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Former Australia women’s captain Karen Rolton was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in a ceremony during the tea break on the opening day of the Adelaide Test

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2016Former Australia women’s captain Karen Rolton was the latest inductee into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame. Rolton was presented with a personalised cap during the tea break on the opening day of the third Test between Australia and South Africa in Adelaide.She became the 81st player overall, and the sixth woman to receive the accolade. Belinda Clark, Rachel-Heyno Flint, Enid Bakewell, Debbie Hockley and Betty Wilson are the other five women internationals to have been presented the commemorative cap.”It’s with great honour that I accept this award of being inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, “Rolton, who was the first ever recipient of the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award in 2006, said. “To be acknowledged like this is something that I never expected and I am truly grateful to be listed amongst some of my all-time cricketing heroes.”I’d like to thank Cricket Australia, my teammates over the years and, most importantly, my parents for supporting me playing cricket as a junior and right until the end of my career. Finally, thank you to the ICC for inducting me into the Hall of Fame, and your ongoing support of women’s cricket.”Rolton is the only Australian woman to score more than 1000 Test runs; her 209* against England is the highest individual score by an Australian woman. She also scored 4814 runs in 141 ODIs at an average of 48.14, with eight centuries – a record only recently beaten by current Australian captain Meg Lanning. Rolton was also part of two of Australia’s World Cup triumphs – 1997 and 2005 – and captained the team in the 2009 edition.”Karen had a long and successful career which saw several high points, including a century in an ICC Women’s World Cup final,” ICC chief executive David Richardson said. “She proved her class time and again with superb performances, particularly in big matches, making her so well respected. She was a player women cricketers from around the world looked up to.”With increased investment, women’s cricket has grown rapidly over the past few years but it is through the exploits and example set by players like Karen that young women and girls are inspired to take up the game. We congratulate Karen on behalf of the ICC for her successful career and for this well-deserved award.”Rolton is first of four cricketers who will be formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame this season. The other three are Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, Australia’s Arthur Morris, and England’s George Lohmann.

Mark Wood is flying home early for England’s tour of the UAE to see a specialist about the left ankle problem that forced him to sit out the third Test against Pakistan.

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2015Mark Wood is flying home early from England’s tour of the UAE to see a specialist about the left ankle problem that forced him to sit out the third Test against Pakistan. He will miss the ODI and T20 legs of the tour, which begin in Abu Dhabi next week, with his place in the squad being taken by Liam Plunkett.Wood, whose energetic delivery stride has caused discomfort in his ankle joint for several months, has previously admitted that he may require surgery to rectify the issue. He required a cortisone injection to get through last summer’s Ashes win over Australia, and missed the third Test at Edgbaston before returning for the final two matches.He received a second injection during the Pakistan series, having claimed six wickets in 62.5 overs across the first two Tests, including his best Test figures of 3 for 39 in the first innings in Dubai. However, the England management opted not to risk him for the series decider, with Samit Patel instead earning a recall to complete a three-spinner attack.”Mark Wood’s ankle condition is well known and while we have managed his workloads over the summer and during the Test series against Pakistan it has been decided that the sensible course of action is to seek further advice from a specialist,” said James Whitaker, the national selector. “We will then be able to consider how to ensure Mark is able to perform at his very best in an England shirt going forward.”Liam Plunkett will replace Wood in both squads and, having featured in the ODI side last summer, his inclusion provides Eoin Morgan and Trevor Bayliss with an experienced pace bowling option in the squad.”With the Test tour of South Africa looming next month, England now have concerns over three of the seamers who played a role in last summer’s Ashes win. Steven Finn is currently recovering from a stress-related foot injury while Ben Stokes batted with some discomfort but did not bowl or field in the second innings in Sharjah after damaging his collarbone.England begin their preparations for the one-day leg of the UAE tour with a 50-over match against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, while the four match ODI series against Pakistan starts on Wednesday.

