Five BPL franchises sign contracts with BCB

Eleven months after they had acquired Bangladesh Premier League teams, five franchises out of seven have signed agreements with the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Sylhet Royals and Barisal Burners were the two teams that were not present in the ceremony held in Mirpur on Saturday, which took place after a long meeting between the franchises and the BPL governing council.

"The agreement was signed in a very cordial atmosphere," Ismail Haider Mallick, the BPL secretary, said. "It also ensures a successful journey of the BPL along with these franchises in future.

"Barisal Burners could not complete the formality as their owners left the country earlier this morning, while the signing with Sylhet Royals will be completed within a few days."

The signing of the agreement by five of the seven teams, signals a possible end to the BPL's biggest scourge. Ever since the first franchisee auction in January this year, the lack of a proper contract between the two most important parties was always pointed out as the root cause of all trouble, including the player payment issues.

It was understood throughout the year that because the BPL governing council didn't have a proper contract they weren't in a legal position to put pressure on the franchises that were not paying the players on time.

The franchises were reluctant to become a partner of Game On Sports, the tournament's event management firm, and the BPL governing council. Their demand of signing a contract only with the BCB was agreed upon.

Six divisions were won by six corporate houses in the franchise auction for the BPL before the inaugural edition. SQ Sports quoted Chittagong for $1.2 million, Orion Group got Khulna for $1.1 million, Digital Auto Care got Rajshahi for $1.07 million and a conglomerate led by Walton got Sylhet for $1.06 million. Dhaka was picked by Europa Group for $1.05 million and Barisal went to Alif Group for $1.01 million. Earlier this month, Flora Telecom brought Rangpur for $1.01 million to be the seventh franchise in the competition.

Read More..

BCB awaits ICC security clearance for Pakistan tour

Nazmul Hassan, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, has said the decision to tour Pakistan is still "two to four days" away after his Pakistan counterpart Zaka Ashraf claimed that the BCB had confirmed that the tour was on. The BCB is awaiting a security assessment to be conducted by the ICC before making an announcement.

"In my opinion, we can reach a final decision in the next two to four days," Hassan told BBC Bangla Service on Saturday. "We will ask the ICC to complete their security assessment for match officials and the moment they finalise their stance, we can give our confirmation.

"It [the decision to tour] will somewhat depend on the ICC's decision. We need to know their security assessment. Our security team that had gone to Pakistan said the security is adequate."

Earlier in the day, Ashraf said the BCB had communicated its willingness to tour Pakistan. "We were in constant touch with the BCB officials and they have conveyed to us that the tour is confirmed," Ashraf told AFP. "They have also got approval from their board members and we are in touch for the schedule."

Hassan said that having agreed to tour Pakistan, there was no question of backing down. "We have committed to travel to Pakistan and it is my understanding that the commitment is minuted in an ICC meeting.

"Since we have made a commitment and if we think the security is satisfactory, I think we should go. We will see the ICC's security assessment and conduct our own assessment. We will adopt every possible precaution before going.

"Bangladesh has reached a stage in world cricket where it won't be wise to not keep a commitment. It could be used as an example in future."

Bangladesh's proposed tour to Pakistan hit a snag earlier this year when, on April 19, a Dhaka court order embargoed a series between the two scheduled for the end of April.

Read More..

SLC to probe Jayawardene's comments to newspaper

Sri Lanka Cricket's Executive Committee will review the actions of captain Mahela Jayawardene and team manager Charith Senanayake, after Jayawardene said he had "lost all confidence in dealing with SLC" in a letter to the Daily Mirror newspaper. Jayawardene's letter had come after the newspaper carried a story about a request from Jayawardene to the SLC, which he had believed was confidential.

Jayawardene's request to the SLC was to have the player's allotment of the guarantee fee from the World Twenty20 shared with the team's support staff as well as Sri Lankan groundstaff and curators, whom he said had worked "closely and tirelessly with the team" during the tournament. This request was turned down by the board, which said it did not wish to "deviate from standard practice".

Details of this request and the SLC's response were obtained by the Daily Mirror, who ran a story on the matter, which also quoted SLC's treasurer Nuski Mohamed laying out the reasons as to why Jayawardene's request was denied. This public airing of an issue Jayawardene believed to be sensitive then prompted him to write a letter to the newspaper.

