Al-Amin, Cooper help Barisal defend 135

Barisal Bulls booked a shot at the BPL final after they edged out Dhaka Dynamites by 18 runs in the Eliminator

The Report by Mohammad Isam12-Dec-2015

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Al-Amin Hossain picked up 3 for 15•Dhaka Tribune

Barisal Bulls booked a shot at the BPL final after they edged out Dhaka Dynamites by 18 runs in the Eliminator. Barisal’s efficient bowling made up for their lackluster batting in a contest that was not entirely a nail-biter but had its share of thrills for the packed house in Mirpur.Barisal will now face Rangpur Riders, who were overwhelmed by Comilla Victorians in the first qualifier earlier in the day, in the second qualifier on Sunday.Defending just 135, Barisal’s bowlers did well to cut down the boundaries; from the start of the 13th over till the 17th, they did not allow a single boundary to be hit. In a T20 game being played on a soft wicket, perhaps boundaries are hard to find, but still, Barisal’s discipline was still admirable. Dhaka hardly could force the pace for most of the innings.With 59 required from the last five overs, Kevon Cooper gave away just five runs in the 16th over, but the boundary duck of 20 balls was broken in the following over, when Malcolm Waller carved sixes over cover and point off Mohammad Sami, in between a thick edge past the wicketkeeper. Sami’s over went for 20, leaving Dhaka needing 34 off 18 balls.Mosaddek Hossain’s switch-slog off Taijul went for six, but Waller’s conventional slog sweep was caught at the midwicket boundary. Mosaddek too fell off the last ball of the 18th over, his wild swing caught at point comfortably. It meant Dhaka had lost their last two batting hopes in the same over, with another 26 still required. Cooper then removed Yasir Shah to pick up Dhaka’s eighth wicket and gave away just four runs in the penultimate over.The 22 runs in the final over was a bridge too far for Dhaka, as they bowed out through some jumbled thinking in their batting approach.At the start of their chase, Dhaka sent Abul Hasan to open the batting with Farhad Hossain, becoming the ninth opening batsman for them in the competition. Hasan struck two fours but could not really up the ante, falling for 11 off 14 balls in the fourth over. Mohammad Hafeez’s miserable time with the bat continued, this time falling to a catch at midwicket for 1 in the sixth over.Farhad Reza soldiered on for a run-a-ball 20, until he too was dismissed in the eighth over, caught behind chasing a wide one from Al-Amin Hossain. The required run-rate kept rising and Dhaka got a reprieve when wicketkeeper Rony Talukdar dropped a tough chance off Nasir Hossain’s thin edge in the ninth over. But Al-Amin got one to bounce awkwardly at Kumar Sangakkara, who popped a catch back to the bowler, as Barisal celebrated a big wicket near the 10-over mark. Dhaka had lost their captain and best batsman with 84 runs needed from 60 balls.Nasir was Al-Amin’s third scalp, caught by Mahmudullah in the 14th over as the seamer ended his spell by giving away just 15 runs in his four overs.Earlier, it was the Dhaka bowlers Nasir, Mustafizur Rahman, Yasir and Nabil Samad who combined well to keep Barisal to 135 for 5 in 20 overs. Barisal failed to take advantage of a 70-run second-wicket stand between Chris Gayle and Nasir , as the remaining batsmen to struggled to score with the same intensity.Sabbir joined Gayle at the end of the first over after Talukdar was caught at long-on for four. Gayle blasted Mosaddek for two fours and a six in the second over before Sabbir hammered Abul Hasan for two sixes and a four in the sixth over. Thereafter, Sabbir struck three fours in the next three overs while Gayle slowed down. Gayle was eventually undone by a late inswinger from Mustafizur, falling for a 19-ball 31 that had four fours and two sixes.Sabbir fell soon after, caught at long-off for 41 off 39 balls with three fours and three sixes. His wicket allowed the Dhaka bowlers to take control. Mehedi Maruf fell leg-before for 10 in the 16th over before Mahmudullah opened up with three fours in the 18th and final overs. He fell off the innings’ penultimate ball, caught at short midwicket for 37 off 33 balls with four fours. Mahmudullah’s bigger contribution, though, was his calm leadership on the field, as Barisal held on to keep their tournament alive.

