Following excellent home series against Pakistan and India, Dhammika Prasad has become the Sri Lanka pace attack’s new leader.

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Oct-2015Dhammika Prasad once rode the Sri Lanka fast bowlers’ injury carousel. He would come into international contention briefly, play one or two Tests, then disappear into the shadows with another ailment only to be replaced by the next quick who would play for a little while before fading out of view.Last year Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal were Sri Lanka’s best fast bowlers. In 2015, they’ve each been ruled out through a litany of complaints, or usurped during the months they spent out of the match.In the meantime, Prasad has found a way to exit the carousel. Following excellent home series against Pakistan and India, he has become the pace attack’s new leader. Perhaps the most impressive thing is that he has now played in each of Sri Lanka’s last 11 Tests – a sequence that goes back to August last year. Having come through this stretch in one piece, Prasad has set himself new goals.”My main target used to be to stay fit, but thankfully I don’t have problems with that now,” Prasad said. “Now I have other targets. At the moment, out of the Sri Lankan quicks, Chaminda Vaas has the highest number of wickets. Behind him are Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando, who have around 100 wickets. I think I should get the chance to go past them and become the second-highest wicket-taker out of the Sri Lankan quicks. That’s something I’ve set for myself.”Prasad is currently at 70 wickets, and though his overall average is 37.51, he has taken is 36 wickets at 26.41 this year. That excellent run, he said, had to do with building rhythm during his long stretch in the Test team, which he thanks the SLC physios and trainers for.”It came to a point when I had a chat with the team physio and the team trainer and analysed my previous injuries to work out the weaknesses in my body,” Prasad said. “We then tailored exercises for me, which I started to use in the gym and training sessions.”I used to struggle a lot with my hamstring and my back and my side. So when I got a programme that was tailored to me and my body type, that helped a lot. Before I just lifted weights. That’s what you think the gym is for. But only when I sat down and talked about this with them that I realised that you need to do specific exercises geared towards cricket and fast bowling. So that’s what I am doing.”Working with Champaka Ramanayake, who was reappointed bowling coach following the World Cup, has also helped, Prasad said.”He’s not a new coach to me at all. Even when I was playing Under-19 cricket, Champaka was coaching me. He knows a lot about me, so it was very easy for me to work with him. We had a partnership, and that helps when I’m trying to sharpen my bowling up.”When I started out, all I was trying to do was bowl fast. With time and experience you work out how to set up a batsman for a dismissal. So those are the things I speak with my coach. He’s always reminding me to be consistent with my lines and lengths and keep stacking those dot balls.”Prasad has recently struck up a partnership with Nuwan Pradeep, whose own bowling has been more successful this year. Pradeep has had injury concerns over the past few months, but they have not upset his bowling, Prasad said.”Nuwan Pradeep has been in very good rhythm recently. When I bowl my over, I really enjoy watching him from the other side of the field. His action and his rhythm is great to look at. I think he’ll be able to go far with the way he’s bowling.”Prasad and Pradeep are both expected to play in the second Test against West Indies at the P Sara Oval beginning on Thursday.

A round-up of the matches in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge 2015-16

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Andre Russell helped keep Dolphins to 82 for 9 with figures of 3 for 15•Getty Images

A dominant bowling performance followed by Theunis de Bruyn’s 42 steered Knights to a comfortable eight-wicket win – their second win of the season – over the Dolphins in a low-scoring game in Port Elizabeth. Andre Russell and Malusi Siboto took three wickets apiece, as Dolphins were restricted to 82 for 9 in 20 overs.Dolphins got off to a horror start after choosing to bat, as they were left reeling at 35 for 5 at the end of the 10th over. They failed to recover from that start as wickets fell regularly – including two run-outs – and substantial partnerships were hard to stitch. Dwayne Bravo, who was the only batsman to score more than 15, top-scored with a 24-ball 23, before he was dismissed by Russell in the final over.In the chase, Knights too were off to a dodgy start, losing both openers within the first three overs. De Bruyn then came in and combined with Aubrey Swanepoel to post an unbeaten 75-run partnership which helped Knights reach their target with eight overs to spare, earning them a bonus-point in the process.
ScorecardA strong batting performance from the Titans top order – headlined by Mangaliso Mosehle’s career-best innings – set up a 40-run victory against Warriors in Port Elizabeth. The margin gave Titans a bonus point and have all but secured their place in the tournament final.The Titans openers Quinton de Kock and Henry Davids put on 71 in 9.1 overs after their captain Albie Morkel chose to bat, laying a strong platform. Though they fell in the space of 13 runs, Mosehle gave the innings stability and momentum by making an unbeaten 65 off 36 balls. Warriors used seven bowlers but only two were able to take a wicket each as Titans finished on 167 for 3.The Warriors chase had a poor start – they lost one opener JJ Smuts with the score on 4 in 2.1 overs, and the other opener David White seven balls later with no addition to the total. When Yaseen Vallie was bowled by Junior Dala, reducing the innings to 8 for 3 in 5.1 overs, there was no coming back from that for Warriors. They slipped further to 49 for 5, and then again from 100 for 5 to 127 all out. Chris Morris had figures of 3 for 15, while Morkel finished with 2-1-2-1.

