Participants’ account of the thriller between Baroda and Haryana in Lahli, only the 14th one-wicket win in Ranji history

Sidharth Monga and Amol Karhadkar27-Nov-2012Lahli in Haryana is a village 14 km from Rohtak, which is a further 70km from Delhi, the nearest city you can trust an average cricket fan in India to know of. It is cold there these days. Temperatures have begun to fall to a low of single digits. On Tuesday, though, two Ranji teams warmed the place up with frenetic action.Fourteen wickets fell in the space of 30 overs and 81 runs, a total of 17 fell on the day, the ball turned and seamed, there was a ‘mankading’, an injured opener batted at No. 7 to help his side, a desperate fast bowler bowled 15 overs on the trot, there was a six hit by a No. 11 batsman with 16 runs to win, and finally the visitors, Baroda, went on to register only the 14th one-wicket win in the history of Ranji Trophy.Only a handful watched the match, and the players don’t know of any reporter’s presence. Yet it was a day everyone was proud to have been a part of. “There was action in every over,” Ambati Rayudu, Baroda’s captain, told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s one of the best games of first-class cricket I have been a part of. I am fortunate and privileged to have led the winning side.””An amazing but harrowing day” is how Baroda’s coach, Sanath Kumar, described it.Even the vanquished, although bitterly disappointed, took a lot out of it. “Yes we are gutted,” Amit Mishra, Haryana’s captain, said. “But we also look at it the other way. If we can fight this well when defending 130, we can do a lot more.” Haryana are in need of that belief. They have already registered two of their lowest totals this season – 55 and 66 – and are the only team without a point.The overwhelming feeling, though, remains that of disappointment. They began the day at 127 for 2, with a lead of 98, one of their better starts in recent history. But too soon the craziness began with the run-out of Abhimanyu Khod, in the second over of the day. The partnership was broken, and as it happens with sides low on confidence, Haryana couldn’t arrest the slide.Rayudu had sensed that too. He said Baroda knew they could convert their first-innings lead into an outright win if they could get early wickets. They were relying on reminding Haryana of their previous collapses. It worked. A little more than an hour later, Baroda could sniff those six full points. Haryana had lost their last eight wickets for the addition of just 33 runs.Lahli is set in open fields. The water table is high too. The pitch hardly ever loses its moisture, and the wind keeps the bowlers interested too. Mishra said that the Baroda bowlers managed both seam and reverse swing.”When we got them all out for 150-odd, we felt a target of around 130 shouldn’t take much out of our batsmen,” Sanath said, before adding he couldn’t have been more wrong. For starters, they couldn’t open the innings with their first-innings centurion, Saurabh Wakaskar, who was injured and had been off the field.Mishra, on the other hand, told his side that they have won such games in the past too, and they just needed to keep fighting. He also thought that if they could get a couple of early wickets, Baroda would have everything to lose — not only the opportunity to gain six points, but also the three they had already secured via the first-innings lead.Mohit Sharma, who had taken four wickets in the first innings, began with the wicket of Kedar Devdhar with the first ball of Haryana’s defence. The real collapse, though, began with the run-out of No. 3 Abhimanyu Chauhan in the eight over. That was the last ball before lunch. Thereafter, it became a contest between a bicycle stand and house of cards. Four wickets fell in the next 28 balls, and Haryana were now favourites at 48 for 6.Wakaskar, though, came out to bat, without a runner, and he and Gagandeep Singh took Baroda to 85. The needle was on, and so was the heat. Mishra, who saw the help for the quicks and brought himself on quite late despite a five-for in the first innings, lost the grip on the ball as he was about to deliver. He saw Wakaskar was backing up too far … And this is where the stories from the two sides differ: Haryana say they clearly warned Wakaskar here, Baroda say they didn’t.A little later, Ashish Hooda ‘mankaded’ Wakaskar. Baroda say they were shocked. The umpires confirmed with Haryana whether they wanted to go through with the appeal. Haryana did. And Wakaskar was gone. The Ranji Trophy, where teams try every trick for every single point, is not the place for such charity. Moreover, there is legally nothing wrong with ‘mankading’. Neither side reported ugly scenes. Eighty-five for 7 then.Mishra said it was difficult to take the ball away from Mohit. He was enjoying bowling here, had had a tea break in between, and wanted to continue bowling until he had won the side the game. Three overs after the run-out, he produced the wicket of Gagandeep too, completing his second first-class five-for. At 91 for 8, Haryana were favourites again.However, Murtuja Vahora, who had triggered the Haryana collapse, was not going to watch his hard work being washed away. He hit two boundaries in a crucial 12, taking Baroda to 108 before he fell to Mishra. Twenty-four still required. Just the time for the biggest partnership of the innings.Enter left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt to join offspinner Utkarsh Patel. A reaffirmation that this is the week of spin twins in India (though not necessarily to the benefit of the home side). “When I walked in to bat after Murtuja was dismissed, not much was said in the dressing room,” Bhatt said. “When I joined Utkarsh, all we said was ” [we have to stay at the wicket].”They did more than just stay in. Both began to attack. Mishra was taken on but kept himself on. With 16 required, Bhatt played the shot that rang around Lahli. The ball turned into him, and he stretched and lofted it for a six. “That wasn’t predetermined,” Bhatt said. “We required 16 or 17 then. He tossed it up and I felt I could reach it and stepped out and connected well.”Mishra opted for Sachin Rana now. He felt the different pace could do the trick, but it didn’t. “It was sensible batting,” Sanath said. “They were positive, very positive. When the ball was there to be hit, they played their shots. One over of Mishra – they hit him for 12 runs. They were scoring off the balls that needed to be scored off. As a result, they didn’t let the tension rise.”In 3.5 overs, the two added 25 to take Baroda to the top of the table in Group B, and broke Haryana’s hearts. A game of four days was won or lost in the final 23 balls.

