ACF launches North American Championship

The American Cricket Federation (ACF) has announced that it will stage a North American Cricket Championship in Phoenix, Arizona from March 7-9.

The championship will consist of a three-match, 40-over series played between a team representing the Midwest Cricket Conference, winners of the ACF Twenty20 National Championship in Florida last October, and a team from the prestigious Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.

"It is my hope that this elevated level of competition, along with the first introduction of national structure and context to the American cricket season, will ultimately result in better cricket throughout the country," the ACF's chief executive, Jamie Harrison, said.

"I also expect that this opportunity to compete at higher levels, given to all ACF member leagues, will spur local and national rivalries and create a new level of competitiveness that USA cricket needs to progress."

The matches will be played at Nichols Park Basin, a turf wicket facility in suburban Phoenix that is used by the Arizona Cricket Association. The ACF is also in the planning stages of organising a domestic inter-league competition, tentatively scheduled to get underway this summer, called the American Cricket Champions League that will feed into the ACF National Championship.

"The American Cricket Federation is dedicated to providing greater opportunities for all cricket stakeholders and this is just the beginning of that process," Harrison said.

The creation of the North American Cricket Championship is another step towards legitimacy in ACF's battle with the USA Cricket Association. Formed in 2011, the ACF is a rival governing body to the USACA, which is the ICC-recognised national governing body for cricket in America.

Read More..

'Big Three were more likely to make progress' - Isaac

Alan Isaac, the ICC president, has said that he pushed the three financially strongest boards to collaborate on the revolutionary proposals, instead of involving all Full Members, as they "were more likely to make progress more quickly". Isaac also said the Big Three have been working on draft proposals that called for sweeping changes in world cricket since last July.

"We've been working for some time on the process for selling our commercial rights for post 2015 and part of that process required that we had a members participation agreement (MPA)," Isaac said at the end of the ICC's two-day meeting in Dubai. "You can't go to the market unless you have demonstrated that all members will participate. Round about July last year, I encouraged CA, ECB and BCCI to work together and develop conditions of which all members could happily agree to an MPA."

David Richardson, the ICC CEO, explained why the Big Three were entrusted with drawing up the proposals, with other Full Members only seeing them at the a meeting earlier this month. "There were numerous negotiations with all members but only towards the end of that process were the sticking points to be determined," Richardson said. "Those sticking points primarily related to Australia, England and India and to make progress they were asked to discuss things among themselves and see what can be sorted out."

Isaac's reasoning was simpler. "You have to start somewhere. To have the three bigger, stronger members in a room coming up with something that was a basis for discussion - and that is what the draft was, a basis for discussion."

He also said the smaller group helped push discussions along. "It's not unusual to have a working group to look at a particular issue - this is no different than that. I could've added extra people to it, [but] I just felt that the board members from CA and ECB working with India were more likely to make progress more quickly."

When asked why there had been no vote on the proposals at the ICC meeting, Isaac said some of the details were still being worked on. "The resolutions are still being discussed, the content of resolution and some of the details behind them. That's why we took an approach of not having a vote because there was nothing to vote on but we thought it was important to make some progress around some principles."

Isaac was also not worried that under the new governing structure which could give the Big Three control over the world game. "[The ICC] has a group of people who are charged with being directors who have to act in the best interests of world cricket. That responsibility was reiterated many times in the last two-three days. It is accepted of course that they sit around the table as presidents or chairmen of member boards but the discussion of the last two days has been in respect of their roles as directors of ICC acting in the best interests of world cricket."

Read More..

Veteran Hodge called up for second Twenty20

Brad Hodge could play his first match for Australia in nearly six years after being called into the squad for the second Twenty20 in Melbourne on Friday.

At 39, Hodge is Twenty20 cricket's leading run scorer of all time, with 5844 at an average of 36.98 from his 209 matches in the format, and could be a valuable player at the upcoming World T20 in Bangladesh if the selectors chose to utilise his experience.

