Newby, Agathangelou leave Lancashire

Oliver Newby and Andrea Agathangelou have been released by Lancashire as the club continues their reshaping following relegation.

The confirmation that both players would not be retained came shortly after Ashley Giles was appointed the new head coach.

Pace bowler Newby, 30, has been with the club 12 years but, despite showing promise, failed to secure a regular first-team place and spent time out on loan in recent seasons. In 53 first-class matches he has taken 133 wickets at 32.55.

Agathangelou, born in South Africa and with a Cypriot father, joined Lancashire on a scholarship programme when he was 20. He played six Championship matches in the 2014 season but averaged just 16.81.

Glen Chapple, who will be Giles' assistant next year although has kept himself available to play if required, said: "Oliver has not been able to hold down a regular spot in the side, and I hope there is an opportunity for him to do so elsewhere.

"Andrea is an extremely talented cricketer with a good attitude - and, given the right opportunity, he could reach his true potential.''

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Modi rival makes move to take over RCA

Amin Pathan, who allegedly ousted Lalit Modi as the Rajasthan Cricket Association president on Saturday, has been allowed to enter the RCA office with his his colleagues and supporters on Sunday. After claiming to have taken over as acting president, it is understood that Pathan's team has started proceedings to get clearance from the state government and then try and end the impasse with the BCCI.

The new development in the BCCI-RCA standoff will not impact the selection procedure that will begin in the coming week. The Jaipur High Court order on October 1 made it clear that once the state teams were selected, they would continue until the end of the season even if the BCCI and RCA reach a settlement. "If the team has already been selected pursuant to the arrangement aforesaid, the participation of the said team should continue irrespective of the event of settlement of dispute between the BCCI and RCA or any court order," the order stated.

When Pathan and his supporters had tried to enter the RCA premises on Saturday evening they were prevented by the police because they did not have the requisite documentation. On Sunday afternoon, after Pathan's aides submitted letters of all 23 district representatives supporting the resolution to remove Modi, along with deputy president Mehmood Abdi, secretary Sumendra Tiwary and treasurer Pawan Goyal, the police allowed them to enter the office in the evening.

It is understood the new office bearers, including Pathan, acting secretary Shakti Singh and acting treasurer Mohammad Iqbal, then met with some of their colleagues to chalk out the future course of action. Pathan's lobby is believed to have written to JC Mohanty, principal sports secretary of Rajasthan's state government, requesting him to approve the resolution to replace the RCA governing body. Since the RCA is governed by the Rajasthan Sports Act, every administrative change has to be ratified by the state government.

The Pathan group is also believed to have sought an appointment with BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel at the earliest. Since Patel was in Dubai over the weekend to attend ICC meetings, his response is expected over the next couple of days.

Modi's group remained tightlipped about their plan of action. If the state government allows the Pathan group to take over, the associates of the former IPL chairman are expected to move court, requesting it to reinstate an elected body.

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Misbah sat out voluntarily - PCB chief

The PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has said Misbah-ul-Haq had opted out of the third ODI against Australia in Abu Dhabi on his own accord, and that the board had left it up to him whether he wanted to remain captain until the 2015 World Cup.

"Misbah ul Haq decided that he needed a break from the rather depressing scores he has had in SL as well as here," Shaharyar said in Abu Dhabi. "The management also agreed that if he wants to sit this out, it is his own decision. No one coerced him into doing this. He himself decided that this is the right time for him to take a break and see if he can recover in the Tests."

Misbah has averaged only 22.50 in ten ODIs in 2014 and his last five scores before he sat out were 13, 36, 18, 0, 15. The news of Misbah skipping the final ODI broke after the team meeting on the eve of the match and sparked speculation that the team management had forced him to step down and allow a younger player an opportunity, because Australia had already won the series 2-0.

