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Spinner claims his best figures at the Ageas Bowl and sixth first-class five-for

ECB Reporters Network20-May-2023Hampshire 367 (Vince 95, Dawson 63, White 4-80) beat Northamptonshire 56 (Barker 4-13) and 176 (Zaib 57*, Whiteman 45, Dawson 6-61) by an innings and 135 runsNorthamptonshire succumbed to their third straight innings LV= Insurance County Championship defeat to bogey side Hampshire led by Liam Dawson’s five-wicket haul.Dawson claimed 6 for 61 for his sixth first-class five-for and his best figures at the Ageas Bowl to reignite Hampshire’s title hopes after two winless matches with victory by an innings and 135 runs coming inside three days.Northamptonshire, who have one win and a solitary batting bonus point so far this season, only claimed three points from the match as they sit rock bottom of Division One.Hampshire have dominated Northamptonshire in their three Championship clashes – starting at the Ageas Bowl last September and continuing in home and away drubbings this term.Their three innings have resulted in 1,249 runs – in response, Northamptonshire have only cobbled together 840 in six innings. This thrashing was fashioned on the first two days.Hampshire grafted hard to score 367 runs in just over a day, thanks to James Vince’s 95, Dawson’s 63, and forties for Fletcha Middleton and Ben Brown.Northamptonshire were bowled out for a new Ageas Bowl low of 56 in 30.2 overs and were already two down in their second innings by the close.Their head coach John Sadler called for “fight, graft and resilience” and promoted the idea of classic red ball batting going forward. Sam Whiteman and Rob Keogh took that to heart. The duo batted out 39 of the first 42 balls of the day as dots and took few risks, while starting to nibble away at the deficit.Whiteman would face 93 balls and Keogh 113, but after an hour of occupation under stunning blue skies, a collapse wasn’t far away.Dawson’s second over of the day was long enough to see Australian Whiteman attempt a drive out of the rough, only to get bowled through the gate.Ricardo Vasconcelos also took the attacking route out but missed his slog sweep by a distance to leave his stumps exposed.Keogh had been dropped earlier in the morning by Dawson before the left-arm spinner had him leg before with an arm ball and Northamptonshire were now 150 for 5, having been 89 for 2 little more than 10 overs earlier.Mohammad Abbas had James Sales lbw with the first ball after lunch to begin a post-interval collapse of 33 for 5.Dawson returned to pin Tom Taylor in front for a pair – joining Hassan Azad in the scoreless corner – before Jordan Buckingham went back to another one which went on with the arm.Saif Zaib – who had been the only Northamptonshire batter to reach double figures in the first innings – again impressed with a 78-ball fifty. He showed application, mixed with some attractive shot-making to end up unbeaten on 57.But Dawson kissed the top of Jack White’s off stump with a ragging delivery and Mason Crane – on his first appearance of the season – got Alex Russell to edge to first slip to end Northamptonshire’s miserable trip to the south coast at 2:40pm. The last eight wickets had been lost for just 87 runs.

Opening batter expresses pleasure at “added responsibility” of being chosen by Gujarat Titans

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2022As an opener over the last two seasons of the IPL, Shubman Gill has struck at only 118.45. This, despite the fact that he comes out to bat in the powerplay, where only two fielders man the boundary. Whether Gill goes at too slow a pace and ends up putting pressure on the batter at the other end has often been a topic of debate, but the man himself says every situation requires a different “mindset”.”It differs from situation to situation, and when you go in to bat, there are different targets. Your mindset can’t be the same in every innings,” Gill, who will be representing Gujarat Titans this season, said. “The wicket might be different. So you have to plan accordingly. As a player, that is the challenge, and you know that if you play with the same mindset and game plan, then it becomes very easy for the opposition to plan tactically.Related