"As the Captain of the National Team, I am disturbed and deeply disappointed that a confidential document handed over to Sri Lanka Cricket has been published in the Daily Mirror on December 19 causing much concern, embarrassment to players and other staff members," said Jayawardene in the letter, published on December 21. He said that as a result of the story being leaked to the papers, he had "lost all confidence in dealing with SLC in the future".

SLC has since issued a release saying the "release of [Jayawardene's] views through the Manager, direct to the media is a breach of their respective contracts on the part of both the Captain and the Manager and this matter will be taken up for discussion when the Executive Committee next meets."

Jayawardene is due to step down as captain following the end of Sri Lanka's tour to Australia.

Read More..

Buttler hails 'world class' Morgan

Jos Buttler described Eoin Morgan as "world class" after the pair had combined to help England to a six-wicket win over India in the second T20 international and square the series at 1-1. With England needing three runs for victory, Morgan, England's stand-in captain, hit the last ball of the match for six to end unbeaten on 49 and complete his team's highest successful run chase in the format.

Buttler also played his part, hitting two crucial boundaries during the penultimate over, bowled by Parvinder Awana. He and Morgan added 32 runs from 13 balls to make sure England got over the line after an opening stand of 80 between Alex Hales and Michael Lumb had set them on their way, only for Yuvraj Singh to again menace the tourists during the middle overs.

"We're really pleased to get that victory. It was a world-class finish from a world-class finisher in Eoin Morgan," Buttler said.

"He was very confident and that rubbed off on me. It's a great Christmas present. It was a world-class performance from everyone and everyone's delighted to get a win."

After winning the toss, Morgan was vindicated in his decision to bowl first, despite a mixed display from England's attack. Only Tim Bresnan and James Tredwell showed the requisite control on a fast surface and a sixth-wicket partnership of 60 from 27 balls between MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina threatened to take the game out of England's reach.

"It was a hell of a game of cricket," Morgan said. "It was a great pitch to be prepared for a Twenty20 game and both sides were in the game throughout the whole 40 overs, which was great to see."

"The stats suggest, particularly at this stadium, that chasing predominantly wins, so it was part and parcel of what we looked at and we backed ourselves to chase down or even set a good score."

While India dropped two catches and leaked runs with a poor display in the field, England worked hard to back up their bowlers and Morgan praised the fielding by his young side. "It was outstanding," he said. "It's an area that we've looked at where we can be ahead of the game and save 10 or 15 runs each time, and today we were amazing."

Dhoni, who joint top-scored for India with 38, and Yuvraj both suggested that the dew had been a factor for the side bowling second. But while Dhoni was pleased with the way his side fought throughout the match, he admitted India had made their task harder by allowing England's openers to quickly get on top of the run chase.

"What was vital was the start. I don't think we started really well, we were a fraction short," Dhoni said. "As in the last game, we came back nicely, the bowlers started doing well again, but it was difficult. We gave up too many runs in the first six overs."

Read More..

Dermot Reeve replaced as Maharashtra coach

A stomach ailment has forced Dermot Reeve, the former England allrounder, to be replaced as Maharashtra's senior coach for the rest of the season. Reeve, who was unable to make it to New Delhi for Maharashtra's Ranji Trophy Group B tie against Delhi that ended on Tuesday, has been replaced by the former Maharashtra captain Surendra Bhave.

The team has slumped since Reeve took over from the Australian Shaun Williams ahead of the season. With two rounds to go in the league stage, Maharashtra are at the bottom of Group B. With eight points from six games, Maharashtra are in danger of being relegated to Group C. As a result, Reeve's tactics were being questioned not just by a section of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), but also those on the Ranji circuit. Suresh Raina, the Uttar Pradesh captain, criticised Reeve's defensive tactics during UP's tie in Pune.

However, MCA president Ajay Shirke put the sacking theory to rest. "Dermot is unwell for a while. Since it has been clear that he will not be able to be with the squad all the time, we had to make a decision since it puts a lot of pressure on the captain," Shirke told ESPNcricinfo. "As a result, we have appointed Surendra Bhave as the coach. He will take us through the rest of the season."

Bhave, the former Maharashtra opening batsman, served as a national selector for four years till last September. He had been appointed chairman of Maharashtra's senior selection panel ahead of the 2011-12 season, thereby acquainting him with the players.

