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Melbourne Stars captain says new BBL rules will allow teams to “show the tactical side of the game”

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2020Glenn Maxwell endured a torrid IPL with the Kings XI Punjab, managing just 108 runs across 11 innings with a highest score of 32. He seemed to struggle for fluency right through the season, and ended it without a single six.Just before the IPL, Maxwell had cracked 186 runs in three ODIs against England, including a match-winning, series-clinching innings of 108 in the third ODI at Old Trafford. Maxwell is confident of getting back into that sort of form ahead of Australia’s limited-overs series against India starting next week.”Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be fine. I was just hitting the ball fine, but wasn’t getting much of a crack,” Maxwell said during a media interaction. “And [I’m] just looking at the bigger picture and understanding my role within the Australian side; trying to put the IPL aside and think about… what I need to do to get ready for every game. And [I] just know that I’m doing the right things and that when the time comes, when I need it, I can still perform really well.”Maxwell reckoned his lean run in the IPL was largely down to the situations he batted in.”It didn’t have anything to do with the pitches at all,” he said. “I suppose it was more to do with the amount of time I had left in the game most of the times. I was either rebuilding or trying to go from ball one with only a couple of balls left. If you don’t hit it, you’re in a bit of trouble. I don’t take too much out of it. I’m still training as hard as ever and still working on the right things. But I came from arguably one of the best innings I’ve played in my career [at Old Trafford] to not being able to clear the ropes. I don’t take too much out of that.”Two days after the third T2OI against India on December 8, the BBL is scheduled to begin. Maxwell, who will captain the Melbourne Stars, is excited by the new rules that will be in place during the tournament.Glenn Maxwell falls on the floor after attempting an unorthodox shot•BCCI

“It’s going to be different that’s for sure,” Maxwell said. “It’s going to be hard work for captains to implement them as well as they can to get an advantage on the rest of the competition and that presents a good challenge for teams to have good squad depth to be able to use their 12th and 13th players. I think it’s exciting.”It’s a different way of playing the game. It’s not going to be the traditional T20. For me personally, I find it exciting to show the tactical side of the game and it’s a good opportunity for teams to show their technical nous and find ways to get ahead of the game.”ALSO READ: Darren Lehmann backs BBL’s X-Factor over previous one-day SupersubThe new rules have come in for criticism from former players including Shane Watson, who termed it a “misguided attempt to re-invigorate the tournament”. But as captain, Maxwell looks forward to using the Power Surge – where the traditional six-over Powerplay will be scrapped and replaced by a mandatory four-over block at the start of the innings and two overs to be chosen by the batting team after the 10th over.”I will just wait for the time,” Maxwell said. “A guy like Nic Pooran who I’ll probably try and use in that space a lot. He’s an extremely powerful hitter and I’m looking forward to seeing him in the Big Bash.”The first game of the 2020-21 BBL will be played between the Hobart Hurricanes and the Sydney Sixers on December 10, with Maxwell’s Stars to open their campaign a day later against the Brisbane Heat.

Independent Director Marius Schoeman offers resignation if the report is not sent

Firdose Moonda06-Oct-2020Cricket South Africa (CSA) have committed to presenting the South African Parliament’s portfolio committee on sports, arts and culture with the full forensic report – which it used to fire former CEO Thabang Moroe – by Friday. In a two-hour meeting on Tuesday morning, the Committee expressed their “disappointment” with CSA for the continued delays in making the report public. It also demanded access to the report before addressing any other issue related to the organisation.Under that pressure, CSA independent board director Marius Schoeman promised to step down from the board if the report is not delivered to the committee by the end of the week.While it is unclear whether the committee members, who are members of parliament, will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) – as has been the case for everyone who has seen the report so far – CSA’s legal team will interact with parliament’s lawyers prior to the report being released.”The protocol to follow is that Members’ Council will confirm that the board may release this report to you. It will be released in hard copy, by Fundudzi, by Friday, close of business, 16h30,” Schoeman said. “If this is not done by 16h30 on Friday, I will resign.”It is significant that the report itself will be sent to parliament by Fundudzi – the forensic services company that compiled the report – and not CSA’s lawyers, where the report is being kept. That is to ensure that the parliamentary committee receives a copy of report that they can be sure is not tampered with. This comes after several members of the committee said they suspected CSA of hiding information given the lengthy delays. Again, Schoeman gave a personal guarantee that will not be the case. “There is absolutely no way I will stand by to allow that anything be removed [from the report],” Schoeman said.ALSO READ: Explainer: What South Africa’s cricket crisis is all aboutCSA released the summary of the report, which contained several damning findings of administrative and financial irregularity and breaches of the Companies’ Act by Moroe, on Monday morning. Schoeman confirmed that acting president Beresford Williams, who was present at Tuesday’s meeting, and board member Donovan May, are also implicated in the report, albeit to a lesser degree. The summary also detailed an incident in which they entire board had failed in their fiduciary duties, which suggests that any punitive action CSA may take could be wide-ranging.For that reason – and that litigation against any implicated individuals could yet take place – CSA have refused to release the report in full to anyone other than three of their independent board members, the 14 presidents of the provincial affiliates on condition that they sign NDA’s and the country’s sports minister Nathi Mthethwa, who was not present on Tuesday. Mthethwa has already instructed CSA to give the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) full access to the report, but CSA have not yet done so, which could lead to Mthethwa taking action against CSA.The pending issue of access to the forensic report was the only matter discussed by the parliamentary committee on Tuesday, forcing topics such as transformation, South Africa’s blank fixture list – which, to date, shows no international or domestic matches for the 2020-21 summer – and CSA’s finances to take a backseat. The committee will meet with CSA again once they have read the report.