Taylor, Cowan, Gurney set up Notts

Harry Gurney’s hat-trick and runs for James Taylor and Ed Cowan put Notts in a position to press for victory on day four at Hove

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Hove02-Jun-2013
ScorecardHarry Gurney took his maiden hat-trick in first-class cricket•Getty Images

If there is a formula for the perfect pitch, then there’s a good chance that Hove’s head groundsman, Andy Mackay, has found it. Regardless of how this game ends up – and it could well be a draw, with Nottinghamshire taking a lead of 354 into the final day – the surface on which both sides have battled for the first three days has given them the opportunity and incentive to play some high quality, attacking cricket. Perhaps the best part of it is at the Sea End.Harry Gurney was first to reap rewards bowling into it, as he took a maiden first-class hat-trick to bring the Sussex innings to a close, before Chris Jordan bent his pack to produce a blistering spell of short bowling that snared James Taylor, Samit Patel and Steven Mullaney. Chris Nash then got one to shake, rattle and roll out of the foot marks.But Ed Cowan and Taylor’s 151 partnership for the third wicket, and an unbeaten run-a-ball 56 from Paul Franks – which included two lavish extra-cover drives off Magoffin coming in from the Cromwell Road End – showed that runs can still be scored.Sussex’s early progress towards Nottinghamshire’s total was nipped in the bud, first by the ungainly run out of Jordan, and then by Gurney, who hacked off the tail in three blows. He tempted Ben Brown into a flamboyant waft with a short and wide delivery, before bringing his length forward, tightening his line and getting enough away movement to find the outside edge of James Anyon and then Monty Panesar.It was the first hat-trick for a Nottinghamshire bowler since Charlie Shreck performed the feat against Middlesex in 2006 and gave Gurney four wickets in the match, and saw them take a lead of 50 into their second innings.But when Alex Hales departed for a golden duck to Magoffin, who then tied down Michael Lumb before getting him to push at one that slid across him – the catch taken by a diving Brown – Sussex sensed there was an opening for them to exploit.The way the game had been progressing, it looked like only a major gaffe could separate the two sides. But Ed Cowan and James Taylor made sure this was not it, as they guided their side into lunch without any further damage.In the afternoon session they began extending the lead with the sort of calculated determination you would associate with both these players. Both Taylor and Cowan can be filed under “gritty”, but it’s their intelligence that turns that grittiness into runs and, together, they blunted the Sussex attack. Once their partnership had moved into three figures they manoeuvred the field well and tested the resolve of the fielders, who had to constantly readjust after each single, as the pair exploited their left-right combination.Taylor was quick to pounce on even the smallest shortening of length from Jordan – shifting his weight onto the back foot and whipping his hands through the shot. It would end up bringing about his demise after tea, on 97 – the second time he has fallen on this score this season – as Jordan produced a delivery with a bit of extra zip. But he could be forgiven for going for the stroke given the number he had played successfully in that general direction, one of which included a maximum off the same bowler.Cowan, still searching for his first Championship hundred of the campaign, came as close as he has done so far, reaching 81 before under-edging Nash’s gentle offspin onto his stumps. He cut a forlorn figure as he traipsed off but he has played a vital role in setting up this game for his side. One mistimed hook aside – even that went for six – his shots carried little to no risk and, when it looked like he was perhaps being too respectful, he made James Anyon’s ninth over his own with a trio of cracking fours.Franks’ end of day theatrics has put the game in Nottinghamshire’s hands, but with just one wicket remaining and the forecast set to allow a full day’s play, it would be foolish to rule out a home win. All thanks to you, Mr Mackay.

