Barnard keeps Warwickshire hopes of victory over Somerset alive

Influence with bat and ball shines through on another weather-affected day

ECB Reporters Network28-Sep-2023Ed Barnard’s effectiveness with bat and ball maintained Warwickshire’s hopes of victory over Somerset as this end-of-season, mid-table LV=Insurance County Championship clash meandered along under leaden skies at Edgbaston.At the end of a third successive heavily weather-affected day, Somerset were 90 for 2 in their second innings, 32 ahead, after bowling the home side out for 273. Josh Davey took 3 for 62 and Neil Wagner 3 for 67 but Barnard’s skilful and patient 73 (144 balls) maintained his excellent late-season form and gave his side a handy first-innings lead of 58. Barnard then took both wickets as Somerset ground their way in front.Rain and bad light have chopped 125 overs from days one to three but, with better weather forecast for the fourth, a decisive result remains possible. Quick wickets could herald a Warwickshire victory bid, or the captains could simply agree a target overnight.After Warwickshire resumed the third morning on 112 for 3, Davey struck with the fourth ball which Dan Mousley edged low to Andy Umeed at second slip. Alex Davies fell lbw to Jack Brooks and when Michael Burgess edged Wagner behind, the home side was 147 for 6, still 68 behind. Somerset sensed a lead.Barnard had set down roots, though, and received obdurate support from the in-form Danny Briggs. Confident after his 99 at Lord’s last week, the former Hampshire and Sussex player contributed 38 off 68 balls to a stand of 93 in 25 overs which moved Warwickshire in front.Briggs scooped Wagner to long leg and Craig Miles gloved the New Zealand international behind before Barnard’s excellent innings was terminated by a skied attempt to hoist Davey straight.The Worcestershire product had ensured Warwickshire a handy first-innings lead, though, and Somerset faced an awkward 15 overs batting before tea. Openers Tom Lammonby and Sean Dickson made 39 from the first 14 before the former clipped Barnard to short mid-wicket in the final over of the session.Barnard’s happy day continued when Lewis Goldsworthy feathered a pull to wicketkeeper Burgess. Still eight runs behind with two wickets down, Somerset needed ballast and Sean Dickson (36 not out) and Umeed (20 not out) supplied it with an important unbroken stand of 40 in 12 overs. Dickson’s two hours of resistance, in which he struck just three of 84 balls faced to the boundary, was exactly what his team needed in the circumstances.

Mitchell Marsh ruled out of final Sri Lanka T20I, in doubt for ODI series too

Allrounder suffering from calf strain is expected to stay on since he’s part of the team picked for the Test leg of the tour

Alex Malcolm11-Jun-2022Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the final T20I against Sri Lanka in Palekelle with a calf strain. It is estimated that he will need a week or two to recover, meaning he will miss at least the early part of the five-match ODI series that follows as well.Marsh suffered the injury during Australia’s three-wicket win in Colombo on Wednesday, that saw the visitors wrap up the series 2-0, with a game to spare. Marsh has been replaced by Josh Inglis in the side for the final T20I.The allrounder is also part of the Test squad for the two-match series which starts at the end of the month in Galle, although he is unlikely to be required unless there is an injury to Cameron Green.Australia are already without Mitchell Starc for the early part of the ODI series due to a lacerated finger. Jhye Richardson and Kane Richardson have both been called in as cover.Marsh has not played an ODI since July last year. He missed the three-match series against Pakistan prior to the IPL due to a hip flexor injury.Australia have plenty of all-round options to choose from for the ODI series in Pallekele and Colombo with Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Green, all in the squad. Green made a spectacular century for Australia A against Sri Lanka A on Tuesday and even opened the bowling in the Pakistan series. He did not bowl for Australia A and may not bowl in the early part of the ODI series as he continues to have his workload carefully monitored in the lead-up to the Test matches.

