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The BCCI has moved on its decision to scrap the broadcast rights deal with Nimbus Communications by asking it to stop providing the live feed of the Ranji Trophy on Neo Cricket

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Dec-2011The BCCI has moved on its decision to scrap the broadcast rights deal with Nimbus Communications by asking it to stop providing the live feed of the Ranji Trophy on Neo Cricket. This is the first direct fallout of its decision on the rights deal, understood to have been taken on Monday but not yet formally made public by the BCCI.On Tuesday, Neo Cricket had broadcast live the first day’s play of the Ranji Trophy match between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu in Motera, Ahmedabad, but there was no broadcast today. A BCCI official said the Board had “instructed Nimbus Sports Production not to give the feed to Nimbus Sports Media (Neo Cricket) from Wednesday.”Nimbus Sports Production is the production arm of Nimbus Communications and holds the rights for producing domestic cricket till 2014 in India. The BCCI pays Nimbus a fee to produce all matches televised in India, and holds the rights to decide as to whether the matches are in fact telecast.The BCCI has made no formal announcement of the termination of its contract with Nimbus, nor did it issue any instructions to the production company on the first day of the Ranji match, due to which the first day of the match was telecast live. “Even if BCCI says do not give the feed to anyone, the production company will oblige,” the official pointed out.At the moment, there is no clarity on whether the telecast would be resumed. During the second day’s play at the Motera though, it looked as if it was business as usual, with cameras in place and commentators speaking into microphones. The production team went about its business with the footage of the game and the views of the commetators were being being formally recorded, even if only for the BCCI’s archives.The dispute between the BCCI and Nimbus will have an immediate impact on the coverage of the Ranji Trophy, currently in the last two rounds of its league phase with the knockout matches beginning on January 2. A BCCI official said the live coverage was a “priority” and a decision on to how to handle the live coverage of the remaining matches of the Ranji Trophy would be made soon.

A round-up of the action from the fourth day of the fifth round of matches from the Ranji Trophy Elite League 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2011Group AStuart Binny was the hero for Karnataka as he took his second five-for of the match to conjure a victory for Karnataka over Orissa in Bhubaneswar. The draw looked the likeliest result as Karnataka declared 32 overs into the final day, after Amit Verma’s century and his patient 139-run stand for the seventh wicket with Sunil Raju took their lead to 300. Orissa struggled to put together a partnership as they faced about two sessions of batting to get a draw – the highest stand was for the final wicket.The top-order wickets were shared by the Karnataka bowlers, but the match really changed with a double-strike from Binny in the 31st over which reduced Orissa to 100 for 6. Binny, with only 19 wickets in 30 previous first-class matches, swept through the tail to close in on his ten-wicket haul for the match. The final pair of Basant Mohanty and Alok Mangaraj slammed 47 in less than three overs before Binny bowled Mohanty to seal the win and his ten-for. The win lifted Karnataka to 20 points and the top of the table, three clear of Mumbai.The only interest on the final day in Jaipur was whether Rajasthan would be able to overhaul Punjab’s mammoth total of 597. It was a difficult task for Rajasthan, though they had made a reasonably good start, reaching 321 for 4 by stumps on the third day. Punjab fast bowler Manpreet Gony was also injured and couldn’t bowl much on the final day. With the in-form Robin Bist at the crease, having completed his third century in three matches, Rajasthan began the day well, and Rashmi Parida extended their stand beyond 200 before Parida was bowled by Brainder Sran. The wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik fell soon after, and Rajasthan’s chances faded sharply once Vivek Yadav and Bist were dismissed in the space of three overs. The tail dragged the total to 500, but Punjab grabbed a 97-run lead giving them three crucial points which kept them tied in third place with Uttar Pradesh at 12 points. After the first innings, the match was only a formality as Bipul Sharma smashed a run-a-ball 56 to take Punjab to 94 for 2 by close.Wasim Jaffer returned to form with a comfortable century, which became the only element of interest in the match on Friday. Saurashtra had dominated in Rajkot on the previous three days before having to settle for a draw. They earned three valuable points to keep their chances of making the knockout stage still alive. Despite getting only a solitary point Mumbai are well placed, on 17 points and in second spot behind group leaders Karnataka. For more on this match, click here.Group BA day after Virender Sehwag’s heroics at Indore, there was more excitement as Madhya Pradesh pulled off a thrilling two-wicket victory over Delhi at the Emerald High School Ground. The day began with MP needing 59 more to win, with five wickets in hand. Udit Birla, the 22-year-old batsman in his first season, showed a terrific temperament as he guided MP to the finish line, though Delhi had some vastly experienced bowlers like Rajat Bhatia and Ashish Nehra. It was the lowest profile of Delhi’s medium-pacers, Pankaj Awana, who made all the breakthroughs on Friday, but despite his three strikes, MP inched their way to the target of 299, with Birla remaining unbeaten on 49. It was the start of a day in which each of the top three teams in the group won.Tamil Nadu soared to the top of the table with a win over Bengal, who are bottom of the table and staring at relegation. Since the margin of victory in Kolkata was ten wickets, Tamil Nadu get the bonus point as well. Bengal’s hope of salvaging something from the game was in the hands of the experienced overnight pair of captain Saurav Ganguly and Laxmi Ratan Shukla. However, three overs into the day Ganguly was dismissed by the opposition captain, L Balaji. The wickets tumbled regularly after that and Bengal folded for 246, leaving Tamil Nadu a target of 32. That was knocked off Abhinav Mukund and M Vijay in less than five overs, securing Tamil Nadu’s place atop Group B.Gujarat crumbled in their second-innings against Baroda to slide to a 241-run defeat that intensified both the race for the top three and the relegation battle at the bottom. The victory at Moti Bagh Stadium lifted Baroda to 13 points, tied in second place with Madhya Pradesh, and three ahead of fourth-ranked Delhi. Needing to bat out the day to save the game, Gujarat folded for 123, holding out for a mere 47.3 overs. Left-arm medium-pacer Gagandeep Singh, playing only his second first-class match, was the wrecker-in-chief nipping out five wickets as Baroda proved they could win even without the Pathan brothers -Irfan is with the national side, while Yusuf is out with an injury. There was little resistance from Gujarat with the top score of 22 coming from the No. 9 Mehul Patel. The result leaves Gujarat on 7 points, two ahead of cellar-dwellers Bengal.

