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In a stark indication of the game’s convoluted and context-less international schedule, Australia’s captain Steven Smith was handed the mace by the ICC’s chief executive David Richardson in a “closed event” in Kandy

Daniel Brettig in Kandy25-Jul-2016If the cricket’s Test Championship mace is presented to the world’s No. 1 team at a private function, is there any point presenting it at all?In a stark indication of the game’s convoluted and context-less international schedule, Australia’s captain Steven Smith was handed the mace by the ICC’s chief executive David Richardson in a “closed event” at the Earl’s Regency Hotel in Kandy, with no access to the public or the media. Next to the presentation of the football and rugby World Cups, or even cricket’s own global events in ODIs and Twenty20s, this was a ceremony that bordered on the farcical.ESPNcricinfo understands the privacy was the result of a last-minute request by Sri Lanka Cricket to keep the event low key, so as not to deflate their players before the looming Test series between the two nations, due to begin at Pallekele on Tuesday. So late was the decision reached that the ICC had already hired an MC for a public event, but he was instead left as a bystander to the hushed handover.”David Richardson is in Kandy for the presentation of the mace to Australia, which finished as the No.1 ranked Test side at the 1 April cut-off date,” an ICC spokesman said. “As this is a sponsor-related activity and unrelated to the forthcoming series, the ICC, in conjunction with the Members/teams, decided to keep this presentation as a closed event.”Australia had effectively claimed top spot as far back as February with a 2-0 series win in New Zealand, something formalised when the ICC rankings had their “annual adjustment” on April 1. But the mace stayed with the previous holders India throughout the year, rather than being presented at a more opportune moment in New Zealand.This is not the first time the mace’s presentation to Australia has not coincided with a notable victory. In 2014 it was handed over at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane in April after Michael Clarke’s team had usurped South Africa as No. 1 with a dramatic final- day victory at Newlands in Cape Town. The lack of a distinct moment at which to hand over ownership of a trophy meant to be the game’s most sought-after prize is symbolic of the problems of context and meaning that the ICC are presently trying to solve with a new bilateral schedule.A proposal for a new two-tier structure, with seven teams in division one and five in division two, was discussed at the ICC’s annual conference in Edinburgh in June. Under the plan, a Test Champion would be decided every two years, with all top division teams playing each other in a series over that time to work out the winner. Further talks to add detail to the proposal, which includes the provision for bundled television rights to provide guaranteed revenue flows for competing countries, are scheduled for September ahead of the next formal ICC meetings in October in Dubai. SLC has indicated their opposition to the proposal.Smith said he was delighted to have taken possession of the mace, and shrugged at the circumstances in which it had been delivered. “It doesn’t bother me too much really, I guess it’s just the way the rankings work,” he said. “They decided this was the right time to do it, and it was a great honour to accept the Test Mace as the No. 1 team in the world at this stage.”A lot of hard work in front of us to make sure we stay at No. 1. We do have a couple of tough Test series coming up, so for us we know there’s a lot of hard work in front of us if we want to stay at No. 1, we’re going to be the hunted now we’re at the top of the tree, so we have to work hard to make sure we stay there.”In a statement, Richardson spoke of exciting times for Test matches. “The mace is a symbol of excellence and recognition of a side’s outstanding achievement in the toughest format of the sport,” he said. “Australia’s winning performances have been exceptional and they thoroughly deserve to be awarded the mace.”These are exciting times for Test cricket as the top four ranked countries are involved in high profile series across three different continents showcasing the very best this format of the sport has to offer. I am sure the incentive of achieving the number-one ranking will further motivate them, bringing out the best in the players.”Broadcasters had recently indicated to the ICC that bilateral series lacking context were losing their commercial value, forcing the game’s custodians to drastically rethink the structure of the international game. The events in Kandy on Monday served only to underline the need for change.