The KCCA has banned three players for one year each for showing indiscipline during the recently concluded Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2013The Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) has banned Fawad Alam, Sohail Khan and Khalid Latif for showing indiscipline during the recently concluded Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 competition that was completed on March 31. All three bans are for 12 months, with Sohail’s covering all domestic games for Karachi, while the two others will not be allowed to play T20s.During television coverage of the event, the players were shown criticising their coach Tauseef Ahmed, a former Pakistan player. The three players have represented Pakistan on the international stage, with Sohail Khan having played two Tests, five one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals. Fawad Alam has played three Tests, 27 ODIs, and 24 T20Is. Khalid Latif has played five one-dayers and seven T20Is.

Pune Warriors have filled up all their overseas slots having inked a deal with Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal on Wednesday.

Nagraj Gollapudi and Mohammad Isam29-Mar-2012Pune Warriors have signed up Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal, filling all their overseas slots for the coming season. Tamim, whose signing was formalised on Wednesday, became the eleventh overseas player for the Warriors and their second signing this week after Australian captain Michael Clarke.Tamim and the franchise management, led by their captain Sourav Ganguly, had been involved in talks for the past week. He joins Shakib Al Hasan as the second Bangladesh player in this year’s IPL, and the fifth from that country in the tournament overall.”I can gain a lot of experience by playing with greats like Sourav Ganguly and Michael Clarke. I like to talk a lot about cricket so I think I am lucky to be playing with them and look forward to learn new things,” Tamim told ESPNCricinfo.”It’ll be an extra boost, so it is very important that I do well. More importantly, just like Shakib opened the door for me, I would want that with my inclusion in the IPL, it will let other players from my country to play in this competition.”With the T20 World Cup coming up this year, it will be a big opportunity for me to perform in the format,” Tamim said.Tamim would look to carry his form into the IPL – he hit four half-centuries in the recent Asia Cup – given his failure during the Bangladesh Premier League last month where he only played two matches for the Chittagong Kings and scored only eight runs.

Sachin Tendulkar has rated MS Dhoni as the best captain he has played under during his 22-year cricket career

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2011Two days after India were crowned World Champions, Sachin Tendulkar has rated MS Dhoni as the best captain he has played under during his 22-year cricket career.”He [Dhoni] is the best captain I have played under,” Tendulkar said in Mumbai. “He is very sharp and always alert. He reads the situation well and is open to sharing ideas. He always has discussions with bowlers, batsmen and senior players separately.”Tendulkar, who has played under six captains, including Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, praised Dhoni’s ability to maintain his composure whatever the match situation. “He is always calm and never shows his frustration. These are some of the human qualities which have made him such a good captain. He is a fantastic captain.”India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the final in Mumbai after coming through the knockout stages with hard-fought wins over Australia and Pakistan and a patchy performance in the group matches. Tendulkar said that India had “peaked” when it mattered the most. “In the knockout stage we peaked at the right time; it was most important. We knew either the batting was clicking, or bowling, or fielding but everything was not clicking together, but [apart from] in the last three games. Everybody contributed, right from seniors to the juniors in the team. No one can guarantee results but efforts can be [guaranteed].”After India’s victory in the final, Dhoni had said the team had felt the pressure of expectations right through the tournament. Tendulkar said the key to handling that pressure lay in focussing on individual performances. “Pressure and expectation are always there, we were thinking that as individuals we should perform our best. We were not thinking that if a bowler fails, others will take wickets like that; we wanted to do our individual best and perform as a team.”The responsibility is on all the team members equally. Like me, it was the dream of all the team members to get this World Cup.”Tendulkar said that while lifting the trophy was on the players’ minds, the focus was on restricting Sri Lanka to a gettable target and “go through the process and finish the game”. He said the pre-World Cup preparatory camp the team had in Bangalore also played a key role in the team’s preparation.Tendulkar paid tribute to the efforts of outgoing coach Gary Kirsten, saying that while he would like Kirsten to continue, he respected his decision to leave, and that the team would “miss” him.