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“And it is all about experience when it comes to adapting to different situations. That is what helps you grow. This year, I’ll be working with Gary Kirsten, who is our mentor [and batting coach], and hopefully, I get to learn some new tricks to put up my sleeve.”Despite playing 52 of the 70 innings in his T20 career as opener, Gill says he will be happy to contribute in any way his team needs. The last time he batted at any spot other than the top was against Sunrisers Hyderabad back in 2019, a season when he kept floating around the batting order – from No. 1 to No. 7 – for Kolkata Knight Riders.”I am looking forward to whatever the team demands from me,” he said. “I am sure the captain and the coaching staff have a particular thing in mind… hopefully, we all can work together and help the team.”Having so far played only Tests and ODIs for India, Gill, who is only 22, has aspirations of making the national squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.”If any player does very well in the IPL, then obviously there are chances that he is considered [for India]. And a World Cup is a very big tournament for everyone, and everyone wants to play it,” he said. “And if I do well in this IPL and get that opportunity, then I’ll be very thankful.”Titans, being new to the IPL, were allowed to pick three players from the auction pool before the mega event even took place. They chose Gill, Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan and the young opener is eager to repay the faith that has been placed in him by the franchise.”Unfortunately, I didn’t get retained by KKR… but it felt great when I when I got to know that Gujarat Titans were interested in retaining me,” he said. “If any team retains and trusts you so much, then you gain a lot of confidence.”This is also a very good and a big opportunity for me at Gujarat. Ashu [Ashish Nehra, head coach] and Hardik showed a lot of trust by retaining me. This brings an added responsibility, and I like taking responsibilities.”Apart from fulfilling his role, Gill also wants to ensure that Titans build a good head of steam and then keep it going through the long season, where each team plays 14 matches before entering the playoffs.”IPL is a tournament where you can’t take any team lightly because T20 is the shortest format, where chances of making a comeback are a lot higher, no matter whichever team you play,” he said.”Most importantly, being such a long tournament means it is very important to carry forward the momentum you have gained after winning your first few matches. The matches are held one after the other, and so likewise, you could even lose two or three matches [in a row]. And the team that is able to break their run of losses turns out to be having the best chance.”

Zimbabwe might rue not getting over the line in the first game against an off-colour opposition

Danyal Rasool31-Oct-2020

Big picture

The first ODI was an exciting one for the neutrals, and everyone looking for a competitive series, but it’s best to a bit cautious if anyone feels that the close finish has set a template of sorts for the remaining two games. The difference was 26 runs in that game, and what will gut Zimbabwe the most about not getting over the line was that they had in front of them an off-colour Pakistan for much of the game. It’s hard to believe Pakistan won’t alter their approach, particularly with the bat, and while Babar Azam’s side have a few more gears to go through, it isn’t quite clear if Zimbabwe do, too.While Chamu Chibhabha’s men ran Pakistan close and, at one stage, were arguably favourites to come up trumps, that they failed to do so is emblematic of one of the challenges they face. Success breeds success, and Zimbabwe have had so little of it lately, they might have lacked the self-belief to see themselves over the finish line. That happens to Zimbabwe not infrequently, and while pushing Pakistan hard away from home deserves nothing but plaudits, in the World Super League, results matter, and yesterday’s did not take Zimbabwe any closer to automatic world Cup qualification.For Pakistan, the signs in the first ODI weren’t too promising. Shaheen Afridi looks like a generational talent, but that was already known. The problem is that, as they start the next four-year cycle in ODI cricket, there is no evidence they are being coached, or indeed captained, to adopt the sort of approach the elite ODI teams look for. There was the same caution that Misbah-ul-Haq has favoured over anything resembling bold or innovative. It is not the way to move into the future, and as Zimbabwe nearly showed, barely the way to eke out results in the present.

Form guide

Pakistan WWWWW
Zimbabwe LLLLL
Brendan Taylor drives on the up•PCB

In the spotlight

Pakistan’s top order was far too cautious in the first powerplay, and that sluggishness seemed to set the tempo. Captain Babar Azam has promised more positivity, and whether Abid Ali opens alongside Imam-ul-Haq, or the more enterprising Fakhar Zaman does, would be interesting to see. It sets up a fascinating contest between a group of batsmen under pressure to break out of their conservative shell, and a bowling line-up well aware they may be challenged more seriously next time. Don’t be surprised if we all look back on it later as the decisive passage of the game.Sean Williams was in the form of his life last year, with two of his three career hundreds coming in a 13-ODI spell that saw him average a shade under 70, and he was going strong even as Brendan Taylor’s form faded. On Friday, however, he looked distinctly uncomfortable during his short, troubled stay at the crease, perhaps the weakest link of the Zimbabwean batting order on the day. Williams doesn’t have the best record against Pakistan; he last made a half-century against this opposition 12 years and 11 matches ago, in Multan in 2008. For a man who has been something of a rock in that Zimbabwean middle order for the best part of a decade and a half, that shouldn’t continue, and if his side are to continue pushing Pakistan hard, it can’t.

