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The issue of player payments in the Bangladesh Premier League was brought up at the end of the Comilla Victorians – Sylhet Super Stars game, with Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahid Afridi giving contrasting versions

Mohammad Isam10-Dec-2015The issue of player payments in the Bangladesh Premier League was brought up at the end of the Comilla Victorians – Sylhet Super Stars game, with Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahid Afridi giving contrasting versions. While Comilla’s Mashrafe indicated that all payments to his team-mates were made on time, Afridi, who plays for Sylhet, said that some players told him about their dues.The BPL’s policy, like the 2013 edition, is to clear 50% of all player payments before the tournament begins, 25% during the tournament, and the rest within one month of the tournament’s final, which in this case will be January 15, 2016.Mashrafe said that the Comilla franchise had made 75% of the player payments before the due date of December 11. “All members of our team were paid 75% of the money,” Mashrafe said. “They were supposed to pay us by December 11, they paid us last night. As far as I know, the foreign players have been paid in full though there might be one or two issues. We have no complaints about payment since we got it last night.”Afridi, however, said that some players, without mentioning their names, had told him that they had not received any payments. Nonetheless, he welcomed the BPL and said that if the payment issues were cleared, the tournament would attract more players.”At the moment some of the other players mentioned they didn’t get paid yet,” Afridi said. “The cricket board this time took a responsibility and I must give credit to the BPL and the Bangladesh Cricket Board. They organized this tournament well, and I personally enjoyed it. If they sorted out the problems with the guys, money-wise, hopefully each and every player will come from anywhere and enjoy the BPL.”

The Bangladesh Cricket Board is mulling the introduction of an anti-corruption law with the help of the law ministry to combat ill-practices in Bangladesh cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2013The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is mulling the introduction of an anti-corruption law with the help of the law ministry to combat ill practices in Bangladesh cricket. The board’s move came after the Indian government announced it would formulate a new anti-corruption law against unfair practices, such as fixing, across sports in India.”We need to see whether there is any need to implement new laws to combat sports crime,” Jalal Yunus, chairman of BCB’s media and communication, said in Mirpur. “We have to take tough measures to fight against this ill-practice and it requires new guidelines from the law ministry.”Three cricketers – Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – were arrested for alleged spot-fixing on May 16 and Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested in Mumbai for allegedly betting in the Indian Premier League, which prompted the Indian government to introduce a new law.”The government of India has decided to enact a standalone legislation to deal with unfair practices in sport,” India’s Law Minister, Kapil Sibal, said in New Delhi. “The government is committed to bring this law as soon as possible.”Sibal said the new legislation would deal with dishonest practices like spot-fixing, which has been under the spotlight for nearly 10 days now. “We cannot let down millions of fans out there for whom cricket is a passion. But the new law will not apply to cricket alone. It will apply to all sports in which unfair practices are being used to change the outcome or course of a game.”

Lancashire lost five wickets with just 54 on the board and are already staring at defeat after Warwickshire amassed 557 for 6

Jon Culley at Edgbaston17-May-2012
ScorecardSimon Kerrigan took three wickets but Lancashire endured another difficult day•PA Photos