Despite the unexpected slowing down of their campaign, Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Ray Jennings expressed confidence in his side’s combination, and the strategy of tempered aggression

Cricinfo staff08-Apr-2010Royal Challengers Bangalore were the team to beat in the initial stages of the IPL, but their campaign has slowed down with defeats in three of their last four matches. Ray Jennings, their coach, acknowledged that the conservative mindset of the top order hampered their momentum, but insisted they would continue to balance defence with attack.”I think against Chennai Super Kings, the problem was that when we lost [Jacques] Kallis and [Virat] Kohli, we lost two wickets in 15 balls and just made three runs. I think that made the difference,” Jennings was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald. “We were a little bit conservative against the Delhi side. The top order has planned the innings very well over the season – to not be over-powerful in the first six overs and not too conservative as well, it’s all about striking a happy medium.”That’s why guys like Kallis and Robin Uthappa need to bat up the order and plan the innings properly. I need to trust those guys to do the job for us,” Jennings said.Bangalore had a winning combination for the first leg of the tournament, before the arrival of Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen and Cameron White made them tinker with the line-up. Jennings denied that the team management faced difficulties in selecting the eleven. “You might think that the permutations are confusing but I have a clear idea about them. When these combinations work on the field, it can look nice, but when it does, you look like an idiot. Drawing up permutations is an easy job, but the hard part is to maintain the right energy level in the player assigned to do the job,” he said.Jennings noted the importance of properly defining roles in a line-up filled with different types of players. “We have 120 balls to play and the role of each cricketer has to be defined according to the situation. With players like Kevin Pietersen and Ross [Taylor] coming in, the role of each batsman has to be defined. Sometimes it’s easier for an allrounder or a young Indian player to hit the ball around, and at that time the roles could be changed,” Jennings said.Jennings acknowledged the impact of the senior players in keeping the team spirit up. “We have seven or eight international captains with us and we have three legends in our ranks – Kumble, Dravid and Kallis – and not many sides have got those kind of players together. They are in the background of keeping the team together and helping me exectute the strategies with honesty and peace, making sure that we make an impact.”Bangalore’s next match is against the Deccan Chargers who are going through a slump, with five successive defeats, but Jennings was not taking them lightly. “There is no good time to play any side. Tomorrow, if [Adam] Gilchrist gets a hundred then we can struggle, so we need to come to the field with the best preparations. I don’t look at yesterday’s match as tomorrow we need to play a fresh game,” he said.

A 201-run partnership helped England Women to a 14th consecutive victory and a 3-0 series whitewash over New Zealand Women in Lincoln.

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2012
ScorecardSarah Taylor made her fourth ODI century as England’s unbeaten run continued•Getty Images

A 201-run partnership helped England Women to a 14th consecutive victory and a 3-0 series whitewash over New Zealand Women in Lincoln. Sarah Taylor’s unbeaten 109 was the mainstay of the stand as England chased 221 inside 43 overs to win by six wickets.It was Taylor’s fourth ODI century and came in with England at 15 for 2, having lost captain Charlotte Edwards and Tamsin Beaumont both lbw to Rachel Candy for single-figure scores. Taylor, who became the youngest female to 2,000 international runs in the second ODI, struck nine fours in her 113-ball innings. Her partnership with Lydia Greenway came in 36.3 overs and guided England to another easy victory.Greenway also faced 113 balls, making 84 with six fours before being stumped with her side within a stroke of the target. It was left to Taylor to score the winning runs and keep England’s unbeaten run going, which stretches back to July 2011.New Zealand had looked on course to set a competitive total but having been 202 for 5, their innings collapsed for 18 more runs. After a solid start, Laura Marsh struck to remove Katey Martin for 38, then picked up wickets in successive overs, removing Suzie Bates and Anna Peterson on her way to 3 for 28.Amy Satterthwaite tried to rebuild the innings with a 69-ball 58 but after she fell to Arran Brindle, Danni Wyatt’s 3 for 36 ran through the lower order and England were faced with only a modest chase.”It was a fantastic team performance today,” Sarah Taylor said. “The bowlers bowled well to restrict New Zealand and I was delighted to contribute and get a big score. I think that was one of my best innings.”Lydia batted really well. It was great to share a partnership with her on such a fantastic wicket. Once we got in we just looked accumulate and build the runs. We knew that if we just batted the runs would come.”

