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A collective bowling effort followed by a brace of half-centuries from Heino Kuhn and Graeme van Buuren set up Titans’ seven-wicket win in a rain-hit game against Dolphins in Centurion

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2015
ScorecardA collective bowling effort followed by a brace of half-centuries from Heino Kuhn and Graeme van Buuren set up Titans’ seven-wicket win in a rain-hit game against Dolphins in Centurion.Chasing a D/L target of 174 in 37 overs, Titans lost their openers early and were struggling at 19 for 2 in 4.5 overs. Kuhn and van Buuren turned the innings around with a 137-run stand for the third wicket in 19.5 overs. Kuhn remained unbeaten on 63 off 68 balls after van Buuren had been dismissed for 84 off 71 and Titans achieved the target in 27.1 overs, with 59 balls to spare.That Titans had such a manageable target to chase was down to their bowlers, who had dismissed Dolphins for 171 in 32.2 overs. Having been put in to bat, Dolphins got off to a quick start, with Cameron Delport smacking 21 off 15 balls before being dismissed by Albie Morkel. They were 63 for 2 at the end of 10 overs and 88 for 3 when rain interrupted the game after 17.1 overs.The match was then reduced to a 37-over fixture and Dolphins collapsed shortly after the resumption. They slipped from 130 for 3 in 25 overs to 141 for 7 in 28.2, and were eventually bowled out for 171. Opener Vaughn van Jaarsveld top scored with 66 for Dolphins, while Henry Davids’ 3 for 30 were the best figures for Titans.

A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy Group B matches on October 15, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Kedar Devdhar’s 97 held Baroda’s innings together on the first day•Cricket Kenya

A 97 from the opener Kedar Devdhar, and an unbeaten 45 from the No. 8 Swapnil Singh were major contributions for Baroda in their Group B clash against Andhra, as they ended day one with 234 for 7.Hitesh Solanki and Devdhar put on 65 for the opening stand. But seamer Cheepurapalli Stephen picked up two wickets in a space of 10 deliveries to reduce Baroda to 71 for 2 in the 28th over. A middle-order collapse ensued, and the visitors were further reduced to 94 for 4 and then 110 for 5. Devdhar shared a 34, and 47-run stand with Ketan Panchal and Swapnil before Paidikalva Vijaykumar had him caught behind three short of his ton. Swapnil and Pinal Shah came together for an unbeaten 43-run, eighth-wicket stand that revived Baroda and took them past 200.Left-arm seamer Stephen almost single handedly ran through the Baroda middle order and ended the day with figures of 4 for 57. Though right-arm seamer Duvvarapu Siva Kumar managed to pick up only one wicket, he delivered 10 maidens of the 16 that he bowled on the day.
ScorecardPriyank Kirit Panchal’s fourth first -class ton, and Samit Gohel’s 54 helped Gujarat dominate Punjab on the first day of their Group B game in Mohali.Gujarat added 117 for the opening stand before Siddarth Kaul ran out Gohel off the last ball of the 40th over. Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh then had Bhargav Merai caught behind for 29 in the 56th over, ending the 59-run stand between him and Panchal. But Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel teamed up for a brisk 45-run stand with Panchal, taking the team past 220 as Panchal went past triple figures.In the 67th over, left-arm seamer Brainder Sran ended Panchal’s first innings when he had him caught by Jiwanjot Singh for 105. Venugopal Rao and Parthiv were unbeaten on 41 and 40 respectively. Punjab’s bowling was not very disciplined as they conceded 21 extras in the 85 overs bowled on the day, that included nine no balls.
ScorecardA maiden first-class century from the opener Ashish Singh powered Railways to 316 for 5 by stumps on the first day against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. Railways, after being inserted, began brightly, as they were buoyed by an opening stand worth 77 between Saurabh Wakaskar and Ashish. Wakaskar fell seven short of a fifty, but Ashish continued to pile on the runs, combining with Faiz Ahmed (74) for a second-wicket association which yielded 138 runs. Railways were further lifted by handy knocks from Prashant Awasthi (42) and Arindam Ghosh (37 not out), which ensured that despite a flurry of wickets towards the end, they had the edge going into the second day. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of UP’s bowlers, collecting 3 for 64.Tamil Nadu v Mumbai in Mumbai – Dabholkar’s four gives Mumbai the edge

