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She could become first West Indian and only fourth bowler in women’s cricket to get 300 international wickets

Annesha Ghosh22-Jan-20222:28

Anisa Mohammed – ‘I like to prove people wrong’

A new variation to unleash on the opposition and four wickets to add to her tally during the four-ODI tour of South Africa.These, along with helping West Indies fine-tune their preparations ahead of the ODI World Cup in March-April, are on the checklist of their premier offspinner Anisa Mohammed as she heads into the bilateral series next week, four wickets shy of becoming the first West Indies women’s player to 300 wickets in international cricket.”I’m currently working on a new variation,” Mohammed, the leading ODI wicket-taker of 2021 and the all-time highest wicket-taker in T20Is, said in a virtual press conference from Johannesburg. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to use that in this upcoming series against South Africa, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to execute and get a positive result from that.”Behind only India’s Jhulan Goswami, England’s Katherine Brunt, and Australia’s Ellyse Perry, Mohammed, who has 171 wickets in ODIs and 125 wickets in T20Is, is hopeful the series against South Africa starting on January 28 at the Wanderers propels her to the distinction of the first spinner to reach the 300-wicket mark in the women’s international game.Related

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“This would be a huge milestone for me. I’d really like to get it in this series and not have to wait for the World Cup,” Mohammed said. “That’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. I’ve been working on my game and I really hope that I’m able to pick up just four [wickets]. I’m just telling myself, ‘Four wickets – I have four matches to get four wickets,’ so I’m really excited.”A veteran of four ODI World Cups and West Indies’ most-capped player, Mohammed, 33, is mindful of the responsibility her experience and heft of personal achievements in a career spanning nearly 19 years bring with them, especially with the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand around the corner.”I’m one of the senior players on the team. This is my fifth ODI World Cup. And I’ve said to some of the younger players, ‘Playing in a World Cup the atmosphere is different and you have to keep a level head.’ I think having played four World Cups – this will be my fifth one – I have to step up as the one of the senior players on the team and try to perform and while I do that, try to keep the younger players calm and help them to be able to go out there and execute as well.”Named in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year and the ESPNcricinfo Women’s Team of the Year for 2021 recently, Mohammed gave little away on whether the upcoming world event could be her swansong – “I’m not going to put a timeline on my career” – but admitted she was cognizant of the phase she has entered in her career.Anisa Mohammed is on the verge of joining the 300-wicket club•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“It’s a great feeling to be named in the ICC ODI Team of the Year last year,” Mohammed said. “And that’s definitely inspiration to go forward and try to make it into this year’s team as well. To be honest, I’m just trying to enjoy my cricket. As you know, I’m coming to the latter part of my career, so I’ve been trying to enjoy whatever is left of my career.”I’ll be 34 this year. I don’t know how long I have, but I just really want to make sure that when I leave cricket or when I retire, I have a good memory of West Indies cricket and representing West Indies.”West Indies were not among the five teams to earn direct qualification to the ODI World Cup but made the cut based on rankings in the wake of the pandemic-enforced cancellation of the global qualifier. They will fancy their chances against South Africa, who will be missing their designated captain and premier legspin-bowling allrounder Dane van Niekerk through an injury.”That’s a big blow for South Africa. And it’s never nice when you have an injury,” Mohammed said. “But if you’re looking at winning and losing, I think that’s an advantage for us because, as we know, she’s a key player for the South Africa team, not just in her batting and bowling but also her leadership qualities. And I think that we have to take full advantage of that – of her not being here. But having said that, I would like to wish her a speedy recovery.”Mohammed, for her part, will spearhead an attack bolstered by the addition of the experienced legspinner Afy Fletcher in their 18-member squad.”We’re really excited for Afy. It’s nice having her back,” Mohammed said of Fletcher, who is returning from a maternity break, having last played for West Indies in September 2020. “Unfortunately, she could not bring the baby with her. We would have liked to have a baby on tour, like the other teams, but she calls her baby every day and chat with him online. So it’s nice having a baby around and having some fun with him as well.”

Australian newcomer George Bailey marked his debut by making 93 as Hampshire recovered to 286 for 4 after losing both opening batsmen without a run on the board.

