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South Australia gave themselves a chance defend a low total but Marnus Labuschagne rallied the chase

Daniel Brettig20-Oct-2019Test batting aspirants on both sides were left without much to show for themselves for the second innings in a row as Queensland’s Sheffield Shield contest with South Australia was left poised for a tight finish after no fewer than 18 wickets fell on day three at the Gabba.Of those batsmen in contention for the first Test against Pakistan in Brisbane next month, no-one managed more than Joe Burns’ 22 to go with 39 in the first innings. Travis Head (a duck and 12), Usman Khawaja (2 and a duck) and Alex Carey (14 and 20) were all left shaking their heads, with the Queensland captain least happy of all.Shaping to defend a left-arm delivery from Nick Winter, Khawaja was beaten on the inside edge and the ball appeared to brush his thigh before he was given out caught behind. Khawaja, having been lbw in the first innings, lingered at the crease, knowing his chances for a big score to press for a Test recall are starting to run out.Burns’ exit was more clear cut, at the start of a sequence in which the Bulls lost 5 for 7 having been 0 for 47 in pursuit of 150 for victory. After Burns, Khawaja, Matt Renshaw, Charlie Hemphrey and the debutant Bryce Street all fell in the space of three overs, Marnus Labuschagne and the wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson steadied the chase to leave the hosts requiring another 48 runs on the final morning.They required as many as 150 only through a spirited last wicket stand of 61 between Chadd Sayers and Wes Agar, after the Redbacks had again folded to the Queensland seamers on a pitch that had quickened up over three days though no longer offering much sideways movement.An opening stand of 37 ended when Jake Weatherald cut forcefully but straight to backward point. Jake Lehmann ended a wretched match with a pair, nearly lbw first ball then caught behind when trying to leave his second.Head got to double figures but was dismissed by a ball delivered from around the wicket once again, swishing wildly at Cameron Gannon to slice to gully, before Henry Hunt was unfortunate to be lbw to Michael Neser as the ball looked to be angling down the leg side. Tom Cooper edged an away swinger to Renshaw at slip, and Carey was annoyed at himself to nick an attempted forcing stroke in the same direction.

The Australia A captain followed a century with two wickets to keep his side’s hopes alive in the Quadrangular A series

The Report by Hemant Brar in Bengaluru25-Aug-2018Travis Head gets forward to drive•Getty Images