On paper this series resembled India’s tour of England in 2011. The No. 1 side in the world went in with big expectations and came out bruised

The Preview by Sidharth Monga in Delhi02-Dec-2015

Match facts

December 3-7, 2015
Start time 0930 local (0400GMT)1:46

Moonda: Unclear whether Steyn will go back home

Big picture

On paper this series resembled India’s tour of England in 2011. Big expectation, No. 1 side to be tested over a long period of time by the hosts, the No. 1 side loses its No. 1 bowler in the first Test, it competes for a Test and a half, and is then run ragged. The key feature of both the assaults on the best side in the world at that moment was the complete decapitation of their batting units. Except for Rahul Dravid then and AB de Villiers now, the rest played as if they were facing ghosts and not bowlers.That is where comparisons end. India struggled on normal English pitches. South Africa have had to face extreme conditions, the most recent parallel to which is what India encountered in New Zealand in 2002-03. The ICC officiating team – match referee and the umpires – has labelled Nagpur “poor”. Mohali was on the borderline. Bangalore was good, but who knows how it would have turned out had the week in the lead-up to the Test seen some sun?While India have won, they have spent every breathing minute in public defending the pitches as opposed to basking in what should have been the glory of beating the best travellers of Test cricket in recent history. South Africa will want to provide another difference between the two series by competing hard once the series is lost whereas back in 2011 the bruised and battered best side in the world just sleepwalked through a whitewash.There is no time for Delhi to react to ICC’s verdict, which arrived about 40 hours before the toss. Daljit Singh, the artist who gave us Mohali, has been overseeing Delhi too, and after Ravi Shastri’s proclamation he wanted something similar to Nagpur, it is hard to expect a much better track. If it turns out to be better, it won’t be for a lack of effort. The ground staff will be caught between a rock and a hard place: the team wants a replica of Nagpur, the ICC has called it poor. A part of them must be wishing the High Court hadn’t intervened and kept the Test at Feroz Shah Kotla after financial irregularities in the organising association nearly resulted in losing Delhi the match.

Form guide

(last five completed games most recent first)
India WDWWW
South Africa LDLDD

In the spotlight

Dean Elgar has confounded all through the series. He comes across as a feisty character and he has, in theory the easiest of batting slots in India: at the top of the order. Along with M Vijay, not surprisingly also an opener, he has got off to the most number of starts in this series. Yet Elgar has been finding ways to get out. It can sound harsh on a man playing for the first time in such extreme conditions, but he has been in the best position of all except AB de Villiers to have a big influence on South Africa. Can he get off to another start? Can he convert it?Poor Ajinkya Rahane. He has worked his backside off scoring all those runs in testing conditions outside Asia, and he now finds himself facing even tougher conditions at home, just as it was when he debuted, against Australia in Delhi. He now averages under eight in India. Hopefully his dressing room is not telling him he has forgotten the art of grafting for runs.The batsmen in this series have been playing as if they have been facing ghosts•Associated Press

Team news

There has been no rain, we are in no danger of seeing any seam movement, which means India should keep their three spinners intact. Depending on how much turn India expect from the Delhi surface, they will either play the extra batsman in Rohit Sharma or the extra bowler in Varun Aaron.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Rohit Sharma/Varun Aaron.Dale Steyn has been ruled out. Stiaan van Zyl’s lack of form is a big problem so one option for South Africa is to bring in Temba Bavuma for van Zyl at the top of the order. Bavuma is a middle-order batsman, but the way South Africa have been going there is no distinction between top and middle orders.South Africa (probable): 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Stiaan van Zyl/ Temba Bavuma, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Faf du Plessis, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Dane Vilas (wk), 8 Simon Harmer/Dane Piedt/Marchant de Lange, 9 Kagiso Rabada/Kyle Abbott, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir.

