Multan Sultans owner faces threat of 'blacklist' from PCB

The PCB has threatened to “blacklist” Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen for his criticism of the PSL management unless he makes a public apology, the franchise has said in a statement.The ownership rights of the teams in the PSL expire in December, a decade after the league began, with the existing owners required to re-bid to keep their teams. A blacklist would prevent Tareen from doing so.Over the last year, Tareen has been critical of the PSL management for what he feels is a lack of communication or transparency, especially around the rebidding for franchise rights and the entry of two new teams from next season. ESPNcricinfo understands Multan Sultans responded to the PCB rebutting the charges against Tareen.”The PCB last month sent a legal notice to Multan Sultans, demanding that our owner Ali Tareen retracts all recent critical statements and issues a public apology to the PSL management,” the franchise said in a statement. “The notice threatens termination of our franchise agreement and a lifetime blacklist of Mr. Tareen from owning any cricket team in the future.”The statement in defence of Tareen said: “For the PCB management to treat constructive criticism as a crime is outrageous.”It demonstrates the pettiness of the current management and clearly shows that the PSL is not open to questions or accountability, even from those who have given the most to make it stronger. Silencing honest feedback is not how great leagues are built.”His commitment to Pakistani cricket is unwavering, and his only goal is to help the PSL reach the level its players and fans deserve.”ESPNcricinfo has reached out to the PCB for a comment.

Leus du Plooy piles the misery on Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire 146 for 3 (Charlesworth 63) trail Middlesex 634 for 9 dec (du Plooy 263*, Morgan 97, Cracknell 64, Singh Dale 5-108) by 488 runsTeenage tailender Sebastian Morgan narrowly missed out on a maiden career hundred as Middlesex racked up the joint fifth-highest total in their history against Gloucestershire at Lord’s.Morgan, who turned 18 last month and is making his third first-class appearance, was out for 97 after sharing a partnership of 179 with his captain Leus du Plooy – a county record for the eighth wicket against Gloucestershire – to help Middlesex amass 634 for 9 declared.Du Plooy also posted his best first-class score, an unbeaten 263, to put the visitors firmly under pressure in their final Rothesay County Championship game of the season, despite Ajeet Singh Dale’s return of 5 for 108.Gloucestershire openers Ben Charlesworth (63) and Joe Phillips (36) responded with a century stand before three wickets fell for eight runs, two of them to spinner Zafar Gohar against his former team.Singh Dale, stuck on four wickets since the previous afternoon in his farewell game for Gloucestershire, lost no more time in completing a five-for, with Joe Cracknell taken low at slip for 64 in the seamer’s first over of the morning.He might have claimed a sixth victim soon afterwards when former team-mate Gohar swished outside off stump, but this time slip fielder Ollie Price could not cling onto the chance.It was spinner Graeme van Buuren who eventually removed Gohar, dragging on from a long way outside off stump and his dismissal seemed to dispel any Middlesex thoughts of making a dart for a fifth batting bonus point.Instead, Du Plooy sidled towards 200 while Morgan kept the scoreboard ticking along with an early brace of sweetly-struck fours off Marchant de Lange and went on to dominate the partnership.Du Plooy eventually emerged from his shell, charging down the track to drive Price over the top for four to seal his double ton from 294 balls, while Morgan’s half-century arrived soon afterwards courtesy of a leg-side clip to the fence off Singh Dale.Despite a spell of playing and missing to Matt Taylor just after lunch – and a return chance on 72 that De Lange was unable to grab – the teenager continued to flourish, expanding his repertoire to include a slog sweep and reverse sweep.Both were productive against Gloucestershire’s spinners, with a six off Jack Taylor ushering the total past the 600 mark shortly after identical tactics by Du Plooy had lifted his personal score beyond 250.But Morgan’s decision to attempt another reverse sweep against Price proved his undoing as he overbalanced while James Bracey took off the bails and, after a quickfire 19 by Toby Roland-Jones, the declaration soon followed.That left Phillips and Charlesworth to navigate 10 overs until tea and they did so with little cause for concern, the left-hander looking strong off his pads as well as punching Roland-Jones for two cover boundaries.Successive fours off Noah Cornwell took Charlesworth along to 50 at just under a run a ball and he continued on the offensive, using his feet and dispatching Gohar over the top twice in an over.Phillips gained a life when Roland-Jones found the edge, only for Sam Robson – diving across from slip – to shell the chance, but the seamer did achieve a breakthrough in his next over as Charlesworth tried to cut and Cracknell snared a tumbling catch behind the stumps.Gohar then struck twice in quick succession, pinning Phillips lbw before a looping bat-pad catch accounted for Miles Hammond, but Price and Bracey guided Gloucestershire to the close with another 339 needed to save the follow-on.