However, while the Melbourne match could be viewed as an audition for the World T20, Hodge's chances of playing in that tournament appear slim with Shane Watson and David Warner to return to the top of the order in addition to the men who beat England in Hobart on Wednesday.

The allrounder Moises Henriques played in that victory but will now fly to South Africa for the Test tour and Cricket Australia confirmed that Hodge would be added to the squad for the Melbourne game as a replacement for Henriques.

Whether Hodge will stay with the group for the third T20 in Sydney on Sunday remains to be seen but whatever the case, the call-up should give him a chance to play international cricket for the first time since the Test tour of West Indies in May 2008.

The last of his eight T20 internationals came almost six years ago to the day, at the MCG on February 1, 2008, when Adam Gilchrist was still part of a side that accounted for India.

Hodge's recall is comparable to the call-up of a 40-year-old Brad Hogg in January 2012, when he was picked on BBL form and with a World T20 in spinning conditions in Sri Lanka on the horizon.

Read More..

Departing Rixon takes a swipe at Cricket Australia

Steve Rixon, Australia's outgoing assistant coach, has declared that he had "very little respect" for Cricket Australia and in particular what saw as interference with cricket decisions from above.

Rixon has been axed from the coaching staff, although he said he had no problem with head coach Darren Lehmann's desire to build his own coaching group and he would have finished his tenure before this year's IPL anyway. However, in a radio interview on Thursday, Rixon took a parting shot at Cricket Australia and its general manager of team performance, Pat Howard.

"I'm not getting into a slinging match ... I have very little respect for the organisation, so I think we best just leave it there," Rixon said on Sky Sports Radio. "I don't like a lot of things they do. They interfere basically with a lot of the cricket decisions over the period of time and I don't necessarily agree with that.

"It's none of my business. At the end of the day, I do what I do, I go out and do it to the best I know how. But it's probably just draining and the one thing I've lived my cricket life with is a major passion for the game."

When pressed on whether it was Howard, a former rugby union international, who Rixon had a problem with, Rixon replied: "Let me say, I hope he was a good rugby player."

Rixon was brought into the setup as fielding coach in June 2011, before Mickey Arthur was named head coach later that year. Rixon said as well as his duties in drilling the fielders, part of his role was to be a sounding board for the then new captain Michael Clarke, with whom he had a long-standing relationship from Clarke's junior years.

"With Michael now being very content with where he is, Boof's obviously come in with a stronger approach to that," he said. "That's why I think cricket's in a very good shape with Australia, we're starting to get all those bits and pieces.

"Darren will eventually get a team around him that he's very, very comfortable with and that's fine. That's the way life is, that's the way it is with coaching. He's come in with some heavy hands and he's done a very good job in actually sorting a few of these things out and I complimented him for that. If he continues down this road, he'll get the best out of this Australian cricket team."

Read More..

Faulkner ruled out of South Africa Test tour

James Faulkner has been ruled out of Australia's Test tour of South Africa due to a knee injury and Shaun Marsh and Jackson Bird are still in doubt and will remain in Australia for further assessment while the rest of the squad departs on Wednesday.

Faulkner has been replaced in the squad by fellow allrounder Moises Henriques, who played his only three Tests on the tour of India early last year and will fly to South Africa after playing in Wednesday's first Twenty20 against England in Hobart. Faulkner will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Tuesday after picking up an injury during Sunday's final one-day international against England in Adelaide.

"James' exact rehab plan and return to training and playing will be determined after surgery but unfortunately for him, he will not be available for the upcoming Test tour of South Africa," the team physio Alex Kountouris said. "We are hopeful that he will recover in time to play the Twenty 20 games on that tour and take part in the ICC World Twenty20."

