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The BCCI has said it has restructured its agreement with Multi Screen Media (MSM) in order to recover the Rs 425-crore facilitation fee that MSM paid to World Sports Group (Mauritius)

Cricinfo staff25-Jun-2010The BCCI and MSM Satellite (Singapore) Pte. Ltd (MSM), the broadcasters of the IPL, have restructured their media rights agreement in order to recover the Rs 425 crore facilitation fee that MSM paid to World Sports Group (Mauritius) as compensation for WSG relinquishing the telecast rights for the Indian subcontinent before the second season of the league in 2009.”Today, the governing council of the IPL had approved an amended Media Rights Agreement with MSM Satellite (Singapore) Pte. Ltd in which MSM would agreed to pay the balance payable under the Facilitation Fee Agreement to the BCCI,” the IPL said in a release. “Thus, they have agreed to pay Rs 300 crores as part of the rights fee to BCCI. MSM Satellite (Singapore) is taking steps to recover Rs 125 crores already paid to WSG Mauritius and on recovery, will pay the same to BCCI.”The new agreement was signed at the IPL governing council meeting in Mumbai earlier today. In a statement of its own, MSM said “the BCCI has disclosed certain facts, hitherto not known to MSMS that confirm that the broadcast rights were exclusively with it (the BCCI) immediately prior to and at the time of the grant of the rights by BCCI to MSMS.” The board had repeatedly said it had no prior knowledge of the facilitation fee agreement and called the fee an “improper payment”.MSM also said it has filed suit in the Bombay High Court to recover the Rs 125 crore it has already paid WSG and that it “categorically denies any impropriety in making the initial payments to WSG relying on representations made to us at that particular point in time.”In a statement emailed to Cricinfo, WSG said it was “surprised” by the board’s decision and defended the legality of the facilitation fee agreement. “WSG reiterates that the contracts being referred to are above board as far as its involvement and obligations are concerned. We are not aware of and not party to the arrangements reached between MSM and BCCI and we will defend any claims which may be made by MSM against us.”The facilitation fee arose out of the restructuring of the television rights deal following the first IPL. WSG India had originally bought the worldwide telecast rights of the IPL for ten years (2008 to 2017) at a cost of over $1 billion. Meanwhile MSM had secured the rights to broadcast in India for five years (2008 to 2012) and had the option of securing the rights for the remaining five years (2013-2017) by paying WSG an option fee of $25 million. If MSM chose to exercise its option, WSG would in turn have to pay the BCCI $35 million at the end of the fifth year.However, the board cancelled the original rights deal in 2009 and renegotiated its deal with WSG Mauritius. On its part, MSM did not want to renegotiate with WSG, wanting a direct contract with the board instead. The result was that MSM eventually negotiated a deal with the BCCI for the same price and duration as WSG Mauritius, in lieu of WSG Mauritius relinquishing its rights. The nine-year deal was worth Rs 8200 crores.Because WSG stepped aside, MSM now owed it the facilitation fee, which consisted of the option fee of $25 million (Rs 115 crores approximately) to extend the rights from 2013 to 2017 and an additional fee of Rs. 310 crores payable over the nine years of the contract compensating WSG Mauritius for returning the rights it acquired from the BCCI. The $35 million potential rating incentive, payable at the end of the fifth year under the original agreement, was eliminated.The facilitation fee had also attracted the attention of the Income Tax department, after it was alleged that no tax was levied on the transaction. At the time, MSM said the “payments made to BCCI and WSG Mauritius have been in accordance with applicable laws and as per established international cross border banking norms and procedures. MSM received tax advice from external tax experts that the transaction with WSG Mauritius did not attract India taxes and MSM has accordingly not withheld any Indian tax.”

