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England Test Squad
29/06
Former MCC president cleared over ‘beetroot-coloured gentlemen’ remark.
Martyn Ziegler.
The Times.
Saturday, 29 June 2024.
PTG 4546-21959.
Martyn Ziegler.
The Times.
Saturday, 29 June 2024.
PTG 4546-21959.
Stephen Fry, the former president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has been cleared of misconduct by the club after complaints about his comment that MCC members are seen as “beetroot-coloured gentlemen”. An email sent to members about the outcome of the case states that Mark Milliken-Smith KC, chairman of MCC’s disciplinary committee, has cleared Fry of misconduct after viewing an hour-long video of his panel discussion at the Hay Festival in late May (PTG 4525-21876, 7 June 2024).
Fry told the audience that MCC has a “deeply disturbing” public image as a club “stinking of privilege and classism” that is populated by “beetroot-coloured gentlemen in yellow-and-orange blazers sitting in front of the Long Room and looking as if they’d come out of an Edwardian cartoon”. The 66-year-old later apologised to Lord’s members, saying he was trying to convey how the reality was the opposite of the stereotyped image.
The committee’s findings state: “There are no issues of misconduct raised when your comments are fairly and properly considered in their wider and complete context. This was not an attack on members of the MCC, either generically, in part or individually. Members who made complaints … cannot and must not be held in any way responsible for assuming that the content which they read was an accurate representation of the totality of your remarks in that panel discussion”.
Player survey reveals T20WC has closed gap on 50-over equivalent.
Matt Roller.
Cricinfo.
Saturday, 29 June 2024.
PTG 4546-21958.
Matt Roller.
Cricinfo.
Saturday, 29 June 2024.
PTG 4546-21958.
The Twenty20 World Cup (T20WC) is on course to overtake the 50-over World Cup as the "most important" international event to professional players around the world, according to the latest survey data from the newly-rebranded World Cricketers Association (WCA), formerly FICA. The WCA say that the sample size for this year's survey - which will be released in full later in the year - was around 330 professional players from 13 different countries, the majority of whom are current internationals.
In 2019, 85 percent of respondents to the survey ranked the 50-over World Cup as the most important international event in the sport, compared to 15 percent who chose the T20WC. In 2024, only 50 percent chose the 50-over World Cup, 35 percent the T20WC, and a further 15 percent who picked the World Test Championship (WTC). For players under 26, the change is stark, going from 2019’s 86 percent for the 50-over event and 14 percent for the T20WC, but 2024’s are 49 and 41 percent respectively plus 10 percent for the WTC.
The trend is reflected more widely across the game, beyond International Cricket Council (ICC) events. Five years ago, 82 percent of survey respondents picked Test cricket as the most important format while 11 percent chose T20. This year, only 48 percent of players chose Test cricket compared to 30 per cent for T20. The data is skewed by a higher proportion of female respondents in 2024 but the WCA say the trends hold true when isolating responses from male players.
Amongst ICC Full Members, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan players are among those who are not represented by the WCA since they are not unionised. But the survey responses are spread across players from cricket's other major nations, which include Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies.
Tom Moffat, WCA's chief executive, was in New York and Barbados during the Group stages of the current T20WC to meet with players. He said: "This Men's T20 World Cup has been a great spectacle and our latest global player survey data continues to highlight the trend in player preferences towards T20 cricket in particular”.
The WCA will invite players to scheduling symposiums in August and September, and Moffat believes that they must be involved in collective discussions if the game is serious about solving its issues. "The rapid evolution in the game is exciting but also presents challenges of leadership in a sport that has traditionally not come together coherently on many global issues outside of ICC events”, he said.
"Scheduling in particular is still managed based on individual deals and regional interests and if you looked closely enough, you would probably find some countries have already filled up their calendars with bilateral international cricket for the best part of the next decade. Given the domestic T20 leagues are also filling up calendar space and becoming a preferred option for many players and those investing in the game, that doesn't make much sense”.
Moffat believes bilateral international cricket has been significantly weakened by boards acting in their own self-interests and scheduling it alongside franchise leagues. He said: "As an industry, we either accept there will be two parallel calendars and a split player employment market - which means international cricket isn't going to be best vs best - or we come together to try and find a way to ensure both landscapes can co-exist, with scheduling windows and a properly structured international calendar”.
"Either way, the players should be collectively involved in decisions on game structure and regulations that impact their careers. The players drive and are invested in the game's success, and their decisions are shaping its future”. The WCA and the ICC recently renegotiated players' squad terms for the next four years of ICC events, which cover commercial and image rights. A deal was struck in the days leading up the current T20WC after many months of negotiations and the WCA believe the new collective model will benefit players from smaller nations.
Bairstow’s Ashes dismissal not a ‘Spirit’ issue, says MCC chief.
Malcolm Conn and Daniel Brettig.
Melbourne Age.
Saturday, 29 June 2024.
PTG 4546-21957.
Malcolm Conn and Daniel Brettig.
Melbourne Age.
Saturday, 29 June 2024.
PTG 4546-21957.
A year on from the ‘Bairstow incident’ at Lord’s, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) chief executive Guy Lavender has stated his belief that there was no transgression of the ‘Spirit of Cricket by the Australians involved. In his view: “If a matter is explicitly permitted within the Laws of Cricket, then it really can’t be considered to have been a breach of the ‘Spirit of Cricket'. Some people get confused about these terms” (PTG 4239-20723, 6 July 2023).
The lasting images from day five of the second Test a year ago next Tuesday, are mobile phone videos of MCC members chanting “cheat, cheat, cheat” as the players walked through the Long Room and up the stairs to lunch. There is context though for that Australian team were still carrying the spectre of the 2018 ‘Sandpapergate’ scandal after which then captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were banned for a year (PTG 2403-12166, 29 March 2018).
One MCC member was subsequently expelled from the club and two were suspended for their confrontation with the Australian players (PTG 4309-21020, 6 October 2023). With MCC members now on notice that their place in cricket’s most privileged club is at stake, Lavender believes changes to Long Room arrangements will help ensure that when Australia next play there, in a One Day International in September, there will never be a repeat of such unruly scenes.
“My broad view is, I don’t think there’s a likelihood of [something like last year] happening again”, said Lavender. “Everyone’s reflected on that day. Lord’s is a really unique and special place. And the Long Room and pavilion particularly is a sort of unique and special environment. It’s really enjoyed by the members, and I think by the players as well. It’s unique in that regard. And I think everyone understands that that’s really, really important”.
23/06
Technology again to the fore in out-field low catch decision.
PTG Editor.
Saturday, 22 June 2024.
PTG 4539-21933.
Despite the seemingly ever increasing availability of technology in higher-level matches, controversies over whether a batter was ‘out’ or not out’ continue to be a part of the modern game. While it was the Australians who last year grumbled about a low outfield catch decision given against them in an Ashes Test at Lord’s (PTG 4234-20704. 2 July 2024), in Antigua on Friday it was England’s turn to be on the wrong side of that type of decision during their Twenty20 World Cup game against South Africa.
The situation involved South African batter Quinton de Kock who slog-swept a ball to fielder Mark Wood at deep-backward square leg where he took the ball close to the ground. However, while England's players were celebrating TV umpire Joel Wilson had a close look at the situation, and after doing so he indicated that a decision of ’not out’ should apply. Wilson appears to have judged that the ball burst through Wood's fingers to touch the ground.
Wood immediately ran up to bowler’s end umpire Sharfuddoula, who was joined by his partner Chris Brown, and tried to explain with gestures and words just what happened in him taking the catch, his captain Josh Buttler standing and watching the conversation from close quarters. Sharfuddoula is said, according to media reports, to have indicated the call had been made off-field and that the game now needed to continue, which it did.
PTG Editor.
Saturday, 22 June 2024.
PTG 4539-21933.
Despite the seemingly ever increasing availability of technology in higher-level matches, controversies over whether a batter was ‘out’ or not out’ continue to be a part of the modern game. While it was the Australians who last year grumbled about a low outfield catch decision given against them in an Ashes Test at Lord’s (PTG 4234-20704. 2 July 2024), in Antigua on Friday it was England’s turn to be on the wrong side of that type of decision during their Twenty20 World Cup game against South Africa.
The situation involved South African batter Quinton de Kock who slog-swept a ball to fielder Mark Wood at deep-backward square leg where he took the ball close to the ground. However, while England's players were celebrating TV umpire Joel Wilson had a close look at the situation, and after doing so he indicated that a decision of ’not out’ should apply. Wilson appears to have judged that the ball burst through Wood's fingers to touch the ground.
Wood immediately ran up to bowler’s end umpire Sharfuddoula, who was joined by his partner Chris Brown, and tried to explain with gestures and words just what happened in him taking the catch, his captain Josh Buttler standing and watching the conversation from close quarters. Sharfuddoula is said, according to media reports, to have indicated the call had been made off-field and that the game now needed to continue, which it did.
Human rights questions hang over success story of Afghanistan's men.
Sidharth Monga.
Cricinfo.
Friday, 21 June 2024.
PTG 4539-21934.
If you go to some of the Twenty20 World Cup 2024 venues early on a match day or a day earlier, before everything gets drowned out in the crowd, you can hear this message in the rehearsals. I have not paid attention to the accompanying video but the audio is clear: a voiceover from a girl saying on the field, we are all the same; that the field should be a safe place for girls because cricket empowers girls.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has partnered with United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to help empower girls through cricket. It spends a lot of money on women's cricket, which remains a long-term investment rather than an immediate return on the business bottom line. In a lovely video on the UNICEF website, among girls from different backgrounds playing cricket, one with a headscarf in Afghan national colours (not the Taliban ones) is unmissable.
That's where the ICC must be finding itself in a helpless state. The Afghanistan men's team is an unqualified success story, not just of their own human spirit but the support they have received through ICC's developmental programs and the will to expand the sport. That their progress into the Super Eight this World Cup is being seen as a mild surprise and not a big upset is testament to how far they have come.
Not that Afghanistan was a beacon of female power before, but ever since the Taliban takeover three years ago, the country has been bleaker than ever for its women. Forget having a women's cricket team or infrastructure, Afghanistan is denying basic human rights like access to education and healthcare to the women.
Allowing men's cricket is a classic oppressors' ploy: deny them to such an extent that they be thankful for one small piece of joy, not a right but a benevolence that can be snatched away any time, so you better behave. The ICC has probably thought about it a million times: does it want to ban Afghanistan for not following its charter and take away from the country that one small relief? Penalise the men who have fought unimaginable odds to make it this far?
That is probably why the action has not been swift and unequivocal as it was with the government interference in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. That the Taliban even allows cricket is not because someone there appreciates the legbreak bowled with a wrong'un release, but because the sport is popular among Pakhtun men, a source of their power. To the Taliban, cricket is just a pawn in the public image game. Letting them play is nothing short of sportwashing, not so much in the eyes of the world as inside Afghanistan.
It also says that the Taliban cares about how it is perceived, if only a little. That it's cynical to think cricket embargos won't make any difference. They may not succeed in forcing the Taliban to let women play or go to university but it will not be nothing. If cricket turns its back on the Afghanistan men's team, it is not penalising men’s team captain Rashid Khan but the Taliban. He and his team are a significant collateral damage but not as big as that being caused to half of their population.
Many a potential South African great was denied an international career not because they were individually deemed to be racist but because Apartheid was evil. Most continued to play county cricket. Whether cricket played a significant role in the fall of Apartheid is debatable, but it is undeniable that it played a part in piling on the pressure on the government. Now South Africa is a country that can enforce transformation targets on its sports teams, once the bastion of the powerful white minority.
Not that it doesn't create tensions of its own. Cricket South Africa (CSA) now games the system by playing more players of colour in series of less significance so as to maintain the average requirement. In this World Cup, they have only one black African player in their squad. They are still contenders but not quite the South Africa we have come to know. The rainbow is a little less colourful.
Those who want to see sport free of politics will not be happy to know that even a response to this Afghanistan situation can merely be political. Even if the ICC does decide to give up the soft diplomacy it is undertaking right now, which has its merits, and decides to take firmer action, it might not get full support of its own members because Afghanistan is now a vote on the table.
These are uncomfortable thoughts as the Super Eight of the ICC's latest attempt at globalising the sport, but we can't look away; we mustn't look away. If anything, as consumers of the sport, we can inform the direction the governing bodies take.
Sidharth Monga.
Cricinfo.
Friday, 21 June 2024.
PTG 4539-21934.
If you go to some of the Twenty20 World Cup 2024 venues early on a match day or a day earlier, before everything gets drowned out in the crowd, you can hear this message in the rehearsals. I have not paid attention to the accompanying video but the audio is clear: a voiceover from a girl saying on the field, we are all the same; that the field should be a safe place for girls because cricket empowers girls.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has partnered with United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to help empower girls through cricket. It spends a lot of money on women's cricket, which remains a long-term investment rather than an immediate return on the business bottom line. In a lovely video on the UNICEF website, among girls from different backgrounds playing cricket, one with a headscarf in Afghan national colours (not the Taliban ones) is unmissable.
That's where the ICC must be finding itself in a helpless state. The Afghanistan men's team is an unqualified success story, not just of their own human spirit but the support they have received through ICC's developmental programs and the will to expand the sport. That their progress into the Super Eight this World Cup is being seen as a mild surprise and not a big upset is testament to how far they have come.
Not that Afghanistan was a beacon of female power before, but ever since the Taliban takeover three years ago, the country has been bleaker than ever for its women. Forget having a women's cricket team or infrastructure, Afghanistan is denying basic human rights like access to education and healthcare to the women.
Allowing men's cricket is a classic oppressors' ploy: deny them to such an extent that they be thankful for one small piece of joy, not a right but a benevolence that can be snatched away any time, so you better behave. The ICC has probably thought about it a million times: does it want to ban Afghanistan for not following its charter and take away from the country that one small relief? Penalise the men who have fought unimaginable odds to make it this far?
That is probably why the action has not been swift and unequivocal as it was with the government interference in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. That the Taliban even allows cricket is not because someone there appreciates the legbreak bowled with a wrong'un release, but because the sport is popular among Pakhtun men, a source of their power. To the Taliban, cricket is just a pawn in the public image game. Letting them play is nothing short of sportwashing, not so much in the eyes of the world as inside Afghanistan.
It also says that the Taliban cares about how it is perceived, if only a little. That it's cynical to think cricket embargos won't make any difference. They may not succeed in forcing the Taliban to let women play or go to university but it will not be nothing. If cricket turns its back on the Afghanistan men's team, it is not penalising men’s team captain Rashid Khan but the Taliban. He and his team are a significant collateral damage but not as big as that being caused to half of their population.
Many a potential South African great was denied an international career not because they were individually deemed to be racist but because Apartheid was evil. Most continued to play county cricket. Whether cricket played a significant role in the fall of Apartheid is debatable, but it is undeniable that it played a part in piling on the pressure on the government. Now South Africa is a country that can enforce transformation targets on its sports teams, once the bastion of the powerful white minority.
Not that it doesn't create tensions of its own. Cricket South Africa (CSA) now games the system by playing more players of colour in series of less significance so as to maintain the average requirement. In this World Cup, they have only one black African player in their squad. They are still contenders but not quite the South Africa we have come to know. The rainbow is a little less colourful.
Those who want to see sport free of politics will not be happy to know that even a response to this Afghanistan situation can merely be political. Even if the ICC does decide to give up the soft diplomacy it is undertaking right now, which has its merits, and decides to take firmer action, it might not get full support of its own members because Afghanistan is now a vote on the table.
These are uncomfortable thoughts as the Super Eight of the ICC's latest attempt at globalising the sport, but we can't look away; we mustn't look away. If anything, as consumers of the sport, we can inform the direction the governing bodies take.
19/06
Urinals’ return ends WACA’s wee spot of bother.
PTG 4528-21891.The Australian.
Monday, 10 June 2024.
PTG 4528-21892.
Bureaucratic red tape may have helped bring about a ceasefire in the toilet-inspired culture war inside the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA). More than nine months after the news that urinals would not be included in the redevelopment of the historic cricket ground’s northern side sparked an outcry from the membership and brought board-level tensions to the fore, urinals have been reinstated to the plans (PTG 4402-21396, 12 January 2024).
While WA Cricket interim chief executive Justin Michael said the change was a direct response to member feedback, it is understood the amendment followed a complication with the state’s liquor licensing requirements. Under the original plan, toilet facilities within the new section of the ground would have featured only stalls, as well as a common mixed gender wash area with sinks and mirrors.
It is understood the organisation had received advice that the layout would not comply with liquor licensing, solidifying the case for the design overhaul. In a statement, Michael said the association had reviewed and approved the redesign of some parts of the ground redevelopment following feedback from member focus groups.
“The washroom facilities were included in that review and redesign and will now include urinals in the men’s facilities; this specific change was in response to member feedback”. he said. “As a member-based organisation, we go to great lengths to listen to our members through ongoing two-way communication and engagement”
“We appreciate this aspect of the ground improvement project has attracted a lot of interest – disproportionate interest relative to all the other great improvements at our iconic WACA Ground – but now this decision has been made we can put it behind us and move forward”.
Michael has been serving in the role since the retirement earlier this year of Christina Matthews. There have been divisions within the board over the redevelopment more broadly, with the cost of the project and its funding plans causing tensions. It was recently revealed that the WACA was exploring potential naming rights deals over parts of the ground because of a significant blowout in the cost of removing contaminated soil from the site.
The cost of the project had already increased to $A164 million (£UK84.8m), a budget that does not include the internal fit-out of the new grandstand and associated facilities. Tensions inside the organisation culminated earlier this year when the board attempted to suspend member-elected board member Paul Collins, who was the first to blow the whistle on the urinal plans last year. That suspension was ultimately rescinded (PTG 4483-21718, 13 April 2024).
In a message posted on his Facebook page, Collins thanked those who had given their support during “Toilet Gate”, saying: “I continue to encourage all WACA members to ask questions about design, costings and funding of the WACA ground redevelopment project”.
MCC ready to welcome trumpetless Barmy Army at Lord’s.
Will Macpherson.
London Daily Telegraph.
Sunday, 9 June 2024..
PTG 4527-21881.
Will Macpherson.
London Daily Telegraph.
Sunday, 9 June 2024..
PTG 4527-21881.
England's 'Barmy Army' will have an official presence at Lord’s for the first time ever this northern summer – although they will have to leave their trumpet at the Grace Gates. Lord’s, which is owned and run by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), has become the last home venue to hand an allocation of tickets to the Barmy Army, the supporters group known for following England around the world for the last 30 years.
Until now, the 'Home of Cricket' has resisted allowing them an organised presence at Lord’s, but they have now been given an allocation of a couple of hundred tickets together for each day of England's Test against Sri Lanka in August. MCC say it is a trial but both parties are hopeful of a longer-term arrangement.
It is, in many ways little surprise that Lord’s is the last English venue to recognise the Barmy Army: MCC and Lord’s are a bastion of the game’s traditions with games soundtracked by a gentle hum and the popping of champagne corks (except on occasions such as last year’s stumping of England’s Jonny Bairstow), whereas the Barmy Army are known for loud chanting in support of players (and, sometimes, beer drinking).
MCC has drawn the line though at allowing Simon Finch, the Barmy Army’s resident musician, to bring his trumpet into the ground. The ground has a ban on fans bringing musical instruments. The trumpet has long been a central part of the Barmy Army, first thanks to classically-trained Billy Cooper and now Finch, who has performed with the likes of Beyonce and Blur. Trent Bridge is the only other English venue that does not allow the Barmy Army to be joined by their trumpeter.
The Barmy Army were founded on the 1994-95 Ashes tour and has evolved from a hardy group of 30 backpackers into a supporters group that can be thousands-strong, as well as a cricket travel company. Chris Millard, the Barmy Army’s managing director, said: “This marks a historic moment for the Barmy Army and is something we have been striving for in recent years. We are extremely grateful to MCC for trusting the Barmy Army and affording opportunities to loyal Barmy Army members who travel all across the globe to support the England team”.
Researchers close in on world-first concussion blood test.
Robyn Riley.
Melbourne Herald Sun.
Saturday, 8 June 2024.
PTG 4527-21881.
Robyn Riley.
Melbourne Herald Sun.
Saturday, 8 June 2024.
PTG 4527-21881.
Researchers in Melbourne are close to having a unique concussion blood test that could complement sports-related concussion protocols. Developed by a Monash University-led team, the test has accurately tracked 137 footballers’ brain recovery after they were subjected to head knocks in games, eight separate tests conducted across the six months since their injury being involved. Bringing a reliable blood test to market has been the Holy Grail for a wide range of sporting codes.
Currently, those responsible for assessing concussion need to rely on a mandated four-step protocol guided by concussion symptoms – often self-reported – because there is no biological method available to show the extent of injury to help guide recovery. Experts say that protocol will benefit from the new blood test as it can accurately and quickly confirm those players who have suffered a brain injury and how long their recovery is likely to be. Importantly, in the major clinical trial it also identified that recovery was likely to take longer in concussed players who lost consciousness.
The test measures two brain-specific proteins in the blood that researchers found had changed in footballers who had suffered concussion. Called glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament light (NfL), the proteins are always present in the brain but released into the blood following brain trauma. The aim of this study was to show how their levels changed over time in concussed players.
The most striking finding, said study lead Dr Stuart McDonald, was the variability in biomarker changes among individuals. “Over 20 percent of concussion cases showed substantial and persistent increases in both GFAP and NfL that remained elevated compared to non-concussed footballers for over four weeks”, he said. This blood biomarker information is important, Dr McDonald says, as it confirms which players may require a longer recovery and also those fit to return to play.
Footballers were part of the focus of the study because they wanted to ensure the results were relevant to community sports athletes. “Ultimately, we see these blood tests having the greatest utility in assisting grassroots concussion management across all sports”, Dr McDonald said.
Former MCC president labels club as‘stinking of privilege and classism’, then apologises.
Ivo Tennant.
London Times.
Thursday, 6 June 2024.
PTG 4525-21876.
Stephen Fry, the writer and former president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), has apologised to members for his outspoken remarks he made about them at the Hay literary event in Wales last week, admitting: “I really should learn to keep my big mouth shut”. A number of members have written to the club to say that Fry should be suspended after he attacked it for “stinking of privilege and classism” and over their appearance in the pavilion at Lord’s.
Fry told the festival: “MCC has a public face that is deeply disturbing. Beetroot-coloured gentlemen in yellow-and-orange blazers sitting in front of the Long Room and looking as if they’d come out of an Edwardian cartoon”. In an email posted on the members’ independent forum, Fry stated: “Oh dear, I’ve made a complete clot of myself yet again. I’m so sorry that what I said at Hay has come across as a criticism of the club, its members, its ethos — I was attempting the exact opposite”.
“We did talk about the development and outreach of the game, how last year’s Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report came, in my words, as a bit of a slap in the face given the work the club had already undertaken in so many areas to open cricket up, at home and abroad and to make Lord’s a welcoming place. I didn’t really get time to make the case for the club as clearly as I should have”.
"What came across is so the opposite of what I wanted to say. I cannot apologise enough for my stupidity. I should have known better. But please be assured that I love, honour, value, respect and admire this wonderful club of ours. I am proud to think of all it does for cricket and I curse myself for the recent flurry of attention I have caused. All I seemed to do was to pick at a scab that was already healing. I am truly so very sorry”.