Gillespie hails Yorkshire patience

Four days after Ajmal Shahzad’s shock departure, Yorkshire have something to cheer about. They are celebrating a first win of 2012, completing an innings and 22-run success against Leicestershire in the final session

Graham Hardcastle05-May-2012
ScorecardThere were stages during the final day at Scarborough when Yorkshire looked like suffering a nightmare week as Leicestershire’s opener Matthew Boyce scored a career-best 122 in a valiant bid to snatch unlikely. But, four days after Ajmal Shahzad’s shock departure, Yorkshire have something to cheer about.They are celebrating a first win of 2012, completing an innings and 22-run success in the latter stages of the penultimate session. Steve Patterson returned an innings haul of 5 for 77 and career best match figures of 8 for 94 as Yorkshire won for only the fourth time in 22 four-day matches.Shahzad was accused of failing to conform to the team ethos by chairman Colin Graves at Thursday’s press conference, a fast bowler who did not see his role in the side as the man to build pressure by racking up the maidens and “owning the zone” as his former captain, Andrew Gale, likes to say. In other words, he lacks patience and wants to make things happen.Patience was just the virtue Yorkshire required here after some ferocious weather on day three – rain, bad light and even sleet all halted play on Friday – had put their celebrations on hold.”We saw there was a massive issue earlier in the week, which we dealt with – we move on now,” said Yorkshire’s first-team coach Jason Gillespie, who oversaw his first win in charge of the county. “There’s massive unity here, and the result speaks for itself. There is a real strength of belief in that dressing room tonight.”There was a feeling of inevitability about a Yorkshire win this morning, which Boyce eroded minute by minute, run by run. He shared century stands for the fourth and sixth wickets with Josh Cobb and Wayne White, who scored 69 and 67 respectively. As Cobb and White counter-attacked with some eye-catching stroke play, the latter lofting Joe Root over long-on for six just after lunch, Boyce was in accumulative mood and happy to underpin the innings.Boyce, a left-handed opener with an open stance, was at his strongest driving square of the wicket in posting his fourth first-class century and his first since last May. When he reached three figures off 250 balls – the slowest century in English first-class cricket this summer in terms of balls faced – Leicestershire were 252 for 5 in the 86th over, trailing by 79 runs with 50 overs left in the day. They had a glimmer of hope.Anthony McGrath, however, got rid of White caught and bowled before Ryan Sidebottom struck twice with successive deliveries in the 94th over when he trapped Robbie Joseph lbw and yorked Boyce, leaving the score at 284 for 7. Adil Rashid and Patterson polished off the tail inside another ten overs.”It was a real challenge for us today because a couple of their lads got stuck in,” said Gillespie. “I thought Boyce was excellent. He played a really good innings as well as Cobb and Wayne White chipping in. But the most pleasing thing was that the lads stuck to their game plan. We were patient and kept building the pressure. We knew that if we stayed diligent then the chances would arrive.”Just as Yorkshire were wrapping up the win, their new overseas fast bowler Mitchell Starc was due to land in the UK ahead of his initial five-week spell as their overseas player. The 22 year-old Australia left-arm quick will make his debut against Gloucestershire at Bristol next week, where he could link up with Tim Bresnan, who bowled only 27 overs in the match as he eased himself carefully back into the season.”I’ve spoken to Andy Flower and Geoff Miller, and there’s a chance we might have Tim playing just to get some more bowling,” confirmed Gillespie.

Cape Town to host two Tests in 2011-12

Cape Town will host two Test matches in the South African summer, CSA announced on Friday

Firdose Moonda06-May-2011Cape Town will host two Test matches in the South African summer, CSA announced on Friday. The 2011-12 season sees South Africa play host to Australia and Sri Lanka.
Australia will play only two Tests, one in Cape Town and one in Johannesburg, instead of the usual three, two Twenty20 internationals and three ODIs in a shortened tour in October and November.Sri Lanka, who have not visited South Africa since 2002, will play three Tests and five ODIs over December and January with the Christmas and New Year’s Tests remaining at their traditional homes of Durban and Cape Town.”Unfortunately time constraints prevent us from playing more than two Tests against Australia this time around,” CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said. “The aim is to play a four-match Test series when Australia next tour in February and March of 2014. This will make up for the extra Test not being played on this year’s tour.”Despite the culling of a Test from the series, Majola said that “Test cricket remains in our view the ultimate pinnacle of the game.” South Africa were thought to have reduced the number of Tests because of their domestic teams’ participation in the Champions League T20, but on Wednesday, Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the CLT20 was “not a point of discussion” when the fixtures were confirmed.The ODIs against Sri Lanka will be spread over the country’s smaller venues with Paarl, East London, Bloemfontein and Kimberley all hosting a match. The series will culminate in Johannesburg on January 22, before South Africa head to New Zealand.South Africa were toying with the idea of hosting West Indies for an ODI series in late January but the fixtures were not compulsory according to the current Future Tours Programme that runs to completion in April 2012. That series looks unlikely given the schedule.