Cricket Scotland announced a near-identical squad from their previous campaign – the ICC World Cricket League Championship against UAE – for the two ODIs against Hong Kong in Edinburgh on September 8 and September 10

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2016Cricket Scotland announced a near-identical squad from their previous campaign – the ICC World Cricket League Championship against UAE – for the two ODIs against Hong Kong in Edinburgh on September 8 and September 10.Uncapped fast bowler Gavin Main was the only change in the squad, replacing Josh Davey. Main, however, is available for the second ODI only.Scotland coach Grant Bradburn was upbeat about the side’s chances following the 2-0 sweep over UAE at the same venue in August.”Our players will relish the opportunity to play two more ODIs before the summer ends and are eager to finish the home season on a positive note,” he said. “We have seen huge benefits this season from training hard as a wider squad and we now have more players than ever contesting selection in the national team.”Squad: Preston Mommsen (capt), Kyle Coetzer, Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Mark Watt, Alasdair Evans, Safyaan Sharif, Con de Lange, Craig Wallace, Chris Sole, Gavin Main (second ODI only)

Max Walker, the tangle-footed Australia seamer of the 1970s, has died in Melbourne after succumbing to cancer

Daniel Brettig28-Sep-2016Max Walker, the tangle-footed and rubber-armed Australia seamer of the 1970s, has died in Melbourne after succumbing to cancer. He was 68.A key member of the successful Australian Test teams led by Ian and Greg Chappell, Walker was also among the breakaway group of players who took part in Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket from 1977 to 1979. Their stance fundamentally altered the shape of international cricket ever since.Walker played 34 Tests for Australia, bowling into the wind opposite Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson in the memorable home summers of 1974-75 and 1975-76, when England and West Indies were laid to waste.He also stepped up notably on occasions when the aforementioned pair were injured or unavailable. Chief among these efforts were early in his career: a Test match against Pakistan in 1973 when he ran through the tourists opposite an ailing Lillee, and the West Indies tour later the same year when he led an undermanned bowling attack to one of the team’s best overseas wins.Greg Chappell remembered Walker saying: “My two most indelible memories of Tangles would be the tour of the West Indies in 1973 when Australia lost our spearheads Dennis Lillee and Bob Massie, meaning that Jeff Hammond and Max had to shoulder the burden of the bowling. The conditions were pretty tough and they weren’t really conducive to swing bowling, which was Max’s strength, but it was one of the earliest occasions where we became aware of reverse swing, and he was able to get the older ball to go Irish, which really helped our cause.”We won that series and he was a big contributor to that victory. The other moment that I can still recall vividly was during the Centenary Test in 1977 when England had dismissed us for 130-odd and we needed something special, and we got it from Max. Tony Greig was always a big wicket, but when he sent Greigy’s off stump cart-wheeling, the roar from Tangles was louder than that of the crowd. I was in slips and it was almost frightening as he charged down the pitch with both arms in the air, roaring his delight.”Hailing from west Hobart, where he lived until recruited to the Melbourne Football Club by the legendary coach Norm Smith, Walker became an instantly recognisable figure for his handlebar moustache and toothy grin. Later in life those features helped him become a popular commentator and entertainer; he published a string of comedic books and hosted Wide World of Sports.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, paid tribute to Walker. “Max was an outstanding cricketer who played an important role in the emergence of successful Australian cricket teams in the 1970s,” he said. “It was a golden era of Test Cricket under the captaincy of Ian and Greg Chappell, and Max’s medium fast bowling and his unmistakeable bowling action were a feature of those teams, and then in the late 1970s when he joined World Series Cricket.”The cricket world will be deeply saddened to hear of Max’s sudden passing. As a cricketer, with ball or bat in hand, Max was always fiercely competitive. He was a genuine crowd favourite wherever he played – and nowhere more so than at his beloved MCG, where he had also played senior football prior to his Test debut.”Tony Dodemaide, CEO of Cricket Victoria, spoke of Walker’s contribution. “Max was a positive and jovial character and devoted much of his life to playing and serving the game, during what many would call a revolutionary period for cricket,” he said. “At the completion of his playing career, Max charmed many on our TV screens as he built his career in the entertainment industry.”Max’s contribution to the game was significant and at a time when cricket was undergoing significant changes, playing a critical role in World Series Cricket. A gentleman of his era, Max was able to be part of some moments that will be cherished forever in cricket history and will continue to inspire future generations.”Hugh Marks, chief executive of Channel Nine, offered his thoughts about Walker’s time in television “At Nine and across the game we have lost a genuine hero of Australian cricket with Max Walker’s sad passing,” Marks said. “He was terrific bowler as his Test record shows, but an even better bloke. He will be missed by the whole Nine family.”Larger than life on and off the field, a huge character with that laconic, laid-back approach to sport and life. Just a big, cuddly colourful bloke whom everyone really liked – his opponents just as much as the rest of us, Max enjoyed that unique sense of humour made only in Australia, which shone like a beacon in his post-retirement commentary roles on Nine, his hilarious books and his famous ‘have a good weekend Mr Walker’ television advertisements.”Max leaves an indelible signature on Australian cricket and its culture. He will be profoundly missed’.”