Unless the weather takes a drastic turn for the worse, it is impossible to see Lancashire escaping another confidence-sapping defeat after finishing five wickets down and still the small matter of 347 runs shy of even avoiding the follow-on.This was in reply to a Warwickshire total that was more than five sessions in the making, which was significant in itself in that it left Lancashire weary and dispirited and not in the best of shape, in terms of physical and mental readiness, to face a Warwickshire bowling attack with 25 overs in which to bend their backs and put pressure on a batting unit already short of confidence.Glen Chapple, whose absence from the bowling attack clearly eased the way for Warwickshire’s batsmen, spoke boldly of having players at his disposal with the quality to build partnerships. So far, though, apart from the 31 runs Paul Horton and Stephen Moore managed to put on before everything began to unravel, no combination has managed more than 14 and Lancashire are already down to Ashwell Prince and the wicketkeeper, Gareth Cross, with only the wounded Chapple and the explosive Ajmal Shahzad to come before the genuine tailenders, Gary Keedy and Simon Kerrigan.Their dreadful start to the season, therefore, shows little sign of getting better very soon. Warwickshire’s dominance of the opening day simply carried forward into the second. Chapple, who will have a scan on Monday to ascertain whether his side strain is a short-term problem or something more inconvenient, had to leave the first overs, with the ball still fairly new, in the hands of Luke Procter and Shahzad. But the latter, who had bowled well without much luck on Wednesday, did not have the same control this time, giving away too many cheap runs.Keedy and Kerrigan, therefore, were pressed into tandem service inside the first hour and barely rested from then on. Kerrigan’s 49 overs represented the heaviest workload of his career so far. Keedy wound up bowling 50, which he has done before but not as a 37-year-old.By the end they were understandably weary, their sterling efforts at least to restrict Warwickshire’s progress interrupted from time to time by Rikki Clarke letting rip with one of his four sixes. They had found some turn, but not to a degree that troubled anyone much.When the declaration came, perhaps a little later than it might have, Warwickshire’s attack, in form and bolstered by the return of Chris Woakes, scented blood.Woakes had not played since damaging ankle ligaments in March but you would not have known it. Confidence tuned up after hitting half a dozen boundaries in an unbeaten 43, he ran in with purpose and took a wicket with his 10th ball, adding a second in the penultimate over, at which point Lancashire were 54 for 5.Earlier, he had persuaded umpire Michael Gough that he had Karl Brown caught off the glove with a ball that spat off a length, rocking Lancashire on their heels at 32 for 2 after opener Horton had been leg-before to a full length delivery from the left-armer Keith Barker, who was being assessed by one of England’s talent spotters, Geoff Arnold.Then Barker’s new-ball partner, Chris Wright, who had switched ends after giving way to Woakes at the Birmingham End, took two wickets in four balls, beating Moore for pace with one that plucked out his off stump, then having Steven Croft caught behind with another that found some venomous bounce.Clarke, who had an escape on 57 when Kerrigan failed to hang on to a difficult return catch, finished unbeaten on 123, having batted for more than three and a half hours with a level of discipline and self-restraint that reflects a more mature approach to his game.He put on 147 for the sixth wicket with Tim Ambrose, who was within sight of his first century for three years when he chipped to short midwicket for 96. The only other wicket to fall, after half an hour of the opening session, had been that of Darren Maddy, who miscued Keedy to be caught at mid-off.

If the first Test match played at Cardiff is now remembered for some over-my-dead-body batting on the final day, the second will be remembered for an extraordinary collapse

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2011If the first Test match played at Cardiff is now remembered for some over-my-dead-body batting on the final day, the second will be remembered for an extraordinary collapse. Tillakaratne Dilshan was at a loss to explain how Sri Lanka slumped to defeat on a day which began with the odds of an England win twice as long as it was in the famous Headingley Test of 1981.”I can’t believe we got out in just 25 overs with such a good batting line-up like we have,” he said after the morale-sapping innings-and-14-run defeat. “We lost the match because we batted really badly today.”Dilshan called for better performances from his senior batsmen, who have been the constant in a season of change for Sri Lankan cricket. “We knew looking forward in the morning that they would declare, everyone knew that after Bell’s hundred they would declare but I cannot explain what happened,” he said.”Our batting line-up has guys like Mahela [Jayawardene] Kumar [Sangakkara], Thilan [Samaraweera] and myself. We are experienced players and we need to regroup as soon as possible and come back for the next Test on Friday.”His two best batsmen had arrived in England a week after the rest of the squad due to IPL commitments, but Dilshan insisted that wasn’t a factor in the defeat. “Mahela and Sanga came here late but they can adjust quickly to this format of the game, but unfortunately things went wrong.”He also said that the pitch had remained good for batting on the final day. “It was a very good wicket with a little bit of turn and a bit of bounce, it was a very good track. In the last two days it was good for batting, but we didn’t bat well, that was the main issue, but it was really good for Test cricket.”Though he was distraught with the defeat, Dilshan said the immediate focus was on preparing the team for the Lord’s Test starting Friday. “I am really calm, I can’t be angry. We have to regroup and talk about it and try and get the maximum out of the young players and learn from the experience.”He admitted restoring the spirit won’t be easy after the completely unexpected defeat. “It will be difficult to forget this Test match but we have to stick together as a team, do whatever we can outside of cricket to get together and forget about everything.”We have experienced players. We can regroup and come back for the Lord’s Test in a positive mind and then we can play some good cricket there.”