Mitchell Starc is almost certainly out of the World Twenty20 in India after deciding to undergo surgery for his long-term ankle problems while also recovering from a foot fracture he suffered during the Adelaide Test

Daniel Brettig10-Dec-20151:26

Farrell: Starc absence could force Australia to rethink bowling strategy

Mitchell Starc is almost certainly out of the World Twenty20 in India after deciding to undergo surgery for his long-term ankle problems while also recovering from a foot fracture he suffered during the Adelaide Test.The decision was a difficult one for Starc, who spent several days mulling over the prospect of returning from the foot ailment and continuing to manage his problematic right ankle, which has been afflicted by bone spurs at regular intervals over his career thus far.But his conclusion that it was best to get both issues out of the way at once is a significant blow to Australia’s chances of lifting the only ICC trophy to have eluded them since the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007.”Mitchell met with specialists late last week to get an opinion on his recent foot injury and ongoing right ankle impingement,” the team physio David Beakley said.”After discussions with specialists, and in consultation with Mitchell, we believe the best course of action would be for Mitchell to have the surgery for his ankle impingement now while he is currently laid off with the stress fracture in his foot.”His return to play timeframes will be clearer once the surgery is complete but it is unlikely that he will be available for the ICC World T20.”Starc battled the bone spurs issue three summers ago, notably missing the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka in December 2012 before pushing through to the tour of India.He then had surgery on the problem ahead of the 2013 Champions Trophy and Ashes. However sharp pain returned during the Cardiff Test of this year’s Ashes tour, and while Starc was able to struggle through, the prospect of surgery was always in the back of his mind.

Corey Anderson smashed an unbeaten 82 off 42 balls and picked up two wickets to lead New Zealand to a 95-run win in the third T20 in Wellington

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy22-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:21

Ninety-seven balls, 10 wickets

Corey Anderson limped off the field with 15 overs of the third T20 still remaining, but by then he had done enough to tilt the match, and the series, decisively New Zealand’s way. He had smashed an unbeaten 42-ball 82 to power New Zealand to a total of 196, and by the end of his second over, when he pulled up with cramps, had picked up two wickets to help reduce Pakistan to 36 for 4.A good start is critical in a chase of such magnitude, and Pakistan did not make one. Failing to get on top of a short ball from Trent Boult, Mohammad Hafeez sliced a high catch into the point region. In the next over, Ahmed Shehzad picked out deep square leg while looking to pull Anderson, before Mohammad Rizwan ran himself out hurtling needlessly from his crease. Shoaib Malik struck three sweetly-timed fours off Boult, but the required rate brought out a miscued slog in the next over; Anderson had his second, and New Zealand were firmly on the road to victory.In the end, Anderson was not required to come back onto the field as New Zealand wrapped up the match with close to four overs still remaining. Only two Pakistan batsmen reached double figures as they only just scraped past the 100 mark.This was surely not the finish Pakistan had envisioned when Shahid Afridi chose to bowl after winning the toss. But the portents were clear right from the first ball of the match, which Martin Guptill flat-batted to the cover boundary. Carrying on from where he left off in Hamilton, Guptill tore into Anwar Ali, who replaced Umar Gul in Pakistan’s seam attack, spanking him for another four and a six off the last two balls of the first over.With Guptill in an equally punishing mood against Imad Wasim’s hitherto unhittable left-arm spin, New Zealand reached the half-century mark as early as the start of the fifth over. They could have gotten there earlier, had more if not for Mohammad Amir’s efforts to tie up Kane Williamson at the other end, bowling with pace and giving him no room.Guptill was looking unstoppable until Afridi brought himself on and pulled things back with his skiddy topspinners from just back of a length. He forced Guptill to miscue a slog-sweep and hole out, and gave away only seven runs from his first two overs. In between, a brilliant piece of fielding from Rizwan at midwicket ran out Colin Munro at the non-striker’s end.Not long after, Williamson had holed out off Wahab Riaz, and Ross Taylor had retired hurt with a side strain. But New Zealand still had the momentum, with Anderson already underway with two fours and a six off his first twelve balls.Anderson was not at his most fluent, but his method of clearing his front leg to make swinging room brought him rich dividends whenever anything was pitched in his hitting zone. All four of his sixes flew over the arc between deep midwicket and long-on, with those two fielders made to look like spectators.With the leg-side boundary packed and a sweeper square on the off-side, third man was usually inside the circle. This gave Pakistan’s seamers little margin for error when they tried to fire in the yorker, as Anderson made room, freed his arms, and carved the ball over or wide of that fielder for four of his six fours, with Wahab, who went for 43 in his four overs, receiving special attention for this form of punishment.