Faulkner's presence in the Test squad would have given the selectors another option for balancing the side in South Africa if they chose to move the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin up to No.6. Henriques appears much less likely to play in the Tests than Faulkner would have; Henriques played three Sheffield Shield matches in the first half of the season and scored 202 runs at 33.66 and took five wickets at 36.60.

The Australians also have concerns over the fitness of Marsh, who strained his calf during the ODI victory in Adelaide. Marsh had been scheduled to travel to South Africa on Tuesday night but instead will remain in Perth for further treatment over the coming days and Cricket Australia said in a statement that "a decision on whether he will travel to South Africa will be made in due course".

Similar doubts will keep Bird in Australia while the rest of the squad departs. Bird jarred his back while fielding for the Melbourne Stars in a BBL match last week and Cricket Australia confirmed he will remain in Hobart "to be assessed by CA's medical staff and return to bowling to determine if he has recovered sufficiently enough to take his place on the South Africa tour".

Bird was unlikely to be in the starting XI for the first Test in Centurion, given the success of the pace trio of Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle during the Ashes. However, when the squad was named last week there appeared a strong chance that Marsh would be part of the starting XI, given the absence of the incumbent No.6 George Bailey from the squad.

The majority of Australia's Test players will depart for South Africa over the next two days, although their first official tour match does not begin until next Wednesday in Potchefstroom. Faulkner had been the only player from the Test squad also named for the T20s against England over the coming week; his place in the T20 squad will now be taken by the fast bowler Kane Richardson.

Read More..

ZC close to clinching sponsorship deal

Zimbabwe Cricket are close to clinching a sponsorship deal which could lead to the resumption of domestic cricket in the next few weeks. ESPNcricinfo understands ZC have been in positive talks with Lay's, the potato chip company, who are interesting in backing them.

Although the deal will not cover the total cost of salaries ZC owes their players, it is expected to provide a portion of it. ZC are also hopeful of securing a loan from the ICC, which could ensure they have the funds needed for the game to restart.

Their request for a loan was subject to an audit of ZC's financials which was completed last week. ZC are now waiting to hear from the ICC about whether the money will be made available to them and on what terms. Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor hinted the decision could be finalised at the ICC board meeting, which starts tomorrow. He tweeted: "A massive week for us. We all hope some positives come out for ZC and all involved at the ICC meeting in Dubai on Wed. #fingerscrossed."

Initially, ZC asked US$3 million from the ICC, which would cover both the outstanding payment amount (believed to be in the region of US$700,000) and enable them to stage domestic games. The money will not see ZC move completely into the black. They remain steeped in debt to the tune of approximately US$15 million.

While cash-flow problems are not new to Zimbabwean cricket, they have recently become serious enough to disrupt the game. There has been no cricket in Zimbabwe since mid-December, when franchise players went on strike because of non-payment. As a result, there have only been two first-class matches and three fifty-over matches played since Zimbabwe's series against Pakistan last September.

Incoming tours from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan were cancelled while Zimbabwe also had to turn down an offer to play a one-off Test in South Africa because of the financial problems and subsequent refusal of players to take the field. That has left the players with little practice ahead of the World T20 in March, something they are keen to rectify as soon as possible.

An insider confirmed the national players are staying match fit by staging warm-up games against the under-19 team but hope to have other competitive cricket as they prepare for the World T20.

Read More..

Big Three offer redraft to ICC as lobbying intensifies

'Revamp has many legal implications'

Cricket's formally-united Big Three - the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB - will present the seven other Full Member nations with a set of re-drafted "resolutions" around their radical "position paper" at an ICC executive meeting in Dubai on Tuesday.

The resolutions - five in number - were being talked through the first official meeting of the Finance & Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee after its "working group" - made up of the heads of the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB - came up with the proposal in a 21-page document that called for a complete overhaul of the ICC's administration and its revenue distribution.