A round-up from the latest Friends Provident t20 matches as a host of England players make a rare county appearance

13-Jun-2010

North Group

Jim Troughton impressed for Warwickshire before the rain came•Getty Images

Samit Patel’s second half-century in three days secured a third straight win for Nottinghamshire as they swept aside Worcestershire by six wickets with 23 balls to spare. After limiting the visitors to 150 for 7, with Dirk Nannes and Graeme White both picking up two wickets, Patel hit 63 from 34 balls with five fours and three sixes while David Hussey was unbeaten on 34, finishing off the match with a straight six.Yorkshire suffered a 14-run defeat to Northamptonshire under the Duckworth-Lewis method in their Friends Provident t20 clash at Headingley – but the home side were struggling even before the weather closed in. Replying to the Steelbacks’ modest 151 for 7 the hosts were 51 for 4 after 7.5 overs and falling well behind the required rate. Yorkshire’s innings started badly when Jacques Rudolph fell to a great diving catch at long on in the first over from Chaminda Vaas and it became 16 for 2 as skipper Andrew Gale drove to wide mid-off and become the first of three victims for paceman Jack Brooks.A rapid half-century by Warwickshire left hander Jim Troughton went to waste when rain ended Lancashire‘s reply in the meeting at Edgbaston. Openers Tom Smith and Paul Horton made three runs in a solitary over from Neil Carter before the match was abandoned with each side taking one point to stay in contention in a congested North group.Paul Collingwood shone with the ball on his first Durham appearance of the season before rain wrecked their match with Derbyshire. England’s World Twenty20-winning captain conceded only 21 runs from his four overs, but the Dynamos were still facing a daunting run chase after the Falcons plundered 172 for 3 from 19 overs. Loots Bosman scored his second half century in the competition and former Somerset batsman Wes Durston hit two sixes and seven fours in an unbeaten 71 from 53 balls.

South Group

Kevin Pietersen made his first appearance for Hampshire for two years in their match with Surrey but was upstaged by opening batsman Jimmy Adams. The left hander went on to make 101 not out, his first century in the competition, and share in a stand of 144 in 12 overs with Sean Ervine for the third wicket. Hampshire finished with 201 for 2 and Surrey made a reasonable fist of their chase before going down by 10 runs. They made 191 for 9 but were never seriously threatening the Hampshire total.Middlesex beat Essex by five runs in a thrilling gameat Lord’s to record their second win of the season in the competition. The hosts had posted a substantial total of 200 for 6 from their allotted overs, with captain-elect Neil Dexter top-scoring with 43, but their opponents produced a brave attempt in the pursuit thanks to a stunning effort from Ryan ten Doeschate. The Dutch all-rounder scored 102 from 54 deliveries, clearing the ropes on seven occasions and also adding five fours to keep his side in the hunt. When he eventually holed out to Eoin Morgan at cover off the bowling of Pedro Collins, Essex required a further 23 runs. But the initiative had been regained by the home side with the wicket and when the final over commenced, 15 runs were needed.Kent cruised to a 36-run victory over Gloucestershire at Gloucester after posting an imposing 217 all out – their highest Twenty20 score. The Spitfires made the most of the short boundaries at Archdeacon Meadow to hammer the highest score in the South Division this season, with Rob Key (44), Joe Denly (48) and Alex Blake (33) the main contributors. Will Porterfield’s bright 43 gave Gloucestershire hope, but they collapsed from 62 for 1 to 94 for 6 as Simon Cook took three wickets for 22 runs. The hosts were eventually bowled out for 181, despite Chris Taylor’s defiant 67 off 36 balls.Defending Twenty20 champions Sussex preserved their 100 per cent record to win the South Group top of the table clash against previously unbeaten Glamorgan at Cardiff. In an enthralling contest of twists and turns Glamorgan won the toss and made a competitive 143 for 6 in their 20 overs on a Cardiff pitch that had been used for two previous Friends Provident t20 matches. But on the slow surface Sussex reached their target by three wickets with seven balls to spare.