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has maintained that the BCCI is not looking for an “escape route” from implementing the Lodha panel recommendations

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-20163:09

‘BCCI not looking for any escape route’

The Supreme Court of India’s ruling on Thursday might have suggested its annoyance with a perceived lack of seriousness on the BCCI’s part in implementing the Lodha committee recommendations, but Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, has insisted the board is following a due process and not dilly-dallying. The Supreme Court has given the BCCI a March 3 deadline to implement the Lodha recommendations or “We will implement it for you”. Thakur didn’t say if the court’s view was acceptable to the board, but maintained the BCCI had not been looking for an “escape route”.The Supreme Court’s latest deadline comes exactly a month after the Lodha committee made the recommendations public. The BCCI has, to date, not spoken about the merits of the report, or its objections, in public or in court. On Thursday, the BCCI submitted that its legal committee was due to meet on February 7, a response the court didn’t like.”We will take an easy way out,” Chief Justice TS Thakur told the BCCI counsel. “We will ask the very same committee to implement it. We will tell them the BCCI has some problems, so please help them in implementing it. We have seen the report. When all the members have been consulted and their views have been taken, what is the problem?”The BCCI secretary couldn’t say what was wrong with the report, but said it was justified for the board to take its time. “We need to understand it is not a one-page report,” Thakur said. “It is a detailed report, which will have a lot of consequences on the working and the functioning of the BCCI. A committee has taken close to 12 months to come up with it. We are taking close to two months to discuss, debate, and after deliberations come to a consensus to implement that report. We are not slow.”When the report came, I wrote a letter to all the state associations to call their meetings. Many state associations have already held their managing-committee or working-committee meetings. They are going to have their special general meetings before the BCCI’s special general meeting in the third week of February. So I think it is a due process. We are not slow at all. We are not shying away. We are not looking at any escape route.”Thakur did betray mild annoyance at the committee’s recommendations. “We believe in transparency and accountability,” Thakur said. “And the last nine months we have proved that the steps taken by BCCI are in the right direction. Certain changes that we have brought in have been applauded by everyone. Justice Lodha has recommended many things. We have requested the state cricket associations to look into that. They are the members of the board, they form the board. So every member has a right to look into the recommendations and come up with their suggestions.”And yes, our legal committee met. We are again going to meet on the 7th. The special general meeting has been called in the third week of February. We have requested the state associations to come up with their suggestions and recommendations before that. It is a due process that we have adopted. And as far as the details on the recommendations of the Lodha panel are concerned, during the next hearing in the Supreme Court we will definitely go and give our view on that.”If you look at the 1983 [World Cup] winners we were unable to give enough money to that team. Thirty years down the line we have done something good, which has paid off. We are one of the best-run boards in the world. It can’t be that everything is wrong in the BCCI. You can’t say that. I think what we have achieved over the last 30-40 years should also be looked at.”