Cricket Australia’s board will select its replacement for John Howard as the candidate for the ICC’s vice-presidency on Friday

Peter English08-Jul-2010Cricket Australia’s board will select its replacement for John Howard as the candidate for the ICC’s vice-presidency on Friday afternoon – but don’t expect a quick resolution. The already protracted negotiations are complicated by the fact the ultimate decision must be made with New Zealand Cricket, whose board will not meet for another two weeks.While the passionate attachment to Howard has decreased and the likelihood of a repeat recommendation is slim, Cricket Australia’s senior figures remain angry that their preferred nomination was denied without a vote by the ICC board in Singapore last week. Australia and New Zealand were given until August 31 to find another candidate and Cricket Australia’s special meeting is the first formal step.Cricket Australia’s chairman Jack Clarke was “gutted” by Howard’s veto in Singapore following opposition from a group of six Asian, African and West Indian officials. Clarke, who is in London, will lead the teleconference and is the most likely Australian nomination for the post, which includes an automatic promotion to ICC president in 2012.”Technically John Howard is still the candidate and it’s up to Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket to work out if they want to continue to support him,” a Cricket Australia spokesman told Cricinfo. “Technically there is a chance he could still be the candidate until New Zealand Cricket’s board meeting.” Howard will stand by Cricket Australia’s decision, which could involve giving New Zealand its choice.The New Zealand board will discuss the issue on July 23 and a spokesman said the situation had not changed since the meetings in Singapore. Originally, New Zealand pushed for its former chairman Sir John Anderson to fill the position, but an independent panel eventually ruled in favour of the 70-year-old Howard. Last week’s setback, which included six board members signing a letter opposing Howard’s appointment, further complicated an already difficult process.Cricket Australia’s spokesman said he did not expect a public announcement from Friday’s meeting at least until after Clarke had talked to his New Zealand counterpart Alan Isaac. Clarke, an Adelaide solicitor, did not seek the role the first time and would find juggling the extra commitments as difficult as being the diplomat required for such a delicate post.If Clarke agrees to take on the job he would also have to make peace with the men who denied his preferred candidate. “You hope it doesn’t affect your relationship but it obviously puts a block there for a while and makes you wary, I suppose,” Clarke said after the Singapore meeting. “But we have to deal with all the member countries of the ICC.”Other Australian contenders include Mark Taylor, the former captain, while the deputy chairman is Wally Edwards, a batsman who played three Tests against England in 1974-75. Taylor would be reluctant given his expansive commentary and commercial duties and he also has long-standing links to Howard, who presented him with the Australian of the Year award in 1999.It was Howard who called Taylor before he declared on 334 in Pakistan in 1998, the same score as Don Bradman’s Australian record, and the then prime minister delayed a cabinet meeting so he could meet the players on their return home. South Australia’s Ian McLachlan is another senior figure on the board with close ties to Howard after being his defence minister for two years in the mid-1990s.Geoff Tamblyn, from Victoria, and the India-born Harry Harinath, the New South Wales squad doctor since 1990, also have significant experience but were overlooked the first time around. Six of the 13 members have been appointed since 2007, including Matthew Hayden.The ICC position did not receive a batch of enthusiastic candidates in the first place and there is a general feeling that the job has become even less attractive over the past week. There have even been calls from Australians, including the former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed, to pass the selection on to Pakistan and Bangladesh and then refuse to vote.

Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s captain, has questioned the way the ICC Test rankings work

Sidharth Monga in Galle23-Jul-2010Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s captain, has questioned the way the ICC Test rankings work. He was responding to a query whether the players take seriously a system that has India at No. 1 despite not having won a series in Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka since 1993, and whether that system needs a change.”You should have asked that question of Haroon [Lorgat, ICC’s CEO], who was here a while ago…” Sangakkara said. “If rankings can’t be understood by the public, the players, or the administrators, what’s the use of having rankings? If you want rankings, they should count towards playing a Test championship.”Rankings need to be fairly done. A fair FTP is the first step towards having proper rankings. Once every two years each side should play each other at least once, home or away. That’s how you get a fair deal when it comes to Test cricket.”Sri Lanka themselves were ranked No. 2 last year without having won a Test in India, Australia and South Africa, a spot they lost after their loss to India in India. About his own side’s dismal record in the three countries ranked higher than them, Sangakkara said, “I don’t think we have played enough Test cricket away. Two Test matches here, two Test matches there. I think that’s not good. We need to play Tests regularly.”We have a very good balanced attack, pace and spin. From 2006 to 2009 we have done well. We have won in New Zealand, in England, and in Pakistan. South Africa, Australia and India are the three places that we need to win. We need to play often in those places.”The Test rankings, as they stand now, don’t give extra weightage to victories away from home, and run over a time of three years, including “all Test series completed since August more than three years ago”. The rating points earned or conceded are calculated based on the difference between where the teams stood before the start of the series. For example, if in the ongoing series India beat Sri Lanka, they will gain fewer points than they will concede if they lose the series. Same goes for Australia, who are facing a much lower-ranked Pakistan. Even if Australia end the series 1-1, they will concede three rating points.The system, though, stands to work well only if the FTP works evenly. For example, if a side spends a year playing only home series, and uses the home advantage to win series against competitive sides, its rating points will tend to misrepresent the strength and quality of the team.