Australia return to the unknown

Since their first-round exit in last year’s World Twenty20, Australia have undergone a significant rebuild

Peter English01-May-2010

Overview

Dependable and destructive: Cameron White•Getty Images

Since their first-round exit in last year’s World Twenty20, Australia have undergone a significant rebuild and installed Michael Clarke as their full-time leader. The changes have led to hope of a strong performance but, unlike in the Test and one-day arenas, they don’t really know what to expect in the Caribbean.Cameron White, Dirk Nannes, David Hussey, David Warner and Shaun Tait are some of the limited-overs experts who are now highly rated in the squad while Steven Smith and Daniel Christian provide some youth. Clarke, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin bring the experience of productive careers in all three genres.Australia have appeared in 29 T20 internationals, including 15 wins and 12 losses, and should enter the event on a high after being unbeaten at home and in New Zealand during 2009-10. However, they were set back by a tight loss to Zimbabwe in their opening warm-up, which was a familiar result.They were upset by the same team in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007 and their problems with slow starts continued at the 2009 tournament when they were beaten by West Indies and Sri Lanka. “It will be critical for us that we hit the ground running,” the coach Tim Nielsen said. Already they need to turn things around for the first match against Pakistan on Sunday.

Twenty20 pedigree

Twenty20 is Australia’s worst format and the greatest concern is they don’t really know how to be the best. Most of the players are still learning how to master the tactics, although the selectors have finally relied on an impressive batch of specialists with considerable IPL and Big Bash experience. The national side has appeared in a lot of Twenty20s – nine more than India and 15 more than Bangladesh – but most of their main men don’t get a go in the domestic tournaments due to international commitments.

Strengths and weaknesses

Depending on the day, the fast-bowling attack can be the most frightening weapon or the place to attack. If Tait, Johnson and Nannes are on song life will be almost impossible for the batsmen. If they are loose they will be expensive on the smaller Caribbean grounds. Things might have been worse for the opposition if Brett Lee hadn’t been ruled out on the eve of the tournament with a forearm injury.

Key men

Shaun Tait helped win Australia a World Cup the last time he was in the Caribbean, taking 23 wickets at 20.30. Over the past two years his body and mind have restricted him to limited-overs affairs, where he can bowl a handful of overs at full pace. He has already clocked 160kph this year and is a severe threat whenever operating near his peak. David Warner has become a brutal Twenty20 specialist and has an essential role at the top of the order. While Shane Watson can show his muscle, Warner is the man capable of racing along at two runs a ball without feeling like he’s out of control. In 13 matches with Australia he has a strike-rate of 155.32 and if he fires Australia’s chances improve significantly.

X-factor

It still feels a bit strange saying it, but in this set-up Cameron White is a senior figure. Over the past year he has turned from a fringe limited-overs figure into a vice-captain who is dependable and destructive. With the bat he can add steel or power and when he hits cleanly no ground is big enough. In his previous T20 international he crunched 64 off 26 balls in a barely believable display.

