Patel set to depart from Baroda Cricket Association

Sanjay Patel, the BCCI secretary, will have to vacate his position in the Baroda Cricket Association, his home body, following a managing committee decision to bar him on technical grounds. Though Patel's position in the BCCI remains tenable, the development is a huge setback for the man who is considered as a N Srinivasan confidante.

Patel has been serving as one of the two joint-secretaries of BCA and is into his second two-year term. Even though he resumed office after a controversial election last year, the opposition faction led by former cricketers Anshuman Gaekwad and Kiran More have the majority in the present managing committee.

As a result, a resolution was moved during the last month's managing committee meeting against Patel's unlawful co-option into the managing committee for the first time way back in 2002. After seeking legal opinion on the matter, president Samarjitsinh Gaekwad upheld the decision to cancel Patel's status as an office-bearer along with three other co-opted managing committee members. Patel will be formally asked to resign from the post on Monday.

Patel became a BCA member in 2000 and a technicality was recently pointed out that the BCA regulations doesn't allow a member to be co-opted into the managing committee before three years since his membership has been approved. Patel is expected to contest the managing committee decision in the court.

The BCA decision, however, will not have any impact on Patel completing his one-year tenure as the BCCI secretary. The BCCI rules don't require an office bearer to hold a post in his home unit. According to the BCCI rules, eligibility to contest for an office-bearer's post is "(a) Past or present office bearers or vice presidents of the board. or (b) Any person who has represented a full member in at least two annual general meetings of the board as a representative of such member."

Since 2014-15, the tenure of the BCCI office-bearers will be increased to three years.

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BCB lifts ban on Mosharraf, Mahbubul

The BCB has lifted the provisional ban on Mosharraf Hossain and Mahbubul Alam, two months after the players were cleared of wrongdoing in the BPL by the investigation tribunal. Both players are looking to play in the Bangladesh Cricket League, which will restart in early May.

The decision comes three weeks after the BCB had decided not to involve the duo in the National Cricket League, as it planned to appeal against the tribunal's decision to hand the two a clean chit. But ESPNcricinfo has learned that the charges against the duo wouldn't have resulted in suspension, which supposedly prompted the BCB's legal team to suggest lifting the ban.

BCB's acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said on Sunday that there is no bar on the duo from participating in any tournament. "They are free to take part in any form of cricket," Nizamuddin said. "We have sought legal opinion and they suggested there is no problem regarding their returning to cricket."

Mosharraf and Mahbubul were among nine individuals accused by the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit for being involved in corrupt practices or failing to report corrupt approaches made to them during the BPL's second edition. The BPL tribunal, on February 26, acquitted six players and officials and only found an owner of the defending champions, Dhaka Gladiators, guilty.

Left-arm spinner Mosharraf said that he was happy with this decision of the BCB. "I am extremely relieved," Mosharraf told New Age. "I feel that the toughest phase of my life is just over. I am expecting to play for Walton Central Zone in the BCL. I was practicing and making every effort, still I could not play.

"It was really hard. At times the future looked very bleak, making me wonder what is really in store for me. I am hoping to go to England after the BCL and see whether I can find a team in Minor County. Though their season has started, still I will try to get somewhere."

Pace bowler Mahbubul was also satisfied with the decision. "I cannot explain through words how I am feeling. For the last one year it was quite hard for me because of the mental pressure that I went through. Socially it was really hard, as these days cricket is followed by a lot of people.

"I don't know about my immediate future as there are only a few games left in the BCL. I feel that probably I will be back with the Dhaka Premier League."

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Surrey waste early opportunity

Hampshire 153 for 2 (Adams 56*) v Surrey
Scorecard

To say that not much has gone to script for Surrey over the last few years is a bit like suggesting England were a touch off their game in Australia last winter. But while the national side might start to put matters right this summer, there is a feeling Surrey may have to experience a few more lows before the good times roll again.

Thanks to morning rain delaying start of play by four hours and then returning for a time after tea to lop off another eight overs, this match is still in its early stages. Already, though, the visitors are some way short of where they hoped to be after Graeme Smith won what looked a useful toss and understandably chose to bowl.