The club will decide whether Fry has brought MCC into disrepute through his remarks, which also included criticism of the continuation of the long-standing Oxford-Cambridge Varsity match and Eton-Harrow fixtures. Mike Hall, chairman of the historic fixtures group, said: “Rule 6.1 clearly states that MCC expects members to respect and support each other. Any conduct demonstrating a failure of this, or inappropriate behaviour or language, will be considered a breach of the rules and render a member liable to expulsion or suspension”.
Henry Blofeld, the commentator who has been a member for 60 years, said: “I am very unhappy that last year’s president wanted to virtue signal in this way. Is this bit about beetroot complexion what he really believes or is it just about him? He must be careful when the port decanter next lands in front of him. I always thought it was the job of the president, past, present and future, to bring the club together, not to drive a wedge into the membership”.
Ivo Tennant.
London Times.
Thursday, 6 June 2024.
PTG 4525-21876.
Stephen Fry, the writer and former president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), has apologised to members for his outspoken remarks he made about them at the Hay literary event in Wales last week, admitting: “I really should learn to keep my big mouth shut”. A number of members have written to the club to say that Fry should be suspended after he attacked it for “stinking of privilege and classism” and over their appearance in the pavilion at Lord’s.
Fry told the festival: “MCC has a public face that is deeply disturbing. Beetroot-coloured gentlemen in yellow-and-orange blazers sitting in front of the Long Room and looking as if they’d come out of an Edwardian cartoon”. In an email posted on the members’ independent forum, Fry stated: “Oh dear, I’ve made a complete clot of myself yet again. I’m so sorry that what I said at Hay has come across as a criticism of the club, its members, its ethos — I was attempting the exact opposite”.
“We did talk about the development and outreach of the game, how last year’s Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report came, in my words, as a bit of a slap in the face given the work the club had already undertaken in so many areas to open cricket up, at home and abroad and to make Lord’s a welcoming place. I didn’t really get time to make the case for the club as clearly as I should have”.
"What came across is so the opposite of what I wanted to say. I cannot apologise enough for my stupidity. I should have known better. But please be assured that I love, honour, value, respect and admire this wonderful club of ours. I am proud to think of all it does for cricket and I curse myself for the recent flurry of attention I have caused. All I seemed to do was to pick at a scab that was already healing. I am truly so very sorry”.
The club will decide whether Fry has brought MCC into disrepute through his remarks, which also included criticism of the continuation of the long-standing Oxford-Cambridge Varsity match and Eton-Harrow fixtures. Mike Hall, chairman of the historic fixtures group, said: “Rule 6.1 clearly states that MCC expects members to respect and support each other. Any conduct demonstrating a failure of this, or inappropriate behaviour or language, will be considered a breach of the rules and render a member liable to expulsion or suspension”.
Henry Blofeld, the commentator who has been a member for 60 years, said: “I am very unhappy that last year’s president wanted to virtue signal in this way. Is this bit about beetroot complexion what he really believes or is it just about him? He must be careful when the port decanter next lands in front of him. I always thought it was the job of the president, past, present and future, to bring the club together, not to drive a wedge into the membership”.
03/06
One ball to win a 40 over game
Rob Key says Jimmy Anderson was not “expecting” the tap on the shoulder that led to his Test retirement, but believes it is “the right decision at the right time”.
Anderson announced that the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s in July will be his 188th and final, bringing the curtain down on a record-breaking career that will see him retire as fast bowling’s leading Test wicket-taker.
The 41-year-old met with Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes in Manchester last month and was told that this would be his final summer in Test cricket. Anderson then decided to bow out after Lord’s.
McCullum flew in from New Zealand for the chat, but Stokes was only in attendance as he was waiting in Manchester for a visa to be issued for the USA so he could go on a family holiday.
“When we made the decision and thought we needed to meet Jimmy to discuss the future, Brendon came to the conclusion that the right thing to do was to fly over to England,” Key told the BBC.
“We had a conversation for about an hour and a half, which Baz led. I don’t think Jimmy was expecting it, but I don’t think it was completely unexpected. We felt it was right that Jimmy and the public had the opportunity to say goodbye. We didn’t impress upon him that he needed to make the decision there and then. Not so long ago he decided the Lord’s game would be his last.”
Asked if Anderson had been given the tap on the shoulder, Key said: “Yeah. We said that it’s time to move on. It’s coming to the stage where we’ve got to look towards the future. We had two years since we started the job. It’s not just about the Ashes.
“People need the opportunity to learn how to bowl with that new ball. To go through a day’s Test cricket then realise they have to back it up the next day. Now is the time people have to start learning that.
“I feel this is the right decision, this is the right time. Hopefully he gets a fantastic end at Lord’s. Then, like all things, life moves on and English cricket is going to have to do without Jimmy Anderson. That time was always coming at some point and now we feel is the right time.”
Key name-dropped Nottinghamshire pair Olly Stone and Dillon Pennington, as well as Essex’s Sam Cook, when speaking about bowlers who could receive Test opportunities this summer.
“There are opportunities for so many people, that’s why I’m so excited,” he said. “Pennington has been excellent, we were speaking about him the other day.”
Key added that Jofra Archer will bowl a spell for Sussex second team in their game at Beckenham on Thursday or Friday as he prepares for his international comeback in a T20 against Pakistan at Headingley next week.
Rob Key: James Anderson ‘wasn’t expecting’ conversation that ended his England career
Anderson’s final match for England will come in July after talks with Key, Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes
Rob Key says Jimmy Anderson was not “expecting” the tap on the shoulder that led to his Test retirement, but believes it is “the right decision at the right time”.
Anderson announced that the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s in July will be his 188th and final, bringing the curtain down on a record-breaking career that will see him retire as fast bowling’s leading Test wicket-taker.
The 41-year-old met with Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes in Manchester last month and was told that this would be his final summer in Test cricket. Anderson then decided to bow out after Lord’s.
McCullum flew in from New Zealand for the chat, but Stokes was only in attendance as he was waiting in Manchester for a visa to be issued for the USA so he could go on a family holiday.
“When we made the decision and thought we needed to meet Jimmy to discuss the future, Brendon came to the conclusion that the right thing to do was to fly over to England,” Key told the BBC.
“We had a conversation for about an hour and a half, which Baz led. I don’t think Jimmy was expecting it, but I don’t think it was completely unexpected. We felt it was right that Jimmy and the public had the opportunity to say goodbye. We didn’t impress upon him that he needed to make the decision there and then. Not so long ago he decided the Lord’s game would be his last.”
Asked if Anderson had been given the tap on the shoulder, Key said: “Yeah. We said that it’s time to move on. It’s coming to the stage where we’ve got to look towards the future. We had two years since we started the job. It’s not just about the Ashes.
“People need the opportunity to learn how to bowl with that new ball. To go through a day’s Test cricket then realise they have to back it up the next day. Now is the time people have to start learning that.
“I feel this is the right decision, this is the right time. Hopefully he gets a fantastic end at Lord’s. Then, like all things, life moves on and English cricket is going to have to do without Jimmy Anderson. That time was always coming at some point and now we feel is the right time.”
Key name-dropped Nottinghamshire pair Olly Stone and Dillon Pennington, as well as Essex’s Sam Cook, when speaking about bowlers who could receive Test opportunities this summer.
“There are opportunities for so many people, that’s why I’m so excited,” he said. “Pennington has been excellent, we were speaking about him the other day.”
Key added that Jofra Archer will bowl a spell for Sussex second team in their game at Beckenham on Thursday or Friday as he prepares for his international comeback in a T20 against Pakistan at Headingley next week.
02/05
The Original 12 Football League Grounds, many were cricket grounds then and some now remain as
30/04
England T20 World Cup squad
Jos Buttler (capt, wk), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood
25/04
04/04
Erasmus interview: My mistakes, players and the joys of umpiring.
Nick Hoult.
London Daily Telegraph.
Tuesday, 2 April 2024.
PTG 4476-21692.
Nick Hoult.
London Daily Telegraph.
Tuesday, 2 April 2024.
PTG 4476-21692.
It says a lot for the affection Marais Erasmus is held in that when a wind-up went around social media that Taylor Swift had dedicated a song to him in front of 100,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, quite a few fell for it. Given Swift’s only previous brush with cricket was sitting on the sofa on 'The Graham Norton Show' next to Kevin Pietersen and confusing “Test cricket” for “chest cricket”, it would be quite something for her to become friends with a 60-year-old South African umpire and former deputy head teacher who played first-class cricket for Boland.
But Erasmus has that likeable, laughing policeman air – treading nicely the thin line between firm but not autocratic with players – which made some stop for a second and wonder. “A friend of my wife’s brother asked if we knew Taylor. So we replied, ‘yes we do’. Ha ha. It was quite funny. I like her music but have never met her”.
Erasmus retired last month after standing in his 82nd Test, ending in Christchurch with New Zealand versus Australia (PTG 4454–21603, 7 March 2024). He was in the middle for England’s epic 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand, was third umpire for the second Ashes Test last English summer when Lord’s became a bear pit following the stumping of Jonny Bairstow and found himself in the middle of the first ‘timed-out’ dismissal in international cricket at last year’s World Cup (PTG 4337-21133, 9 November 2023). That’s quite an array of controversial matches.
We chat through all of those on Zoom, Erasmus logging on from his home in Hermanus just back from a round of golf. After nearly 15 years as a member of the International Cricket Council’s Elite Umpires Panel, he has had his fill of airports and hotel rooms for a while but his love for the game and umpiring is undimmed. “It’s a challenging job but it’s also a very rewarding job”, he says. “There are moments where you think, ‘why am I doing this stuff?’ but there are so many more positive moments and benefits and I’ve never actually seen it as work”.
Erasmus ranked New Zealand as the nicest team to umpire. “They were always very, very respectful” and Australia’s Ricky Ponting and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene as the most challenging players. “They tried to intimidate us. Sometimes it was subtle and sometimes not subtle”.
England’s Jimmy Anderson could be argumentative, no surprises there. “Ha ha, thank god Jimmy was never captain but no, no Jimmy was hard work. You knew that he was not a character that you should, you know, try to sweet talk or whatever. I normally just gave him quite abrupt, short answers. Because if you got into a debate with him it was going to be never ending, especially when you spoke to Jimmy about the running on the wicket. He would argue it. I just said, ‘you’re in the danger zone, try to get off. If you don’t I will give you a warning. It is not going to be a debate’”.
“I had an incident with Shane Watson in an Ashes Test in Adelaide, where I sort of had a friendly chat with him. ‘You’re running on’ and he said something like, ‘oh, did you warn Jimmy in the first innings?’ I thought, ‘oh, you’re gonna have an attitude. I’m not going to assist you’. Because normally we give them a friendly word to manage them off the pitch. Next ball he ran on and I gave him his first formal warning and then the next over, he wanted to bowl again, and [captain] Michael Clarke said: ‘No, you’ve had your chance. Off you go’. Stuart Broad was challenging as well sometimes but he and Jimmy are fiery fast bowlers and that’s the way it should be”.
Erasmus welcomes technology but thinks it is going too far with referrals in some franchise leagues for wides and no balls potentially rendering officials as glorified robots signalling fours and sixes. “I think it is a little sad. They’ll have to have a human there for player management, but I think a lot of it is just going to be up to the Hawkeye boys to make the final decisions”. He is of a generation of umpires whose decisions were held up to scrutiny by the Decision Review System (DRS), they had to accept mistakes and learn to leave their egos in the hotel. Previously umpires never had to endure that instant judgement on their performance or would be ignorant about any debate on television if they had made a howler.
A DRS challenge always led to a dry mouth and a cold sweat waiting for it to come up on the big screen to be seen by thousands of fans in the ground, and the players around them on the field. “Actually I got frustrated when teams wasted their reviews because then you can’t fix it. You knew your mistakes could impact the game. I suppose that’s old-school umpiring but in the old days they couldn’t prove every minute leg-side little nick and things like that so your decision might not look right even when it was”.
Test cricket was draining, Erasmus ranked Sri Lanka the hardest place to umpire because of the heat and some tricky pitches that bounce and turn more than those in India, for example. “My worst Test ever from a decision-making point of view was in Pallekele (Kandy). England were playing and I made six errors which was not a great feeling”.
Like players, one bad day in Test cricket is not the end for the umpires. “You have to go back on day two and do it all again. Players remember the 50-50 decisions from day to day. Sometimes there’s a little comment. ‘You gave one on day one. Why aren’t you giving it on day three?’ Some teams try to put a bit of pressure on you so from that point of view Test cricket is very tough. It’s much easier to do the white-ball stuff. If you have a bad Twenty20 game, it’s only four hours and it’s gone. I can remember every Test match but how many of the T20 games do you actually remember? Not many”.
One white-ball match that will never be forgotten is the 2019 tied World Cup final. With England requiring nine from three balls, Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid went for a second run. Stokes dived for his ground and deflected a throw at the stumps off his bat and down to the boundary for four freakish overthrows. Amidst the chaos, England were awarded a six but it later turned out it should have been five because the batsmen had not crossed for the second run (PTG 2851-14181, 15 July 2019).
Erasmus was in the middle with Kumar Dharmasena and along with third umpire Rod Tucker, agreed it should be six (PTG 2858-14205]., 20 July 2019). “The next morning I opened my hotel room door on my way to breakfast and Kumar opened his door at the same time and he said, ‘did you see we made a massive error?’ That’s when I got to know about it. But in the moment on the field, we just said six, you know, communicated to each other, ‘six, six, it’s six’ not realising that they haven’t crossed, it wasn’t picked up. That’s it”.
Erasmus actually regrets more wrongly giving out Ross Taylor leg before earlier in the day. “It was just too high but they had burnt their review. That was my only error in the whole seven weeks and afterwards I was so disappointed because it would have been an absolute flip had I got through the whole World Cup not making an error and that obviously impacted the game a bit because he was one of their top players”.
Lord’s was a favourite haunt for Erasmus, along with Edgbaston because he played a summer for Solihull, winning the league in 1996. “Two years before me a young Jacques Kallis played at the club and couldn’t win the league, I will take that”.
His final Lord’s Test, last June, was as the TV umpire and was the most explosive of all. The umpires were powerless other than to enforce the Laws when Australia stumped Bairstow wandering out of his ground, thinking over had been called (PTG 4235-20707, 3 July 2023). “Shortly afterwards I walked up to the dining room and then Jonny walked in and it was very frosty. I realised maybe this is not a good place for me to be so I left. Subsequently I heard that Jonny apparently said, ‘are you guys happy with that?’ and David Warner said yes, so I can just imagine it was quite messy in there”.
Proof that a clever umpire is one who knows when to make his presence felt, and when to make a smart exit.
15/03
Children told to throw away balls given to them by ECB - could contain harmful chemicals.
WONKAGATE
Appeal over impact of movie screening on match rejected.
PTG Editor.
Friday, 15 March 2024.
PTG 4462-21637.
PTG Editor.
Friday, 15 March 2024.
PTG 4462-21637.
No publicity has been given to it, but it would appear the appeal by Sydney Premier League club Northern District lodged over the impact of the forced end of their game against North Sydney last week because of a movie screening at the ground that evening, got nowhere. With seven overs remaining to be bowled in the day’s play, and two wicket from an outright win, Northern District fielders were ordered off the ground at 6 pm by local council officials because of the need to set up equipment for the showing of film ‘Wonka' there at 8 pm (PTG 4458-21621, 12 March 2024).
With only a first innings win from that game, Northern Districts finished third in the competition but appealed because had they won outright they would have accumulated enough points to finish second at the end of the 16-round home-and-away season. That would have meant they would have played fifth-placed Gordon in the opening finals match on Saturday and not fourth-placed Parramatta which they will now do. Just what the reasoning of the appeals tribunal was in coming to the conclusion that it did is not known, however, the need to finish the game by 5.30 pm had been flagged in the week before that day’s play.
20/02
17/02
I was wondering whatever happened to Jimmy Pattinson after he left Notts in 2022 under a cloak of Pravda secretcy?
James' last game for Notts (against Sussex) was his last senior game for anyone, it appears.
So what's he doing?
In 2023 he was hoping to make a breakthrough with Doveton playing Aussie Rules Football, see here.
Perhaps someone with subscription to various Australia media outlets might be able to tell us how it all went?
One change to ECB umpire membership on IUP for 2024.
PTG Editor.Friday, 16, February 2024.
PTG 4433-21525.
PTG 4433-21525.
Russell Warren appears to have replaced David Millns as one of four Englishmen on the International Cricket Council’s second-tier International Umpires Panel (IUP), according to one of those on-going 'sleight of hand’, 'no publicity’, changes flagged via the world body’s web site over the last few days. Warren, 52, played 146 first class, 177 List A and two Twenty20 games for Nottinghamshire from 1992-2006, and goes on to the IUP having, since 2015, stood in 76 first class, 25 List A and 85 T20 matches, plus women’s and Under-19 internationals.
Millns, who turns 59 in a few weeks, is another former first class player who has been an IUP member for the last four English summers, standing in 7 One Day Internationals, 12 Twenty20 Internationals, and the 2022 Under-19 World Cup in the West Indies (PTG 3786-18626, 10 January 2022), during that time. Non details as to just why he is no longer a member of the panel are available. Warren joins Mike Burns, Martin Saggers and Alex Wharf as the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) representative on the IUP for the year ahead.
Appeal successful, but not for the reason it was made.
New Zealand Herald.
Wednesday, 14 February 2024.
PTG 4432-21520.
New Zealand Herald.
Wednesday, 14 February 2024.
PTG 4432-21520.
South African batter David Bedingham was dismissed in somewhat unusual fashion on the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton on Tuesday, after short leg fielder Will Young threw a ball played to him to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell who removed the bails. Young apparently thought the ball had bounced before he collected it, hence the attempted run out, however, subsequent replays showed Bedingham had in fact played it onto his shoe, from where it popped up to Young, without touching the ground.
Bedingham said at the close of play media conference that "when they appealed they [appeared to be] taking it as a bit of a joke. These things happen in cricket. It's a weird way to get out and a disappointing way to get out. There's so many ways in cricket to ruin your day and that's one of them”. On-air communications, and the list of reviews requested by both teams during the day’s play, suggest the use of technology to look at the situation was initiated by umpire Richard Illingworth at square leg, TV umpire Richard Kettleborough eventually advising him of the dismissal.
Bowler Rachin Ravindra, whose wicket it was, said: "It's probably a once-in-a-lifetime way to get out. That's cricket sometimes”. Given that any appeal covers all modes of dismissal, the Black Caps’ calling for the run out to be rewarded with a catch, was a very freak outcome.
Why Ben Stokes is wrong on DRS (from the man who invented Hawk-Eye).
Simon Wilde.
London Times.
Sunday, 11 February 2024.
PTG 4429-21505.
Simon Wilde.
London Times.
Sunday, 11 February 2024.
PTG 4429-21505.
England captain Ben Stokes was mistaken for claiming last week that the Decision Review System (DRS) had “just gone wrong” for the controversial dismissal of Zak Crawley in the second Test against India, according to the creator of Hawk-Eye’s ball-tracking technology. Paul Hawkins says that the reason for the misconception was because the first replays of Crawley’s dismissal by Kuldeep Yadav came from a TV camera positioned slightly to the left of the bowlers’ stumps, rather than directly over them, which was where the Hawk-Eye camera was situated.
“We were correct”, Hawkins insists. “[The ball] looked like it was going down leg from the broadcast replays that were showing before Hawk-Eye was shown, which was [from] a super slo-mo [camera] more to the off side”, he said. “You could see a lot of the stumps, but once you see the in-line [Hawk-Eye] camera, you think, ‘Oh, okay’. But see the TV replay first and you’ve sort of made up your mind, and for people to then change their mind can be a challenge. There’s no question we were correct. The issue was: is it believable? The only thing that made it less believable was the broadcaster showing the super slo-mo [replay] from slightly more to the off side”.
Crawley was originally given not out by umpire Marais Erasmus, but after some discussion India called for a review, which produced “three reds” — for the ball pitching in line with the stumps, hitting the pad in line with the stumps, and predicted to hit leg stump. Watching the TV replays outside of their dressing room, the England players were plainly surprised.
An element of Stokes’s post-match complaint was that “everyone understands why it [technology] can never be 100 percent correct”, but Hawkins said that the system has so many checks and balances that errors are rare. “There isn’t [even] a one percent chance of it being wrong. For every DRS [incident], we do screen-grabs which show everything the [Hawk-Eye] operator shows. This is automatic, we can’t manipulate it, and that immediately goes to the International Cricket Council as part of the quality control process".
“There are also two independent tracking systems. The cameras are the same, but the operators do their calibrations and the manual bit independently. This provides back-up in the unlikely event that one crashes. Even if there is an LBW shout, let alone a review, the person that plays the review to TV [must check] before anything goes to air that both trajectories give the same result, and are hitting the stumps in the same place. It’s not a fully automated system, but a lot is done to eliminate human error by having checks, training and this process of two people doing things independently, [which] has pretty much always been there”.
DRS has been around for just over 15 years — England first used it for their Tests in West Indies in early 2009 — and it has gained broad acceptance among players and officials. Hawk-Eye has been rolled out across numerous sports – including tennis, football, snooker, Aussie Rules and badminton — since its success in cricket. There have been refinements. Today’s cameras have higher frame-rates, which can help to determine whether a ball has hit bat or pad first. The area of the stumps that produces an “out” verdict has grown slightly at the expense of the “umpire’s call” area.
Teams now retain a review for “umpire’s call” rather than lose it. “The believability has increased more than the reliability, which has always been pretty good”, Hawkins said. “We now have a lot of systems running around the world. It doesn’t matter to us whether it’s day five of a crucial Test or a T20 league — it’s your reputation on the line. Ensuring our fifteenth system works as well as our first is important. What’s evolved is people’s acceptance. The umpires are more comfortable. My raison d’être [with Hawk-Eye] was to make officiating not the story of the game; let the cricket and the players do the talking”.
The kind of umpiring rows that used to jeopardise a tour’s very existence, as visiting players took exception to the decisions of local officials (rather than members of an international panel, as now) are also a thing of the past. DRS has also wrought changes to players’ techniques. Batsmen now play with bat in front of pads to avoid the “pad-first” LBW. Many more bowlers, especially spinners, operate to a wicket-to-wicket line to keep LBW in play. Initially, the number of LBWs went up before falling back as batsmen modified their methods. But a bat-ahead-of-pad approach has simply brought slip and leg slip, and short leg and silly point, more into play.
With three incorrect challenges per innings available, teams have also had to learn what is out and not out — and continue to discover how little they know. In the first Test, India opted not to review Jasprit Bumrah’s LBW shout against Ben Duckett, only to find it would have been given out.
Hawkins is in Mumbai to roll out his “iHawk” technology, which allows umpires to wear ball-tracking cameras: a useful data-gathering tool and open to use by cricketers at amateur level. They were used in county cricket last northern summer (PTG 4284-20911, 5 September 2023). In many ways, the game is still coming to terms with DRS and further changes may come. Hawkins would like batting teams to be given an additional review if a player, given not out but knowing he has hit it, walks off before the fielding team review: a reward for honesty and speeding up the game.
The time may also come when the requirements in the LBW laws about the ball not pitching outside leg stump, and not hitting the pad outside the line of leg stump, are scrapped. They were introduced many years ago to deter negative leg-side bowling, but are less necessary now that wides are policed more strictly. With the game striving to become more accessible, such abstruse laws are unhelpful. “If you were starting afresh, I’m not sure you’d have those sorts of things as part of the Laws”, Hawkins said, although just what he thinks such a move would do to the grass roots game is less clear..