Vital stats

  • Shaun Tait and Nathan Hauritz are the only players in Australia’s squad with a batting strike-rate below Michael Clarke’s 108.83
  • In his entire Twenty20 career, Dirk Nannes has played 62 games and taken 84 wickets at an average of 18.89. That makes him the fifth-most successful wicket-taker and he was second on the 2009 list
  • Australia’s T20 winning percentage of 55.35% puts them in sixth spot overall
  • Surrey close in on home quarter-final with rain-affected win over Kent

    The South Group leaders overcame a nervy finish to make it seven wins from 10

    ECB Reporters Network07-Jul-2024 Surrey 103 for 5 (Evans 25, Stewart 2-24) beat Kent 81 for 3 (Khushi 35, Topley 2-27) by 5 runs DLSSouth Group leaders Surrey held their nerve in a tense finish to beat Kent Spitfires by five runs in a rain-shortened Vitality Blast contest at the Kia Oval.Surrey, put in and with an unfamiliar batting line-up, did well to reach 103 for 5 from 10 overs after play finally got underway two hours and 25 minutes late.And then more rain, arriving just as Kent were about to start their reply, left them needing 87 from eight overs under the Duckworth/Lewis calculations.Despite late hitting from Feroze Khushi, who made 35, and Sam Billings, who swept Reece Topley for six in a seventh over costing 20 and in which Khushi also bludgeoned a six over long on, Kent could only finish on 81 for 3.It was Surrey’s seventh win from ten games, but Kent have now lost seven of their first ten group games and look to be dropping out of contention for a top-four finish and a quarter-final place.There were several decisive moments in a fast and furious affair, the first a brilliant fourth over from leg-spinner Cameron Steel in which he conceded only four runs and also bowled the dangerous Tawanda Muyeye for 22.Muyeye hit Dan Worrall for a slashed four and a superb lofted six to long on in the second over, but Jordan Clark allowed only six runs from the third over, and then Steel’s fine over left Kent on 29 for two with half their innings gone.Khushi smashed Chris Jordan over long on for six and Billings hit the Surrey captain, returning alongside Topley from England’s T20 World Cup campaign, for four over mid off to keep Kent in the hunt.But Khushi’s dismissal from the final ball of the penultimate over, well held by Steel diving forward at long on, felt like a big momentum swing back to Surrey as it left Kent needing 17 from the last over.Jordan began with a no ball, from which a leg bye was scampered, but new batsman Tom Rogers could only dig out a yorker from the free hit opportunity and, although he cut Jordan away for four from the next ball, he and Billings (14 not out) could not find the boundary again as Jordan’s accuracy under pressure closed out the game.The other decisive moment in the match came right at the end of the Surrey innings when they were 94 for five with just one ball remaining to be bowled.Up to then, and despite two offside wides, Grant Stewart looked to be succeeding in keeping Surrey’s total below 100, but he then sent down a waist-high no ball full toss which Ben Geddes swung away high for six behind square.That brought an extra ball, from which a bye was scampered and, in all, 19 runs came from the over, which had started with Clark crunching an extra cover four before being caught at long off for seven.There were five other sixes in Surrey’s effort, the first two pulled by Laurie Evans off paceman Nathan Gilchrist and off spinner Marcus O’Riordan. Evans, coming in after Ryan Patel had departed in the first over, skying Stewart to keeper Billings after one lovely off-driven four, made a punchy 25 before he hit O’Riordan to long off.Dom Sibley muscled Matt Parkinson’s leg spin for six over long on in his 20, which ended to a catch at deep mid wicket off Joey Evison, while Jordan pulled the medium pacer for six and Rory Burns produced a remarkable swept maximum off Gilchrist.Jordan mishit Gilchrist high to mid off to go for 14 and Burns finished 11 not out as he and Geddes, who was unbeaten on seven, saw Surrey to a total that proved – just – to be defendable.Kent saw Daniel Bell-Drummond fall for a duck to the second ball of their reply, hitting Topley high to deep square leg where 19-year-old debutant Ollie Sykes held the catch.