With visitors having been 195 for 7, Glamorgan will feel they let their opponents back into the game

ECB Reporters Network23-Jun-2024A well-constructed half-century from Emilio Gay was the mainstay of Northamptonshire’s batting efforts in the first day of their Vitality County Championship match in Cardiff.Having won the toss and elected to bat first, Northamptonshire reached 279 all out with runs for Luke Procter and Gus Miller helping them to recover from a middle-order collapse.Three wickets apiece for Timm van der Gugten, Andy Gorvin and James Harris were the highlight for Glamorgan with the ball but with Northamptonshire having been 195 for 7 they will feel they let their opponents back into the game.Glamorgan had seven overs to face before the close and they reached 36 without loss, 243 behind on first innings.Northamptonshire won the toss and chose to bat but were pegged back early on by two wickets for James Harris. The first was Ricardo Vasconcelos who was bowled for 7. Harris claimed his second wicket in his next over when Prithvi Shaw edged a ball to Sam Northeast at first slip to leave them 19 for 2.Gay continued his fine form with a patient and well-made 65 that included some lovely drives through the off side. He shared a stand of 90 with Proctor, the pair doing well against a Glamorgan seam attack that got the ball to move laterally throughout the day.Gay was dismissed by one of those moving deliveries when he edged Gorvin to Marnus Labuschagne at second slip to leave Northamptonshire 109 for 3. A stand of 48 between Proctor and Rob Keogh took the visitors past 150 before both departed at the start of a spell that saw Northamptonshire lose four wickets for 28 runs.Glamorgan’s bowlers were fantastic in the period before the tea break and made things very difficult for the batting side. There was a spell in the afternoon in which Lewis McManus faced 20 balls from Timm van der Gugten and he played and missed at eight of them, but it was Gorvin who trapped him lbw for 19.Liam Patterson-White combined with debutant Miller for a stand of 37 that slowed the Glamorgan progress, but Patterson-White chipped a ball from Gorvin to Eddie Byrom at point for 30 with Northamptonshire still 18 runs short of claiming their first batting bonus point.Miller and Raphael Weatherall managed to take Northamptonshire past 250 to claim their first point of the game as the old ball became a little easier to score against. Even after Glamorgan took the second new ball Miller continued to impress in his maiden first class match. His 40 included the only two sixes of the innings as he helped his team to what could prove to be a challenging total on this pitch.Eddie Byrom and Billy Root successfully saw out the seven overs that were left to bowl at the end of the day without too many alarms as the inexperienced pair of Miller and Weatherall didn’t get the same movement that Glamorgan managed with the ball. They will be hoping that changes when the game resumes on Monday morning.

CSA also roped in Duminy as permanent batting coach and Kleinveldt as temporary bowling coach for the white-ball set-up

Firdose Moonda06-Mar-2023Aiden Markram has been appointed South Africa’s new T20I captain, while Cricket South Africa (CSA) roped in JP Duminy as the batting coach and Rory Kleinveldt as the bowling coach in the white-ball set-up. Markram takes over captaincy from Temba Bavuma, who has been dropped from the squad altogether for the upcoming home T20Is against West Indies later this month.Duminy has been appointed on a permanent basis whereas Kleinveldt has come in only for the West Indies series for now.Talks between new white-ball coach, Rob Walter, and former captain Faf du Plessis meanwhile proved unfruitful for now and du Plessis was not included in the T20I squad. This could change in the future.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Markram led South Africa’s Under-19 side to victory at the World Cup in 2014 and more recently was at the helm of Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who won the inaugural SA20 title. He has also been named captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming IPL and Walter sees the national leadership as a natural progression for Markram.”Aiden has shown himself to be a leader over a period of time now. Obviously, his most recent success for the Sunrisers [Eastern Cape] stands out so it seemed like just a logical progression into the leadership of the national side,” Walter said at a press conference in Johannesburg. “He has been there before but I think he’s matured a lot as a player and as a leader since then.”This is Markram’s second foray into leading the senior side after he captained them in an ODI series against India in February 2018, in the absence of an injured du Plessis. Then, the captaincy negatively affected his batting and he scored 118 runs in five matches at 23.60.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

