Governing body also announces measures to promote change in wake of damning racism report

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2022Cricket Scotland has announced that it will offer paid contracts to players in its international women’s team for the first time.Scotland sit 14th in the ICC’s T20I rankings and missed out on qualification for February’s T20 World Cup in South Africa but will move towards professionalism as part of the board’s bid to make cricket a “fully inclusive” sport in the country.”This builds on the move to pay equal match fees to the men’s and women’s players introduced in 2021 and will enable a number of players to devote more time to training and practice and is a start to putting the women’s game onto a fully professional footing,” Cricket Scotland said in a statement.Scottish cricket was plunged into crisis earlier this year after the publication of a damning report into institutional racism within the sport, and revealed a number of measures on Thursday which the board hopes “will underpin long-term success for the international teams and deliver a more sustainable governing body in the years ahead”.Cricket Scotland will recruit a new head of communications, an EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) manager and a conduct in sport manager, and will not renew contracts of seven staff within the strength and conditioning, physiotherapy and support services provision.”The changes are required to refocus the governing body’s priorities and to establish a strong financial base from which to launch an ambitious new strategy for the sport in the coming months,” the statement said.Gordon Arthur, the board’s interim chief executive, will stay in post until November 2023 on a fixed-term contract “to ensure stability and continuity during this period of substantial restructuring”.Arthur said: “We need to reset and rebuild to ensure that we are in the strongest possible position to deliver real and meaningful change across Scottish cricket. This won’t be without challenges but we have a great opportunity to take the sport confidently forward in the years ahead.”Anjan Luthra, who was appointed as chair last month, said: “This a watershed moment for the sport of cricket in Scotland. The investment announced today into the women’s game is an important building block in our desire to make cricket in Scotland a fully inclusive sport where there is no place for racism, discrimination or inequalities.”We have an opportunity to create a bold new vision for our Scottish cricket and we are committed to doing so by driving positive change at every level within our sport.”At the same time, we are rebuilding capacity within the governing body and addressing the weaknesses and failings identified through the Changing the Boundaries report so that we build a first-class governing body for Scottish cricket.”

Blair Tickner, who is already in Pakistan with the Test team, has been added to the limited-overs squad

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2023Fast bowler Adam Milne has been withdrawn from New Zealand’s ODI squad for the upcoming series in Pakistan and India in January due to concerns about his preparation. Blair Tickner, who is currently in Pakistan with New Zealand’s Test team, has replaced Milne in the ODI squad.Milne, 30, had some tightness in his hamstring at the end of the home series against India in November 2022 and subsequently missed two Ford Trophy games, New Zealand’s domestic 50-over tournament, for Wellington in December.He played Wellington’s first two matches of the Super Smash, the domestic T20 competition, but the workload of six ODIs in 16 days in Pakistan and India was considered too much of a risk.”Adam was very up front with us about his concerns around the lack of one-day bowling loading for the upcoming tours,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. “After chatting to him, we agreed his preparation leading into the tour wouldn’t be sufficient for him to cope with the demands of back-to-back, three-game ODI series. We appreciate his honesty and his genuine desire not to let the team down.”Blair’s skills at bowling through the middle and his ability to hit the pitch hard make him a similar prospect to what Adam offered us. The fact he’s already in Pakistan experiencing the conditions is an added bonus.”New Zealand drew the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan and begin the second and final Test of the series on January 2 in Karachi. The ODI players will leave New Zealand for Pakistan on January 4 for three matches on January 9, 11 and 13 – all in Karachi – before travelling to India for three ODIs on January 18, 21 and 24.They will also play three T20Is in India on January 27, 29 and February 1; the squad for the T20I series is yet to be named.New Zealand squad for ODI series in Pakistan and India
Kane Williamson (capt – only for Pakistan ODIs), Tom Latham (capt – India ODIs), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman (India ODIs only), Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy (India ODIs only), Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (Pakistan ODIs only), Blair Tickner.

