Category Uncategorized

Umpire Anil Chaudhary has been nominated to the ICC’s international panel of umpires by the BCCI

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2013Umpire Anil Chaudhary has been nominated to the ICC’s international panel of umpires by the BCCI. Vineet Kulkarni, S Ravi and C Shamsuddin, who were nominated last year, remain on the panel.While four Indian umpires on the international panel are mandatory, there is currently no Indian on the elite panel, the ICC’s premier set of umpires. Generally, two umpires from the elite panel stand in Test matches, while one elite-panel umpire and one international-panel umpire stand in limited-overs games.Kulkarni and Ravi have been named under the on-field category, while Shamsuddin and Chaudhary will be off-field umpires. Chaudhary, 48, who is yet to officiate an international game, replaces Sudhir Asnani on the panel. The highest-profile games Chaudhary has stood in were IPL matches.India’s four nominees for the panel were picked at the BCCI’s umpires sub-committee meeting in Bangalore on Thursday. BCCI vice-president Niranjan Shah, who chaired the meeting, said: “The general consensus was that the quality of umpires here in India has steadily improved ever since we brought in the review-system over the last four to five years. We were supposed to recommend four umpires to the ICC international panel and we decided to back Ravi and Vineet Kulkarni for on-field and Shamsuddin and Anil Chaudhary for off-field.”

An under-prepared New Zealand play their tournament opener against Scotland, a team that have arrived in Australia by winning 13 out of 14 qualifying matches

George Binoy in Brisbane11-Aug-2012Of all the Full Member nations at the Under-19 World Cup in Australia, New Zealand have had the least international experience since the previous tournament in 2010. And unlike South Africa, who also didn’t tour extensively, New Zealand’s cricketers have not had an extensive preparatory camp at home. The last week, spent getting used to off-season conditions in Queensland, has been the crux of their immediate preparation.They lost their first warm-up match comprehensively to South Africa before getting past Nepal by 19 runs in the second. They had two unofficial practice games before that as well and won both, against West Indies and Scotland. Considering their senior squad went to the Caribbean without a prior training camp, it was perhaps unfeasible for the Under-19s to expect to have one.”We’ve just come out of winter, so that’s been a challenge,” their coach Matt Horne said of their preparations. “We had selected a wider squad, probably 18 months ago, to work towards this, based around camps, players working in their own state associations. We had a trial process throughout the summer, which finished with selection for a [Quadrangular] series last April in Townsville. We adjusted programmes [to improve performance] and the players went back to their own associations and worked throughout the winter.”New Zealand are familiar with Townsville, where the business end of the World Cup will be held. They were here for a Quadrangular Series involving Australia, England and India in April, when they won one game and lost four. To get to Townsville again, however, they’ll have to finish in the top two of their group in Buderim, which is based further south in the Sunshine Coast.”Ideally, yes,” said Horne, when asked if New Zealand could have done with more exposure. “We’ve had winter and haven’t played for four months. We’re quite well resourced by New Zealand Cricket but we obviously can’t compete with the resources available to some countries. We’re hoping to put a programme in place that is more robust, that allows regular series against different countries.”New Zealand’s tournament opener on Sunday is against Scotland, a team that failed to make it to the previous two Under-19 World Cups but have arrived in Australia by winning 13 out of 14 qualifying matches.”This Under-19 team has had a couple of overseas tours over the last couple of years,” Craig Wright, who’s coached Scotland Under-19 for five years, said. “Obviously finances are tight, but we’re certainly trying to build on what we can do and the experiences we’re trying to give these guys from a coaching and competitive point of view, in terms of touring and getting them to play matches at a higher level.”Scotland had announced their World Cup squad as early as June and at the time Wright had said that players who “made a real contribution to the success of the team up to this point” had missed out. When asked how large the pool of Under-19 cricketers in the country was, he said: “Cricket’s probably a slightly more popular game in Scotland than people give it credit for. But when it comes to picking national teams, we’re probably picking from pools of maybe 20 players who are good enough to play at the international level. There’s obviously a lot more players who are that age who play club cricket.”This Under-19 team, we picked from about 18 or 19 who I felt were good enough to be involved here. So we were picking from a wider pool. It wasn’t a case of picking the best 10 or 11 and a few making up the numbers. We actually had two or three guys who were a little unlucky not to get involved in the squad. It tends to fluctuate; some years you have more strength and depth than others.”Scotland have been training for an extra week on the Sunshine Coast because their summer at home was wet and hindered preparations. They were bruised by Bangladesh in the first warm-up, but their top-order fought hard in the defeat against Australia, with Mathew Cross scoring a century.”We’ve come here focused on trying to play good cricket, trying to be competitive,” Wright said. “We have emphasised the point that the lads should try to enjoy the experience and learn from it. Hopefully the two things will go hand in hand. We hope some of them, as many as possible, go on to represent Scotland at senior level. But it’s very important they take everything they can from this experience, both on and off the field.”Scotland beat Afghanistan in the qualifiers for the World Cup, so they’ll be confident of getting past them again. Pakistan will probably be beyond them, so that leaves New Zealand. An upset on Sunday could make Scotland’s campaign.