    Chennai Super Kings sign Akash Singh as injured Mukesh Choudhary's replacement

    Akash has played nine T20s so far, picking up seven wickets at an economy rate of 7.87

    ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2023Chennai Super Kings left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary has been sidelined from the entire IPL 2023 with a stress fracture of the back. Nagaland left-arm seamer Akash Singh, who has played for Rajasthan Royals in the past, has been signed as a like-for-like replacement.Choudhary’s injury is the latest blow to the Super Kings attack that is already without New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson, who has also been ruled out of the entire season with a back injury. Super Kings will also be without the Sri Lankan pair of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana, who will link up with the franchise only after the end of Sri Lanka’s six-match white-ball series in New Zealand on April 8.Choudhary was one of the finds of the last IPL season, emerging as the team’s joint-highest wicket-taker, with 16 strikes in 13 games at an economy rate of 9.31. Eleven of those wickets came in the powerplay, the joint-most by any bowler during this phase in the tournament.Related

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    Akash, who was unsold at the auction, will join Super Kings at his base price of INR 20 lakh. In all, he has played nine T20s so far, picking up seven wickets at an economy rate of 7.87. He made his T20 debut for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2019 before helping India Under-19s to a runners-up finish in the 2020 World Cup in South Africa. He had moved from Rajasthan to Nagaland ahead of the 2022-23 domestic season.

    PCA to appear before Parliament in wake of Azeem Rafiq's 'inept' claims

    Fourth appearance for cricket at DCMS hearing in as many months

    ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2022The Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) has been called to give evidence next week to the parliamentary select committee looking into allegations of institutional racism in English cricket.The session, which is due to take place on Tuesday, comes in the wake of Azeem Rafiq’s emotional testimony to the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee in November, in which he laid bare his experiences as a Yorkshire player between 2008 and 2017, and claimed that, ultimately, “he had lost his career to racism”.In the course of that evidence, Rafiq also pointed the finger at the PCA, accusing them of being “incredibly inept”, and adding that their response to his claims of suicidal feelings – later expressed in an interview with ESPNcricinfo – had been an exercise in “box-ticking”.”The PCA kept telling me when the report comes out, they would support me,” Rafiq told the hearing. “Once it did, they said we have no powers, we can just push the ECB. An organisation that should have been there for me and supported me left me to fight on my own.”The PCA is set to be represented by James Harris, the current Glamorgan allrounder who is also the union’s chair, alongside Anuj Dal, the vice-chair, Julian Metherell, the non-executive chair, and Rob Lynch, the chief executive. It will be the fourth time that representatives of English cricket, including the recreational game, will have appeared before the DCMS committee in as many months.Last month’s appearance by county chairman was notable for the controversial claim, voiced by Middlesex’s chairman Mike O’Farrell, that Black people are more interested in football than cricket, and that Asian players put more focus on education than sport when they reach Academy level.Related

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    O’Farrell’s comments were widely condemned for perpetuating stereotypes, including by Rafiq and Ebony Rainford-Brent, the former England cricketer and founder of the African-Caribbean Engagement (ACE) Programme, which helps to address the 75% decline in participation in the Black community.The situation at Yorkshire has escalated since the last DCMS hearing, amid allegations from Robin Smith, the former club chairman, that November’s appointment of Lord Kamlesh Patel as chair was unconstitutional. Following the cancellation this week of the club’s EGM, Lord Patel hit back, stating that Yorkshire’s bid to overturn its suspension from major-match status was at the mercy of individuals who believe the club is being “sacrificed on the altar of Black Lives Matter”.Addressing the issue on Friday during a press briefing at Lord’s, Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, said: “We had a board meeting on Tuesday and a delegation came down from Yorkshire to give us a very comprehensive presentation on the progress that Lord Patel and his team have made in the very short time that they have been in charge of YCCC.”The only reflection I would have on the stuff overnight – and believe it or not I haven’t spent a lot of time looking at it because there’s been a few other things going on – but I would just reflect on a broader note that any suggestion that there is not a problem with racism in Yorkshire is a cause for great concern.”