Travis Head’s sixth List A hundred and two wickets helped Australia A clinch a 32-run victory over South Africa A in the seventh game of the Quadrangular A series.Head led from the front after opting to bat with a 117-ball 110. The captain found good support from D’Arcy Short and Marnus Labuschagne as Australia posted a formidable 322 for 5 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. In reply, Sarel Erwee and Gihahn Cloete got South Africa off to a flying start. However, once the openers were dismissed, wickets kept tumbling. At 167 for 7, Khaya Zondo was left fighting a lost battle. He struck four fours and seven sixes in his 104-ball 117 and was eventually the last batsman out. South Africa were bowled out for 290 in 48.4 overs, with Mitchell Swepson the most successful bowler for Australia, picking up 3 for 40 in ten overs.Head could have been out stumped for 35 off Shaun von Berg, but the extra bounce meant wicketkeeper Rudi Second failed to collect the ball. Von Berg then himself failed to latch on to a difficult return chance when Head was on 70. The batsman took full advantage of the reprieves, guiding Australia to a total which fetched them their first win of the tournament.Australia didn’t have a great start and lost Usman Khawaja to a run-out in the fifth over when Erwee showed great presence of mind. Khawaja tried to force Robbie Frylinck on the leg side but missed and was struck on the pads. The umpire denied a loud lbw shout as the ball went towards slips where an alert Erwee hit the stumps with the batsman having casually wandered out of his crease and being lazy about getting back in. However, that remained the only bright spot for South Africa in the field.At 17 for 1, Head joined Short and the two upped the scoring-rate. Head started by collecting two fours off Frylinck, while Short launched Beuran Hendricks for six over wide long-on before driving him through the covers for a boundary.Short then welcomed von Berg into the attack with a fierce hit down the ground, with the bowler barely having any time to react. The legspinner though got his revenge in the next over when he trapped Short in front with a fuller delivery as the batsman went for a sweep.Head and Labuschagne didn’t let the momentum slip though, and added 136 in 137 balls for the third wicket. Labuschagne used the sweep to good effect and brought up his fifty with back-to-back fours off von Berg. He too got a second chance, on 57, when Zondo dropped a tough return catch. However, it didn’t prove costly as Magala pinned him lbw for 65.Meanwhile, Head brought up his century off 111 balls and was greeted with cheers and whistles by a sparse crowd. However, he was bowled soon after by Hendricks while trying for a big hit.Matt Renshaw, coming in at No. 5, scored an unbeaten 29-ball 42, and Agar struck 17 not out off four deliveries with two sixes and a four as Australia collected 89 from last ten overs.Chasing 323, Erwee and Cloete started positively for South Africa. The duo added 89 in just 12.5 overs before Erwee hit a full toss from Head straight to Labuschagne at short midwicket.Cloete brought up his fifty with a four off Head but was bowled right after, with the ball spinning just enough to beat the bat and dislodge the off-stump bail. Second then pulled a short ball from Ashton Agar into the hands of Jack Wildermuth at deep midwicket, leaving South Africa 118 for 3 in the 20th over.South Africa were relying on Farhaan Behardien, but he too was run out in a bizarre fashion. An Agar delivery struck him on the pads and rolled towards Short at first slip. A confused Behardein set off for a single before realising the ball was in Short’s possession, but it was too late by then.Swepson then ran through the lower-middle order with three quick wickets. Zondo fought hard, adding 82 for the eighth wicket with Frylinck, but, in the end, had to be satisfied only with a consolation century.

Nottinghamshire were left frustrated by the pitch at Bristol after Gloucestershire batted out the final day for the loss of just four wickets