A round-up of the second day of matches in the ICC Africa Region Division One Twenty20 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2011Namibia maintained their unbeaten run in the ICC Africa Region Division One Twenty20, 2011, with another one-sided win, this time a 174-run rout of Ghana at the Lugogo Cricket Oval in Kampala. Choosing to bat, Namibia piled up 255 for 2. The innings was launched by Craig Williams who tonked 23 off 10 balls. After he departed, the score reading 28 for 1 at the end of two overs, the charge was carried on by the other opener, Louis Petrus van der Westhuizen, who scored 97 off 40 with 14 fours and five sixes. Sarel Burger and Gerrie Snyman did not let up either, smashing 75 off 46 and 52 off 24 respectively. The Namibia bowlers rounded-off the perfect game for their side, strangling the Ghana line-up. Only Obed Harvey and James Vifah – the sole Ghana batsman who scored at a rate in excess of 82 – managed to get into double figures, as their side limped to 81 for 9 in their 20. Burger backed up his performance with the bat with the best bowling figures of the game – 3 for 12 in four overs.Nigeria registered their first win of the tournament, beating Kenya by eight wickets at the Kyambogo Cricket Ground, Kampala. Being asked to bat, Kenya put on 128 for 6. Opener Duncan Allan looked good in his knock of 41 off 31 balls, by was run out. The only other sizeable contribution came from Joseph Ochieng, who pushed the total past 100 with his 27 off 21. Apart from lapses in running, offspinner Ramit Gill did all the damage to the Kenya top-order, claiming 3 for 8 in his four overs. Nigeria made short work of the chase, knocking off the target with 16 balls and eight wickets to spare. The top-order shared the work, with each of the top four producing cameos ranging between 21 and 35 to steer Nigeria to an easy win.Kenya slumped to their second eight-wicket defeat of the day, losing to Namibia at the Lugogo Cricket Oval. Opener Duncan Allan top-scored for Kenya for the third time in three games, making 58 off 49 balls out of a total of 105 for 8. He did not receive any support though, with no other batsmen getting into double digits. Louis Klazinga and Gerrie Snyman ran through the top order with combined figures of 4 for 35 in eight overs, while Louis Petrus van der Westhuizen troubled the lower order with his left-arm spin, claiming 3 for 12. The chase was steered almost single-handedly by opener Craig Williams, who was unbeaten on 70, from 41 deliveries. His innings included five sixes and Namibia romped home with eight wickets and 7.5 overs in hand.Uganda edged past Nigeria by two wickets in a low-scoring game at the Kyambogo Cricket Ground. Choosing to bat Nigeria posted 104 for 6, mainly through a 61-run fifth-wicket stand between Kunle Adegbola and Olajide Bejide. Offspinner Frank Nsubuga was the best of the Uganda bowlers, claiming 2 for 9 in a miserly four-over spell. While most of the Uganda batsmen failed to get going – four were out for ducks – a half-century stand between Arthur Ziraba (who top-scored with 48) and Arthur Kyobe did just enough to get them home. Uganda’s victory came in the 19th over, despite a spirited spell from Adeleke Oyede, in which he took 3 for 9 in 2.1 overs.