The fast bowler Pat Cummins is aiming to be part of Australia’s tour of the West Indies but has all but been ruled out of the Commonwealth Bank Series due to his heel injury

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2012The fast bowler Pat Cummins is aiming to be part of Australia’s tour of the West Indies but has all but been ruled out of the Commonwealth Bank Series due to his heel injury. Cummins, 18, starred in Australia’s Test victory in Johannesburg in November but has not played since then, and he is expecting to resume bowling in the next two weeks.However, it could be as much as a month until he makes his comeback to competitive cricket, which is likely to come through Sydney’s grade competition rather than for New South Wales. The limited-overs portion of the West Indies tour begins on March 16, and Cummins hopes he will be available for the five ODIs.”The main thing everyone has said is don’t rush and try and race back for something and then end up doing it again and you’re out for another three months,” Cummins told the . “It’s a bit out of everyone’s hands, it’s just how it recovers. Just playing it by ear and when it’s ready it’s ready. I’d love to be on that West Indies tour.”I’ve done about four or five runs now and it’s pulled up brilliantly the next day. It’s pain-free every run and the next day it’s not swollen so it’s good signs at the moment. [It] probably takes another three or four weeks to build up to game practice. After that four weeks, hopefully 10 overs should be right for one-day cricket.”His success in the Wanderers Test made Cummins an appealing prospect for the home summer, but Australia’s strong pace-bowling resources meant they managed without him and won five of their six home Tests. Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ryan Harris, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc carried the fast-bowling load.

Shane Watson has bluntly stated his intention to win back his Test match opening spot, irrespective of the promising union formed by David Warner and Ed Cowan in the Australian vice-captain’s absence from the XI