"He is a human being, he is depressed at the fact that he hasn't been scoring and when you don't score and you are a skipper the whole team suffers," Shaharyar said. "So what I found very noble on his part is that he said, 'The day I get an idea that the team is suffering because of me, then I will say myself, let me go. But I have hopes right now that I can recover from this, and show my mettle. Every batsman comes to this.'"

In the last year, the PCB has asserted on various occasions that Misbah will remain the ODI captain until the 2015 World Cup, but that hasn't prevented a sense of uncertainty around his position. There has been talk of Shahid Afridi being a contender for the captaincy.

"I or the management have not influenced Misbah to step down," Shaharyar said. "He has done it on his own, he is determined to return. I had a half hour chat with him. He says if I am back to form I would like to lead in the World Cup. I said, 'We appointed you till the World Cup.' We were criticised for it and we will be now even more as he has not scored runs.

"But we remain totally firm that we have put our bandwagon behind him and he will lead. If you yourself think your leadership will not deliver, then it is up to you. We will not push you. This is the view of all three of us - Waqar [Younis, coach] and Moin [Khan, chief selector], and I have told Misbah this. So this is where we stand. He is determined to put things right, if he does he is back. We have considered other names of course as a contingency but it is up to him."

Moin Khan also said Afridi was just a stand-in captain in the third ODI against Australia. "For the remainder of the series, as appointed by the chairman, Misbah remains the captain," he said. "Misbah wanted to rest himself from the dead-rubber against Australia and Afridi was a stand-in captain for this game only."

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Pakistan dial down the extras

3 Number of times Australia have whitewashed Pakistan in an ODI series of three or more matches. Australia have now won five such ODI series while Pakistan have only won two.

1 Number of runs by which Australia won this game, their narrowest win against Pakistan. Australia have won six ODIs by this margin, India being the only team that they have beaten twice.

20 In the last 20 years there have been only three instances of Australia scoring fewer than 231 runs after batting all 50 overs against Pakistan.

5 Number of times Pakistan have bowled no wides or no-balls in an innings of 40-plus overs. They bowled one wide and one no-ball in this game. The five extras that they conceded are their fourth lowest for an innings of 40-plus overs.

9 Number of runs Australia scored during the batting Powerplay, between the 36th and 40th overs. Since the latest Powerplay rule change in October 2012, this aggregate is the second lowest between the 36th and 40th overs of an innings (not necessarily the Powerplay). The fewest runs scored in this period is seven, by Kenya against Afghanistan in October 2013.

3 Number of times in the last three years that Pakistan's openers have posted back-to-back 50-plus stands against a top-eight team. All of these have been in the UAE.

42 Number of innings Shahid Afridi needed to score his first 1000 runs in ODI cricket, at an average of 25.15. In his last 42 innings, Afridi has scored 666 runs at an average of 19.02.

2 Number of times Pakistan have lost to Australia despite four of their top five batsmen making 25-plus scores. The last time they did this was in 2012, when also they lost.

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Karunaratne ton powers Sri Lanka A

Sri Lanka A 261 for 2 (Karunaratne 139, Thirimanne 85*) vs West Indies A
Scorecard

Dimuth Karunaratne's 18th first-class century lifted Sri Lanka A to a strong position at the end of the first day against West Indies A in Hambantota. At stumps, the hosts were 261 for 2, with Lahiru Thirimanne unbeaten on 85.

Choosing to bat, Sri Lanka A were dealt an early blow when their captain Upul Tharanga was caught behind off seamer Shannon Gabriel in the fifth over. Tharanga's dismissal brought Thirimanne to the crease, who combined with Karunaratne for a mammoth second-wicket association which yielded 217 runs.

Karunaratne took a while to get going, and at one stage even went 41 deliveries without a four. He and Thirimanne, however, kept rotating the strike with regular singles, as eight West Indies A bowlers were used on a frustrating day for the visitors. Karunaratne stroked 14 fours to make his way to 139, while Thirimanne's knock included eight fours.

The pair batted for more than 74 overs before Karunaratne was caught behind off Carlos Brathwaite towards the end of the day.