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Bristol12-Jun-2017
ScorecardAfter 11-and-a-half sessions and 374 overs of cricket, Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire had only managed two-and-a-half innings. Just 23 wickets fell on a pitch that, in the words of Nottinghamshire assistant coach Paul Franks, “makes a mockery of what good cricket should be about”. It was hard not to agree with his sentiment, or his disappointment.Nottinghamshire were undoubtedly the better side over the course of four days, of that there was no question. But Gloucestershire, too, fought to bring quality to the game. Both were hamstrung by a pitch that offered no carry through to the keeper, no pace on to the bat and little off the straight. It asked a lot of bowler, batsman and spectator. Such surfaces do more damage to the County Championship than any city-based Twenty20 competition might.In the end, the hosts were able to negotiate a draw with relative ease, even if things looked precarious when they lost Cameron Bancroft to the second ball of their second innings and were then reduced to 35 for 3 four overs into the final day. Franks, though, expected nothing less after Notts had beaten Gloucestershire by an innings and 50 runs at Trent Bridge a fortnight ago.”We knew before we got here [what to expect from the pitch],” he said. “Let’s not kid ourselves. No matter what anybody says about it, after having beaten them comprehensively on a pitch which had some pace, carry and bounce, we didn’t expect to come here and see a pitch that did the same.”It makes a mockery of what good cricket should be about. That’s just my personal opinion. I feel very strongly about it. It’s not a criticism about anyone in particular – it’s a criticism and an observation of having been in the game for over 20 years. You look at the way the wickets had fallen during the game. The pitch dictated terms. That’s a shame. It should be the players that are allowed to perform on that surface. And that wasn’t a surface suitable for a good-quality game.”It was just as bad for Gloucestershire’s attack, who deserve credit for showing up for work if this is what greets them each morning. With that in mind, it was worth singling out Craig Miles for his 29 overs in Nottinghamshire’s first innings that produced an array of half-chances which, on a more conducive pitch, might have better rewarded him than his eventual figures of 2 for 88.”The frustrating thing for me is that when the ball is not carrying to the wicketkeeper, that cannot be an acceptable situation for four-day cricket to be played,” Franks said. “Four-day cricket should be a game of skill, where seam bowlers and spin bowlers are in play and batsmen can score runs. If you bowl well then all good. If you don’t bowl well, you’ll get scored off.”That’s the way four-day cricket should be played. But this wasn’t even a good pitch for batting: 80 runs a session on average, two wickets a session on average. It’s there for everybody to see. It’s a little bit raw for us in the dressing room at the minute. But if these are the things we have to face, we have to find a way to be better, game on game.”It was unclear whether the pitch will be reported – although the whispers were that it was deemed unsatisfactory. The weather leading up to this fixture meant preparation time was limited. Nevertheless, cricket was not the winner.With Kent drawing and Worcestershire suffering defeat at the hands of Glamorgan, Nottinghamshire were looking to extend their lead at the top of Division Two, looking for nine more wickets for a valuable win. Within 10 minutes they had two of them. Harry Gurney, operating around the wicket to right-handers, trapped both Will Tavare and Gareth Roderick in front. Roderick was the wicket that stood out: any repeat of his first innings vigilance of 215-balls would take Gloucestershire closer to the draw they craved.While he could only see out eight balls this time, Chris Dent took the mantle of frustrater-in-chief. His, though, was not an innings of full-blooded defiance: classy shots through extra cover and point ensured he reached his half-century from 115-balls, as the hosts went into lunch on 100 for 3, trailing by 132.He continued on his merry way after lunch, prompting Chris Read, no more than 25-minutes into the second session, to turn to Riki Wessels, who has just one County Championship wicket to his name (Sussex’s Luke Wells, caught and bowled in 2012). It was Wessel’s first bowl since 2013 and perhaps had the desired effect. While his two overs offered little beyond novelty, it might have drawn Dent into a bit of carelessness. Brett Hutton replaced Gurney at the Pavilion End and, third ball of his new spell, tempted Dent to play a grim shot across the line and strike him in front for 71.Graeme van Buuren was keen not to let a golden opportunity to put on a score pass him by. Learning from Dent’s misjudgement, he played correctly all the way through, bringing up his half-century from 170-balls with his fifth boundary – a back-foot punch through cover. The most outlandish shot he played was a threaded two through a busy leg-side field. There was time for Cheteshwar Pujara to turn his arm over as Read called on an eighth bowler. To describe what he sent down as legspin would be meeting him more than half-way.And so Read continued: when he took the second new ball after 80 overs and gave it to Luke Fletcher, it was the 17th bowling change he had made in the day. That brought the final wicket to fall: Phil Mustard slashing to Jake Libby at point, at the start of the 83rd over. Other than a handful of near-misses – lbw appeals, the odd outside edge beaten – there was little else to play for. Even van Buuren, patient for 242 balls and 88 runs, was more than happy to shake hands within sight of an 11th first-class century.The only real moment of note was when Gurney and Fletcher were substituted off the field for James Pattinson and Stuart Broad. It might have been a different game had they been on from the start. Both had a little jog and a bowl before the start of play ahead of the Royal London One-Day Cup knockout match against Somerset, just down the road at Taunton. They go there frustrated with “just” an 11-point lead at the top of Division Two.

