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India women’s captain Mithali Raj said the experience of playing Test cricket will be hugely beneficial to the younger members of the side

03-Aug-2014Offered a chance to play a four-day Test after eight years, Indian women’s cricket captain Mithali Raj welcomed it and said the younger lot in the squad, who are embarking on a 23-day tour of England tonight, would benefit a lot from playing the longer version of the game.She also said it would be a big challenge and a huge achievement if the team got the better of the more experienced hosts in their backyard in the one-off Test and the three ODIs that will follow during the visit.”Only three of us – myself, Jhulan (Goswami) and Karuna Jain – had played the last Test in 2006. I feel it’s easier to adapt from playing the longer version of the game to the ODIs and T20s. Our team is inexperienced in Tests but experienced in ODIs. The younger players would benefit.”It’s a big challenge and beating England in England will be a huge achievement for the team. The last time we went there (in 2012) we came close to doing it but lost the series (five-game ODI rubber) after taking a 2-0 lead,” Mithali said at the pre-departure media conference at the Cricket Board’s headquarters in Mumbai.The team is scheduled to play a two-day warm-up game (August 7 and 8 at Loughborough, Haslegrave) ahead of the one-off Test from August 13-16 (Wormsley Cricket Ground).The team will also play a warm-up one day game (August 19, Harrogate CC) before the three-match ODI series scheduled on August 21, 23 (both at Scarborough CC) and August 25 (Lord’s).The Indian women’s last international appearance was during the World T20 Championship in Bangladesh, played along with the men’s event, in March and prior to that they had played three ODIs and as many T20s against Sri Lanka at home last season.Asked whether BCCI should arrange more Test matches, the 31-year-old Mithali said “We want to play more matches, that’s all, whether it’s Tests, ODIs or T20s.”She skirted the issue when asked whether the team should have been fielded in the Incheon Asian Games starting on September 19. “It’s upto the BCCI. All we want is to play more matches.”India are not sending the men’s team too for the pan-Asian quadrennial sports spectacle after not sending a team four years ago when the Games were held in Guangzhou, China.The only occasion an Indian cricket team has been fielded by the BCCI in a multi-sport Games was during the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur when the men’s team took part.The England-bound women’s team had a seven-day camp in Bangalore and played a two-day practice game against the Karnataka CA Under-19 boys’ team, said manager and former woman international Sudha Shah – who had scored 601 runs in 21 matches when women’s cricket was not governed by BCCI or ICC.Mithali, who has played eight Tests in which she has scored 572 runs with 214 as her highest individual scorer, said the team had an experienced medium-pace attack in Jhulan, Niranjana Nagarajan and Shubhlakshmi Sharma and two good spinners in Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Ekta Bisht.

Jesse Ryder has left Wellington to join Otago for the upcoming New Zealand domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2013New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has left the Wellington Firebirds to join the Otago Volts for the upcoming domestic season. Peter Clinton, chief executive of Cricket Wellington, confirmed that Ryder had been granted his transfer request.”We wanted him to stay in Wellington, as he’s a world class player,” Clinton said. ”But we respect his decision. He has decided he wants to move away and try it with Otago next season. We wish him all the best.”Ryder, who was assaulted outside a bar in Christchurch on March 27, had been put into a medically induced coma after suffering a fractured skull and collapsed lung. He has been going about his rehabilitation since and, despite his injuries, Clinton insisted that Ryder’s absence would be a big blow to Wellington.”On his day, he’s devastating as a batsman. He’s got a lot of pulling power in terms of the way he plays the game and cult hero status. So he’s a big loss to the team and we’ll perhaps lose a bit of interest around the spectator base as well. But we’re confident that this team is still very strong, even without Jesse in it.”Clinton said that Ryder might have made the move because he wanted a “change of scene”, and insisted that he had every chance of making it back into the New Zealand squad. “He’s obviously still very keen and committed to play for New Zealand, and I certainly hope he gets there. He thinks his best chance is to give himself a new start this season.”Ryder started his first-class career with Central Districts but then moved to Wellington in 2004 during the tenure of the then coach Vaughn Johnson – with whom he will be reunited in Dunedin.Ross Dykes, chief executive of Otago Cricket welcomed Ryder into the fold and was confident of providing all the help he needs for his recovery from the assault. “Well I think one of his prime motivations is to get back in the New Zealand side and we’ll support that one hundred per cent.””We’ve got a structure in place that hopefully looks after all our players and he’ll fit nicely into that. I think it would be foolish to try and do anything special. I don’t think its necessary.” he said.