Team news

If Shadab Khan is fit, he should come back into the side. And if, as Babar Azam said, Pakistan intend to go hard at the top, that bodes well for Fakhar Zaman’s chances of getting back into the side. With Pakistan looking at the future, Khushdil Shah might get a look-in, too.Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman/Abid Ali, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 6 Iftikhar Ahmed/Shadab Khan, 7 Khushdil Shah 8 Imad Wasim/Faheem Ashraf, 9 Haris Rauf, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Shaheen AfridiTendai Chisoro was batting a spot too high at No. 8, and Zimbabwe might opt for a more established batsman instead. That could bring Elton Chigumbura or Ryan Burl into the mix, while Brian Chari could find himself battling competition from Tinashe Kamunhukamwe.Zimbawe (possible): 1 Brian Chari/Tinashe Kamunhukamwe 2 Chamu Chibhabha 3 Craig Ervine 4 Brendan Taylor (wk) 5 Sean Williams 6 Wesley Madhevere 7 Sikandar Raza 8 Elton Chigumbura/Ryan Burl 9 Carl Mumba 10 Richard Ngarava 11 Blessing Muzarabani

Pitch and conditions

A different surface in Rawalpindi is likely to be used, and light grass is expected on the pitch again. As the first game demonstrated, the early start means dew doesn’t become a factor in the chase, while there should be no trouble from the skies.

Stats and trivia

• Brendan Taylor’s 11th century in the first ODI means he now has four ODI hundreds more than any Zimbabwean – Alistair Campbell is second with seven – while, among current players, Craig Ervine, Williams and Sikandar Raza have three each.
• Pakistan’s 26-run win in the first ODI was the narrowest margin of victory in a match between the two sides played in Pakistan.

No replacement named, BCCI says the opening batsman will stay with the team and be under observation for the time being

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Jun-20191:43

Hussey: Dhawan injury destabilises India’s top order

Shikhar Dhawan is likely to miss India’s next two matches, against New Zealand and Pakistan, after picking up a hairline fracture on his left thumb. ESPNcricinfo understands that Dhawan – who scored a century in the last match, against Australia – had travelled to Leeds to undergo scans and returned to Nottingham, where the team is stationed, later in the day. In a late afternoon update, a BCCI spokesperson said that Dhawan would stay on in the UK under observation, “and his progress will be monitored”.It is understood that the BCCI wants to wait for an update on Dhawan’s likely recovery time before they take a decision on whether to retain him or ask for a replacement. At least three Indian selectors – MSK Prasad (chairman) along with Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi – are travelling with the Indian squad. If a replacement is named, Dhawan can only come back to the squad if another player is injured and the tournament technical committee is satisfied with that replacement.Dhawan was hit on the left thumb by a Pat Cummins delivery early in his innings of 117 on Sunday. For a while after being hit, he kept taking his bottom hand off the bat when striking the ball, indicating that he was in pain. As the innings progressed, he seemed to have settled down, and played his shots without apparent discomfort. However, he didn’t come out to field during Australia’s innings and was seen with an ice pack on his left hand in the dressing room.In Dhawan’s absence, India are expected to push KL Rahul up the order to partner Rohit Sharma, and a middle-order batsman – one of Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar, most likely – to slot in lower down.Whatever happens, Dhawan’s loss is a significant blow to India, given his prolific form, particularly in ICC tournaments. In 20 matches across the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, he has 1238 runs with six hundreds and four fifties, averaging 65.15 with a strike rate of 98.25.In ten World Cup matches, he has scored 537 runs at an average of 53.70 and a strike rate of 94.21. In India’s two matches so far in this World Cup, he has made 8 and 117.Dhawan’s absence will also mean India have to go without his very successful partnership with Rohit at the top. The two have put on 4681 runs together in 103 innings, averaging 45.89, the fourth highest by an opening pair in ODI history.