PSL blame game begins with independent investigation on the horizon

A Lahore Qalandars spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that there were breaches of the bubble at the team hotels

Osman Samiuddin and Umar Farooq04-Mar-2021The blame game has begun in the aftermath of the abrupt postponement of the PSL, as franchises and league management begin to sift through the wreckage of a sixth season curtailed only 14 games in after a spate of Covid-19 cases among players and support staff. An investigation into what went wrong will take place, at an as-yet unspecified time in the future, conducted independent of the PCB. And though Wasim Khan, the PCB’s CEO, began a press conference by saying “this isn’t about a blame game”, the message by its end – when he spoke of “self-policing” and players needing “to take responsibility” – had subtly but clearly shifted.That is likely to have been in response to the reactions of at least a couple of franchises, who pointed to persistent breaches and loopholes in the bio-secure bubble put in place by the PCB at a hotel in Karachi. And according to at least two officials who were present, the PCB’s public statement was a change from a heated meeting between management and franchises on Thursday morning, in which the board was more accepting of the blame for all this lying at their door.Related

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A couple of options were put forward at that meeting in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the PSL, including implementing a five-day lockdown and pause on the tournament, and going ahead with a local player-only tournament. Both ideas were shot down, the latter especially emphatically.”This isn’t about a blame game, about who’s to blame,” Khan said at a press conference a few hours after the decision to postpone. “This is a collective effort that we all had a responsibility to actually police and self-police that environment. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do it effectively enough. Hence we find ourselves in this situation today.”We had a discussion this morning with the franchise owners and we came to the conclusion that it was best to postpone the event. We entered that meeting with the franchisees with one or two possible solutions, one in terms of looking to halt proceedings for five days until we were able to make sense of what was going on and see whether we could move forward. There was a strong consensus that it was untenable to continue based on the fact that it was outside of ours and others reasonable sort of areas because of what had taken place.”Khan did concede that trust in the PCB’s handling of the event had been broken. “When players are affected and players start to lose confidence…. Bio-secure bubbles are about trust. There has to be trust for players, with all the partners working together. We have to recognise, internationally, this will make news. It is a difficult day, a lot of work and effort went into our last major event of the calendar.”The PCB’s current priority is making sure the players can go back home safely•Pakistan Super League

The board’s immediate concern and attention is to begin the process of exiting players from the tournament and the hotel now. The seven players and support staff who have tested positive will remain in the hotel until their quarantine periods are over, with some PCB and PSL management officials also staying behind with them. But as that process continues, repercussions with franchises will begin, a few of whom are now offering a picture of the fragility of the bubble that had been put in place.A public precedent was set by Peshawar Zalmi the night before the tournament began, when captain Wahab Riaz and coach Darren Sammy breached the bubble to go and meet franchise owner Javed Afridi. They were later allowed to effectively ignore the league’s own three-day quarantine period – on Thursday, the PCB were at pains again to defend the episode.The bubble was in one hotel in Karachi where all franchise players and officials were staying and which, to some extent, had Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) put in place to keep everyone safe. Teams were cordoned off on separate floors and had designated times in which to use public facilities such as restaurants and gyms. But the hotel had not been taken over in entirety by the PCB and so public functions, such as weddings with guests, were still being staged there – away from the bubble ostensibly but on the premises. Numerous incidents are now being recalled by franchises, of smaller breaches and SOPs not being adhered to, of fans taking selfies with players, trying to high-five players, of lifts in the hotel not being initially cordoned off from public use.”Somebody has to take responsibility for this mismanagement,” the Karachi Kings owner Salman Iqbal told ESPNcricinfo. “We have worked so hard in the last five years to bring this brand back to Pakistan but due to the PCB’s negligence, me, my team and fans are disappointed.”There were breaches and nobody is accountable for it. The hotel was vulnerable and [I don’t understand] why they can’t they have booked it entirely for the duration of the tournament?”The PSL franchises have been unhappy with breaches of the bio-secure bubble at the Karachi hotel where all the teams were staying at•PCB/PSL