Wickets were already tumbling elsewhere in the land and Smith hoped that a green-tinged pitch, cloud cover and his potent-looking pace attack would combine to prove a real handful for second division pace-setters Hampshire. Instead, the hosts built a promising platform with first Michael Carberry and then Jimmy Adams to the fore.

Carberry's days as an England opener may have ended - that seems to be the widely held belief, anyway - following his small part in England's Ashes humiliation, but the 33-year-old will be cherished by Hampshire supporters for as long as wants to play.

Here, he did most of the early scoring while fellow left-hander Adams took stock at the other end. And, probably to Smith's dismay, there were a few too many opportunities for Carberry to execute his shots after Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker had initially failed to make either opener play quite enough against the new ball.

Even with Chris Tremlett unable to face his old county because of a back injury, Surrey had enough firepower in the locker with Matt Dunn, who took a five-for against Essex last weekend, coming on first change. But this time he released the pressure valve, instead of tightening it, and Hampshire were up and away.

Dunn, strongly built, is a fine prospect - one of eight members of this team to have come through Surrey's academy. But the 21-year-old needs to be nurtured - and anyone expecting him, or any member of Surrey's crop of talented juniors, to be a match-winner, game in and game out, should prepare for a nasty shock.

Both Dunn and Tom Curran - even younger, at 19 - were deposited for sixes by Carberry, who pulled and cut them with the greatest of glee as Hampshire, far from being put into difficulty, reached 66 at four an over.

Curran it was, though, who stopped Carberry in his tracks by finding an outside edge that Smith snaffled low at first slip despite the chance brushing the glove of diving keeper Steven Davies on its way to Surrey's captain.

A second wicket should have come Curran's way with Liam Dawson being dropped by Davies - two hands away to his right. That missed opportunity mattered little with Dawson being pinned lbw by Meaker without addition but Hampshire were in no mood to surrender their early advantage.

Having already passed 50 twice in six innings this season, Adams made it three in seven following the evening interruption and walked away a happy captain, unbeaten on 56 out of 153 for 2. Smith, on the other hand, wandered off with a bit to ponder.

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Trescothick digs deep to gladden Somerset

Somerset 83 for 3 v Sussex
Scorecard

Marcus Trescothick has been the mainstay of Somerset cricket for so long that any sign that he is beginning to rediscover some of his old poise is bound to quicken West Country hearts. There were enough Trescothick clumps to record on an abbreviated first day at Hove, interspersed in an innings of staunch resistance, to encourage the belief that the old mastery can yet return and provide the sort of finish he deserves as the shadows lengthen on a grand career.

Sussex's seam attack has possessed an early-season potency that has carried them to the top of Division One, their first two matches won, and once the grouchy South Coast skies had finally relented, 32 overs represented a daunting proposition for Somerset: more than enough time, as events elsewhere in the country indicated, for carnage to ensue.

When Chris Jordan, in turquoise-backed boots, twinkled in with a loosener which may not be bettered all season, Chris Jones edging his first ball to the wicketkeeper, that impression was heightened, but their line was astray too often. It was only in the nick of time that Sussex made further inroads after Trescothick and Nick Compton gradually asserted themselves with impressive deliberation.

Compton was 14 balls away from seeing out the day when he became the second batsman to be caught at the wicket, this time off Steve Magoffin. Sussex looked at their most dangerous when Jordan had the slope in his favour in his second spell. He made several deliveries bounce steeply and, from one of them, the nightwatchman Jamie Overton fell to a cracking reaction catch at second slip, low to his left, by Mike Yardy.

The Sussex keeper, incidentally, remains Ben Brown as Matt Prior's Achilles problems are yet to relent. A season in which he must have yearned to make heavy runs to re-establish himself in the England side has so far deepened concerns about his longevity at international level.

Prior habitually credits cycling with assisting his recovery, but this time his ailment has been so troublesome that he might have to put in enough miles to have an outside chance of a Tour de France spot when the tour comes to Yorkshire later this summer.