Batter joins Sri Lankan fast bowler Suranga Lakmal as the club’s overseas signings

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2023Haider Ali, the Pakistan batter, will join Derbyshire for the 2023 county season.Haider, 22, has played 35 white-ball matches for his country, including two appearances at the recent ICC T20 World Cup, where Pakistan were runners-up to England. In 33 T20I appearances, he has scored 499 runs, including three half-centuries, one of which came against England at Emirates Old Trafford in 2020.Announcing Haider’s signing on Friday, Derbyshire recognised his red-ball abilities also, citing an average of 54.33 from 11 first-class appearances, including three centuries and four half-centuries. He will be available in all formats during the 2023 county season, subject to international commitments, and joins Sri Lankan fast bowler Suranga Lakmal as the club’s two overseas signings.Mickey Arthur, Derbyshire’s head of cricket and the former Pakistan coach, said: “Haider is an immensely talented young player who already has a wealth of international experience, which will be key for us in all formats.Related

• Shan Masood signs for Yorkshire on two-year deal

• County ins and outs 2022-23

• PCB's talks with Mickey Arthur to coach Pakistan fall through

“I spoke with him at the T20 World Cup, and again during the Lanka Premier League, and he’s so hungry to come to England and prove himself in all formats, that’s exactly the attitude we want in our dressing room. Of course, he still has a lot of developing to do, but I’ve outlined what I expect from him and I have no doubt Haider will succeed in county cricket.”Haider said: “I’ve seen over the last few years how many Pakistan players have improved their game by playing at a high standard in county cricket, and that’s something I think could really help my development.”Mickey Arthur is such a respected figure in world cricket and he’s still so highly regarded within the Pakistan set-up, so the opportunity to learn from him is one I’m so excited about… there’s a lot of good players here and Mickey wants to achieve something big with this club. Hopefully I can contribute a lot of runs in 2023 and entertain the Derbyshire crowd.”Haider’s move to Derbyshire comes after fellow Pakistan batter Shan Masood left the club where he scored 1,766 runs across formats last season for a two-year deal at Yorkshire, where he will be captain in 2023.

Suryakumar Yadav is “learning the 50-over game a little bit” and the team needs to “be patient with him”, Dravid says

Deivarayan Muthu21-Mar-20233:59

Dravid: ‘Suryakumar is learning the ODI game a little bit’

Rahul Dravid reckons that India have narrowed down “17-18 players” for the forthcoming ODI World Cup at home, regardless of the result in the bilateral series decider against Australia at Chepauk on Wednesday. For India, the third match against Australia is their last ODI until the tour of the Caribbean in August, and they may only have three more in India before the World Cup begins.”I think, to a large extent, we are pretty clear about the squad and players we want,” Dravid said at a press conference. “We have almost sort of narrowed it down to 17-18 players. We have a few guys who are sort of recovering from injuries and might come into the mix, depending on the timeframe of their recoveries and how long it takes for them to come back.Related

• Ponting: 'Suryakumar is the kind of player who can win you a World Cup'

• Will Suryakumar be able to crack the ODI code?

• Can the batters fight back in spin-friendly Chennai?

“But all in all, we are pretty much in a good space, we are pretty clear about the kind of team we want to play. Hopefully, we are able to give these guys who we have zeroed in as many playing opportunities as we can. If in India, great, but even if not in India, it’s just [a matter of ensuring that] they get as many opportunities as you can [give them] to build a side.”Dravid, though, suggested that the team management was open to trying out different combinations and adopting a horses-for-courses approach even during the World Cup in October-November. The course in Chennai on Wednesday is likely to be spin-friendly, but India’s spin combination is a bit of a guessing game, with all of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar in the mix.”Within our 15 or 16 players, there are a couple of different combinations that we’d like to try and see which one’s working,” Dravid said. “It [World Cup] is a big tournament, it’s a long tournament in India, and we are playing in nine different cities and nine different conditions. So you just want to have that flexibility in your squad as well, to be able to play sometimes four fast bowlers, sometimes three spinners. Just you want to have that flexibility. Within the squad we’d like to sort of look at different options, just to ensure that we have covered all our bases for all conditions.1:37

Finch: Suryakumar needs to be sharper in the first few balls

“To a large extent, I think we have got a lot more clarity at the end of these nine games, irrespective of whatever happens tomorrow. I think we will just keep building on that clarity. We are quite clear about the kind of squad we want. For us now, it’s really just about the different playing XI combinations and just ensuring that we play different combinations at times just to ensure that we are able to do that in the World Cup and we are not surprised by anything in the World Cup.”