Josh Cobb and Richard Levi steered Northamptonshire to a third win in three matches in the NatWest T20 Blast

ECB Reporters Network03-Jun-2016
ScorecardOlly Stone is helped off the field after injuring himself celebrating•Getty Images

Josh Cobb and Richard Levi steered Northamptonshire to a third win in three matches in the NatWest T20 Blast with a seven wicket win that ended Worcestershire’s perfect start to the competition but included a bizarre injury to seam Olly Stone.Stone claimed the key early wicket of Moeen Ali and celebrated with exuberance – a huge leap and punch of the air. But on landing he fell in a heap and treatment followed. Stone attempted to finish his over but collapsed in his delivery stride and had to be carried from the ground.Chasing 145, 63 runs came off the Powerplay to break the back of the chase and measured batting from thereon saw Northants cruise to victory with three overs to spare and just a third win over Worcestershire in the last 11 T20 meetings.Cobb, from No. 3, struck three sixes in his 56 from 45 balls – pulling Matt Henry into the mobile bar behind the midwicket fence and lifting Jack Shantry over long-on. His third six, again over midwicket, won the match.Levi did most of his work in the Powerplay, exploding the chase into life by taking 18 from the fifth over bowled by Joe Leach. Three times in succession Levi lifted boundaries over wide mid-off before a full toss was whacked backward of square leg. Levi went past 4,000 T20 runs in the process. He hoisted Brett D’Oliveria over long-on for the first six of the innings but offered up a return catch via a leading edge later in the over.His 44 in 25 balls gave his side the perfect start and they went on to chase successfully for the third match in succession.Such a quick start rendered Worcestershire’s 144 for 6 far under par. And that required an innings from Daryl Mitchell that he has largely become known for as Worcestershire captain. Carefully manoeuvring the bowling around and running well between the wickets, he made 44 in 36 balls. He struck just two fours but it was a vital innings as Worcestershire managed only four overs in double figures.After poor starts with the ball in the opening two games, Northamptonshire enjoyed an excellent Powerplay in which Worcestershire only made 37 for 3. Tom Kohler-Cadmore fell to the fifth ball of the innings – skying a drive to Josh Cobb at mid-on. Then came the big wicket of Moeen Ali – caught down the leg side trying to hook an Stone bouncer. Joe Clarke followed, edging Azharullah to wicketkeeper Adam Rossington trying to work a ball across the line.Stone’s injury took the edge off the atmosphere on a cloudy night at Wantage Road and the remainder of Worcestershire’s innings did little to enliven the crowd. Alexei Kervezee only found long-on trying to up the scoring rate and from 65 for 4, careful batting was needed to steer Worcestershire through the innings.They took eight overs between boundaries – Ross Whitely eventually swinging Graeme White over the long midwicket boundary, and he fell two overs later, caught at deep-square leg. The visitors found little to pick themselves up for the rest of the night.

The fact that Hampshire, and the club’s Ageas Bowl ground, remains a key local concern was evidenced by a walk-on part in the general election hoopla on Monday

Alan Gardner at the Ageas Bowl27-Apr-2015
ScorecardA new hotel finally reaches completion at the Ageas Bowl•Getty Images

The fact that Hampshire, and the club’s Ageas Bowl ground, remains a key local concern was evidenced by a walk-on part in the general election hoopla on Monday. Cricketers are notoriously apathetic when it comes to politics but Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister (for a few more days at least), was there instead to draw attention to another business venture, of the sort that are increasingly important to the finances of counties as modern-day institutions.Hampshire’s picturesque amphitheatre on the outskirts of Southampton was noticeably more busy than usual for a chilly April morning, though sadly it was not all down to the eternal pull of the Championship. Liberal Democrat leader Clegg had turned up to be photographed shaking some hands and taking a tour of the newly completed Hilton hotel at the ground.The hotel – which will feature a steakhouse called Beefy’s, the first foray into the restaurant business by Ian Botham, a close friend of Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove – is part of a £48m redevelopment, though it has been a source of controversy for its reliance on public money and the delays caused by one of the contractors going bust.Party activists bustled around the place holding placards and attempting to drum up support for the incumbent MP. The Liberal Democrats also run Eastleigh council, which helped fund the development and hotel construction after buying the ground of Hampshire in 2012. The hotel is due to open this week, a year behind schedule, and Hampshire hope it will help make their ground among the more attractive international venues in England. The question, a wag might ask, is which will be extinct first: Test matches or the Lib Dems?