Daniel Brettig15-Feb-2012Shane Watson has bluntly stated his intention to win back his Test match opening spot, irrespective of the promising union formed by David Warner and Ed Cowan in his absence.Before he departed Sydney to return to first-class cricket for New South Wales against Western Australia in a Sheffield Shield match at the WACA, Watson said he would be opening the batting for the Blues as a precursor to his bid to regain that spot for the national team.While an extended injury break due to hamstring and calf problems has made Watson mindful of managing his workload this time around, the prospect of moving down the order appeared a long way from his mind.”At the moment I’m going to open the batting [in Perth],” Watson said. “I’d love to be able to open [for Australia], but that’s where I’ve had the most enjoyment as a batsman and that’s where I’ve had the most enjoyment as a batsman, that’s where my game really progressed from, with the opportunity to open the batting. That’s really where I’d love to be able to bat, no doubt.”Ed Cowan, in Test cricket especially, and Dave Warner have done a pretty good job there. It’s going to be interesting to see where things pan out but I certainly do love opening, because that’s where I’ve had most success in my international career.”The absence of Watson, the vice-captain, coincided with a rich vein of form for the Test team under Michael Clarke’s leadership, and whenever he returns, either towards the end of the triangular ODI series or in the West Indies, it will be to a vastly different dressing room from the one he left. However, Watson’s primary concern will be to find the ideal balance between his muscular batting and shrewd swing and seam bowling, something he admitted did not “exactly work” in the months leading up to his injury.”I’ll have to keep an eye on that, definitely,” Watson said. “That’s something I’ve looked at in detail over the last few months, exactly how I’m going to be able to balance what I’m trying to do and keeping my body as good as it can as well throughout the period of playing a lot of cricket.”There’s no doubt playing consistently for four months, which I did throughout that period, it just ended up my body wasn’t agreeing with what I was trying to do with it. In the end it’s meant a lot of other things have been able to regenerate and I’ve been able to reassess where I was at and the things that didn’t go exactly to plan throughout that four-month period of playing consistently – a few mistakes that I did make throughout that period of time, I certainly won’t be making them again because I wouldn’t really like to be out for another three months again because it’s very frustrating.”So I’m going to have to continue to talk to Michael and Mickey Arthur and just try and balance my workload as much as I possibly can because what happened over the last little while didn’t exactly work so I’m just going to have to stay on top of things a little bit more, I think.”Joining Watson in Perth for the Shield match starting on Friday is the Test wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who remains surplus to the requirements of the limited-overs team despite having earlier been informed that he was being rested for the first three matches. Watson said he felt Haddin had been left “in limbo”, though the wicketkeeper himself seems more comfortable with where things stand.”I actually feel sorry for Brad at the moment,” Watson said. “He’s been left in a bit of limbo unfortunately. He doesn’t know which way he’s going, whether he’s been rested or being dropped. I really do feel sorry for him because someone who’s played an important role over the last five years in all forms of the game for Australia.”I think [he] definitely deserves to be told either way what his future holds, because I know if I was in the same position I’d be pretty disappointed if you’re being left in limbo a little bit. I think they should tell him either way and that’s for Test cricket also. It’s important for him just to be able to know which direction he is going.”I’ve been in different situations when [in] selection you don’t know exactly what’s going on. But for someone who’s been a big part and been the vice-captain for Australia on a number of occasions as well, I think that’s what he deserves.”

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has been involved in a scuffle with a member of the public at Karachi airport

Umar Farooq23-Mar-2012Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has been involved in a scuffle with a member of the public at Karachi airport. Afridi was returning from Dhaka, where Pakistan had won the Asia Cup, and lost his temper after being mobbed by fans on his arrival.Television footage showed Afridi, wearing a red t-shirt, walking towards his car while being surrounded by fans taking pictures and wanting autographs. After a point Afridi, visibly angry, lost his temper and threw a few punches at some people. His brother, Mushtaq, intervened and prevented the situation from getting worse.Afridi said he did not want to hurt anyone but had lost his temper when his three-year-old daughter was caught in the middle of the crowd. “It was an unpleasant situation,” Afridi told ESPNcricinfo. “It is common that fans come and seek autographs but there was no security to keep the public in limits.”While I was walking down to my car, where my daughter was standing with flowers in her hand, she was caught in the commotion. She hurt her nail, but otherwise she’s fine.”

By the end of a rain-shortened opening day, neither side could claim any real advantage but Kraigg Brathwaite’s stubborn half-century and Kirk Edwards’ 61 had given the hosts something to build on