Kelly and Carter to lead young New Zealand A squad in South Africa

Nick Kelly and Joe Carter will captain a young New Zealand A squad touring South Africa this month, with the team set to play three one-dayers and two four-day matches.Kelly, who will take charge of the white-ball side, and Carter, set to lead in the red-ball fixtures, head a 15-player squad with an average age of just 25. The squad includes ten New Zealand internationals.Among the most notable names are Muhammad Abbas, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Bevon Jacobs, and Rhys Mariu – all of whom have impressed on the international stage over the past six months.Related

  • O'Rourke out for at least three months with back stress fracture

  • Adithya Ashok turns to Tamil roots while spinning a future with New Zealand

  • Hay, Abbas among fresh faces on New Zealand contract list

  • 'Outstanding' Foulkes savours record debut performance

Foulkes starred on Test debut in Zimbabwe, taking a record-breaking 9 for 75 – the best figures by a New Zealander on debut. Abbas set a record in March for the fastest half-century on ODI debut, smashing one in 26 balls against Pakistan.Wicketkeeper-batter Hay was a regular feature in New Zealand’s white-ball squads last summer, setting a T20I world record with six dismissals in a single innings and rescuing New Zealand with an unbeaten 99 in an ODI against Pakistan in Hamilton.Jacobs and Mariu have both impressed in limited international appearances, with Jacobs hitting an unbeaten 44 on T20I debut and Mariu scoring an ODI fifty in just his second game.Two changes have been made from the New Zealand A squad that toured Bangladesh earlier this year, with Jacobs and Test quick Matt Fisher coming in. Auckland pacer Simon Keene and Jacobs are the only players in the squad yet to appear for New Zealand A.Joe Carter will lead in the red-ball fixtures•Mallikarjuna/KSCA

Keene, 22, has impressed in domestic cricket with a first-class century and three five-wicket hauls in just 21 matches for Auckland.One player missing from the squad is Northern Districts allrounder Kristian Clarke, who was unavailable for selection after suffering a side strain during a recent New Zealand A camp.The team will be coached by Northern Districts assistant coach Daniel Flynn, who takes on the head coach role for the first time. He will be supported by NZC high-performance coaches Bob Carter and Graeme Aldridge.Flynn, a former international himself, is relishing the opportunity to lead a side filled with both emerging and established talent.”It’s an exciting blend,” Flynn said. “We have guys who’ve already had a taste of international cricket, and experienced domestic cricketers who are trying to push their case for that next level. “While development is a key focus, Flynn stressed that the team is also heading to South Africa with a strong emphasis on performance. “We’re obviously going there to perform and win games of cricket,” he said. “But we’re also conscious of balancing that with the development of the guys and the opportunity the tour presents for them.”The squad departs for South Africa on August 24, with the tour set to begin on Saturday, August 30.New Zealand A squad: Muhammad Abbas, Adithya Ashok, Joe Carter (red-ball captain), Josh Clarkson, Matt Fisher, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Curtis Heaphy, Bevon Jacobs, Simon Keene, Nick Kelly (white-ball captain), Jayden Lennox, Ben Lister, Rhys Mariu, Dale Phillips.