"It is unfortunate to lose Dermot's services but we are determined to make the most of the remaining two games. We will do everything we can to avoid relegation," Bhave said after a long practice session at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Friday, on the eve of Maharashtra's match against an in-form Baroda.

Read More..

India seek to build on T20 boost

Match facts

December 22, 2012
Start time 1900 (1330 GMT)

Big Picture

One-off or two-match Twenty20 series are usually lacking in context, and that's even more the case on this England tour which is taking place a couple of months after the premier, global T20 tournament has ended. But, for a side beaten in a home Test series for the first time in eight years, the positives have been few, and the limited-overs games offer an opportunity to push for more. There were encouraging signs for India in Pune; they fielded with intensity and Yuvraj Singh returned to his match-winning ways.

Described as a side in transition in Tests, India looked much more at home in the shorter format as opposed to England, under a stand-in captain and a new-look team. Alex Hales stood out for England with his display of clean striking at the top of the order - he's one of three Nottinghamshire players from the first T20, each of whom have been told by their county that they will not be allowed to the play in the IPL next season.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
India: WWWLW
England LLWLL

In the spotlight

Ajinkya Rahane has been made to wait for a Test debut but has been impressive in the shorter formats. He pulled off a couple of cleanly-struck straight sixes in the first game and looked good for more before he mistimed one to mid-on. Often talked up as a future member of the Indian Test top order, Rahane's opportunities in the international arena have been very limited, just four so far this year.

Samit Patel has had more chances but hasn't had the best of years. He lost his place in the Test XI this series, though chipped in with a quick 24 in the first T20 international in Pune. He's got another T20 game to finish 2012 on a brighter note.

Team news

Jonny Bairstow has left the squad and flown back to England for "family reasons". Jade Dernbach was expensive in his three-over spell in Pune and England could consider giving Glamorgan seamer James Harris a go in his place.

England (possible): 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Luke Wright, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Samit Patel, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 James Tredwell, 9 Stuart Meaker, 10 Danny Briggs, 11 James Harris.

Should India wish to make a change, they have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Uttar Pradesh seamer, or Abhimanyu Mithun, on the bench.

India (possible): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Ajinkya Rahane 3, Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Parvinder Awana/Abhimanyu Mithun, 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 Ashok Dinda.

Stats and trivia

• India's win over England in Pune was their second-best against a non-'minnow' team in terms of balls to spare; they had won with 15 balls to spare against Pakistan in the World Twenty20.
• Yuvraj Singh's effort was the 16th instance of a player scoring 30 or more and picking up three or more wickets in the same game. He's done it twice.

Quotes

"I felt each and every bowler, apart from Yuvraj, bowled at least one bad over in the game. But I'm overall very happy with the performance."
MS Dhoni on India's win

"We got off to a great start. Alex Hales played tremendously well along with Luke Wright but in that middle period we failed to kick on and score. That positivity wasn't there in our batting and we lacked about 15 or 20."
England captain Eoin Morgan

Read More..

IPL player auction on February 3

The player auction ahead of the Indian Premier League's sixth season will be held on February 3, it was announced on Friday. The decision was conveyed to all nine franchise representatives during a workshop in Jodhpur. Later in the day, IPL chief executive Sundar Raman tweeted the news.

Though the venue for the auction is yet to be finalised, the representatives were told it would be held "in a metro". The auction, which is likely to see 37 players going under the hammer, was earlier expected to be held on January 12. However, the IPL authorities decided not to let it clash with India's one-day series against England (from January 11-27).

Meanwhile, besides briefing the representatives about the auction date and schedule, the workshop had the IPL organisers making various presentations related to player regulations, sponsors' obligations, etc. It was followed by one-on-ones with each of the nine team owners.

"It was a routine exercise, similar to what has happened during the earlier workshops," a franchise official said, preferring anonymity. "The workshop has kind of symbolised that the new season has indeed begun. It's time for everyone to start preparing."

Read More..

South Africa hammer woeful New Zealand

South Africa 87 for 2 (du Plessis 38*) beat New Zealand 86 (Kleinveldt 3-18, Peterson 2-8) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

It is early days for New Zealand in South Africa, but in the opening Twenty20 at Kingsmead there was a gulf between the teams that does not bode well for the tour. New Zealand crumbled for 86, only just avoiding a new record low in the format, before the home side cantered to their target with more than seven overs to spare.