Injured India batsman Manoj Tiwary has been replaced in the India squad for the Twenty20s against England by Ambati Rayudu

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2012Injured India batsman Manoj Tiwary has been replaced in the India squad for the Twenty20s against England by Ambati Rayudu. Tiwary’s injury was diagnosed as a side strain. He had picked up the injury, which will keep him out of action for six weeks, during a Ranji Trophy game on Sunday, while batting in Bengal’s first innings against Saurashtra.Rayudu, who has played for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy since the 2010-11 season, has had a prolific run this year, with scores of 64, 85, 10, 54, 1, 131 and 58 in his previous five games. A bit-hitting middle-order batsman, Rayudu did not have too much success on his last Twenty20 assignment: October’s Champions League T20, where he played for Mumbai Indians. But in IPL 2012, he was Mumbai Indians second-highest scorer behind Rohit Sharma, with 333 runs from 15 innings at a strike-rate of 132.14. He is yet to debut for India across formats.For Tiwary, who captains Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, this is a second setback in quick succession – he had suffered a wrist problem earlier in the season. When fit, he had shown some good form, scoring 191 against Gujarat, and also making 93 against England for the Board President’s XI last month.India play two Twenty20s against England, on December 20 and 22, and that is followed up by limited-overs series’ against Pakistan running into the first week of January. Later in January, England return for a one-day series.

Justice (retired) AP Shah, the BCCI ombudsman, has ruled that Rahul Sanghvi was in violation of the BCCI’s internal conflict-of-interest rules by serving as Delhi selector while still being associated with Mumbai Indians