Trescothick stood firm to the close. Somerset's hopes must be that when he finally retires, his 2013 Championship season will be seen as an aberration: an average of 28 and, more strikingly, no Championship century for the first time since 1998, a shortfall which encouraged much chat about whether he should reduce the burden by relinquishing the captaincy. The player himself saw no burden and remains, a player whose big presence on the county circuit continues to be prized by the crowds and whose wicket is still valued by the professionals he pits himself against.

Never particularly fleet of foot, he took his first run from a pushed drive a little slowly - setting off like a second-hand tractor on a damp morning. There are many farmers in Somerset who will tell you that a second-hand tractor is not to be trusted, but this particular variety has proved its serviceability more than most.

More than 20 overs elapsed before Trescothick's first belligerent moment - an overpitched delivery from James Anyon which he barndoored through cover. The old boy clearly got a taste for it and so nearly got out as he failed to connect with an attempted repeat against a wider delivery. But his authority had been announced and when Anyon went in search of a similar dismissal in his next over Trescothick deposited him for three boundaries in a row. A sumptuous straight drive near the close was the highlight. Another tough examination lies ahead.

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Jurgensen's Bangladesh future uncertain

Shane Jurgensen, the Bangladesh head coach, faces an uncertain future with some BCB directors wanting a new man with international experience to take charge of the team ahead of the World Cup as the fallout from Bangladesh's woeful World T20 campaign continues. However, the situation could yet be taken out of the BCB's hands with Jurgensen saying he is considering his own future.

It is far from a unanimous view of the board that a new coach is required, but BCB sources have told ESPNcricinfo that the search is on for a coach with a batting background. With less than a year before a major tournament, the appointment must be made by mid-June when Bangladesh take on India in three ODIs. The BCB are also exploring short-term specialised consultants from among the recent crop of retired international players.

"Some of the directors are trying to find a head coach who is more batting oriented," the source said. "We are trying to find a high-profile coach but they are hard to find in this market. We are targeting the 2015 World Cup, so we must have one by June.

"The board would want to make changes after a debacle. It is almost like a rule around the world. We need the right people in place, and that could be consultants who will remedy technical and mental blocks. For the time being, [Shane Jurgensen] will probably stay because we are leaning towards finding more specialists, like former international stars to help us in specific areas."

The rumour mill began whirring last month when BCB president Nazmul Hassan said he foresaw "many changes" in the national team, but he was not specific. The statement was made the day after Bangladesh lost to the West Indies in the Super 10s of the World T20. There were three further losses which fuelled the notion that it would be the coaches who would have their contracts cut short.

In subsequent press briefings, Hassan has eluded that the current set-up may be kept since they have been unable to find suitable replacements all of which has left Jurgensen feeling uneasy

"It [the situation] is not ideal and I am considering my own position at the moment," Jurgensen told ESPNcricinfo. "However I feel I have been subject to this situation ever since I have been given the honour of being the head coach. Having not played Test cricket, I knew I had to prove myself as a team coach and success along with that was important.

"I have had to work extremely hard and adapt to the conditions and circumstances given to us at times. I'd like to think that this has been a huge positive for all players, support staff and myself involved that we have had success despite the circumstances."

Bangladesh's difficult period started in January when they were crushed by Sri Lanka in the first Test, before bouncing back with a drawn game in Chittagong. They lost the T20 and ODI series, albeit through narrow defeats. The Asia Cup brought four defeats, including one to Afghanistan, while their World T20 campaign crumbled when they were shocked by Hong Kong in the first round.

Jurgensen had been asked to provide a report into the performances but he felt that a lack of T20s leading up to the tournament was always going to hold Bangladesh back. In the period between the end of the 2012 World T20 and the start of the 2014 tournament, Bangladesh played seven T20s, winning one. Only India and Zimbabwe of the Full Member nations played fewer matches.

"I gave my views in an extensive report detailing the reasons why for our recent performances," he said. "There are very valid reasons for the World T20 performance. One is purely the lesser number of T20s played before the tournament.

"This was raised as well as other concerns early last year that in 2013 we were only playing four T20 matches and usually all our T20 matches are held at the end of series when the team is decimated with injuries. However there were still quite a few positives from the World T20."