The members of Northamptonshire have voted for the club to become a limited company

George Dobell12-Sep-2016The members of Northamptonshire have voted for the club to become a limited company.The club, which is heavily in debt and has lost over £750,000 over the last couple of years, held an EGM on Thursday at which 86 per cent of the vote (172 votes for; 27 votes against) passed a resolution proposed by the board allowing a group of investors to take control of the club.The board have previously stated they will look for between 10 and 15 investors to put in a minimum of £50,000 each. They provided assurances to those voting that the club’s Wantage Road ground would not be sold off for the benefit of shareholders.While the club’s declining relevance to its local community might be demonstrated by the fact that fewer than 200 people voted on such a fundamental issue, it is arguable that its potential remains largely untapped. The club offers the closest professional cricket ground for around 8 percent of the population of the country and, despite its off-field issues, it has continued to produce high-quality players.Not only did England’s last two top-quality spinners (Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann) emerge through the club, but younger players such as David Willey, Ben Duckett and Olly Stone also developed there. Northants also won the NatWest Blast for the second time in four years a few weeks ago.

Australia’s plans for the Test series against South Africa have been upset by a hamstring injury to Shaun Marsh, making him an unlikely starter for the opening match at the WACA Ground in Perth

Daniel Brettig16-Oct-2016Australia’s plans for the Test series against South Africa have been upset by a hamstring injury to Shaun Marsh, making him an unlikely starter for the opening match at the WACA Ground in Perth.Marsh, who has a long history of hamstring trouble, suffered the injury while batting for Western Australia against Tasmania in a Matador Cup match at North Sydney Oval on Saturday.”Shaun Marsh has sustained a low grade tear to his right hamstring while batting against Tasmania at North Sydney Oval on Saturday,” a WACA spokesman said. “Marsh will return to Perth where he will undergo rehabilitation with a view to being available for selection for the first Test against South Africa at the WACA Ground next month.”Before the injury, Marsh had seemed likely to retain his place in the top six after making a century on his recall to the Test team in the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo in August.Marsh had played in place of Joe Burns, with Usman Khawaja making way for Moises Henriques. Khawaja is expected to be recalled for the home Tests, and Burns may now also find himself back in the team pending Marsh’s recovery.While Marsh opened alongside David Warner in Sri Lanka, he would have been more likely to assume a middle-order role in Australia.

Rangpur Riders topped the BPL points table with a seven-wicket cruise against Khulna Titans

Mohammad Isam22-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShahid Afridi took two wickets and struck a 20-ball 26 in Rangpur’s win•BCB

Rangpur Riders cruised to a seven-wicket win over Khulna Titans and replaced them at the top of the points table. A strong bowling performance restricted Khulna to 125 for 7, before Mohammad Mithun and Mohammad Shahzad contributed 49 not out and 37 respectively to ease Rangpur past the target with an over to spare.The Khulna bowlers had previously defended two low totals earlier in the tournament, but this was a task that quickly got out of reach after a 74-run second-wicket stand between Mithun and Shahzad.After opting to bat, there seem to be very little intent from the Khulna batsmen. Abdul Mazid and Andre Fletcher were both dismissed by Arafat Sunny. Mahmudullah gave deep midwicket a simple catch in the eighth over before Rikki Wessels and Taibur Rahman added 56 runs in the 55 balls.Wessels’ only six came off a switch hit in his 33-ball 27 while Taibur, who top-scored with 32 off 37 balls, struck a six over midwicket and also hit three fours. Both their sixes came in the 15th over, in which Liam Dawson conceded 19 runs.The two other sixes in the innings came in the last over when Ariful Haque slammed Shahid Afridi straight both times before being run-out off the final ball. Afridi, Sunny and Rubel Hossain finished with two wickets each.Shahzad and Mithun made light work of Khulna’s total after they got together in the fourth over. Shahzad quickly got over Soumya Sarkar’s wicket with a huge six over long-on before hitting over point twice.Mithun had struck three sixes in the span of five deliveries, pulling Alok Kapali twice and hammering Mosharraf Hossain over long-off. Shahzad holed out to long-on for 37.Afridi, promoted to No 4, survived twice in the 15th over, first being bowled off a no-ball by Benny Howell before the bowler dropped a skier off the last ball of that over. Dawson’s edged four completed the win with an over to spare. Mithun was unbeaten on 49 off 41 balls.