Medium-pacer Deepti Sharma followed up her four-for in the previous game with figures of 6 for 20 to help India Women to a comfortable seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka Women in Ranchi

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2016
ScorecardFile photo – India Women climbed to fourth place on the ICC Women’s Championship points table after the series sweep•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Deepti Sharma, the offspinner, followed up her four-for in the previous game with figures of 6 for 20 to help India Women to a comfortable seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka Women in Ranchi. The victory gave India a clean sweep in the three-match series and pushed them to fourth place on the ICC Women’s Championship points table.Sri Lanka got off to a solid start after opting to bat, with the openers adding 33 before Sharma took two in two to spark a spectacular collapse. Captain Shashikala Siriwardene and Dilani Manodara combined for a 32-run sixth-wicket stand but a cluster of wickets thereafter meant Sri Lanka were bowled out for 112 in 38.2 overs, from a score of 94 for 5. Debutant Preeti Bose returned figures of 8-4-8-2.India’s chase began in shaky fashion, losing Poonam Raut in the first over. Smriti Mandhana was run-out soon after for 6. Veda Krishnamurthy and Sharma, then, set about consolidating the innings. The pair added 70 in 109 balls to take India into the ascendancy before Sharma was stumped for 28. India cruised to the target on the back of Krishnamurthy’s 90-ball 61, with more than 20 overs to spare.

Queensland are looking for a new chief executive, following the sudden resignation of Geoff Cockerill, six months before the conclusion of a three-year contract

Daniel Brettig01-Apr-2016Queensland are looking for a new chief executive, following the sudden resignation of Geoff Cockerill, six months before the conclusion of a three-year contract.The state association has been through some troubled times in recent years, and Cockerill has overseen the use of strategic funding of some $4.05 million handed to Queensland by Cricket Australia, following the rejigging of the Board’s revenue model in 2012. Cockerill’s successor, not expected to be known for some months, will work closely with Kevin Roberts, the CA head of strategy, on building the game in the state.”The business has gone a long way to achieving the type of financial freedom that we had identified as a priority when I started in the role,” Cockerill said. “Whilst that is important, I also take much pleasure in knowing that the groundwork has been laid for a sound transition as Australian cricket embraces the One Team philosophy and implementation that will drive the game to greater heights nationally.”Queensland continues to generate excellent participation numbers as more boys and girls, and men and women join our shared vision of being Australia’s favourite sport, and a sport for all Australians. Strategic funding levels from Cricket Australia have never been higher, and Queenslanders are benefitting from this all around the state. I will look back on this time with pride and wish the staff and board every success as they continue on the path we have created.”Cockerill, who replaced the late Graham Dixon as CEO in September 2013, joined QC from a background in the liquor industry, where he worked selling brands like XXXX and Bundaberg Rum for Lion Nathan and Diageo. While he enjoyed a wildly successful first summer as bumper Gabba Test crowds bankrolled a $4 million profit, last season was more problematic as Brisbane played only a peripheral role in the World Cup. It is presently jockeying for a day/night Test next summer.Jim Holding, the Queensland chairman, said the association had not expected Cockerill’s resignation. “Whilst unexpected, the Board has accepted his resignation and we wish him the best for his future endeavours,” Holding said. “We will now proceed with a process that will allow us to spend the time, looking for the best candidate to lead the organisation into the future.”Geoff was able to oversee a period of significant change in that period, and assist Queensland Cricket to reach a position of stability and strength. Our financial outcomes have been strong under his guidance, he has worked diligently to enhance and grow strong relationships with our key stakeholders, and he has taken significant roles in driving national outcomes such as the OneTeam project, as well as growing the game at a grassroots level.””He should be satisfied and proud of his achievements and we thank him for his efforts.”

The Supreme Court on Monday made it clear that all state cricket associations will have to “fall in line” with recommendations of Justice RM Lodha led-panel on structural reforms in the BCCI