The offspinner ended her international career late last year after being dropped by England

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2020Former England allrounder Laura Marsh has announced her retirement from all forms of cricket.Marsh, 33, called an end to her international career late last year after being left out of the England squad and has now cited the postponed launch of the Hundred as one of the key reasons behind her full retirement. She had been due to play for Oval Invincibles in the new format but the Covid-19 pandemic forced the ECB to move the opening season to 2021.”I have made the decision to retire from all forms of cricket. With the cancellation of The Hundred competition this year, I feel that it is the right time to hang up the boots,” Marsh wrote on Twitter. “I want to say a huge thank you to all the teams and organisations I have represented over the years.”I owe a huge amount to both Kent & Sussex for the role they played in my development as a player.”Big thanks also to The Surrey Stars, Sydney Sixers, NSW Breakers and Otago Sparks. Every team I played for developed me as a player and a person and I am fortunate to have made some lifelong friends and memories over the years.”

Coach Russell Domingo also said that ODI captain AB de Villiers’ decision to opt out of Tests for South Africa has not affected the team adversely

Firdose Moonda13-Jun-2017AB de Villiers’ behind-the-scenes leadership skills are good enough to merit him continuing as ODI captain despite mounting calls for him to step aside. That was national head coach Russell Domingo’s endorsement of de Villiers, which added to a growing chorus from inside the team camp in support of the ODI captain following South Africa’s first-round exit from the Champions Trophy.”He has done a fantastic job as captain during this campaign. He leads from the front. I know there has been a lot of criticism about his leadership but a lot of it takes place behind closed doors, so what people see on the field, they will create their impressions from that. But the team and management all think he has done a wonderful job behind closed doors, in the preparation and lead-up to games,” Domingo said. “There’s a lot more that goes on than just making a bowling change. People can question his tactics, but there is more than one way to skin a cat. There is no right and wrong way in cricket. He has got to go with what he feels are the best decisions on the field and he has got to commit to that and that’s what he does.”De Villiers was appointed captain of the ODI and T20I sides in 2011, when Domingo began his work with the South African side. At the time, Domingo was Gary Kirsten’s assistant and two years later, he took over the main job only for de Villiers to hand the T20 reins to Faf du Plessis and set his sights on Test captaincy. Throughout that time, de Villiers was still said to be learning the leadership and slow over-rates, coupled with occasionally odd tactics, were proof of that. Domingo was among those who were patient with de Villiers’ schooling.When Graeme Smith stood down in March 2014, Hashim Amla was preferred over de Villiers but less than two years in, Amla did not want to do the job anymore. De Villiers captained two matches as interim skipper before being confirmed the permanent Test captain but never fulfilled the role after injury and then a Test hiatus kept him out of the whites.De Villiers’ absence from the longest format has now stretched to 18 months and could extend to as much as two years. He has opted out of Tests until the home series against India – dates have yet to be confirmed but it could start as late as January 2018 – to manage his workload ahead of the 2019 World Cup in England.Domingo on de Villiers’ choice to opt out of Tests: ‘By no means can we force players to play every single format’•Getty Images