Asad Shafiq said Pakistan would feel a little pressure playing in front of a large crowd at the traditional Boxing Day match at the MCG

Osman Samiuddin in Melbourne24-Dec-20161:33

‘MCG track could suit Pakistan more’ – Shafiq

A decade or so ago, a Pakistan batsman was fielding on the boundary at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. There are plenty of big stadiums around the world but Eden Gardens, at capacity, is a big ol’ stadium. It was his first time there and for most of it, he remembered, he could barely hear himself think. But he does recall one piece of advice he got from a spectator right at the front.”See the crowd here, son? It’s bigger than the population of your entire country.”At that time, Pakistan still hosted matches at home but crowds had begun to dwindle for Tests and only the really big ODIs would draw full houses. And no stadium in Pakistan could come close to matching Eden Gardens for capacity. It was, the player felt at the time, as intimidating an atmosphere he had come across in his career until then.But that Eden Gardens moment was a long time ago and as at least eight of the Pakistan XI will turn up at the MCG in an atmosphere unlike any they would have come across before they too will know that they have just stepped up into the big time. Sixty thousand are expected on the first day and only Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Mohammad Amir know what it is like to perform in front of a Boxing Day crowd.Pakistan did play to full houses on days of their England tour earlier this year, but this will be on a far larger scale. Only the non-breathing will not be affected by it. The significance of the occasion, and the place it holds in the Australian calendar is not lost on Pakistan’s players.”We know the importance of the game,” said Asad Shafiq. “It’s a big Test match, the Boxing Day one. We all grew up watching this match in Pakistan. We know the value of this Test.”We will feel it [pressure] a little because we probably haven’t played in front of such a big crowd. And this ground has a really prestigious history and playing here is a big honour for me, for everyone but especially for those playing here for the first time there is also a lot of excitement. But the way we played that first Test, we’re very united and are hopeful that we can get a good result in the next two Tests.”Brisbane was as good as a foregone conclusion before the series began (Pakistan had lost three and drawn one there before the last Test), though the nature of the defeat was a bonus. Pakistan’s chances in this series were always dependent on the less lively surfaces of Melbourne and Sydney; their four wins in Australia are equally divided at the two venues.The surface is not expected to turn unduly, not towards later in the Test in any case and conditions should ease up for batting as each day progresses.”Yes, I have heard about this [record] and seen it too that this wicket suits Pakistan a bit more,” Shafiq said. “This is in everyone’s mind, that if we do get to bat first and put up a good total, we are capable of winning the match. But every day is a new day, every match is a new match. You have to work hard and play hard for every win.”All week, word from the Pakistan camp – backed up to a degree from the evidence of their training sessions – is that the spirits are high, and so too their confidence, or at least that it is more than what a number of previous Pakistan teams ahead of playing a Test in Australia had.Not least Shafiq himself, whose hundred came on the back of a wildly fluctuating run of form – in his last 13 Tests, he has three hundreds, six fifties and five ducks (including two pairs). “We are hopeful, we are positive, especially after the first Test,” he said. “We are playing positive and good cricket. Nobody was expecting we would come back like that.”But we all showed the character, we all showed courage. And these kind of matches always give you confidence as a team, as a player. Especially if it’s the first Test of the series – it always helps in the next Tests.”

England’s bowlers restricted India to 147 on a good pitch in Kanpur and then knocked off the target with seven wickets and 11 balls to spare

The Report by Alagappan Muthu26-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:30

Agarkar: Smart performance from the English bowlers

They waited, and waited, and waited, and finally England’s bowlers had the chance to spearhead a victory on this tour. True, none of them picked up more than two wickets, but that only established how good they were as a unit. India were kept to a measly 147 on a pitch that wasn’t in any way untoward and as icing on the cake Eoin Morgan shellacked a half-century to make sure his team took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Moeen’s best, Morgan’s 1500

• 2/21 Moeen Ali’s figures, his best in T20Is. He was the only bowler with an economy rate lower than six in the match. He also got his third Man of the Match award in 20 T20Is.

• 73.50Joe Root’s average when chasing in T20Is, the third-best among players with five or more innings. He averages only 29.33 when batting first.