After the ‘razzmatazz’ comes the ‘Dead Ball’.
PTG Editor.
Sunday, 11 February 2024.
PTG 4429-21506.
After the usual extravagant lead up to the start that is part of Twenty20 cricket these days, including a countdown and fireworks display, the first delivery of the final of Cricket South Africa’s SA20 competition in Cape Town on Saturday was called ‘Dead’ before it reached Sunrisers Eastern Cape opening batter David Malan. That was because bowler’s end umpire Stephen Harris’ hat was blown off by a puff of wind and travelled all the way to the edge of the 30-yard circle at the precise moment Durban Super Giants bowler Jon-Jon Smuts released the ball, leading to an obligatory call of ‘Dead Ball’ from Harris.
Batter steps on wicket, but reprieved by umpire’s call.
PTG Editor.
Sunday, 11 February 2024.
PTG 4429-21507.
Australian batter Alana King pulled a delivery from South Africa’s Masabata Klaas for six during the two side’s third One Day International in Sydney on Saturday, only to step on and demolish her stumps. However, as King played her shot, square leg umpire Eloise Sheridan’s arm started to rise and a call of ’no ball’ ensued for the delivery as the ball arrived at the crease above the batter’s waist. King was awarded a six and her side an extra for the ‘no ball’, and the South African seamer was forced to bowl it again in ‘Free Hit’ mode, but it too was sent over the rope for a second time.
How Australia’s housing crisis may shape the next generation of players.
Robert Craddock.
Code Sports.
Sunday, 11 February 2024.
PTG 4429-21508.
Robert Craddock.
Code Sports.
Sunday, 11 February 2024.
PTG 4429-21508.
Who would have thought, in a sport dominated by cutting edge computer analysis, cricket’s greatest modern weapon could be perfected by a boy trying not to wake up his mum? It really was that simple. The epic yorkers bowled by India’s destructive fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah – including the one which produced this week’s memorable photo of English batsman Ollie Pope’s cartwheeling stumps – were fine-tuned in the hallway of a humble Ahmedabad family home many years ago.
A young Bumrah realised he could practice his fast bowling indoors and the quietest possible sound he could make – one which would not ruin mum’s sleep - was to ensure there was no double bounce on the wall and floor. Bumrah needed to hit the corner where the wall and the floor met so there was only one sound and a soft one at that. He did it thousands of times in practice, perfecting his laser-like yorker, the most feared delivery in modern cricket which he later refined in backyard and street cricket, enhancing the legend of homespun cricketers.
New South Wales’ premier Chris Minns was under attack this week for a dual-occupancy Sydney housing plan which his rivals claim would destroy backyard cricket. The truth is – sad to admit it – much of the damage has been done. If you don’t believe me go out into your suburb this week and try and find a game of backyard cricket. You’ll see more swipes of phones than over cow corner. Smaller blocks and the distracting force of phones have cut a swathe through backyard numbers over the past decade.
It’s a shame because when you trace back the careers of most of Australia’s best players over the years they have a feature of their game shaped by what happened in their backyard or inside the family home. When Doug Walters, a brilliant player of spin, advanced down the wicket to the first ball he faced in Test cricket as a 19-year-old a nation held its breath in disbelief. But he had grown up on an 3,300 Hectare farm with an ant bed pitch and knew how to play spin as the ball darted at freakish angles off the deck.
“The wicket on our farm really spun a lot and that helped me all the way through”, said Walters this week. “With housing lots the size they are now there would be a lot of sixes and outs. But I honestly don’t see backyard cricket being played at all around my suburb in Sydney or in other suburbs”. Steve and Mark Waugh grew up in a backyard sloping down towards the leg-side and therein lies the reason why both players were dynamite off their pads. On the other side of Sydney Steve Smith used to face his father Peter from eight to 10 metres bowling leg-spinners, off-spinners and all sorts of quirky offerings where he simply had to use his feet to counter it.
Ian Healy reckons the reason he was not a big cover driver was that the area was blocked by the family home at Biloela so there was not much reward for playing the shot. Healy’s formidable array of cut shots, however, were developed in the vacant space he deliberately targeted beside the house. “I think school curriculums have more to them than when we were growing up”, Healy said of the decline in backyard cricket’s popularity. “Kids seem to have a lot of things to go to after school and there is more formal cricket coaching where we would just go home and play”.
While under siege, backyard and hallway cricket have a champion in current player Marnus Labuschagne who still relishes a contest with his mates on souped decks where a mat had been deliberately spiced up to deliver pure treachery to batsmen. The experience could serve him well as soon as next month‘s tour of New Zealand where wickets as green as dish-washing liquid are expected to be waiting.
Batter given out for returning stationary ball to wicketkeeper.
PTG Editor.
Sunday, 4 February 2024.
PTG 4423-21489.
PTG Editor.
Sunday, 4 February 2024.
PTG 4423-21489.
England batter Hamza Shaikh was given out in his side’s Under-19 World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Potchefstroom on Saturday after he picked up a stationary ball and threw it gently to opposition wicketkeeper Ryan Kamwemba who was standing up at the stumps. Kamwemba, the Zimbabwean captain, then appealed for 'Obstructing the Field' and after umpires Donovan Koch and Masudur Rahman conferred, Koch raised his finger. It is not clear whether the pair asked Kamwemba, as captain, whether he wanted to continue with the appeal or not.
Part of Law 37 reads: “Either batter is out Obstructing the field if, at any time while the ball is in play and, without the consent of a fielder, [they use] the bat or any part of his/her person to return the ball to any fielder”. ’Tom Smith’, the Laws ‘Bible’, says: “This might be either tapping the ball back with the bat, kicking it with a foot or picking it up and throwing it back with a hand not holding the bat”.
Despite what the Laws and ‘Tom Smith’ say, former England bowler Steve Harmison who was commentating on the game said: “If you are getting given out for that, that’s it, the game’s gone. It really has. How can an umpire give that out?” A chorus of social media comments quickly followed along the same lines.
Sydney Test timing unconfirmed amid CA bidding war.
Malcolm Conn.
Melbourne Age.
Saturday, 3 February 2024.
PTG 4422-21486.
Malcolm Conn.
Melbourne Age.
Saturday, 3 February 2024.
PTG 4422-21486.
The Sydney Test is yet to be confirmed in its traditional New Year’s time slot as Cricket Australia (CA) continues negotiations with the New South Wales (NSW) government about support for the iconic fixture. While it appears unlikely the Sydney Test will be moved, aggressive bidding from the South Australian and West Australian governments has given CA attractive options to cover its $A90 million (£UK46.6m) Covid-19 loss of a few years ago. A well-placed cricket source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the delicate nature of the negotiations, said the NSW government "are leaving themselves open to a knockout bid from another state”.
However, NSW Tourism Minister John Graham said his office was still awaiting a response from CA as the "government is in conversations with Cricket Australia about how we can support them to continue to grow the game and keep the New Year’s Test in Sydney. We have submitted a proposal to Cricket Australia regarding continued support to keep the New Year’s Test in Sydney this week. As of Friday, Destination NSW and the NSW government have not received any update from Cricket Australia on the proposal submitted”.
He continued with: “In recent years, the NSW government has invested over $A47.5m (£UK24.6m) in the new NSW Cricket Central facility located at Sydney Olympic Park. Additionally, from 2016-17 to March 2023, the NSW government has invested over $A95m (£UK49.1m) in cricket-related programs or projects through various grant programs''.
Following a flat television rights deal 12 months ago, CA has been lobbying state governments for closer partnerships and additional revenue which can be invested in grassroots programs. Submissions were being made by state associations at a CA board meeting in Perth on Thursday and Friday about Test scheduling for the next seven seasons. A CA spokesman said that no decisions on scheduling would be made at the meeting because of ongoing discussions with state governments. Decisions are more likely to be made at a board meeting next month.
The spokesman said: “Australian cricket has a proven track record of building and delivering major events and mutually beneficial partnerships that provide significant economic and social benefits for governments and communities. Cricket Australia is continuing to work collaboratively with all state and territory governments to provide long-term certainty of international cricket hosting rights across Test matches and white-ball cricket to maximise benefits for local communities and the game”.
A submission from CA to the NSW government last month includes a request to light up the Opera House and Harbour Bridge when the Australian men’s or women’s teams are playing in Sydney. The submission also asked for significant promotion of major cricket events, including fan zones in Martin Place, Darling Harbour and Moore Park as well as help covering costs such as policing, traffic control and extra security. There is also a request to support taking Big Bash League matches to regional areas and for multicultural cricket programs.
Separately, CA wants a masterplan for the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) to redevelop the O’Reilly and Brewongle Stands, which are 40 years old. CA has consistently stated internally that those stands offer the worst spectator facilities of any international cricket venue in the country. Allianz Stadium, adjacent to the SCG, first opened in 1988 and was refurbished at a cost of $A828m (£UK428m) 18 months ago. The contrast in facilities between the new Allianz Stadium and the SCG’s public sections are often referenced by cricket officials.
Sources close to CA and the NSW government, who would only speak anonymously given the sensitivity of the issue, claimed CA has been offered $A1m (£UK517,495) a year over the seven-year period by the NSW government to help cover costs. CA is still dealing with the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in $A30m (£UK15.5m) in extra costs and $A60m (£UK31.1m) in lost revenue. This comes on top of a $A1.5 billion (£UK776m), seven-year television rights deal last year which failed to give CA any uplift in revenue.
The timing of the Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide Tests remains uncertain. Given the unlikely prospect that the Sydney Test will be moved, Western Australia and South Australia are bidding for the third Test against India during the 2024-25 summer, which is close to Christmas and runs into the school holidays.
Ball strikes bail, which spins in its groove, but it doesn’t fall.
Wisden Staff.
Friday, 26 January 2024.
PTG 4418-21463.
Wisden Staff.
Friday, 26 January 2024.
PTG 4418-21463.
Australian batter Alex Carey had a lucky escape when a Shamar Joseph delivery clipped the top of one of his bails, but it didn’t fall, during the second Test between Australia and the West Indies in Brisbane on Friday, the third time such a thing has occurred in Australia during the current season (PTG 4406-21412, 17 January 2024). After Joseph’s delivery zipped past Carey's bat the bowler and fielders appealed, thinking it was a caught-behind due to the sound, however, umpire Nitin Menon remained unmoved. Replays showed that when it was struck the bail spun in its groove as the ball flew past, however, it did not light up.
Bowler reprimanded after ‘’inappropriate throw’ hits batter.
PTG Editor.
Saturday, 27 January 2024.
PTG 4418-21464.
Nepalese off-spinner Subhash Bhandari has received a reprimand for throwing the ball "inappropriately towards batter Shahzaib Khan, hitting him on the forearm”, a Level One offence, during his side’s Under-19 World Cup match against Pakistan in East London on Wednesday. In addition, one demerit point was added to Bhandari’s disciplinary record.
The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Phil Gillespie and Bongani Jele, TV umpire Forster Mutizwa and fourth umpire, K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan. Bhandari admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Graeme Labrooy. Under International Cricket Council regulations, Level One breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.
Four-month ban, fines, for Zimbabwean recreational drug users.
Cricinfo.
Saturday, 27 January 2024.
PTG 4418-21465.
Cricinfo.
Saturday, 27 January 2024.
PTG 4418-21465.
All-rounders Wessly Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta have been banned from all cricket for four months, and fined half of their salaries for three months with immediate effect, by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) for recreational drug use. In addition batter Kevin Kasuza, who played the last of his seven Tests in 2021, has also been suspended from all cricket activities with immediate effect after he tested positive for a banned recreational drug during an in-house doping test last week. His censure will be determined at a later date.
Last month Madhevere and Mavuta tested positive for a banned recreational drug in an out-of-competition case and were suspended immediately (PTG 4378-21306, 22 December 2023). They received the sanction following a hearing on Wednesday when they admitted to charges of "breaching the ZC Employment Code of Conduct”, a board release stated. Their rehabilitation will be overseen by ZC's medical personnel and the duo has been ordered to train at the high performance program.
ZC’s statement went on to say: "In taking the decision, the Committee also considered some mitigating factors, with both players showing remorse and having already started working on withdrawing from the habit and getting their systems clean”. Both Madhevere and Mavuta were part of the Zimbabwe side that faced Ireland in a home series in early December. Madhevere played all three Twenty20 Internationals while Mavuta played just the third and the three One Day Internationals after that. While Mavuta hasn't played any competitive cricket since then, Madhevere featured for Mashonaland Eagles in the ongoing Logan Cup, Zimbabwe's first-class competition.
The furry fielders who sometimes stop boundaries.
Ross Bilton.
The Australian.
Saturday, 27 January 2024.
PTG 4418-21466.
Ross Bilton.
The Australian.
Saturday, 27 January 2024.
PTG 4418-21466.
Matches played at Halls Gap, in the Grampians National Park of western Victoria, are usually rounded off with a pitch invasion. Not by a swarm of rowdy fans or, heaven forbid, a streaker, but a mob of kangaroos that emerge from the bush every day at about 5 pm to nibble on the oval’s luscious, lovingly tended couch grass. “We just have to play around them”, says club president Neill McIntosh matter-of-factly. “There’s about a dozen of them, and they’re so used to people that it’s impossible to shoo them away. They won’t move”.
Halls Gap, a tourist town whose population of 500 swells to several thousand in peak season, has had a cricket club since the mid 1960s. It’s often a struggle to make up the numbers, though. “Until last Christmas we had two senior sides, but we’ve had to drop one because it was just too difficult”, says McIntosh, who runs the bakery in town as well as umpiring matches, coaching the two junior teams and mowing the oval.
Incidentally, it’s not uncommon for a cricket ball driven towards the boundary to smack into one of those furry outfielders, and stop short of a four. What happens then? “The two captains have to work it out between them”, McIntosh says. “They might agree to award a four, or make it two runs. And if they can’t decide, the umpire will”.
Big crowds mask the inequality threatening Test cricket, but there is hope.
Daniel Brettig.
Melbourne Age.
Friday, 26 January 2024.
PTG 4418-21467.
Daniel Brettig.
Melbourne Age.
Friday, 26 January 2024.
PTG 4418-21467.
Some hours before the first ball was bowled in the second Australia-West Indies at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday, word came through from New Zealand that the entire four ticketed days of Australia’s Test match in Wellington in March had sold out. As the clock ticked towards 2pm in Brisbane, a big crowd filed in from Vulture Street and Stanley Street to the final Test of the home summer
Irrespective of debate around using 26 January as Australia’s national day, there was no question that the day-night time slot in Brisbane was a popular one, regardless of the lowly current Test status of the West Indies. A roll-up of 23,602 was the best attendance ever for day one of a Test match against the West Indies at the ground, and more than twice the number who were there in 1960 to see a young Garfield Sobers hammer a century on day one of what became the legendary first-ever Tied Test.
A bigger crowd is forecast for day two, meaning the attendance for two days may well push towards 50,000 – comparable to Adelaide Oval last week and in line with healthy throngs for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests – before the remainder of the game is threatened by a cyclone. Forgetting for a moment the provincial vagaries of staging international cricket in Perth, this summer has overall provided a strong reminder of Test cricket’s vitality in Australia, despite what was thought to be slim drawing power for Pakistan and West Indies.
At the same time, the enormous demand for tickets in New Zealand, both in Wellington and for the second Test in Christchurch, underlines the possibility of profitable Test cricket in more than the game’s three richest nations, provided the economics are balanced effectively by cricket’s leaders. New Zealand, of course, has long been an exemplar of doing a lot with a little. Both in terms of talent on the field and population size, but also for testing out the possibilities for growth by thinking differently about the challenges of attracting new followers to cricket.
The International Cricket Council’s current chair Greg Barclay is the latest in a long line of Kiwis who learned that collaboration and ingenuity can be as effective as size when it comes to succeeding on and off the field. West Indies, of course, are the Test team most affected by a switch in cricket’s economic model at the end of the 2000-01 series, when the past system of tour guarantees – paying touring teams for turning up, essentially – was replaced with bilateral touring, where home boards paid for internal travel and hotels but kept all the broadcast and gate money.
Cricket West Indies chief executive Jonny Grave talked recently about the complications raised by that model in recent years, and the numbers were eye-popping, saying: “Our women’s team went to Australia to play six matches in September, which is at the start of our financial year, and rightly they now fly business class. That probably cost us $US750,000 [$A 1.1 million, £UK589,945] for a tour where we received not one dollar of revenue".
“We’ve just booked our white-ball players to Australia, you’re probably looking at almost $US2m [$A3m, £UK1.6m] of costs to get the three teams down under as we now have in Tests, ODIs and T20s. And then we have to pay all their match fees as well. At the moment, we are still in discussions with Australian broadcasters, so we’re getting zero revenue from this tour and also zero revenue from the Australian market. So you’re putting in excess of $US2m on your cost base and absolutely no revenue coming in”.
That model, Grave went on to say, was compounded still more by factors at the global level, where India’s powerful BCCI has become increasingly aggressive in chasing a huge portion of the broadcast revenue from World Cups. Where once the pie was split equally, 10 ways, India’s share has gone up from 20 per cent in 2017 to nearly 40 per cent last year.
The irony, of course, is that without West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Australia, England and India simply do not have enough opponents to be able to turn out a schedule of international matches each year. It was the crowd in Brisbane and the raising of the sold-out sign in Wellington that proved Test cricket’s future can be built in more than three countries. All that’s required is for the likes of CA’s chair Mike Baird, India’s secretary Jay Shah and England’s chair Richard Thompson to think a little further outside the (hospitality) box.
From empty field to World Cup venue: thanks to ‘Ikea-style’ stadium.
Elizabeth Ammon.
London Times.
Thursday, 18 January 2024.
PTG 4409-21427.
Elizabeth Ammon.
London Times.
Thursday, 18 January 2024.
PTG 4409-21427.
A municipal park 50 Km east of Manhattan on Long Island is the unlikely venue for eight matches at this year’s Twenty20 World Cup, with an “Ikea-style” stadium to be built from scratch in under four months. When India and Ireland play the first game there in early June, a site that is currently little more than a field will have been transformed into the 34,500-seater stadium with an international standard square and outfield.
This is events management flatpack-style: building stands, dressing rooms, media facilities and hospitality suites from scratch in only a few weeks. The developers of the site, which is used for some local club cricket but has an artificial strip and a bumpy outfield, will adopt techniques used in Formula 1, golf and the Olympic Games to build a stadium from scratch. Part of the design, with sustainability in mind, involves repurposing the grandstands used for Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix in November last year.
The stadium, which will host seven further Group matches, has been designed by the architecture firm Populous, which designed the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Yankee Stadium in New York. Work began this week on the demarcation of the site, with preparatory turf work beginning at the end of the month. Construction of the stands, hospitality suites, dressing rooms and media facilities will start in February and by the middle of May the International Cricket Council (ICC) is expecting the work to be completed so that test events can be played in the build-up to the first match.
Key to a successful cricket stadium is the quality of the pitch and the ICC is using innovative technology to grow drop-in pitches in Florida, where the climate is more obliging. The process is being overseen by the head groundsman at the Adelaide Oval. Just as important as the 22 yards of cut strip is the quality of the outfield; international cricketers expect them to be of the highest quality to minimise the risk of injury. The turfing of the outfield will begin on April 29 and the pitch will be dropped in from May 6.
Chris Tetley, the ICC’s head of events, said: “This is probably the most exciting project I have been involved in during my time at ICC, taking cricket to New York with an entirely modular stadium to facilitate that. It is a hugely ambitious project but we need to do something on this scale to make an impact in a country like the US with the sports market it has got. We will end up with a world-class stadium for what is going to be our biggest World Cup. It’s a new undertaking for cricket but is actually something that is done all the time in other sports.
“The ICC’s global strategy sets out the importance of the US market. It is a clearly defined growth market for the ICC as the largest sports market in the world”, Tetley said. “It is already our third biggest broadcast market and we have identified at least 30 million cricket followers within the US. So we are bringing world-class, World Cup cricket into a market where there is a great appetite for the sport”. There is a significant diaspora from the Indian subcontinent in New York state and that has formed part of the ICC’s decision to host matches involving India and Pakistan at the venue.
Human rights statements ‘No', betting company logos ’Yes’.
Jack Snape.
The Guardian.
Saturday, 20 January 2024.
PTG 4410-21428.
Jack Snape.
The Guardian.
Saturday, 20 January 2024.
PTG 4410-21428.
The West Indies are the first to benefit from international cricket’s open door for betting companies to sponsor shirts, wearing a Philippines gambling brand on their shoulders in the first Test against Australia this week. The emergence of gambling sponsorship on uniforms is thanks to a recent change to regulations by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that ended a prohibition brought in following several major betting scandals that plagued the sport in the 1990s and 2000s.
The same equipment and clothing sponsorship rules have been used by the ICC this summer to prevent Australian opener Usman Khawaja from displaying human rights messages on his shoes and bat (PTG 4397-21377, 8 January 2024). The relaxation of regulations was made in May 2023 to give individual countries the right to choose whether or not to pursue shirt sponsorships, and posed no threat to the integrity of the sport, according to the international governing body. The ICC said in a statement it: "takes all measures to prevent corruption in the sport, and all international matches are staffed with anti-corruption officials. Betting companies are in no way involved in running the matches nor liaise closely with those running the game”.
From 2005 until mid-last year, the ICC’s clothing and equipment regulations listed an objective “to prohibit advertising connected with betting and/or gaming”. The new regulations have removed that objective. Gambling sponsorships have exploded in recent years, and Bet365 has had a long partnership with Cricket Australia. But many see betting brands on shirts – often worn by young supporters – as too pervasive. In English football, Premier League clubs have voted to end shirt sponsorship deals with betting companies from the start of the 2026-27 season.
A report from an Australian parliamentary committee chaired by late Peta Murphy last year recommended all betting logos on player uniforms be banned. Some cricketers have protested against betting sponsorships on shirts: Pakistan’s wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan covered a logo on his Pakistan Super League team shirt with tape last year. The ICC’s decision allows betting brands to be worn on shirts in bilateral series, but still bars them from World Cups.
The ICC said that "was a decision taken by [its] Chief Executives Committee last year, which noted that some members had engaged with betting companies for sponsorship and felt that the members should have the right to determine for themselves if betting logos should be used in bilateral and domestic cricket”.
Former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje admitted to match-fixing during a one-day series against India in 2000 and was banned for life. Then-ICC president Malcolm Gray said at that time: “We should have acted sooner, we should have acted with greater alacrity, and we should have done it better. We didn’t”. Sir Paul Condon, a former commissioner of the Metropolitan police in the UK, was appointed director of the ICC’s anti-corruption investigation, and his report triggered major reforms to cricket, including the prohibition on betting logos.
Since the relaxation of the laws last year, the West Indies cricket team has worn shirts with gambling companies Dafabet and Betbricks, the new Major League Cricket series in the United States also signing up with the latter (PTG 4219-20643, 18 June 2023). But even prior to the rule change, controversial online gaming platforms had already been adopted by international sides. The logo of one such company, Mobile Premier League, was worn by India for three years from 2020, and Dream11 became the team’s major shirt sponsor last year, despite both companies being banned in some Indian states.
In 2022 ahead of a series with India, Ireland signed, after checking with the ICC, a short-term deal with Exchange22, an Indian company which describes itself as a “unique gaming fantasy platform”. Ireland’s cricket body has subsequently brought in an internal policy that precludes such sponsors.