Arun Venugopal16-Mar-2016Justice (retired) AP Shah, the BCCI ombudsman, has ruled that former India spinner Rahul Sanghvi was in violation of the BCCI’s internal conflict-of-interest rules by serving as selector of the Delhi senior and Under-23 teams during the 2015-16 season while still being associated with IPL franchise Mumbai Indians. Former India player Kirti Azad had filed a complaint, alleging Sanghvi was in conflict after the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) appointed him as one of the three selectors in September 2015.Shah also ruled that there was no point in terminating Sanghvi’s contract with the DDCA now, given that Delhi’s season was set to finish at the end of this month.Sanghvi had contended that he had not applied for the job and had been nominated by the DDCA. He also added that he didn’t receive any remuneration as a selector. Sanghvi said he was employed with Mumbai Indians in an administrative capacity since 2008 and he was not involved in coaching or selection of the IPL team.After seeking clarification from the BCCI on the conflict-of-interest rules in place, Shah wrote that if a retired cricketer was appointed as coach or selector of a state association or any other unit affiliated to the BCCI on an “annual or long-term basis”, he could not accept any position with an IPL franchise. Shah’s order, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, stated there was no conflict, though, when a former cricketer was appointed by a BCCI-affiliated unit for a single season following the end of which he worked with an IPL team (for example, a former player might work with say Bengal during the 2016-2017 Ranji Trophy and once the tournament is done go and work for, perhaps, Delhi Daredevils in the 2017 IPL). “The BCCI has permitted the same, at least for the time being,” Shah wrote.In another order, Shah highlighted a clarification received from the BCCI that bars cricketers (current or retired), who hold positions as coaches or selectors of the board’s affiliate units, from running private academies. The order was in response to Azad’s complaint against former India wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya that alleged he was in conflict by virtue of running the Vijay Dahiya academy – a private coaching centre – while still being Delhi’s coach in 2015-16. Azad also said that Dahiya’s role as assistant coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL also constituted conflict. According to Azad, Dahiya owned a company called Safe Hands Sports Management, which deals with cricketing equipment and gear, and that led to further conflict of interest.Dahiya responded by saying he didn’t run the academy and that he didn’t own or hold any position in Safe Hands Sports Management. After reviewing the submissions of various parties Shah stated that the academy was run by Dahiya’s near relatives. “Since the academy is named after Mr Dahiya, and it is run by his near relatives, and there are advertisements for the academy in Mr Dahiya’s name, it appears that the retired cricketer is closely associated with the academy.”While nothing can be done if a name has already been adopted by a cricket academy, hereafter, if such an academy is named after a cricketer and is run by a near relative it may be presumed that it is run by that cricketer,” Shah wrote.He recommended that Dahiya submit an undertaking to the “affiliated unit or the BCCI (whichever entity engages him)” that advertisements wouldn’t bear his name as coach of the Vijay Dahiya Academy. Shah also wrote that if a player from the Vijay Dahiya Academy came up for selection Dahiya should recuse himself from the selection process pertaining to the player. Shah also recommended that Dahiya sign an undertaking that he wouldn’t be associated with Safe Hands Sports Management so long as he is a coach or selector of a team.This is the second instance of the ombudsman pulling up a prominent player for a conflicting association with a sports business, after asking India offspinner Harbhajan Singh to dissociate from Bhajji Sports.Based on Dahiya’s submissions, Shah also made sharp observations on the DDCA’s “deplorable state of affairs” and directed the BCCI to forward a copy of the order to the association. “Mr Dahiya claims that payments have not been made or have been excessively delayed for the past four-five years,” Shah wrote. “This is a deplorable state of affairs, and the BCCI must look into it urgently. Huge amounts are paid by the BCCI to affiliated units, and they must be directed to appropriately compensate their coaches and other staff.”

Batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been dropped from the West Indies squad for the first half of the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2013WI squad for the tri-series’ Jamaica games

Dwayne Bravo (capt), Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Devon Smith, Darren Sammy, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Sunil Narine, Tino Best, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach
Out: Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jason Holder

Batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been dropped from the West Indies squad for the first half of the tri-series involving India and Sri Lanka, which begins on June 28. Fast bowler Jason Holder was also left out of the 13-man squad that was named, on Saturday, for the Jamaica leg of the tournament. There were no other changes made to the squad that played the Champions Trophy in England.Wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, who was suspended for two ODIs for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct when he claimed a catch off Misbah-ul-Haq during the Champions Trophy game against Pakistan, will be available to play.Sarwan had been recalled to the West Indies team after a contentious 18 months away from the game – during which he claimed to have been hurt “mentally and emotionally” by national team’s coaching regime – for the limited-overs tour of Australia earlier this year. Since then, apart from a century against Zimbabwe at home, he totalled 40 runs in seven matches. In the Champions Trophy, he scored 1 against Pakistan and 1 against India.West Indies failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy’s semi-finals. They were off to a good start in the tournament, beating Pakistan in a low-scoring thriller, but were then beaten by India and tied a rain-hit must-win game against South Africa, as a result of which South Africa progressed to the knockouts on net run rate.The teams play two games each in Jamaica in the tri-series, with West Indies scheduled to take on Sri Lanka at Sabina Park in the tournament opener on June 28, before playing India on June 30. The tournament then shifts to Port of Spain.