• 12 Innings without a fifty for Eoin Morgan in T20Is, before scoring one in this match. His last was 74 against Australia in Cardiff in 2015. He also completed 1500 T20I runs, the first England player and 12th overall to do so.

• 2-9 India’s win-loss record when defending targets of 150 or less over 12 attempts. Their win-loss ratio of 0.22 is the worst among all Full Members.

• 22 Runs that came in boundaries for India in their last 10 overs, their second-lowest when batting first and playing out all 20 overs.

Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes were given a brief to bowl length and just short of it, while ensuring the batsmen do not have room to use their pace to relieve the pressure. Moeen Ali was at his restrictive best, picking up 2 for 21 in four overs, targeting the stumps with flat darts and in the end the services of their specialist spinner Adil Rashid was not even needed.India, who had lost the toss and were put in, seemed rather obsessed with power-hitting. They had gone through the entire World T20 playing proper cricket, only to be brutally swept aside by West Indies in the semi-final. From the moment Virat Kohli carved the third ball of the match for four through point, it seemed like they were trying go for the boundary every single ball. It did not pay off though, as England dashed a little bit of the Republic Day celebrations at a jam-packed Green Park stadium in Kanpur.Admittedly, it doesn’t seem the worst strategy to leave your brain behind as a batsman when playing T20. There’s 10 wickets to negotiate 20 overs, and while batting first, it even seems logical to do so. But India don’t normally play in this fashion and will need time to catch up with the rest of the world. This evening, for example, they couldn’t deal with how they were bleeding wickets, at the worst possible times.Kohli and KL Rahul, who opened the batting, fell within three overs of each other on either side of the Powerplay. Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Manish Pandey – Nos 3, 4 and 6 – dismissed within three overs as well, between the 11th and the 14th. India couldn’t lay a good enough foundation at the start and were running out of batsmen by the end. No one made it past a score of 36.The key for England was in how well they read the pitch. It was both grassy and cracked and lent itself to fast bowlers who were willing to hit the deck and also experiment with cross-seamers and slower balls. Jordan and Mills – who were playing their first matches on this tour – did exactly that. Then Moeen, who began his spell having Kohli caught at short midwicket for 29 off 26, excelled in the middle overs, bowling stump-to-stump. His length was lovely as well, not full enough to drive freely and not short enough that the batsman could use the pace. The end result, he conceded only one boundary.India had somehow mis-hit their way to 47 in the Powerplay, but once England had the comfort of having five men on the boundary, the edges no longer found gaps. They offered a mere 37 runs between the 13th and 19th overs. Moeen had created the pressure, the quicks came back, knowing they will be targeted, but by varying their pace and banging the ball into the pitch without the width to cut or pull, they gave India, who were by now only trying to hit the ball as hard as they could, very few options.Hardik Pandya found that out when he was cramped by a short ball rising up to his shoulder and found deep point; Mills meanwhile had his first T20I wicket. Rahul was caught unawares by a sharp bouncer from Jordan in the fourth over, which he could only fend to short fine leg.Yuvraj top-edged a pull to long leg off Plunkett and Raina was bowled by a searing yorker from Stokes. Morgan’s captaincy should be credited here, forcing the two left-handers to deal with the kind of bowling they generally dislike facing, and less so with an innings in jeopardy: fast and at their bodies. Moeen played his part too, spinning the ball away or making it skid on, rarely letting himself be lined up. MS Dhoni managed to stick it out till the end, hitting a couple of fours in the last over, but 147 was nowhere near par.It showed when Jason Roy and Sam Billings blitzed 36 in three overs at the start of the chase. India did put a stop to the mayhem in the next over with legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal, picked ahead of Amit Mishra, bowling both batsmen. But it didn’t matter in the larger scheme of things since England managed to gun down a third of their target within the first six overs. With that in the back of their minds, Joe Root, returning from a niggle, and Morgan put on 83 runs for the third wicket and that partnership was more than enough to seal a straightforward chase. A further sign of how disappointing India’s batting had been on the day was debutant Parvez Rasool picking up the England captain for 51 and barely celebrating. He knew it just didn’t matter.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will be withdrawn from the WBBL before the competition has finished, in order to participate in a training camp ahead of their 2017 World Cup qualification tournament