Latham hundred leads Bears mauling of Derbyshire

A dazzling century from Tom Latham inspired the Bears to a 127-run victory over Derbyshire Falcons at the Central Co-op County Ground and a place in the Vitality Blast quarter-finals.Latham hit eight sixes in a 51-ball 104 and shared an opening stand of 187 from 98 balls with Alex Davies whose 89 off 54 included six maximums.Although Ben Aitchison took three wickets in the last over to finish with 4 for 45, the Bears rattled up 233 for 5 with Falcons skipper Samit Patel finishing wicketless in his last game before leaving the club.The 40-year-old allrounder also failed with the bat as his side slipped to 41 for 4 at the end of the powerplay and ended on 106 with Jake Lintott taking 3 for 27 while Richard Gleeson claimed 2 for 9 and Danny Briggs 2 for 13.Latham and Davies laid the platform for what was to come, moving to 44 at the end of the powerplay.Davies greeted Patel’s last spell as a Falcons player by sweeping his first ball for six and Latham launched Zak Chappell high over midwicket for another maximum in the next over.Latham pulled Aitchison for six on his way to a 30-ball 50 and at the half way point the pair were motoring along at just under 10 an over with the Bears on 97 without loss.Patel bowled two wides at the start of his second over and was then swept for another big six by Latham.Mohammad Ghazanfar conceded only five from the 12th over but the Falcons were struggling to contain the pair with Davies sweeping Alex Thomson for six to reach his 50 from 37 balls. Latham pulled Chappell for his sixth maximum before Davies dispatched the paceman for his fourth in the 14th over which cost 19.Latham reached his first Blast hundred off 49 balls before he lifted Ghazanfar into the hands of Chappell at deep square leg in the 17th over.Jacob Bethell made only 7 and Aitchison picked up three wickets in the last over including Davies but the Bears had given themselves a great chance of qualifying.The Falcons needed something special from Aneurin Donald but after smashing George Garton over the long-on ropes he miscued Gleeson to mid-on.Caleb Jewell also went cheaply, caught behind off Gleeson, and the Falcons’ hopes suffered another big blow when Wayne Madsen lifted Garton to deep square leg.Patel’s hopes of bowing out in style were dashed when he pulled Garton to deep midwicket and Ross Whiteley was bowled forcing Lintott.At 64 for 5 after 10 overs the game was up and Lintott and Briggs wrapped up a comprehensive victory with 29 balls to spare to condemn the Falcons to bottom place in the North Group.

Williamson powers New Zealand home, Breetzke's record 150 in vain

New Zealand have qualified for the Pakistan Tri-Nation Series final after completing the third-highest successful chase in Lahore to beat an under-strength South Africa by six wickets. The result means the next match, between Pakistan and South Africa in Karachi on Wednesday, is a knockout.Kane Williamson and Devon Conway, both back in New Zealand’s ODI squad for the first time since the 2023 World Cup, scored 133 not out and 97 respectively and shared in a record partnership for New Zealand against South Africa (187). Conway’s score was the first time he crossed fifty since the opening match of the 2023 World Cup, 11 innings ago. Williamson’s century was his first in 22 innings, dating back to his 148 against West Indies in Manchester in the 2019 World Cup. It was also Williamson’s second fastest ODI hundred, off 72 balls. Between them, the pair eclipsed a remarkable achievement by Matthew Breetzke, who became the player with the highest individual score on ODI debut – 150 – and the fourth South African to score a century in his first match.Breetzke accounted for just under a half of South Africa’s total, which is the first indication of where things went wrong for them. They scored too slowly in the middle of the innings, especially given the flat nature of the track. The second issue was a severely uninspired attack, albeit not a first-choice one. Three of the bowlers – Eathan Bosch, Senuran Muthusamy and Mihlali Mpongwana – were on ODI debut and could be forgiven but lack of punch from Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi, who conceded 116 in 16 overs between them will be a concern ahead of the Champions Trophy.Devon Conway brought up his half-century off 64 balls•PCB