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KP has tarnished golden era - Cook

Alastair Cook said Kevin Pietersen's revelations have tarnished the most successful era in English cricket and dismissed claims that there was a bullying culture inside the dressing room.

Speaking for the first time about Pietersen's allegations, Cook told the BBC: "It's been a really sad week for cricket. After talking to quite a few of my team-mates on the England team, we have to draw a line under it at some stage and this is a good time to do that.

"I am very proud of that era I have played in; to win three Ashes, to become the best side in the world; to play with some great players. I really only have fond memories of it.

"I am incredibly proud to have contributed in that period. To play under Andrew Strauss, to have played under Andy Flower as coach, I have only got respect for these guys. I do believe that era has been tarnished, and I am sad about that.

"I have known Andy since the Essex dressing room, when he took me under his wing as a player. Obviously, your relationship changes as a head coach and captain and I only have respect for him as a man, and as a coach. He was an amazing coach for our side. Chatting to some of the guys about it, they feel the same. A lot of the success was down to his drive and determination to make us a tough England side."

In his autobiography published this week Pietersen claimed a bullying culture existed led by coach Andy Flower - something Cook simply does not recognise.

"International cricket is a tough place and, as a team, you're striving for excellence at all times. Certainly at some stages those frustrations boiled over more than they should have done, but that was only people who were desperate to succeed and wanting to know the other 10 blokes around them were committed 100% to it also.

"Did it overstep the mark a couple of times? Possibly, but we addressed those issues. That's what happens in teams, but it certainly wasn't a bullying environment as such."

Pietersen was most critical of wicketkeeper Matt Prior, describing him as "backstabbing" and "bad for the environment" of the England team. Cook was shocked at such suggestions.

"It's sad that he could be remembered like that. He's put everything in to that England shirt and can be incredibly proud.

"Matty is a great man and has been a fantastic servant to English cricket," he said. "He has to be remembered as a guy who put his heart and soul on the line for England. The team was all that mattered to him."

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Smith's low high score and the Kotla fortress

A stats review at the end of the second ODI between India and West Indies in Delhi

12.3 West Indies' win percentage when chasing 250-plus in ODIs over the last ten years. The only Full Member nation with a worse record is Zimbabwe, who have a marginally lower win percentage of 11.1. West Indies have lost 48 out of 57 such matches in this period. India have the best record under such circumstances, winning 39 out of 87 matches, for a win percentage of 44.8.

9 Number of years since India have lost an ODI at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. India have played eight ODIs here in this period, and have won all six of the completed games.The last ODI India lost here was to Pakistan in April 2005.

2 Number of times all of India's middle order batsmen, i.e. Nos. 4, 5 and 6, have made a 50-plus score in the same game. The batsmen involved on both occasions were Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. They made 62, 51* & 62 respectively against West Indies, and 68, 107 and 54 against Sri Lanka in 2009.

102 Number of ODI wickets Jerome Taylor has taken. He started the day on 99 wickets and picked up 3 for 54 in Delhi. He became the 15th West Indies bowler and 122nd overall to take 100 or more ODI wickets.

5 Number of times India have batted first after winning the toss since the start of 2013. India won the toss 32 times in this period, and chose to bowl 27 times.

55.4 Average partnership runs between Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina in ODIs. This is the fourth best for any India pair who have played together on at least 30 occasions. Topping this list are Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, who average 60.6 together.

1 Number of times Kieron Pollard has batted higher than No. 4 in ODIs - this was the first. His strike-rate of 80 was his fourth lowest for an innings of 40 or more.

97 Dwayne Smith's score in Delhi, his highest in List A cricket. His previous highest was 96 against Windward Islands in 2005. Previously, Smith's highest score in ODIs was 68. He had played 92 matches and scored 1318 runs at an average of 17.47, including only six fifties.

105 Number of runs scored by Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina for the fourth wicket. This is India's only 100-plus stand for the fourth wicket in more than two years. The last such partnership was between Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary against Sri Lanka in August 2012.