Pitch and conditions

If you lived in Delhi more than four-five years ago and came back expecting fog and cold in December, you are in for a rude shock. It is hardly cold here, the forecast is clear and unless the Delhi pollution plays up we shouldn’t lose any time to the elements.

Stats and trivia

• Hashim Amla began the series 230 short of 7000 runs. Over four matches in India you would have backed him to nudge that mark. He still needs 140. If he somehow manages to get there in the first innings, he will be the joint-fastest South African to the mark. Graeme Smith reached 7000 runs in 148 innings.
• R Ashwin has a staggering 15 five-wicket hauls in his first 31 Tests. Among spinners only Clarrie Grimmett had that many under those constraints. In their first 31 Tests, only two men have taken more wickets than Ashwin’s 169: Sydney Barnes (189) and Waqar Younis (180).
• If Ashwin takes another five-for in Delhi, it will be his seventh in 2015, which will be a record for an Indian.

Quotes

“We’ve got England coming shortly so it would be good for us to get back to winning ways.”
“I don’t want to say much about the pitch as lot has been said about it. It’s better if we talk about the positives. Because when the team wins, you should get support from every corner. We always try to find points to criticise people, but we should give confidence to people. That’s why this is something which I don’t find logical, that everyone is commenting on the pitch.”

Nathan Coulter-Nile’s place in the Boxing Day Test squad is in jeopardy after he dislocated his shoulder while playing for the Perth Scorchers against the Adelaide Strikers on Monday

Tristan Lavalette21-Dec-2015Perth Scorchers not only failed to break their opening-game hoodoo in the Big Bash League, losing to Adelaide Strikers, but to add to their woes, Nathan Coulter-Nile suffered a nasty dislocation on his shoulder. Coulter-Nile slipped after a misfire at backward point, and fell awkwardly on his right shoulder. He was substituted off the ground in the 12th over, and did not reappear.It is a bitter pill for Coulter-Nile to swallow after surprisingly emerging into Test calculations ahead of the West Indies series. Coulter-Nile was in the frame to make his Test debut on Boxing Day, but now those dreams are in serious jeopardy. Victoria pacer Scott Boland – who was on standby for the first Test – is most likely to replace Coulter-Nile in the squad, if necessary.Coulter-Nile had enjoyed a fine all-round performance starting with a blistering cameo of 18 off 8 balls, including two towering sixes to help the Scorchers reach a competitive total of 6 for 151. He then performed with the ball to snare the wicket of Strikers opener Craig Simmons and was boasting figures of 3-0-18-1 before injury struck.After the match, the Scorchers captain Adam Voges said Coulter-Nile would have scans on Tuesday. “His shoulder is back in place, fingers crossed,” he said.The dislocation is the latest injury in a horror-run for Coulter-Nile, who has suffered numerous knocks this year. He picked up a calf strain during Australia’s limited-overs tour of England in September, and suffered a left shoulder injury after landing awkwardly in a training mishap during the Matador BBQ One-Day Cup in October.Having endured his own string of injury problems over the years, Scorchers allrounder Mitchell Marsh was sympathetic of his team-mate’s plight. “Nathan has had a tough time of it with injuries. We just want him back,” Mitchell told ESPNcricinfo.While his Test team-mates Voges and brother Shaun performed solidly, Mitchell had a poor game, making just one run and going wicketless. He failed to make contact with a flighted Adil Rashid delivery after lazily charging the pitch and was bowled off just the second delivery he faced. Mitchell’s dismissal stifled the Scorchers’ momentum, and they were unable to recover fully.Mitchell said he was disappointed with his performance, but believed he was in good shape ahead of his Boxing Day Test debut. “It was disappointing to miss a full toss, it was unfortunate but it happens,” he said. “I feel really good right now and I’m looking forward to Melbourne after missing last year’s Test due to injury. The MCG Test is a special week.”Mitchell said he hoped to play the Boxing Day Test with his brother Shaun, who dazzled early in the Scorchers’ innings with a 35-ball 47. Shaun is in a battle with Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns to retain his Test spot.”[Shaun’s] in very good form, and has been for the last 12 months,” Mitchell said. “That decision is above my pay grade but hopefully he gets picked. It would be extra special to play with Shaun during Boxing Day and enjoy the occasion with family.”After losing their opening game for the fifth straight year, Mitchell was at a loss for the Scorchers’ perennial slow starts to the BBL campaign.”I can’t put my finger on it because it is very important to start these tournaments well. Maybe we tried too hard,” he said. “For the team we had, we didn’t put enough runs on the board. It was a beautiful wicket, 180 would have been a good total.”