Ravi Bopara’s second century of the match and an unbeaten 90 from Alastair Cook put Essex firmly in control of their battle against County Championship leaders Yorkshire at Chelmsford

22-Jul-2010
ScorecardRavi Bopara’s second century of the match and an unbeaten 90 from Alastair Cook put Essex firmly in control of their battle against County Championship leaders Yorkshire at Chelmsford.
After establishing a first-innings lead of 75, they will go into the final day 304 ahead after reaching the close on 229 for 3 second time around.Bopara made 102 in a third-wicket stand of 199 with Cook but both needed the benevolence of Anthony McGrath to prosper. McGrath put down each batsman at second slip. Bopara had made 38 when a straightforward catch was spilled before Cook was reprieved on 68, this time a
far more difficult chance high to his left. Oliver Hannon-Dalby was the luckless bowler on the first occasion before Tim Bresnan was left cursing his misfortune on the second.As he had done in the first innings when making 142, Bopara excelled with some glorious drives either side of the wicket. Both batsmen completed 50 with the aid of seven fours but Bopara needed 32 fewer deliveries to do so – 72 to Cook’s 104.Bopara reached his century from a further 63 balls, by which time he had added a further three fours and three sixes, the last of which, a mighty blow over long on at the expense of Adil Rashid, carried him into three figures. The legspinner, however, was to extract his revenge soon afterwards when Bopara was bowled trying to cut.Although more circumspect, Cook was still quick to seize upon the opportunity to punish the loose delivery as he reached the close on the brink of his first century for Essex at first-class level since 2007. He had so far hit 13 boundaries in an innings spanning 172 deliveries.Earlier Yorkshire, resuming on 227 for 5, lost their remaining wickets while adding a further 97 before the innings was brought to a close shortly after lunch. Most of those runs were gathered by Rashid who was left stranded on 52 when last man Hannon-Dalby was run out. Between periods of watchful defence, Rashid laced his innings, which lasted 103 balls, with eight boundaries.Left-arm spinner Tim Phillips claimed two of the remaining wickets, including a return catch to get rid of Bresnan and end an eighth-wicket half-century partnership, to return figures of 4 for 94 from 44 overs. Andy Carter, the fast bowler on loan from Nottinghamshire, provided the main back-up support. His lively and aggressive approach brought him 3 for 77 from 24.1 overs.Essex were soon in trouble when they began their second innings. Jaik Mickleburgh fell to the first ball of the innings, bowled by Bresnan, and Tom Westley suffered a similar fate against Steve Patterson with the total on 15 – but then Bopara and Cook took over.

2023 champions finished bottom in women’s Hundred after losing six out of eight

Valkerie Baynes15-Aug-2024Southern Brave never took control of their Women’s Hundred title defence and must come back stronger next year, head coach Charlotte Edwards says.Brave lost two close games to London Spirit and Manchester Originals either side of a tie with Northern Superchargers to start the season but, apart from their solitary win of the season in a rain-affected clash with Oval Invincibles, they fell away badly.A record of six defeats from eight games was telling, perhaps none more so than a nine-wicket loss to Welsh Fire in their last match, at home on Wednesday.Brave were bowled out for 103, thanks largely to Hayley Matthews’ 4 for 14 and Jess Jonassen’s 3 for 21. Fire then overhauled the target with 26 balls to spare, Matthews sharing an unbroken stand of 72 with Tammy Beaumont, who struck 59 off 40 balls.Related

• How Edwards steered Brave to a third straight final

• Goswami: 'Franchise leagues are the future of women's cricket'