Bird flies back to Australia

Hampshire have confirmed that Jackson Bird, the Australia seamer who was due to fill their overseas slot, will return home for treatment on a shoulder injury. Fidel Edwards, a Kolpak signing for the second half of the season, could join the county earlier than anticipated in order to cover the gap.
“Fidel wasn’t supposed to be coming in until later in the season, but we need that strike bowler with the new ball,” Hampshire coach Dale Benkenstein told the BBC. “We don’t know how long Jackson will be out yet, but if he does recover, he could play the last half of the season.”

Hampshire will host two ODIs this summer, featuring the touring New Zealand and Australia sides, but Bransgrove’s goal has always been to turn the Ageas into one of England’s leading Test grounds. A 2019 Ashes Test was not forthcoming when the ECB announced its most recent major match allocation but India will return in 2018; last summer, England began their Test revival with victory here but the scheduling, which saw the game start on a Sunday, and out-of-town location affected overall attendances.On-field success is only part of the equation, then, but Hampshire’s return to Division One after three years in the second tier provides further evidence of progress. Their opponents in this match, Nottinghamshire, are among those expected to compete for the title but Hampshire gave a good account of themselves on a slow day of wary cricket.Clegg did not hang around much beyond the start of play and neither did Alex Hales, Nottinghamshire’s first-innings centurion. With a general election around the corner, most parties are worrying about the polls; Hales didn’t do quite enough to protect his poles and lost off stump to former Nottinghamshire team-mate Andre Adams in the sixth over of the morning.Adams and Gareth Berg, with 73 years and plenty of historic niggles between them, helped Hampshire take 3 for 13 and the ninth Nottinghamshire wicket in time for another bonus point, before a 47-run stand between Luke Wood and Jake Ball held them up. While Wood spent the rest of the day bustling to the crease in the manner of Darren Gough, Ball’s contribution with the ball was limited to 1.5 overs before limping off with a back problem.The cloud cover that had encouraged Hampshire’s captain, Jimmy Adams, to bowl on the first day returned during the afternoon, during which the floodlights were switched on. Vernon Philander had deceived Liam Dawson into leaving his second ball – his first he had driven for four – to be bowled before lunch but Adams and Michael Carberry accumulated carefully during a second-wicket stand worth 66.They were separated by Wood, Nottinghamshire’s former England U-19 left-armer, who pitched the ball up and bowled with good pace, when he induced an edge from Carberry that was taken low at second slip by Samit Patel. Wood stood out for his nagging line and he also removed Adams, poking at one even as he thought better of it, for a gritty 61.The run-out of James Vince a few overs later gave Nottinghamshire hope of forcing the pace of the game but, as the Hampshire members huddled in the stands, Will Smith and Adam Wheater diligently plodded on until fading light brought an early close. Nottinghamshire, having drawn their opening two matches, will be hopeful that the morning brings about fresh impetus and perhaps better news on Ball. Harold Wilson is often quoted as saying “a week is a long time in politics” but, as the Test match in Grenada demonstrated, 24 hours can make quite a lot of difference in cricket.

Cricket Australia has completed the revamp of its strength and conditioning structure with the appointment of David Bailey as the team’s physical performance coach, effectively replacing the existing strength and conditioning coach Stuart Karppinen

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Sep-2012Cricket Australia has completed the revamp of its strength and conditioning structure with the appointment of David Bailey as the team’s physical performance coach, effectively replacing the existing strength and conditioning coach Stuart Karppinen. Bailey will travel with the squad full-time and will join them ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka later this month, and he will report to the new physical performance manager Andrew Weller.Bailey has worked as Cricket Victoria’s strength and conditioning coordinator for the past six seasons and he has also worked with the Melbourne Renegades and the Deccan Chargers. Pat Howard, the executive general manager of team performance with Cricket Australia, said Bailey would be a valuable addition to the team management.”We’re delighted to welcome David to the position of physical performance coach with the Australian men’s team,” Howard said. “He’ll carry on the good work of Stuart Karppinen and will report to Andrew Weller, our new physical performance manager.”David will join the men’s squad in Sri Lanka as we start our ICC World Twenty20 campaign and will be permanently with the team, preparing them for international cricket ahead of the Vodafone Test series against South Africa, which begins in Brisbane on 9 November.”Bailey said: “I’m honoured to take on this role with the Australian cricket team. I think the experience I’ve gained with the Victorian Bushrangers, Melbourne Renegades and Deccan Chargers leaves me well qualified and excited for this new challenge.”