England’s one floodlit training session was washed out on Wednesday, leaving Ben Stokes short of bowling practice ahead of the first Test

Andrew McGlashan in Auckland21-Mar-2018New Zealand may have gained a small advantage over England before a ball has been bowled in the day-night Test at Eden Park after England’s one floodlit training session was washed out on Wednesday.They had been due to train from around 6pm but were restricted to a kickabout on the outfield before being forced indoors. It meant they did not get a net in the evening under the lights that have been rigged up over the nets on Eden Park 2 and neither could they undertake any fielding drills. New Zealand had their evening practice session on Tuesday in fine weather and their day-time session on Wednesday was also uninterrupted.England did play two days of pink-ball cricket in Hamilton last week but they would have been keen for a final tune-up before the first Test.It also meant that Ben Stokes was denied another outdoor bowl ahead of his Test comeback, which follows a week where he has been nursing back stiffness following the one-day series. It was the second time in three days that rain had hampered Stokes after his solo net on Monday was also forced indoors. On that occasion he bowled five overs inside, but it is understood he did not bowl on Wednesday.When Joe Root spoke before the scheduled training session he said he knew his XI but wouldn’t name it because he hadn’t told those not playing. Pressed on Stokes’ role he said he was confident of him playing a part with the ball, but hinted a final decision on how much could rest on the final training session so it remains to be seen if the rain has caused Root a headache.”There’s still stuff that needs to come out of today to be very sure of that, but I’m quite happy that Ben will play a part within the game,” Root said.England do come into this Test with more recent pink-ball Test action than New Zealand who have not played one since they faced Australia in the first of its kind in Adelaide in late 2015. England have faced West Indies and Australia in the last seven months.”Having a Test outside of England with the pink ball will give us good preparation and a lot of the guys played in that,” Root said. “But New Zealand are at home and will know how the surface will play. We have to get accustomed to that as quickly as we can. If we get in front we need to drive that home.”Both Root and Kane Williamson said it was important not to get too wound up on the pink-ball aspect of the match and remember the fundamentals.”You don’t want to get ahead of yourself and how you want to operate,” Williamson said. “It’s a Test match, yes there’s some subtle differences, and over the past few pink-ball Test matches we have seen some trends, but I guess you play a Test match in England when it’s overcast and the lights are on and things happen differently, and there’s probably less talk about that, then about when that might happen with a pink ball.”Root added: “The basics are there and proven to work across all three formats never mind day-night cricket with a pink ball. You know what you need to do, generally plans are similar to batsmen and with the bat it’s about making scores of 400-plus.”

Darren Sammy was one of nine overseas players to travel to Lahore despite the security threat to play the PSL final. He lead his team Peshawar Zalmi to the title against Quetta Gladiators

Umar Farooq in Lahore06-Mar-2017Darren Sammy, the Peshawar Zalmi captain, was one of nine overseas players who travelled to Lahore for the PSL final despite the security threat and his reason for doing so was to “bring back the smiles” on the faces of the fans.Pakistan has hosted only one series of international cricket since the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lanka team and even then there had been the issue of a bombing on the edge of the security perimeter. Moreover, leading up to Sunday’s match, there had been worrisome incidents across the country, including one in Lahore’s own Defence Housing Authority. A blast had killed at least 10 people and left a dozen injured.Pakistan did their best to mitigate the situation. The government’s paramilitary force was deployed at Gaddafi stadium and the Rangers only made up one part of at least 10,000 security personal, which also included the Punjab police.Sammy was one of four first-choice overseas players for Peshawar to still make the trip, along with West Indies team-mate Marlon Samuels and England’s Chris Jordan and Dawid Malan.Quetta, however, lost a major part of the reason they made the final in the first place, when Kevin Pietersen, Tymal Mills, Rilee Rossouw, Luke Wright and Nathan McCullum had pulled out of the match. They had to make do with last-minute changes, bringing in Bangladesh’s Anamul Haque, South Africa’s Morne van Wyk, Zimbabwe’s Sean Ervine and West Indies’ Rayad Emrit.The final was played with more than 22,000 people in attendance, who had assembled outside the ground in the afternoon in order to get through three layers of security before reaching their seats. And with Shahid Afridi out injured, Sammy was the one they cheered for the most.”To me it was more than just a game,” he said after Peshawar won the second edition of the PSL. “It started with the draft. Lala [Afridi] made the big announcement that I would be the captain and one of our mottos was to bring back the smiles so I felt tonight I brought a lot of smiles in Lahore and Peshawar. It is an amazing day and this trophy means a lot.”The Federation of International Cricketers’ Association, in January, had warned that safety for the PSL final in Lahore could not be guaranteed and it wasn’t until 24 hours before the match that the foreign players taking part in it were confirmed.”When you have not been in a place you always have your doubts,” Sammy said. “You get different views, different opinions. But I spoke to Javed [Afridi, the Peshawar team owner] and Shahid Afridi and they influenced my decision to come here. All the boys just made the decision that we are part of something that we are coming down here for a good cause. The fans here deserve to see their players playing as they haven’t seen it for quite a while. I am glad I came here.”I have enjoyed playing a cricket match [in Lahore] and I have even enjoyed being with the security guys as I have never seen something like this before so it was a good experience. It is hopefully a step in the right direction, where things could happen. What I can say is that being here felt like playing in St Lucia, playing in India or anywhere else in the world. And like I said at the toss, today I felt cricket was the winner.”The PCB had invited security advisors from the ICC and its member countries to watch the PSL final. Reports suggest they are keen to invite Bangladesh to tour Pakistan sometime in the future.