Dravid ‘not really concerned so much about Suryakumar’

Dravid shrugged off any concerns around the recent form of Suryakumar Yadav, who bagged ducks in the first two ODIs against Australia and only averages 25.47 across 20 innings in ODI cricket. He said that Suryakumar was still adjusting to the tempo of 50-over cricket, and backed him to get better with experience.”Not really concerned so much about Suryakumar,” Dravid said. “He got two first-ballers against two pretty good balls. One of the things about Surya is he is also learning the 50-over game a little bit. The T20 game is slightly different.”Even though he hadn’t played for India for a long time, in T20 cricket, he played nearly ten years of IPL, and a lot of IPL cricket, which is a tournament which is like international cricket. He has played a lot of high-pressure T20 games but in one-day cricket, there’s no equivalent tournament in domestic cricket, you’ll have to play Vijay Hazare [Trophy] and all that. Even though he has played a lot of T20 cricket, I think he has not played a lot of one-day cricket. We just need to give him some time and be patient with him. We certainly see the upside of him doing well, which is very good for the side.”

Australians Nathan Ellis and Ben McDermott will return to the Ageas Bowl in 2023

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Mar-2023Hampshire have confirmed that Ben McDermott and Nathan Ellis, their T20 Blast-winning overseas pairing, will return to the club to help their bid to defend the title in 2023.McDermott scored 494 runs in the Blast last season including five centuries, second only to his opening partner and captain James Vince among Hampshire players. He top-scored in the final against Lancashire with 62 – Hampshire’s next-highest score was 22 – and was also involved in 19 dismissals, the second-most in the competition.Ellis, meanwhile, took 15 wickets for Hampshire last year and finished the season with a remarkable economy rate of 6.87, despite predominantly operating as a death bowler.He was involved in a memorable climax to the final: Ellis appeared to have sealed the trophy when he bowled Richard Gleeson, but Hampshire’s celebrations were cut short when replays confirmed he had over-stepped. With three runs to win, he deceived Gleeson with a slower ball, and Lancashire could only manage one bye.Both players were initially signed, in part, through Hampshire’s ties to George Bailey, who captained the club in 2017 and has since become Australia’s lead selector. Bailey has a long-standing connection with Hobart Hurricanes, the Big Bash team that McDermott and Ellis represent.Related

• Vince's calm amid the chaos secures Hampshire their night of glory

• Ellis on final-over drama: 'It was a little bit of cat-and-mouse'

• Lancashire argue final-ball umpiring error cost them T20 Blast title

• Ellis keeps his cool – twice – to seal one-run thriller for Hampshire

“Both Ben and Nathan were fantastic for us last year and it’s a great boost to the squad to have them back,” Giles White, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said.”They made a big impact at the club and were exceptional on the field. The clarity that comes with continuity will hopefully help in our pursuit of another Finals Day in 2023.”Ellis may miss some early fixtures depending on Punjab Kings’ progress in the IPL. “After the success of last year it was a no-brainer to re-sign with the Hawks for this summer,” he said.McDermott, who does not have an IPL contract, is likely to be available for the whole season. “I’m over the moon to have re-signed with the Hawks and can’t wait to play in front of the Ageas Bowl crowd again,” he said.Both players also represented London Spirit in the Hundred last year, though only Ellis has been retained (on a £100,000 contract). McDermott has entered the draft on March 23 without a reserve price.