South Africa have now lost five ODIs in a row, their longest losing streak in 20 years, but have played all their matches without a full strength side. While they’re unlikely to have too many positives to take from this defeat, they may console themselves with the knowledge that, Rachin Ravindra aside, New Zealand were at full strength and played like it.After choosing to bowl first in the only day game of the series, New Zealand struck early when Will O’Rourke bounced Temba Bavuma out as he edged a pull. Bavuma had looked confident for his 23-ball 20 but New Zealand’s O’Rourke’s consistent and aggressive approach with the short ball paid off.Breetzke and Jason Smith combined for a second-wicket stand of 93 but their scoring rate of 5.31 runs to the over was testament to New Zealand’s squeeze. South Africa struck only two fours and three sixes in the 17 overs between Bavuma’s dismissal and Smith’s run-out, as they tried to take on Mitchell Santner but were largely kept quiet. In that time, Breetzke brought up fifty off 68 balls.A perfect start to Matthew Breetzke’s ODI career went in vain•AFP/Getty Images

When Smith was run-out, New Zealand had an opportunity to get into an inexperienced middle order and they took it. Kyle Verreynne tried to reverse-sweep the fourth ball he faced, missed and was bowled by Michael Bracewell. Another quiet period followed, in which South Africa only hit one boundary in 11 overs, as the combination of Ben Sears, Bracewell and Matt Henry stuck to their disciplines.South Africa were 196 for 3 entering the last 10 overs and 280 looked a distance away. Breetzke took it on himself to get them there. He dispatched O’Rourke through deep third to bring up his century off 128 balls in the 41st over, and then put foot down. His next fifty runs came off 19 balls as he brought out his full range. His 150 came in an over where he hit Sears for 20.Just as it seemed Breetzke could be eyeing a double, he mis-read a Henry slower ball and was caught at mid-off. Wiaan Mulder, who had largely operated as a spectator to that point, had the responsibility to finish off the innings but was fortunate to have an inside-edge trickle away for four before he established some control. He reached his second ODI fifty with a crunching cover drive off Henry, off the 54th ball he faced, and took South Africa over 300 with a four through short fine in the penultimate over. South Africa got only four runs off their final eight balls.Eathan Bosch celebrates after getting rid of Will Young for his first ODI wicket•Associated Press

It was not enough. New Zealand built slowly but got ahead of the required run rate just after the halfway stage of their innings and were in full control from there. They had only lost Will Young at that point, for 19, though he should have been out for 6 in the third over. Smith dropped Young at backward point off Ngidi but the miss did not prove too costly.His dismissal brought Conway and Williamson together and there was one nervy moment, when Williamson inside-edged Junior Dala past Verreynne but he soon settled into a rhythm and put on a masterful display of run-scoring, all around the wicket. His wagon wheel was almost entirely symmetrical, with 67 runs on the off side and 66 on the leg side and the highlights included four strong cut shots and a creative ramp over Verreynne as he leaned back to an Ngidi delivery.Equally, Williamson’s pacing of his innings was perfect. He gave himself time to get in, all while scoring at a run-a-ball, and then took over the more dominant role from Conway, who got to fifty first. Conway’s half-century came off 64 balls, before Williamson’s reached his, off 44 balls, with a massive six over mid-on off Shamsi. It was also Williamson’s fourth successive fifty-plus ODI score in Pakistan. He took a liking to Mpongwana and Ngidi’s short-balls while Conway took on Shamsi and South Africa had no answers.Kane Williamson is a fan favourite in Lahore as well•AFP/Getty Images

Williamson got to his century in the 34th over with a single off Dala. Conway was not far behind and eager to get there but, when he was on 97, he tried to cut Dala past point and found Muthusamy, who moved to his left and took the catch.Muthusamy was the pick of South Africa’s bowlers and dismissed Daryl Mitchell, thanks to a stunning catch from Mulder at long-on, and Tim Latham off successive balls but Glenn Philipps partnered Williamson to the end. Williamson hit the winning runs in the 49th over, to give New Zealand victory with eight balls to spare.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge backs England to bounce back from T20 World Cup criticism