Kane Williamson will return to Yorkshire for a third time after agreeing a six-week stint in the middle of the English season

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2016Kane Williamson will return to Yorkshire for a third time after agreeing a six-week stint in the middle of the English season.Williamson, who previously played for Yorkshire in 2013 and 2014, will be available from June 9 to July 18 – a period which will include three County Championship matches, eight NatWest T20 Blast fixtures and three Royal London one-day games.Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire’s head coach, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kane back to Headingley. He is a quality player and person. The opportunity to secure one of, if not, the best players in the world is one you have to take up.”His value as a player is beyond question. His attitude, work ethic and leadership as an overseas player is brilliant.In 2015, Williamson set a New Zealand scoring record with 2692 runs across all formats. Depending on England call-ups, he is likely to form a hefty Yorkshire top order alongside Adam Lyth, Alex Lees and Gary Ballance.

Batsman KL Rahul and offspinning allrounder Parvez Rasool will play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2016. The pair had represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous two seasons

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2016Batsman KL Rahul and offspinning allrounder Parvez Rasool will play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2016. The pair had represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous two seasons.Rahul was picked up for Rs 100 lakhs ($166,000) while Rasool went for Rs 95 lakhs ($158,000) during the 2014 IPL auction. Rahul had an underwhelming 2015 season with Sunrisers, managing only 142 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 112.69. Rasool had got only two games that season.Rasool had earlier been part of Pune Warriors. He has also played a solitary ODI for India, taking two wickets against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2014. Rahul, who can also keep wickets, returns to Royal Challengers, having played for them in 2013. He, however, scored only 20 runs in five matches.Vijay Mallya, the owner of Royal Challengers, welcomed Rahul back. “Given his multiple skills, KL Rahul has a lot to offer RCB in terms of batting and wicket keeping,” Mallya said. “It’s a good feeling to get a prominent local Karnataka boy back home and in the RCB fold again.”Rasool’s addition to the roster ensures that the spin department is well stocked with Iqbal Abdulla, Yuzvendra Chahal and Samuel Badree already in the mix.”Parvez offers us a spinning allrounder option that we were targeting to compliment Chahal and Iqbal,” Mallya said. “I hope to see him continue his good form in this forthcoming IPL season.”

South Africa have earned themselves an excellent opportunity to win the ODI series against England despite a century An outstanding, unbeaten century from AB de Villiers enabled South Africa to become just the fourth side to come from 2-0 down to win an O