10-Apr-2013
ScorecardAustralian newcomer George Bailey marked his debut by making 93 as Hampshire recovered to 286 for 4 after losing both opening batsmen without a run on the board.Leicestershire captain Ramnaresh Sarwan decided to field first under overcast skies and was rewarded with the wickets of Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry in the first five overs. Adams was bowled fifth ball by Alex Wyatt and Carberry edged defensively to new wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien to give veteran former England bowler Matthew Hoggard an early breakthrough.But then Bailey, the Australian T20 captain, joined Liam Dawson in partnership of 141 for the third wicket in only 32 overs as Leicestershire struggled to make the best of their promising start. Sarwan used seven bowlers before lunch as Tasmanian Bailey dominated the stand, rapidly outscoring Dawson to help Hampshire seize the initiative.Dawson, the more circumspect of the two, reached 46 from 83 balls before he chased a wide delivery from medium-pacer Ollie Freckingham and gave Jigar Naik a catch in the gully. Dawson’s wicket was Freckingham’s first in first-class cricket and he followed it with another four runs later when Bailey was dismissed in sight of his century.Hampshire had reached 150 for 3 when Bailey, who led Tasmania to Sheffield Shield glory last month, was stumped as he attacked Freckingham. Bailey, fluent from the start despite only joining the squad recently, made light of the dank conditions by striking 14 fours in his 133-ball innings.His exit failed to give the frail Leicestershire attack any respite and James Vince and Sean Ervine – the hosts’ fifth-wicket pair – soon got on top every bit as commandingly as Bailey had done before them.Bad light and rain eventually intruded after 71.2 overs, by which time Vince and Ervine had added a further 136 runs without being troubled or in danger of being parted. At the premature close, Hampshire’s recovery was complete with Vince unbeaten with 77 and Ervine, who has just signed a new contract with the county, 57 not out.After their early successes, Leicestershire’s bowling fell away even though conditions were always helpful. Freckingham finished the day with figures of 2 for 71 from 14 overs but, like his team-mates, struggled to contain the free-scoring Bailey.

Silverwood says seam duo are “fit and ready to go” ahead of Adelaide’s pink-ball fixture

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2021Stuart Broad and James Anderson are in line for selection in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, with England head coach Chris Silverwood declaring that the pair are “fit and ready to go”.The omission of the vastly experienced seam-bowling duo from the series opener at the Gabba raised eyebrows even before Australia romped to a nine-wicket victory inside four days, and selection was a predictable focus of the post-match wash-up.And while he did not confirm any selections for the day-night Test starting on Thursday, Silverwood backed Broad’s assertion earlier in the day that they would be well prepared, having started training with the pink ball in the Brisbane nets as soon as their omission from the first Test was apparent.Related

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“Jimmy will be fit and ready to go for the second Test, as will Stuart,” Silverwood said on Sunday ahead of the team’s planned departure from Brisbane on Monday. “They are available. Certainly, from an experience point of view, with the bowlers we’ve got heaps of experience so I’m happy with that.”The guys have already been training with the pink ball behind the scenes. And what we have got is a very skilful set of bowlers. We have talent and we still have two of the best up our sleeve as well.”The decision to leave Anderson out of the first Test emerged on the eve of the match, with the ECB saying it was not injury related but aimed at managing him ahead of the day-night fixture in Adelaide. Broad’s omission was more of a surprise on match-day morning when England opted for spinner Jack Leach instead, a call which came in for more criticism after Leach’s return of 1 for 102 in 13 overs.Broad, who hasn’t played since tearing his calf in August, wrote in his Mail On Sunday column that he believed he would only have been chosen in a five-man seam attack at the Gabba. While disappointed, he believed it would be inappropriate to “kick up a stink” over his non-selection, having publicly questioned his omission for the first Test against West Indies in Southampton in July 2020.”Stuart has been great, to be honest,” Silverwood said. “Obviously he was disappointed not to be playing but he understood that this is a long series.”Everybody will put their hand up to do the hard work out there and he is ready to do that now. We had good conversations with Stuart before any decisions were made and he was 100 per cent on board.”I’ve not told anyone they are playing yet. We will have some sore bodies from this Test and we’ll make decisions from there.”Australia also have some decisions to make at the selection table with Josh Hazlewood flying to Sydney nursing a side strain, although Cricket Australia have said he hasn’t been ruled out of the Adelaide Test yet. David Warner is also being monitored for a rib injury after being struck by a Ben Stokes short ball in Brisbane.Silverwood said his team were looking ahead, rather than dwelling on their disappointing showing in the first Test, which was characterised by twin batting collapses and some sloppy fielding.”We had a good chat in the dressing-room after,” he said. “There are obvious areas we need to improve on, such as holding our catches and building big partnerships.”Obviously they were hurting, but there is belief they can win this series. We have been in this position before. We have gone 1-0 down and then bounced back. We have the players here that can match the Australians. The confidence is there that we can compete with Australia, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”

