taking on the lead role at the end.Captain Wayne Parnell was the pick of the Superchargers bowling with 2 for 29, narrowly missing out on a late hat-trick having removed Curran and Ross Whiteley caught and lbw.Curran then took a brilliant catch back-peddling from mid-on to help Atkinson remove Matt Short before getting a England white-ball team-mate Harry Brook caught behind cutting for just four as the hosts slipped.But Banton and Adam Hose started the turnaround with a 57-stand to take the score to 82 for 2 after 50 balls.Hose drilled Nathan Sowter’s leg-spin to long-on almost immediately to fall for 45, though Banton ploughed on. He reached 50 off 30 balls and reverse hit his next ball for six over cover off Sowter.With that, the Superchargers were on course. But Johnson removed Saif Zaib, Curran returned to strike and squeeze and Atkinson struck twice in the last five to have Carse and Rashid caught.