The Report by George Dobell14-Feb-2016An outstanding, unbeaten century from AB de Villiers enabled South Africa to become just the fourth side to come from 2-0 down to win an ODI series after defeating England by five wickets in another enthralling, if error-strewn, match in Cape Town.On a couple of occasions, first as Reece Topley claimed three wickets in nine deliveries and then as England’s spinners provoked a hiccup in mid-innings, it seemed South Africa may buckle under the pressure of chasing their modest target in the fifth and final game.But, in the end, the class of de Villiers, proved decisive. The South Africa captain, playing his 200th ODI, made a sparkling century – the 24th of his career – to lead his side to victory with 36 balls remaining and ensure they did not lose the ODI and Test portions of a home season to the same opposition for the first time since 2001-02.It was not just de Villiers’ extravagant ability to put away the poor ball that made the difference. It was his composure. In a match characterised by missed opportunities and reckless batting, de Villiers was one of the few to combine restraint with his natural positivity.So while England were, for the second match in succession, bowled out within their 50 overs as punishment for some reckless batting, de Villiers attacked with discretion. And while Farhaan Behardien was lured into clubbing to mid-on and Rilee Rossouw, who replaced JP Duminy in the South Africa side, drove to short cover, de Villiers waited for the poor ball and was happy to play out a few dot balls safe in the knowledge that his side had plenty of time.That result – both of the game and the series – represented scant reward for Alex Hales. After four half-centuries – including an innings of 99 at Port Elizabeth – in the first four matches of the series, Hales became the fifth England player to register five successive scores of 50 or more in ODI cricket. The previous four were Geoff Boycott, Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart and Jonathan Trott. None of them had managed it in the same series.Here Hales, with his second and highest ODI century, was the only man to reach 30 as England failed to exploit a frenetic display in the field from South Africa and failed to show the composure required on a pitch offering the bowlers some assistance. It helped Hales finish the series as the leading run-scorer on either side (he amassed 383 runs at an average of 76.60) but he lacked the support to earn England a commanding position.The frustration, from an England perspective, will be that South Africa did not bowl especially well. With de Villiers winning an important toss – rain had kept the pitch under covers until about 30 minutes before the start of an overcast morning – the bowlers benefited from some assistance.AB de Villiers recorded his 24th ODI hundred•Getty Images

But instead of maintaining a tight off stump line and full length, they instead unleashed a barrage of short deliveries and struggled to maintain the tight line that might have brought them greater rewards. Chris Morris, while the quickest of the attack, also conceded four of the 11 wides.Imran Tahir, introduced into the attack in just the fifth over, trapped Jason Roy – beaten a leg break that gripped and hit him on the back leg – with his sixth delivery, while Joe Root was unable to punish Hashim Amla for dropping him on 12 and was adjudged leg before, after a review, when he missed an attempted sweep against the same bowler. Eoin Morgan’s modest series with the bat – he averaged 12.80 – ended when he gave himself room and could only edge a wide delivery outside off stump.While Ben Stokes and Hales were putting on 70 in 11 overs, it appeared South Africa may have squandered their opportunity. But when Stokes, moving across his stumps, was bowled round his legs by Kagiso Rabada, it precipitated a decline that saw England lose five wickets for 37 runs in nine overs in mid-innings.Jos Buttler, beautifully set up by a field that suggested a short ball, was slow to react to the full ball that followed from Rabada and played on, before Moeen Ali, attempting to hit over the top when the situation – with more than 15 overs remaining – required retrenchment, was brilliantly caught at cover. Chris Woakes chipped a half-volley outside leg stump directly to the fielder on the fine leg fence and Adil Rashid then attempted to clear the in field – an unnecessary risk with so much of the innings remaining – and gifted a simple catch to mid-off.Not for the first time, the thought occurred that, for all England’s admirable dynamism and boldness in recent times – and it is worth remembering that is exactly 12 months since they produced a timid performance in their opening match of the World Cup – it might prove rather more successful if it was allied to some common sense and match awareness.On this surface, a total of 280 may well have proved enough, but in attempting to score 320, they left themselves requiring a miracle. They were, once again, the Blackjack player that keeps saying ‘hit me’ until they have a perfect 21. A more sophisticated approach may serve them better.Hales, once again showing the maturity to complement his natural positivity, put away the wayward deliveries – and there were many – with customarily sweet timing to keep his side in the game. Strong off his legs, strong on the cut and pull, he also drove fluently. The on drive that brought up his century, a beautifully timed shot, was reminiscent of the stroke that brought Boycott his 100th hundred.He enjoyed some fortune. He utilised a review, on 20, when umpire Johan Cloete thought he had edged a delivery off Morris – reward, as much as anything, for Hales persuading Roy not to squander the review on his leg-before dismissal – and reached his 50 with an inside edge that flew perilously close to the stumps on its way to the fine leg boundary. Twice more he was slightly late on yorkers, but got enough bat on the ball to squirt the ball past the stumps or slips.Within eight overs of the South Africa reply Topley had three wickets and South Africa were 22 for 3. Quinton de Kock was caught behind – England reviewing a decision that was originally given as not out – before Faf du Plessis was beaten by a beautiful inswinging yorker first ball and Rossouw mistimed a slower ball to cover.But first with Amla and then with David Wiese, who took the pressure off his captain with a thumping 41 off 32 balls, de Villiers kept his head when all others were losing theirs and saw his side to a victory that should restore some confidence going into the T20I section of the tour and the World T20 that follows.

