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The 21-year-old South Africa fast bowler has emphasised he is the main person when it comes to judging his fitness and he will be honest about doing so

Andrew McGlashan in Hamilton28-Feb-20171:43

The longer that I’ve played the more I’ve learnt to manage myself – Rabada

Kagiso Rabada has said he will always be honest about his fitness amid concerns over the workload the fast bowler is facing in the coming months.So far on the South Africa tour, he has played two matches and missed two, skipping the T20 and second ODI in Christchurch, but is expected to line up in Hamilton as South Africa aim to wrap up the series. Doing so would allow them to rest Rabada for the final match in Auckland ahead of the three-Test series, which begins on March 8 in Dunedin. That is followed by the IPL, the Champions Trophy and a full tour of England.A left knee niggle led to him sitting out the Christchurch match and he has bowled with it strapped during the tour. On his return in Wellington, he set the tone for South Africa with an immaculate new-ball spell and he insisted he is able to judge how his body is feeling.”I feel like I’m the main person when it comes to judging how I feel, and truthfully as well,” he said. “Sometimes you play with niggles, sometimes you feel fresh, sometimes niggles come and then they go away, sometimes they stay for a bit longer.”The longer that I’ve played the more I’ve learnt to manage myself, with the help of the medical team who give me advice, and I take it accordingly.”He added that he understood the reasoning behind rotating quick bowlers. “Sometimes you have to put your ego aside,” he said.After the match in Wellington, South Africa coach Russell Domingo admitted it was an ongoing challenge juggling the workload of all bowlers, not just Rabada.”A lot of our bowlers need to be managed because of the number of games that get played,” he said. “It’s a fine line between resting players and trying to win series. Particularly for a young player like KG. He’s only 21, Andile is only 20 so those are two young bowlers who need a lot of management.”But it’s hard to leave KG out of the next match, he’s a seriously good bowler and it’s no coincidence that when he’s back in the mix we look a different side. I’ll need to speak to the sport scientists, but we need to manage him carefully.”In words that will be pleasing for Domingo to hear Paddy Upton, the former performance director for South Africa who is now coach at Rabada’s IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils, has said he has no intention of running the paceman into the ground.”We try and help them not only to have a good IPL but to enhance and further their career,” he told South Africa’s . “The IPL is part of the 11-month season. We understand that.”There are teams who try and get every cent and every moment of every day out of the players. If players aren’t managed well and cognisance isn’t taken of the whole year you end up with a burnt out player at the end of an IPL. So it doesn’t serve anyone.”

Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif has been named assistant coach of the Gujarat Lions for the 2017 IPL season

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2017Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif has been named assistant coach of the Gujarat Lions for the 2017 IPL season. The appointment will be Kaif’s maiden coaching stint, and he will be deputy to head coach Brad Hodge.”Glad to be part of such an exciting group of boys and a wonderful management,” Kaif said on Twitter in response to Lions’ announcement.Lions, captained by Suresh Raina, finished top of the league stage in their first IPL season, in 2016, but failed to qualify for the final because they lost both their playoff matches.Kaif, 36, was appointed captain of Chhattisgarh in their maiden Ranji Trophy season in 2016-17. He also led Chhattisgarh in the recently concluded inter-state T20 tournament, where they won two of the five games in the Central Zone.Kaif has been associated with three IPL teams as a player – Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Royals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kaif, who played 13 Tests and 125 one-day internationals, was an integral part of the Uttar Pradesh side for close to a decade-and-a-half, after making his first-class debut in 1997-98. He played a vital role in UP’s maiden Ranji Trophy title victory in 2005-06, when they beat Bengal on the basis of a first-innings lead in Lucknow.Renowned for being a gritty batsman and an excellent fielder, Kaif has 10,093 runs in 182 first-class matches at an average of 39.12.