19 Number of West Indies players who have made 2000-plus ODI runs - Pollard became the latest. Eight of these 19 players have also taken 40-plus wickets, including Pollard.

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Lalit Modi's status as RCA chief in doubt

'Modi not facing a very serious challenge' - Mehmood Abdi

There is confusion over Lalit Modi's status as president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, with reports of him being voted out by the association's members coming in, even while RCA deputy-president Mehmood Abdi rubbished claims of his ouster.

RCA and BCCI officials met in Jaipur on Saturday to discuss the Rajasthan XI team selection as per the Rajasthan High Court directive. Following that meeting, an anti-Modi lobby, headed by RCA vice-president Amin Pathan, claimed to have met separately and voted Modi out of the RCA. However, Modi aide Abdi said the RCA was fully behind him as the president.

Pathan said the supposed move to remove Modi was taken with a view to break the banned association's impasse with the BCCI. "When we elected Lalit Modi, we were told the RCA wouldn't face any problem. We didn't know it would lead to a ban from the BCCI and our players would suffer," Pathan said. "All these hassles in fielding our teams in different tournaments are not acceptable. We have elected a new body and will write to the BCCI to accept us."

Soon after, Abdi told ESPNcricinfo: "These are all disgruntled elements, which are working for the interests that are anti-RCA. The entire association is behind Mr Lalit Modi and there is no change in his status." Later, he added in a statement, "The so-called meeting of the RCA executive committee in Jaipur was wholly unauthorised and illegal. Moreover, there was no notice of any such meeting and it was organised in a very clandestine manner away from the RCA office. All those claiming to be members of the executive committee attending that meeting were fake identities.Strict disciplinary action will be taken against all those found involved in this mischief."

Modi, speaking to PTI, put the "revolt" down to team-selection issues. "Some disgruntled members probably didn't get their way in selection of boys and thus revolted. Not worried about such vested people," Modi said. "No interference in selection has always been my mantra - if someone wants to revolt, most welcome. But on my watch, no interference or blackmailing will be allowed."

Aside from Modi, Pathan, one of the association's six vice-presidents, also claimed to have ousted Abdi and treasurer Pawan Goyal in an extraordinary general meeting. Pathan also announced himself as the acting president. On the other hand, Abdi said neither the president nor the secretary Sumendra Tiwary had convened a general body meeting.

The BCCI members did not take any part in the second meeting. In the first meeting, which dealt with the Rajasthan teams' selection, BCCI general manager, game development, Ratnakar Shetty met with Abdi, Tiwary and other RCA representatives to start the selection procedure as per court directive. Abdi and the other RCA representatives handed over some of the requisite documents to start the selection procedure to Shetty and court-appointed coordinator Taposh Chatterjee. It was then decided that the junior selection trials will be held in the coming week. The date of senior selection trials will be decided later.

The RCA was suspended in May by the BCCI after former IPL chairman Modi, who was expelled by the BCCI last year for "committing acts of serious misconduct and indiscipline", was elected the state association's president. The BCCI suspended it for allowing a banned individual to be a part of its affairs, and, later, omitted the various teams representing Rajasthan from its domestic programme for the upcoming season.

That left the players anxious and confused as to what their future holds, and eventually a petition was filed in the in the Rajasthan High Court on behalf of 75 Rajasthan cricketers, asking that they not be made to suffer "only for one reason, which is the grudge between BCCI and RCA". Subsequently, the court passed an interim order appointing selection committees to pick teams to represent the state in various BCCI domestic tournaments in 2014-15, but not under the usual banner of the RCA. While that came as a boost for the players, the impasse between the BCCI and the RCA continued.

Pathan had previously been a Modi loyalist. The secretary of the Kota District Cricket Association, he had even accompanied Abdi when Modi's nomination papers were filed for the RCA election in November.