As for Bavuma, who stepped down as the T20I captain to take over the Test leadership recently, Walter indicated the shortest format door is not closed to him. “It was purely a T20 performance-based decision,” Walter said. “My job now is to work with him to get him back into the side. That’ll certainly be one of our focuses.”Bavuma had a tough 2022 in the T20I format, and got into double figures only five times in 12 innings. He led South Africa at the last two T20 World Cups, in 2021 and 2022, and they failed to reach the semi-finals in both. Bavuma also faced criticism over his strike rate, which sits at 116.08 in T20Is and he was not bought at the SA20 auction. He got a deal with Sunrisers Eastern Cape as a replacement player later in the tournament, by which point he scored a series-winning century against England in a World Cup Super League ODI.Walter was still in New Zealand at the time, where he coached Central Stags, and the ODI team was under the command of new Test coach Shukri Conrad, who introduced a more aggressive style of play which Walter endorses and will build on. “The way that you saw the ODI side play against England was how we’d like the team to play going forward,” Walter said.South Africa will play three ODIs against West Indies, starting on March 16, which do not count for World Cup Super League points. For those ODIs, South Africa have rested fast bowlers Anrich Nortje (who is also out of the second Test with a groin niggle) and Kagiso Rabada, but the duo will return for the following three T20Is. Fast bowler Gerald Coetzee and batters Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs earned their maiden ODI call-ups.There is no place for Dewald Brevis in the South Africa squads yet•SA20

There is still no room for 19-year old batting sensation Dewald Brevis, who was the leading run-scorer at last year’s age-group World Cup, and has experience in the IPL, CPL and SA20. Walter had indicated Brevis needs to bide his time before making the step up.”He forms part of a category of young, exciting cricketers that are in the system. The job and the journey with him will be exactly the same as it is for the others in trying to find opportunities that are below the Proteas level to give him access to,” Walter said. “The SA20 would have given him some insight as to the areas that he needs to develop in his game, along with many others. There’s an x-factor that is exciting and now we just need to give him the foundations and the pathway to grow.”After the T20Is, South Africa will end the summer with two must-win ODIs against Netherlands in the World Cup Super League. If South Africa win both games and Sri Lanka win one match or fewer in their three-match series against New Zealand, South Africa will secure automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup. “Hopefully the Blackcaps do what they need to do and and secure that series and then we still have to take care of our business,” Walter said. “Everything else becomes irrelevant if we don’t take take care of that first.”The matches against Netherlands take place on March 31 and April 2 and clash with the opening matches of the IPL. CSA’s director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe, confirmed that the South African contracted players who are part of the IPL will be available for national duty before leaving for India. “As it stands, they are available,” Nkwe said. “We have been engaged with the IPL and the BCCI as well, so the selected players will be available for the two ODIs.”South Africa’s T20I squad for West Indies series: Aiden Markram (capt), Quinton de Kock , Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda Magala, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.Squad for ODIs: Temba Bavuma (capt), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tristan Stubbs, Lizaad Williams, Rassie van der Dussen. For third ODI only: Aiden Markram, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Wayne Parnell.

Nation was stretchered off while Taylor was hit on the helmet and suffered concussion