Cricket Australia’s decision to re-sign Matthew Mott arrived before the team led by Meg Lanning prepared to compete for the 50-over World Cup in England later this year

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-2017Matthew Mott has won a three-year contract extension as coach of Australia’s women’s team, taking him through until after they are the host team for the World Twenty20 tournament in 2020.Cricket Australia’s decision to re-sign Mott, who had previously coached New South Wales and Glamorgan, arrived before the team led by Meg Lanning prepared to compete for the 50-over World Cup in England later this year, with an Ashes series against England to follow.”I’m really excited to have re-signed as coach of this incredibly talented group of cricketers and am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve,” Mott said. “This group has tasted sustained success over a period of time and that’s a real credit to each and every player and their dedication to maintaining their position as the best team in the world.Having replaced Cathryn Fitzpatrick in 2015, Mott oversaw an Australian Ashes win in England later that year, the first time this had been achieved since 2001. Last year, Australia women were beaten finalists in the World T20 in India and also claimed the inaugural ICC Women’s Championship, which also qualified them for the World Cup this year.”It’s a really exciting time in women’s cricket both in Australia and internationally, with a number of countries making strong strides forward and we know we need to work as hard as we can to continue to improve,” CA’s team performance manager Pat Howard said. “It’s terrific to have Matthew on board for another three years and we’re excited to see what he and the Australian team can achieve over that period.”Matthew has a strong relationship with all the members of the squad and his record shows that he knows how to get the best out of his players. The next 12 months are huge for this group, they have the chance to continue their success in Australian sporting history and we believe Matthew is the person to make that happen.”

The PCB has sent a notice of dispute to the BCCI for not fulfilling the MoU signed in 2014 for fixtures between Pakistan and India during the period 2015 to 2023

Umar Farooq03-May-2017The PCB has sent a notice of dispute to the BCCI for not fulfilling the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the boards had signed in 2014 for fixtures between Pakistan and India during the period 2015 to 2023.The Pakistan board claimed it incurred losses because the BCCI did not agree to a tour in December 2015, and though it did not disclose amounts, two series against India were worth $80 million in the board’s previous TV deal.The PCB wanted to take a legal route but according to the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee’s terms of reference an ICC member should exercise Clause 5, which covers good-faith negotiations, and make three attempts to resolve the dispute.According to the terms of reference, the BCCI has seven days to respond to the PCB. A positive response will lead to a meeting between officials from both boards to try and settle the issue. A failure to find a solution would then result in the matter being referred to the ICC dispute resolution committee, which will form a panel to hear the case.The PCB also confirmed Pakistan would not tour India in 2018 as scheduled in the FTP because the cycle of bilateral fixtures had to start with Pakistan as hosts.The notice of dispute was sent to the BCCI after the PCB was encouraged by the ICC awarding six points to the Pakistan Women’s team because the BCCI had failed to establish “acceptable reasons” for not participating in a bilateral series, which was part of the ICC Women’s Championship.The PCB and BCCI had signed an MoU in 2014 to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023. Four of those series were to be hosted by Pakistan and the six series included up to 14 Tests, 30 ODIs and 12 T20Is. The cycle was scheduled to start with Pakistan hosting two Tests and five ODIs at a mutually acceptable venue, but the BCCI did not agree to the series.India and Pakistan have not played a full series since the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, which the Indian government blamed on militants based in Pakistan. The teams last played a full series in 2007, in India. Pakistan, however, visited India for a limited-over series in December 2012, which was seen as a stepping stone to reviving cricketing ties between the countries.The PCB and BCCI made an attempt to play in December 2015, with Sri Lanka as a possible venue for the series. Leadership from both boards met in Dubai with ECB president Giles Clarke as mediator, but as the date approached the BCCI remained unresponsive towards PCB and the series was scrapped without official confirmation from India.