The first of the proposals to be watered down is expected to be the one pertaining to a two-tier format for Test cricket and the relegation of the bottom two ranked into the ICC Intercontinental Cup. The other proposal which could be reworked pertains to a newly formed Executive Committee (ExCo) and it's possible expansion from four to five, with a second nominee coming in from the "small seven," as opposed to only one according to the draft position paper.

As the ICC's Board met for its scheduled quarterly meeting in Dubai, the Big Three were known to be in discussions with six of the Seven in order to ensure their support should the proposal go to vote on Tuesday.

One board chief said the BCCI, ECB and Cricket Australia had been "surrounding people, taking them in, we'll give you this, we'll give you that." Another said that BCCI led the majority of such discussions, their offers being enhanced with every meeting, "Individually they call every board and offer them something each time."

The only vocal objector to the proposal, Cricket South Africa, has been left out of these discussions and the benefits being offered to the rest of the boards. The main negotiations took place on governance issues with FTP agreements - particularly those pertaining to tours by India - being used as "bait". The resolutions, first expected to be presented in a list of 50-plus points, were later gathered together under five categories.

While in the past governance issues had dominated revenue matters, on Monday evening, one of the Big Three officials said there could be "further discussions rather than negotiations around revenue models" with an attempt to explain how they would work in real terms and the guarantees being offered.

The main boards involved in the talks are the three Asian boards - the PCB, SLC and BCB - who have been left mulling over their options due to various reasons. There has been public protest in Bangladesh, including a crowd gathering of close to 3000 in Dhaka on Saturday, over the possibility of their cricket board ceding Bangladesh's Test match status and calendar in the face of the proposals.

A senior Bangladeshi cricket official said, "It is a big thing, (to us) this status. In 13 years Bangladesh have managed to win four Test matches. India and New Zealand did not win their first Test till 30 years. So how come these people are now telling Bangladesh that you will need to fight out in the I-Cup to retain your Test status." Should the relegation issue be diluted from the resolutions, the Big Three may find the leverage they need with the BCB.

With the PCB, the main issue concerned their FTP arrangements particularly with the BCCI, in the light of a fluctuating political climate. SLC finds itself in a state of financial crisis, an application pending for an $8m loan from the ICC and the prospective carrot of a 2017 tour from the Indian team. Plus, officials are under pressure from former players and administrators who believe the rights they won at an ICC table, "the hard way" should not be surrendered for "short-term gain."

Former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga said accepting the proposal would take smaller countries back to the skewed international calendars of the 1980s. "From 1987 to 1990 in four years Sri Lanka played just seven Tests. After that, ICC's Future Tour Programme ensured that there were equal opportunities for all countries. The proposed system will take smaller nations like Sri Lanka to the situation in 1980s."

Zimbabwe Cricket, despite its financial debt to the tune of $18m and its player strike due to non-payment of dues, is expected to vote in favour of the proposals largely because of their good relations with the BCCI. In the last 10 years, India has played two Tests, nine ODIs and two T20s in Zimbabwe, compared to Australia's three, England's four and South Africa's three ODIs.

Among the other Full Member nations, New Zealand Cricket had come out in support of the proposal while the West Indies Cricket Board only stated that they had taken a position "in the best interests of West Indies cricket" following two board meetings in the past ten days.

With inputs from Andrew Fernando, Firdose Moonda, Nagraj Gollapudi and Mohammad Isam

Read More..

New-look India recover with rohit fifty

25 overs India 100 for 2 (Rohit 56*, Rayudu 36*) v New Zealand
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

India made an overdue axing and an unexpected one, but once play began the story of the first 25 overs was the exceptional discipline Tim Southee and Kyle Mills bowled with. The consequent pressure created the wickets of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, and should have had Rohit Sharma too but the surviving opener was put down by Ross Taylor at first slip.