CA nonplussed as bails stay on despite ball strikes.
Daniel Cherny.
Code Sports.
Tuesday, 16 January 2024.
PTG 4406-21412.
Cricket Australia (CA) seems comfortable that the non-dislodgement of light-up bails is simply a quirk of the game despite Big Bash League (BBL) batters surviving deliveries that “bowled” them on consecutive days over the weekend. On Saturday, Perth Scorchers’ Nick Hobson was beaten by a ball that hit his leg-stump to no effect, then on Sunday a ball to Adelaide Strikers’ D’Arcy Short nicked the top of his off stump and was taken by the wicketkeeper (PTG 4505-21408, 15 January 2024).
While the two incidents were similar, the stump technology being used was different across the two matches. Saturday’s game used the new light-up Electra stumps, which have been trialled in several BBL matches this season (PTG 4384-21236, 27 December 2023), while on Sunday Zing bails, which were first used in the BBL more than a decade ago (PTG 1027-4992, 10 December 2012), and since used in International Cricket Council events and the Indian Premier League.
Neither company wished to comment publicly on Monday. CA did not expand on the situation either but is understood to not be overly perturbed by the eyebrow-raising incidents. Though the light-up bails understandably generate more headlines than wooden ones, there have been several instances of balls appearing to hit wooden stumps in international cricket over recent seasons that have not led to the bails shifting from their grooves.
Daniel Cherny.
Code Sports.
Tuesday, 16 January 2024.
PTG 4406-21412.
Cricket Australia (CA) seems comfortable that the non-dislodgement of light-up bails is simply a quirk of the game despite Big Bash League (BBL) batters surviving deliveries that “bowled” them on consecutive days over the weekend. On Saturday, Perth Scorchers’ Nick Hobson was beaten by a ball that hit his leg-stump to no effect, then on Sunday a ball to Adelaide Strikers’ D’Arcy Short nicked the top of his off stump and was taken by the wicketkeeper (PTG 4505-21408, 15 January 2024).
While the two incidents were similar, the stump technology being used was different across the two matches. Saturday’s game used the new light-up Electra stumps, which have been trialled in several BBL matches this season (PTG 4384-21236, 27 December 2023), while on Sunday Zing bails, which were first used in the BBL more than a decade ago (PTG 1027-4992, 10 December 2012), and since used in International Cricket Council events and the Indian Premier League.
Neither company wished to comment publicly on Monday. CA did not expand on the situation either but is understood to not be overly perturbed by the eyebrow-raising incidents. Though the light-up bails understandably generate more headlines than wooden ones, there have been several instances of balls appearing to hit wooden stumps in international cricket over recent seasons that have not led to the bails shifting from their grooves.
‘Excessive appealing’ offence joins CA’s 2023-24 CoC Register.
PTG Editor.
Tuesday, 16 January 2024.
PTG 4406-21413.
The latest three player offences added to Cricket Australia’s (CA) 2023-24 Code of Conduct (CoC) Register, numbers 26, 27 and 28, include a not often cited ‘Excessive appealing” case for the first time, as well as the more routine ‘dissent at an umpire’s decision’, and ‘use of an audible obscenity (PTG 4402-21397, 12 January 2024).
Western Australia Under-17 player Shaun Smith was found guilty of over enthusiasm during a CA Under-17 National Championship match against New South Wales last Thursday, while his team mate Austen Hiskens showed dissent in the same game and received an ‘official reprimand’ for his troubles.
The audible obscenity was uttered by Marcus Stoinis from the Melbourne Stars whilst playing the Hobart Hurricanes in a men’s Big Bash League fixture on Monday, what was his first Level Zero offence resulting in a reprimand.
12/01
Warner Flies-in in a Helicopter to Match in game where Hales musters 28
Umpires’ worst nightmare when wrong batter faces after drinks break.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 11 January 2024.
PTG 4340-21387.
Thursday, 11 January 2024.
PTG 4340-21387.
Brisbane Heat better Marnus Labuschagne was legitimately caught at the wicket during his side’s men’s Big Bash League (BBL) match against the Perth Scorchers in Brisbane on Wednesday, however, his dismissal came after on-field umpires Greg Davidson and David Taylor made a mistake they will no doubt prefer to forget; although it provides others with a reminder about one aspect of umpiring field craft. Few umpires will be able to say they haven’t made such an error sometime, but most will have got away with it, however, unfortunately for Davidson and Taylor and their match official colleagues, Labuschagne’s dismissal came after a drinks break that saw he and his batting partner Sam Billings resume at the wrong ends.
Labuschagne had scored one run off the last ball before drinks were taken and therefore should have faced the first delivery after that break, but instead Billings was allowed to do so with Labuschagne at the bowler’s end. Billings hit the first delivery after drinks to cover-point for one, which resulted in Labuschagne facing ball two, which unfortunately for him he subsequently touched through to wicketkeeper Josh Inglis.
Commentator Adam Gilchrist said "Marnus should have been on strike for the first ball of the over. Clearly it’s not going to hold up the game now, they’re just going to move on [but that’s] extraordinary”. Of course the response on social media was brutal, with one person describing it as "Just BBL things”, and another linking it to "a third umpire [Paul Wilson] hitting the wrong button on a DRS call”, which he did not do (PTG 4397-21376, 8 January 2024). As it was, Wilson was also the third umpire in Wednesday’s game, but whether he, fourth umpire Stephen Dionysius, or match referee Kepler Wessels, picked up that the wrong batter was facing is not known. But if they did, Davidson and Taylor weren’t informed.
Ball lost in stadium roof, but six still awarded.
Ollie Lewis.
Daily Mail Australia.
Friday, 4 January 2024.
PTG 4397-21379.
Somewhere in the steelworks that support the roof of the Docklands stadium in Melbourne there is a ball hit there by Hobart Hurricanes opener Ben McDermott in a men’s Big Bash League (MBBL) game against the Melbourne Renegades last week. After McDermott skied the ball the television cameraman struggled to pick up its flight and, after panning down to the fielders below, it became clear that the ball had lodged in the roof. Commentator Adam Gilchrist suggested that ground staff "better be careful" when they next open the roof.
Umpire Bruce Oxenford signalled a six for the lofty strike, although batters are no longer automatically awarded a six for hitting the roof under changes to Cricket Australia's MBBL Playing Conditions made ahead of the current season. It is now up to the umpires to determine if the ball was going to clear the boundary. Should they decide it was, they will award the batter six runs. If not, it will be ruled a dead ball. Only the two on-field umpires and third umpire can determine whether it is six or a dead ball and no technology or ball tracking can be used (PTG 4291-20941, 14 September 2023).
It's the third time the relevant Playing Condition has been changed since the inception of the BBL in 2011 and comes after the Melbourne Renegades franchise’s side were denied two catching opportunities in the same match against crosstown rivals the Stars during the 2022-23 season after two players skied shots straight up into the roof. On both occasions the ball landed within the 30-yard fielding restriction circle. But under the Playing Conditions then in place, both batters were awarded a six as the ball having been struck by their bat hit "any part of the stadium roof structure, retractable or fixed” (PTG 4103-20109, 15 January 2023).
Ollie Lewis.
Daily Mail Australia.
Friday, 4 January 2024.
PTG 4397-21379.
Somewhere in the steelworks that support the roof of the Docklands stadium in Melbourne there is a ball hit there by Hobart Hurricanes opener Ben McDermott in a men’s Big Bash League (MBBL) game against the Melbourne Renegades last week. After McDermott skied the ball the television cameraman struggled to pick up its flight and, after panning down to the fielders below, it became clear that the ball had lodged in the roof. Commentator Adam Gilchrist suggested that ground staff "better be careful" when they next open the roof.
Umpire Bruce Oxenford signalled a six for the lofty strike, although batters are no longer automatically awarded a six for hitting the roof under changes to Cricket Australia's MBBL Playing Conditions made ahead of the current season. It is now up to the umpires to determine if the ball was going to clear the boundary. Should they decide it was, they will award the batter six runs. If not, it will be ruled a dead ball. Only the two on-field umpires and third umpire can determine whether it is six or a dead ball and no technology or ball tracking can be used (PTG 4291-20941, 14 September 2023).
It's the third time the relevant Playing Condition has been changed since the inception of the BBL in 2011 and comes after the Melbourne Renegades franchise’s side were denied two catching opportunities in the same match against crosstown rivals the Stars during the 2022-23 season after two players skied shots straight up into the roof. On both occasions the ball landed within the 30-yard fielding restriction circle. But under the Playing Conditions then in place, both batters were awarded a six as the ball having been struck by their bat hit "any part of the stadium roof structure, retractable or fixed” (PTG 4103-20109, 15 January 2023).
The habit two ‘petulant’ Aussies need to quit after being dismissed.
Julian Linden.
Code Sports.
Saturday, 6 January 2024.
PTG 4395-21368.
Julian Linden.
Code Sports.
Saturday, 6 January 2024.
PTG 4395-21368.
Of all the habits that Australian players Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith share, the one they need to ditch is their delayed departures from the crease whenever they get out. No batsman ever likes being dismissed but Smith and Labuschagne’s trait for standing around and shaking their heads in disbelief is starting to look petulant and unbefitting for batters of their class.
If either batter wants a quick reminder on how to cope with disappointment, they should take a peek at the grainy black and white footage of Don Bradman when he was bowled for a duck in his last innings against England in 1948. The Don had more reason than either of the current players to curse his rotten luck after missing out on his chance of a career average of 100, but he didn’t pause for a second before tucking his bat straight under his arm and walking straight off.
It was the same with Greg Chappell whenever he got out. Regardless if he had made a century or a duck, Chappell treated every dismissal the same - by instantly spinning on his heels and heading back to the dressing room. Smith and Labuschagne may not have technically breached any of the regulations that apply around dissent, but their churlish stays at the crease are unnecessary and hint at bigger problems with their games right now.
‘Aggressive' Warner of old only doing what he was told, claims team mate.
PTG Editor.
Saturday, 6 January 2024.
PTG 4395-21369.
PTG Editor.
Saturday, 6 January 2024.
PTG 4395-21369.
Australia's David Warner displayed an aggressive "on-field persona” when he "was in people’s faces and doing stuff” in the years prior to the ball-tampering incident in 2018, because "coaches or senior players asked him to get into the contest and sledge the other team”, say quotes attributed to Warner's team mate Usman Khawaja by journalist Peter Lalor of ’The Australian’. During that pre-2018 time, Australia’s national side had a "bully-boy”, "win-at-all costs" attitude that saw them nudge the so-called behavioural “line" that they felt they rarely crossed, but believed other nations too often did (PTG 2401-12159, 28 March 2018).
But such an aggressive approach to the game "wasn’t always Davey”, claimed Khawaja. It's all because “he’s such a team player, if you ask him to do something, he’ll do it. Like he’ll just do it for the team. That’s the frustrating part when people sort of come at him because I know that he’ll do anything that he needs to do for the team to win a game. And he always put himself out there. He’s always put himself second and put the team first”.
Since his return to Tests in 2019 after serving a year-long ban handed to him by Cricket Australia, Warner has, in Khawaja’s assessment, "been great”. "He’s scored runs. He’s done it his own way. He played the game in a really good way. He enjoyed it. You can tell he’s smiling a lot on the field. He’s doing it David Warner’s way, which has been really good to see in the last half of his career”.
Batter again concussed after being hit in the head during net session.
Scott Spits.
Melbourne Age.
Saturday, 6 January 2023.
PTG 4395-21370.
Scott Spits.
Melbourne Age.
Saturday, 6 January 2023.
PTG 4395-21370.
Melbourne Stars men’s Big Bash League (MBBL) wicketkeeper Sam Harper was taken to hospital by ambulance after being hit on the chin, the ball lodging under the grill of his helmet causing a severe cut near his throat, while batting in the nets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. The Stars later confirmed the incident, saying that the 27-year-old, who has a history of concussion, had suspected concussion but was conscious and in a stable condition as a result of a "training incident”.
In 2017, he was confined to a dark room for three weeks after he was struck in the head whilst wicket keeping by the tip of South Australian Jake Lehmann’s bat in a Sheffield Shield match (PTG 2046-10367, 12 February 2017). Then in late 2020 whilst batting in a MBBL fixture, he ran into a fielder whilst attempting to complete a run, an incident that again left him hospitalised with a sickening concussion and “literally seeing stars” (PTG 3005-14889, 23 January 2020).
In a somewhat chilling edition of the 'The Athlete Diaries’ podcast, Harper said about that 2017 strike to his head: “I’m in a hospital bed, I cannot look at a screen, it would send my headaches and dizziness nuts, can’t watch TV, can’t read a book, can’t read a paper. I was literally in a dark room for three weeks and didn’t even know when the sun had risen and when the sun was setting. It felt like night time for three weeks. I’d get woken up on the hour every hour to get my heart rate and stuff checked to make sure I was still conscious. I was having these faint attacks where I’d pretty much pass out for a minute. I wouldn’t even be present in the conversation I was having with someone else”.
“I wasn’t allowed to leave my hospital bed, even to go to the bathroom. I’d just have to call for assistance to help me. I was in a walking frame for seven days. There was something in the back of my brain which sends signals to the legs … they help you walk two steps forward which we take for granted, but at the time these weren’t as clear as they should’ve been which was making the simple task of walking [hard]. I literally had a physio walking me ten steps down the hallway helping me walk again. My brain knew how to walk but my legs weren’t coming to terms with that. I was almost embarrassed”.
In 2017, he was confined to a dark room for three weeks after he was struck in the head whilst wicket keeping by the tip of South Australian Jake Lehmann’s bat in a Sheffield Shield match (PTG 2046-10367, 12 February 2017). Then in late 2020 whilst batting in a MBBL fixture, he ran into a fielder whilst attempting to complete a run, an incident that again left him hospitalised with a sickening concussion and “literally seeing stars” (PTG 3005-14889, 23 January 2020).
In a somewhat chilling edition of the 'The Athlete Diaries’ podcast, Harper said about that 2017 strike to his head: “I’m in a hospital bed, I cannot look at a screen, it would send my headaches and dizziness nuts, can’t watch TV, can’t read a book, can’t read a paper. I was literally in a dark room for three weeks and didn’t even know when the sun had risen and when the sun was setting. It felt like night time for three weeks. I’d get woken up on the hour every hour to get my heart rate and stuff checked to make sure I was still conscious. I was having these faint attacks where I’d pretty much pass out for a minute. I wouldn’t even be present in the conversation I was having with someone else”.
“I wasn’t allowed to leave my hospital bed, even to go to the bathroom. I’d just have to call for assistance to help me. I was in a walking frame for seven days. There was something in the back of my brain which sends signals to the legs … they help you walk two steps forward which we take for granted, but at the time these weren’t as clear as they should’ve been which was making the simple task of walking [hard]. I literally had a physio walking me ten steps down the hallway helping me walk again. My brain knew how to walk but my legs weren’t coming to terms with that. I was almost embarrassed”.
A South African POV of Test v Franchise Row
Just who will be Test umpire number 500?
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 3 January 2024.
PTG 4391-21351.
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 3 January 2024.
PTG 4391-21351.
It went largely unnoticed at the time, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) does not appear to have made a statement about it, but Zimbabwean umpire Iknow Chabi became the 499th man to stand in a men’s Test in Bulawayo back in February. Chabi, who was 38 at the time, was initially the TV umpire for the game between Zimbabwe and the West Indies (PTG 4111-20151, 25 January 2023), but stood in the final four days of the match after countryman Langton Rusere fell ill after day one. His achievement is acknowledged in most, but not all, on-line data-bases, nevertheless his contribution meets the criteria the ICC set over a decade ago for such an acknowledgement.
In 2011 the ICC’s Cricket Committee and Chief Executives' Committee decided that umpires who "take over as permanent replacements for injured, ill or otherwise absent on-field umpires for the remainder of [a] match, [will] be credited with an official Test appearance”. The world body said at the time that decision was reached on the basis that the duties of a Playing Control Team member specifically include covering for an on-field colleague should circumstance require, such as injury or illness. However, the ICC made clear that providing "temporary cover" for an on-field umpire is viewed as part of the fulfillment of third umpire duties and should not in itself be classified as a Test appearance; as was the case with Australian Phillip Gillespie at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last week (PTG 4386-21331, 29 December 2023).
Amongst a number who have been acknowledged in such a fashion approved by the ICC is Australian umpire John Smeaton. Appointed to a Test between Australia and New Zealand in Hobart in November 2001, he was elevated from the TV to an on-field spot for the last three days of the game after Steve Davis injured his knee after play on day two. It turned out to be Smeaton’s only Test, however, the ICC did not get around to recognising it until ten years after when the policy outlined above came into effect (PTG 871-4255, 11 December 2011).
Similarly, New Zealand's Evan Watkin was credited with what became his third Test in Napier in 2009 in similar circumstances to Smeaton. Initially the TV umpire, he stood in the game from day three onwards after West Indian umpire Billy Doctrove became ill (PTG 399-2120, 30 March 2009). However, one that appears not to have been acknowledged is what would have been Australian umpire Peter Parker’s “11th” Test. Having been appointed as the TV official for the game between Australia and Sri Lanka in Hobart in November 2007, he was on-field from the last session of day one until the end of the match in place of Aleem Dar who fell ill (PTG 4118-20175, 2 February 2023).
So it raises the question as to just who will receive a Test hat band with ‘500’ on it? Will it be one of the currently 28 ‘uncapped’ members of the ICC’s second-tier International Umpire Panel (IUP) in a deliberate pre-match act of ‘promotion’ by the world body? Or, will it be because of one of those serendipitous moments in a manner experienced by Smeaton by one of those IUP 28, or even the three non-IUP members who have been appointed as fourth umpires for Tests in Australia this month? (PTG 4389-21344, 31 December 2023).
‘Disobeying’ match officials ‘instruction’ earns player a reprimand and fine.
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 3 January 2024.
PTG 4391-21352.
Just what the circumstances were are not known, however, Hobart Hurricanes’ player Mitchell Owen earned himself a reprimand and a fine of $A500 (£UK270), and spot number 19 in Cricket Australia’s (CA) 2023-24 season Code of Conduct register, for what CA describes as "Disobeying an umpire or match referee’s instruction” during his side’s men’s Big Bash League game against Sydney Thunder in Hobart on New Year’s day.
It’s a “first offence” for Owen on CA’s books, but nine months' ago Owen, the captain of the New Town club’s First XI, came to attention when, after being awarded Cricket Tasmania’s Premier League’s (CTPL) ‘Best and Fairest’ annual award, he was told two days later he was in fact ineligible because of a CTPL Code of Conduct breach earlier that season. The matter was described as an "administrative oversight” and that "action has already been taken to mitigate such circumstances in the future (PTG 4154-20343, 28 March 2023).
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 3 January 2024.
PTG 4391-21352.
Just what the circumstances were are not known, however, Hobart Hurricanes’ player Mitchell Owen earned himself a reprimand and a fine of $A500 (£UK270), and spot number 19 in Cricket Australia’s (CA) 2023-24 season Code of Conduct register, for what CA describes as "Disobeying an umpire or match referee’s instruction” during his side’s men’s Big Bash League game against Sydney Thunder in Hobart on New Year’s day.
It’s a “first offence” for Owen on CA’s books, but nine months' ago Owen, the captain of the New Town club’s First XI, came to attention when, after being awarded Cricket Tasmania’s Premier League’s (CTPL) ‘Best and Fairest’ annual award, he was told two days later he was in fact ineligible because of a CTPL Code of Conduct breach earlier that season. The matter was described as an "administrative oversight” and that "action has already been taken to mitigate such circumstances in the future (PTG 4154-20343, 28 March 2023).
‘Palm down’ to grass take of the ball declared out to the surprise of many.
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 27 December 2023.
PTG 4384-21325.
After a number of rulings in internationals over the past year, one being Mitchell Starc’s non-catch in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s when he slid across the turf with his hand cupped down and the ball underneath (PTG 4234-20704, 2 July 2023), what appeared to many to be a similar example was judged to be ‘out’ in a men’s Big Bash League game played in Sydney on Tuesday. The basic difference was, according to TV umpire Claire Polosak, the fact that Cricket Australia (CA) still applies an on-field umpire’s ’soft signal’ as the starting point for conducting a review, and that she had ’no proof’ the ball had actually touched the ground..
The fifth over of the game between the Sydney Sixers and the Melbourne Stars saw Stars' opener Tom Rogers sky a ball from Jackson Bird to Moises Henriques at mid-on, the Sixers' captain lunging backwards and catching the ball in his right hand. But as Henriques landed on his shoulder, he appeared to ground the ball palm-down on the turf as he tried to balance himself. Umpire Paul Wilson, who was at the bowler’s end, apparently gave the soft signal of ‘out’ in asking Polosak to have a look at the matter, she eventually going with the ’soft signal’ and indicating Rogers had been fairly caught.
Later, in a move that was flagged earlier this month prior to the series getting underway in order to improve communications between match officials and viewers (PTG 4364-21240, 6 December 2023), Polosak was brought live on air as part of the television broadcast and asked to explain the reasoning behind her decision.
She first made clear that unlike international cricket where the practice ceased seven months ago (PTG 4191-20532, 15 May 2023), CA still uses the on-field umpire’s ‘soft signal’ as a key starting point. After that she indicated that as she was looking through the vision she “did not have conclusive evidence [to] say there were not fingers under the ball. So we stuck with [Wilson’s] original decision of out” The fact that soft signals still applied at CA domestic level was unbeknown to most observers,
As a result a number of commentators reacted, mindful in particular of the Starc ruling at Lord’s, by expressing considerable surprise at the decision. Former Australia international Brendon Julian said: “If the ball hits the ground at any point in that process, I think he’s not out. I would say that’s not out”. Brett Lee added: “The ball’s definitely hit the deck … the ball clearly touched the surface”.
Another broadcaster in Adam White tweeted: “Different rules in the #BBL13 compared to normal cricket it appears… This is an excellent catch by Moises. But it’s not out because he put the ball on the ground to brace his fall. The umpire should know that. That’s a really embarrassing oversight”. Another in Lachlan McKirdy said: “Don’t think there is any definitive proof that Henriques’ fingers are under that ball. Surprised Rogers was given out there”.
“The way the rules have been applied so far, it felt like it would be given as not out, because we’ve seen two or three examples of it”, Stars coach Peter Moores told Fox Cricket during the drinks break. “It obviously didn’t happen that way, so it was a bit frustrating in that respect. From what’s happened in the past, I would have expected him to stay out. It looked like fairly clear evidence".
';
The stumps that signal dismissals, fours, sixes, and no balls.
Ben Horne.
Code Sports.
Tuesday, 26 December 2023.
PTG 4384-21326.
Ben Horne.
Code Sports.
Tuesday, 26 December 2023.
PTG 4384-21326.
The game has a new light show with Australian pay-TV broadcaster Fox Cricket bringing in a revolutionary set of LED stumps in the Men’s Big Bash League (MBBL) after they were first used in this season’s Women’s BBL series. The primary objective of the ‘Electra Stumps', that are the brainchild of former Australian cricketer Neil Maxwell and former Balmain rugby league player Ben Elias, is to "engage fans”. When a wicket is taken the stumps will light up red, when a boundary is scored they will scroll up different colours, no balls produce a different colour, and between overs they will flash to the beat of music being played over the stadium sound system.