Another century by Shivnarine Chanderapaul further undermined Yorkshire’s hold
on Division One status and edged Warwickshire closer to the County
Championship crown at Edgbaston

01-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Another century by Shivnarine Chanderapaul further undermined Yorkshire’s hold
on Division One status and edged Warwickshire closer to the County
Championship crown at Edgbaston.Needing to make 350 to have enough bonus points to overhaul Lancashire after
the leaders’ early defeat at Worcester, they were just about on course as
Chanderpaul’s 110 from 182 balls helped level the scores with six wickets down
at the end of the second day.Having dismissed Yorkshire for 281 in the morning, when Rikki Clarke mopped up
the last two wickets after signing a new two-year contract, the title-chasing
Midlanders did not have things all their own way when they batted. Ryan Sidebottom and fellow-seamers Ajmal Shahzad and Moin Ashraf bowled with purpose to capture the first four wickets for 137, but the in-form Tim Ambrose made an unbeaten 68 and shared in a stand of 135.For the second time in nine days Yorkshire’s bowlers were run ragged by
Chanderpaul’s powers of concentration and destruction. Having made 193 in 434 minute at Headingley Carnegie last week, the West Indies left hander adopted his familiar pose, crouched over the crease, almost square on to the bowler, and refused to budge for four-and-a-half hours.It has been Yorkshire’s misfortune to run into an exceptional player who is
targeting a third county championship after previously winning successive titles
with Durham. His arrival for the last five matches could be the key component in
strengthening a batting line-up in which only one of the top-order regulars has
averaged more than 40.This fragility was evident as Varun Chopra and William Porterfield edged
catches off Shahzad and Sidebottom, but Ian Westwood found some form as he
comfortably outpaced Chanderpaul in a stand of 67. Seven fours helped the opener to 55 before he was caught at first slip off Sidebottom, and when Jim Troughton followed suit, flashing at a ball from Ashraf, Yorkshire seemed to be in the box seat.However Chanderpaul continued to be the immoveable object, although not without
a delicate touch in finding gaps in the field. Ambrose, with ten fours in his
half-century, was generally the more forceful until his partner quickened up
with two sixes and six fours after reaching 50.Sidebottom finally gave Yorkshire renewed hope by breaking a stand of 135 when
Chanderpaul nicked a catch behind the wicket and the former England bowler also
trapped nightwatchman Chris Metters lbw in the final over. Somehow the Tykes have to find a way to win this match and then beat Somerset in the final fixture to have a realistic chance of finishing above resurgent rivals Worcestershire and Hampshire.

Mohammad Irfan has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Kolkata Knight Riders, who are awaiting the governing council’s new regulations for international player contracts

Cricinfo staff10-Sep-2010Mohammad Irfan, the Pakistan fast bowler, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, who are awaiting the governing council’s new regulations for international player contracts. By applying for an no-objection certificate (NOC) from the PCB, Irfan will only strengthen his case should new regulations – and the political climate – allow Pakistan players to participate in the IPL. Irfan’s MOU also contains a clause under which he stands to get $10,000 from Kolkata as compensation, should the stalemate around Pakistan’s involvement in the IPL continue. His proposed contract with the franchise is worth $75,000.”All the formalities of the deal with Kolkata Knight Riders have been finalised, but now I require a NOC from the [Pakistan] board to finalise the deal,” Irfan told . Irfan is currently in England as part of Pakistan’s one-day squad for the five-match ODI series.Irfan impressed Kolkata with his performances on their development tour of Sri Lanka and had been recommended to the franchise by Wasim Akram, Kolkata’s bowling consultant. Nearly seven foot tall, Irfan, who is among the tallest cricketers in the world, said he was looking forward to playing for Kolkata. “I’m very happy to have such a huge opportunity, and playing in the IPL is without doubt a great opportunity to do something big on the international stage.”No Pakistan player was part of the IPL auction in 2009 but it was their absence from the 2010 auction that was more contentious and troubled. The players were cleared to be part of the auction pool but none of the franchises bid for any of them, ostensibly concerned about player availability because of strained ties between the governments of India and Pakistan.”I don’t know about the past,” Irfan said, “but I am following a proper procedure to secure the deal.”