Firdose Moonda03-Feb-2022West Indies lost Chedean Nation and Stafanie Taylor to on-field injuries during the third ODI against South Africa, who won the fixture by 96 runs. The four-match series is level at 1-1, with one game to play.Nation was stretchered off the field in the 40th over of the South African innings after tumbling while trying to stop a Mignon du Preez boundary. She was at midwicket as du Preez swiped, Nation ran in, slipped and fell head over heels. She was unmoved as the ball crossed the boundary and required 12 minutes of on-field treatment before being taken off.Earlier, in the 36th over, Nation had jammed her shoulder into the ground as she attempted to stop the ball and though she appeared to recover quite quickly, it may have been the initial blow which forced her off the field. She was taken to hospital “out of an abundance of caution”, according to the West Indies media manager.A little more than 90 minutes later, Taylor copped a blow to the helmet off a Nadine de Klerk bouncer. That was at the end of the 13th over and by the first ball of the 14th, Taylor, at the non-striker’s end, stood hunched over with her hands on her knees, shaking her head. She faced another delivery, took a single and then decided she could not continue. She received on-field assistance but walked off the field, pointing to her neck. Taylor was found to be concussed, and eventually replaced for the remainder of the game by Aaliyah Alleyne.South Africa posted their highest total against West Indies in a bid to level the series. Laura Wolvaardt scored her third ODI century and first against a top-eight rated team and shared in a 141-run third-wicket stand with Sune Luus to set South Africa up for their highest total against West Indies.”I felt like I wasn’t getting great starts,” Wolvaardt told the television broadcast after her innings. Her previous three knocks have not progressed past 25. “We focused on building a partnership that took up a lot of time and faced a lot of overs. It’s very nice to see what we can do if we actually do what we are supposed to and get it right.”Luus contributed 56 but the innings’ impetus came from Chloe Tyron, who smashed a 24-ball 43 to put South Africa in touching distance of 300. With South Africa scoring at a shade under six an over, Shakera Selman’s return of 0 for 39 in 10 was the most miserly of the bowling. Shamilia Connell, who conceded only 54 runs in her 10, finished with four wickets.The South Africa innings ended a ball short due to an umpiring error, which denied them the opportunity to bring up only their third total over 300. Still, it was too much for West Indies who started the innings without Nation and lost soon Taylor. By then, the series’ leading wicket-taker, Ayabonga Khaka, had removed both openers in her first two overs, making use of swing through the air on a humid Johannesburg evening.Kycia Knight’s 69 kept West Indies in the hunt but she holed out to long-on to become offspinner Raisibe Ntozakhe’s first victim since making her ODI comeback in this match. Ntozakhe was cleared to bowl again in September last year after being reported for a suspect action in September 2018. She finished with 1 for 53.Shabnim Ismail took two wickets in two balls to leave West Indies 170 for 7 in the 37th over. Alleyne batted to the end but was left with too much to do. With Nation unable to bat, South Africa only needed nine wickets and took them before West Indies had faced their full quota of overs.The series finale will be played on Sunday at the same venue, the Wanderers. South Africa will wear an all-black kit to show their support for victims of gender-based violence and West Indies will wear black armbands for the same cause.

They become the fourth South African, sixth Pakistani and fifth Australian woman respectively to join the elite list

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2020Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Abbas and Lisa Sthalekar have been inducted into the ICC’s Hall of Fame.Kallis, who retired from international cricket in 2014, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame almost as soon as he became eligible; the ICC rule mandates a five-year gap after a player’s last international match. He is widely regarded as one of cricket’s great allrounders. In addition to being the third-most-prolific Test batsman of all time, with 13,289 runs at an average of 55.37, he also took 292 wickets at 32.65 with his fast-medium swing bowling. He is the fourth South African inducted into Hall of Fame, after Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards and Allan Donald.Lisa Sthalekar with the World Cup trophy•ICC/Getty

Abbas is the sixth Pakistani in the Hall of Fame, after Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Abbas played Test cricket from 1969 to 1985, and was renowned worldwide for being an elegant strokeplayer with a massive appetite for runs. He scored 5062 Test-match runs at 44.79, and remains the only subcontinental batsman to have scored more than 100 first-class centuries, a feat that earned him the nickname ‘The Asian Bradman’.Sthalekar is the 27th Australian cricketer in the Hall of Fame, and the fifth Australian women’s player after Belinda Clark, Betty Wilson, Karen Rolton and Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Sthalekar, who batted in the middle order and bowled offspin, ended her career in 2013 as one of the premier allrounders in women’s cricket. With 2728 runs at 30.65 and 146 wickets at 24.97, she remains one of only five players to have completed the women’s ODI double of 2000 runs and 100 wickets, with Ellyse Perry the only other Australian in that group. Sthalekar has been part of four World-Cup-winning Australia teams, winning the ODI title in 2005 and 2013 and the T20 title in 2010 and 2012.”Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that I would ever get to join such an illustrious group of players,” Sthalekar said after the announcement. “I was fortunate enough to learn from the best when I entered the Australia team – Belinda Clark, Karen Rolton and Cathryn Fitzpatrick, all of whom have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and rightly so. The guidance from them and other team-mates along the way kept me focused but also ensured that it was a fun environment.”Abbas joined Sthalekar in expressing his gratitude to those who helped shape his career, while Kallis said it felt good to be appreciated in this way.”I would like to say a special thanks to my family, my country Pakistan, my county Gloucestershire and many fans worldwide who helped me achieve and fulfil my dreams by playing this great game at the highest level,” Abbas said. “It is a final recognition for any cricketer. This great game has made me the person I am. Thank you cricket.””It is something that I never expected when I started playing,” Kallis said. “I certainly did not play the game for any accolades or anything like that, I only wanted to win the games for whoever I was playing for. But it is nice to be recognised when one has succeeded in the sport, it is nice to be recognised by people for something that you have achieved in the game.”Full list of ICC Hall of Fame members.