If Rohit was dropped by the opposition, Shikhar Dhawan found himself at the other end of fortune, dropped by his captain along with Suresh Raina, who had scored one fifty - that against Zimbabwe - in his last 30 innings. These two changes, and the change in tactics - batting first after having invited the opposition 30 times in a row outside Asia - was a complete departure from the usual MS Dhoni way. You wonder, though, if he did too many things at once after having gone an age without doing nothing.

In Dhawan's absencve, the best batsman of the side moved from his usual No. 3 position to open the innings. And he and Rohit were tied down by Mills and Southee. The first over was a maiden, half-volleys and long hops were rare, nothing was bowled on the pads, and the first boundary came in the seventh over and involved a lot of risk. The slow loopy bounce on the Seddon Park pitch didn't help matters, making it difficult to time the ball.

New Zealand used the short ball wisely. The first of those came in the fourth over with the score at just five. Kohli thought he finally saw something he could go after, but managed only a top edge. By around the seventh over, Rohit - already 15 dots to his credit - began to take undue risks. Once he skied past mid-off, and once he managed to clear long-on. A loose shot in the next over followed, but Taylor dropped a fairly simple catch by New Zealand's standards to deny Southee. In the next over, though, another smart bouncer claimed Ajinkya Rahane.

At 22 for 2 in the ninth over, India needed Rohit to make his luck count, but he would also need support from the other end. Support came from Ambati Rayudu, although the first few acts of the partnership were edgy. They didn't quite look comfortable against the spongy bounce, Rohit pre-meditated twice and took boundaries off outside edges, Rayudu was nearly caught at third man, but the two stayed together to give India a recovery with a 78-run stand in 16.4 overs.

There were classy shots in between, including Rohit's dismissive pull off Bennett and an off-drive off James Neesham for sixes. By the end of the 25th over, Rohit had converted his 5 off 20 at one point to 56 off 76.

Hamish Bennett provided them a few loose balls, just straying too straight, and both Rohit and Rayudu cashed in. Bennett went for 20 in his three overs with four leg-side boundaries. Between them, Southee and Mills conceded 27 in their 12.

Read More..

Perera, Mubarak's record stand powers NCC win

Group B

Angelo Perera's 244 and Jehan Mubarak's 164 helped Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) beat Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club by an innings and 39 runs at the NCC ground. Mubarak and Perera were involved in a mammoth stand of 405, which was the highest partnership for the fourth wicket in a first-class match on Sri Lankan soil. They came together when NCC were 81 for 3 in response to Air Force's 196. Perera blasted 30 fours and six sixes in his knock that required only 204 balls and it was also his highest first-class score. Mubarak's knock came off 247 balls with 14 fours and two sixes. NCC eventually declared at 552 for 6 with a lead of 356.

Earlier, Air Force were bundled out within 54 overs after being put in to bat. Sohan Boralessa and Dushmantha Chameera shared seven wickets between them. Air Force put on a much improved show in the second innings, scoring 317, but it wasn't enough to prevent an innings defeat. Wicketkeeper Sajith Kalumpriya made an exact 100 while Dushan Vimukthi made 59 and the pair put on 100 for the second wicket. Lahiru Sri Lakmal and Achira Eranga resisted with a stand of 83 for the fifth wicket. Tharindu Kaushal, the offspinner from Galle, finished with a six-wicket haul - his eighth first-class five-wicket haul - to give NCC their first win of the season.

The encounter at the Colombo Cricket Club ground was far more competitive as Sri Lanka Army Sports Club edged past the hosts Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) by two wickets in a tense chase. Chasing 253, a pair of 70s by Asela Gunaratne and Seekkuge Prasanna put Army on track but CCC hit back with quick wickets. Army were losing their grip at 244 for 8 before Lakshitha Madushan and Ravindra Palleguruge steered them home.