West Indies have claimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC T20 rankings after Sri Lanka were caned by New Zealand in Auckland on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2016

The top ten teams in T20Is

1. West Indies (118 rating points)
2 Sri Lanka (118 rating points)
3. Australia (118 rating points)
4 England (117 rating points)
5 South Africa (115 rating points)
6 New Zealand (114 rating points)
7 Pakistan (114 rating points)
8 India (110 rating points)
9 Afghanistan (80 rating points)
10 Bangladesh (69 rating points)

West Indies have claimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC T20 rankings after Sri Lanka, who had largely occupied the top rung since they won the World T20 in 2014, were caned by New Zealand in Auckland on Sunday. West Indies have 118.36 rating points, and are now marginally ahead of both Sri Lanka and Australia who have exactly 118 rating points each.West Indies have played eight matches since the end of the World T20 in April 2014 and won four of them, including a world record chase against South Africa in January 2015. They gunned down 232 in 19.2 overs. Coincident to that has been Sri Lanka’s fall – they have lost five of their last six matches, the latest a nine-wicket drubbing as New Zealand raced to their target of 143 in a mere 10 overs.Sri Lanka had begun the two-match series with a seven-point lead. Losing it 0-2 meant they were yet to win a T20 series since becoming World T20 champions (although they beat England in a one-off match in May 2014) and were pushed off their No. 1 slot.West Indies fare far worse in the other formats. They are at No. 8 in Tests, after losing the Frank Worrell Trophy 2-0, and No. 9 in ODIs.

Pain-free for the first time in more than six months, Mitchell Starc has promised Australia’s bowlers will not give Alastair Cook a moment’s peace in the middle, encouraged – but not made complacent – by the England captain’s difficulties against left-arm