Richie Berrington’s third List A century propelled Scotland to 268 for 5 in an innings reduced to 43 overs before rain pushed the match into the reserve day with Namibia 26 for no loss in reply

Peter Della Penna in Edinburgh11-Jun-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRichie Berrington mowed five fours and four sixes en route to his career-best List A score•Peter Della Penna

Richie Berrington’s third List A century propelled Scotland to 268 for 5 in an innings reduced to 43 overs in the first WCL Championship match between the two sides at The Grange. In reply, Namibia were 26 for 0 in 5.1 overs before rain halted the chase and pushed the game into the reserve day on Monday.The rain was on and off throughout the day with the first interruption arriving after 17 overs with Scotland 69 for 2, causing a two-and-a-half hour delay and a seven-over reduction. Berrington, who was slow to get going, was on 9 off 26 balls then. He had moved on to 14 off 35 when the rain returned, after 19.4 overs, to push the players off the field briefly. However, once the weather cleared out and the sun appeared, he flipped a switch and pillaged 86 off the next 49 balls he faced to bring up an 84-ball century.And it was the introduction of Bernard Scholtz, the left-arm spinner, in the 27th over, that brought about the shift in momentum in Berrington’s innings. With a strong breeze blowing across the ground, Scholtz tried to tempt Scotland’s batsmen into swinging with the breeze but against the turn only to see his strategy go fruitless. Berrington slog-swept the second ball he faced from Scholtz over deep midwicket for six before taking him for 16 in the 31st. That included a six over wide long-on that took him to a half-century in 58 balls.He needed just another 26 balls to reach three figures, feasting on a series of short-pitched balls from Jan Frylinck and Christi Viljoen. The only chance he offered was a difficult one when on 61, he drove Sarel Burger flat to long-on. Stephan Baard put in a one-handed, leaping effort but only managed to deflect the ball over the rope for six. By the time Berrington fell, bottom-edging a slower full toss from left-arm medium pacer JJ Smit onto his stumps, he had raised his career-best score of 110.The wicket also ended a blistering 101-run fifth wicket stand with Preston Mommsen that had spanned just 9.4 overs. Mommsen, returning to the Scotland side in his first match after coming out of retirement, ended unbeaten on 49 off 35 balls, repeatedly using the scoop over fine leg to great effect.Viljoen hadn’t played for Namibia since 2014, but has made an impact on his comeback tour after playing first-class cricket in New Zealand. Though his short-ball ploy did not work against Berrington and Mommsen, it had worked earlier in the day when he bagged two wickets in his opening over – that of Kyle Coetzer, the Scotland captain, and Matthew Cross, who were both caught at deep square leg for 15 and 21 respectively.Smit then accounted for Calum MacLeod, who was caught for 22 attempting a flick at midwicket. Craig Wallace then partnered Berrington in a fourth-wicket stand of 71 before he was caught at long leg attempting an audacious slog sweep against the medium pace of Burger. At that point, the match was evenly balanced at 151 for 4 in the 32nd over, before Berrington and Mommsen shored up Scotland’s total.Scotland had a chance to break Namibia’s opening stand when Baard’s hook off Alasdair Evans in the fifth over sailed toward long leg. But Safyaan Sharif misjudged the ball in the wind and never came off the rope. Baard remained not out on 6, with Louis van der Westhuizen on 20 having cracked four boundaries through the off side, before rain ended play for the day.

Jason Roy’s assault on a below-par Yorkshire attack set the tone for a day of Surrey domination at Headingley