De Villiers’ selective availability for South Africa – while still playing in tournaments such as the IPL – has not sat well with everyone, including former national batsman and current Cobras’ coach Ashwell Prince, who, in the aftermath of the Champions Trophy exit, tweeted: “Perhaps it’s time that @OfficialCSA dictates to players when they may have the honor of representing this country instead of other way round.”Asked whether de Villiers’ decision has affected the team, Domingo denied that it did. He said: “A lot of players have given up a certain format to focus on another one and that’s their choice. By no means can we force players to play every single format. You’ve obviously got to play them according to what they’re contributing in the particular formats and that’s what has happened. If he wants to just play one-dayers and T20s then that’s a decision he has got to live with and a decision he has got to make. You can’t force players to play every format if they are not committed.”Domingo went even further in his defence of de Villiers, pointing out that although de Villiers is not available for Tests, he has not missed any fifty-over cricket since recovering from elbow surgery early this year. After being unable to play against Australia at home last October, de Villiers returned against Sri Lanka, went to New Zealand and has now played in England, where he is also set to feature in three T20s ahead of the Tests. He is expected to play all of South Africa’s one-day series ahead of the World Cup.”He hasn’t sat out any one-day series where he hasn’t been injured. Whenever he has been fit, he has played one-day series. He’s sitting out Test cricket at the moment. His [lack of] Test cricket, in my opinion, would not be affecting his one-day cricket that much,” Domingo said. “So I can’t see the last time he missed a one-day series out of chance – it’s either been having a baby, or getting injured, and those are the main reasons. I wouldn’t say he has been picking and choosing one-day series.”

The New South Wales coroner will hold an inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes, who was struck on the neck by a delivery during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG last November

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2015The New South Wales coroner will hold an inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes, who was struck on the neck by a delivery during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG last November.The has reported that the New South Wales Crown Solicitor’s Office has started subpoenaing documents relating to the death of Hughes. A date for the inquest has not yet been set.Cricket Australia had already commissioned a review into the events that occurred on November 25 last year, when Hughes was struck by the bouncer and taken to St Vincent’s Hospital, where he died two days later.”We have had open dialogue with the NSW Crown Solicitor and have indicated that we will be as co-operative as possible with any coronial inquest,” a Cricket Australia spokesman told the .”We remain absolutely determined to see if anything could be done to prevent a similar accident happening again. Never again do we want to see a tragedy of that nature happen on a cricket field.”

West Indies could be looking for a new head coach after it emerged that Ottis Gibson could be in contention for the role of director of cricket at Warwickshire

George Dobell09-Jan-2013West Indies could be looking for a new head coach after it emerged that Ottis Gibson could be in contention for the role of director of cricket at Warwickshire.Gibson, who led West Indies to the World Twenty20 in October, is understood to have tired of the politics inherent in Caribbean cricket and is one of more than 100 in contention to succeed Ashley Giles at Edgbaston. Giles left Warwickshire after leading the club to the county championship title in 2012 to take up the role of coach of England’s limited-overs teams.While Gibson has previously intimated his desire to remain with the West Indies team, he is out of contract with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) later this year and, after the CEO Ernest Hilaire quit in September and with the president Julian Hunte due to depart in March, he may feel his future is more secure elsewhere.Appointed in January 2010, he has suffered public fallouts with such high-profile figures as Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan and endured criticism as various politicians, even prime ministers, in the Caribbean have sought to join the bandwagon. Gibson declined to confirm or deny his interest in the Warwickshire role when contacted by ESPNcricinfo.Among the other candidates thought to have shown an interest in the Warwickshire job are former New Zealand, Scotland and Kenya coach, Andy Moles, the England bowling coach, David Saker – who has now withdrawn – the former Glamorgan and Bermuda captain, David Hemp, and the ECB’s performance director, David Parsons. Dougie Brown and Graeme Welch, who are already on the coaching staff at Edgbaston, have also applied for the role with Welch the man favoured by the Warwickshire dressing room.Gibson is sure to be considered among the strongest candidates. A former international player, the Barbados-born fast bowler helped Durham to their first silverware in 2007 before being appointed England’s bowling coach. He has improved the fitness and discipline of the West Indies squad but, despite some encouraging performances, has been thwarted by the unavailability of senior players and his sometimes troubled relationship with them.The interest of so many high-profile candidates underlines the attraction of the Warwickshire job. Based at a large, recently redeveloped stadium with excellent facilities, the role pays relatively well and does not require the huge amount of overseas travel involved with an international coaching position. Whether the salary could match the package that Gibson enjoys with West Indies, thought to be around $300,000, is highly debatable, however.

The impasse between the BCCI and Sahara India Parivar continues with the BCCI having sent a proposal to Sahara after its working committee’s meeting in Chennai today

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Feb-2012The impasse between the BCCI and Sahara India continues with the board, whose working committee met on Monday, saying it would not make an exception for the Pune Warriors IPL franchise. N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said the board had sent a proposal to Sahara but did not mention its details.Sahara is yet to respond to the proposal but the company’s officials have made public the concerns they raised at yesterday’s meeting with the BCCI top brass in Mumbai. These include a replacement player for Yuvraj Singh, who is expected to miss the entire 2012 season; the holding of a player auction next year to level the playing field; a 27% reduction in their annual franchise fee; finding a strategic partner for the franchise; and the fact that Sahara was the only owner asked for a bank guarantee for the franchise fee.