Daniel Brettig in Worcester04-Jul-2013Pain-free for the first time in more than six months, Mitchell Starc has promised Australia’s bowlers will not give Alastair Cook a moment’s peace in the middle, encouraged – but not made complacent – by the England captain’s difficulties against left-arm pace.Starc revealed he relied on painkilling injections in his ankle for most of last summer and the tour of India that followed, before returning home when even the jabs did not mask the discomfort caused by bone spurs. The time away from the bowling crease allowed Starc time to observe Cook and company facing up to New Zealand’s battery of left-armers, and said both he and James Faulkner now fancied their chances.”As a group we have paid a lot of close attention to that New Zealand and England series,” Starc said. “For me and James Faulkner, being left armers, it was great to see a few of their guys really struggle against the left-armers. I’m sure they have gone away now and worked at that, but it’s encouraging. We’ll have to find a lot of different ways if things aren’t happening, to get them out. We can’t just rest on his struggles against the left-armers.”It’s a point of difference for us and hopefully we can get that ball swinging for as long as we can. It’s all about early wickets and being very aggressive against him being the captain of the side. They’re going to do the same thing to Michael, so as a bowling group we have to make sure we’re very aggressive as well.”The problems faced by Starc across the summer were a point of some consternation when he was kept out of the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka for preventative reasons, and the bowler himself registered his displeasure at the time. But the management of the issue allowed Starc to take part in most of the summer and only miss being available for one Test in India, and as shown against Somerset he is now running into form at the right time.”I’ve got no pain now, it was very painful in India,” Starc said. “It’s something I don’t have to worry about now, or worry about having a jab or being careful bowling this many balls, it’s all gone. It got pretty bad in that last Test in Mohali and injections weren’t working. It was more the one we didn’t know about, it wasn’t the one we picked up around Christmas time, it was the one that broke off and we didn’t know about and I went back for surgery.”Starc’s first international since Mohali was Australia’s ruinous defeat by England in the Champions Trophy. Tentative by his own admission, Starc said he had progressed a long way since his first ball of the match to Cook drifted harmlessly onto the pads. “I was still working on my rhythm and getting through that tentative spot as you do after an injury. I feel in a great place at the moment,” he said. “The last three weeks have been as good as I have felt in a long time. I’m happy with where my body is and where my bowling is.”A packed first day crowd at Taunton were witness to Starc’s destructive power when he finds the right gear. After Somerset had careered to 304 for 2, Starc and James Pattinson capitalised on Faulkner’s breakthrough to scoop an outrageous 6 for 0 with the second new ball, as part of a slide to 320 all out. Though heartened by the burst, Starc noted that next time he did not wish to wait until the 81st over at Trent Bridge to start wreaking similar havoc.”We knew we needed to finish the day well,” he said. “It was a tough toil through the middle period on a very flat wicket. Going into that last spell with the new ball we spoke to each other before we started and said we wanted to try and get three wickets in that last spell before close. To bowl them out we were happy with that and got to put our feet up for a couple of days. That second new ball is what we need to produce with the first new ball.”

Johan Botha has vowed that he will not stand in the way of South Australia’s young spinners this summer despite being a guaranteed starter as the state’s new captain for the next two years

Brydon Coverdale02-Jul-2012Johan Botha has vowed that he will not stand in the way of South Australia’s young spinners this summer despite being a guaranteed starter as the state’s new captain for the next two years. Botha began pre-season training on Monday in Adelaide, where he will be based for three weeks before he flies out to prepare for South Africa’s tour of England and the ICC World Twenty20.The trips will be Botha’s last for his country before he focuses his attention solely on the Redbacks, who won the Ryobi Cup last summer but did not win a match in the Sheffield Shield. The state’s decision to bring in Botha to replace Michael Klinger as captain, which was announced in March, was a surprise and came after he impressed the state coach Darren Berry during his stint with the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League.Botha has not played first-class cricket since December 2010 but Berry said his solid record with both bat and ball was secondary to his fiercely competitive nature and international experience in the decision to hand him the captaincy. Botha said he was conscious that his role in the side would need to vary depending on who else was available in any given match.”If Nathan Lyon is there he will be the No.1 spinner. If there’s anyone else coming through, say if Cullen Bailey comes through and bowls well again, then he’ll be the No.1 spinner,” Botha told ESPNcricinfo on Monday. “I’ll be there for the support role and to help where I can. I can bat in the top six, so that helps the balance of the team. If there are guys who are bowling better than me then definitely they will be the No.1 spinner.”Botha’s versatility – he averages 34.60 with the bat and 31.75 with the ball in first-class cricket – will make him a handy addition for the Redbacks, whose players are largely familiar with him through his work with the Strikers last season. However, he conceded that stepping straight in as captain in the Shield and Ryobi Cup sides would be a very different scenario.”It is a challenge. But sometimes you just have to get out of your comfort zone,” Botha said. “I’m going to lean big time on Maxy Klinger and Chuck [Berry] and all the experienced players to help me through, especially the first few months and the first season. I’m not just going to take it on my own to run the show my way. I’m definitely going to lean on the other guys.”[My role is] just to give the players the freedom to express themselves. I think it’s important to let the players express themselves and tell them that it’s fine if you fail every now and then. On certain days one or two guys are going to perform and it’s going to be their day and some days it’s not going to be your day. It’s important just to let the players relax and understand that.”Botha will be in charge of a side boasting several men pushing for international honours, with Daniel Christian and Callum Ferguson expected to sign new contracts within the coming days. Phillip Hughes, who has joined the state from New South Wales, is another man who will remain in the minds of the Australia selectors but Botha said it was important Hughes focused himself solely on the task at hand.”He’s an exciting player and he’s the type of player who needs a bit of freedom to go out there and express himself,” Botha said. “I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself. I’m sure myself and Chuck will have to relax him and tell him to just get out there and play, and not to worry about the Australian squad at the moment. Those things will take care of themselves.”He’s got a different technique but he gets the job done. I’m always happy with that. I don’t necessarily want pretty looking guys in my team, I want guys who can get the results. He’s going to fit right in. We’re just going to let him go out there and perform for us.”Hughes and Botha will be the state’s two key imports this summer as they aim to find a way to succeed in the longer format, although Botha may miss the start of the Shield season if South Africa progress to the World T20 finals. Although Botha, 30, was expected to remain an important T20 player for South Africa, he said the national coach Gary Kirsten had been understanding of his decision to move to Adelaide.”It is a big decision but the last six months I’ve been training with the national side and sitting out of most of the games, especially in one-day cricket,” Botha said. “I spoke to Gary and he said I’ll be in the T20s but he can’t guarantee my spot in one-day cricket. That made my decision a little bit easier.”I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Myself and my family, we might never go back or we might go back after two years. It’s hard to say. You never know what’s going to happen in the future.”