Denesh Ramdin has called for his team-mates to be less wasteful of their starts in Test cricket, after West Indies went down to New Zealand by 53 runs in Barbados, resulting in a 2-1 series defeat

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2014Denesh Ramdin has called for his team-mates to be less wasteful of their starts in Test cricket, after West Indies went down to New Zealand by 53 runs in Barbados, resulting in a 2-1 series defeat. The West Indies batsmen, Ramdin said, should learn to be satisfied only after they got “big hundreds” to their names.”In the first innings, all our top six-seven batters got starts and nobody went on to make that big hundred. It is all in the mindset, the way we apply ourselves,” Ramdin said. “If we are content with 50 or 60, we need to be bigger men and come out and fight and show what we are made of. We need to carry on from those 50s and 60s and only be satisfied with big hundreds – 160, 150 – to put the team in a commanding position.”Test cricket is a lot of hard work and if you go out there and work hard you get the rewards for it. Hopefully this can be a stepping stone for some of the guys who did well. All the guys who didn’t, it should be a wake-up call for them to do well in the future.”Ramdin singled out some of the younger players for praise, and said if the seniors could support them, it would spell more success for the team. “There were a lot of challenges along the way and a lot of positives as well. Young [Jermaine] Blackwood, Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, those guys coming in and getting runs for themselves… Hopefully they can go from strength to strength and the senior guys can pull their weight a bit more. That will augur well for the team.”Holder, on his debut Test, batting at No. 7, played out two hours on the final day in Barbados – seeing off a shot-ball barrage and attacking when it made sense – as West Indies battled to save the game. He scored his maiden Test fifty, before being bowled by offspinner Mark Craig after the ball hit a crack. Expectedly, he was disappointed not to see the team to safety. “My goal was just to take the team to the end, whether it was a win or a draw. I thought I played really well, but unfortunately got out at the last stage,” Holder said. “After coming in, the situation of the game, I knew there was a lot of work to be done.”Needed to build a partnership to start and to wear down the New Zealand bowlers as much as possible, frustrate them as much as possible. I came in with [the last recognised batsman] Darren Bravo there and we tried to build a partnership, unfortunately Darren got out.”Holder had also scored 38 in the first innings, and claimed match figures of 2 for 50 in 20 overs. Overall, he said, the Test gave him confidence that he could perform at the highest level. “I bring back that belief that I can score runs at this level. For me it was about making the adjustment from limited-overs cricket to Test cricket. I need to leave a lot more balls outside off stump, know where my off stump is, whereas, in the one day game, you tend to like to feel the ball on the bat.”Bowling wise, it’s about being patient, building pressure. On these flat wickets you can get wickets after building pressure. It’s just my first game, looking to improve from hereon. It’s a good start for me, but it’s about being consistent.”

Marlon Samuels has been ruled out of the New Zealand limited-overs series with the recurrence of a chronic wrist injury. The injury, on his right wrist, will require surgery

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2013Marlon Samuels, the West Indies allrounder, has been ruled out of the New Zealand limited-overs series with the recurrence of a chronic wrist injury. The injury, on his right wrist, will require surgery.West Indies’ physiotherapist CJ Clark confirmed that Samuels is returning home. “It will require surgery management and he returns home to seek that surgical opinion and advice from the WICB medical panel, headed by Dr Akshai Mansingh,” Clark said.Coach Ottis Gibson said Samuels absence will be hard to cope with for an already-struggling team. “Marlon’s injury is unfortunate at such a tough time for the team,” Gibson said. “But it gives another player the opportunity to make a name for themselves in this series.”West Indies are already without two of their biggest names, with Chris Gayle’s hamstring and Kieron Pollard’s knee keeping them out of the series. Dwayne Bravo, the ODI captain, said it would be difficult without the trio.”Chris Gayle, Samuels and Pollard are three of our better players, we can’t hide that,” Bravo said. “We’re definitely going to miss them, because they are three world-class players and despite the talent we have, I don’t think any of us can actually fit those shoes. For me as a captain, I’m going to miss their ability as well as their experience, but it’s a good opportunity for other players, they get an opportunity now to make a name for themselves and try to stamp their authority. They’re definitely going to be missed, but I’m not going to use it as an excuse if we don’t play well. If we play to our true potential, we’re going to do well.”Wicketkeeper-batsman Chadwick Walton will remain in New Zealand following the Tests as Samuels’ replacement. Walton has played two Tests and two ODIs, but is yet to score a run in one-day cricket.Gibson said he was confident, though, that Walton would make use of opportunities that came his way. “Chaddy has been on tour with us from the start, including the tour of India, without getting an opportunity. He has been working hard and growing as a player, and I feel confident that when his opportunity comes he will make the most of it.”Samuels had been in patchy form in the three Tests, which West Indies lost 0-2, scoring one half-century but not touching 25 in the other five innings. His bowling action had been called into question during the series, and though he was cleared to bowl his part-time offspin by the ICC following biomechanical analysis, he was banned from bowling his quicker delivery – his elbow was found to flex beyond the permissible 15 degrees when he bowled that ball.West Indies play five ODIs against New Zealand, starting in Auckland on Boxing Day, followed by two Twenty20s.