Virat Kohli, the Indian batsman, has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his team’s ODI against New Zealand in Dambulla on Wednesday

Cricinfo staff26-Aug-2010Virat Kohli, the Indian batsman, has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his team’s ODI against New Zealand in Dambulla on Wednesday.Kohli pleaded guilty to a Level 1 offence and accepted the penalty imposed by match referee Alan Hurst after play concluded. He was found to have breached 2.1.3 of the code which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision”.After being given out in the sixth over, Kohli stood his ground and looked at the umpire for a considerable time before eventually leaving the middle. The New Zealand team had finished celebrating and their 12th man had brought the team drinks by the time Kohli had walked past the non-striker on his way to the pavilion.”Accepting umpires’ decisions is part and parcel of playing cricket,” Hurst said, “and on this occasion Virat clearly showed dissent when he had been given out.”Since Kohli pleaded guilty to dissent and accepted the proposed sanction there was no need for a formal hearing. The charge was brought by on-field umpires Asad Rauf and Asoka de Silva, third umpire Kumar Dharmasena and fourth official Gration Liyanage.

Ian Bell smashed a superb century as Warwickshire batted themselves ever closer to County Championship Division One safety at The Rose Bowl

15-Sep-2010
ScorecardIan Bell smashed a superb century as Warwickshire batted themselves ever closer to County Championship Division One safety at The Rose Bowl. Resuming overnight on 29 without loss, openers Varun Chopra and Ian Westwood added just ten more runs before both departed, falling lbw to Simon Jones and James Tomlinson respectively.That brought Bell and first-innings wicket-taking hero Darren Maddy together at the crease, and they combined to flay Hampshire’s bowlers to all parts. Bell looked every inch a batsman bound for the plane for Australia this winter, as he cut and drove powerfully to race to his half-century.Maddy also looked fluent as he attacked Hampshire’s bowling, but with the pair well set and their partnership approaching a century, Maddy was bowled as Danny Briggs (3 for 100) spun one past his defences and bowled him. Former England international Jim Troughton was next to depart, snared by a decent Michael Carberry catch off the bowling of the impressive Simon Jones (4 for 60).With Warwickshire edging closer to securing more batting bonus points, Bell opened his shoulders and moved rapidly through the 80s and 90s. He finally went to three figures with an edge through the slips before celebrating with gusto.But with a huge score on the horizon as Hampshire’s bowlers grew increasingly frustrated and tired, Bell gave his wicket away, edging Jones behind for 104. Richard Johnson swiftly followed Bell back to the pavilion as Warwickshire’s innings spluttered to 227 for 6 but a fine counter-attacking knock from Rikki Clarke wrestled the initiative back for the Bears.Clarke, in tandem with Keith Barker, dragged Warwickshire past 250 with some clean hitting and good running between the wickets. But both fell with the score on 264, Clarke (52) edging James Tomlinson before Barker clipped left-arm spinner Briggs to Dominic Cork for 21.Former Hampshire spinner Imran Tahir smashed his way to a rapid 20 from 15 balls but fell with Warwickshire six runs short of 300 in the fast- descending Rose Bowl gloom. With the light threatening to fade beyond a reasonable playing level, there was just time for Andrew Miller to drag the Bears beyond 300 before holing out to Liam Dawson.The wicket brought the innings to a close but as Hampshire’s batsmen readied themselves for their second innings, the umpires finally called time on the day’s play as darkness descended on the Rose Bowl.