More than two-thirds of players polled in a recent survey believe the BCCI has an unfair influence on decision-making within the ICC

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2011More than two-thirds of players polled in a recent survey believe the BCCI has an unfair influence on decision-making within the ICC. The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has renewed its calls for a review of the game’s governance after releasing the results of its 2011 player survey, which also revealed strong support for the decision review system and 50-over cricket.Despite overwhelming approval for how this year’s World Cup was run, the findings were not all positive for the ICC. Of the 45 players polled, only 6% believed that decisions at ICC board level were made “in the best interests of cricket”, while 49% felt decisions were made according to “party lines or best interests of the country that they are representing”. The remaining players were “unsure”.When asked if ICC decision-making was influenced unfairly by the power of the BCCI, 69% said ‘yes’, while 31% answered “don’t know”. None of the respondents gave a definitive ‘no’. Despite those concerns, 63% said they had confidence in the ICC’s ability to govern international cricket, although the FICA chief executive Tim May said the findings raised important issues, with 46% saying the structure and composition of the ICC executive board should be reviewed.”Players have highlighted that the governance of the game is a serious issue,” May said. “FICA have continually advocated for a review of the game’s governance. Its present structure is outdated, full of conflicts, cronyism and far from best practice. FICA does believe though that the ICC day-to-day management has improved considerably and are unfairly tarnished as a result of decisions of the ICC Chief Executive and Board Committees.”The call for a review of the game’s governance is not new. FICA have been pushing for change for several years, and the former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed this year said he would be in favour of an independent commission running the game, although he also said the idea that countries always voted in geographical blocs was, based on his time at the organisation, not accurate.The FICA survey did reveal some good news for the ICC, with 94% of players rating the recent World Cup as “good” or above, compared to only 11% giving the 2007 tournament that level of support. However, the event is still too long, according to 74% of those surveyed, while 72% backed the decision to reduce the number of teams in the next World Cup to 10, and 91% felt the Associate nations should have a chance to qualify.The majority (82%) of players said the DRS made for better decision-making from umpires at the World Cup, and 97% thought the DRS should be compulsory in all Test matches. Notably, FICA is not affiliated with players from India – the BCCI being the major opponent of the DRS – or from Pakistan or Zimbabwe.The survey also showed:

• 32% of players would retire prematurely from international cricket to play exclusively in the IPL and similar Twenty20 tournaments
• 40% said that given the magnitude of salaries being offered by the IPL, they could envisage a day where they would rank their obligations to IPL and other T20 events ahead of obligations to their home boards
• 94% believed that superior salaries offered by the IPL would motivate younger players to hone their skills principally to T20
• 40% said their board schedules too much international cricket
• Only 24% of players favour a change in the format of ODIs
• 39% believe boards schedule too many ODIs, reducing the public’s interest in the format