For the first time since readmission, the majority of South Africa’s television viewers could be left without any live Test cricket on their screens for the 2012-13 season

Firdose Moonda19-Dec-2012For the first time since readmission, the majority of South Africa’s television viewers could be left without any live Test cricket on their screens for the 2012-13 season. The national broadcaster, the SABC, has decided it will only air Twenty20s and ODIs and show highlights packages of up to two hours from the upcoming Tests against New Zealand.This comes after it was revealed that the SABC was under financial constraints, which led it to consider not broadcasting any cricket this summer. Cricket South Africa and the SABC were engaged in talks early this week to negotiate and reached a compromise where the free-to-air channel paid ten times less this season compared to last.In a press release, CSA said it hoped that the following series against Pakistan, which includes three Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is, “will be shown by the SABC in its entirety”. The first of two Tests against New Zealand begins on January 2.”It is a huge disappointment for us that the Tests matches won’t be shown live although we are pleased the other games will,” Jacques Faul, CSA acting chief executive told ESPNcricinfo. “We want to grow the game and the communities we want to reach out to will not have access to the matches.”Although CSA sold production rights for home internationals to subscription channel SuperSport, it still controls the broadcast rights. The package it sold to SuperSport excludes the free-to-air rights, which CSA holds back for the SABC. “Even though it means we get less money from those rights we carve them out so we can get the free-to-air broadcast,” Faul said.Last season, the SABC reportedly paid in the range of R30 million (US$3.5 million) to broadcast matches. CSA initially offered the SABC a deal for about half that but it was rejected. It has since had to resort to an even lower rights fee, partly because the parties ran out of time to negotiate further. The first match of South Africa’s home summer, a T20 international against New Zealand in Durban will be played in two days’ time and CSA were anxious for the deal to be sealed.It has, however, led CSA to question its arrangement with the SABC going forward. “We will definitely assess our relationship with them in future because we do not want to do business like this,” Faul said.CSA’s only other option would be to look at an arrangement with e.tv, the other non-subsciption channel in the country. International cricket matches played in South Africa are regarded as “listed sports events” by the Independent Communications Authority, which means they must be available on free-to-air television.Despite those regulations, the SABC does not believe it has failed its remit. “The decision to broadcast these matches is a clear indication that we take our mandate seriously and we are cognisant that the public of South Africa deserve to see their cricket team,” it said in a statement.Cricket is the second-most popular sport in South Africa and almost five times as many people watch T20 and ODI matches on the SABC compared to SuperSport. Almost seven times more watch Test cricket on the national broadcaster and those could now face a blackout on live coverage. SuperSport will continue to show all matches live and the SABC’s main sports radio station, 2000, will provide live ball-by-ball commentary at all the games.