“It’s sad and very unfortunate the way things panned out,” a Lahore Qalandars spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo. “There were clear breaches and with growing cases we had no option but to agree to postpone it with immediate effect. It was important for the health of our players and support staff and its out duty to protect them.”We came here because we were invited by PCB as they were the host and we had trust in that, but there were loopholes. There were multiple wedding function in the same hotel with the spa and gym area had common use.”It has also emerged that two of the teams – Islamabad United and Multan Sultans – were not placed in the same hotel when they first landed in Karachi on February 14. For three days they were put up in another hotel, meaning that though they had cleared tests when they entered the official bubble – and continued to thereafter – they had spent time at a premises that had not been specifically re-purposed with bio-secure SOPs in mind.”We have to remember there’s a lot of emotions at the moment,” Khan said. “Franchises have invested a lot of money, everybody has invested time in making the PSL work. There was always going to be a lot of emotion in the first 24 hours, we fully expect that. I will say, any environment can only work if everybody is on the same page. Why did our domestic cricket work? Because it was being policed and everything was done. We had 30 matches across two venues, we delivered tournaments with multiple teams involved domestically. Fine, there is a response from franchises but this isn’t about blaming anybody. This is about Pakistan cricket. A lot of work has to be done to get cricket back up and running to get it to where it has.”Though it is correct Pakistan did carry out an entire season’s worth of domestic cricket prior to the PSL, it did not go off without incidents or breaches. Players were reprimanded for breaching protocols. A number of players tested positive after the end of the rescheduled phase of the PSL season five in November.Khan was asked whether he, or other senior officials, would resign but he sidestepped the question to say only that an investigation will take place. “We will do a full investigation. Not one done by PCB staff but we will speak to the Board of Governors and instigate an investigation in to where we went wrong and what did we not fulfil. When such situations come up everybody questions themselves. Now is a time for reflection and we will see what happens after that. Right now this is about making sure players leave and leave safely. And making sure we limit the damage as much as possible for Pakistan cricket. This is far-reaching and we need to make sure we control it, we manage it. so that we can rise again as we have in the past.”

Strauss returns to ECB as chair of board's cricket committee

His new role will include monitoring and developing men’s, women’s and disability cricket, along with the talent pathways

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2019Andrew Strauss, England’s former director of cricket, is set for a new role with the England and Wales Cricket Board [ECB] following his appointment as the chair of the board’s cricket committee.His new role will involve “monitoring and developing the delivery” of men’s and women’s professional cricket, as well as disability cricket, national counties, clubs and universities cricket and the talent pathway, the ECB said in a release.Strauss, who recently received a knighthood, had been England’s director of cricket between 2015 and 2018, his appointment to that role coming soon after England’s exit from the 2015 World Cup. Under his watch, England made significant strides in white-ball cricket, reaching the final of the 2016 World T20 and winning their first ODI World Cup earlier this year. The team’s Test fortunes, however, did not see as sharp an upturn as the limited-overs results.In October 2018, Strauss stepped down from the role in order to spend more time with his family as his wife, Ruth, underwent treatment for cancer. After her death in December, Strauss launched a foundation to help raise funds to research rare forms of lung cancer and to provide emotional and psychological support to patients and their families.”It is a real pleasure to return to ECB in this new capacity. ECB and the whole cricket family have been a vital source of support over an extremely difficult year and it’s really great to be back at Lord’s, a place that has become a second home to me,” Strauss said in a statement. “I’m extremely passionate about developing and growing cricket in England and Wales and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Cricket Committee to continually drive all aspects of the professional game, including women’s, men’s and disability cricket.”I’ve seen first-hand how this summer of cricket has inspired more people to fall in love with the sport and I can’t wait to help build on its success and support the roll-out of ECB’s strategy to grow the game, Inspiring Generations.”

Gloucestershire play away after Wood rouses Hampshire

Four wickets for Chris Wood guarded Hampshire from recording their worst-ever Twenty20 season