The Report by Brydon Coverdale07-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKraigg Brathwaite made 57 from 199 balls•AFPThere’s no doubt about it: the Test series has started. After two weeks of limited-overs games between these two teams and while the IPL, with its promise of immediate gratification, gets under way in India, West Indies and Australia played out a dour first day in Barbados. By the end of a rain-shortened day, neither side could claim any real advantage but Kraigg Brathwaite’s stubborn half-century and Kirk Edwards’ 61 had given the hosts something to build on.An afternoon shower halted proceedings after 73 hard-fought overs in which West Indies had inched along to 179 for 3. The Australians had not long removed the limpet-like Brathwaite for 57 from 199 deliveries only to be greeted by the sight of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who during the last Caribbean series between the sides enjoyed a batting stretch of 18 hours without being dismissed, walking to the crease.When play was abandoned for the day, Chanderpaul was on 8 and Darren Bravo had made 20 from 60 deliveries, and their partnership loomed as a key for both sides with Narsingh Deonarine the only specialist batsman still to come. The two men were hoping to build on the platform constructed by Brathwaite and Edwards but should Australia separate them early on day two, the work of the top order might be annulled.Bravo had shown some inclination to attack early in his innings as he launched the occasional legspin of David Warner high into the stands over long-on, but he was quiet after that. It didn’t help that he lost the established Brathwaite, who tickled behind off Peter Siddle to give the debutant wicketkeeper Matthew Wade his first catch in Test cricket.It was the end of a gritty but far from unblemished innings from Brathwaite, who now has four half-centuries from his seven Tests but is yet to move beyond the 60s. The Australians dropped Brathwaite twice and Edwards once in an untidy fielding display and their partnership was allowed to blossom to 104 runs thanks to the let-offs.Brathwaite was put down on 10 when he pushed a ball from Siddle uppishly back to the left of the bowler, who misjudged the chance and spilled the catch with his left hand. Another life came on 44, when Ricky Ponting at second slip grassed a tough diving opportunity off Shane Watson.The simplest of all the lives was the chance given to Edwards on 56 when he edged a fullish wide ball from Siddle and Watson at fourth slip saw a sitter bounce out of his hands. Fortunately for Watson, Edwards added only five more to his score before on 61 he gave Warner his first Test wicket and just his second in first-class cricket.Warner bowled some good balls during his spell, flighting the ball to encourage strokeplay, and Edwards obliged by driving a delivery hard back at the bowler. But Warner’s reflexes were good enough and he snapped up an excellent return catch low to his right, rewarding the willingness of the captain Michael Clarke to try new things in the search for a partnership breaker.The only wicket in the first session had come when Adrian Barath, on 22 from 54 balls, fell for an obvious plan as Ryan Harris came around the wicket with a short-leg and deep backward square leg in position. The bouncer was bowled and Barath obliged with an attempted hook that flew off the top edge and was easily taken by Siddle at deep backward square leg.But that brought Edwards and Brathwaite together and they dug in to deny Australia’s bowlers. Brathwaite is renowned as an old-fashioned style of opener, one whose first priority is survival and a player for whom scoring appears to be an afterthought. That was precisely how he played his first Test innings at his home ground, Kensington Oval.He took few risks, although a couple of drives flew off the edge through gaps, and his four boundaries all came behind the wicket. He ended the innings with a strike-rate of 32.80 in his short Test career, comfortably the lowest of regular specialist batsmen in Tests in the past year, but West Indies would prefer an opener who can grind out a half-century than one who flashes and falls quickly.Generally, it was up to Brathwaite’s partners to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Edwards did that through some confident strokeplay down the ground against the offspin of Nathan Lyon. Edwards lifted Lyon over long-on for a six and was happy to drive him along the ground, while he also picked off the fast men when they strayed on to his pads.His half-century came with an impressive loft over long-off against the legspin of Warner from his 97th delivery, whereas Brathwaite took 163 balls to bring up his fifty. Together they caused problems for Australia’s fast men, who found early swing but couldn’t force enough shots to make it dangerous.Harris was included and James Pattinson was named 12th man, and there were times when Clarke must have wished for Pattinson’s explosiveness and ability to run through an order. By the close of play Australia had fought back but the first session of day two loomed as a big one for both teams.

Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehmann has said he is confident that a better batting and fielding effort can help them end their winless run in this IPL season

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2012Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehmann has said he is confident that a better batting and fielding effort can help them end their winless run in this IPL season. He was speaking after Chargers’ five-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday when they took the game to the last over despite defending 126.”I was really proud of the way we fought with the ball. The pleasing thing which I love from a young group of players is that we keep fighting, that’s four games in a row we’ve gone down to the last over,” Lehmann said. “We were about 15 short with the bat but they bowled well. We should have made about 145. I think we lost five for 40 in the last eight overs when we were two down. It was a tough wicket to play on, but we should have made 145.”Lehmann has criticised his side’s fielding in the past and did it again, after Anand Rajan dropped Debabrata Das with 17 needed off 14 deliveries. “You always like to take those catches,” he said. “We needed to take that catch and we’d have been in the game. For me it’s just about getting some facets of our game right. Ticking off the boxes in the middle order, holding our catches and bowling like we did tonight. If we do that, we’ll win games.”He was also critical of Knight Riders’ batsmen and their inability to handle the Chargers fast bowlers. “Manoj Tiwary and Das could not handle [Dale] Steyn or Veer [Pratap Singh]. He [Tiwary] won’t be playing for India much longer.”Tiwary and Steyn shared words in the 16th over, and the batsman was almost run out when he strayed from his crease during the exchange. Lehmann said, “The shorter you bowl to these players the more they struggle. Then they hit one down to long-on.”Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir said that his side did well in testing conditions. “It was a good game of cricket. You want to play such games to test yourself in such conditions. Low-scoring games are very important in the tournament. It should not always be a high-scoring game. There have to be wickets for the bowlers as well, because they also come to play a game of cricket.”He also defended allrounder Yusuf Pathan, who has struggled with the bat through the tournament. “For me he is the biggest match-winner [and] if we can win games without him then that shows the depth in our team. I’m sure he will end up winning two or three games single-handed for us,” Gambhir said. And if Lehmann voiced doubts over Tiwary’s international future, Gambhir backed Das to do well. “Das has a lot of quality. If he keeps playing like this, then he will play for India.”