Sreesanth, the India fast bowler, has returned to competitive cricket after more than a year, following a toe injury, and is keen to make the step up from club cricket to the first-class level at the earliest

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2012Sreesanth, the India fast bowler, has returned to competitive cricket after more than a year out due to a toe injury, and is keen to make the step up from club cricket to the first-class level at the earliest. Sreesanth played two club matches in Kochi over the last week and tweeted that his “rhythm is great and [he is] getting good pace … Will join the Kerala Ranji side soon.”
Sreesanth had started the Ranji season last year but pulled out after just one match to continue his rehabilitation for the toe injury. At that time, he opted against surgery and went for Ayurvedic treatment instead. He had hoped to be fit in time for India’s CB series in Australia earlier this year, and had said at the end of February that he was looking forward to playing again in three weeks.He then travelled with his IPL franchise, Rajasthan Royals, but in May he confirmed that he would be out for at least five months after needing two surgeries on his toes.Sreesanth has 87 wickets from 27 Tests. He last played international cricket during India’s tour of England in 2011, in which he was part of the team for three out of four Tests.

Xavier Doherty’s place as Australia’s lead limited-overs spin bowler may soon be augmented by a place on the looming Test tour to India

Daniel Brettig25-Jan-2013Whatever the format, whatever the venue, it is clear George Bailey believes in Xavier Doherty. Occasionally, as in the final over of the West Indies innings during last year’s World Twenty20 semi-final in Colombo, that belief has seemed extreme, but there is something to be said for a captain willing to give his spin bowler a chance.Following the unfortunately timed shoulder injury to befall Michael Beer, Doherty’s place as Australia’s lead limited-overs spin bowler may soon be augmented by a place on the looming Test tour to India, a long-awaited moment for the left-armer to atone for an ordinary showing at the first time of asking, during the last Ashes series.Most of Bailey’s domestic cricket for Tasmania has been played alongside Doherty, and he knew well the sense of emptiness the bowler felt when he was tossed into and then out of Test matches with three wickets at a cost of more than 100 runs apiece after two appearances in 2010. For now Bailey is glad to have Doherty at his disposal in the two Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka, but he is also hopeful of seeing him bowling on the subcontinent in February.”I’ve got no doubt he’d like to have another crack at Test cricket,” Bailey said. “I don’t think he was particularly happy with how he bowled in that situation. The circumstances weren’t great for him either, so he’d be looking to another opportunity to rectify that and prove a lot of people wrong. He’s a good age for a spinner in terms of not getting too flustered if things don’t go his way, he’s pretty confident in his own game and got a good knowledge of where he’s at.”In recent times Doherty’s best role has been as a foil for Tasmania’s seam and swing bowlers, bottling up an end or frustrating batsmen into error on Bellerive Oval surfaces that have seldom offered him as much assistance. The Sydney Olympic Stadium pitch is likely to be a slow one, offering Doherty the chance to demonstrate the unflappability that Bailey admires.”What I see in him is someone who’s very settled,” Bailey said. “There’s times in the Tassie Shield side when playing at Bellerive where he’s had to change the way he’s had to bowl. There’s wickets where he can be quite attacking and wickets where he has to be a little more defensive. “I think he’s worked that into his game. He can sum situations up pretty quickly, depending on whether the batsmen are coming hard or if it’s X’s turn to push for wickets.”Doherty and Bailey are two players in the curious position of auditioning for places on the India Test tour via T20 matches. Given that the World T20 was only recently decided and the next event in Bangladesh is still two years away, the players selected will have differing goals. The likes of Shaun Marsh, Ben Laughlin and Adam Voges will seek to resurrect international careers that had seemed over or close to it, while Glenn Maxwell is in search of at least one display of substance.”It’s a little bit of a transition period, but having said that I think some of the newer players are still very experienced with games under their belt and their ages and whatnot, so we’re having a look at some players,” Bailey said. “But in terms of the balance of the side it is pretty similar to what we were starting to get together from just prior to the World T20. Not a bad result there in terms of where we got to in those conditions.”I certainly think we are still underachieving in T20 cricket, more so than any of the other formats. There’s no reason why with the players we have, the depth we have that we shouldn’t have a side that are consistently in the top couple teams in the world.”