• Powerplay: Goswami on the club vs country debate

• Fire through to Hundred final as Matthews stars with bat and ball

• Invincibles through to eliminator as nervy win knocks Rockets out

Fire’s direct route to Sunday’s final at Lord’s was confirmed a few hours later, with Oval Invincibles unable to better their net run-rate in beating Trent Rockets by five wickets. That left Invincibles to face London Spirit in Saturday’s eliminator, and Southern Brave to pick over an underwhelming campaign.”The start was particularly hard because we played well and we didn’t win,” Edwards told ESPNcricinfo. “And then the back four games we probably haven’t played well. When you don’t start the competition as well and then you don’t end it well, you’re probably going to be sat in the position we’re in.”In different games we’ve bowled well or we’ve batted well, but we haven’t put a complete game together and what I’ve learned this season in the Hundred is the teams are getting stronger, the depth in each team is getting more and more and if you’re not quite on it, you’re going to get hurt and lose games of cricket, which we’ve done on a regular basis at the moment.”While the reality of Brave’s failed title defence was still raw, Edwards said a full analysis of what went wrong and how the side could turn that around wouldn’t happen until the end of this year.By that time, she hopes more would be known about the 2025 edition of the tournament, with the ECB seeking private investment ahead of the new season’s start.”We’ll go away and review what we’ve done so far, areas we need to improve, areas that we’ve done really well. I think that’s important, because it’s easy to gloss over those,” she said. “I won’t try to be too emotional and get involved in that right now but the bottom line is we need to be better than we were this year.”Edwards, who will coach Hampshire’s Tier 1 team in the top level of the restructured women’s domestic competition next year, has had her contract with Sydney Sixers extended for another two WBBL seasons.And she is certain she wants to continue as coach at Southern Brave and Mumbai Indians, who failed to defend their WPL title this year when they were eliminated by eventual champions Royal Challengers Bangalore.Edwards addresses her team in the huddle•ECB via Getty Images

“I think I’m out of contract today [Wednesday] with the Brave, so hopefully they’ll re-sign me and it hasn’t gone too badly this year,” she said. “And at Mumbai, I’ll be hopefully looking to re-sign there.”It’s a great time to be involved as a player and as a coach. I’ve loved my time in India, hopefully looking to renegotiate that contract but we’ll have to wait and see.”Edwards also backed calls by Jhulan Goswami, her Mumbai Indians bowling coach, on ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast for franchise leagues to be protected by exclusive windows to avoid clashing with bilateral series, as happened with the WPL and England’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year. Another scheduling conflict looms later this year with the closing stages of the WBBL overlapping with England’s tour of South Africa.”It has to be three windows for me and that’s WPL, Hundred and WBBL,” Edwards said. “They’re the three biggest comps. That’s no disrespect to all the other comps, but I think they’re the three biggest comps in women’s cricket. They’re so important for the growth of the game.”I’m absolutely certain that with three comps that only last a month each, there’s nine months of the year to play international cricket. That certainly would be my recommendation, because we want the best players playing international cricket and we want the best players playing franchise cricket. It’s a no-brainer for me.”

Brothers put on 118-run stand to give south Londoners spoils on derby night at Lord’s