A callow batting order, with much resting on new captain Brendon McCullum, was always likely to struggle, especially after just one warm-up match to prepare but it was still a hugely disappointing effort. South Africa, though, under a new captain and coach, looked primed for the home season with their only sour note when debutant Chris Morris picked up a leg injury.

It was obvious that Ross Taylor's absence would leave a vast hole and Martin Guptill was also ruled out of this match with a stomach bug, but the top order did not give itself much of a chance on a slightly two-paced surface. The batsmen paid the price for too much aggression too early, perhaps in an eagerness to exploit the Powerplay. Doug Bracewell, at No. 9, made an unbeaten 21 to at least lift them over the 80 they made against Pakistan in 2010.

Rory Kleinveldt struck with his first ball with one that bounced a touch more against Rob Nicol to give Quinton de Kock, the debutant wicketkeeper, his first catch. De Kock, who turned 20 earlier this week, was one of seven new caps (three for South Africa, four for New Zealand) handed out between the teams for this match as the sides looked to start afresh after a poor World Twenty20.

Dale Steyn had Peter Fulton caught at mid-on before Kleinveldt claimed the key wicket of McCullum who top-edged a hook and was well caught by Steyn running backwards from short fine-leg. After the six-over Powerplay, New Zealand were already tottering at 27 for 3 and it didn't get better although James Franklin may have received a harsh decision with suggestions the ball brushed his arm when attempting to hook.

Morris, another of the debutants, claimed his first international scalp when Corey Anderson, also in his first match, clubbed to mid-off and later added Colin Munro who at least had shown some decent shot-selection before slogging across the line. However, Morris could not complete his allocation after suffering what appeared to be a muscle strain with two balls remaining. Last week he was ruled out of the domestic one-day final with a quad injury so questions will be asked about whether he was ready for this match.

Between Morris's two wickets spin also made a mark as Robin Peterson gained from the slightly tricky nature of the surface. However, it was nowhere near as tough as the scoreline suggested. With New Zealand left to try and bat out the overs - which they failed to do - Peterson was able to collect South Africa's most economical figures in Twenty20 (2 for 8).

South Africa's chase did not start smoothly when the under-pressure Richard Levi edged Mitchell McClenaghan, a left-arm seamer to add to the plethora of that style New Zealand can call on, to first slip but captain Faf du Plessis and Henry Davids, making his debut at the age of 32, were soon into their stride.

Davids was off the mark with a ungainly hack which he edged past leg stump but also sliced a six over deep point while du Plessis drove beautifully through the off side. De Kock, who has come into the international amid much hype, began in eye-catching style by lofting his third ball straight down the ground and showed a touch of class through the off side.

To compound New Zealand's problems some of their ground fielding would have shamed a club side. It really was a horrid evening for them. Twenty20 was meant to be a format where they might, just, have pushed South Africa but on this evidence that theory appears far-fetched.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 NB/Wides New Zealand 72 13 0 27/3 7/2 (18.2) 0/2 South Africa 38 14 1 46/2 nil 0/1

Read More..

BPL yet to finalise contract with franchises

The Bangladesh Premier League continues to face issues, with the players' auction on Thursday happening with only a verbal agreement in place for the tournament, rather than any proper paperwork; there is still no official agreement signed between the BPL, Game On Sports (the event management firm) and the franchises. Apart from this, the players' salaries issue hung dimly above the auction floor as the seven franchises acquired the overseas and local cricketers of their choice.

On the eve of the auction, BPL chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha said: "We haven't had enough time to sign an official agreement with the franchisees as yet. We're going into the auction based on a verbal agreement with the franchisees."

The agreement, which, when finalised, will be for a period of six years, will contain details on the working of the tournament, TV rights and key financial issues, among other things.

"I am hopeful that we'll have the deals struck by the end of this month and I am confident that the problems that occurred last year will not be repeated," Sinha said. "As of now, we have to keep the ball rolling."

BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick told reporters on Thursday that they have set the franchises a deadline: "We have completed the Memorandum of Understanding with the franchises and sent them the drafts of the contracts. We have given them the deadline of December 22 to complete all formalities."