Danni Wyatt-Hodge says that England are ready to park the criticism that followed their early exit from the T20 World Cup, and renew their focus on the “fearless” brand of cricket that went missing at the crucial moments of their decisive group-stage defeat to West Indies in Dubai last month.Speaking in the lead-up to Sunday’s first T20I against World Cup runners-up South Africa in East London, Wyatt-Hodge insisted that England had not “become a bad side in eight overs”, after an error-strewn performance in the field had allowed West Indies’ Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph to romp to fast-paced fifties, en route to a place in the semi-finals at England’s expense.England’s poor performance drew an unprecedented reaction in the media, not least from the former World Cup winner Alex Hartley, who called into question the players’ fitness levels – a point that was flatly rejected last week by their head coach, Jon Lewis. However, Wyatt-Hodge acknowledged that heightened scrutiny was an inevitable consequence of the growth of the women’s game.”That’s part of the game now isn’t it?” she said. “We put ourselves out there, people can say what they want, but all that matters is in our circle, and we’re all working really hard every day in training and games. We want to keep improving individually and as a team. And people are entitled to say what they want out of this group. That’s fine. We know what’s going on, so that’s all that matters.”We’ve played some outstanding cricket over the last few years, and we played some great cricket throughout the World Cup as well,” she added. “And we’re all here now in South Africa, and we’re really excited to get going. We just want to focus on playing that fearless brand of cricket that we’ve played over the last couple of years, and just enjoy it.”South Africa pulled off the shock of the tournament to beat defending champions Australia in their semi-final, before losing to New Zealand in their second consecutive appearance in the T20 World Cup final. Wyatt-Hodge acknowledged that they would pose another stiff challenge to her team, even though they have chosen to rest two senior players, Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka, at this early juncture of their multi-format series.England “did not become a bad side in eight overs” against West Indies, says Wyatt-Hodge•ICC/Getty Images

“They’ve got a few youngsters in their squad, so we’re not going to be familiar with some of their bowlers,” Wyatt-Hodge said, with Eliz-Mari Marx and Nondumiso Shangase among the unfamiliar names.”We’re going to sit down and have a look at what they do, but they’ve got some outstanding players on their team, like Chloe Tryon, Sune Luus, Laura Wolvaardt. They’re a very challenging team to play against, but it’s always really good fun to come out here and play against them in their conditions. We’re really buzzing to get going.”One potential trump card for England could be the recall of Lauren Filer, their fastest bowler, who was overlooked for the conditions at the World Cup, but who can expect to relish the harder surfaces of South Africa over the coming weeks.”Filer’s bowling has really improved over the last year or so,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “She’s very scary to face in the nets, and especially out here, the pitches are quite quick and bouncy. So she’s going to be a handful to face out here. She’s been working really hard, and if she gets a chance, I’m sure she’s raring to go.”The timing of the series, and the multi-format nature, means that England are sure to have one eye on their Ashes tour of Australia in January. But Wyatt-Hodge recognised the significance of the tour in its own right, especially given the need to bounce back from their recent disappointments.Related

  • Danni Wyatt-Hodge joins Surrey for new professional era

  • England seek World Cup redemption in South Africa

  • England Women appoint Courtney Winfield-Hill as assistant coach

  • Alice Capsey called up to England T20 squad for South Africa tour

  • Paige Scholfield ruled out of England's SA tour with ankle injury

“This is a massive series for us, leading up to the Ashes as well. We want to go out there and show off our skills, and show everyone how good we are.”We’ve had a few meetings, there’s always ways we can be better,” she added. “Personally, I’ve got things on the work on, like many of the other girls, so we want to keep pushing ourselves to be better and better.Even though I’m 33, I still feel like one of the youngsters, I feel about 23. I just want to have fun, but also, when I’m on it, I’m on it and I’m focused. I just want to keep working hard, and hopefully the youngsters see the likes of me, Heather [Knight], Amy [Jones], Nat [Sciver-Brunt] wanting to keep improving and working hard. We want to inspire them as well, to do what we’re doing.”The tour will conclude with a one-off Test match in Bloemfontein, starting on December 15, and though Wyatt-Hodge insisted “I just play what’s in front of me,” she admitted the prospect of adding a third Test cap to her tally was an enticing one.”We don’t really play that much of it, so every time I’m picked in a Test squad, it’s a really special feeling,” she said. “To make my Test debut in the Ashes Test couple of years ago was one of the best days I’ve had in my cricketing career. It hits different, a Test match does. We all really enjoy the challenge. It’s just so different, so having a Test match here against South Africa is going to be great prep going into the Ashes.”