ECB Reporters Network25-May-2023The Curran brothers Sam and Tom put Middlesex’s bowlers to the sword as Surrey won the T20 Blast London derby at Lord’s by 77 runs.Sam, who’d hot-footed it back to London from an underwhelming stint at the IPL with Punjab Kings, took out his frustration on the Seaxes with 68 off 47 balls, including two big sixes in Surrey’s total of 199 for 6. Tom, playing these days under a white-ball only contract, was if anything even more belligerent with 50 off 33 balls with eight fours as the siblings added 118 in 11 overs. Will Jacks earlier blasted a quickfire 43.Three wickets in the final over for Tom Helm gave him 3 for 38, while left-arm spinner Nathan Fernandes took 1 for 27 from three overs on debut.Jacks then starred with ball in hand, returning 3 for 17, backed up by Gus Atkinson’s 3 for 20 as the hosts could only muster 126 in reply despite some defiant striking by Max Holden who top scored with 43.Jacks, who had made two swashbuckling half-centuries in his last three innings against Middlesex at Lord’s in the format, came out swinging from ball one and while he played and missed at a few the England man took heavy toll of a full toss from Helm, belting it back past the bowler for four.Teenager Fernandes, thrown on in the powerplay, struck second ball when pinch-hitter Sunil Narine hit him straight to cover, but Jacks sent two drag-downs from legspinner Luke Hollman into the stands, before a brilliant catch by Helm on the fence at long-on ended his revelry.The Currans’ progress was steady initially, but the 12th over bowled by Ryan Higgins changed the complexion as Tom Curran dispatched the allrounder to all parts, hitting five fours in succession. Not to be upstaged Sam Curran then cut loose, denting Fernandes’s excellent figures to that point with consecutive sixes.Blake Cullen, back on Middlesex first-team duty for the first time in more than a year, was rusty and his 11-ball over, including a waist-high full toss and four wides only added to Surrey’s momentum.The 100-stand came in 56 balls, and we were in the penultimate over by the time Tom top-edged a steepling catch back to grateful bowler Higgins. Sam, too, left before the end as the south Londoners finished one shy of 200.For Middlesex much depended on skipper Stephen Eskinazi, but he departed for just 1, run out following a mix-up from the fourth ball of the innings.The exciting Joe Cracknell deposited a short one from Sean Abbot into the second tier of the Mound Stand only to perish trying to repeat the feat meaning both openers were gone with 27 on the board.Pieter Malan, back from injury, also found the stands before departing to Atkinson for a breezy 30, and Jacks then struck twice in his first over, removing the dangerous Higgins, caught at mid-off before bowling Hollman round his legs.Throughout this period Holden had hit bravely, smiting two big sixes at a strike rate approaching 200, but when Narine bowled him for 43 the game was up.

She is serving pre-tournament quarantine because of her delayed arrival after the birth of her first child

Annesha Ghosh02-Mar-2022South Africa opener Lizelle Lee has been ruled out of the team’s opening match of the ODI World Cup against Bangladesh on March 5 in Dunedin.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Lee, the 2021 ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year and South Africa’s most explosive batter, is currently serving a mandatory pre-tournament quarantine at the New Zealand government’s Managed Quarantine and Isolation (MIQ) facility after a pre-arranged delayed arrival in the country following the birth of her first child. She will link up with the South African squad this weekend and will hence miss the fixture against Bangladesh on Saturday.Lee is understood to have arrived in New Zealand last weekend, more than two weeks after other members of the South African touring party landed and entered quarantine at MIQ. The delay in Lee’s arrival in New Zealand is down to an arrangement facilitated by the ICC, Cricket South Africa (CSA), the South Africa Cricketers’ Association (SACA) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) following a months-long liaison among them and Lee, who had requested CSA for a delayed departure so she could spend time with her wife, Tanja Cronje, who gave birth to their son on February 22.”Look, it’s a tough one,” Lee told ESPNcricinfo in an interview in January when asked what juggling cricket and the impending birth of her child might look like for her leading into the World Cup. “Our baby is due no later than February 25. I’m trying everything in my power to try get a later flight to New Zealand for the World Cup because I really want to be there at the birth and not only being at the birth, but just being there the few weeks before trying to help Tanja with everything that’s going on. I mean it’s not going to be easy for her doing anything alone.”I know, things are bit hard at the moment because of Covid and I know they want everybody to try and fly in on the same time, but it’s just different circumstances; it’s not like I’m trying to stay home just to stay home. It’s literally the birth of our first child. Hopefully, the ICC and New Zealand can accommodate that and I know CSA is backing me as well, they’re already trying from their side.”It’s a tough decision deciding where I’m going to either stay, maybe skip the World Cup, or I don’t know. My family is extremely important to me and, like I said, it’s our first child and I don’t want to miss out and I want to give my best for South Africa at the World Cup as well.”Lee, placed sixth on the ICC rankings for ODI batters following her recent dominance at No. 1, had missed South Africa’s home series against West Indies, too, in January-February having been grounded by Covid-19.South Africa, semi-finalists in the 2017 ODI World Cup, play their second match on March 11 against Pakistan, in Mount Maunganui. They lost both their warm-ups: against India by two runs and England by six wickets in a rain-curtailed fixture.