Australia will go into their final practice match before the first Test against India with three spinners in their XI

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2013Australia will go into their final practice match before the first Test against India with three spinners in their XI. Their captain Michael Clarke and opener David Warner will sit out of the game, as they continue their rehabilitation from injuries in order to be fit for the Chennai Test from February 22.Included in the XI for the three-day game against India A is Ashton Agar, the 19-year old left-arm spinner who has been asked to stay on tour instead of returning home as planned. Agar will bowl alongside Australia’s frontline spinner Nathan Lyon and Xavier Doherty at the ICL Guru Nanak College ground in Chennai, with Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc being the two quick bowlers.In his first media interaction after arriving in India, Clarke reeled off his team’s XI, and four of the top six – Ed Cowan, Usman Khawaja, Moses Henriques and Matthew Wade – had played in the first practice match. Shane Watson and Phillip Hughes are the other two lining up against the India A bowlers.Australia were treating their first practice match – a two-day game against the Board President’s XI – as a “victory”, Clarke said. After being dismissed for 241, the Australians skittled the opposition for 230. “To bowl them out for less than what we had scored in conditions they are really accustomed to was a good sign for us.”Playing three spinners with Siddle and Starc in the three-day match, Clarke said, would give him a chance to “assess where our players are at, have a look at the guys in preparation for the Test team. We are giving our spinners the best chance by playing [all] three.”Australia’s practice session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the venue for the first Test, had to be cancelled due to overnight rain, but Clarke turned up to test his hamstring. The conditions at the practice match venue, he said, were different to those at the stadium. “From what I was looking at the conditions, spin bowling is going to play a really big part throughout this first Test match.” India picked four spinners, including Ravindra Jadeja, for the first two Tests and Clarke said he believed, “a lot of those guys if not all of them” could end up playing in Chennai.In a raw Australian batting line-up, Clarke is the best and most experienced batsman against spin. However, he remembered what his 2010 tour, when he scored 35 runs in four innings, had been like. “I think reputation is irrelevant to be honest, especially my reputation. I start on zero like everybody else. My last tour to India wasn’t anywhere near as successful as I would have liked. I really enjoy the challenge of facing spin bowling but it still gets me out, like every player.”Clarke’s debut series in India in 2004, however, had been memorable. Apart from his maiden century in Bangalore, Clarke also took 6 for 9 in the third Test in Mumbai. “You will see the spin bowling of Michael Clarke in Chennai – five wickets,” he said with a laugh at the end of his meet with the press.There were pleasantries and good humour before the start of what Clarke said was his toughest series as captain. The general tone of the pre-series build-up bore little resemblance to the usual verbal cut and thrust of an India-Australia contest. Much of the difference is due to the relative inexperience of Clarke’s team in what he termed, “red ball cricket” in India.”To me it’s not about what you say, it’s about what you do. As a player and as the Australian cricket team, that’s our goal. It’s no good us making statements or comments and not backing them up. I would rather people say less and do more.”Clarke was asked about the absence of the Decision Review System in the forthcoming series and said that while he believed the system helped to “get the decisions as consistent as we possibly can,” he was “not bothered” about it not being used.”I would like to see it consistently used – I would want us to say, yes we’re going to use it in all the Test matches, all the one-dayers. I would like the ICC to make a decision on that. Personally it’s saved me from getting out on a couple of occasions, it’s probably got me given out on a couple of occasions, as well. What the game of cricket is trying to do is get the decisions as consistent as we possibly can and technology has helped that.”