ECB Reporters Network17-Aug-2018
ScorecardJames Vince and Sam Northeast’s 66-run stand coupled with four miserly wickets for Chris Wood prevented Gloucestershire from securing a home Vitality Blast quarter-final as Hampshire recorded just their second success in the competition.Gloucestershire, who had already qualified for the knockout stages, needed to beat Hampshire and hope Kent lost to Essex elsewhere to play at Bristol again in the tournament.But Vince and Northeast carefully teed up the six-wicket win, with Rilee Rossouw crashing 42 and Wood taking an exceptional 4 for 16.Hampshire had only managed a single victory in their opening 13 South Group matches but saved their best performance until last, and it started with Vince winning the toss and elected to bowl on a slow wicket under clear skies.Miles Hammond scooped the game’s first six off Dale Steyn in the second over but departed when Wood picked up his first of a tidy haul – Calvin Dickinson taking a good catch at the second attempt at point.Hampshire’s catching roadshow continued as Sam Northeast brilliantly grabbed a firm pull shot from Ian Cockbain at mid-wicket – Gloucestershire struggling to 29 for 2 off the Powerplay.Benny Howell upped the ante with a quick-fire 26 off 15 balls, including tonking Liam Dawson and Ryan Stevenson for huge maximums over deep mid-wicket and long on.The former Hampshire all-rounder rode his luck when Dawson dropped a caught and bowled chance, but he was snatched when hoicking the left-arm spinner to deep mid-wicket.Kieran Noema-Barnett was forced to retire after appearing to pull a muscle in his right thigh before Jack Taylor was bowled.Gloucestershire’s leading scorer Michael Klinger had quietly kept the scoreboard tricking as he took his Group Stage total to 407 runs.The skipper had been dropped on 17 by Stevenson, in his follow through, and eventually departed for an adhesive 42 when the fast bowler castled him.Ryan Higgins smashed 31 from 16 deliveries to send the visitors up to an average par 144 – with Gareth Roderick, Andrew Tye and Higgins all departing to Wood.Chasing, Dickinson was given his first appearance of the season, having missed out on previous matches with concussion – but only lasted four balls before he was bowled by David Payne as he tried to give himself room to hit over the offside.Opener Rossouw and Northeast rebuilt with a 58-run stand, with the former the ultra-aggressor, in particular taking to Higgins as he dispatched him for a quartet of boundaries.The South African fell for an entertaining 42 off 18 before Howell clattered into the stumps.Vince joined Northeast with the required run-rate comfortably in check, and took little risks scoring 44 not out and 42 respectively.Vince was dropped chipping to long-on while on 32, before Payne broke the partnership when Northeast edged behind and Dawson skied into the leg-side.But Hampshire strolled home with 20 balls to spare to avoid equalling their worst ever Twenty20 campaign.

Limaye set to leave BCCI's Committee of Administrators

The BCCI’s Committee of Administrators s likely to be reduced to a two-member panel after Vikram Limaye was cleared as the managing director and chief executive of National Stock Exchange by the Securities and Exchange Board of India

Arun Venugopal10-Jun-2017The BCCI’s Committee of Administrators (CoA) is likely to be reduced to a two-member panel after Vikram Limaye was cleared as the managing director and chief executive of the National Stock Exchange by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the regulator for securities markets in India. The approval is subject to Limaye being relieved from the CoA by the Supreme Court.The court, which is in summer recess currently, will take up the issue in July when it reopens. It is understood that Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, has been informed of both the SEBI approval and the condition, and is supportive of Limaye’s release from his CoA responsibilities.Limaye’s imminent exit means the CoA will be down to two members – Rai and Diana Edulji – after Ramachandra Guha tendered his resignation on June 1. Guha put in his papers citing frustration at what he saw as the CoA’s inaction on matters of conflict of interest and superstar culture among other issues.To fill up the vacant positions, the CoA is expected to recommend a few names to the Supreme Court. “The names will have to be worked out with the amicus curiae [Gopal Subramanium] and then we would have to see,” a BCCI official said.The CoA will meet next on June 12 in Delhi to discuss a raft of issues, including a broad framework to address conflict-of-interest situations, the status of the appointment of India’s coach. The CoA is also set to meet with the state associations on June 25 to discuss the implementation of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations ahead of the BCCI’s SGM on June 26.

Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Kanpur shortlisted as alternative IPL venues

IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla has said Visakhapatnam, Raipur and Kanpur are being looked at as alternative home venues for Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants

Arun Venugopal in Rajkot14-Apr-2016IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla has said that Visakhapatnam, Raipur and Kanpur are frontrunners to be alternative home venues for Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants after a Bombay High Court ruling ordered matches after April 30 to be moved out of Maharashtra due to a state-wide drought. He also said Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata were in contention to host the three playoff games – the Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and final – that were scheduled to be played in Pune and Mumbai.Shukla confirmed he would meet with representatives from both franchises in Delhi on April 15 to formulate a revised arrangement, which will later be ratified by the IPL governing council. He said, however, that the Maharashtra Cricket Association and the IPL would request the Bombay High Court for permission to host the match between Supergiants and Mumbai in Pune on May 1 due to difficulties involved in shifting equipment.”Since there is a match on April 29 and May 1 in Pune – back-to-back matches – it will be almost impossible to move the equipment in 24 hours to another venue,” Shukla told reporters in Rajkot. “That’s a technical problem, so we are going to appeal tomorrow to the Bombay High Court if they can allow one more match in Pune. The other matches will be shifted. We decided yesterday that we are not going for an appeal. We will be implementing the verdict given by the court.”Kings XI Punjab were scheduled to play three home matches in Nagpur in May and Shukla said the franchise will shift those games to Mohali and Dharamsala.He also suggested that Jaipur was a prospective venue if either Mumbai or Supergiants expressed interest. “The RCA can’t host the match but the government has approached us to host the match,” Shukla said. “We will put Jaipur also as an option. Let’s see how the franchises react. We can host [matches without RCA being there]. There is a sports council of the government.”Shukla revealed Supergiants had requested the use of Eden Gardens as a home venue but said the IPL rules may not allow it.”Technically, it’s very difficult because it is the designated home ground of a franchise,” he said. “So far two matches of Gujarat Lions are slotted in Kanpur. If these franchises want Kanpur then those two matches will be played in Rajkot.”While Chennai and Ranchi were ruled out, Shukla said he was waiting to hear from the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association on Indore’s availability. “The MPCA secretary is checking with the authorities because the Kumbh Mela is going on and all the security forces have been deployed there.”Shukla said the biggest logistical challenge was movement of equipment: “It is a gigantic exercise. Then all those things – the look and feel of stadium, ticketing, maintenance of ground and wickets – will have to be looked into as well.”The court’s ruling came after a Public Interest Litigation questioned the hosting of matches in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, and the order affects 13 games in the tournament. Mumbai was scheduled to host four matches after April 30, including the tournament final on May 29. Pune will miss out on six matches, including the Eliminator and Qualifier 2, while Nagpur will not host any fixtures this season.While hearing the PIL filed by Loksatta Movement, a Hyderabad-based NGO, last week, the court sought an explanation from the BCCI and the three state associations on why water should be “wasted” on hosting games when the state faced one of its worst ever droughts. In the next hearing, the court allowed the
opening match to be held as scheduled in Mumbai on April 9, but earlier this week asked the BCCI if matches could be shifted out of Pune.In its defence, the BCCI had stated that less water was used to prepare the ground for an IPL game when compared to an international fixture. The board also stated that it intended to use treated sewage water for ground preparation in Mumbai and Pune. Mumbai and Supergiants had also proposed to contribute INR 5 crore to the Maharashtra chief minister’s drought relief fund and supply 40 lakh litres of water to drought-hit areas at their own cost.

Clarke doubtful as back problem flares

Michael Clarke’s career-long back problem has flared up again towards the final days of Australia’s tour of England, leaving in doubtful for the deciding one-day international at the Ageas Bowl

Andrew McGlashan15-Sep-2013Michael Clarke’s career-long back problem has flared up again towards the final days of Australia’s tour of England, leaving in doubtful for the deciding one-day international at the Ageas Bowl, while Shaun Marsh has already been ruled out with a hamstring injury.Clarke’s back forced him to miss the Champions Trophy at the beginning of Australia’s summer-long stay in England and although he played throughout the Ashes there was often talk that it was causing more worries than were made publicHe will be given every chance to prove his fitness for the final ODI, but coach Darren Lehmann has said there is too much at stake in the future for him to be risked if there are any doubts. It also raises the question as to whether Clarke will be part of the one-day tour to India in October, which comes little more than a month before the return Ashes begins.”It’s a big game but if he’s not right, we won’t risk him,” Lehmann told . “It’s an important series but we’ve got another one-day series and an Ashes series coming up.”Clarke scored a superb hundred at Old Trafford to set up Australia’s victory – the ground where he also made a century during the Ashes – but did not appear completely at ease in the middle during his 22 in Cardiff on Saturday. He was discomforted by the bounce of Boyd Rankin before falling, slightly unluckily, lbw to Steven Finn.Australia could, therefore, be fielding a very different top order in a match that Lehmann has termed a “grand final”, as they aim to finish a difficult tour with some silverware. Marsh, who has made 0 and 25 in his two innings for the series, picked up a hamstring strain in the fourth match – the latest occasion his career has been interrupted by injury – which is likely to offer a last-ditch opportunity to Phillip Hughes, who has been on the sidelines since he was dropped after the second Test at Lord’s.”We’ll look at the pitch but I think that’s the probably the way we’d go,” Lehmann said. “It gives him an opportunity. He’s playing really well and working on his game and that’s all we can ask. He’s ready to go. Hopefully he gets his chance and away he goes.”Australia were well placed to seal the series with a match to spare when Clint McKay took a hat-trick in Cardiff to leave England 8 for 3, and they later reduced the home side to 144 for 6 but were beaten by Jos Buttler’s calculated late assault.”It gets down to a grand final set-up now, which is great,” Lehmann said. “That’s what we want the players put under most of the time, although you would have loved to close out the series.”We’re certainly playing the right brand of cricket, we just made a couple of elementary mistakes. Apart from that, we’ve pretty much played how we want to play. Now the case is we want to finish on a high and get moving on.”McKay, who removed Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Joe Root to complete a star-studded hat-trick, admitted it was a tough defeat to take after having had England on the ropes. ”The boys are a bit flat,” he said. ”We had a massive opportunity to take this series home and unfortunately we couldn’t deliver. But we’ll bounce back and fight hard again on Monday.”