It would be quite the embellishment to say Michael Clarke basked in Australia’s 88-run victory over England at Old Trafford but there was certainly some relief evident having secured their first major victory since February

Daniel Brettig at Old Trafford08-Sep-2013Given the end-of-term atmosphere that permeates any limited overs series to follow an Ashes contest, it would be quite the embellishment to say Michael Clarke basked in Australia’s 88-run victory over England at Old Trafford. But there was certainly some relief evident in Clarke, for this was the first significant international win he had been part of since early February, and the first he has taken part in against England on a tour that began four months and three Prime Ministers ago.As results go, the Manchester margin was handsome, hurried along by a grand partnership between Clarke and his deputy George Bailey that pushed the tourists to 315 for 7, then secured by an even bowling display in which Mitchell Johnson was particularly menacing and everyone contributed at least one wicket. In a year largely barren of Australian success away from home, the win in Manchester will help establish the winning habit Clarke spoke of in the aftermath.”Winning’s always pleasing and that’s one thing I’ve emphasised to the Test boys but also the one-day guys,” Clarke said. “Sometimes it might not look pretty or feel great, but if you get over the line and get that winning feeling it’s a nice side of the fence to be on.”In the Test matches we showed in patches some really good cricket. Our performance today was a good start, but we won’t take anything for granted and I won’t look too far ahead, but I think at the end of the day it’s nice to have won a game against England on this tour.”It was nice to contribute, I’d like to play every Test and one-dayer at Manchester, I seem to score runs here. It’s about trying to help the team win and fortunately today I played my part. But everybody contributed today. There’s still three important games to go but it’s a nice feeling to be sitting here having won the first one of this series.”Surmising what his men had to do for the rest of the series, Clarke said the posting of a high total that increased the element of risk for England’s batsmen was significant, as was the plucking of regular wickets to ensure that no partnerships could be established. “England have got a lot of destructive players,” he said. “So I think for us taking wickets was crucial throughout our bowling innings, and batting as well as we could to set a target to make England take risks is something we’re going to have to continue to do throughout this series.”I wasn’t surprised by their team or that they bowled first, I think they’ve been doing that a lot in the shorter form of the game for a while now. We’ve got to make sure we keep working to get better because England will get better than today.”Eoin Morgan, England’s stand-in captain, certainly hopes so, and conceded his bowlers had allowed Australia around 40 runs too many on a dry, slowish Old Trafford strip. “It was probably more of a 275 type of pitch,” Morgan said. “It was hard when you got in but when you developed a partnership you found yourself without any effort going at five or six an over. Today we lost wickets through the whole innings. They played particularly well and put our bowlers under a lot of pressure.”James Tredwell was notably targeted by Australia’s batsmen, his usually efficient and tidy 10-over spell ended two overs short of that quota by Morgan, having already conceded 60. “It did make it difficult yeah,” Morgan said. “He’s a fantastic bowler and been a great performer, in the Champions Trophy he was one of the best bowlers in the tournament. Because they kept coming there was a feeling that he would create an opportunity to take a wicket, so it worked both ways. We ended up getting Finch because they played so hard, and I don’t have to tell you how good Michael Clarke is at playing spin.”