Jurgensen became full-time coach in February 2013 after doing the interim job quite successfully for one series, against West Indies, in 2012. He was given a two-year contract, up to the 2015 World Cup alongside batting and fielding coach Corey Richards, trainer David Dwyer and physio Vibhav Singh.

While Dwyer tendered his resignation last week, the focus has remained on Jurgensen and Richards, with the BCB directors set to on Monday.

What has been most surprising, however, has been the BCB's sudden change in tone with long-term appointments. When Jurgensen was given the full-time job the idea was to promote someone from within the system, as he was a bowling coach to begin with, and show how a lower-profile coach can grow into the main role. It was also important to break the thinking that only those with a batting background can be head coach in Bangladesh.

But some within the BCB have felt, particularly after the World T20 debacle, that long-term appointments are not the best way forward.

"Shane Jurgensen joined as bowling coach, but we only considered him to be head coach in 2012. We had initially wanted him until World T20, but we were convinced that he should get a longer term [deal] until the 2015 World Cup. However, we are not sure if he has delivered as a coach," said a BCB official.

"I don't see the difference between short and long-term in appointing captain or coach. Yes, it ensures job security if we make it long-term but we have to ask the question: what is he giving us? I don't think we are getting the right service."

Between becoming the interim coach until the start of the Sri Lanka series in January this year, Jurgensen was in charge of a Test win against Zimbabwe, three drawn games and four losses. In T20s, Bangladesh had won one out of five T20s while in ODIs, their strongest suit, they had won eight out of 14 games.

In 2014, however, Bangladesh have lost all seven ODIs and won just two out of nine T20s. This flip in form has made the BCB uncomfortable and is leaving some to consider more changes. Whether it translates to an easier environment for the new coach or for Jurgensen, should he stay in the job, remains to be seen.

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Stragglers seek to catch up

Match facts

Sunday, April 27, 2014
Start time 1430 local (1030 GMT, 1600 IST)

Agarkar: Duminy batting as well as Maxwell

The big picture

The last time Mumbai Indians found themselves in a situation like this, with successive losses at the start of an IPL, was in 2008.

While their frontline bowlers have struggled for wickets, in spite of looking good in patches, it's the batting that's quickly becoming their biggest worry. Their highest score in three games so far was 141, but should they want to make changes, they risk exposing an under-strength batting bench. The only high point of their loss to Chennai Super Kings was Corey Anderson's promotion to No. 3 - it allowed the New Zealand allrounder some time at the crease and he looked to be settling well as the innings wore on.

Mumbai's opponents on Sunday, Delhi Daredevils, are facing starting troubles of their own in spite of a complete revamp of the squad after last year's drubbing. Their problem of poor starts was resolved to some extent by the pair of Quinton de Kock and M Vijay, but they have been dragged down by death bowling (exacerbated by the injury to Nathan Coulter-Nile) and the failure of their spinners. Rahul Sharma was sidelined after the first game and Shahbaaz Nadeem has already given away 114 runs at an economy rate of 9. At this stage, the best spinner in the Daredevils line-up is JP Duminy.

Players to watch

Mumbai Indians will wonder how long they ought to persist with their combination of foreign batsmen and whether they should bring in a like-for-like replacement for Michael Hussey with Ben Dunk or bolster the bowling with either Krishmar Santokie or Josh Hazlewood. At this point, Dunk may be a better option. The left-handed batsman had a breakout season in the recent Big Bash League, scoring 395 runs in 10 games to finish as the highest run-getter in the league. Moreover, a large chunk of those runs came while opening the batting for Hobart Hurricanes.

Kevin Pietersen said that one of the reasons for the four-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad was a sluggish start in the first six overs. In a tall chase a couple of quiet overs can change the game but Daredevils must also consider how they use JP Duminy who has shown form in this IPL. A floating role in the middle order may be the way to go for Daredevils until Pietersen and Dinesh Karthik find form and consistency.

Stats and trivia

• Daredevils batsmen have scored the most ducks in the IPL - 70. Mumbai Indians are a close second on 65.
• 6-6: The record in matches between Mumbai and Daredevils
• Mumbai's best win in terms of runs has come against Daredevils, after they defeated them by 98 runs in 2010.