McDermott joins Ireland staff for World T20

Craig McDermott, the former Australia fast bowler, has been appointed the bowling coach bowling coach for the World Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Sep-2012Craig McDermott, the former Australia fast bowler, has been appointed Ireland’s bowling coach for the World Twenty20, beginning later this month. He will join the team for the pre-tournament training camp in Colombo ahead of the tournament in Sri Lanka.McDermott, who earlier this year quit as Australia’s bowling coach for personal reasons, called the assignment an “exciting opportunity” that would help his coaching career. His most recent assignment was with the Australia team at the Under-19 World Cup held last month.”I am looking forward to working with Phil [Simmons] and his team at the World T20 in Sri Lanka,” McDermott said. “They have a well balance squad and I am looking forward to getting stuck into preparing them for the World T20 in our training camp in Colombo.”The announcement was made by Ireland Cricket chief executive, Warren Deutrom, during a farewell function before the team’s departure for Sri Lanka. “Coach Phil Simmons and Cricket Ireland Performance director Richard Holdsworth were keen on the appointment of Craig McDermott and since he was available, we have managed to secure his services for a limited time, that is for the World T20 and the build up before that,” Deutrom told ESPNcricinfo.”The funding for the appointment emanated from the ICC high performance program, which has provided the two associates (Ireland and Afghanistan) playing in the World T20s with financial support,” he said.Holdsworth said he was delighted to have brought McDermott on board Ireland’s coaching set-up. “He is vastly experienced both as a top class player and more recently specialist bowling coach,” Holdsworth said. “Having recently been bowling coach to the Australian team, his insights into their players will help the team prepare for our match against them on September 19.”

Dhoni wins Spirit of Cricket award

MS Dhoni, the India captain, has won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for his decision to recall Ian Bell after his controversial run-out during the Trent Bridge Test

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2011MS Dhoni, the India captain, has won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for his decision to recall Ian Bell after his controversial run-out during the Trent Bridge Test. Dhoni was unavailable to collect his award, though the Indian team was present in England.”While the initial appeal and umpire decision were correct to the letter of the law, the decision by Mahendra and his team to withdraw the appeal shows great maturity,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said. “To see players and officials uphold the great spirit of cricket, which has underpinned the game for more than a century, is very special.”Bell hit the last ball before tea on the third day in Nottingham towards the boundary. Having wrongly thought it had gone for four, Bell left his crease and headed towards the pavilion assuming the session was over and the ball dead. Meanwhile the ball, which had not reached the rope and therefore was still in play, was returned to the middle, the bails removed and Bell was correctly given run-out.Upon reflection during the tea interval and following a request from the England team, Dhoni withdrew the appeal and recalled Bell thus turning boos into cheers from the Nottingham crowd.Dhoni’s gesture was voted as the winner ahead of that of South Africa’s Jacques Kallis, who walked on two occasions during the World Cup after clarifying with opposition fielders directly that they had caught the ball cleanly, rather than waiting for the umpires to decide. Last year, the award had gone to the New Zealand team.

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