Queensland have lost the promising fast bowler Luke Feldman for six weeks after he fractured a bone in his wrist during Wednesday’s Ryobi Cup match at the Gabba

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2010Queensland have lost the promising fast bowler Luke Feldman for six weeks after he fractured a bone in his wrist during Wednesday’s Ryobi Cup match at the Gabba. Feldman hurt his wrist fielding off his own bowling as he took 4 for 64 in the narrow loss for the Bulls, and he has been replaced by Cameron Gannon in the squad for Friday’s Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.The right-arm fast bowler Gannon, 21, is in his first season as a Queensland rookie and if he plays on Friday, he will be working under the leadership of Chris Hartley, the stand-in captain. Hartley has been handed the job temporarily as the Bulls’ skipper James Hopes will on Monday fly to India to join Australia’s ODI side.”We knew this situation was on the cards when I accepted the offer to captain the Bulls and we’re in a fortunate position to have a strong leadership group that can deal with this contingency,” Hopes said. “Harts is a very experienced cricketer who leads by example as well as being an astute tactician and observer of the game.”Hopes’ place in the Sheffield Shield squad has been taken by the batsman Craig Philipson. Queensland were the runners-up in the competition last summer and they will again be one of the favourites to challenge Victoria, who are searching for their third consecutive Sheffield Shield title.Queensland squad Ryan Broad, Wade Townsend, Chris Lynn, Lee Carseldine, Craig Philipson, Ben Dunk, Chris Hartley (capt, wk), Chris Swan, Nathan Rimmington, Ben Laughlin, Cameron Boyce, Cameron Gannon.Tasmania squad Ed Cowan, Steven Cazzulino, Mark Cosgrove, George Bailey (capt), Alex Doolan, Travis Birt, Luke Butterworth, Brett Geeves, James Faulkner, Brady Jones (wk), Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Adam Griffith.

Criticism from outside the camp doesn’t ruffle Kumar Sangakkara. He’s used to it

Peter English20-Oct-2010Criticism from outside the camp doesn’t ruffle Kumar Sangakkara. He’s used to it. But in Australia it usually takes something seriously wrong for an ex-player to break the code of support for the country’s captain.During Australia’s series loss in India Shane Warne targeted Ricky Ponting’s fields and Geoff Lawson has called for him to become a specialist batsman. Ponting has been unhappy with some of the coverage and it adds to the intrigue for the limited-overs contest against Sri Lanka, which acts as Australia’s last international item before the Ashes.Sangakkara has been captain of Sri Lanka for more than a year and has developed a relaxed attitude to criticism. “We come from a slightly different cricket-playing scene [than in Australia] where we get to see that almost every day,” he said before laughing loudly. “If it does happen it’s not the end of the world. It’s an opinion expressed and if you’re playing at this level you are able to handle it with equanimity.”Warne tweeted about Ponting’s fields to Nathan Hauritz and the issue continues to rumble, with the former legspinner writing about it on his website on Tuesday. Sangakkara was not surprised by Warne’s comments, but did not think it suggested the Australians were starting to crack.”Warne has very strong opinions on most things,” he said. “He is also a very shrewd and intelligent cricketer, I’m sure he expressed an opinion he thought was relevant. Everyone looks at everything differently, that’s what you realise very soon playing cricket. That’s the beauty of cricket, it’s all put down to interpretation.”One of the reasons for the burst of local complaints is Australia’s drop to No.5 in the Test rankings, their worst since the system was introduced. They are still comfortably on top in one-day internationals, 16 points above South Africa, but appear more vulnerable given the slip in five-day status.Sangakkara doesn’t pretend to understand how the ranking system works but is certain the hosts won’t be a pushover. “Playing the Aussies in Australia is a completely different story,” he said. “How they will look at it in between an Ashes series is something left for them. For us, it’s a great challenge to play Australia anytime.”The Sri Lankans open their tour with a one-dayer against Queensland at the Gabba on Friday and have two more warm-ups before the Twenty20 international in Perth on October 31. Three ODIs follow as the teams start to focus seriously on next year’s World Cup.”We’re trying a few new guys, but we’re settled to a great extent,” Sangakkara said. “There are still a few places up for grabs and we need to have guys ready and able to take up that spot. We have a lot of younger players who have come in, and a lot of experienced players who do not feature in our squad. It’s an interesting time for us.”