CCC were bundled out for 173 after being asked to bat, with the veteran Indika de Saram top scoring with 40. Chatura Damith and Prasanna shared seven wickets between them. Army managed a lead of 55, with Gunaratne scoring 54. Lakshan Rangika, the left-arm chinaman bowler, finished with career best figures of 7 for 78. CCC fared better in the second innings with 307, with half-centuries by Amal Athulathmudali and Chamara Silva and a 48 by de Saram. Prasanna followed up his three-wicket haul in the first innings with 5 for 127 in the second. Palleguruge, the left-arm spinner, finished with 4 for 56. Chasing 253, Army were well placed at 220 for 4, but Prasanna's wicket triggered a collapse. They lost 4 for 24 but the ninth-wicket pair handed Army their first win on the season.

Group A

Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club moved to the top of the table with thumping 10-wicket win against Panadura Sports Club at the Panadura Esplanade. The win was powered by a double-hundred from Gayashan Weerasekera (217), his maiden first-class hundred, and a century from Sachithra Senasinghe (100) which took them to 423 for 9.

Four wickets from Isuru Udana kept Panadura to 180 as only four of their batsmen scored in double digits. Chaminda Bandara and Tyron Gamage also chipped in with two wickets each as SLPAC made Panadura follow-on. With a better performance in the second innings, Panadura overtook the deficit and scored 258 but that set SLPAC a target of only 16 which they chased with ease to grab 16.09 points against Panadura's 3.09.

An unbeaten hundred from Vishva Wijeratne gave Sinhalese Sports Club a handy first-innings lead to get them 11.22 points in a draw against Chilaw Marians Cricket Club at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Put in to bat, Chilaw Marians were restricted to 208 by four wickets from Dilhara Fernando and two each from Dhammika Prasad, Sachithra Senanayake and Danushka Gunathilaka as not one batsmen could cross the score of 40. SSC were precariously placed at 149 for 5 but Wijeratne's 116 with contributions from the lower order got them to 264 for 8 before they declared.

Chilaw Marians fared much better in the second innings with fifties from Sahan Wijeratne (77) and Saliya Saman (88*) but they opened the tournament at the bottom with 3.35 points.

Another draw ensued in Colombo, between Ragama Cricket Club and Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club. Ragama moved to second place in the table with a first-innings lead which got them 11.67 points after they scored 384 on the back of a hundred from Ian Daniel (142), once they were put in to bat. A six-wicket haul from legspinner Malinga Bandara meant TUCAC were restricted to 325 despite useful contributions from Jeevan Mendis (118) and Pabasara Waduge (99). Ragama were struggling at 150 for 7 in the second essay but their lead of 59 had done the work by then.

Read More..

Concerns over Marsh and Faulkner

Australia have further injury worries ahead of the tour of South Africa after both Shaun Marsh and James Faulkner picked up problems during the final one-day international against England in Adelaide.

Marsh, a surprise inclusion for the South Africa tour, left the field in the 36th over of England's chase and has had a scan on his calf while Faulkner underwent scans on his knee on Monday after not travelling to Hobart as part of the Twenty20 squad. Both players will be assessed again in the coming days.

Speaking after the final ODI, Michael Clarke remained positive over Marsh's prognosis. "Hopefully it's not too bad, hopefully it's just something small," he said. "He was celebrating okay, he was still moving all right out there when he went off the field. Knowing what we have got coming up and [physiotherapist] Alex Kountouris, I think they would have kept him off the field just for precaution more than anything else."

Faulkner, the Man of the Match in Adelaide, was the one member of the Test party who was not due to fly out to South Africa this week, instead staying in Australia to play the three T20s against England in Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney before linking with his Test team-mates.

Faulkner made his Test debut at The Oval in August and was part of the squad throughout the return Ashes but could not force his way into Australia's XI which remained unchanged during the five Tests. Marsh made a hundred on his debut against Sri Lanka in 2011 but has played just seven matches for an average of 27.36.

The concerns over Marsh and Faulkner follow the news that Jackson Bird jarred his back in the Big Bash League and was withdrawn from the Futures League match he was due to play as preparation for South Africa.

Read More..