Allrounder Marlon Samuels returns to the West Indies squad after a two-month injury break, having been picked for the first Test against Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2013

WI squad for the first Test v Zimbabwe

Darren Sammy (capt), Denesh Ramdin (wk & vice-capt), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayle, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieron Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels and Shane Shillingford
In: Shannon Gabriel, Shane Shillingford
Out: Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Kirk Edwards, Fidel Edwards, Assad Fudadin

Allrounder Marlon Samuels returns to the West Indies squad after a two-month injury break, having been picked for the first Test against Zimbabwe that begins on March 12. Offspinner Sunil Narine did not feature in the 13-man squad, and in his place Shane Shillingford came in.Samuels had missed the limited-overs leg of the Zimbabwe series after picking up a facial injury during the Big Bash League, Australia’s T20 competition, in January.Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who debuted in the Lord’s Test last year but was then sidelined by a stress reaction in his back, made a comeback. Two exclusions of note on the fast-bowling front included Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards. Rampaul had returned to the domestic circuit in February after two months out due to knee trouble and had said at the time that he was “100% fit”. Edwards had taken a match-haul of seven in his previous Test match – against Bangladesh in November. His last competitive match was on February 14, in the Bangladesh Premier League.The other players to miss out from the squad that played the Bangladesh series, which was West Indies’ previous Test assignment, include batsmen Kirk Edwards and Assad Fudadin.Narine had had a poor run in that series, taking three wickets in two Tests at an average of 114.33. Twenty-three-year-old left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, who had a relatively better series with eight wickets at 31.62, retained his place.Wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin kept his role as Test vice-captain, while Chris Gayle returned after asking to skip the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe. Experienced batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, who returned for West Indies on last month’s limited-overs tour of Australia after a contentious 18-month break, was not handed a Test comeback.West Indies and Zimbabwe will play two Tests in all, and the hosts’ squad for the second Test will be named at a later date.

Following Chennai Super Kings’ unexpected loss to Pune Warriors, batsman S Badrinath has admitted to the team having issues with their opening combination

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2013Following Chennai Super Kings’ unexpected loss to Pune Warriors, batsman S Badrinath has admitted to the team having issues with their opening combination. Apart from the match against Kings XI Punjab, in which Super Kings cruised to a 10-wicket win, their openers have failed to lay the required platform, Badrinath said.”The openers are not able to get us to the required start. In that one game against KXIP, the openers just saw us through. Apart from that, this is an issue that needs to be addressed,” Badrinath told the IPL website. “Faf [du Plessis] was brilliant for us last season at the top of the order. Opening is such a key role in Twenty20 cricket. In the first six overs the fielders are inside and you need to capitalise on that. That start takes on the momentum to the middle order and further in the innings.”In their first three matches Super Kings opened with Michael Hussey and M Vijay, and apart from the game against Kings XI, the pair put on stands of 10 and 4 in two overs each. Against Pune Warriors, Hussey was left out to accommodate allrounder Albie Morkel, and Vijay opened with S Anirudha, who was out for a second-ball duck. South Africa’s du Plessis, who was successful when given the chance to open in 2012, is out with injury.The idea behind leaving Hussey out, Badrinath said, was to improve the team balance: “It was something to do with the combination. We wanted Anirudha to get quick runs at the top, and to get Albie in to add some firepower in the batting and another bowling option. It was very unfortunate that Anirudha got out off the second ball.”Badrinath, however, still backed his batsmen to come good. “Let’s be honest: we haven’t been able to get great starts and we’ve lost too many wickets at the top order. That’s something that needs to be addressed,” he said. “However, these batsmen have done it for us before and we need to have faith in them.”