Matt Prior has suggested he would welcome England and Australian umpires officiating in Ashes Tests in an attempt to eradicate the errors that have marred the Investec Ashes series

George Dobell at Old Trafford04-Aug-2013Matt Prior has suggested he would welcome England and Australian umpires officiating in Ashes Tests in an attempt to eradicate the errors that have marred the Investec Ashes series.England have become increasingly frustrated by the unpredictability of the umpiring in the series. While they are sympathetic to the on-field officials, understanding that mistakes are inevitable in such circumstances, they are less phlegmatic about mistakes after the involvement of the DRS.The latest controversy concerned an appeal against David Warner, after England were convinced his attempted pull shot had resulted in an edge to wicketkeeper Prior. Hot Spot, which has looked an increasingly unreliable tool in this series, showed nothing, but audio replays suggested an edge. The TV umpire upheld the on-field umpire’s decision of not out. Snickometer, which is not part of the DRS, also backed up England’s case.It left England “frustrated” in Prior’s words, and while he remains supportive of the DRS in general, he did suggest the system may require some examination and expressed a willingness to abandon one of the founding principles of Test umpiring in recent years: that of neutrality.”I honestly don’t care where the umpires are from as long as the right decisions are made,” Prior said. “I think that is the most important thing. You need to make sure that decisions are correct.”It doesn’t matter if they are Aussies or English or anybody else; all you want is the right outcome at the end of the day.”There was disbelief [when Warner was given not out] because he hit it. That’s why we referred it and when you are that sure and it is still given not out it is quite frustrating. That’s why there was a bit of chat around.”There wasn’t any evidence [from Hot Spot] and that is frustrating. All you can go on from a referral point of view was how you see it. Alastair Cook and I were pretty adamant he had hit it. I think Snicko shows he did. We were right in referring it, but unfortunately it did not go our way.”It is pretty frustrating for everyone at the moment,” he said. “At no time will we ever be critical of an umpire making the wrong decision on the field. Everyone makes mistakes in a day. I know more than anyone: it all happens quickly. Everyone is looking at me for DRS decisions and it happens quickly.”I have always said I am a big fan of the DRS. It works and it is the way forward but once you use a review you have to then get a decision right. Once it goes up to the third umpire the decision that comes out has to be the correct decision. Whether the technology needs to be looked at or how they use it, I don’t know. But for the players at the moment that is the biggest frustration.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the possibility of utilising non-neutral umpires in the Ashes has been discussed, but that the Australian and English boards are reluctant to set a precedent that could result in non-neutral umpires around the world. Instead, the boards are considering inviting overseas umpires to officiate in their own domestic cricket with a view to helping them develop their skills.At present, only four umpires – Marais Erasmus, Tony Hill, Kumar Dharmasena and Aleem Dar – are eligible to stand in Ashes series as the rest on the ICC’s elite panel are from either England or Australia.

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, the former India legspinner, is set to join Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara as a players’ representative on the ICC cricket committee, replacing the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) chief executive Tim May