Charles Coventry secured an honourable end to Matabeleland Tuskers’ Twenty20 campaign as his boundary-laden half-century took them to a nine-wicket win over Southern Rocks at Harare Sports Club

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill21-Nov-2010
Scorecard
Charles Coventry lines up a big shot during his 67 0ff 40 balls•Zimbabwe Cricket

Charles Coventry secured an honourable end to Matabeleland Tuskers’ Twenty20 campaign as his boundary-laden half-century took them to a nine-wicket win over Southern Rocks at Harare Sports Club and third place in the final standings. Entering after Neil Carter had been removed early in pursuit of Rocks’ 154 for 8, Coventry shared in an unbroken 126-run partnership with Paul Horton, who hit an unbeaten fifty of his own, as victory was achieved with 10 balls to spare.Carrying a niggling injury that has curtailed his bowling in this tournament, Carter has been used as a top-order pinch-hitter and launched Tuskers’ innings with three successive boundaries in left-arm seamer Tendai Chisoro’s second over. Elton Chigumbura struck back for Rocks with his very first ball as Carter gave himself room and slashed out to deep cover where Tendai Chitongo held a superb catch, diving to his left.Coventry got off to a fluent start, collecting boundaries off his national team-mates Chigumbura and Chamu Chibhabha. But where Coventry might often have been accused of throwing away his wicket too quickly, today he played himself in carefully as seven overs of careful accumulation passed before he broke free.When the charge did finally come, it was explosive, and successive sixes helped plunder 22 off Chigumbura’s final over. With Tuskers hurrying towards their target, former Zimbabwe Under-19 legspinner Chitongo was crunched for six over the cover boundary and offspinner Keith Kulinga’s second over was dismissed for 11. After Horton went to his fifty, Coventry finished the job two balls into the 19th over, slapping Chitongo to midwicket to seal the win and third place for Tuskers.It was a disappointing end for Rocks, who had a nightmare season in 2009-10 but came back strongly this time round and appeared to be the form team of this tournament. Their batting had been their most impressive facet, but today it was the batsmen that let the side down. With Sikandar Raza and Chigumbura both falling early, it was left to Tatenda Taibu to repair the innings with a typically enterprising half-century. But he found precious little support, with the middle order being skittled cheaply as medium-pacers Keegan Meth and Bradley Staddon picking up two wickets apiece.

Kevin Pietersen, who finished the day unbeaten on 213, is adamant that Australia will not escape defeat on a pitch that is starting to show signs of breaking up