Electra stumps have the added benefit of solving a major problem for the game in that they no longer require the use of the heavier, magnet-operated “Zinger bails”, which on occasion would not dislodge when struck. Players had complained to broadcasters and Cricket Australia after multiple mystifying instances in the MBBL when the Zingers would remain on top of the stumps despite being hit due to a magnetic sensor and the extra weight of the batteries. Electra Stumps use bails of a standard weight and don’t require a magnet, meaning the entertainment they provide does not compromise the game in any way.
The latest stumps innovation will be used in MBBL matches for the rest of the season, having been "rigorously tested" against 160km/h bowling. “Innovation is an important pillar across all Fox Sports productions”, said Fox Cricket chief Matt Weiss. “Our cricket head of innovation, Brad McNamara, and our technology partner, Cross Bar Promotions, Maxwell and Elias’ company, have been developing this for over two years. It is exciting technology that will take the viewing experience at home and in the stadium to another level. The possibilities are endless”. It is hoped the concept will be approved by the International Cricket Council to be used in World Cups and other international events.
Maxwell said the Electra stumps are "first generation” and that they will "evolve to have an additional range of innovations. According to him the “stumps will become very much a control centre for future innovations and elevated technologies and are designed as a fan engagement tool as a priority in that they accentuate key moments in a game”. Its not been confirmed but several reports suggest that the cost of a set of stumps could be as high as $A50,000 (£UK26,780), so they are unlikely, at the moment at least, to feature in the recreational game.
Deep Regrets after he'd appealed and lost
Sixers’ Curran appeal dismissed; essential umpires are respected, says CA.
PTG Editor.
Sunday, 24 December 2023.
PTG 4382-21317.
PTG Editor.
Sunday, 24 December 2023.
PTG 4382-21317.
Cricket Australia (CA) announced late on Sunday that the Sydney Sixers appeal against player Tom Curran’s four-match ban had been dismissed by a hearing held that day and that the original sanction is to stand (PTG 4381-21314, 24 December 2023). On Thursday, Curran was found guilty of "intimidating an umpire” in the lead up to his side’s Men’s Big Bash League (MBBL) match against the Hobart Hurricanes in Launceston two Mondays ago and banned from playing until his club’s seventh match of the MBBL’s ten-match home-and-away season (PTG 4378-21304, 22 December 2023).
CA did not go into any detail beyond that contained in the opening sentence above, however, Alistair Dobson its General Manager, Big Bash Leagues said in a statement: “Umpires are part of the lifeblood of cricket and it is essential they are respected and appreciated by players at all levels of the game”. Dobson also said CA acknowledged what it described as "the remorse Tom’s shown following the appeal and look forward to seeing him back in Sixers colours”. He described Curran “as a long-time contributor to the BBL”, "a clear fan-favourite" and someone "we hope will continue to play an integral role in the competition moving forward”.
The Sixers themselves said in a statement Curran believed he was simply going about his “deeply methodical” and “intense” warmup and “didn’t expect” the ensuing standoff with the umpire. Part of my preparation is to do a run through and gauge my run up on that particular surface. I’ve done this before every match and for me it’s part of my routine for every match”, Curran said. "The interaction with umpire Quesrshi took me by surprise at a time when I was very focused on my pre-match routine. I didn’t expect the stand-off that resulted”.
“I deeply regret the way I reacted to it and the resultant impact for umpire Quereshi, the Sydney Sixers and myself personally. My intention was always to veer off to umpire Quershi’s right, in a similar way to my run up at the other end. I had never considered running into him and never considered that he would think that was my intention. However, on reflection, I should have repositioned my run up a metre or so to my left. I would not do the same if the situation arose again, and I am sorry”.
Head of Sydney Sixers Rachael Haynes believed the team had a case for Curran’s charge not deserving of a four-match suspension, but ultimately accepted the verdict. "While we support Tom as a valued member of the club, in no way do we condone any sort of disrespect towards match officials”, Haynes said. “We sought to appeal the original decision based on previous Code of Conduct cases. Whilst not disagreeing that Tom had breached the code through his conduct, we felt that the charge was inconsistent with other offences. Following the ruling, we respect that not to be the case”.
Tom Curran named as CoC Chargee - banned
$A13,184 per delivery: The crazy numbers behind record IPL deals.
Tom Decent.
Sydney Morning Herald.
Wednesday, 20 December 2023.
PTG 4376-21294.
Tom Decent.
Sydney Morning Herald.
Wednesday, 20 December 2023.
PTG 4376-21294.
Australian players Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins will earn more money bowling two balls in India next year playing franchise cricket than for five days of hard work in a baggy green. First, Australian captain Cummins’ snared a record eye-watering contract worth the equivalent of $A3.67 million (£UK2m) to play with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in next year’s Indian Premier League (IPL). Then less than two hours later in Tuesday’s IPL "mini-auction”, Starc smashed that record by almost a million dollars with the Kolkata Knight Riders paying the equivalent of a whopping $A4.43 million (£UK2.35m).
If Starc bowls the full allotment of four overs in every IPL game his side plays next year, he would take home $A13,184 (£UK7,010) for every legal delivery that came out of his left hand. That’s $A79,107 (£UK42,060) for every over in the IPL. Many Australians wouldn’t earn that in a year. For context, Starc and his Australian teammates receive about $A15,000 (£UK7,975) for playing a Test match.
Two other new Aussie millionaires are Travis Head, who was also snapped up by the Sunrisers on a contract worth the equivalent of $A1.22m (£UK648,555) and Brisbane Heat paceman Spencer Johnson, who joined the Gujarat Titans for $A1.78m (£UK946,035). It’s a remarkable rise for 28-year-old Johnson who only made his T20 debut with the Heat in January this year in Cricket Australia;’s Big Bash League and has just two T20 international appearances to his name.
‘High profile’ MBBL player reported facing ‘higher level’ CoC charge.
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 20 December 2023.
PTG 4376-21291.
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 20 December 2023.
PTG 4376-21291.
A “high profile player” from Cricket Australia’s (CA) Men’s Big Bash League (MBBL) Sydney Sixers side, is reported to be facing a disciplinary hearing on Thursday in regards to their alleged behaviour prior to the start of the Sixers’ MBBL fixture against the Hobart Hurricanes in Launceston two Mondays ago. Details of the reported incident are obviously being held very tightly by CA for there has been nothing in the media about it, however, somewhat intriguingly it has been claimed that the alleged offence took place sometime "between the Toss and well before the call of ‘Play’" and is, according to a source, “in the higher part of the disciplinary scale”.
CA is said to have appointed a Code of Conduct (CoC) Commissioner to consider a submission that has presumably been submitted by match officials, although under CA’s BBL CoC arrangements, senior administrators are also able to lodge player behaviour reports. That a Commissioner has been appointed gives weight to the suggestion a 'higher end' issue is involved, while the fact the hearing is being held ten days after the match ended suggests the player has chosen to contest whatever the charge is, and therefore may well have significant legal support in the preparation of their presentation to the Commissioner.
Sydney Sixers’ next MBBL match is scheduled for Sydney on Friday, the day after the CoC hearing is reported to have been scheduled for, and after that in Sydney again next Tuesday, so in theory at least the player concerned could play in both games should the Commissioner, whose name is not known, clear them to do so.
The Playing Control Team (PCT) for the match in Launceston during which the alleged offence occurred consisted of: CA National Umpire Panel (NUP) members Greg Davidson and Nathan Johnstone on-field, their NUP colleague Shawn Craig as the television umpire, and Tasmanian State Umpire Panel member Muhammad Qureshi the fourth umpire, while CA National Referee Panel member Bob Parry was the match referee. CoC-related disciplinary reports are normally prepared and submitted by all the umpires who are part of a game's PCT.
Administrators are “killing the game”, says long-time player agent.
Daniel Cherny.
Code Sports.
Tuesday, 19 December 2023.
PTG 4376-21295.
Daniel Cherny.
Code Sports.
Tuesday, 19 December 2023.
PTG 4376-21295.
A long-time Australian player agent says cricket administrators are “killing” the game and that he cannot envisage players focusing on Test cricket into the future. As the prospect of a second Indian Premier League window beckons (PTG 4373-21276, 16 December 2023), international cricket is appearing increasingly marginalised, leading former Sheffield Shield player, ex-Cricket NSW director and veteran player manager Neil Maxwell to bemoan the future of the sport.
Maxwell told the Melbourne-based Racing and Sport radio program on Tuesday: “There’s just so much cricket” and pointed the finger at national boards including Cricket Australia. He thinks International Cricket Council "Full Member countries are definitely to blame because there’s no structure and no context to the game of cricket. The game has lost all sight of what’s important. Everyone’s just wanting to play cricket for the sake of playing it. Some of the most meaningless games of cricket around the world will be taking place. The ICC is a meaningless body, it’s just an event organiser that organises World Cups now”.
Maxwell, whose company manages Australian captain Cummins along with teammate Josh Hazlewood, and has also been Mike Hussey’s long-time agent, said the financial opportunities on offer on the short-form white-ball circuit provided little incentive for the next generation of prospective Test cricketers to focus on their red ball skills. In his view: “As sad as it sounds, there’s no way in the world a player would be focused on Test cricket. We’ve got the most amazing Test team at the moment, and they’re winning everything before them, which is brilliant to see. Where does the country’s number 14 player get a game? It ain’t happening, and it’s not going to happen”.
“There’ll be a changing of the guard in the next two to three years, there’s no doubt about that, but we’re going to miss two or three generations of cricketers who are vying for 11 spots when they’re being offered 500 spots around the world in other formats of the game. So we’ve got to be honest with ourselves. These players have to make a living, otherwise they’re going to be pottering around in Sheffield Shield cricket trying to get one spot in the next five to 10 years. So it just doesn’t add up, does it?”
Maxwell also bemoaned a lack of prize money being directed towards players at ICC events, as well as the proliferation of World Cups. Under the current ICC global broadcasts rights deal, there is a senior men’s ICC title up for grabs every year. “FICA (the global player union body) is fighting to try and get an elevation of two per cent to three per cent for prize money in World Cups. The Matildas with due respect who finished fourth in the World Cup make more money than the Australian players do for winning the World Cup”.
"We’re diluting the product by having a World Cup every year. So the players lose a World Cup and they’ve got another one in six months. I’m sorry to sound cynical because I really don’t want to be, because I do love the game of cricket, but when you look at these points, facts basically, it becomes stupid. Unfortunately we’re killing a game that’s such a big part of our history”.
Financial return the key factor for CA in Test match allocations.
Daniel Brettig.
Melbourne Age,
Tuesday, 19 December 2023.
PTG 4375-21290.
Daniel Brettig.
Melbourne Age,
Tuesday, 19 December 2023.
PTG 4375-21290.
Projected figures show Perth is expected to bring in millions of dollars less than Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide over the next five years in a blow to its bid to host the pre-Christmas Test every year. Combined projected revenue of $A60 million (£UK31.8m) for the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests mean the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney Cricket Ground fixtures are locked in for the foreseeable future, as Cricket Australia (CA) continues discussions about its schedule over the next seven years.
But Perth’s projected revenue is $A10m (£5.3m) UK less than Adelaide in third, as South Australia and Western Australia continue a fierce battle to secure the Test match slot that was awarded to Perth this year, only to be played in front of smaller crowds than organisers hoped for. The 55,000 capacity stadium saw 16,259 in the stands on day one, 17,666 on day two, 15,956 on day three and 9,244 on day four, or 59,125 all-up.
Outgoing Western Australia Cricket Association chief executive Christina Matthews said before the game that she would like to “see between 20 and 25,000 on each of the first three days [but] if we don’t get that, it’s not the end of the world, it just demonstrates how far we’ve got to go”. The main priority for broadcasters Foxtel and Seven is to play matches at venues that were full to capacity .
Three sources with knowledge of discussions between CA and the state associations, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing, have provided figures that show Melbourne’s Boxing Day Test and Sydney’s New Year’s Test are the two most lucrative matches on the annual calendar, expected to rake in around $A32m (£UK17m) and $27m (£UK14.3m) respectively over the next five years.
The Adelaide Test, which has become a highly successful “destination match” for eastern states tourists since the oval was redeveloped a decade ago, and is often played as a day-night fixture, is projected to collect gate and corporate box receipts worth more than $A20m (£UK10.6m) over that time. But Perth, or the “West Test”, is projected to bring in just $A11m (£UK5.8m) over the same period.
CA did not deny the veracity of the projection figures but confirmed that the bidding process for future Test matches was ongoing. An outcome is expected early in the new year.“Australian cricket has a proven track record of building and delivering mutually beneficial partnerships that deliver significant economic and social benefits for governments”, a spokesperson said. “Cricket Australia is working collaboratively with all state and territory governments to provide long-term certainty of international cricket hosting rights to maximise benefits for local communities and the game”.
‘All’ umpire communications to go live to air in SA20.
PTG Editor.
Tuesday, 19 December 2023.
PTG 4375-21288.
PTG Editor.
Tuesday, 19 December 2023.
PTG 4375-21288.
"All [radio] communications" between the two on-field umpires, as well as those between them and their TV colleague, will go live to air during matches in the second edition of Cricket South Africa’s SA20 Twenty20 series which id due to get underway in Gqeberha on 10 January. That and other “numerous innovations" that will apply for the eight-team, 34-match four-and-a-half week long event, were announced in a strikingly breathless media release issued on Monday.
The competition, which according to the organisers "is going bigger and better for season two following a highly successful inaugural season”, will also include 'Com Cam’, 'the Dug Out’, what’s labelled the 'iconic Couch’, on-field player tracking, a "gamified player-naming look”, and “the revolutionary BuggyQam, a roving camera on wheels that puts the viewers right in the middle of the cricketing action".
'Com Cam’ will "give viewers at home a fixed view of the commentary box, with big-name former international cricketers providing expert commentary and analysis”, the 'Dug Out’ "is a boundary-level camera that connects directly with the players and coaches close to the boundary ropes”, while the 'iconic Couch’ is said to be "where commentators, fans and celebrities engage while enjoying the cricket".
SuperSport chief executive Rendani Ramovha is quoted as saying "viewers at home will be able to share experiences like never before and fans in the stadiums will also be closer to the television production beamed around the globe".
"VILLAGE"
T20I sees both ‘Obstructing the Field’ and ’Timed Out’ dismissals.
Wisden Staff.
Tuesday, 19 December 2023.
Wisden Staff.
Tuesday, 19 December 2023.
PTG 4375-21287.
An Africa Cup Twenty20 International (T20I) between Ghana and Sierra Leone played in Benoni on Monday witnessed both ‘Obstructing the Field’ and ‘Timed Out' dismissals, each involving the same two players from either side. It’s the first 'Timed Out' dismissal to occur in T20Is, and also believed to be the first instance both types of dismissals have occurred together at international, or for that matter any, level.
The first incident came during Sierra Leone’s innings when batter Abbas Gibla struck a ball from seamer Godfred Bakwenyam back down the pitch and attempted to run a single. However, he was in danger of being run out by the bowler and, having initially run off the pitch, he curved back towards the ball and his leg made contact with the bowler as he bent to pick it up. Ghana appealed, and after a consultation, umpires Isaac Oyieko from Kenya and Machiel Mollersent from South Africa sent Gibla on his way.
In Ghana’s innings, more than four minutes elapsed before Bakwenyam was ready to receive his first delivery, and as he took guard several Sierra Leonean fielders were seen running towards Mollersent at the bowler’s end and an appeal was made. After the two umpires got together and again had a discussion, Bakwenyam was given out. He himself had a discussion with both umpires but was eventually asked to depart.
Both Obstructing the Field and Timed Out dismissals have come to prominence recently. In the World Cup, Angelo Mathews became the first batter in international cricket history to be given timed out in Sri Lanka’s game against Bangladesh (PTG 4339-21140, 11 November 2023), then in a Test against New Zealand, Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim deflected a ball away from his stumps with his hand in a game against New Zealand (PTG 4365-21244, 7 December 2023).
18/12
DOG EAT DOG
Not enough to go round? Franchises poaching from franchises, who'd 'av guessed?
11/12
Ben Duckett has been selected to tour India in the New Year as part of a fresh looking England squad that includes the 20 year old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir who has only taken ten wickets in his career of just six matches for Somerset.
Mastermind Rob Key's theory being that [Bashir is] "very raw but his ceiling is really high", something that could be said about most youngsters I'd suppose.
Batter loses middle stump but reprieved as bails remain intact.
Cameron Mee.
Western Advocate.
Sunday, 10 December 2023.
PTG 4368-21253.
Players and umpires taking part in a Cricket ACT third grade match in Canberra between Western District and Ginninderra on Saturday afternoon saw a batter get an unusual reprieve after they all thought he had been dismissed ‘bowled’. A ball from Western Districts’ bowler Andy Reynolds appeared to clean bowl Ginninderra opener Matthew Bosustow with the ball crashing into the middle stump. Bosustow initially started to walk before realising the bails remained intact, even though the stump itself was laying at a considerable angle.
Wests' captain Sam Wightman said: "No one has seen it happen [before]. We all found it pretty funny afterwards. At the time we were happy to take the wicket, then we weren't so happy the batsman had to come back. We got him not long after, which made me happier”. After some discussion the umpires, as required by what the Laws say, declared Bosustow not out.
Law 29.1 states that: "The wicket is broken when at least one bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or one or more stumps is removed from the ground”. The Marylebone Cricket Club’s ’Tom Smith’ states on page 267 that: “A stump is not ‘knocked out of the ground until it is completely free of the ground. Being knocked so far as to be nearly horizontal is not enough" .
Stuard Broad's rearranging of the bails in the Ashes doesn't appear so eccentric anymore...
Pitch-related safety issue sees MBBL match abandoned.
PTG Editor
Sunday, 10 December 2023.
PTG 4368-21252.
PTG Editor
Sunday, 10 December 2023.
PTG 4368-21252.
The Men’s Big Bash League (MBBL) fixture between the Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers in Geelong on Sunday was abandoned after just 6.5 overs due to the state of the pitch. It's the first time a MBBL game has been stopped because of a pitch issue and Cricket Australia (CA) said it "will conduct a thorough review into the extremely frustrating circumstances that have resulted in the game being abandoned and a huge disappointment for fans and players”. It is not known whether that ‘review’ will be released to the general public or not.
The pitch had been rain-affected in the days prior to the game, and ground staff worked throughout Sunday to rectify the situation. Umpires Simon Lightbody and Ben Treloar judged the pitch safe for play to start, however, in the seventh over a number of unpredictable deliveries prompted Lightbody and Treloar to decide there was “foreseeable" risk to player safety. Each team will receive one point "unless the game can be rescheduled”, and the spectators were refunded the cost of their tickets.
Interviewed on television after the game, Treloar said he and Lightbody had hoped the game could be played out but the last over made it clear it had to be called off. “We wanted to give play every chance – it’s why we started to play. After the first few overs, we were quite hopeful [of the game being completed] but that last ball was enough for us. That was the one that put us in this position. The safety of the players is paramount”.
Three players censured as a result of T20I fracas.
PTG Editor.
Sunday, 10 December 2023.
PTG 4368-21254.
PTG Editor.
Sunday, 10 December 2023.
PTG 4368-21254.
Zimbabwe captain, Sikandar Raza, and Ireland players, Curtis Campher and Josh Little, have all been fined for breaching Level One of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Code of Conduct during the first Twenty20 International (T20I) of their white ball seriesI in Harare on Thursday. All three were found to have engaged in “conduct that was contrary to the spirit of the game”.
Raza was charged with aggressively charging towards Campher and Little while pointing his bat and breaking away from the umpire who had tried to calm the situation. Campher was charged with charging towards Raza, side-stepping one of the on-field umpires who tried to stop his progress. Little was charged with making physical contact with Raza after the latter complained about Little’s blocking his path when trying to make a run.
The Zimbabwean was fined 50 percent of his match fee and received two demerit points, meaning he is suspended for the remaining two matches of the ongoing three-match series as the censure took his accumulated demerit points within a 24-month period to four (PTG 3886-19102, 19 May 2022). Campher and Little lost 15 percent of their respective match fees and received one demerit point each, their first within 24 months.
Campher and Little admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing. Raza admitted to the offence but did not accept the sanction proposed by Pycroft, however, the sanction was confirmed in a formal hearing held on Friday. On-field umpires Forster Mutizwa and Iknow Chabi, third umpire Langton Rusere and fourth official Christopher Phiri levelled the charges against the three players.
Test pitch ‘probably worst in my career’, says Kiwi skipper.
Ian Anderson.
Stuff New Zealand.
Sunday, 10 December 2023.
PTG 4368-21255.
New Zealand skipper Tim Southee’s side may have won the second and final Test of the series against Bangladesh in Mirpur on Saturday, but he still labelled the pitch provided at the Shere Bangla National Stadium “Probably the worst wicket I’ve come across in my career”. Spin bowlers dominated the game, taking 30 of the 36 wickets to fall as the ball turned prodigiously from within the first 30 minutes on day one.
Southee was initially cautious in his criticism when asked about the pitch, blowing out air before answering the first question on the subject. “There’s a number of ways I could describe that wicket. I think for the match to be all over in 170 overs is a fair reflection on the wicket. It wasn’t great – there certainly wasn’t an even battle between bat and ball”. The game saw 1,069 balls delivered, the third-lowest number ever bowled in a Test.
Ian Anderson.
Stuff New Zealand.
Sunday, 10 December 2023.
PTG 4368-21255.
New Zealand skipper Tim Southee’s side may have won the second and final Test of the series against Bangladesh in Mirpur on Saturday, but he still labelled the pitch provided at the Shere Bangla National Stadium “Probably the worst wicket I’ve come across in my career”. Spin bowlers dominated the game, taking 30 of the 36 wickets to fall as the ball turned prodigiously from within the first 30 minutes on day one.
Southee was initially cautious in his criticism when asked about the pitch, blowing out air before answering the first question on the subject. “There’s a number of ways I could describe that wicket. I think for the match to be all over in 170 overs is a fair reflection on the wicket. It wasn’t great – there certainly wasn’t an even battle between bat and ball”. The game saw 1,069 balls delivered, the third-lowest number ever bowled in a Test.
08/12
Lou Vincent, match fixer, has had his life time ban from all cricket reduced.
07/12
Batter dismissed ‘Obstructing the Field' after handling the ball.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 7 December 2023.
PTG 4365-21244.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 7 December 2023.
PTG 4365-21244.
Bangladesh's Mushfiqur Rahim was given out ‘Obstructing the Field’ after a review by umpire Rod Tucker after he handled the ball while batting on the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand in Mirpur on Wednesday. Rahman touched the ball immediately after blocking a delivery from the Kiwi's Kyle Jamieson, who along with his fielding colleagues immediately appealed to Tucker.
Just why the batter did what he did is not clear as the ball appeared to be going well wide of his stumps. Earlier on in his innings Rahim, who is believed to be the first Bangladeshi to be given out that way in a Test, had reached for the ball when playing a defensive shot which bounced back towards the slips cordon, but on that occasion he did not make contact.
England’s Len Hutton is the only other batter to have been given out ‘Obstructing the Field’, that dismissal coming in a Test against South Africa at The Oval in 1951. Reports at the time state that the ball "spat off a good length” and hit Hutton’s glove, then rolled up his arm and then behind him. Concerned that the ball was heading for his stumps ,Hutton tried to stop with a swipe of his bat, however, he missed it completely.