For Ireland, finishing the tri-series with a win over Bangladesh should soften the blow of elimination and inject some much-needed confidence going forward

Mohammad Isam14-May-2019

Big picture

A dead rubber ahead of a final, but more importantly ahead of the World Cup means Bangladesh have the luxury to experiment with their line-up. In the matches gone by, Mashrafe Mortaza gave himself and the rest of the bowlers challenges to bowl in different phases of the innings, although he kept the batting line-up intact.Against Ireland, they could look to give any of Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain or Yasir Ali a go, but they will also be mindful of the fact that Sabbir Rahman hasn’t had a proper bat despite playing both matches.The bowlers, who have done well in both games against the West Indies, could get a rest ahead of a busy schedule. The team management might have to assess the match fitness and form of Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain, and maybe have a look at Nayeem Hasan and Farhad Reza.Andy Balbirnie’s 135 and fifties from Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien were bright spots for Ireland in another defeat against West Indies. They might be out of the tournament but the season’s just started and they have important cricket later this year, against Zimbabwe and England. This game is another opportunity for them to find a better combination, particularly in their bowling department, having conceded 381 in the tournament opener before failing to defend 327 in the last match. Finishing the tri-series with a win over Bangladesh should soften the blow of elimination and inject some much-needed confidence going forward.

Form guide

Ireland: LLLWL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh: WWLLL

In the spotlight

Andy Balbirnie has become a banker for Ireland’s top order, having scored two centuries in eight ODIs this year. He has been around since 2010, but has only started to come into his own in the last couple of years. He has been Ireland’s leading run-scorer since January 2018, averaging in excess of 47 during this period. Before that, his career average was hovering around 24.After an iffy season, Mustafizur Rahman was finally back to his best, getting his cutters to break and grip off the pitch as he took a four-for against West Indies. There couldn’t have been a better time for the seamer to find form, with the World Cup now just two weeks away.Andy Balbirnie raises his bat after a fine century•Getty Images

Team news

Ireland have a few options on the bench. Offspinner Andy McBrine, who hasn’t played in the tri-series, might get a look in. Also, will captain William Porterfield remain at No.4, after batting in that position for the first time across formats in the last match?Ireland (probable): 1 Paul Stirling, 2 James McCollum, Andy Balbirnie, 5 William Porterfield (capt), 6 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Mark Adair, 7 Gary Wilson (wk), 8 George Dockrell, 9 Boyd Rankin, 10 Tim Murtagh/Andy McBrine, 11 Josh LittleTheoretically, Bangladesh can make up to six changes but the likelihood of tweaking the bowling attack is higher.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mohammad Mithun, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Abu Jayed/Farhad Reza, 9 Mehidy Hasan Miraz/Nayeem Hasan, 10 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 11 Mustafizur Rahman/Taskin Ahmed

Pitch and conditions

There’s going to be a bit of cloud around but the forecast is of mostly clear weather. Should be another good day for batting.

Stats and trivia

• Shakib Al Hasan has the chance to become the fastest cricketer to complete the double of 250 wickets and 5,000-plus runs in ODIs if he takes one wicket against Ireland tomorrow. He will do it faster than Sanath Jayasuriya (304 matches), Shahid Afridi (273 matches), Jacques Kallis (296 matches) and Abdul Razzaq (234 matches) among those who have achieved this.
• Boyd Rankin is five short of 100 ODI wickets, although ten of his 95 wickets have come while playing for England.
• Their defeat to West Indies in the previous game was the third time Ireland lost after making a 300-plus score batting first.