Kolkata Knight Riders read a greenish Eden Gardens pitch and skittled Delhi Daredevils for 98, which the hosts chased with nine wickets and 35 balls to spare

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu10-Apr-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBrad Hogg finished with figures of 4-1-19-3•BCCI

Kolkata Knight Riders did not have several players key to their success over the years for their opening game of the 2016 season. Shakib Al Hasan and Morne Morkel, central to their plans last season, were benched. Sunil Narine, who played a stellar role in their title-winning run in 2012 and 2014, was unavailable because of his father’s death. Did it hamper them? It didn’t look like it, as Andre Russell and Brad Hogg took three wickets apiece to skittle Delhi Daredevils for 98. Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir’s 69-run opening partnership then set a strong platform for a nine-wicket win with 35 balls to spare.Russell and John Hastings, who took Morkel’s place, ran in hard and hit the deck harder to extract unusually high bounce. Quinton de Kock, who had pulled Umesh Yadav for back-to-back boundaries, was the first to go when he skewed a catch to mid-off. Four balls later, Shreyas Iyer was trapped lbw for a duck. Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair also exited in successive overs as Hastings capped the Powerplay with a wicket maiden. By then, Daredevils were in a familiar spot at 35 for 4.Gambhir multiplied the efficiency of his attack by deploying two slips for most parts of the innings. He even placed himself at short leg after Russell dismantled the top order.Pawan Negi, who was promoted to No.6, swished and missed balls before Hogg had him stumped for a 19-ball 11. IPL debutant Carlos Brathwaite, who had fired West Indies to their second World T20 title last week, momentarily broke free with a biff over wide long-on, but was foxed by a skiddy googly from Piyush Chawla two balls later. Sanju Samson was the eighth Daredevils batsman to be dismissed before Hastings made a reappearance to wrap up the innings.Daredevils had slumped to their seventh sub-100 score in IPL, and the second-lowest score in the tournament’s history at Eden Gardens.The chase was a stroll for Knight Riders, and the onset of dew only made things worse for Daredevils. Zaheer Khan, playing his first competitive game since May 2015, floated flick-me balls in the lower 120kph range on to Gambhir’s pads and got picked for three fours in the second over. Uthappa moved into his shot-making stride with a brace of straight-driven fours as the hosts raced past 50 in the eighth over. Although Uthappa holed out for 35 in the tenth over against the run of play, Gambhir and Manish Pandey ensured Knight Riders enjoyed a winning start.Daredevils, who revamped their side again before the tournament and opted for lesser-known youngsters, will look to regroup quickly before they meet Kings XI Punjab in a home match on April 15.

The PCB has served Younis Khan with a show cause notice for breaching various clauses in his central contract after he deserted his domestic team during the ongoing Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-20161:09

PCB gets tough with Younis

The PCB has served Younis Khan with a show cause notice for breaching various clauses in his central contract after he deserted his domestic team during the ongoing Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad. He has also been barred from rejoining Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, despite his willingness to return.”Younis has been a great servant of Pakistan cricket and a true role model for youngsters,” Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, said in a statement. “I feel pained making this decision as we have to demonstrate that no one is bigger than the game. We will wait for Younis to respond before we proceed further in this matter.”Younis was found to have breached article 2.2.8 of the code. He was charged with questioning an umpiring decision, showing dissent and threatening an umpire – for which he was fined 50% of his match fee. Following the match against Punjab, he refused to face a disciplinary hearing and left the tournament in protest. The PCB also found that Younis had breached various clauses in his category A central contract with Pakistan.Younis called Shaharyar on Monday to apologise for his actions but the PCB determined that the charges against him remained intact. “The chairman clarified that while we have all regards for Younis, who has served the country with honour, he would follow the process dealing with such situation as stipulated in the relevant rules,” the PCB said in a statement.”The position with regard to Younis Khan is as follows: (a) In accepting the recommendations of the match referee, a fine of 50% of his match fee has been imposed.”(b) For breaching the following clauses of his central contract, a show cause notice has been issued to Younis Khan to explain his position to the board within seven days: clauses 2.2.1 (c), 2.2.2, 2.2.5 and 2.2.8 and breaches No. 17 and 20 of schedule 5 of the central contract.”(c) In light of the above pending disciplinary proceedings and due to the fact that a replacement player has already been added to the KPK Team, it has been decided, in the interest of the game, not to allow Younis to rejoin the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team in the Pakistan Cup.”