England captain given reprimand and suspended fine by Cricket Discipline Commission

Vithushan Ehantharajah23-Sep-2024England Women’s captain Heather Knight has been reprimanded and handed a £1000 suspended fine by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) for a photo of her in blackface from 2012, deemed as racist and discriminatory conduct.The photo, taken by a third party at a “sports stars” themed fancy-dress party at a cricket club in Kent in 2012, breached ECB directive 3.3, which stated at the time: “No such person may conduct himself in a manner or do any act or omission which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the game of cricket or any cricketer or group of cricketers into disrepute.”Knight, who was 21 at the time, promptly accepted the charges, showed remorse and apologised for her conduct. It is accepted that Knight did not post the photo on social media platforms herself, and has no power to delete the photo or control how it has been posted (or might be posted in the future).”I’m truly sorry for the mistake I made in 2012,” Knight said in a statement released via the ECB. “It was wrong, and I have long regretted it. Back then, I simply was not as educated as to the implications and consequences of my actions as I have become since. There was no ill-intent meant.”Whilst I can’t change the past, I am passionate and committed to using my platform to promote inclusivity across the game ensuring underrepresented groups are afforded the same opportunities and fulfilment within the game as I have.”While the CDC accepted there was no racist or discriminatory intent, it reiterated that the photo was “plainly prejudicial to the interests of cricket, brought the game and Ms Knight into disrepute, and undermined the ECB’s strategic objective of eradicating discrimination from the sport”.That Knight has only been fined £1000, which is suspended for two years pending her future conduct, is specific to this case, with the regulator stating it would be unlikely to set a precedent. This is the first time Knight has been involved in any disciplinary proceedings, and her unpaid ambassadorial work around diversity and inclusion was taken into account. She also underwent the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training in 2021 which, along with her cooperation, lent itself to a lenient punishment.Dave Lewis, interim director of the Cricket Regulator, said: “Cricket is working to become a more inclusive sport and the Cricket Regulator is committed to acting positively and impartially whenever racist behaviour is reported to us.”In this case, Ms Knight’s behaviour was discriminatory and offensive, however the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) accepted there was no racist intent in her conduct. I welcome her acknowledgment of the potential impact of her behaviour, and her unreserved apology.”In determining its sanction, the CDC also considered that the offence happened 12 years ago, that Ms Knight was 21 at the time, and that she had received little education on such matters at the time. There was significant testimony about the positive role model she has been, her voluntary work and the positive influence she has had on players from different ethnicities and backgrounds.I hope this will continue throughout her time in the sport.”

Defending champions have direct entry into the semi-final where they will play the winner of Central Zone vs East Zone

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2023Cheteshwar Pujara and Suryakumar Yadav have been drafted into the West Zone squad for the 2023 Duleep Trophy beginning June 28 in Bengaluru.They have been brought in for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who have been named in India’s Test squad due to visit the Caribbean. Priyank Panchal, the Gujarat opener, will remain captain of West Zone, which also features Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw among others.Pujara has been left out of India’s Test squad after the World Test Championship final earlier this month, where he made 14 and 27. While his omission has elicited debate and criticism, Pujara himself appears to be looking forward and has begun training for the new season in Rajkot, his hometown.