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2017
ScorecardSurrey, led by half-centuries for Rory Burns, Jason Roy and Kumar Sangakkara, dominated the opening day of their pink ball Specsavers County Championship match against Yorkshire at Headingley.Having opted to toss, as was the trend with away teams around the country, and elected to bat, the visitors piled on 374 for six from 96 overs.Below par Yorkshire failed to gain any control for the two sessions as Roy, in particular, took the attack to them either side of lunch in this historic day/night fixture.After a difficult Champions Trophy campaign, the 26-year-old looked in supreme touch for 87 off 91 balls.Having hit 92 in the recent Royal London Cup semi-final win over Worcestershire as well as 67 in the T20 international against South Africa at Taunton, this knock included eleven fours and two sixes.Despite it being his first Championship appearance of the season, it marked his third successive 50 plus score in this competition.In a defeat against Durham at Emirates Riverside last September, he posted scores of 120 and 96.Opener Burns top-scored with 90 off 186 balls, while Sangakkara added 82 not out off 124.Tim Bresnan claimed his 500th first-class wicket for Yorkshire in front of a 2,595 crowd, including 494 after 4.40pm when reduced ticket prices were in operation.Roy came to the crease with Surrey at 75 for two after 21 overs, with Mark Stoneman hitting 30 and Scott Borthwick 31 – both men looking in good order and showing signs of the visitors positive approach.Roy and opener Burns, the anchor for the innings, shared 147 inside 33 overs for the third wicket before the former was lbw to Jack Brooks as the score fell to 222 for three in the 54th.He reached 50 off 54 balls and hit his two sixes straight into the Football Stand off England team-mate Adil Rashid, who conceded 67 in 12 overs.Roy was promoted to bat at number four ahead of Sangakkara, who settled quickly during the second half of the afternoon and hit Rashid over long-on for six with his 19th ball at the crease.Earlier, Stoneman was caught behind driving at Ben Coad in the eleventh over having hit his previous two balls for four, while Borthwick chipped Steve Patterson to mid-wicket.Yorkshire’s fourth wicket, that of Burns in the final over of the afternoon, came as the left-hander was undone by extra bounce from Bresnan, who had him caught behind for his 500th – 271 for four in the 64th over.Yorkshire at least managed to get some kind of control in the first half of the evening session, with Surrey scoring 38 runs in 16 overs before the second new ball to take the score to 309 for four after 80.And it did the trick as Coad had Ben Foakes caught at cover for 23, leaving the score at 320 for five in the 83rd.Sangakkara later reached 50 off 86 balls to add to the one-day century he scored here earlier this month, but he lost Sam Curran in the 91st over when he was caught behind off Patterson with 358 on the board.Bresnan will captain Yorkshire in the second half of this match when Gary Ballance leaves for Lions duty. Harry Brook has been named as his replacement.

Ravi Shastri, the former India allrounder and team director, has been appointed head coach of the national side until the 2019 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-20172:11

Timeline – Ravi Shastri’s road to the coaching job

Ravi Shastri, the former India allrounder and team director, has been appointed head coach of the national side until the 2019 World Cup. Zaheer Khan has been named bowling consultant for the same tenure, while Rahul Dravid will be India’s batting consultant for overseas Test series.The confirmation came late on Tuesday night after the CoA impressed upon the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendullkar and VVS Laxman, the urgent need to end the uncertainty over the next India coach.The vacancy arose because Anil Kumble resigned after the Champions Trophy in June, stating that his partnership with India captain Virat Kohli had become “untenable”. India went to the West Indies to play a limited-overs series without a head coach.Shastri was one of five candidates the CAC interviewed for the role, along with Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Lalchand Rajput. He had not applied when the BCCI invited applications for the first time, but did so after Kumble was no longer in the fray.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shastri had applied for the role in 2016 as well, and was disappointed to lose out to Kumble, because India had done well during his tenure as director.He had been appointed team director in August 2014 and under him, India made it to semi-finals of successive global events – the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20 – and also climbed to No. 1 on the Test rankings for a period of eight weeks until February 2016. During that time, India also won their first limited-overs bilateral series in Australia, whitewashing the hosts 3-0 in a T20I series. While he worked alongside Duncan Fletcher in the early part of his tenure, Shastri had sole responsibility of the team after the 2015 World Cup.Zaheer, a former India fast bowler, has no formal coaching experience but he has been part of the Delhi Daredevils thinktank in recent IPL seasons. He was offered the role of bowling consultant last year by the BCCI, but both parties could not come to an agreement over remuneration.Dravid recently gave up his position as the Daredevils mentor, after accepting a two-year contract to coach the India A and Under-19 teams.The appointments bring to an end a period of uncertainty over the India coaching job that began at the end of May, when Kohli told BCCI officials that some players were uncomfortable with Kumble’s approach to man management. Following Kohli’s feedback, the BCCI advertised for the position and Kumble was one of several candidates to apply. While Kohli maintained in public that there were no problems with Kumble, the issue came to a head soon after the Champions Trophy when, with no new coach in place, Kumble was offered an extension to cover the tour of the West Indies but decided to step down instead.Shastri’s first assignment as head coach is the Test series in Sri Lanka, which begins on July 26.