    Crisis in South Africa: No clarity on task team details after CSA-SASCOC meeting

    Government body also wants cricket board to make public the forensic report used to sack Thabang Moroe as CEO

    Firdose Moonda15-Sep-2020The details of the task team that will look into Cricket South Africa’s administrative and financial affairs remain a mystery despite CSA meeting with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) on Monday evening.The meeting took place four days after SASCOC instructed CSA’s board and executive to stand down after nine months of what SASCOC called “maladministration and malpractice,” which demanded the mother body’s intervention.SASCOC is a legislatively-created body under which all South African sports federations operate. It wrote to the ICC at the weekend to clarify that its involvement in CSA does not constitute government interference.SASCOC has stressed that it hopes to work with CSA’s Members’ Council – the body made up of the 14 provincial presidents which holds the highest decision-making authority in CSA – despite the Members’ Council opting out of a meeting with SASCOC last Friday. Instead, CSA held a joint sitting of the Board and Members’ Council at the weekend and met SASCOC on Monday.CSA called the meeting “a step forward towards a collaborative approach in the interest of good governance and executive operations.” SASCOC was unavailable for comment. Any hope of obtaining further detail was stymied the three representatives from the CSA members’ council were due to address the media on Tuesday but the briefing has been pushed back to Thursday, and is scheduled to be a joint affair with SASCOC.It is still not clear whether the task team will be finalised by then, even though SASCOC told ESPNcricinfo on Friday that they would announce the members of the task team imminently. The task team is crucial because it could decide who is in charge of cricket in South Africa until such time as SASCOC’s inquiry into CSA is complete. SASCOC had initially budgeted a period of one month to complete its investigations.In the meanwhile, CSA’s forensic report, which it used to dismiss former CEO Thabang Moroe, has still not been made fully available to the Members’ Council who saw a high-level summary at the weekend. SASCOC and South Africa’s sports ministry have also demanded to see the report in full, and SASCOC have rejected CSA’s invitation to view the report after signing a non-disclosure agreement, believing the report should be made public.

    Marnus Labuschagne knock keeps Glamorgan unbeaten as match with Sussex is drawn

    Nick Selman falls one short of century as Glamorgan withstand Luke Wells five-for

    ECB Reporters Network30-May-2019Marnus Labuschagne made a career-best 182 to help Glamorgan maintain their unbeaten record in the Specsavers County Championship as they drew with Sussex at Hove.The Australian reeled off his third Championship century since joining the county at the start of the season as he posted a new county record of 291 for the second wicket with Nick Selman, who was out for 99.After their departures, wickets fell regularly with leg-spinner Luke Wells finishing with a career-best 5 for 63 as Glamorgan were eventually bowled out for 466 just after tea. That left Sussex 27 overs to score 233 at 8.03 runs an over.Sussex had nothing to lose but Phil Salt, the one batsman who could have given them hope of chasing their unlikely target, was caught off the splice when Marchant de Lange dropped short. Wells and Harry Finch took their score to 47 for 1 when the players shook hands on a draw with 14 overs remaining.Glamorgan had begun the final day on 218 for 1 and Labuschagne and Selman quickly passed Glamorgan’s previous second-wicket record of 252, set by Matt Maynard and David Hemp against Northamptonshire in Cardiff in 2002.Labuschagne batted for just under five hours until he got a thin under-edge to wicketkeeper Ben Brown to give Wells his first wicket. He hit 31 fours and faced 244 balls.Selman had played the sheet anchor role to perfection but, within touching distance of his hundred, he was leg before to a full-length delivery just after David Wiese had taken the new ball. Selman, who had carried his bat in Glamorgan’s first innings, batted for 343 minutes, faced 252 balls and hit ten fours.Sussex claimed two more wickets before lunch. Billy Root edged Mir Hamza to slip and Wiese got some extra bounce and Kieran Carlson was caught behind.But any hopes they had of ending Glamorgan’s innings quickly disappeared in a flurry of attacking shots from Dan Douthwaite, who struck ten fours in making 63 off 55 balls, the first 50 coming off just 34 deliveries. He lost David Lloyd when Wells returned to the attack and turned one past his bat but Douthwaite had lodged his Championship best when he edged Wells to Brown.The lead was 182 at that stage but Glamorgan’s last three wickets added a further 50 runs with Tom Cullen finishing unbeaten on 28. Graham Wagg was taken at short fine-leg off a top-edged sweep at Danny Briggs before Wells completed his five-for after tea with de Lange and Timm van der Gugten both lbw playing back.Sussex took 13 points from the match and Glamorgan eight.

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