Nagraj Gollapudi05-May-2013Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, the former India legspinner, has joined Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara as a players’ representative on the ICC cricket committee, replacing the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) chief executive, Tim May*. Sivaramakrishnan, currently a commentator on Indian television, is learnt to have beaten May in a fiercely contested election that saw intense lobbying by both sides.The ICC confirmed Sivaramakrishnan’s appointment in a release on Monday, saying: “Sangakkara and Sivaramakrishnan were recently elected by a vote of the 10 Test captains, and will serve on the Cricket Committee for a three-year term from 2013-15.” Former England captain Andrew Strauss has replaced Ian Bishop as ‘Past Player representative’, the release said. “Strauss is one of the two Past Player representatives (replacing Ian Bishop), while Sivaramakrishnan is one of the two Current Player representatives (replacing Tim May). The other Current Player representative is former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who has been on the committee since 2007.”Based on nominations received by it, the ICC board had proposed three names – those of Sangakkara, May and Sivaramakrishnan – for the two players’ representative positions. Sangakkara, sole current player, is expected to be elected unanimously while Sivaramakrishnan is believed to have received six of the ten votes in the other slot, for former players. The representatives are elected by the captains of the ten Test-playing countries, who cast their votes in a secret online ballot.Sivaramakrishnan had been backed by the BCCI, which, ESPNcricinfo has confirmed, contacted at least one other member country “requesting” support. He is also believed to have been backed by one more country, independent of the BCCI. Incidentally, though he has been elected as a players’ representative, India has no recognised players’ association.May, the former Australia offspinner, has been the public voice of players’ concerns globally since establishing FICA in 1998. He was, however, handicapped by the fact that FICA is recognised by only five Full Members of the ICC: Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies, the first four of whom are understood to have supported his nomination.Apart from FICA’s limited global influence, one factor that is believed to have gone against May was his sustained criticism of the running of Twenty20 tournaments including the IPL, Sri Lankan Premier League and the Bangladesh Premier League. It is believed that this won him few friends on the Asian boards.Tony Irish, the chief executive of the South African players association, criticised the BCCI’s interventionist approach to the election process. “It’s a sad day for the governance of cricket when players aren’t allowed to freely elect their representatives,” Irish was quoted as saying. “Cricket is a global game and the decisions that are made should be global decisions for the benefit of the global game, not for the benefit of one country, whichever country that is.”However, a member of a board that voted for Sivaramakrishnan contested that view. “It is disingenuous for FICA or its supporters to protest because in an election, candidates canvas votes and FICA did the same thing on Tim May’s behalf. The fact is that May didn’t have the support of many captains and that showed in the votes. Suggestions that May had the support of nine captains to start with are completely baseless.”The ICC cricket committee is a leading decision-maker for the game’s governing body in on-field matters, including playing conditions such as the use of the DRS to review umpiring decisions. It is headed by Anil Kumble, the former Indian captain, and includes Andrew Strauss and Mark Taylor (past players), Gary Kirsten (Full Member team coach representative), David White (Member board representative), Steve Davis (umpires’ representative), Ranjan Madugalle (match referees’ representative), John Stephenson (MCC representative), David Kendix (statistician), Trent Johnston (Associate representative), Ravi Shastri (media representative) and Clare Connor (women’s representative).*06.10GMT, May 6: The article has been updated after the ICC confirmed the appointments

Tight home-Test schedule of six games in eight weeks lies ahead, with questions over red-ball preparation to boot

Daniel Brettig19-May-2021Australia are set to play six matches in fewer than eight weeks next summer, after a gap of 312 days since their last assignment against India in January, meaning an idling Test team will have to re-learn the fundamentals of the longest form of the game in an almighty hurry.A one-off Test against Afghanistan at Bellerive Oval in November-December – Hobart’s first Test match since November 2016 – will be followed by an Ashes series that will take in matches at the Gabba, Adelaide Oval (day-night), the MCG, the SCG and concluding at Perth Stadium in mid-January. It’s the first time Sydney has not hosted the conclusion of an Ashes series since 1995, when the WACA Ground was the scene of the final match in early February.The women’s international calendar is also heavily stocked, with a series against India in September that ESPNcricinfo has reported will include a Test match, before the multi-format Ashes series against England that will take place after the conclusion of the WBBL. The men’s and women’s international fixtures have been devised with virtually no clashes between the two.Covid-19 risk management, combined with a concentration by Cricket Australia on the home fixtures that bring in the vast majority of the governing body’s revenue through broadcast-rights deals, has left the team led by Tim Paine and his deputy Pat Cummins to play just 10 Test matches over the course of more than two years, after going 345 days between Tests in 2020. None will take place away from home between September 2019 and (at least) February 2022 when a tour of Pakistan is very lightly etched into the calendar.Getty Images