Broadcaster Ralph Dellor, a former editor of cricinfo, has died aged 69

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2017Broadcaster Ralph Dellor, a former editor of Cricinfo, has died aged 69. In a wide and varied 50-year career in cricket, Dellor commentated for the BBC’s programme, authored many books, and coached the Norwegian national team.Dellor began his career in 1970 with BBC local radio, going on to work on and as well as . He also wrote for the , became the ICC’s first media consultant and, more recently, took on the job of “Voice of Lord’s” as MCC’s PA announcer.Widely liked and respected within cricket, he covered numerous other sports and developed a line in after-dinner speaking. Between 1984 and 1988 he was editor of the and in 2000 he won the Jack Fingleton Award as cricket commentator of the year.A keen cricketer and golfer, he was an ECB-accredited coach and led Norway to the European Trophy in 2003, 2005 and 2006.Dellor was director of cricket operations at Cricinfo between 2000 and 2003, which involved commentating on the 2000 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. He left to set up his own business, Sportsline Media, with Cricinfo colleague Stephen Lamb.Dellor was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, for which he had been undergoing treatment.

The ICC Americas staff begins a series of town hall forum meetings around the USA with an aim to create a governance structure under a new constitution

Peter Della Penna12-Sep-20173:18

‘Our success will be measured by new federation’ – Eric Parthen

The governance process to rebuild USA cricket in the wake of the USA Cricket Association’s expulsion in June takes another step forward this week as ICC Americas staff begins a series of town hall forum meetings around the country. The overarching aim is to create a governance structure under a new constitution to achieve the ICC’s repeatedly stated goal of “unifying the cricket community” according to the ICC’s USA project manager Eric Parthen.”Leading into the expulsion, obviously we continued to try and work with USACA and get them to reform with the new constitution,” Parthen told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview ahead of the first town hall meetings to take place this week in New York City and Washington, DC. “That didn’t happen. So at the ICC annual conference we had a unanimous board decision and a unanimous full council decision to expel USACA. In the wake of that, we’ve done exactly what we said we were going to do and continue to focus on developing a national governing body that can unify the cricket community.”We will ultimately use the constitution that was created by the sustainable foundation group, potentially make a few tweaks to incorporate in the state of Colorado instead of the state of New York, but by all intents and purposes it will be the same document that was created by the cricket community and was proposed to USACA. We’ll use that document to ultimately elect a new board of directors that will then assume authority and hopefully by June of 2018 be before the ICC as a national governing body or federation for the United States in the sport of cricket.”Parthen says that despite USACA’s unwillingness to adopt the revised constitution put forward to them by the ICC’s Sustainable Foundation Advisory Group, the final straw preceding USACA’s expulsion as an ICC Associate Member, he is making it clear that current or former members of USACA are more than welcome to throw their hat in the ring to be a part of the new federation. That includes longtime USACA president Gladstone Dainty, a controversial figure whom many current and past administrators blame for the stymying the growth of cricket in the country.”This has never been about one individual,” Parthen said when asked about whether Dainty and other USACA executives would be welcome to run for office given the contentious nature of USACA’s expulsion. “This process has been about unifying the community. So whether it is Gladstone or somebody else from ACF, we’re going to put trust in a unified body to make good decisions for the directors that will ultimately be elected.”When we look at the board makeup, there’s going to be two athletes elected both male and female that will serve as a check and balance, there will be three independent directors that will serve as a check and balance. There will be some individuals elected by clubs and leagues and then there will be individual elected seats by the full membership. So we believe there’s enough checks and balances there to get the right people elected. If anyone is elected, I’d hope that they went through a great process that showed they have the majority of people interested in seeing them lead this organisation.”One of the main areas of focus for Parthen’s office in Colorado Springs is establishing a database to collect information about the wider cricket community. The purpose is to establish better communication channels but also to make