Adam Collins13-Jan-20173:36

Lemon: Sixers only side to lock themselves at the top

The BCCI have exercised their right to withdraw the batsmen Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur from the Women’s Big Bash League before the competition has finished.ESPNcricinfo has learned the duo will return to India ahead of the WBBL finals to participate in a training camp before their 2017 World Cup qualification tournament, leaving Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder without their prized recruits if competing in the trophy decider.The development, alongside Cricket South Africa’s retrieval of Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp from Sydney Sixers duty for the last four regular season fixtures, has bolstered calls for a dedicated ICC exclusivity schedule window for the WBBL.Anthony Everard, the head of the BBL, explained that the No Objection Certificate process – which includes provision for overseas boards to call back their national players for duty as they see fit – is respected widely, but acknowledged “degrees of frustration” experienced by the affected clubs at this late stage.Everard believes the WBBL, in its second season, has built a case for a window as the first women’s competition of its kind. “Given we’ve invested significantly in this competition, and the important role it plays in the development of women’s cricket not only within Australia but globally, we have at least got a seat at the table to have that discussion,” he said.It is a view shared by former England captain, and now Adelaide Striker, Charlotte Edwards. She said it was “frustrating” that her team-mate Sophie Devine missed two games to play for Wellington in New Zealand’s T20 event days after making the WBBL’s fastest century. “Hopefully [a window] is going to be something looked at in the future where the dates don’t clash and we can have as many of the New Zealand girls as possible in this tournament,” she said.A Sixers spokeswoman confirmed their South African pair had been signed before it it was clear they would be missing over a quarter of the regular season for five ODIs against Bangladesh. In turn, she added her club’s support for the window in future seasons. “I would be surprised,” she said, “if CA wasn’t advocating on our behalf so that it became a priority.”The Thunder are at this stage unlikely to incur the cost of replacing Kaur with another international, while the Heat are hopeful that West Indian Deandra Dottin will recover from facial surgery in time to fill Mandhana’s vacancy.The Sixers, who are two games clear at the top of the table, will substitute the South Africans with England wicketkeeper Amy Jones and Irish rookie Kim Garth for their last four group games. Kapp, spearheading their attack, is the most frugal bowler in WBBL02 to date.Perth Scorchers allrounder and New Zealand skipper Suzie Bates was the most prominent international representative drawn away from WBBL duty last season, missing six games where clashes existed across the Tasman in the Christmas-New Year period.While stressing the efforts made by New Zealand Cricket, Bates says it continues to be a “really difficult” process for all parties; both boards wanting players to be available full-time. “It is hard when it is the players that are left with those decisions,” she said, concurring with Edwards that it would be “helpful” having a window to avoid the predicament into the future.Bates also noted the difference between the depth in the men’s and women’s tournaments in finding suitable players. “No one wants to dilute their teams because we just don’t have the numbers,” she observed. “The top ten players in the world are in demand from everyone.”A competition insider echoed the concern for the fledgling tournament replacing marquee players as easily as it is the case for the men’s equivalent. “There just isn’t the depth,” he said, contrasting the BBL where “every player manager in the world” is contacting clubs when a vacancy arrives due to injury or international selection.Another affected player returned home to New Zealand was allrounder Amy Satterthwaite, captain of Canterbury in New Zealand, who agreed with the Hurricanes that she would miss two games, half of the amount she wasn’t available for in WBBL01. As was the case with Devine, Hobart lost the game the experienced allrounder was absent for, while the other was washed out.Everard is confident the Trans-Tasman piece of the puzzle is “solvable” between the boards between seasons. “Ideally you want to get to a point where it becomes a win/win,” he said. “I think there’s a workable solution in there somewhere.”

Western Australia knocked off the target of 54 within 10 overs to seal a comfortable nine-wicket win against Tasmania in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Simon Milenko struck 75 off 62 balls and took a wicket on the third day•Getty Images

Western Australia completed a nine-wicket thumping of Tasmania inside three days at Bellerive Oval to notch their third consecutive Sheffield Shield victory and pull back into contention for the competition final.Western Australia were again well served by their seam attack, the debutant Cameron Green added two wickets to his first-innings five while David Moody claimed four to help round up Tasmania’s second innings for 265, despite a firm rearguard effort from Simon Milenko that ensured the hosts would avoid an innings defeat.That left a target of only 54 for Western Australia to seal victory, with Hilton Cartwright wasting little time on the requirement after Cameron Bancroft fell to Milenko. Cartwright earned Man-of-the-Match honours for his first-innings 94 when batting conditions were at their most difficult.WA remain fifth on the table, but are now within an outright win of second place with three fixtures remaining.