Mikel Arteta will reportedly contest the FA's decision to charge him for his "embarrassing" VAR comments after Newcastle defeat.

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Arteta called VAR decisions "embarrassing" and "disgrace"FA charged him under Rule E3.1Spaniard to contest FA chargesWHAT HAPPENED?

After Arsenal's loss to Newcastle, courtesy of a controversial Anthony Gordon winner following three video checks, Arteta criticized VAR decisions meted out by Stuart Attwell and Andy Madley, calling them "embarrassing" and a "disgrace" to the sport. The Gunners manager was subsequently charged with a breach of FA rule E3.1 as his comments allegedly "constitute misconduct" and "are insulting towards match officials and/or detrimental to the game and/or bring the game into disrepute."

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Arteta has until Friday to respond to the charges and according to the manager will not back down and contest the charges. The club stood firmly behind their manager and even released a statement to that effect with Declan Rice also coming out in supportof his coach.

DID YOU KNOW?

The FA emphasizes stricter rules on manager-referee interactions Arsenal reportedly feel they have been singled out. Roberto De Zerbi escaped the red eye of the FA after commenting that he dislikes “80 per cent of England’s referees” after Brighton were held to a draw by Sheffield United. Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino also escaped punishment after he angrily confronted referee Anthony Taylor on the Stamford Bridge pitch after the thrilling 4-4 draw with Manchester City.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

Arteta could face a potential touchline ban and a fine if proven guilty. However, he can still be present in the dugout on Saturday against Brentford if the ban is not announced before the match.

The summer transfer window is open for business, with Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema among the superstar names that could be heading to Saudi Arabia.

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is – after two years in France – preparing to leave Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent. Real Madrid, meanwhile, have confirmed that prolific striker Benzema – who landed his own Golden Ball in 2022 – is set to bring a 14-year stint at Santiago Bernabeu to a close.

Two iconic forwards are said to be attracting interest from the Middle East, but they are not the only ones reportedly mulling over offers to join Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League.

claims that seven other established stars are being lined up for big-money moves, with World Cup winners and proven Premier League goalscorers featuring on that list.

Getty ImagesLionel Messi

The mercurial Argentine has known for some time that he would be bidding farewell to PSG at the end of his contract.

He will walk away as a two-time Ligue 1 title winner, but his stint in France has not played out entirely as planned – with disgruntled supporters turning against him.

An emotional return to Barcelona has been speculated on, along with a move to MLS, but Messi is said to have an offer on the table from Al-Hilal that would make him the highest-paid player on the planet.

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesKarim Benzema

After hitting 354 goals for Real Madrid – winning four La Liga titles and five Champions League crowns along the way – Benzema has announced that he will be leaving the Bernabeu this summer.

He may be 35 years of age, but the former France international still knows his way to the back of the net and is said to have been lined up for a switch to Al-Ittihad.

Getty ImagesSergio Ramos

Another of those preparing to sever ties with PSG as a free agent.

Real Madrid icon Ramos followed former Barcelona rival Messi to Parc des Princes in the summer of 2021. Injuries stunted his early progress in France, but the 37-year-old centre-half remains a classy operator on his day. His vast experience would be of obvious interest to clubs around the world.

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GettyAlexis Sanchez

Chilean forward Alexis has got his career back on track following forgettable spells at Manchester United and Inter.

He has thrived in France with Marseille, netting 18 times through 44 appearances in the 2022-23 campaign. At 34 years of age, he may be tempted to land one more lucrative contract in the Middle East before hanging up his boots.