sure as many constituents as possible are identified and registered to be able to take part in elections which are anticipated to be held in early 2018.”We want to set up a governing body that’s a governing body for all forms of the sport: softball cricket, hardball cricket, disabled cricket, all forms of cricket we think the national federation should ultimately govern,” Parthen said. “That’s why we’re focused on creating a database that can manage all of those pieces and ultimately communicate with all of those pieces.”Clubs, coaches, athletes, umpires, administrators, fans, we want them all to be a part of this new national federation, have a voice in the new national federation and ultimately be a part of it. So that database needs to be able to support all aspects of it. Once the database is created, we’ll shoot to have membership open in November of 2017 and ultimately elections starting in January 2018 with hopefully a finishing point of April 2018 where we have a new board of directors and a new national federation to govern the sport of cricket in the United States.”One of the ironic aspects of USACA’s suspension and expulsion has been that instead of having their ICC funding stopped – as was the case in previous suspensions and what occurs when most countries are suspended – their ICC funding mushroomed. USACA had been getting approximately $300,000 annually from the ICC prior to suspension but the caretaker administration in the USA has been operating on an annual budget between $2 and $2.5 million, equivalent to Ireland and Afghanistan before their elevation to Full Membership.When the new national governing body is put in place, the funding assistance from the ICC is expected to revert to pre-suspension levels. However, Parthen is optimistic that the new governing body will be able to maintain if not exceed those funding levels independent of help from the ICC.”The $2-2.5 million, we think that’s a drop in the bucket compared to what this country potentially could produce,” Parthen said. “The ICC hasn’t commercialised any aspect of this sport. A typical national federation in any other sport – USA Swimming, USA Basketball, Cricket Australia, you name it – are commercialising parts of the game and we have not done that.”We are very bullish and we hope the new national federation will be very bullish on the opportunities that exist for growing the amount of revenue that we can ultimately support cricket in the United States with. We hope that far dwarfs the $2-2.5 million that the ICC has supported this country with and I’d argue that in the time that I’ve been here, I certainly see those potential opportunities and I’d be disappointed if we only function on a $2.5 million budget in this sport moving forward.”Parthen was also in Florida during CPL weekend last month where staff and volunteers surveyed fans in person and online to seek out opinions on designing a logo for the new national federation. A new logo is something he feels is an important symbolic step in rehabilitating the image of USA cricket as they chart a new path with the formation of a fresh national governing body.”Specifically with the logo, we want it to represent the United States,” Parthen said. “This is a United States federation. So the imagery will be red, white and blue, USA, speak to cricket, hopefully speak to our identity as a sport with over 300 years of history in the United States but also do so in a way that is more progressive, more forward-thinking, looking forward, more exciting, a new future and a new era for cricket.”One thing that came out in our surveys is that we need to be thoughtful of both our past and our present. We’re very optimistic and bullish on what the future of USA cricket can be but we also need to keep in mind what our past is and the history that we have in the United States.”

A five-wicket victory over Scotland in Port Moresby meant they are only two points behind Netherlands

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2017Papua New Guinea have moved up to second place on the World Cricket League points table on the back of beating Scotland by five wickets in Port Moresby. Bouncing back in fine style, with Mahuru Dai’s 63 off 54 balls, they chased the target of 204 with two overs and five wickets to spare.The small target was helpful considering only one of the top five could move past 25. Captain Assad Vala had taken the score to 130 for 5 before handing the reins over to Dai, who came in during the 31st over, and went on a boundary-hitting spree. He struck 10 fours, which accounted for 63% of his runs, and ensured Scotland’s bowlers, despite the work they put in to push the chase to the 48th over, were defeated.A much larger portion of the blame fell on the batsmen, which would have been doubly disappointing considering Scotland had won the toss. Matthew Cross made 91 off 120 balls – accounting for nearly half of his team’s total – as his team-mates fell in a heap around him. The next highest score was 22.