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Kings XI Punjab keep winning

Agarkar: Indian batsmen still KKR's issue

Kings XI Punjab 132 for 9 (Sehwag 37, Chawla 3-19, Narine 3-24) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 109 (Suryakumar 34, Sandeep 3-21) by 23 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Glenn Maxwell and David Miller failed for the first time this season, but that didn't prevent Kings XI Punjab from extending their winning streak to four this year, and seven overall. Sandeep Sharma had the new ball curling around, Akshar Patel showed why he is the most economical left-arm spinner in the tournament, and Rishi Dhawan also kept it tight before the spearhead Mitchell Johnson finished off the job.

It wasn't a vintage game of Twenty20 cricket, as none of the batsmen could time the ball on a surface on which the heavyweight batting line-up of Royal Challengers Bangalore had been shot out for 70 in the afternoon.

On a green track with plenty of cracks in it, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir had hoped it would be easier to bat under lights, but his decision to bowl first backfired as the ball jagged around after sunset. Set a seemingly straightforward target of 133, Knight Riders lost wickets regularly and, though Suryakumar Yadav briefly threatened to take the game close, wound up well short.

The pillars of the Knight Riders squad when the teams were revamped in 2011, Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan, continued to have miserable seasons. Gambhir pushed himself down to No. 3 after three zeroes in a row, but nearly had a golden duck again, only for Sandeep to put down a difficult, diving return catch. There was further relief for Gambhir as he got a single to fine leg to score his first run of the tournament, but minutes later he handed a catch to short extra cover.

If Gambhir's IPL troubles have been confined to this season, Yusuf has struggled to recapture the heights of the first cycle of the tournament. Once again he looked woefully out of touch, lbw for 3 after being bringing his bat down late on a Rishi Dhawan delivery. He rarely bowls these days and isn't the quickest in the field either, all of which combine to put his place under serious scrutiny.

Knight Riders openers couldn't get any momentum against Sandeep and Johnson, with both dismissed for single-digit scores. Chris Lynn couldn't recreate the form that yielded a quickfire 45 in his first game of the season earlier this week, and Knight Riders' chances were nearly extinguished once Robin Uthappa was run out by a precise throw from George Bailey at cover in the 13th over. Knight Riders were 62 for 6, looking for a miracle. It didn't arrive.

They wouldn't have expected to be in that position after the performance of their bowlers. Knight Riders' decision to bring in Piyush Chawla for Vinay Kumar, who bowled them to a last-over win two days earlier, paid off as Chawla bamboozled Virender Sehwag with a googly, and benefited from the long boundaries in Abu Dhabi by getting big guns Miller and Bailey caught in the deep.

Chawla's intervention came after some hostile new-ball bowling from Morne Morkel, who tormented the Indians in the top order with his 145-plus kmph deliveries, and got the prized scalp of Maxwell with a legstump yorker. Kings XI collapsed from 101 for 4 to 132 for 9 against the wiles of Chawla and Sunil Narine, who took three in an over. It didn't matter, though, as Knight Riders' batting woes continued.

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Karn hopes to reprise last year's form

Karn Sharma, the Sunrisers Hyderabad legspinner, hopes to draw inspiration from his last year's impressive outings against Chennai Super Kings to help his team register their maiden victory over the most successful IPL team.

"I could come up with memorable performances in both those games - once with the ball and then with the bat, but we ended up on the losing side. I hope I can not just continue the good work but also lead the side to a win on Sunday," Sharma, the priciest uncapped domestic player of the 2014 Pepsi Indian Premier League, told ESPNcricinfo.

In 2013, with the formidable Super Kings chasing 160 runs, Sharma's economical spell of 4-1-8-0 stretched the batsmen to the hilt before they eventually overhauled the target with two balls to spare. In the return leg, once Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey had batted the Sunrisers out of the game with the Super Kings piling on 223, the Sunrisers top-order collapsed. It was Sharma who then scored an unbeaten 39 off 33 balls, his best in the IPL, to lend some respectability to the Sunrisers batting card.