BCCI on Sahara pulling out of the Indian team sponsorship

“Sponsors are not going away; in any contractual arrangements you will have to arrange to provide the possibility for change. I don’t think it is fair to say that the BCCI is losing money – it has not lost any money,” N Srinivasan said. “For the properties that we have, I think, we have adequate sponsors now. We may have a problem with the sponsors. We have shown that we will walk the extra mile to show that feeling for the sponsor. But I do not think one has to be concerned that there will be no sponsors.”

ESPNcricinfo has learnt, though, that most of these requests were turned down because they were not in the framework of the IPL’s rules. “Except for allowing them to have a strategic partner on board of the Warriors franchise, no other request was approved,” a member of the BCCI’s working committee said.For the record, Srinivasan said these grievances had been “communicated” to the working committee and the response was positive but “within the framework of its rules.” The board, he said, “cannot create an exception because observance of the regulation strictly is important to the integrity of the league.”Asked if the IPL was willing to accept Sahara’s request to allow a replacement for Yuvraj Singh, Srinivasan said that was possible. “I am told, as per the rules, Sahara can have a replacement for Yuvraj. That is not an issue.”The reality, though, could be different. The BCCI appears wary of giving in too much for fear of “opening a Pandora’s box”, the official said. “Every now and then a franchise would ask for such concessions.”Another problem is time: with the IPL starting on April 4 and the trading window closing at the end of the week there are still issues to sort out. The Sahara camp appears calm, at least for the moment, and is waiting for the BCCI communiqué on today’s developments. “We have kept it open, they have kept it open,” he said.Sahara spoke instead through the two-page document elaborating on the issues that were discussed at Sunday’s meeting. The first request dealt with the replacement for Yuvraj, who is being treated for cancer. Sahara said it proposed an open auction of players in 2013 to ensure a level playing field; until then, it said, the team should be allowed one extra foreign player in the XI.Sahara also said it had bid for the franchise – eventually paying $370 million – on the basis of a 94-match IPL, but only 74 games were played in 2011. Accordingly, it sought a 27% cut in its annual franchise fee. “Considering the reduced number of matches that actually took place against the earlier representation of BCCI before tendering for the new franchise, we have ended up bidding 27% extra if we go by the revenues that we would have accrued from media rights, gate receipts, sponsorship revenue etc. There has to be a reduction in the Franchise Fee as per the above,” Sahara’s statement said.The BCCI’s contention, though, was that the tender for the new franchises in 2010 did not mention a specific number of matches.Sahara’s other key demand concerned the bank guarantee it was paying to the BCCI against the franchise fee. Roy is believed to have told Srinivasan that it was “discriminatory” to ask them to pay the bank guarantee when none of the original eight franchises did the same. The BCCI official, though, said the large sums involved in the 2010 auction – the Pune franchise fetched more than five times the price of some of the original franchises – necessitated some sort of guarantee.

Tom Smith and David Warner led Middlesex to a crushing eight-wicket win over Hampshire in their Friends Provident t20 match at the Rose Bowl

16-Jul-2010
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Michael Carberry top scored with 34 as Hampshire were skittled for 99•Getty Images

Tom Smith and David Warner led Middlesex to a crushing eight-wicket win over Hampshire in their Friends Provident t20 match at the Rose Bowl. Smith took three wickets, held a catch and also ran out Hampshire captain Dominic Cork as the hosts were bowled out for 99 in 17.5 overs.Australia opener Warner then blazed a rapid 43 to make the result a formality. Middlesex breezed for 100 for 2 to win with 34 balls to spare and set up an intriguing last day in the race for the final quarter-final place in the South Group.Hampshire, Middlesex and Surrey all have one match to play and each have 14 points. Glamorgan are one point behind and can overtake them all if other results go their way and earn a place in the quarter-final knockout stage.Hampshire made a bright start after winning the toss, despite the early loss of the prolific Jimmy Adams. But from the moment James Vince was bowled by Tyron Henderson at 43 in the seventh over, Hampshire fell away, losing their last nine wickets for 56.Only Michael Carberry stood in Middlesex’s way with an aggressive 34 which included two sixes and three fours. Henderson had Carberry leg before and Hampshire rapidly fell away with Smith making most of the damage caused by Henderson’s spell.Left-arm spinner Smith dismissed Neil McKenzie, Abdul Razzaq and Nic Pothas to end with three for 26 from his four overs. Henderson and Neil Dexter each took two wickets as Hampshire subsided to a total which was never going to trouble Middlesex.Dexter and Warner made sure of the two points with an opening stand of 57 before Dexter, the minor partner in the opening stand, was dismissed. Warner smashed seven fours in his 43 before he drove his countryman Dan Christian to Razzaq in the ninth over with the score on 60.But Middlesex steadied when Owais Shah and Dawid Malan came together in a stand of 40 for the third wicket in 5.5 overs.