PTI02-May-2016India’s Supreme Court, on Monday, made it clear that all state cricket associations will have to “fall in line” with the recommendations of Justice RM Lodha led-panel on structural reforms in the BCCI. The court had tasked a three-member committee with recommending changes to the BCCI’s constitution and manner of functioning in the wake of match-fixing and spot-fixing scandal that occurred in IPL 2013. The panel presented its report in January this year.”Once the BCCI is reformed it will go down the line and all cricket associations will have to reform themselves if they want to associate with it. The committee constituted in the wake of match-fixing and spot-fixing allegations was a serious exercise and not a futile exercise,” a two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, said.The bench said that recommendations of reforms in the BCCI were made by a committee of experts after extensive deliberations with stakeholders, and the findings could not be defined as “just recommendations”. The court’s statement was in response to the Haryana Cricket Association’s argument that the Lodha panel’s findings were only recommendations and a few of them were not feasible for cricket bodies to implement.”It will no longer remain just recommendations if we say it has to be implemented,” the court said. “It was called recommendations as some of the findings of the committee were implemented by the BCCI during the deliberations itself and some were not implemented.”We are hearing the issue because we are seeing whether the recommendations which have not been implemented can be implemented or not. [The] Justice RM Lodha committee has said that what has been done is just cosmetic and what is required is not cosmetic reforms but more than that.”The apex court also pulled up the Haryana association for objecting to the recommendation of an age cap of 70 years for office bearers, and asked whether “some office bearers in cricket bodies think they are indispensable”.”Do you think that some office bearers in cricket bodies think they are indispensable? Nobody is indispensable, leave alone the cricket administrators,” the bench said. “There should be time when you have to say enough is enough, and pave the way for others to take charge.”Responding to objections raised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on the inclusion of a nominee of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the cricket board, the apex court said that the law could be amended to pave the way for reforms.”[The] Justice RM Lodha committee has said that laws could be amended for inclusion of a nominee from CAG in governing bodies. The law doesn’t say that the governing body should only comprise members,” the bench said.Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, representing the Railways Sports Promotion Board and the Services Sports Control Board, opposed the Lodha panel’s recommendation to downgrade the bodies to associate members of the BCCI and take away their voting rights. The bench asked the ASG to give two reasons that justified their claim on voting rights.”Not allowing us a right to vote is just like ousting us from the decision-making process despite meeting all the required rational parameters which are applied to the states given the right to vote,” ASG Singh said. He added that that both Railways and the Services boards had a presence across India.The court had earlier pulled up the BCCI for “monopolizing” cricket in the country and had said several youngsters wanting to be Dhonis and Kohlis were not given equal opportunity if they were not on the right side of the cricket body.The court had appointed senior advocate Gopal Subramanium as amicus curiae and sought his assistance to explore how the recommendations of Lodha committee could be implemented. Subramanium will present his views before the court on Tuesday, May 3.

Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL with a hamstring injury. A press release from the franchise said he sustained it while playing against Kings XI Punjab last Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-20163:24

Sunrisers Hyderabad lose Nehra’s services

Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL with a hamstring injury. The 37-year old fast bowler had been one of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s key players, with nine wickets from eight matches at an average of 22.11 and an economy rate of 7.65.Sunrisers have to win at least one of their two remaining matches – against Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders – to make the playoffs. Losing Nehra, who has swung the new ball and picked up early wickets, will affect their first-choice XI.A press release from the franchise said Nehra “sustained a significant hamstring tendon injury during the match against Kings XI Punjab on May 15.”Ashish Nehra is now in consultation with a specialist orthopedic surgeon for the most appropriate course of treatment to ensure a successful return to competitive cricket. Unfortunately he will play no further part in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League for Sunrisers Hyderabad.”It is the second time he has broken down this season. Nehra had missed four matches with a groin strain that he picked up in early April. In terms of replacements, Sunrisers may opt for another left-arm quick Barinder Sran, who has picked up nine wickets from nine matches.

New Zealand left-arm fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has sustained a stress fracture to his pelvis that is likely rule him out of cricket for at least six weeks

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2016New Zealand left-arm fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has sustained a stress fracture to his pelvis that is likely rule him out of cricket for at least six weeks.New Zealand’s next international assignments are Test tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa in July-August. McClenaghan, who is yet to make his Test debut, has not been named in the squad for those tours. He will be hoping to recover in time for the ODI leg of New Zealand’s tour of India in September-October.McClenaghan picked up the injury while representing Middlesex in the ongoing NatWest T20 Blast; he has now been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament. Middlesex’s Managing Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser, described the loss of McClenaghan as a big blow.”Losing Mitchell is a big blow for us,” Fraser said. “He is an outstanding white-ball bowler who brings variety, skill and nous to any side he plays for.”