A bun fight could be brewing over Dale Steyn’s national versus club duties as reports linking him to Glamorgan continue to swirl

Firdose Moonda17-May-2016A bun fight could be brewing over Dale Steyn’s national-versus-club duties as reports linking him to Glamorgan continue to swirl. Steyn may turn out for the county in part of their NatWest T20 Blast campaign, which coincides with South Africa’s participation in an ODI triangular tournament in the Caribbean.Steyn was left out of the squad for the tri-series after the selectors decided he needed rest ahead of the August Tests against New Zealand. However, Steyn may not be putting his feet up at all, and CSA may have been forced to provide Steyn with a no-objection certificate (NOC), which goes against their selectors’ wishes because the fast bowler is understood to want both game time and pounds.Although neither Glamorgan nor Steyn’s agent Dave Rundle confirmed Steyn was joining the county, Steyn’s former provincial and international team-mate Jacques Rudolph, captain of Glamorgan, confirmed there were ongoing talks. Rudolph was quoted by BBC Sport Wales as saying there was a “good possibility” of Steyn playing for Glamorgan, and that they were waiting on ” a visa issue” to confirm his availability. Steyn himself at hinted at the stint last week, when he asked about good fishing spots in Glamorgan on Twitter.
The T20 blast runs over three months from May 20 – the final is on August 20 – with Glamorgan’s first game to be played on May 26. South Africa’s tri-series in the West Indies begins on June 3 and concludes on June 26 but the next time Steyn will be needed for the country is on August 19, when a two-Test series against New Zealand begins. Steyn is also due to play for Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League, which starts on June 30. That means he could play seven games for Glamorgan between May 26 and June 24, and three CPL games before his next international assignment, which will more than double the game time he has had this year; so far in 2016, Steyn has played just seven matches, two T20 warm-up matches, four internationals and one at the IPL.He had spent the bulk of the South African summer injured, after sustaining a groin problem during the first Test against India in Mohali in November and then picking up a shoulder injury during the Boxing Day Test at home against England. Steyn recovered in time to play the T20s against Australia and then at the World T20, where he only featured in two of South Africa’s four games.Despite Steyn’s seemingly waning presence in limited-overs cricket, convener of selectors Linda Zondi said Steyn was “not out of the ODI picture” and could still feature in the September series against Australia, but the priority was to preserve him for Test cricket. For that reason the selectors did not want Steyn in action in June, but the possible deal with Glamorgan will change that and there is little CSA can do to stop it.CSA could force Steyn to rest by refusing him an NOC, a document required by all South African players regardless of whether they are nationally contracted or not to participate in other countries’ competitions. However if an NOC is refused, the South African Cricketers’ Association would scrutinise the reasons for the refusal. Steyn’s non-selection for the West Indies tri-series could work against CSA’s wanting to control that period of his time, though they have made it clear that they want Steyn to rest.This situation could open the door for discussions over the content of national contracts, which could increasingly see players advocate for more free-enterprise. CSA reserves the right to issue disclaimers with their NOCs – for example that a player cannot play more than a certain number of matches during the time he is at an overseas club – and prioritise international cricket over foreign domestic leagues. The weak Rand, which sits at 22.49 to the pound at Tuesday’s exchange rate, has been cited as the main reason for South Africans opting for stints overseas. But there has also been a suggestion that the increased focus on transformation has left many players uncertain over their futures and caused them to seek career security elsewhere.