“When the time comes I’m sure the Indian cricket team will also back him enough”

Shashank Kishore01-Apr-20232:20

Hardik Pandya: Ruturaj Gaikwad ‘has the game to do wonders for Indian cricket’

Ruturaj Gaikwad “is going to do wonders for Indian cricket” and the team will “back him enough” when his time comes. Hardik Pandya, potentially India’s T20I captain as they build towards next year’s T20 World Cup, couldn’t have been more effusive in his praise for the Chennai Super Kings opener for his incredible 52-ball 90 to kick off IPL 2023 in Ahmedabad in front of 100,000 fans.On Friday, Gaikwad raced to a half-century off just 23 balls in his first competitive outing since January following a wrist injury that had limited his opportunities for India. His opening salvo put Super Kings in a commanding 121 for 4 after 13 overs, with the stage set for a grandstand finish. They eventually only finished with 178, which MS Dhoni felt was “10-15 short.””To be very honest, we all know the kind of player he is, at one point of time it looked like CSK would score 220-230,” Hardik said after Gujarat Titans secured a tight five-wicket win. “We were finding it difficult as to what areas we should bowl because he’s an all-round cricketer, plays cricketing shots.”Related

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Prior to his injury, Gaikwad had been in scintillating white-ball form, having hit hundreds in each of the knockout games of the Vijay Hazare Trophy where Maharashtra, the team he led, finished runners-up. Gaikwad finished second on the run charts, hitting 660 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 113.59. It was also a tournament where Gaikwad blasted a List-A record when he hit seven sixes in a single over that went for 43.He seemed to have carried the same form over into the IPL. Hardik found out in as early as the second over itself that Gaikwad was batting in a different zone, when the batter picked him for consecutive boundaries.1:28

Moody on Gaikwad: Amazing that India have someone like him in the wings

Hardik would come under his wheel even more, when Gaikwad launched him for consecutive sixes in the seventh over. Every other Titans bowler, barring Rashid Khan, was taken to the cleaners.”I genuinely felt that we can’t err to him at all; some of the shots that he played, they weren’t to bad balls,” Hardik said. “They were actually good balls, that made the big difference and more challenging for us as a bowling unit and captain. Full credit to him, if he continues batting like this, he’s going to do wonders to Indian cricket. I’m sure he has the game, when the time comes I’m sure the Indian cricket team will also back him enough.”Stephen Fleming, the Super Kings coach, has seen Gaikwad from close quarters for four seasons now. He was signed in 2019, but only broke through in 2020 and started getting an extended run following a vacancy at the top with Shane Watson’s retirement.”He’s an outstanding talent, really untapped,” Fleming said. “We rate him so highly, when you see him playing like that, he’s a class player. He’s got power, got touch and only good things will happen to him. Tonight was an exhibition. He was disappointed [to be dismissed for 92], he could’ve picked on a little more to give us an extra 20 runs in the end but the 90 runs he got was a pleasure to watch.”

According to the revised playing conditions, the on-field umpire will simply consult with the TV umpire to rule on contentious catches

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2023On-field umpires will no longer be required to give a “soft signal” while referring contentious catches to the TV umpire, according to the revised ICC playing conditions that will come into effect from June 1, 2023.The on-field umpires will now simply consult with the TV umpire before a final decision regarding a referred catch is made, without any soft signal having been made. The change was recommended by the ICC’s Men’s Cricket Committee, endorsed by the Women’s Cricket Committee, and ratified by the ICC’s Chief Executives Committee.While the soft signal was scrapped by the IPL in 2021, it continued to be used in international cricket, and the TV umpire had to find conclusive evidence of a catch being clean or not to overturn the soft signal, irrespective of whether the on-field umpires had a clear line of sight to the catch while making the soft signal.”The committee deliberated this at length and concluded that soft signals were unnecessary and at times confusing since referrals of catches may seem inconclusive in replays,” Sourav Ganguly, the head of the Men’s Cricket Committee, said.There was brief confusion about the Free Hit rule with the ICC saying a “minor addition” had been made to it. That tweak deemed that runs scored off a free hit when the batter is bowled would count as runs towards the batter, as opposed to byes. The most high-profile recent incident was in the last over of India’s epic win against Pakistan at the MCG in the T20 World Cup last year. Kohli was bowled by Mohammad Nawaz off the free hit, but as the ball went to deep third, the batters picked up three runs.Soon after the release, however, the governing body clarified that was not the case and that the rule, when a batter is bowled, remains the same: runs scored after a batter is bowled off a free hit will continue to be categorised as extras and will not be credited to the batter.In the revised playing conditions, the ICC also made it mandatory for players in “high-risk” positions to wear helmets. This includes batters facing fast bowlers, wicketkeepers standing up to the stumps, and fielders standing close to batters in front of the wicket.