The ball did not hit the stumps, but neither did it reach wicketkeeper Russell Endean who was standing up, but Hutton’s attempt to hit the errant ball prevented him from reaching out for the catch. Umpire Dai Davies is said to have, after an appeal went up from the fielders, "immediately giving Hutton out". He was thus the first, in what were termed in those days, batsman, to be given out in such a fashion in a Test, and fifth overall in first class cricket.
‘Handling the Ball’, which was previously a stand alone dismissal, was folded into the ‘Obstructing the Field’ law six years ago, the change coming into affect in October 2017 (PTG 2102-10650, 12 April 2017). Former England captain Michael Vaughan, who was given out for ‘Handling the Ball' in a Test against India in Bengaluru in 2001 (one of only seven batters in Test history), was quick to show solidarity with Bangladesh’s Rahim on Wednesday. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Vaughan said: “Welcome to the very exclusive Handled ball club mushfiqur...only proper players are members…”. He later posted a clip of the incident and added: “easily done”.
06/12
04/12
Many suggest franchise cricket is ripe for corruption. A no ball on Saturday in a T10 game has drawn comparisons to one infamous non-delivery by one of Derbyshire's new signings over a decade ago.
Giant overstep brings back memories of Lord’s in 2010.
PTG Editor.
Monday, 4 December 2023.
PTG 4362-21229.
PTG 4362-21229.
There were at least visual shades of Lord’s in 2010 when Indian cricketer Abhimanyu Mithun bowled a giant overstep ’No Ball’ during his Northern Warriors side’s Abu Dhabi T10 match against the Chennai Braves on Saturday. Bowling the fifth over of the innings, Mithun’s foot landed further down the pitch than did Mohammad Amir's in that infamous Test at Lord’s 13 years ago (PTG 669-3286, 17 September 2010), an event for the latter that eventually saw him banned and serve time for spot-fixing.
Abhimanyu Mithun’s offending delivery in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (left),
compared with Mohammad Amir’s at Lord’s in September 2010 (right
Law 41.8 requires an umpire who considers a bowler has delivered a deliberate ’No Ball’ can "direct the captain of the fielding side to suspend the bowler immediately from bowling” for the remainder of the innings concerned, but neither of the two on-field umpires, Sri Lankans Lyndon Hannibal and Ranmore Martinesz, or TV umpire Gawie Botha of South Africa, went down that route.
PCB quickly backflips on appointment of former spot-fixer to selection loop.
Geo News.
Monday, 4 December 2023.
PTG 4362-21232.
Geo News.
Monday, 4 December 2023.
PTG 4362-21232.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has backflipped on its decision to appoint former national captain Salman Butt, who was jailed for his involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, as a member of its selection consultancy panel. On Friday, the PCB announced that Butt, along with former international teammates Kamran Akmal and Iftikhar Anjum, would form an advisory panel under newly-appointed chief selector Wahab Riaz (PTG 4361-21128, 2 December 2023).
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, less than 24 hours after Butt’s appointment, Riaz announced the 39-year-old had been withdrawn from the consultancy panel with immediate effect, saying: “I am reversing that decision and I’ve already spoken to Salman Butt. He is a good cricketing mind who understands cricket and has been covering domestic cricket for the past two to three years, but I told him that he cannot be a part of my team because I do not want people to link us in any way".
Sheffield Shield players generate extra paperwork for umpires.
PTG Editor.
Monday, 4 December 2023.
PTG 4362-21230.
PTG 4362-21230.
Umpires Mike Graham-Smith and Nathan Johnston had an extra level of paperwork to fill out after last week's Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and Victoria in Adelaide, with four players up on Code of Conduct offences. Two of the charges laid involved "Abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a match” and the other two "Showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during a match”.
Fergus O’Neill of Victoria and Henry Hunt of South Australia were both found guilty of “abuse” offences and as they were their first over the last 18 months they were given an “official reprimand”. Two other Victorians, Mitchell Perry and Peter Siddle both showed dissent at an umpire’s decision, and they too were listed as first offenders and officially reprimanded. While no details of just what drew the umpire’s attention on each occasions have been made public, all four charges were rated at Level One, and take the number of cases on Cricket Australia’s Code of Conduct Register for the 2023-24 season to 15 (PTG 4360-21225, 1 December 2023).
Not included in the list of offenders during the game was Victoria’s Peter Hanscomb, who lingered at the crease after being given out (PTG 4357-21213, 29 November 2023). While exact details have not become public, there are suggestions that the way the dismissal was handled by one of the umpires on-field made the situation appear much more belligerent on Handscomb’s part than was actually the case (PTG 4360-21225, 1 December 2023).
Another time Newell took his eyes off the ball
David Bedingham, the potential Kolpak (at the time) and Overseas player, that Mick Newell missed/ let slip / didn't rate / slept through/didn't rate / couldn't be bothered to go and see when he was playing for Plumtree CC, has got his first Test call-up.
03/12
27/11
ECB pledge to reduce emissions
23/11
Matty Potts has been added to the England squad for the forthcoming ODI trip to the West Indies as a replacement for an injured Josh Tongue.
| Mick Newell is expected to announce his great surprise soon, once he wakes up! |
21/11
ICC’s Soviet-style World Cup final broadcast no match for Sky.
Alan Tyers.
London Daily Telegraph.
Monday, 20 November 2023.
PTG 4349-21180.
Alan Tyers.
London Daily Telegraph.
Monday, 20 November 2023.
PTG 4349-21180.
Cricket’s overlords were claiming possible viewing figures of one billion for Sunday’s World Cup final, although how many of them stayed to the bitter end is anybody’s guess. The International Cricket Council's (ICC) worldwide coverage was shown in the UK and the sense from the broadcast and some of the broadcasters is that the wrong guy won. It was clearly a huge day for India and Indian fans: the deafening silence through the telly when their heroes suffered any setback was striking and, for schadenfreude connoisseurs, something of a corrective after all the pre-match nationalistic pomp and circumstance, up to and including an airforce flypast that may have taken years off the life of a startled Michael Atherton.
Clearly it would be hopelessly naïve to consider that this was supposed to be an international final held in India rather than an Indian home fixture but, for this neutral watcher 6,800 km away, it was all a bit de trop. The match-up created an unsettling feeling for the England cricket fan on a Sunday morning: even given cricket administrators’ unquenchable thirst for messing with the match formats, it is regrettably not yet possible for both sides to lose. But still. While nobody wants their Sunday lunch spoiled by a triumphant David Warner, to see Narendra Modi grumpily watching India lose in the Narendra Modi Stadium… well, it would take a heart of stone not to laugh.
Only a tiny fraction of the worldwide viewership would have been watching on the UK’s free-to-air Channel 5, but it was heartening that the match was made available on terrestrial TV here. The Sky Sports Cricket coverage was shared with Channel 5, good news for cricket fans who don’t have satellite, bad news for fans of the free-to-air network’s standard Sunday fare of Friends repeats, Peppa Pig, and Christmas movies (yes, already) so cheesy that even ITV2 turns its nose up. Commiserations to that viewership community but in every war there must be casualties.
The ICC broadcast – long on matey cheerleading and product placement; short on analysis, cojones and wit – makes you realise how good England fans have it with Sky Sports Cricket. Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Ian Ward (and Sky regulars Ricky Ponting and Ian Smith) are in a different league to the ICC lot. The ICC broadcast displayed a Soviet-style refusal to mention off-message events like a protester getting on the pitch and grabbing Virat Kohli, or pass comment on the delayed, dismal post-match presentations, or the charmless way Indian Prime Minister Modi handed Pat Cummins the trophy and then stomped off, leaving the victorious captain alone and bemused on the stage. It was left to Ward to remark how rum the whole conclusion was.
But never mind the quality, feel the width. If you are a working cricket commentator and you didn’t get the nod from the selectors for this one then I’m afraid it might be time to try another line of work. Literally anyone who is anyone in cricket punditry, and indeed some who aren’t, got a gig. A whole day of your Harsha Bhogles and the Sanjay Manjrekars of this world doing their partisan schtick, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India's Hype-man in chief Ravi Shastri chewing the scenery as never before with a Michael Buffer-style “heavyweight contest… in the blue corner” turn at the toss.
Dinesh Karthik got the telecast off to a poor start by saying of the atmosphere: “You have got to be here to know what it feels like”, which sort of goes against the whole “televising stuff” concept, but he’s a jolly presence and well suited for this sort of jingoistic japery.
As for the Aussie contingent, not only Shane Watson but Matt Hayden were involved, aw mate look mate, etc etc and so on: surely a violation of UK broadcast guidelines this early on a Sunday. Watto might be as thick as a dungeon wall but even he is not as bad as Haydos, wittering on preposterously about how “this is courage at its absolute best” when Travis Head took a single to long on. You can never relax when Haydos is on air, it could be Baggy Greens, surfing, elite mateship or any other fair dinkum bilge at any moment. But this might be what our viewing future looks like. The wheel is turning away from bilateral cricket in favour of tournaments and that, for the UK TV watcher, is not good news.
Two Dicks to umpire the Final - Richard Illkingworth and Richard Kettleborough
Will two Englishman stand in a World Cup final for the first time since 1983?
PTG Editor.
Friday, 17 November 2023.
PTG 4346-21164.
PTG Editor.
Friday, 17 November 2023.
PTG 4346-21164.
Wins by India and Australia in the semi finals of the World Cup means that the two umpires from those countries, Nitin Menon and Rod Tucker, who were on-field in the games to decide the finalists, will not be in contention for Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad. The pair WHO will stand in the match are expected to be announced on Friday, but two Englishmen in Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough appear to be in line for that honour, and if that transpires the latter will be standing in his second 50-over format World Cup final after that of 2015 (PTG 1543-7420, 28 March 2015). The last time two Englishmen stood together in a World Cup final was in 1983, when ‘Dickie’ Bird and Barrie Myer oversaw the decider between India and the West Indies at Lord’s.
The previous 12 World Cup finals have seen a total of 13 umpires stand in the final: five from England, two Pakistan, and one each from Australia, India, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Steve Bucknor of the West Indies leads the list with five finals, Bird and David Shepherd (both England) stood in three, Meyer, Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) each two, plus Brian Aldridge (New Zealand), Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Ram Gupta (India), Mahboob Shah (Pakistan), Tom Spencer (England) and Simon Taufel (Australia), plus Kettleborough, all one. Dharmasena, Erasmus and Kettleborough are the only ones on that list who are still officiating at World Cup level.
13/11
12/11
Umpires had ’no other choice’ but to give batter ’Timed Out’, says MCC.
PTG Editor.
Saturday, 11 November 2023.
PTG 4339-21140.
Saturday, 11 November 2023.
PTG 4339-21140.
Given that ‘Time' had not been called by the umpires, and that at the time of the appeal more than two minutes had elapsed, umpires Richard Illingworth and Marais Erasmus “correctly" gave Sri Lankan batter Angelo Mathews ’Timed Out’ during the World Cup game in Delhi on Monday, according to a statement issued by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the guardians of the Laws. “There was no other action for the umpires to take within the Laws of Cricket”, says the MCC.
The relevant Law here is, says the MCC, Law 40.1.1, which states: “After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless Time has been called, be ready to receive the ball, or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within three minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out”. The club points out the match was being played under International Cricket Council One Day International Playing Conditions, but that except for the fact a two, not three minute, timing requirement is involved, "the Law and PCs are otherwise identical”.
The key part of the Law is that the batter must "be ready to receive the ball” within the allocated time period, says the MCC, as “being on the field, or even at the wicket, is not enough to avoid being Timed Out”. It points to Mathews "taking more than 90 seconds to get to the 30-yard circle” at which time the batter "appeared to notice that he was short on time, jogging the final few yards to the wicket. He had not, at this stage, begun to take guard and was not close to being in a position to receive the ball".
Mathews "helmet malfunction has been shown to have taken place one minute and 54 seconds after the previous wicket had fallen”. The MCC emphasised that "had the umpires been informed of a significant, justifiable, equipment-related delay within the two-minute allowance, they could have treated it as a new type of delay (as they would when, for example, a bat breaks), possibly even calling Time, allowing for a resolution of that delay without the batter being at risk of being Timed out.
Instead, "Mathews did not consult with the umpires, which a player would be expected to do when seeking new equipment. Rather, he just signalled to the dressing room for a replacement. Had he explained to the umpires what had happened and asked for time to get it sorted out, they might have allowed him to change the helmet, perhaps calling Time and thus removing any possibility of being Timed Out".
MCC responds to ’several questions’ it received over ’Timed Out’ dismissal.
PTG Editor.
Saturday, 11 November 2023.
PTG 4339-21141.
PTG Editor.
Saturday, 11 November 2023.
PTG 4339-21141.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (KMCC) says it received "several questions” about Angelo Mathews ’Timed Out’ dismissal in his side’s World Cup match against Bangladesh in Delhi on Monday (PTG 4334-21116, 7 November 2023). They were: ‘Is the ’Timed Out' Law required'; 'Should there be an allowance in the ’Timed Out’ Law for equipment malfunction or other reasonable delays'; and ‘What role does the ’Spirit of Cricket’ play in the situation that prevailed on the day.
In answer to those questions, the MCC says first that without the Law "a batter could waste time at the fall of a wicket, choosing not to come to the crease in a timely manner”. That "is particularly problematic in timed cricket, when the light may be fading and a draw a favourable result, but it is also relevant in limited overs cricket, where the fielding side is often punished for slow over-rates. Even if the intent is not specifically to waste time, a Law is required to keep the game moving and prevent significant delays between wickets falling.
In regards to a malfunction or other reasonable delays, the club points that it constantly reviews the Laws but the fact that the ’Timed Out' Law had never previously been invoked in international cricket, and only six previous times in first-class cricket "suggests that there is not a great need for change at this point” (PTG 4337-21113, 9 November 2023). It goes open with: "Furthermore, should the umpires think that there is a significant delay unrelated to the fall of wicket, they are entitled to make clear that this is a different interruption, and, if necessary, call Time – as they would at any interruption in play. Under those circumstances, a batter cannot be Timed Out” (PTG 4339-21139 above)..
Lastly, reference is made to part of a statement the club issued following the run out of non-striker Charlie Dean in a Womens’ One Day International at Lord’s last year, which read: "Cricket is a broad church and the Spirit by which it is played is no different. As custodian of the Spirit of Cricket, MCC appreciates its application is interpreted differently across the globe (PTG 4008-19701, 25 September 2022). Respectful debate is healthy and should continue, as where one person sees the bowler as breaching the Spirit in such examples, another will point at the non-striker gaining an unfair advantage by leaving their ground early. Whilst [this] was indeed an unusual end to an exciting match, it was properly officiated and should not be considered as anything more”.
The intention of that statement last year was, says the MCC, "in part to outline that the Spirit of Cricket is not owned by any one player, country or culture and that the game is played with subtle differences across the world. At the Spirit of Cricket’s core are the values of respect and fair play, yet its application is interpretive, as issues considered to be totally reasonable in the eyes of some may be deemed unacceptable to others. It is recognised that there are times when players will choose not to complete certain dismissals, not to appeal or, upon reflection, to withdraw an appeal”.
"Provisions exist within the Laws of Cricket to facilitate these choices. It should be stressed that none of this is a requirement of the Laws of Cricket or the Spirit of Cricket, yet there are occasions when a fielding captain will feel that withdrawing an appeal, for example, would be ‘the right thing to do’, and such occasions are often rightfully held up as a positive example of the Spirit of Cricket”.
It concludes by saying a "good illustration" of this is the MCC’s 2022 Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket award where trecipient, Nepal’s Aasif Sheikh, refused to run out Ireland’s Andy McBrine, who had been accidentally upended by bowler Kamal Airee while attempting a run (PTG 3826-18836, 16 February 2022). "Had Aasif run out McBrine, he would have been well within his rights under the Laws of Cricket, and nobody could reasonably say that he had acted outside the Spirit of Cricket”, says the MCC, “however, he chose to take a different course of action, and in doing so, rightly earned plaudits the world over”.
"Whilst the Laws and Playing Conditions govern the game, much like within legislation which governs society and other sporting codes, there will be frequent shades of grey in interpretation and not all scenarios can be foreseen and specifically codified. In these instances, it is the players who will ultimately determine how their game is to be played".
Sri Lanka suspended by ICC over government interference.
![author avatar image.webp]()
Reuters.
Saturday, 11 November 2023.
PTG 4339-21143.
Sri Lanka Cricket have had their membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended with immediate effect after the country’s government sacked their entire board last week, replacing it with an interim seven-member committee headed by 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga. That move was blocked by the courts for 14 days earlier this week but the internal politicking, triggered by a disappointing World Cup campaign has seen the ICC take action (PTG 4337-21135, 9 November 2023).
The ICC said in a statement: “Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka. The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course”. Whether Sri Lanka will be banned from playing international cricket will be determined at the world body's board meeting later this month. Sri Lanka is set to host the Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup next February (PTG 4316-21048, 18 October 2023).
Reuters.
Saturday, 11 November 2023.
PTG 4339-21143.
Sri Lanka Cricket have had their membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended with immediate effect after the country’s government sacked their entire board last week, replacing it with an interim seven-member committee headed by 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga. That move was blocked by the courts for 14 days earlier this week but the internal politicking, triggered by a disappointing World Cup campaign has seen the ICC take action (PTG 4337-21135, 9 November 2023).
The ICC said in a statement: “Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka. The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course”. Whether Sri Lanka will be banned from playing international cricket will be determined at the world body's board meeting later this month. Sri Lanka is set to host the Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup next February (PTG 4316-21048, 18 October 2023).
10/11
Law 40.1 Out Timed out.
40.1.1
After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless Time has been called, be ready to receive the ball or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within 3 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out.
The Laws of Cricket [2017 Code 3rd Edition - 2022]
The 'Spirit of Cricket': hard to define but always whatever we want it to be.
Tanya Aldred.
The Guardian.
Thursday, 9 November 2023.
PTG 4337-21132.
Tanya Aldred.
The Guardian.
Thursday, 9 November 2023.
PTG 4337-21132.
I’m trying to get angry about Angelo Mathews being sent on his way in Delhi, Timed Out, open mouthed, outraged, tearing up in the dugout. How cross he must have felt when he discovered that broken chinstrap in the middle, how temporarily betrayed by his Bangladesh counterpart, Shakib Al Hasan. How infuriating to walk back scoreless, without having even put bat to crease, the popped balloon of an end to a barren run of games for him that have rung up only 161 runs at the miserly average of 17.
How irritating, the impish face of Shakib, cheerfully twice insisting to the umpire that, yes, he was quite sure, he really did want to appeal. That Mathews flung only his helmet to the ground when he stepped over the boundary, rather than the full BLT that Ben Stokes deposited after sweeping straight to the short fine leg fielder against Australia, is a testament to his powers of restraint.
I hear the howls of the Sri Lankan fans, but also the frisson of excitement writhing through the stadium: they were there to witness a first in international cricket – like seeing a spark of a fight, from a safe distance. Though, as Wisden’s Harriet Monkhouse soon pointed out, there have been six previous instances of a player being timed out in first-class cricket, ranging from Hemulal Yadav – sent on his way after ignoring the call of the wicket and chatting to his coach on the boundary – to AJ Harris, whose groin strain slowed him down so much he was given out by the time he reached the middle (PTG 4335-21124, 7 November 2023).
There must have also been countless times when a player could have been Timed Out, but neither the captain nor the fielding side thought of appealing. Take the County Championship match between Kent and Lancashire at Aigburth in 2002. The late Andrew Symonds took his time to get from the balcony, down the stairs, and out through the old pavilion – “I was just having a piss when Ed Smith was out”, his explanation – but Lancashire didn’t appeal, and he made a match-winning century. Shakib wasn’t going to make that mistake.
At the end of Monday’s game the players didn’t shake hands. Mathews nearly exploded in a cloud of righteous fury at the press conference, “It was disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh”, he spat. “If you want to play cricket like that and stoop down to that level, then there is something wrong, drastically”. It all sounds very much like a job for the Spirit of Cricket, who has been invoked fairly regularly of late. There was the run out of England non-striker Charlie Dean by Indian bowler Deepti Sharma at Lord’s in September 2022 (PTG 4009-19702, 26 September 2022), and then that other incident at Lord’s this year, the one that culminated in a mob of MCC blazers forming a plummy-vowelled-mob against the Australians in the Long Room.
The fallout from Jonny Bairstow’s ditsy spot of gardening, and Alex Carey’s quick hands behind the stumps, eventually resulted in one member being expelled, and two suspended (PTG 4309-21019, 6 October 2023), as well as Rishi Sunak, your next door neighbour, Uncle Tom Cobley, and the police force of the state of Victoria having their say.
The question is really what you want the Spirit of Cricket to do. At the moment, the Spirit of Cricket is the sort of person you want to sit next to on a bus. He is polite and decent and ignores the man watching his phone loudly without his headphones on. The Spirit of Cricket lets people copy his homework, but is also a stickler for the rules, insisting that you please don’t step on the grass. People are friends with the Spirit of Cricket when they want something, but the Spirit of cricket doesn’t always get invited to parties.
Maybe we want a Spirit of Cricket with a bit more teeth. A sergeant-major Spirit of Cricket? When you read the Marylebone Cricket Club’s (mcc) explanation of what the Spirit of Cricket actually is in the preamble to the Laws, it is vague. Shakib certainly falls foul of some of the guidance – “create a positive atmosphere with your own conduct and encourage others to do likewise”. Fail. “Respect your opponents,” Hmmm. But he could just about defend his actions under “Play hard, and play fair” – the Laws do after all stipulate that being Timed Out is a way of losing your wicket. If we decide we actually aren’t very keen on it, perhaps the easiest thing is just do away with Law 40.1 – and consider binning some of the other more obscure ones at the same time. However, as yet we haven’t heard just what those ‘Cusdonians of the Laws’, the MCC, thinks the circumstances of Mathews’ dismissal (PTG 4336-21128, 8 November 2023).
Was all the bad feeling worth it for Shakib, who made the initial appeal after being tipped off by one of his players? Yes, it seems so – Bangladesh went on to win and still have a shot of qualifying for the Champions Trophy (PTG 4328-21091, 1 November 2o023) . He even won the player of the match award. “I thought [the dismissal] helped in a way. It gave me more fight. I won’t deny that”, he said defiantly “[Mathews] came and asked me if I would withdraw the appeal. I said "I understand your situation, it was unfortunate but I don’t want to”.
Ultimately, in a world that feels more chaotic and catastrophic on an hourly basis, Mathews’s dismissal is a moment of levity. It lights the touchpaper to furious yet safe debate over rights and wrongs, morality and shame, while through the saloon door of the pub, the International Cricket Council's friendly World Cup partner Aramco continues its voracious thirst for oil, and humans keep endlessly killing each other.
Umpires informed batter of 'Timed Out' threat before helmet malfunction.
Nagraj Gollapudi.Cricinfo.
Wednesday, 8 November 2023.
PTG 4337-21133.
Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews was aware he was in danger of being Timed Out when he walked in to bat in Sri Lanka's World Cup game against Bangladesh on Monday in Delhi. It has been learned that as soon as Mathews walked onto the field following the fall of the previous wicket, he was told by umpire Richard Illingworth that he had 30 seconds left to be ready to face the bowler. Eventually, with a broken chin strap on his helmet also causing a delay, Mathews was not ready to face up within the stipulated two minutes and consequently became the first international batter to be Timed Out (PTG 4334-21116, 7 November 2023).