Fifteen others from a training camp held in BKSP are symptomatic

Mohammad Isam21-Oct-2020Three Bangladesh Under-19 cricketers have tested positive for Covid-19, while 15 others from a training camp held in BKSP are symptomatic, according to the BCB’s game development manager AEM Kawser. The training camp was being held to help the team prepare for the Under-19 Asia Cup, originally scheduled to be held in the UAE next month. The camp has now been closed and could be held again only next month after further tests.”According to our protocol, we have to isolate everyone who has come into contact with the symptomatic person,” Kawser told the Dhaka-based . “There were a few symptomatic cases so we had to isolate their room-mates, as well as those they did nets with. Our medical team told us that there are three who were found to be positive. We cannot reveal the names, but we have isolated them and those who came in contact with them.”Kawser said that since the Under-19 Asia Cup has been postponed, they are not in a hurry to restart the camp.”We are not running the camp since the Asia Cup has been postponed. In addition there is a bit of risk now, so we have closed the camp and will only start the camp when things improve in November,” he said.The camp had begun on October 1, featuring the 28 cricketers who were selected in the preliminary squad for the U-19 Asia Cup.

Interim team director is positive about the challenge ahead and seems to have an idea about the future of South African cricket

Liam Brickhill15-Aug-2019Enoch Nkwe, South Africa’s interim team director, has long been inspired by the feats of Pep Guardiola, the former Spanish football international who famously coached Barcelona to success while still in his 30s. Nkwe is 36, slightly younger than Guardiola was when he took charge at Barcelona, and is faced with what is as daunting a prospect as winning La Liga: a tour of India.”I understand that it’s going to be a big challenge, but I strongly believe that we can really make an immediate impact,” Nkwe said at the first official press conference of his (albeit temporary) appointment. “And if it doesn’t happen, it’s not going to be the end of the world. There’s always a big picture to everything.”Given South Africa’s recent football-style restructuring of the national men’s side, the comparison between Nkwe and Guardiola is particularly apt. “He’s on another level,” Nkwe said of Guardiola. “I’ve followed his work over the last couple of years. I just enjoy how he really backs his philosophy, his values as a person as a coach, and tries to set new boundaries and break records. That really encourages me, and when I see opportunities like this, it really excites me.”There’s a lot of things you can always learn from different sporting codes. Just watching his growth over the years, having started coaching one of the biggest clubs in the world at the age of 37, it really did motivate me that, if he can do it, it is possible.”Certain things could take a while, and I don’t know how successful we can be in a short period of time, but I believe that we can make a quick turnaround. I strongly believe that we have the players to. But we need to identify the areas that held back the team not to perform to their full potential, and get them to perform as soon as possible.”Time is not something that Nkwe has a lot of right now. In exactly one month, South Africa will play the first match of a tour of India that includes three T20Is and three Tests. He will have to hit the ground running, but he has at least worked with several of the current South Africa players in different circumstances, coaching Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen at the Lions, Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock at the Under-19 level, and Dean Elgar with South Africa A.The interim nature of his role – and indeed, the short-term nature of many roles in CSA’s set-up at the moment – won’t make things any easier for him. There seems to be a lot of uncertainty in South African cricket at the moment, which is perhaps inevitable in times of flux, but the large-scale reshuffles have only added to the confusion over where, exactly, South African cricket is headed. Even team selection was unclear – until today.”I’m also the interim convener of selection,” said CSA’s acting director of cricket, Corrie van Zyl, on Thursday, by way of an explanation as to who would be selecting playing XIs on the India tour. “So I’m acting and interim. And then we have the interim team director as an interim selector. And then we also have the captain, who is not interim, as a selector. So that is currently the selection panel.”South Africa will play three Tests and three T20Is on their tour of India•Getty Images