No water, no roof – fans reel from the heat in Pune

No access to drinking water for spectators at the MCA Stadium on a hot and humid day in Pune led to chaos and complaints of sickness among the fans who came to watch the first day of the second Test between India and New Zealand.During the lunch break, hundreds of spectators queued up near the North Stand for water, which was unavailable at the time. Police intervention was needed to manage that crowd. Around 20 people complained of dehydration and giddiness and needed attention at the first-aid kiosk at the North Stand. With temperatures over 30 degrees celsius, a member of the staff at that kiosk suggested that there were more cases of dehydration in other stands.The MCA stadium, located in the outskirts of Pune near the expressway to Mumbai, has a capacity of 37,000, and almost 18,000 spectators turned up for the third Test match at the venue and first since 2019. More than half of those spectators had to brave the heat and humidity as only six stands at the MCA stadium have a roof.The MCA had promised free water during this game, but amid the chaos, a number of fans ended up buying water from vendors at high prices. One fan said he had spent more on water bottles than his ticket for the entire Test match.Once water was made available to the spectators the MCA secretary Kamlesh Pisal apologised to the fans and said that more water booths would be set up across the stands from Friday.”We can only apologise to the fans for inconvenience caused,” Pisal told reporters. “But we want to assure them, through MCA, that this won’t be repeated, and everything will be taken care of.”Considering the scorching heat, we had decided to provide cold water. In our previous experience, the fans had complained about us providing warm water or boiling water. We, as management, thought we would provide them with cold water, so we had kept cool cages. Once the water in cool cages finished, we tried to refill it with the same cold water, and in that process, it got delayed. We have done a recce of the entire water in stands and will make sure everything is refilled properly tonight to avoid such situations.”

Women's domestic players to be granted basic salary equality from 2025

England’s women cricketers have taken another step towards gender parity, with minimum starting salaries in domestic cricket set to be equalised across the men’s and women’s professional games from 2025.The move, which will coincide with the first season of the new women’s county competition, will apply both at ‘Rookie’ level, which is being introduced into the women’s game for the first time, and at ‘Senior Pro’ level for players who have established themselves in first teams.The announcement comes in the wake of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report in June 2023, which called for a “fundamental overhaul” to the pay structure of women’s cricket in England and Wales.The report found that the average England Women’s salary was 20.6% of their male equivalents (although the ECB considered that figure to be closer to 30%), and set targets for equalising pay at domestic level by 2029 and for internationals by 2030.Although the ECB pushed back at the report’s timeframe for achieving full parity across the sport, their commitment to minimum salaries reflects the need to offer an equality of opportunity for young players considering cricket as a career choice. At the time of the report’s publication, the minimum salary for male first-class county players was in the region of £27,500.This latest move follows last summer’s announcement that England’s women would receive equal match fees for international fixtures, which had been an immediate recommendation in the ICEC report.”Equalising starting salaries across our men’s and women’s professional domestic game is another positive step forward for women’s cricket in England and Wales,” Beth Barrett-Wild, Director of Women’s Professional Game, said.”The changes we’ve made to the structure of women’s domestic cricket across the last nine months have been about producing a sustainable and viable product that’s attractive off the pitch, as well as being quality on it. As part of this, it’s important that our players are remunerated appropriately, and that cricket is seen not just as a viable career option for women, but an enticing one.”Increasingly, every decision we take is about making cricket as attractive a sport for young girls as it is for boys. We know we still have a lot of work to do in this space. But we are moving at pace, and the news today represents another significant building block in the journey to gender equity in the game.”The ECB has also confirmed that the eight Tier 1 counties in the new women’s competition will have minimum squad sizes of 15 contracted players, with each of the first-class counties required to invest at least £500,000 on their player salary costs in 2025. A salary cap of £800,000 per year has also been agreed for those clubs.PCA Director of Player Rights and Women’s Cricket, Emma Reid, said: “Working with the ECB and the professional game, we are really pleased to see equalised minimum salaries across the men’s and women’s domestic game from 2025.”This is a big step towards reaching parity and a journey that the PCA is fully committed to achieving, but there is still further work to do. With the women’s teams under the umbrella of the First-Class Counties, the PCA will continue to lobby for parity across all areas of the professional game.”The starting salaries and salary budget details have been approved by the ECB’s Professional Game Committee (PGC), which features representatives from FCCs, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) and the ECB.The announcement came in advance of the ECB’s one-year update on its progress towards equity in cricket, in the wake of its initial response to the 137 recommendations and sub-recommendations outlined in the ICEC report.The measures introduced have included the appointment of the Cricket Regulator as an independent, arm’s length disciplinary body, and an additional investment of £2 million in the ECB’s pathways programmes.Richard Thompson, ECB Chair, said: “A year ago, we published our response to the ICEC report into racism, sexism and class-based discrimination in cricket.”We made a commitment to wide-ranging action aimed at tackling discrimination and breaking down barriers for women and girls, people from lower socio-economic groups, and ethnically diverse communities, and today I’m pleased to report on the progress we have made in that time.”But we know there is much more work to do and it’s only the start of the journey. We have a number of plans and structures in place to allow us to accelerate change through 2025 and 2026. And we recognise that in some areas lasting, meaningful change will take a long time.”This article was updated at 1pm BST, September 25, 2024, following the publication of the ECB’s progress report