Immediately after Sri Lanka's defeat, Mathews said he had done nothing "wrong" and suggested the match officials could have used "common sense" to account for the equipment malfunction (PTG 4335-21123, 7 November 2023). Playing Conditions for World Cups stipulate that the new batter must be ready to face the bowler within two minutes of the fall of the previous wicket. Within those two minutes, the batter needs to be ready to face the ball and not just have taken guard. Protocol requires the TV umpire, in this case Nitin Mernon, to start the clock immediately at the fall of the previous wicket (PTG 4337-21131 above).
Mathews entered the field of play to bat on Monday a minute and ten seconds after the wicket fell, walked to the crease and met non-striker Charith Asalanka near the batting crease, exchanging a quick word and a glove bump, after being told he had 30 seconds left by Illingworth. Approximately one minute and 55 seconds had lapsed since the dismissal and Mathews had not yet taken guard. As he was adjusting his chin strap, it came off in his hand. Instead of informing the on-field umpires - Marais Erasmus at the bowler's end, and Illingworth at square leg - Mathews was seen signaling to the Sri Lanka dugout for a replacement helmet.
The norm is that a player informs the on-field umpires before seeking replacement gear, as a matter of respect but also to ensure that match officials can manage time. By the time Mathews got a fresh helmet, it was nearly two-and-a-half minutes since the wicket had fallen. At this point, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, who happened to be bowling at the time, prompted by an unnamed teammate, appealed to Erasmus. As required by the Playing Conditions and indeed the Laws that underpin them, Erasmus ruled Mathews out, albeit having checked with Shakib if he wanted to continue with the appeal.
Mathews pleaded and argued he could not be ready to face Shakib because of the helmet malfunction (PTG 4337-21132 above). And post-match he expanded on it by arguing that it was a safety issue, that he couldn't have faced up without a new helmet. Menon told his two on-field colleagues via radio when the two minutes had lapsed. The umpires do not tell the fielding team how much time has elapsed. Mathews has suggested that what happens after the strap comes off, which occurs shortly before the two minutes elapses, should be treated as a separate equipment malfunction delay, and not as part of the time he is required to ready himself to receive the ball, vis-a-vis a Timed Out dismissal.
No comment yet from MCC on ‘Timed Out’ incident.
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 8 November 2023.
PTG 4336-21128.
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 8 November 2023.
PTG 4336-21128.
Two days after Sri Lankan batter Angelo Mathews was given out in a World Cup match in Delhi, a situation that has generated widespread discussion and comment (PTG 4335-21129 below), the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is yet to make any comment on the matter. It thus appears to have again missed the opportunity to demonstrate its relevance to the game, something its current president said last month it needed to work more to do (PTG 4306-21005, 3 October 2023), but even more fundamentally it seems to have again fallen behind the aims of its 2022-24, Cricket Strategy document (PTG 4005-19688, 21 September 2022).
Published 14 months ago, that document had as part of its aims to be “leading debate and provide clarity, through commentary on live incidents in the game, within 48 hours of their occurrence”. The definition of success when the outcomes of the plan are reviewed in 2024 is that the MCC "is an unrivalled and often quoted authority" on the game’s Laws, prominently identified as the foremost expert; regular digital promotion of changes to and interpretation of the Laws, including explanation and analysis, published via MCC's digital channels; Laws written in gender neutral terms and available in as great a number of languages as possible; and on-line education sessions and resources are "continually updated and directed specifically at players, umpires and match referees", identified as best-in-class.
The 2022-24 plan also said the club wanted to: bring the abstract Spirit of Cricket "to life", ensuring that "its purpose is promoted and clearly understood" and that its intention is deeply embedded across all formats and levels of the game; seek to identify and understand the different global interpretations of Spirit of Cricket; and to continually assess "all grey areas, which currently rely on Spirit and determine if modern interpretation enables any ambiguity to be eliminated through the Laws".
Under the strategy the MCC aimed to: "publicly celebrate" positive examples of adherence to the Spirit of Cricket, as well as "ensuring that any infractions are publicly identified" and challenged as contravening the good of the game; generate connection with like-minded organisations to better understand how they successfully incorporate Spirit; and ensure that all MCC matches are played within the game’s Spirit and that the MCC playing program is used to strongly promote Spirit of Cricket principles.
In the introduction to the strategy Jamie Cox, the MCC’s Director of Cricket, said of the club’s overall aims that: "Working for the genuine good of the game requires an independence that very few others can commit to and often requires the conviction to stand up for what is right, even if that means making decisions which might be unpopular”. He also stated “delivery of the Cricket Strategy will be scrutinised annually to ensure relevance is maintained and progress towards established outcomes is made”.
Mathews was dozy – but Shakib was the man who got it wrong.
Steve James.
The Times.
Wednesday, 8 November 2023.
PTG 4336-21129.
Steve James.
The Times.
Wednesday, 8 November 2023.
PTG 4336-21129.
It is many a cricketer’s recurrent nightmare. Indeed, I have experienced one in recent months, and I have not played properly in nearly 20 years. The wicket has fallen: another one in a huge collapse. You are next in but you are simply not ready. You cannot find your box, then one of your pads will not fasten. Suddenly you find yourself asking, “Where on earth is that bat?” The panic is horrendous. Time is ticking away while the players and the umpires in the middle are waiting for you. Cries of “Hurry up!” resound around an increasingly frantic dressing room. There are so many different ways of being dismissed in cricket and this is not one you want to add to the list.
It is then that you usually awake from your slumber and realise that it was only a dream. Something like that would never really happen out on a cricket field. And if some misfortune did occur, and you were delayed — as, say, England’s David Steele was on his Test debut when getting lost in the Lord’s pavilion and ending up in the downstairs toilet — then the opposing captain and the umpires would surely be sympathetic and not time you out. It is not as if there is usually anything to be gained from being tardy to the crease (unless perhaps you are a tailender attempting to salvage a draw in a first-class match and therefore any time wasted means fewer balls to survive). Possibly in a limited-overs match you may loiter to slow the over-rate, so that the fielding side suffer the penalty of four, rather than five, players outside the fielding circle beyond the stipulated cut-off time but that does seem rather far-fetched.
Most cricketers knew vaguely of one or two of the obscure instances of players being timed out (PTG 4334-21117, 7 November 2023), but they just seemed to be oddities for the anoraks. But then that worst nightmare befell Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews in Delhi on Monday: the first player to be timed out in international cricket, as the six previous examples in other forms of cricket suddenly became much less obscure. My reaction? It was probably best summed up by a comment by the BBC Test Match Special statistician Andy Zaltzman: “Where cricket sporadically chooses to care about speed of play, and where it completely can’t be arsed to do anything about it, remains bafflingly inconsistent”.
Of all the problems in cricket surrounding time-wasting — and there are huge problems, as Test-match over rates attest — a batsman apparently dawdling out to the middle is nowhere near the top of the list. Yes, what the Bangladesh captain, Shakib Al Hasan, did in appealing to the umpires that Mathews was outside the permitted two-minute limit to be ready to face his first ball was within the Laws of the game — and so the hands of Marais Erasmus and Richard Illingworth were tied — but the reality is that very few cricketers would have followed the same course of action.
Most batsmen dismissed in that manner would probably have shared Mathews’ rage, as he hurled his helmet at the boundary edge and later branded the whole thing “disgraceful”. “I don’t like what I’m seeing”, Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan fast bowler, said on television commentary in voicing the instinctive feelings of many observers.
There is much nonsense spouted about the nebulous ‘Spirit of Cricket' but it is also true that most cricketers have a feel for what is right and what is wrong on the field. This undoubtedly felt like the latter. That said, Matthews’ actions were, just like Jonny Bairstow’s doziness when being stumped at Lord’s in the Ashes in June, indicative of an age where insouciance at the crease has in too many cases replaced the gnarled suspicion of bygone batsmen, who recognised their place in the middle as one of unwanted nuisance to the fielders and often just waiting prey for eager umpires. “Everyone is out to get you” was their mantra.
A batsman is not in charge at the wicket. It is not within their remit to dictate the pace of play, even if most think they can change their gloves, take drinks or wander up the pitch for a chat with their partner whenever they want. There was a time when permission had to be sought, a time when in a 1989 Ashes Test the Australia captain, Allan Border, had a famous exchange with the England batsman Robin Smith (they were batsmen in those days), who asked if he could have a glass of water, to which Border replied, “What do think this is, a f***ing tea-party?”
When Mathews’ helmet strap broke, he should have spoken to the umpires, and Shakib too, to explain the situation, rather just wandering off towards the dugout in search of another one. Shakib may have given a Border-style response but I doubt it. Then, there would have been no frenzied debate over whether Mathews was already over the time limit.
When Mathews did eventually seek out Shakib it was too late, the decision had already been made, and it was rather amusing to see how much time was then wasted when Mathews was arguing with the umpires and Shakib over an offence regarding that very thing. No batsman is ever mindful of the time ticking away when striding out to the middle, and if this is to become an issue about which the International Cricket Council is serious, then it can only be fair to the batsman that something like the shot clock now being used in rugby for place kicks is implemented.
It is doubtful that will happen, though. There are much more important matters to sort. It was brazen opportunism from Shakib but within that behaviour there was also a warning that the game at the highest level is indeed not a tea-party, and that former television commentator David Lloyd’s relentless exhortations of “Get on with it!” need to be heeded by all.
Sri Lankan becomes first to be dismissed ‘Timed Out' in an international.
Andrew Fidel Fernando.
Cricinfo.
Tuesday, 7 November 2023.
PTG 4334-21116.
Andrew Fidel Fernando.
Cricinfo.
Tuesday, 7 November 2023.
PTG 4334-21116.
Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews became the first player to ever be timed out in international cricket after a helmet malfunction in Sri Lanka's World Cup group match against Bangladesh in Delhi on Monday. Mathews was already on the pitch, but in his final preparations before taking strike against Shakib Al Hasan, his helmet strap broke just as he was tightening it around his chin and he called for a replacement helmet. Shakib then appeared to initiate a discussion with umpire Marais Erasmus, after which Mathews, as he was not ready to face his first ball within the two minutes, was informed he was Timed Out.
During the innings break, fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock explained the process behind the dismissal to broadcasters, saying: "The fielding captain initiated the appeal to Marais Erasmus, who was the standing umpire, that he wanted to appeal for Timed Out. Mathews was yet to put on the new helmet when the news of his dismissal was relayed to Mathews. At this stage, at least three minutes and twenty seconds had elapsed since the previous batter's dismissal. Mathews initially seemed to think the umpire was not serious, but quickly wore a worried expression, and engaged in a long discussion with both Erasmus and his colleague Richard Illingworth.
Erasmus then approached Shakib and had a quick discussion (the second between the two), following which Mathews also spoke briefly to Shakib, who offered a consoling tap on Mathews' shoulder. But ultimately, the decision to rule him Timed Out was upheld, prompting more animated and visibly upset gesturing from Mathews at his broken helmet strap. At the time of Mathews' being given out formally, Bangladesh had long since broken their huddle, and had taken their places in the field, with Shakib at the top of his mark, ready to bowl.
Holdstock said two minutes had already elapsed between the previous dismissal before the strap "became an issue" for Mathews and "As a batsman I think you need to make sure that you have all your equipment in place in order to make sure you get here, because you actually have to be ready to receive the ball within two minutes - not ready to prepare or take your guard”. He confirmed that no discretion is to be made for equipment malfunction. "So technically, you should be there within maybe 15 seconds to make sure all those things are in place before you actually receive the ball” "And in the instance this afternoon, the batter wasn't ready to receive the ball within those two minutes, even before the strap became an issue for him. The two minutes had already elapsed before he had received the next delivery”.
International Cricket Council Playing Conditions stipulate clearly, as do the Laws, that a batter must be ready to receive the ball within two minutes, which Mathews was not: They read at 40.1.1 "After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless Time has been called, be ready to receive the ball or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within two minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed Out”. Mathews was visibly annoyed by the mode of dismissal as he left the field. He kicked the helmet in frustration as he passed out of the playing area and threw his bat away, an action that is likely to earn him a sanction.
’Timed Out’ appeal was not against ‘Spirit’, but Law must be changed.
Scyld Berry.
London Daily Telegraph.
Tuesday, 7 November 2023.
PTG 4334-21117.
Scyld Berry.
London Daily Telegraph.
Tuesday, 7 November 2023.
PTG 4334-21117.
The Laws of Cricket are always evolving. A freakish incident arises, such as Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews walking out to bat with a helmet that does not work for him, and which nobody has ever envisaged (PTG 4334-21115 above). I do not think Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, can be criticised much. If it had been a friendly then yes, wait around while the batsman finds a second helmet, but this is a World Cup game, with “face” at stake. Neither side can qualify for the semi-finals but they do not want to go home to public criticism and the potential loss of their jobs.
But think of the ways in which the sport could be abused if Law 40 did not exist. The last pair come together, to play out time: the number 11 is going to find all manner of things wrong with his kit so that he can procrastinate and avoid facing a ball. His jockstrap has broken: there, that is a good five minutes at least while he goes, sedately, off the field to change it. However, the Law must be updated so that in a genuine case, if safety is at stake, then the batsman can be allowed to postpone his first ball while the necessary adjustments are made.
Freakish incidents will always occur in a sport that is played by so many people in so many different conditions and climes. The first and most notable example of Law 40 being implemented in first-class cricket occurred in 1919, the first season after the Great War, when championship matches were limited to two days. It was a different game then: one county batsman had an artificial leg, after being injured in the war. Should he be allowed a runner, when his injury was not incurred during the match? Try applying the Spirit of Cricket to that conundrum (the Marylebone Cricket Club eventually decided that he could not have a runner so he had to retire, permanently).
That same season Somerset were hosting Sussex at Taunton. Sussex had a batsman who might not have passed the modern fitness test: Harold John Heygate. He is classified as a “stylish opening right-hand batsman schooled at Epsom and Wellingborough” – and had represented Canada against the USA back in 1908, but was known to suffer from rheumatism. As Sussex were down to their last pair, and the scores were level, he began hobbling out at number eleven.
Gerald Brodribb takes up the tale in his book 'Next Man In': “Heygate was known to be crippled with rheumatism, but with the game in such a tense position he was persuaded to make an effort to come to the wicket. He took some time in coming, and having at last arrived, he was given out on appeal by umpire George Street. So the game ended in a tie and high controversy raged over the incident”. There have, of course, as Brodribb notes, been several occasions when a batman who has been not out overnight has failed to reach the ground and the pitch in time the next morning, and therefore been dismissed by Law 40. But there has been no exact parallel with the Mathews incident before. Thus the Law must be revised so the game can move on. The Marylebone Cricket Club have yet to comment on the circumstances of Matthews’s dismissal
Poetic Justice?
Timed Out
Unprecedented CA umpire changes appear driven by 'external pressure’.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 2 November 2023.
PTG 4329-21093.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 2 November 2023.
PTG 4329-21093.
In an unprecedented move, Cricket Australia (CA) has stood down three umpires who had been assigned to Womens Big Bash League (WBBL) matches scheduled for Hobart on Thursday and Saturday, a change that sources say is related to some aspects of their recent WBBL performances. The decision is believed to relate to complaints lodged by a WBBL team and “pressure” from pay-TV broadcaster Fox and others, and was made not by CA’s Match Officials area but rather by senior personnel above that in the national body’s hierarchy.
Thursday’s game between the Hobart Hurricanes and the Melbourne Stars was to have seen umpired by Sam Burns and Craig Seabourne, and Sunday’s fixture between the Hurricanes and the Brisbane Heat by Burns again and his uncle Simon Burns (PTG 4318-21056, 19 October 2023); but the trio have now been omitted from both those games, although they will apparently return in other WBBL fixtures later in the season. A week ago Simon Burns stood in a State Second XI fixture, and a week before that Seabourne and Sam Burns stood in a game in Launceston between the Hurricanes and the Perth Scorchers. Earlier this week Simon Burns and Seabourne were on-field in that city in a fixture between the Hurricanes and the Sydney Thunder, a match that saw considerable comment from Fox commentators regarding a number of decisions.
During that match, Fox’s Lisa Sthalekar, a former Australian captain, questioned why technology was not available for all WBBL games and tweeted: "I know umpires make mistakes but we are seeing too many wrong decisions being made on live stream games. Questions need to be asked: do we have the right standard of umpires officiating? Should whatever technology is available be used to assist?” (PTG 4327-21084, 31 October 2023). There have been suggestions, that are yet to be confirmed, that the Hobart Hurricanes may have also expressed views that were influential in the changes that have been made.
The two Burns, Seabourne and Muhammad Qureshi, make up Tasmania’s State Umpires Panel for the 2023-24 season, and Qureshi has now been moved into on-field spots in the coming two games, with CA bringing in Hobart-based members of its National Umpires Panel, Mike Graham-Smith and Sam Nogajski, to stand with him on Thursday and Saturday respectively. While moves to make umpires accountable for their performances is welcomed by many observers, the way the matter has been handled on this occasion has been something of a disaster, not only for the umpires involved, but even more fundamentally and concerning for the way CA’s senior management have reacted, and apparently caved in to, criticism from elsewhere.
Indications are that WBBL umpires from around the country are to take part in a national phone hook-up on Thursday afternoon, and the question as to whether other umpires who have made errors that have been highlighted by television commentators in recent games will be moved from their forthcoming matches may well be answered then (PTG 4326-21080, 30 October 2023 and 4322-21067, 24 October 2023). There were numerous complaints about WBBL umpires in previous seasons regarding their judgements in a range of games that did not have an operational Decision Review System, but changes to umpire appointments were not made then. So, just how CA now handles the question of umpire errors of the recent past, and that may occur over the next few weeks, will be a clear test of the national body’s management and decision making integrity.
‘Bazball' added to Collins Dictionary as one of the 'most significant' new words of the year.
Tim Wigmore.
London Daily Telegraph.
Wednesday, 1 November 2023.
PTG 4329-21096.
Tim Wigmore.
London Daily Telegraph.
Wednesday, 1 November 2023.
PTG 4329-21096.
The word ‘Bazball' was coined in reference to the aggressive style of play implemented by England coach Brendon McCullum, but it has now been added to the Collins dictionary in recognition of how it has gained widespread usage.
Harper Collins has named it as one of the ten most significant new words of the year in 2023, and defined it as “a style of Test cricket in which the batting side plays in a highly aggressive manner”. While the word has already been added to the online version of the dictionary, it will not appear in the physical dictionary until next year’s edition.
The word Bazball was first coined by Cricinfo’s UK editor Andrew Miller in May 2022, shortly after McCullum’s appointment as head coach. It has since been used ever more widely, particularly during lst this year’s Ashes series, when England rallied from 2-0 down to secure a 2-2 draw. Usage of the term increased by 400 per cent from 2022 to 2023.
The word is now widely used to describe a bold, risk-taking approach in other fields. England football manager Gareth Southgate has said that he has been inspired by the Test team’s approach, while UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s political approach has been dubbed a “political Bazball”. Bazball “was probably the most significant new word to emerge from the world of sport this year”, said Helen Newstead, language data consultant for Collins Dictionaries.
The coinage ‘Bazball’ follows an established formula in sports journalism for naming a distinctive style of play after the coach who introduced it, which can be traced back to ‘Moneyball, the title of a 2003 book about baseball by Michael Lewis. McCullum himself has indicated that he dislikes the word, saying last year: “I don’t really like that silly term that people are throwing out there, because there’s actually quite a bit of thought that goes into how the guys manufacture their performances and when they put pressure on bowlers and which bowlers they put pressure on".
Umpire’s arm gets a workout in 14 no ball over.
Paul Garvey.
The Australian.
Wednesday, 1 November 2023.
PTG 4328-21089.
Willey to Retire from International Cricket - the first domino?
Paul Garvey.
The Australian.
Wednesday, 1 November 2023.
PTG 4328-21089.
A bowler in Western Australia’s Premier League competition has delivered one of the worst overs ever captured on camera, sending down a staggering 14 no-balls. Midland-Guildford vice-captain Jordan Mast came on to bowl the 20th over of the innings in the first-grade fixture against Gosnells last weekend but soon began to have problems with his run-up. He overstepped the crease on his second, third and fourth deliveries, finally delivered two legitimate balls, before bowling two more no-balls.
The Midland-Guildford all-rounder then managed to get another legal delivery away. In scenes that anyone who has ever picked up a ball, bat, racquet or club will sympathise with, Mast became increasingly despondent as delivery after delivery was met with a call of “no ball” from the umpire. Ten balls in, after bowling his sixth no-ball of the over, play was paused while Mast was brought a drink and had his run-up re-marked with a tape measure.
The no-balls, however, only became worse after that intervention. He went on to bowl a staggering nine no-balls in a row. Mast eventually started bowling off a run-up of only a few steps, although even the first of those deliveries was also a no-ball. He eventually ended the 16-minute over – which proved to be his only one of the day – having conceded 26 runs. The all-rounder has had a long and decorated career with Midland-Guildford, having scored almost 7,000 runs and taken 181 wickets at an average of just 23.35. He had bowled just three no-balls in the first four matches of the season played before last weekend.
Mast’s nightmare over ranks up there with some of the most infamous in cricket history. In 2017, Bangladesh cricket authorities imposed a 10-year ban on a bowler who deliberately lost a match by conceding 92 runs off four legitimate deliveries (PTG 2115-10729, 28 April 2017). Lalmatia Club’s Sujan Mahmud bowled 13 wides and three no-balls in the first over of Axiom Cricketer’s run-chase, all of which went for boundaries. The club admitted the intentionally rubbish bowling was a protest against poor umpiring (PTG 2122-10762, 3 May 2017).
At first-class level, Wellington’s Bert Vance holds the record for the longest over ever bowled. In 1990, in a deliberate attempt to coax opponents Canterbury to chase a target and try to force a match that was headed for a draw into a result, Vance bowled a 22-ball over full of full-tosses and no-balls which conceded 77 runs (PTG 1566-7525, 12 June 2015). Former West Indies fast-bowler Curtly Ambrose holds the record for the longest over ever bowled in a Test match, delivering nine no-balls in a single 15-ball over at Perth’s WACA Ground in 1997. He then went on to bowl another six no-balls in his next over (PTG 1076-5231, 14 March 2013).
Willey to Retire from International Cricket - the first domino?
England 'did not know' qualification rules and may miss Champions Trophy.
Nick Hoult.
London Daily Telegraph.
Tuesday, 31 October 2023.
PTG 4328-21091.
Nick Hoult.
London Daily Telegraph.
Tuesday, 31 October 2023.
PTG 4328-21091.
England’s performance in the World Cup has put their place at the 2025 Champions Trophy in serious doubt and the fact they were unaware of the qualifying process summed up the hapless nature of this campaign. One-day coach Matthew Mott admitted after defeat to India on Sunday that he only learned “an hour and a half ago” that England had to finish in the top eight of the ten-team World Cup to play in the Champions Trophy, due to be held in Pakistan in February-March 2025. England are bottom of the table on two points with three games to go.
The top seven teams plus hosts Pakistan qualify automatically for the Champions Trophy. The International Cricket Council (ICC) altered the qualification rules in November 2021 but there was no media release and most teams at this tournament were unaware of the rule change. England found out only when alerted by the media on Sunday. “It gives us a lot of focus that we need to make sure we don’t just turn up”, said Mott. “The ICC do change the rules quite a bit with qualification and to be honest I don’t think it would affect in any way the way we’ve played in this tournament so it’s not a big deal”.