Nkwe is at least positive about the challenge ahead and seems to have an idea about the future of South African cricket – even if he’s not giving away the details just yet. “Yes [the tour] is going to be a tough one, but there is a big picture,” he said. “More details will come out in the near future with regards to what the big picture is going to be, so that everyone can start understanding what the actual plan is going to be post-cricket World Cup. From my side, it’s very exciting, and I’m looking forward to this trip.”Distancing himself from previous coach Ottis Gibson’s focus on fast bowling, Nkwe drew attention to his playing experience as an allrounder in domestic franchise cricket, saying, “Talking from my experience, as a professional cricketer I was an allrounder, so I’m always open to all departments. That’s how I’ve been leading sides over the years. Really understanding different departments of a team.”But like Gibson, Nkwe’s mandate is simple: win. “The mandate for the national team and Enoch as team director is obviously to win and be successful in India,” van Zyl said. “Very important is that the Test series is the start, for us, of the Test championship, so the mandate can’t be different than getting off to a good start. The appointment of Enoch as interim team director is because CSA believes that he has got the characteristics that can do exactly that.”Nkwe certainly got the Lions to click quickly, guiding them to success in both the CSA 4-Day Series and T20 Challenge during his first season in charge. He also led Jozi Stars to success in the inaugural Mzansi Super League, and has worked in a variety of environments, including in the Netherlands and at the Global T20 Canada.”Wherever you go, whatever environment you get confronted with, there’s always going to be certain challenges,” he said. “The last year has been very meaningful and massive in my own coaching career as a person.”The trip to India, in charge of a team in transition, is an opportunity for the team to thrive, he insisted. “I strongly believe that every challenge is an opportunity for a person to thrive, or the team to thrive. It’s important for us as team management that we create that thriving environment as soon as possible.”

Having cut salaries last year, a now-financially stable SLC has announced a raise of 34%, after posting profits of about USD 13.5 million last year

Andrew Fidel Fernando22-May-2018Having cut salaries last year, a now-financially stable SLC will return player payments to just above their previous levels. Some national players had had their earnings trimmed by as much as 30%, when SLC moved to a performance-based model of remuneration in 2017. But the board has now announced a raise of 34%, after posting profits of about USD 13.5 million last year. Match fees would also be increased for the 2018-19 season, an SLC release said.”Since SLC has made good financial gains during the concluded financial year, we thought it is appropriate to give a pay raise for the players,
as they are making a major contribution towards the growth of Sri Lanka cricket,” board president Thilanga Sumathipala said.Thirty-three top players have received contracts under the new pay scheme, with those players split into five tiers. The highest per-match earners will be ODI captain Angelo Mathews, Test captain Dinesh Chandimal, and seniors Rangana Herath, Dimuth Karunaratne and Suranga Lakmal, having received ‘Category A’ contracts. T20 captain Thisara Perera, meanwhile, has been awarded a third-tier ‘Category C’ contract.The notable exception from previous years’ contract list is Lasith Malinga, who has not been picked to play for Sri Lanka since September last year. Although he has repeatedly stated his availability for Sri Lanka, and has also played in domestic T20 competitions, the selectors, and now the board, have ignored him.Sixteen players, many of whom are either on the fringe of the national team, or even those being strongly considered for selection (such as Lahiru Thirimanne), have been included on the fifth tier of the list. Somewhat confusingly, this is called the “Premier Category”.

Contracts list

Category A: Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Rangana Herath, Dimuth Karunaratne, Suranga LakmalCategory B: Upul Tharanga, Dilruwan PereraCategory C: Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Dananjaya De Silva; Kusal Perera, Thisara
PereraCategory D: Akila Danajaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Asela Gunaratne, Danushka Gunathilaka, Nuwan PradeepPremier Category: Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne, Lahiru Gamage, Vishwa Fernando, Lakshan Sadakan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Dasun Shanaka, Kaushal Silva, Shehan Madushanka, Lahiru Kumara, Malinda Pushpakumara, Amila Aponso, Wanidu Hasaranga, Isuru Udana, Dilshan Munaweera.