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Massiah returns as USA captain

Steve Massiah has been re-installed as USA captain, more than a year after giving up the position, and will lead the team in the forthcoming ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Malaysia.

Massiah, 35, had served as captain for seven years, from August 2006 to September 2013, before stepping down last year ahead of the ICC World T20 Qualifier in the UAE. He had stated in a press release at the time that the move was designed to let him focus on his batting.

A month later, Massiah withdrew from the squad for the ICC World T20 Qualifier and it later emerged that he may have had a rift with the team management. However, Massiah's role as one of the more influential people in US cricket was restored over the past month. According to sources, he had a prominent say in the composition of the squad picked to go to Malaysia for the WCL Division Three later this month.

USACA also announced this week that Robin Singh had been retained to coach the team on tour. Although Singh has a strong coaching record in domestic Twenty20 competitions, most recently as coach of the Caribbean Premier League 2014 champions Barbados Tridents, his record as coach with the USA national team has been underwhelming in competitions staged outside the Americas.

The USA Women's team finished eighth out of 10 teams in the 2011 Women's World Cup Qualifier while men's teams coached by Singh at two World T20 Qualifiers for USA have finished 12th and 15th out of 16 teams. USA also went 3-3 under Singh at the 2012 WCL Division Four in Malaysia, finishing second to gain promotion into Division Three in Bermuda in April 2013. They finished third in Division Three, behind Uganda and Nepal and were coached by Singh's then protégé, former India international Thiru Kumaran.

Former West Indies international Milton Pydanna has joined the USA coaching staff for the first time as one of Singh's two assistant coaches. Pydanna, 64, coached the New York Region team to a share of the USACA T20 National Championship in August. The other assistant is bowling coach Nasir "Charlie" Javed. Former USACA president Akhtar Masood Syed has rejoined the touring party as team physiotherapist while John Wilson, president of the Brooklyn Cricket League, has replaced Shoaib Ahmed as team manager.

USACA has also announced plans for a pre-tournament training camp in Jamaica to be held between October 15 and 20, including two warm-up games on October 18 and 19. USA will leave Jamaica on the October 20 to head back to New York before traveling onward to Malaysia. USA's first match of WCL Division Three takes place on October 23 against Bermuda.

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SL Women pick uncapped Imalka Mendis for SA series

Sri Lanka Women have named uncapped Imalka Mendis in their 14-member squad for the forthcoming home series against South Africa Women, which starts from October 15.

The other notable changes to the Sri Lanka squad are the inclusions of Hasini Perera, Ama Kanchana, Sanduni Abeywickrema, Nilakshi de Silva and Prasadani Weerakkody. Wicketkeeper Dilani Manodara, who played for Sri Lanka in their last ODI series against India in January and in the recent Asian Games, has been left out while Chamari Polgampola, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Chandima Gunaratne, Yasoda Mendis have been named on the list of standby players.

Both Hasini and de Silva were a part of the Sri Lanka squad for the Women's World T20 in March this year, while Kanchana last played an international game in March last year. Abeywickrema, a middle-order batsman, last played an international game for Sri Lanka in 2010 and played one game for Sri Lanka A against Australia A earlier in the year.

Sri Lanka and South Africa are scheduled to play a four-match ODI series, followed by three T20s. The first three ODIs will also be counted in the ICC Women's Championship, and will allow both teams to make a mark on the points table. The four ODIs will be held on October 15, 17, 19 and 21, while the T20s will be played between October 23 and 26.

Sri Lanka Women: Chamari Atapattu, Hasini Perera, Shashikala Siriwardene, Eshani Lokusuriyage, Sripali Weerakkody, Anushka Sanjeewani, Maduri Samuddika, Inoka Ranaweera, Udeshika Prabodhani, Ama Kanchana, Prasadani Weerakkody, Sanduni Abeywickrema, Imalka Mendis, Nilakshi de Silva
On standby: Chamari Polgampola, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Chandima Gunaratne, Yasoda Mendis

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