Worcestershire have confirmed the relocation of their County Championship match against Surrey to Kidderminster

George Dobell04-May-2012Worcestershire have confirmed the relocation of their County Championship match against Surrey to Kidderminster.The game, which starts on Wednesday May 9, was scheduled to be played at Worcestershire’s New Road home. But with flood water currently covering three pitches on the square and a large portion of the outfield, the club have decided to make contingency plans.David Leatherdale, the Worcestershire chief executive, said: “The flood levels at New Road, which peaked on Wednesday, are now starting to subside, and the standing water on the outfield is receding, although slowly. With further rain forecast for early next week and in order to guarantee the best possible chance of playing the four- day match against Surrey, the match will be played at Kidderminster, along with our CB40 one-day game against Netherlands on Monday.”The game is notable not only for the appearance of Kevin Pietersen, playing in his only Championship match ahead of the Test series against West Indies, but the return of Surrey’s former Worcestershire keeper Steve Davies, who used to play club cricket for Kidderminster.Worcestershire hope to return to New Road for the Championship match against Sussex scheduled to start on Wednesday 16th May.

Graham Ford, the Sri Lanka coach from South Africa, has said that Thisara Perera reminded him of former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener

Sa'adi Thawfeeq19-Jun-2012Graham Ford, the Sri Lanka coach from South Africa, has said that Thisara Perera reminded him of former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener. Perera’s outstanding performances with the ball in the ODIs against Pakistan earned him the Man-of-the-Series award.”The way he hit the ball the other day he reminded me very much of Lance,” Ford said. “He is only 23 and is going to develop and get better and more effective. The more times he handles situations the better he will be. He is a wonderful striker of the ball and he’s got the same sort of power that Lance had. He is an all-round cricketer just like Lance and contributes in all areas.”It’s very exciting for Sri Lanka cricket to have a young man coming through the ranks and he should be around for a long time and hopefully winning games with his performance in all aspects of the game.”Klusener, reputed for his big hitting in the late stages of an innings, was a left-hand bat and right-arm medium-pace bowler like Perera is. Perera has already developed a reputation for being a finisher with the bat in ODIs. He took 11 wickets at an average of 15.54 against Pakistan which included a hat-trick in the fourth ODI, making him only the fourth Sri Lanka bowler to achieve the feat after Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Farveez Maharoof.Ford had earlier said that Perera, who has been selected for the upcoming Tests against Pakistan, could establish himself in the Sri Lanka Test side.Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, also heaped praise on Perera. “He is still young and we knew he has a lot of potential,” Jayawardene said. “The more games he gets under his belt he’ll improve as a genuine all-rounder but he had to work really hard on his bowling in the last six month to get to where he is now. He is one of those guys who worked really hard whether it’s fielding, batting or bowling. A lot of credit to him, a great series, hopefully he’ll continue to do what he has done for us in the future.”Perera, whose performances helped Sri Lanka take the series 3-1, said he had done some bowling drills with Champaka Ramanayake, the Sri Lanka fast bowling coach. “I have been selected as a bowling all-rounder so my first priority is as a bowler,” Perera said.

Sanitha de Mel, the right-arm medium-pacer, will lead Sri Lanka at the Under-19 World Cup in Australia in August

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2012Sanitha de Mel, the medium-pacer who captained Sri Lanka Under-19 at the Asia Cup, will lead the squad in the Under-19 World Cup in Australia in August. Angelo Jayasinghe, the right-hand batsman, will be his deputy.The selectors retained the 15-man squad that played the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka reached the semi-final of the tournament, which they lost to India. They are in Group D in the World Cup, along with South Africa, Bangladesh and Namibia and begin their campaign against Bangladesh on August 11.Squad: Sanitha de Mel (capt), Angelo Jayasinghe (vc), Vidura Adikari, Amila Aponso, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Nimantha Fernando, Shehan Fernando, Tharindu Kaushal, Ranitha Liyanarachchi, Lahiru Madushanka, Chamod Pathirana, Sebastian Perera, Pulina Tharanga, Pabasara Waduge, Sandun Weerakkody (wk).