Towards the end of the auction, some of the team owners took turns to speak to the media. Things turned sour when Salim Chowdhury, the owner of Dhaka Gladiators, was faced with a volley of questions regarding the player payments issue. "I don't understand why the question of money keeps coming up," he said. "If a team has spent Tk10 crore (approx USD1.25ml) and is charged with not paying Tk50 lakh (approx USD60,000), why are we facing questions? Moreover, we are also participating in the auction and the tournament, so our intention is to play cricket.

"We read a lot of news about undue player payments but we have never spoken about the money we have not been paid by our sponsors."

Player payments are not the only monetary issue for Dhaka Gladiators, as a PR agency had recently sued them over unpaid payments.

Another issue on the day was the rumour going around that there was a prearrangement between the franchises regarding who would buy whom at the auction. The organisers said such an arrangement wasn't possible. "We've also heard the rumour that there has been an arrangement [among the franchises], but going by the auctions and the prices, I am certain it didn't take place," Mallick said.

Read More..

USACA might split with T20 investor, league in doubt

A proposed Twenty20 league in the USA, headed by the USA Cricket Association and New Zealand Cricket, may be on the verge of collapse after USACA president Gladstone Dainty allegedly informed stakeholders at the annual general meeting on December 15 in New York that the board's partnership with Rajiv Podar, the primary investor supplying funding to USACA through Cricket Holdings America LLC, might be coming to an end.

It is a scenario that is being denied by Podar.

"It is true we have been and we are still in active discussions with some investors," Podar wrote in an email to ESPNcricinfo.

"There have been some delays, mainly due to detailed planning and putting a proper structure and plan together. Given the magnitude of the project and our desire to have a world-class event, delays are normal. Frankly, I do not see how this is going to be a potential danger in ending the league. The company is being financed and progressing as planned."

When the CHA LLC agreement was signed in 2010, USACA was supposed to receive $2 million in annual payments from Podar in the form of advances drawn against future earnings from licensing fees secured by the proposed league. A further $3 million bonus payment was set to be disbursed to USACA from Podar by the end of 2011 in the form of share sales after securing another investor in the CHA LLC partnership to join Podar, Top Bloom, Neil Maxwell's Insite Organization, USACA and NZC.

Dainty admitted to ESPNcricinfo in November that USACA had actually been getting "about half" of the $2 million in annual payments from Podar that were originally agreed to as part of the CHA LLC deal.

According to sources, an additional investor was never secured and USACA never received the $3 million bonus despite two extensions granted to broker an agreement. The latest extension passed on December 15. Podar however was quick to dispel notions that the proposed league or his affiliation with CHA is in danger of coming to an end.

Dainty, who is also the chairman of the board of CHA in addition to being USACA president, is set to have a meeting in New York with Podar next month regarding the funding issues. If the sides part ways, it could mean that there will be no CHA T20 league unless a different investor is found to take Podar's place within the CHA structure to prevent it from collapsing.

It could also mean that USACA would have to repay Podar the millions of dollars he has already advanced them since 2010, which could pose problems for USACA since they do not have any significant revenue streams to facilitate repayment.

The money Podar extended to USACA was initially seen as a resource for funding USA development programmes. However, on-field endeavours took a back seat to legal battles in 2012 as USACA spent well into six figures this year on lawyer fees.

Consequently, USACA only organised one domestic tournament in 2012, a solitary 50-over match for the national championship on November 11 in Florida between a group of players handpicked by the USACA administration and designated as the Eastern and Western Conference. Despite multiple press releases promising to do so, USACA failed to organise a women's national tournament in 2012 and never put together a national junior tournament either despite receiving roughly $300,000 in funding from the ICC for the purpose of such development initiatives.

As of now, the CHA-organised USA Twenty20 league is scheduled to begin in June but signs that the league initiative was on shaky ground came to the surface earlier this month.

Dainty and Maxwell, the chief executive of CHA, gave conflicting accounts on the state of proposed league. Dainty told ESPNcricinfo that Associate-level players would be recruited to form the nucleus of the player talent pool while Maxwell stated in a separate interview that the league was still hoping to secure top-flight players from Full Member nations for a launch next summer with six teams playing on artificial pitches in New York.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Dainty is also at odds with Maxwell over the latter's plan to stage matches on artificial pitches, which is presently the only viable way to play matches in New York and other major metropolitan markets due to a lack of turf facilities.

Read More..