Scotland captain’s first century in 13 months produced a batting recovery that sucked the air out of UAE’s challenge

Sreshth Shah23-Jun-2023A captain’s knock from Richie Berrington, followed up by a clinical bowling performance from the Scotland bowlers gave them a 111-run win over United Arab Emirates, thereby knocking the Asian side out of qualification contention on Friday afternoon in Bulawayo.Berrington walked in at 11 for 2 and was put on the back foot when Scotland were reduced to 48 for 4, but he fought through the rebuilding process alongside his middle order before blossoming in the slog overs. His 136-ball 127 was a clinic in pacing an innings through a demanding situation, hitting nine fours and three sixes. His first century in 13 months set UAE a stiff target of 283.UAE could never recover from Berrington’s batting blows. When they came to bat, they were rattled by Chris Sole’s opening spell, further jolting their challenge in a must-win match. Muhammad Waseem, Basil Hameed and the lower order provided brief resistances, but with the team’s highest individual score reading only 36, they were never in touch of the chase, and were bowled out for 171 in 35.3 overs.But UAE did start the game as the better side. After winning the toss, they dominated with the new ball. Junaid Siddique and Ali Naseer led the way in Scotland going four down inside 15 overs, and their spinners strangled the batters for most of the middle overs.But Berrington ensured he didn’t throw his wicket during the difficult period, and alongside Michael Leask (41), Chris Greaves (22) and Mark Watt (44*), kept the scoreboard moving. That ensured Scotland had mitigated the risk of being bowled out, which then gave them the freedom to go hard in the final ten overs.And, Berrington and Watt did just that, dominating from the 40th over. They upped the tempo in the last five, scoring 63 runs in the last 30 deliveries. Their 66-ball partnership of 109 for the eighth wicket took Scotland from hoping for a target of 220 to eventually finishing on 282 for 8. UAE’s bowlers did not strike once in the last ten overs, with only an unselfish attempt at a second run in the innings’ final delivery dismissing Berrington.UAE’s start to the chase was promising for the first four overs, and Waseem threatened to repeat what his opposite number did. The veteran opener lost four partners inside 16 overs, but while he was there, UAE had hope. However, that was dashed when he was the fifth man gone – lbw by Watt – for 36, leaving UAE reeling at 82 for 5.Basil Hameed (30), Aayan Afzal Khan (21) and Karthik Meiyappan (23*) briefly thwarted the Scottish challenge but the regular loss of UAE wickets meant they were entertaining but still quite far away from the 283 target. When Safyaan Sharif returned for his second spell, he cleaned up the resistance with three lower-order wickets, finishing with 4 for 20 on the back of that burst.Scotland now join Sri Lanka and Oman on four points in Group B, realistically needing just one more win in the last two games to be assured of qualification for the Super Sixes. For UAE, their hope of playing in India at the ODI World Cup ended, and now play for pride in their final fixture against Ireland.

Vettori takes over from Brian Lara, who coached Sunrisers Hyderabad to a bottom-place finish last season

Sreshth Shah07-Aug-2023Daniel Vettori has replaced Brian Lara as the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. Vettori was previously head coach at Royal Challengers Bangalore, from 2014 to 2018, and is currently working as the assistant coach with the Australia men’s team.The latest update means Sunrisers will have a fourth head coach in six seasons, with Tom Moody (2019 and 2022), Trevor Bayliss (2020 and 2021), and Lara (2023) preceding Vettori. Lara had replaced Moody ahead of the 2023 IPL season, but the side finished last (tenth) with four wins and ten losses.