The Champions Trophy has not been played since 2017, when it was held in England. But it has been resurrected for 2025 to fill a hole in the calendar between Twenty20 and 50 overs World Cups and the World Test Championship final. At the moment eight teams are due to play in Pakistan over three weeks but that could change if India refuses to travel.
New Sri Lanka T10 League Starts in December
Just Stop Oil
Former umpire criticises aggrieved batter’s ‘cry baby’ comments.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 19 October 2023.
PTG 4318-21055.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 19 October 2023.
PTG 4318-21055.
Former Australian umpire Darrell Hair has labelled his countryman David Warner a selfish "cry-baby" after he suggested the statistics of match officials should be displayed on big screens in a bid to hold them accountable for decisions (PTG 4317-21052, 18 October 2023). Ropeable at being given out LBW by umpire Joel Wilson early in Australia's World Cup game against Sri Lanka on Monday, a verdict upheld by third umpire Chris Brown (PTG 4316-21050, 18 October 2023), Warner spoke out the following day about his frustrations over alleged inconsistencies.
But Hair, now 71, who officiated in more than 200 internationals, is quoted by Yahoo Sport Australia as asking: "Would Warner like his decision-making stats put up on the screen too? How many times has he used up a review out of sheer selfishness so that he can try and survive? How many times has he been successful? My guess is it would be a percentage far less than the well documented 96 percent correct decisions made in international cricket by umpires. Warner's selfishness and cry-baby attitude should hold no weight whatsoever”.
Hair said umpiring cricket was the "the hardest job in world sport" but also expressed the view that the quality at international level has slipped, with the gap between the best match officials and the rest widening. He also blamed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for “the monster” they created by the way ‘correct' decisions are explained”, Hair said: "There is still the issue of the same ball just clipping the top of leg stump being given out or not out and both are correct. In the international arena, there is no benefit of the doubt if you are given out but there is if you are given not out. I think the problem goes deeper than Warner's issues”.
Bowler warns non-striker to stay in his crease.
PTG Editor.
Tuesday, 17 October 2023.
PTG 4315-21045.
Australian opening bowler Mitchell Starc warned Sri Lankan opening batsmen Kusal Perera about staying in his crease when he was the non-striker in the first over of the two sides' World Cup match in Lucknow on Monday. Perera left his crease prematurely and was thus vulnerable to being run out by Starc, who instead of bowling his fourth delivery, stopped and said to the batter: “Don’t leave your crease”. Under the Laws, the Australian would have been well within
his rights to run Perera out without any such warning. Observers suggest that after delivering the first ball of the match and over, Starc indicated to umpire Chris Gaffaney to be watching the non-striker during his bowling stride. Off the last ball of his second over Starc once again stopped his bowling action, but Perera had remained in his crease. Starc gave a similar warning to South African batter Theunis de Bruyn during a Test in Melbourne last December.
Later in the game against Sri Lanka, Australian opener David Warner engaged in an ugly umpire tirade after he was given out LBW by Gaffaney’s on-field colleague Joel Wilson. Warner immediately signalled for a review but that turned out to be “umpire’s call”, a decision that resulted in him slamming his bat into the ground while looking at Wilson and shouting some words before he began to walk off. He still appeared somewhat animated as he walked back to the dressing room, but whether it was classed as “excessive, obvious disappointment with an umpire’s decision” by Wilson and Gaffaney remains to be seen.
PTG Editor.
Tuesday, 17 October 2023.
PTG 4315-21045.
Australian opening bowler Mitchell Starc warned Sri Lankan opening batsmen Kusal Perera about staying in his crease when he was the non-striker in the first over of the two sides' World Cup match in Lucknow on Monday. Perera left his crease prematurely and was thus vulnerable to being run out by Starc, who instead of bowling his fourth delivery, stopped and said to the batter: “Don’t leave your crease”. Under the Laws, the Australian would have been well within
his rights to run Perera out without any such warning. Observers suggest that after delivering the first ball of the match and over, Starc indicated to umpire Chris Gaffaney to be watching the non-striker during his bowling stride. Off the last ball of his second over Starc once again stopped his bowling action, but Perera had remained in his crease. Starc gave a similar warning to South African batter Theunis de Bruyn during a Test in Melbourne last December.
Later in the game against Sri Lanka, Australian opener David Warner engaged in an ugly umpire tirade after he was given out LBW by Gaffaney’s on-field colleague Joel Wilson. Warner immediately signalled for a review but that turned out to be “umpire’s call”, a decision that resulted in him slamming his bat into the ground while looking at Wilson and shouting some words before he began to walk off. He still appeared somewhat animated as he walked back to the dressing room, but whether it was classed as “excessive, obvious disappointment with an umpire’s decision” by Wilson and Gaffaney remains to be seen.
Australia to 'seek clarity' on ‘hand on bat’ decision.
Saurabh Sharma.
Reuters.
Saturday, 14 October 2023.
PTG 4313-21036.
Saurabh Sharma.
Reuters.
Saturday, 14 October 2023.
PTG 4313-21036.
Australia's Marnus Labuschagne said his team would "seek clarity" from match officials about the manner in which batter Marcus Stoinis was given out caught down the leg side off one of his gloves in their World Cup match against South Africa in Lucknow on Thursday. All-rounder Stoinis was, after on-field umpire Joel Wilson gave him ’not out’, adjudged after a review, to have been caught off a Kagiso Rabada delivery, and while there was no argument about the ball being caught as required by the Laws, the question surrounded whether his right glove, the one the ball struck, was or wasn’t in contact with his bat at the time.
After watching a number of replays, TV umpire Richard Kettleborough concluded that although Stoinis' right glove was off the bat handle, it was in fact in contact with his left glove which was actually holding on to the bat. "The hand's connected to his top hand, therefore in contact with the bat and we've got a clear spike”, Kettleborough said as he asked Wilson to reverse his original decision and give the batsman out. However, TV commentators suggested their analysis of the replays was that here appeared to show a gap between the two gloves.
Stoinis spoke with the Wilson and his on-field colleague Richard Illingworth before eventually departing. Labuschagne, who was the non-striker at the time, said after the game ended: "It was certainly confusing and I'm sure we'll get clarity or we're going to seek for clarity because it's a World Cup and we don't want small decisions that can be avoided to change the outcomes of games. Obviously, in the situation we were in it's hard to say that it was going to change the outcome but for the future you certainly want to make sure we get them right”.
CA commission's report into future of the game at home and overseas.
Daniel Cherny.
News Corporation Australia.
Thursday, 12 October 2023.
PTG 4312-21031.
Daniel Cherny.
News Corporation Australia.
Thursday, 12 October 2023.
PTG 4312-21031.
Cricket Australia (CA) has commissioned one of the world’s largest consultancy firms for a wide-ranging report into the way the game operates Down Under. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is in the process of reviewing the structure of Australian cricket as the sport heads into a brave new era in a rapidly-changing cricket landscape. It’s understood BCG, one of the widely-recognised big three of management consultancy firms, has been given a broad remit to look into the way cricket should be run in the future, particularly on the back of the broadcast rights and player pay deals signed earlier this year.
Under the microscope is the way CA and its state associations – effectively CA’s owners – share resources. Fresh commercial opportunities are also being explored. The cricket world remains in a state of flux, particularly with the advent of the franchise leagues around the world, several of which are now populated by the satellite teams of Indian Premier League (IPL) clubs. Such entities are looking at employing players on 12-month contracts under which they would effectively be loaned to their national teams from their clubs, rather than the other way round which has long been the case PTG 4037-19826, 27 October 2022).
CA has worked with BCG in the past, including commissioning a report in 2021 which explored the game’s finances, it later suggesting CA faced a $A90 m (£UK51.7m) revenue hole over the closing years of its current broadcast rights cycle without significant cutbacks (PTG 3724-18344, 11 November 2021). Then in 2008 when BCG devised a plan for a World Test Championship, a push supported by CA and eventually implemented by the International Cricket Council more than a decade later.
While not perfect, relations between CA and the states are understood to be significantly stronger than they had been across 2020 and 2021, a period in which state pressure contributed to the sacking of CA chief Kevin Roberts and departure of chair Earl Eddings. Roberts was replaced, first temporarily and then permanently by Nick Hockley, while Eddings was succeeded by Lachlan Henderson and in turn former New South Wales Premier Mike Baird (PTG 4241-20734, 8 July 2023). Among the several flashpoints in the relationship between the states and CA in recent years were the latter’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the state funding model. CA declined to comment about BCG’s report commissioning.
Bangladesh fined for WC slow over-rate.
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 11 October 2023.
PTG 4312-21034.
Wednesday, 11 October 2023.
PTG 4312-21034.
Members of the Bangladesh team who played England in a World Cup match in Dharamsala on Tuesday have been fined five percent of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate whilst in the field. Match referee Javagal Srinath imposed the sanction after Shakib Al Hasan’s side was ruled to be one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration, teams in that situation being fined five percent of their fees for every over if their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. On-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Paul Wilson, third umpire Adrian Holdstock and fourth umpire Kumar Dharmasena levelled the charge. It’s the second slow over-rate fine of the World Cup after Sri Lanka’s last Saturday (PTG 4310-21024, 9 October 2023).
Batter shows more match awareness than the umpires.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 12 October 2023.
PTG 4312-21032.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 12 October 2023.
PTG 4312-21032.
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi displayed more match awareness than umpires Michael Gough and Paul Reiffel during his side’s World Cup fixture against India in Delhi on Wednesday. Shahidi attempted a slog-sweep off a ball from Ravindra Jadeja (as it turned out probably knowing it was a 'no ball'), got an edge, and the ball went to the boundary. He then immediately gestured to Gough at the bowler’s end that a 'no ball' call should be made as India had five, not four fielders, outside the 30-yard circle as required by the Playing Conditions at that stage of the innings. Gough did a quick check of the field, signalled ’no ball’ and indicated the next delivery would be a ‘Free Hit’.
12/10
Another condition of funding coming up?
List A Record Fastest 100
Resident, clerics, prevent girls from playing match in ‘open area'.
Fazal Khaliq.
Dawn.
Monday, 2 October 2023.
PTG 4306-21007.
Fazal Khaliq.
Dawn.
Monday, 2 October 2023.
PTG 4306-21007.
A group of residents and clerics intervened to halt a women's match that was to be played at the Charbagh Cricket Stadium in northern Pakistan on Sunday. An eyewitness said that “When the girls from different areas gathered at the ground for the match, some religious people came and angrily forbade the players and organisers to do so. They were yelling and shouting and saying it was immodest for girls to play cricket in such an open ground”.
Ayaz Naik, one of the organisers, said many females in the Swat Valley around Charbagh wanted to play cricket professionally. “Many girls contacted us to organise cricket matches for them and make a district cricket team to play”, he said, adding that he, his daughter Ayesha Ayaz, and others organised the match at Charbagh Cricket Stadium because construction work was underway at the stadium in Mingora 40 km away. Local players Humaira Ahmad and Sapna said they and their friends were excited about the match, but “Our enthusiasm dwindled as we arrived at the venue and encountered individuals who prevented us from participating in the game. It’s puzzling why some men have reservations about female participation in sports because taking part in sports is our fundamental right, and we aspire to play at a higher level”.
Ihsanullah Kaki, the chairman of the Charbagh council region, who was contacted by the protesters, said he endorsed their decision and asked the organisers and players to leave the ground. He said: “The security conditions within the Charbagh region are currently unstable due to the presence of individuals with firearms. These individuals send messages to local residents, demanding money and issuing threats. Those residing near the cricket ground are hesitant to venture outside their homes at night”. He states that people in Charbagh were not against the female match and stressed that “If they had informed us in advance, we would have organised the match in a ground with boundary walls”. Swat Deputy Commissioner Dr Qasim Ali Khan has now instructed officials to find a “suitable location” for women's cricket.
Batter survives caught behind because of bowler’s towel drop.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 28 September 2023.
PTG 4304-20999.
PTG Editor.
Thursday, 28 September 2023.
PTG 4304-20999.
New South Wales opener Daniel Hughes backed away from and slashed at the second-last ball of the first over of his side’s Cricket Australia (CA) men’s List A match innings against Tasmania in Melbourne on Wednesday, got a nick and was caught by Wicketkeeper Caleb Jewell. Umpire Ben Treloar raised his finger in answer to all-round appeals, however, Hughes immediately protested, pointing to the fact that the towel bowler Riley Meredith had in his back pocket had fallen to the ground just before he reached his delivery stride, apparently suggesting he had been distracted.
Treloar of course was unaware of the towel drop as it occurred behind him, but when he realised something had happened he put his hand up in an indication to Hughes to wait, then got together with his square leg colleague Phillip Gillespie to discuss just what had happened. The conversation between the pair went on for some 30 seconds before Treloar turned, signalled he had rescinded his decision, and called the batter back. Commentators on the CA video feed questioned why, if he was distracted, Hughes played a shot at the ball, instead of withdrawing from the crease.
Law 20.4.2.6 states: “Either umpire shall call and signal Dead ball when … the striker is distracted by any noise or movement or in any other way while preparing to receive, or receiving a delivery, This shall apply whether the source of the distraction is within the match or outside it”. If the on-line ball-by-ball commentary for the over is correct it suggests that the ball from Meredith was not called ‘dead’. There was a similar instance last year in a One Day International between Ireland and New Zealand, with Ireland's Simi Singh recalled after complaining of being distracted by a towel that had fallen from Kiwi bowler Blair Tickner’s trousers during a delivery (PTG 3931-19303, 13 July 2022).
ECB might not be happy but they shouldn't be surprised as Gale never engaged in their kangaroo court that dished out its own summary justice.
ECB powerless to stop fined coach working in game in Australia.
Elizabeth Ammon.
The Times.
Wednesday, 27 September 2023.
PTG 4303-20998.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) cannot prevent Andrew Gale from working as a coach in Australia, even though he has not paid a fine for being found guilty of using racially offensive and discriminatory language during his time at Yorkshire. Gale announced on social media that he had accepted a role as head coach of the male performance pathway for Cricket Tasmania, his first job in the game since he was sacked as head coach at Yorkshire in December 2021 — one of 16 staff members to lose their jobs at the county after the allegations of racism by their former spin bowler Azeem Rafiq (PTG 4297-20970, 22 September 2023).
The 39-year-old was found guilty by the Cricket Discipline Commission of using racist language towards players of Asian heritage while he was captain and coach of Yorkshire. In May he was fined £UK6,000 ($A11,400) and instructed to undertake an education course (PTG 4202-20571, 27 May 2023). Gale, who denied the allegations against him and did not engage with the disciplinary process, has refused to pay the fine and has not undertaken the course (PTG 3917-19242, 30 June 2022).
In theory, there is a quid pro quo between Cricket Australia and the ECB, where each board is supposed to honour the sanctions of the other, but this has not been the case with Gale and he is set to start work in Australia imminently before their domestic season begins. “The fine has not been paid”, ECB chief executive Richard Gould said. "We have not had any direct communication with Cricket Australia at this point. I suppose we have to focus on what we can control, which is cricket in this country. In the event an individual has not paid their fine or done the appropriate training then they wouldn’t be able to have a formal relationship or professional relationship with cricket in England or Wales, but let’s see how this develops”.
Enforcing sanctions is one of the areas that will be looked at by the ECB’s new cricket regulator, which is being appointed to sit separately from the main governing body after accusations that the present regulatory system has too many conflicts of interest (PTG 4302-20990, 26 September 2023).
Re the towel incident.
ReplyDeleteUnusual for County Cricket to be played at same time as Sheffield Shield ?
Well, involving one State anyway.
ReplyDeleteRe Gale, can I join him in 2 fingered salute to ECB, please ? Good on him !
ReplyDeleteWe had one of these when a batsman was out to a ball when the bowler’s towel fell out in the delivery stride. I think it was in the debacle at Tunbridge Wells in one of the shameful years - 2016 was it. It was Chris Nash I’m pretty sure and he was absolutely furious. No umpire or fielding side member batted an eyelid and it all passed without any particular comment.
ReplyDeleteStarc seems to have followed the old protocol. Whether he is right to or not, I have just about given up on trying to work out. Why not take it to The High Court and slow the over rate down even more ?
ReplyDeleteT10, no jeopardy format with no technique needed so it’s perfect for Tom Moores to resume his career with Jaffna Stallions ???
ReplyDeleteCan anyone recall a Sunday white ball game reduced to about 10 overs due to the rain ☔️ where the brilliant David Hussey teed off hitting 6s to all parts of Trent Bridge ?
T20 must have just started by then but it was quite rare to see hitting like that in those times
80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteNever mind the T10 ( which lasts too long ) I am looking forward to the start of the T5 league
Five overs = 30 balls a side . Each team sends in 10 players to face 3 balls each .
Naturally each side is required to have 10 bowlers bowling 3 balls each . Just enough to get a hat trick !
The whole game should be over in less than an hour . Who wants to sit on their backsides for five days watching Test cricket?
60 minutes is more than enough for the newly recruited generation of cricket fans who demand a six or a wicket every other ball .
Ollie Stone and Jake Ball would be in favour ?
ReplyDeleteOllie Stone asks if his spell of 3 balls have to be bowled consecutively and Jake Ball demands to be allowed to go off the field once his bowling work is done, he'll need to lie down.
DeleteWhy not another franchise, eh ? They have nearly destroyed English cricket, why not finish the job ?
ReplyDeleteWe can see the result of franchises with England World Cup flop. Winning a World Cup is hard. In Rugby our team did not win it, but well
ReplyDeletecoached
with plenty of matches behind them, they did well.
The things leading to our cricketing failure are the exact opposite.
Bazball is one of them. Our batsmen (oh yes !) find their minds so confused by trendy shots, they struggle to play a straight ball.
ReplyDeleteBazball = Being Bottom of World Cup Table.
ReplyDeleteNo, Rich this world 🌎 cup we’ve been playing Frank(Spencer)ball
ReplyDeleteSri Lanka situation a sad day for cricket.
ReplyDeleteFirst time I saw them, loved their sheer joy at playing.
So England fail to regain The Ashes and to miserably to defend The World Cup, yet no changes, more of what is destroying our cricket, even the same faltering, ageing bunch contracted to
ReplyDelete"Carry On Failing."
What a fantastic, 6 wickets, match winning over !
ReplyDeleteIn my pretty dire cricket playing, in a match with 3 balls to go and 3 wickets to win, took 2 wickets with the ball, then was part of a run out. Sweet victory, every dog has his day !
Others had lovely last over of match ?
Australia
ReplyDelete2023
World Test Champions
Retained The Ashes
World Cup winners
England 2023
Did not, and still to reach a World Test Final.
Drew 2 Test Series.
In World Cup,
finshed 7th, did not make Semis, lost 6 matches out of 9, including 5 in a row
Yet the women's game has never more popular. Guess where the focus will be.
DeleteThe womens game - it’s ok for some but I know it does have its knockers also
ReplyDeleteI refer you to his NTNON sketch on "Girls Football" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5CH5eHNpTc
DeleteStill say best way to cut emissions is to take player cars away. Travel by electric powered coaches. If they want a car, pay for it themselves.
ReplyDeletePampered ***** !
Games played behind closed doors, timed to take place in natural light would do the job of taking emissions down to almost zero but who would welcome that? You'd need to have no overseas travel unless it was by sailing ship also.
Delete80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteUnwanted emissions?
I worry about all the surplus hot 🥵 air emanating from ECB headquarters . Some of the stuff spouted there takes some believing.
Congrats David Bedingham
ReplyDeleteContext Is Everything
ReplyDeleteWell it's a dog eat dog
Eat cat too
The French eat frog
And I eat you
80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteCharming little limerick !?
Straight out of a 🎄 christmas 🎅🏻 cracker.
Someone is atuned to the title with the referenced song lyrics, well done Context is Everything
DeleteStarc reality indeed !
ReplyDeleteThey say you cannot have too much money. Cricket proves that not to be true. The money is killing it.
80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteTRULY STAGGERING ARTICLE about the vast sums paid to players in the latest IPL auction. What’s bound to come is frightening for the future of the whole structure of the game as we know it now . Undreamt of riches are now in the game of cricket and available to quite a few players.MULTI MILLIONAIRE FOOTBALLERS! Now it’s millionaire cricketers . Which top class bowler will want to slog out a five day Test for £10,000 when they can get £12,000 for bowling a single ball in the IPL ? How on earth will the future of cricket pan out ? It’s anyone’s guess.
It is always guesswork, but I think the future of cricket will be dominated by 4/5 T20/Hundred leagues playing year round on a global programme, a bit like the tennis calendar. All other cricket will have to fit around that. Maybe test cricket survives as annual 3-match series involving Australia, India and England. It will die everywhere else. WI Vs Aus next month is going to be slaughter. The big change we notice now is country clubs thinking about themselves a venues, not teams. Notts were ahead of their time calling their website Trent Bridge...
ReplyDeleteWell that Crickety vision of the future has all the appeal of boiled cabbage, it ain't for me.
DeleteNor me! It just seems to be the direction of travel. In a more optimistic vision, cricket leaders try to convert new audiences from T20 to test cricket, and test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport. Try that for a bit of Christmas cheer.
ReplyDelete80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteThink about this scenario
Notts play Surrey in a four days game at the Oval .
The sheer cost of it to Notts .
Travel costs there and back .
Hotel costs for perhaps 14 players plus half a dozen coaches , physios , management etc
Feeding costs for everyone
Unforeseen general expenses
What is the total approx cost to Notts , assuming the match lasts the 4 days?
Anyone hazard a rough guess based on previous similar trips ?
Even more than Samit Patel’s bill at Nando’s
ReplyDeleteRe cost of 4 day match at The Oval for Notts.
ReplyDeleteNeed to take into account money received by Notts from Test match profits going to the counties (more for Test staging counties), and any share of gate receipts from CC matches. Test cricket cannot exist without domestic First Class cricket. So in England that includes Notts away matches in The County Championship.
Cost/Benefit analysis must include benefit as well as cost.
80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input Rich .. It must now be almost impossible for any County to make a profit overall out of playing 14 four day games a season . I just wonder how many County side Chairmen and Committee secretly wish for a reduction to 10 or 12 but dare not come out and say so as it’s not what Club Members want ? Evidently half the County Clubs are struggling financially and they will be looking at ways to trim costs .
Flying in to a game on a helicopter 🚁 - Lord Beefy(did he not as Graham Taylor would have said) arrive by such means to games occasionally when he went through his Tim Hudson Agent stage ??!!
ReplyDelete80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteGAMBLING AND SPORT
Not the ideal bedfellows .
Just await the next match fixing scandal .
80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteCan the same be done at Lady Bay to make the viewing experience a bit more attractive for the long suffering Notts faithfull?
Always prefer to keep the memory of Jimmy P as the 2017 one - absolutely devastating
ReplyDelete80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteI think many Notts supporters got to hear about the situation with James . Shame really - but obviously he couldn’t continue at Notts .
It created an opening for someone else . Brett Hutton was given extra work to do . Look at him now!
Toxic balls from ECB ? !
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
ReplyDeleteWell of course "batter" is a baseball term, and with everything IPL etc now totally back in favour of those "batters" T20 and cheap copies of it now pretty much baseball too. With so many "maximums" why not bring in the "home run, as well ?
So how are Bairstow and Salt going to push their claims during T20 WC as Test wicketkeeper, as per Rob Key, when Buttler is to keep during the competition ?
ReplyDeleteWe couldn't know such complexities, unless we moved to Cloud Cuckoo Land Rich
Delete