Sharma, whose batting prowess has hardly come to the fore, gave a glimpse of his skill with bat when he hooked Mitchell Johnson for a six in the match against Kings XI Punjab earlier this season. Asked about the shot, Sharma said, "It was good I timed the shot. Didn't premeditate it, but it just came off. Let's hope I can continue doing good whenever I get an opportunity with the bat."

During the player auction in February, the Sunrisers management revamped their batting unit, but managed to retain their last year's successful bowling attack. The versatile bowling attack led by Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra includes six regular bowlers, thus putting lots of pressure on Sharma when he bowls his opening over.

"I know I can never take it for granted that I will get my full quota of four overs," he said. "I have to earn it, so the first over that I bowl becomes crucial. It also depends on the situation, sometimes I have to bowl when the fielding restrictions are on while sometimes I get to bowl the first over during middle overs. But the first over is quite crucial as far as my role with the ball is concerned."

The new-look Sunrisers unit, with the addition of Australia's successful opening duo of Aaron Finch and David Warner, took time to settle in. It took them their third game to register their maiden victory of the season. Even while defending 184 against Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers faced some anxious moments before hanging in for a four-run win.

"They were always going hard at us, but even when they required 20 runs off the last over, we were confident of winning the game. We all know it's Twenty20 and anything can happen, but the manner in which we had kept them in check, we were quite confident of winning it," Sharma said. "We had to wait for the first win for a while, but it came just in time. It was a much-needed victory before facing possibly the toughest opponents in IPL. Let's hope we can continue in the same vein and end up on the winning side against CSK."

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Newell replaces Giles as selector

Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire's director of cricket, is to succeed Ashley Giles as a member of the England selection panel. Giles was overlooked for the England head coach's position, losing his job in charge of the limited-overs teams as a result, and he has now decided he will no longer continue as a selector.

Giles had been a selector since 2008, at first combining the role with being Warwickshire's director of cricket. He was made England's limited-overs coach at the end of 2012, with Andy Flower focusing on the Test team, but lost out to Peter Moores during the ECB's recruitment process to appoint a successor to Flower who would regain control across all three formats.

Newell, who was also interviewed for the head coach's position, he will join the selection panel with immediate effect, working alongside James Whitaker, Angus Fraser and Moores. Like Fraser, who is Middlesex's director of cricket, and Giles before him, Newell will retain his county role.

"Ashley Giles has informed ECB today that he intends to step down from the panel and I would like to thank him for all his hard work and dedication to the England cause over the past six years both as a selector, and more recently as our limited-overs coach," Whitaker said.

"We welcome Mick to the panel and his passion, cricketing knowledge and in-depth understanding of our county game will be invaluable as we seek to identify potential international talent and develop outstanding England teams across all three formats of the game."

Newell is the longest-serving coach on the county circuit, having been in charge at Trent Bridge since 2002. He has twice led Nottinghamshire to the Championship title and last season saw his team lift the YB40 trophy at Lord's. Newell has also coached the England Lions and England U-19 teams, and in 2012 he was linked with the Bangladesh job, despite never having played international cricket.

Newell said: "It's a tremendous privilege and a great honour to be invited to join the England selection panel and I am really looking forward to working more closely with James, Peter and Angus. I would also like to thank Nottinghamshire CCC for their support in allowing me to take on this role and play a part in shaping the future direction of the England team."

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Dwyer resigns as Bangladesh trainer

Bangladesh trainer David Dwyer has stepped down from his position after 14 months on the job. Akram Khan, the BCB's Cricket Operations Committee Chairman, confirmed the receipt of the resignation letter two days ago.

Dwyer is understood to have asked for immediate release. He joined Bangladesh as the head of strength and conditioning in February last year, a week before the team left on a tour of Sri Lanka. Like the rest of the coaching staff, Dwyer's contract was due to expire after the 2015 World Cup.

"He has done a great job for the Bangladesh team," Akram said. "It is up to the board to accept his resignation, but I think we have to start looking for a new trainer immediately. We have a lot of cricket ahead."

Bangladesh's next assignment is a three-match ODI series against India in mid-June. The tour schedule, however, hasn't been confirmed.

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