The home series defeat to India last summer, in spite of a raft of injuries and withdrawals from the touring team, was put down partly to the difficulties of adapting from cricket’s short formats to its longest without much in the way of preparation in between. CA is looking at re-filling the position of batting coach that sat vacant last summer, in order to give the top six – which underperformed badly against India – greater one-on-one assistance this time around.Equally, the selection chairman Trevor Hohns has spoken firmly of the need to return to a system of squad rotation for the fast bowlers in particular, after the gains made in the 2019 Ashes were abandoned over the past two home summers, much to Australia’s cost against India.”Particularly now, when most Test matches are programmed pretty closely on the heels of each other. We can’t ask them to continually back up, day after day after day,” Hohns said when naming the central contracts list in April. “It’s only natural they are going to get tired. Sure, they might feel okay within themselves, but we’ve really got to monitor that a bit harder.”But the challenge will be all the greater with another year devoid of Test or first-class matches for many of the players, namely those who will also be involved in Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign in the second half of the year. Among established members of the Test team, only Paine, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood and perhaps Marnus Labuschagne can expect to play much Sheffield Shield cricket prior to the Afghanistan Test, which will be left to serve as a sort of Ashes preparation game for the rest.Related

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“Certainly the home summer preparation and particularly the preparation for the home Ashes is front of mind for us so we’re working through our planning for that at a team level but also at an individual level, and exploring a number of different options for the winter,” the head of national teams Ben Oliver said this week. “Fortunately, a number of our players will have competitive cricket either internationally or domestically here and overseas.”So we feel across the players that are likely to feature in that, in the home Test series, that they’ll all be well prepared. Obviously we’ll have a significant amount of Sheffield Shield cricket to assist in that preparation for those that don’t have the opportunity to be part of a World Cup or other overseas competitions.”Paine said that the Hobart match would be critical to Australia’s chances of putting together a cohesive and settled unit for the Ashes matches that would follow so closely afterwards.”We haven’t got any red-ball cricket in the lead-up to the Ashes except that Test match,” Paine said in Hobart. “So from a preparation point of view it’s going to be a really important Test match to set us up for the Ashes and Afghanistan have got some highly talented spinners in particular, which will create a real challenge. Any Test match we play, we want a full-strength side, and it’s not always possible these days, but fingers crossed we can make it happen.”Last summer wasn’t our best in key moments, but I think over the last couple of years we’ve played some pretty consistent cricket. We’re now talking about going from being a good team to a great team, and that Afghanistan Test and the Ashes this year is a really important part of that.”Other men’s fixtures announced on Wednesday include three ODIs and a T20I against New Zealand in late January and early February, and five T20Is against Sri Lanka, who have stepped in for South Africa.

The offspinner, though, will need a work visa to play county cricket

Sidharth Monga06-Jul-2021R Ashwin will play a County Championship match for Surrey – provided he gets the required work visa on time – before re-joining the Indian team. While Ashwin is in England already for the Test series that will start in August, he will need a work visa to play county cricket. Both parties are confident it will be done in time for the match starting July 11.The Indian squad is currently on a break before it gets back together to prepare for the five-match Test series against England starting August 4 with the Trent Bridge game. Ashwin will play against Somerset at The Oval, which will host the fourth Test of the series. Ashwin’s match against Somerset is scheduled to end on July 14, the day the India team reconvenes.As of now, India have no tour games scheduled before the Tests. They haven’t been big fans of side games in recent years because there had been a trend of hosts not wanting to help visitors out by giving them tough opposition to practise against. Barring Australia last year, where they got a game against a strong Australia A, India have tended to prefer intense nets sessions to side games.However, reports suggest that India have now made a late request for a tour game or two before they get to Nottingham for the first Test. India captain Virat Kohli didn’t seem pleased they didn’t get first-class games in preparation for the Tests. After India lost the World Test Championship final to New Zealand, a side that had already played two Tests in England before the final, Kohli made a cryptic statement that his side hadn’t got what it wanted.”Well, that doesn’t depend on us,” Kohli said in the post-match press conference when asked if he would have preferred to play side games instead of intra-squad matches. “We obviously wanted first-class games, which I believe have not been given to us. I don’t know what the reasons for that are. But yeah, other than that, I think our preparation time will be ample for us to be ready for the first Test.”In that regard, the experience of getting a full first-class match – at a venue that will host a Test – for Ashwin will be welcomed from India’s point of view. His skills come at a good time for Surrey too. Teams in the County Championship are permitted two overseas players in their XI, and while Surrey already have two registered in Hashim Amla and Kyle Jamieson, Jamieson is an injury doubt for the Somerset fixture after injuring his glute in the ongoing game against Hampshire, in which he bowled only six first-innings overs.Ashwin has represented Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire in the past.