Sri Lankan batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been fined 10% of his match fee for showing dissent at the umpire’s decision during the one-off Twenty20 against Pakistan on Friday. The Pakistan opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez has been officially reprimanded for the same offence, in a separate incident.Both batsmen showed their bats to the umpire after they were adjudged lbw. Chandimal, who top scored with 56, was dismissed by Aizaz Cheema while Hafeez fell to Thisara Perera for 13. Pakistan went on to win by five wickets with three balls to spare. Both players were guilty of breaching Level 1 offences.”Accepting an umpire’s decision is an essential feature of cricket and part of the game’s unique spirit,” said the ICC match referee Andy Pycroft. “These players’ behaviour was not acceptable in any form of cricket and they must take responsibility for what they do.”

Marlon Samuels, the West Indies batsman and part-time offspinner, has had his bowling action cleared by the ICC after undergoing significant remedial work

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2011

Marlon Samuels, the West Indies batsman and part-time offspinner, has had his bowling action cleared by the ICC after undergoing significant remedial work. An independent test found his action to be legal and the player has been cleared to resume bowling in international cricket.”A comprehensive analysis revealed that his mean elbow extension was now comfortably within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the relevant regulations,” the ICC said in a statement. “During the original test on 11 February 2008, his mean elbow extension had been calculated to be in excess of 15 degrees.””It feels really good to know that I can bowl again in international cricket. I have been waiting for this moment for a while now. I am mainly a batsman in the team but it feels good to know that I can again contribute to the team in another area,” Samuels said. “I really want to thank Jimmy Adams for working with me in the nets and helping me through this process. After I came back into the West Indies set-up Ottis Gibson continued the work from where Jimmy left off and helped me to get the positive result I was aiming for.”I have been spending a lot of time doing a lot of bowling in the nets so that I could get my body accustomed to the work, so that anytime the captain calls on me, in any of the three formats of the game, I will be ready.”Samuels was reported for a suspect action by the umpires in the third Test between South Africa and West Indies in Durban in January 2008. On-field umpires Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar and third umpire Brian Jerling reported their doubts over his action, especially with respect to his “fast” deliveries. Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, subsequently informed both the ICC and the West Indies team management of the report, as per the ICC regulations governing the reporting process.The analysis of Samuels’ action was conducted by professor Bruce Elliott, a member of the ICC Panel of Human Movement Specialists, and his team at the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health at the University of Western Australia on September 14As with all bowlers who are tested, Samuels’ action will continue to be scrutinised by match officials to ensure it remains legal. He has taken seven Test wickets at an average of 127 and 57 ODI wickets at 43.24.

The BCCI has asked Cricket Australia for an additional warm-up game during India’s tour in December. India are currently scheduled to play only one four-day tour game, against the CA Chairman’s XI in Canberra, from December 18.”We are considering the request and it is work in progress,” a CA spokesperson said. “You’ve got to understand that scheduling is a three-dimensional exercise and it is always difficult to make any changes once things are finalised. But we have always had cordial relations with the BCCI and we should be able to find a way.”Scheduling is, however, likely to be an issue. India have a full series – three Tests and five ODIs – against the visiting West Indies pencilled in between October 29, when they end a home series against England, and that match in Canberra.The main problem for CA, which had announced its schedule for the 2011-12 home season three days ago, is likely to be the Big Bash League. Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition starts on December 16 and, with players from all six Australian states participating in the eight-team competition, India may have to play a second-string side for the extra warm-up.India’s request comes on the back of a humiliating defeat in the ongoing Test series in England. They trail 0-3 in the series and are in danger of suffering their first 0-4 loss since then tour of Australia in 1991-92, There has been sharp criticism of the team’s preparation for the series, in which the No. 1 Test ranking was at stake, from within the BCCI and the media. MS Dhoni, the India captain, and Duncan Fletcher, the coach, have indirectly admitted that one reason India were struggling in English conditions was because they did not have enough to acclimatise.The late request to CA for an additional warm-up is another example of the lack of planning in the BCCI. Before the 2010-11 tour of South Africa, Gary Kirsten, who was coach at the time, had to press his case to ensure some of the Test players arrived a few weeks early to prepare for the series. Kirsten had sent his request about eight months ahead of the tour but the BCCI granted him permission only at the very last minute.