Andrew Miller at Adelaide05-Dec-2010England’s hopes of batting Australia to a standstill in the second Test were thwarted by an untimely downpour that brought an early end to the third day’s play, but Kevin Pietersen, who finished the day unbeaten on 213, is adamant that Australia will not escape defeat on a pitch that is starting to show signs of breaking up.By the close, England lead by a formidable 306 runs with six wickets still intact, having reached 4 for 551, the same runs total – coincidentally – at which they declared so fatefully on this ground four years ago. While Pietersen said that he had no idea about Andrew Strauss’s intentions, he believed he had seen enough turn from the part-time offspinner Marcus North to believe that Graeme Swann will have a major say in the destiny of this match.”I really do believe we are in a really strong position in this game,” said Pietersen. “Obviously the rain didn’t help us with the plans we were going to go out and produce, but I think rain or no rain, there’s a really good chance that we can win this Test match, with the amount that North spun the ball out of the rough today and we have the best spinner in the world in our team.”Pietersen’s double-century was the second of his career and his first three-figure score since March 2009, and while he was delighted to finally end his barren sequence, he took greater delight in being part of an England dressing room that has now racked up a combined score of 1068 for 5 in its last two innings.”It’s brilliant, isn’t it?” he said. “It’s not a surprise at all, because we all believe in each other in the dressing-room, we know what each other are capable of and when everybody’s on fire and in form then these scores are possible. To get the team into a position like this, with Cooky and Trotty doing the hard yards to get the wear into their bowlers again, and for a couple of us to go and enjoy ourselves, was great.”We don’t settle for complacency, we love it when guys do well, we take our opportunities and we do whatever we can to be the best players we can possibly be, but we also remember that the next day is a new day,” he added. “The realism to know that each day is different and there’s no way we’ll settle for complacency in our dressing-room breeds a hungry team and a team dedicated to winning and a team that’s dedicated to doing well.”The fact that Pietersen’s return to form came against Australia was typical of the narrative of his career. “I wouldn’t say it’s the Ashes in particular but I do love the big occasion,” he admitted. “I do love challenging myself against the best players in the world. When it gets tough I love that – and it’s been pretty tough over the last 18 months – but this is a challenge I’ve really looked forward to.”It’s not a target, but the Ashes is something where you get up in the morning as an English cricketer and think ‘this is what it’s made of’. We were quietly confident that we could come out here and do a really good job, or a lot better than last time, and that gets your juices flowing. I remember leaving Heathrow Airport thinking this will be amazing, and if that can’t get you going, nothing will get you going.”Shane Watson, meanwhile, said that Australia were already bracing themselves for a long hard battle for a draw, and would deal with whatever scenario arose in the morning. “If we’re bowling, trying to get wickets would be nice, more than four,” he said. “If we’re batting we’ve got to keep it as simple as possible. We’ve got to be able to get through the first session, first hour and just keep batting for as long as we possibly can. In the end I think it’s as simple as that and that is our biggest challenge.”Pietersen refused to get carried away with the prospect of victory, or the dominance that England had so far exerted in the match. “The Ashes is only nil-nil, it might still be nil-nil come Tuesday so there are no role reversals,” he said. “We’re just doing whatever we can to win and the Australians are doing the same.”

Pakistan will be focused on the cricket and not distracted by the spot-fixing controversy, team manager Intikhab Alam has insisted

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2010Pakistan will be focused on the cricket and not distracted by the spot-fixing controversy, team manager Intikhab Alam has insisted. The Pakistan squad arrived in New Zealand today for a tour that includes three Twenty20s, two Tests and six ODIs. Alam said the team was geared up for the challenge even as three of its former members – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – are under investigation for their alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy, and await their fate upon the conclusion of their hearing before the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal, to be held in Doha between January 6-11. All three have been provisionally suspended pending the result of the investigation.”Everybody’s been briefed, everybody’s very clear in their minds what is expected from management, what is expected from the players as well. I have no doubt in my mind we cannot afford any more such unfortunate incidents,” Alam said. “They understand what we expect from them, what the country expects from them, what the board expects from them.”Pakistan served up an impressive performance against South Africa in their previous assignment in the UAE, drawing the two Tests and leveling the ODI series 2-2 before losing the decider. However, the tour was marred by the abrupt departure of wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, who fled to the United Kingdom – where he has sought asylum – citing threats to his life and to his family.”South Africa’s probably one of the best teams at the moment, so it was a morale booster after all that we went through,” Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, said. “We’ve played some decent cricket in the one-dayers as well as in the Test matches. We never got into a position of winning any Test matches but we showed some guts and made sure we managed some draws.”The hosts, meanwhile, have had a torrid run in ODIs, losing 11 consecutive games, including successive series defeats away to Bangladesh and India, to leave their preparation for the 2011 World Cup in shambles. “It’s always been a tough time for them on the subcontinent and this time they didn’t really play the best of their cricket,” Waqar said. “This is an opportunity for us also but we don’t really want to forget that New Zealand in their own country, they are a very fine side. We’ve got to make sure we do the basics right and try to win the maximum we can.”Pakistan begin their tour with a warm-up game in Auckland on Thursday before the three-match Twenty20 series gets underway at Eden Park on Boxing Day.