“It all boils down to execution in crunch moments,” says India captain

Nagraj Gollapudi03-Aug-20213:39

A player of Pujara’s calibre and experience should be left alone – Kohli

Having spent two months in the UK, India are “definitely better prepared” for the five-Test series in England, but Virat Kohli believes the visitors cannot cross the line if they don’t find a way to execute their plans in “situations which are not easy”. More than winning the Pataudi Trophy, a feat India last achieved under the leadership of Rahul Dravid in 2007, Kohli said the challenge for his team was to win in “situations which are not ours”.This is Kohli’s fourth tour of England and second as captain. In 2011 he came in as a replacement for Yuvraj Singh during the series, but did not play any Test. In 2014, James Anderson made him feel like the loneliest guy in the world. Four years later, Kohli returned as the best batter across both teams and the only one to make an aggregate of 500-plus runs. India, though, lost the series 4-1 having started on equal footing alongside England.Three years after that, Kohli’s India have been rated as firm favorites by all and sundry against an England side without Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes. In a chat with the Indian media on Monday, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar even said India had the potential to win 4-0 if the conditions were dry in August and September.Related

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Kohli, though, was not interested in looking too far ahead. Asked on Tuesday what it would mean to win the Test series in England, he remained impassive.”It is a very relative question,” Kohli said. “I have never really played for any kind of landmark or milestones in my career. Every game in international cricket has been an opportunity for me to test myself and my character and how mentally strong I am and how much skill level I have to be able to sustain at this level for a long period of time. And things are going to be no different this series as well – we are going to play with the same passion, same commitment, same belief that we play every series with.”(The question of) a few series matter more than others – I don’t really believe in these things because then you are really picking and choosing what you want to do. That is not being honest with the game. For us it is all about wanting difficult cricket, wanting tough cricket, and wanting to win in conditions which are not ours. That is the only challenge that I see.”India have been in the country since June 2, arriving early to play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. They had a three-week break after the final, post which they played a warm-up match in Durham. The time spent has also meant better acclimatisation to the English weather.”We are definitely much better prepared than we have been in the past,” Kohli said. “The situation allowed us to get acclimatised to the weather firstly because it can change quite drastically and quite quickly. At the same time playing under different changes in conditions in terms of weather – whether it is overcast, or it is sunny, how the pitches behave, how the ball travels, how much it swings in the air. All those kinds of things are definitely going to add to our experience which already the team possesses a lot of, having played in England in the past.”It all boils down to execution in crunch moments and that purely comes from belief and how badly you want to be in situations which are not easy. As long as we are looking to embrace that we will find answers to all the questions thrown at us. Otherwise you cannot play at this level for a long period if you are not literally wanting to be in situations which are absolutely opposite to what your comfort zone is.”One of the reasons behind the 2018 series loss was how India lost the key moments to England. Kohli admitted it was an area of concern.”As a team we looked to improve. We haven’t done well and that is one aspect of the game we need to get better, which is understanding when things are not going your way, how to control damage. That’s what Test cricket is all about: you have to go through situations and then eventually capitalise when things turn your way as well. Because you are not going to have all sessions turn your way. When things do not favour you as a team, that’s an area we want to keep improving at and the Test matches that we have done that well we have ended up winning. It all boils down to execution in those difficult moments.”

The Delhi Capitals allrounder said Avesh Khan was initially supposed to deliver the Super Over

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-20211:57

Axar Patel – I suggested Rishabh Pant I should bowl the Super Over against Sunrisers

Axar Patel, playing his first IPL 2021 game after recovering from Covid-19, revealed following Delhi Capitals’ Super Over win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad that it was he who told the team management that he should bowl in the one-over shootout. Bowling at David Warner and Kane Williamson, Patel conceded only seven runs in six balls, which the Capitals chased down.Patel said in the post-match press conference that the Capitals were planning on having Avesh Khan – who took 3 for 34 in his four-over quota – deliver the Super Over. But at the end of regulation play, Patel approached the Capitals captain RIshabh Pant and suggested that a spinner would be much harder to put away on the sluggish Chepauk surface. The assessment proved correct eventually as Patel bowled two dots, two singles, one leg bye, and one four.”When I was in the dressing room, I was thinking that on this wicket, a spinner would be pretty effective,” Patel said. “When I came out of the dressing room, the coach and everyone were talking. The initial thought was to go with a fast bowler – Avesh Khan – because they would send a left-right combination.Related

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“After that, when we were just stepping onto the ground, I thought a spinner would be more effective. So I told Rishabh that I could also bowl the over. Then he spoke to Ricky [Ponting], and it was decided at the last moment that I would bowl.”Patel also said that the Capitals’ decision to not send both their openers – Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan – in the Super Over chase of eight and instead of going for two left-handers in Dhawan and Pant was based on the dimensions of the ground, which were bigger on one side and, therefore, would allow more twos to be taken. That decision worked out against Rashid Khan, whom the Sunrisers fielded to bowl the Super Over.Patel, who took 2 for 26 in his regulation four overs, said that he was match-ready ever since he came out of the medical facility in Mumbai where he spent nearly three weeks recovering from Covid-19. With the Chepauk surface assisting spinners, and Patel having rejoined the Capitals camp in Chennai on Thursday, he was asked by the management ahead of Sunday’s game if he felt fit enough to play, to which he said yes. The management told Patel that if he was ready, they he would slot into the XI right away. Patel said his confidence was boosted by his stellar returns against England in the recent home series.”Even before Covid I was bowling well, in Test matches, and then I bowled in the T20Is too. So, I was carrying the same confidence,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking much that I have had Covid. After recovering from Covid, if I still keep thinking about it that I lost 20 days…obviously it was frustrating but I wasn’t thinking much about it.”When I was in quarantine, the team-mates used to have a chat with me over calls, so I was thinking only the positive stuff that I would regain my rhythm and won’t think much about how I would do, or if my bowling or batting would be affected. So, I followed the basics, spent some time in the nets, and found the rhythm I wanted in those four days. After that, I was both mentally and physically ready.”

The IPL crisis has taken a new twist with Mumbai Police summoning the Chennai Super Kings chief executive, Gurunath Meiyappan, to its Crime Branch for questioning in connection with betting

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2013The IPL crisis has taken a new twist with Mumbai Police summoning a top Chennai Super Kings official, Gurunath Meiyappan, to its Crime Branch for questioning in connection with betting. He is expected to appear between 11 am and 5 pm on Friday after the police rejected his request for an extension until Monday.The news is embarrassing – and potentially damaging – for the IPL and its parent body the BCCI, given that Meiyappan is the son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, whose company India Cements owns the Super Kings franchise. Meiyappan’s exact designation is unclear at this point but his twitter handle says “team principal” and he has been a regular on the team dugout during matches and at the franchise table during the IPL auctions.Television visuals on Friday morning showed Meiyappan leaving Srinivasan’s house in Kodaikanal, a hill resort town where the BCCI chief has been spending the last few days.The summons was affixed to the door of Meiyappan’s Chennai residence and been served to, and accepted by, a manager at the Super Kings office.”We need to verify certain issues raised and claims made by Vindoo Dara Singh during his interrogation,” the joint commissioner of police Himanshu Roy said. “It may be necessary to confront Meiyappan with Vindoo to verify whether there is any truth in the latter’s claims. It is obvious that if Vindoo was merely socialising with him, we would not have summoned Meiyappan.”There was no official statement by the franchise.However, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla did speak briefly on the issue. “The Mumbai and Delhi Police are competent authorities and let them finish the investigations before jumping to any conclusions,” he said, when asked whether Srinivasan should step down from the post of BCCI president accepting moral responsibility for the crisis. “How can you term anyone guilty before the investigations are completed? Let the police report be submitted and then we will be in a better position to talk further.”The development followed reports circulating in the media since Tuesday on the proximity of Virender “Vindoo” Dara Singh, who was arrested that day in Mumbai for links with bookies, to the Super Kings franchise. Those reports, which included pictures of Vindoo watching IPL matches in the company of Super Kings captain MS Dhoni’s wife, were not denied in the 48 hours since.Later in the evening Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s general manager (cricket development), met Mumbai Police’s joint commissioner Himanshu Roy. It was learnt that the meeting was primarily to seek Mumbai police’s cooperation in the BCCI’s internal investigation of the case against suspended cricketers. The Supreme Court had on Tuesday directed the BCCI to complete the internal inquiry within 15 days.The police crackdown on bookies continued in other parts of the country. In Kolkata, ten people, including one bookie, were arrested for being allegedly involved in cricket betting. “We have arrested 10 people, including a bookie last night. We are investigating thecase. They will be produced before a court today [Friday],” deputy commissioner Santosh Pandey told PTI.Initial investigations said they had bet on a match between Mumbai Indians and Super Kings.