Kotian hits century as Mumbai end 27-year wait for Irani Cup

Tanush Kotian scored his second first class century on the fifth day of the Irani Cup as Mumbai won the title on the basis of their first-innings lead, lifting the trophy for the first time since the 1997-98 season.Kotian added 94 runs to his overnight total of 20 as Mumbai batted through the day, declaring with a 450-run lead when Rest of India agreed to end the match as a draw. Kotian became the first batter to cross fifty twice in an Irani Cup game while batting at No. 8 or lower. Offspinner Saransh Jain picked up a six-wicket haul, but Rest of India were unable to bowl Mumbai out with enough time to have a crack at their total.Mumbai began the day with a 274-run lead, with Kotian at the crease with Sarfaraz Khan. Saransh trapped Sarfaraz lbw in the fourth over of the day, and two overs later, had Shardul Thakur stumped.But Kotian and Mohit Awasthi batted 200 balls, adding 158 runs, to seal Mumbai’s victory.Rest of India turned to eight bowlers in total, including Ishan Kishan, Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal, but could not add to their two strikes early in the day.Kotian, who made 64 in the first innings, hit ten fours and a six as he batted out 150 balls for his unbeaten 114.Awasthi, meanwhile, hit a six of his own and stroked four fours as he scored his maiden first class half-century.

Sri Lanka spinner Praveen Jayawickrama faces ICC corruption charges

Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama has been charged by the ICC for breaching three counts of the anti-corruption code relating to corrupt approaches in international matches and the Lanka Premier League.According to an ICC statement Jayawickrama, 25, was charged under articles 2.4.4 and 2.4.7 of the code as follows:

  • Failing to report to the Anti-Corruption Unit, without unnecessary delay, details of an approach he received to carry out fixing in future international matches.
  • Failing to report to the Anti-Corruption Unit, without unnecessary delay, details of an approach he received in which he was asked to approach another player, on a corrupter’s behalf, to carry out fixing in the 2021 Lanka Premier League.
  • Obstructing the investigation by deleting messages in which the approaches and offers to engage in corrupt conduct were made.

Jayawickrama has 14 days from August 6 to respond to the charges. In accordance with the anti-corruption code, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the ICC have agreed that the ICC will take action concerning the LPL charge alongside the charges relating to international matches.Having made his international debut in a Test against Bangladesh in April 2021, Jayawickrama has played five Tests, five ODIs and five T20Is. His last appearance for Sri Lanka was in a T20I series at home against Australia in 2022.In LPL 2021, Jayawickrama was a part of the Jaffna Kings side that won its second title. He played one match that season, taking two wickets. In LPL 2024, he turned out for Dambulla Sixers.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus