Bangladesh’s watchful approach at the start of their chase of 245 gave West Indies the upper hand as the Mirpur Test moved towards a tight finish

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur17-Nov-2012Bangladesh’s watchful approach at the start of their chase of 245 gave West Indies the upper hand as the Mirpur Test moved towards a tight finish, according to Darren Sammy. He praised his team’s attitude of not taking Bangladesh lightly, a factor he said had contributed to the 77-run win, especially after West Indies had conceded a 29-run lead in the first innings.”Normally Tamim [Iqbal] goes after the new ball,” Sammy said. “They always start off with a flier. But to see them coming out and leaving balls, I liked it. Had they got off to a flier, we would have had to pull back the game. I think it suited our plans the way they kept being tentative.”I know Bangladesh will take a lot of positives from this game and so will we. It leaves the series wide open with one more Test to go. We have seen that they are not a team we could roll over. We can expect a bigger fight and hopefully we can come out victorious in Khulna.”Bangladesh had scored their highest Test total – 556 – and remained competitive for four days, but blew their chances of victory during the last two sessions. On the second day, West Indies had declared on 527 for 4, and after Bangladesh surpassed that, the visitors came out firing in the second innings.”We were never going to take Bangladesh lightly but had we taken them for granted, the result of the first innings score would have caused panic in the dressing room, which eventually was a happy place after we had won a hard-fought Test match.”To see that we battled throughout the Test match and came out victorious, it would definitely boost the confidence that we had coming from the World Twenty20. It will improve the attitude of the players when we go out and play on the cricket field.”The deteriorating pitch helped West Indies keep the home batsmen quiet. The ball kicked up a few times when it hit the ridges that had developed, and there was spin too. “In the dressing room we talked about taking 10 wickets,” Sammy said. “The pitch we saw from the last session of the fourth day and the first session today, there were something for the spinners and also our guys are much quicker. We saw how Rubel [Hossain] bowled today and yesterday. I backed my bowlers and once we were patient, we know could get wickets.”Sammy was pleased to see the inexperienced players in his side standing up when it mattered, especially the second-innings century by Kieran Powell, who became the first West Indies batsman in 12 years to score hundreds in each innings of a Test. Debutant Veerasammy Permaul took four wickets in the game, while Tino Best picked up his first five-wicket haul with a burst of pace and bounce in the second innings.”The positives of this match are that guys have been scoring runs. Marlon [Samuels] and [Chris] Gayle didn’t score and yet we got 500-plus in the first innings and 240-odd on the fourth day in the second innings,” Sammy said. “The youngsters are really coming through. More players are stepping up and performing on a consistent basis.”

A round-up of the sixth round National Cricket League matches

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2012
ScorecardDhaka Division opened up the title race for the National Cricket League by beating leaders Khulna Division by five wickets in Rajshahi. The seven points from the game put them just four short of Khulna in the points table.Put into bat first, Khulna were bowled out for 171 runs in 59 overs with Mosharraf Hossain taking seven wickets with his left-arm spin. Only Nazmus Sadat stood firm with the bat, scoring 53 off 138 balls. Dhaka took a 58-run lead as Khulna hit back with four wickets coming through their left-arm spinner Murad Khan and three from seamer Robiul Islam.Imrul Kayes hit a century in the second innings but only Mithun Ali contributed with a half-century as the rest of the batsmen failed against Shahadat Hossain and Mosharraf, who took three wickets each. Dhaka were set a target of 211 runs on the final day, which they reached in 40.2 overs, despite Robiul’s four-wicket haul.
ScorecardLast four season’s winners Rajshahi Division have given themselves an outside chance of retaining the title with a 10-wicket win over Sylhet Division in Savar. The win put them on 26 points and if Khulna and Dhaka both fail to pick up points in the last round of matches and Rajshahi win with the maximum of nine points, they could win the title.Sylhet, after being put into bat, were stung by Farhad Reza’s four-wicket haul on the first day and were bowled out for 218 runs. Rajshahi replied handsomely, taking a 172-run lead. Sabbir Rahman top-scored with 136 and there were some useful contributions down the order that helped Rajshahi stretch the lead, despite Enamul Haque jnr’s six wickets.In the second innings, Rajshahi left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took the first five-for of his career as Sylhet were bowled out for 202 runs. Rajshahi picked up the 31 runs required early on the fourth morning.
ScorecardChittagong Division picked up their second win in the competition after they beat bottom-placed Barisal Division by eight wickets in Sylhet. Batting first, Barisal made 204 runs with Salman Hossain scoring 98.Chittagong replied with 296 runs, helped mainly by Faisal Hossain’s unbeaten 123 and 72 by Nazimuddin, who returned to form this season. Pace bowler Kamrul Islam Rabbi took five wickets for Barisal, while left-arm spinner Monir Hossain picked up four.Barisal replied poorly as they were bowled out for just 163 runs in 71 overs. Legspinner Noor Hossain took only his second five-for in his career, giving Chittagong a target of 72 runs, which they completed late on the fourth afternoon.

Cricket Kenya has created a piece of history by electing Jackie Janmohammed as its new chairman

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2012Cricket Kenya has created a piece of history by electing a woman as its new chairman, the first female to head a national cricket board.Jackie Janmohammed, a Nairobi-based lawyer, was unanimously elected to replace Samir Inamdar, who held the post for seven-and-a-half years.”I take this opportunity to thank the cricket fraternity for placing their trust for leadership under me,” Janmohammed said. “I would like to make a covenant of uniting everyone for the benefit of the sport and my only agenda will be to grow the sport and achieve measurable results.”She served as a legal advisor to the old Kenya Cricket Association and will be responsible for implementing the findings of a comprehensive review that was carried out in the wake of Kenya’s disastrous 2011 World Cup campaign – their worst performance in a World Cup.Kenya were hammered by New Zealand – who bowled them out for 69 – Pakistan and Sri Lanka, handsomely beaten by Australia and, of most concern, swept aside by Zimbabwe and comfortably beaten by Canada – an alarming set of results only eight years on from a semi-final in 2003.”My short term plans are to ensure both the national Under-19 and the senior men’s team qualify for the next World Cup,” she said. “Kenya play Canada in the UAE in March, in a match we need to win to stay in contention for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.”Kenya currently lie sixth in the ICC World Cricket League Championship, with the top two teams in the group automatically qualifying for the 2015 World Cup. Kenya have six points with two matches to play. Ireland top the table with 13 points, Scotland are second with 11.Should Kenya miss out on automatic qualification, they will still have a route to the World Cup via the qualifying tournament in 2014.

James Faulkner has replaced fellow allrounder Moises Henriques in the Australia squad for the first two ODIs against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2013James Faulkner has replaced fellow allrounder Moises Henriques in the Australia squad for the first two ODIs against West Indies. Henriques was ruled out for those games after undergoing surgery on his right index finger on Saturday.Faulkner, 22, who plays for Tasmania, has played one T20 international for Australia, against India last year. He’ll join the Australia squad on January 30, after playing for Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra the day before.The first two ODIs of the five-match series will be played in Perth, starting February 1.

There’s nothing big at stake but for a subcontinental cricket fan, especially in a small town like Cuttack, an India-Pakistan match is a major event

Amol Karhadkar in Cuttack06-Feb-2013Minutes after India’s humiliating exit from the Women’s World Cup, following a shock defeat to Sri Lanka in Mumbai, their captain Mithali Raj was asked during the media briefing about Thursday’s “big match” against Pakistan. Despite being teary-eyed, Raj managed a smile and said, “I am not in a state of mind to think about it right now.”There’s nothing big at stake in the match at the Barabati Stadium – it’s a playoff for seventh place and the loser will finish last in the World Cup – but for a subcontinental cricket fan, especially in a small town like Cuttack, an India-Pakistan match is a major event.After Pakistan’s loss to South Africa had put them out of the tournament hours before India’s exit, a policeman said to his colleague that it was only two more days until the neighbouring women left. But after India were upset at the Brabourne Stadium, and were going to travel to Cuttack to play Pakistan, the security personnel were taking all sorts of precautionary measures for the game to go off smoothly.”An India-Pakistan match is always an interesting affair. Even if it’s a seventh place playoff, it has generated excitement in town,” Odisha Cricket Association president Ranjib Biswal. “I am sure there will be a sizeable crowd in the stands tomorrow.”Regardless of their number, the people who come to watch will not be cheering the team they had adopted over the last week. A crowd of about 500-1000 was neutral during Pakistan’s opening game against Australia, and then cheered their good shots against New Zealand. By the time Pakistan played their must-win encounter against South Africa on Tuesday, the crowd had started cheering them on.”It was really a nice feeling to see the crowd cheering for us,” Pakistan captain Sana Mir said after their loss to South Africa. “This shows that when it comes to cricket, the rest of the problems are set aside. We have been taken care of very well and would love to come back to Odisha and explore the state, something that we couldn’t do this time around.”After a disappointing week, neither India nor Pakistan trained ahead of their final match of the World Cup. Pakistan will hope their batsmen improve on their best total of the tournament so far – 104 – while India will be desperate to avoid finishing last in a World cup they are hosting.

A round-up of the Faysal Bank One-Day Cup matches played on March 17, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2013

Group A

Karachi Dolphins chased down Multan Tigers’ 346 in a high-scoring match in Multan. Multan were put into bat, and were led by a 95-run stand between Zeeshan Ashraf and Usman Liaqat. Sohaib Maqsood scored a maiden List-A century, finishing on 156 off 95 balls, which included 13 fours and ten sixes. The rest of the order chipped in as Multan finished on 346 for 7 at the end of their fifty overs.Karachi Dolphins’ openers started well, putting on 69. Shazaib Hasan and Saeed Bin Nasir were then involved in a 181-run stand for the second wicket. Hasan finished with a career-best 135, while Nasir finished on 114. Contributions from Fawad Alam (24) and Sarfraz Ahmed (20), ensured they would finish the chase inside the 49th over, with five wickets to spare.Contributions from Mukhtar Ahmed and Mansoor Amjad led Sialkot Stallions to an eight-wicket victory over Hyderabad Hawks in Hyderabad. Hyderabad were put in to bat, and found themselves in trouble at 23 for 3. A 54-run stand for the fourth wicket between Rizwan Ahmed and Faisal Athar helped regain some stability. Contributions lower down the order from Lal Kumar (36), Mir Ali (34) and Kashif Bhatti (53*), pushed their total to 244. Bilawal Bhatti had the best figures of 4 for 59.After losing Yasir Aziz for five, Sialkot were guided by opener Ahmed and Mansoor Amjad, as they put up a 99-run partnership for the second wicket. Ahmed eventually fell for 91 off 68, as Shahid Yousuf came in to help Amjad steer the chase. Ultimately the two would finish not out, with Amjad reaching his century, and Yousuf contributing with 45. With this win Sialkot moved to the top of the table in Group A.Lahore Eagles successfully chased Bahawalpur Stags’ target of 202 in Ghari Khuda Baksh, Bahawalpur were put in to bat, and the top order, barring Rafay Ahmed’s 44 and Mustansar Hussain’s 54, did not contribute much to their total. Kamran Hussain’s 21 and Waqas Khan’s unbeaten 26 pushed them to 202 for 7 at the end of their 50 overs. Asfan Mehran picked up the best figures of 3 for 45.Lahore Eagles’ top order, in comparison, were much stronger in reply. Contributions from Sami Aslam (53), Abdul Wahab Dar (38), Abid Ali (37) and Jahangir Mirza’s unbeaten 55, ensured they chased Bahawalpur’s target inside of the 48th over. Bahawalpur used seven bowlers, but none proved incisive enough.

Group B

Rawalpindi Rams thrashed Peshawar Panthers by 165 runs in Islamabad to win their third match and move to third place in Group B. Electing to bat first, Rawalpindi were 96 for 3 but Umar Waheed scored 96 off 93, which included 10 fours and a six, which laid the platform for a big score. Among the lower-order batsmen and the tail, Mohammad Nawaz (55 off 43) Jamal Anwar (41 off 27) and Akhtar Ayub (29 off 18) made sure Rawalpindi set Peshawar a target of 317.Peshawar could not score even half the runs required as their top order was reduced to 25 for 4. Only No. 3 batsman Gauhar Ali resisted with a knock of 41 but he did not get enough support and Peshawar did not get many partnerships going, the longest one being of 60 for the fifth wicket. Three bowlers from Rawalpindi took two wickets each – Umar Amin, Ayub, and Nawaz – which made Peshawar crumble under pressure as they were all out for 151.Faisalabad Wolves sneaked a two-wicket win against the Islamabad Leopards in a topsy-turvy match in Rawalpindi. After Islamabad lost their openers cheaply, Babar Azam (49) and Umair Khan (39) steered them to safety with a 66-run partnership. However, Imran Ahmed removed both of them and took two more wickets to finish with figures of 4 for 22. He was ably supported by Asad Ali (3-37) and they wrapped up Islamabad for 159.The Faisalabad batsmen got off to starts but could not convert them into big scores. Ammar Mahmood (28) and Imran Ahmed (24) took them to 50 but they were soon 90 for 5 as Raheel Majeed and Imad Wasim dented their top order. However, their captain Mohammad Salman stayed unbeaten till the end with a run-a-ball 32 and ensured a victory with 26 balls to spare even though they lost eight wickets.Lahore Lions trounced the Abbottabad Falcons by 197 runs at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium. Lahore Lions’ openers Umar Siddiq (101) and Azhar Ali (107) put together 208 for the opening wicket as Umar struck his first List-A hundred. Their partnership was followed by a fifty from Saad Nasim (57 off 37) but they lost four quick wickets after that, moving from 285 for 2 to 303 for 6. A cameo of an 11-ball 24 from Fahad-ul-Haq took them to 327 for 7 in the end.Their bowlers made sure the Abbottabad batsmen did not settle down and struck at regular intervals. No. 3 batsman Rameez Ahmed top scored with 30 but this was followed by three single-digit scores that kept the pressure mounting. Khalid Kail and Yasir Shah resisted for a while in the end but could not avoid a huge defeat when they were dismissed for 130 in 35 overs.

James Harris, the most sought-after player of the winter in county cricket, is one of four uncapped players in England’s provisional 30-strong squad for the Champions Trophy.

David Hopps04-Apr-2013James Harris, the most sought-after player of the winter in county cricket, is one of four uncapped players in England’s provisional 30-strong squad for the Champions Trophy.But once again England remain determinedly opposed to Matt Prior’s return to one-day international cricket as the Sussex wicketkeeper batsman does not even make the 30 despite a series of attacking displays for England in the Test arena.His one-day record is mediocre, although arguably he is a much superior player these days. Measured against that was the desire of England’s selectors to follow a consistent path and, as much as they desire a first England win in a major ICC 50-over event, to leave Prior to concentrate on reaching the start of the Ashes series in perfect fettle.Prior made a bristling unbeaten hundred in the Auckland Test to give England a face-saving draw against New Zealand last month, and a share of the series, but it has not swayed the conviction of England’s selectors that Jos Buttler or Craig Kieswetter offer better options in the 50-over format.Harris will be one of the most eagerly-studied players in early season as he seeks to make a big impression with his new county, Middlesex, who won the battle for his transfer fought out by a dozen counties after he left struggling Glamorgan.Harris is joined in the squad by the Warwickshire opening batsman, Varun Chopra, Yorkshire’s belligerent middle-order batsman Gary Ballance, and the Warwickshire seam bowler, Chris Wright.Although none of the four have strong chances of making the cut when the final 15 is named by the May 5 deadline, the long list is nevertheless more intriguing than the conservative list of 30 players announced earlier this week in the England Performance squad.Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: “This is a balanced squad which will provide the selectors with strong options in all areas and reflects players’ performances for both the senior England teams and the England Lions and EPP squads over the winter period.”With this country hosting the tournament for the first time since 2004, there will be every incentive for England to perform well and we anticipate intense competition for places in our final squad which will be named early next month.”England have never won a 50-over trophy at a major ICC event. The Champions Trophy features the best eight ODI teams in 15 matches between June 6-23 at The Oval, Edgbaston and Cardiff.With just over two months until the opening game in Cardiff, additional tickets for all 15 matches will go on general sale at 10.30am on Monday 8 April, via icc-cricket.com or 0844 249 2013.England provisional squad for Champions trophy
Alastair Cook (Essex), James Anderson (Lancashire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Danny Briggs (Hampshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Somerset), Varun Chopra (Warwickshire), Rikki Clarke (Warwickshire), Jade Dernbach (Surrey), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), James Harris (Middlesex), Craig Kieswetter (Somerset), Stuart Meaker (Surrey), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Graham Onions (Durham), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Kevin Pietersen (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Chris Wright (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

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.

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

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.