While the political storm over Sri Lankan players’ involvement in the IPL rages in India, Angelo Mathews has insisted his side is focussed solely on the series at hand, against Bangladesh

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Mar-2013While the political storm over Sri Lankan players’ involvement in the IPL rages in India, Angelo Mathews has insisted his side is focussed solely on the series at hand, against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka have an ODI and Twenty20 to play before the tour is completed, and must win the final game to take the series, after rain forced the abandonment of the second match.Ten of Sri Lanka’s playing XI for the first two ODIs have been contracted to IPL teams for the 2013 season, and most players had planned to leave for India as soon as their national commitments for this series had been fulfilled. Nuwan Kulasekara will not be joining his IPL side as scheduled, however, after the Chennai Super Kings franchise instructed both him and Akila Dananjaya to postpone their travel to Chennai, and although the remaining players will travel to India as planned, they will not be play any league matches in Tamil Nadu.The BCCI had ruled on Tuesday that no Sri Lankan player would participate in matches in Chennai, and Sri Lanka Cricket reinforced that rule on Wednesday, when they decided to add a caveat to the players’ no objection certificates, stating they cannot play matches in Tamil Nadu. “Based on a note sent by the minister of external affairs regarding the safety of players, and reports appearing in the electronic and print media, it was decided that the no objection certificates issued to the players be restricted to exclude their appearance at any venue in the state of Tamil Nadu, and also to obtain the Players’ personal opinion on their willingness to participate in the event,” a release said. The players are understood to be largely satisfied with the security arrangements elsewhere in India.SLC had effectively cleared Sri Lanka’s schedule to accommodate the full IPL tournament by cancelling a Test tour of the West Indies, and postponing a Test series against South Africa until 2015 – though the latter was also due to a scheduling conflict with the Sri Lanka Premier League. The indebted board relies on income from the IPL, which comes in the form of a 10% cut of player salaries.Although the players have been urged by some, including Arjuna Ranatunga, to boycott the IPL, they are unlikely to do so, particularly given they have the board’s implicit support to play in the tournament. Some players had flights changed, so as to avoid being routed through Tamil Nadu, but will join their teams as planned over the next week.Mathews said he and his team were aware of the evolving situation, but had left the decision in the hands of the two boards. “As far as the players are concerned, we’ve got nothing to do with it. We’ve always enjoyed playing in India. But there is a situation and the cricket board will let us know on that. As far as the team is concerned we’re not very much bothered.”It’s not a distraction at all. We’re not concentrating on the IPL right now. We’ve got one ODI and a Twenty20 against Bangladesh to go, so we’re concentrating on that. Maybe after the two games, we can look into it, but for now we’re not interested in it.”

Graeme Swann is itching to return to action after declaring that his elbow has “never felt better” following the surgery he had after being ruled out of the Test series in New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2013Graeme Swann is itching to return to action after declaring that his elbow has “never felt better” following the surgery he had after being ruled out of the Test series in New Zealand.He is set play his first match of the season for Nottinghamshire against Durham in the County Championship next week, his last chance for first-class cricket with his county before the opening Test of the season against New Zealand at Lord’s on May 16. But there is the England Lions game against New Zealand if the selectors feel he needs more overs.Swann has been bowling in the nets during Nottinghamshire’s current match against Derbyshire and is feeling no ill effects after having “13 or 14″ pieces of bone removed from his right elbow during the operation in the USA, significantly fewer than came out during the first surgery in 2009 when 29 fragments were found.”The elbow feels great,” Swann said while speaking at a Chance to Shine event to mark the two millionth child to be included in the scheme. “I’ve been bowling with it over the last two days in the nets and it has never felt better. The aim was always for me to come back on Monday against Durham and that is what is going to happen. I was just bored with stupid bowling in the nets and wanted to get back in the game.””I was actually hoping to play this week against Derby but it just swelled up a little bit and I was told to get back in my box. I’m very happy now but this is the last time in my career I will have elbow surgery.”When Swann was ruled out of the New Zealand series in March, on the opening day of the first Test, he was optimistic that the surgery would be a success but admitted the occasional doubt.”You go through a mixture of emotions,” he said. “You have the panic, then the optimism, then the odd pessimistic day pops its head out of nowhere. But the surgery wasn’t as serious as last time and my rehab has gone perfectly.”England missed both Swann’s bowling and his on-field spark in New Zealand as the attack laboured to take 20 wickets. With Australia’s likely line-up for the Ashes potentially including four left handers in the top order he could be in for a bumper season while he is also a crucial cog in the one-day team which has a Champions Trophy to aim for.Swann’s recovery is a piece of positive news for England in a week where Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out until at least the Ashes with his bruised knee taking longer to heel than expected.

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.”