Category Uncategorized

He has admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Neeyamur Rashid

Mohammad Isam04-Feb-2022Mohammad Shahzad was reprimanded by match officials after he smoked at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Friday. A demerit point was also added to Shahzad’s disciplinary record as his action was found to be in breach of Article 2.20 of the BCB code of conduct, which relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game”.Shahzad was among the players who were milling around the ground waiting for Minister Group Dhaka’s BPL match against Comilla Victorians to begin. Both of Friday’s matches were abandoned due to rain, but the talking point was how Shahzad flouted smoking rules inside the stadium.According to the BCB’s press release, Shahzad admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Neeyamur Rashid and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.Several media outlets carried photographs of Shahzad smoking in the stadium while standing next to some other players. There are also reports of Dhaka coach Mizanur Rahman being the first to warn Shahzad not to smoke on the outfield. Later, Tamim Iqbal apparently asked him to get inside the dressing room.Shahzad has been a Dhaka regular, having made 53 and 42 apart from four single-digit scores in the tournament so far. Dhaka are third on the table with seven points from seven games after Friday’s washout.

The surfaces produced for the opening round of matches provided encouraging signs

Daniel Brettig16-Oct-2020Defending champions New South Wales enter the Sheffield Shield fray from Monday, with the pleasant change that they will not be doing so as a lonely beacon for spin bowling.This time around, on nicely modulated surfaces prepared by the former South Australia and Western Australia paceman Trent Kelly, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia all had the chance to give their spin bowlers a significant influence on proceedings. Most pivotal was Mitchell Swepson’s 4 for 66 from all of 45.2 overs to deliver the Bulls an innings result at Gladys Elphick Park over Tasmania, the only team not to employ a full-time spin bowler.While New South Wales have both Nathan Lyon and the teenage wristspinner Tanveer Sangha in their squad, the importance of the sorts of surfaces prepared for Shield contests was made patently clear by the broader range of spinners not only selected but given critical roles in their respective attacks. Ashton Agar and Lloyd Pope both claimed five-wicket hauls in their encounter at Karen Rolton Oval, while the off-breaks of Ashton Turner made a telling intervention as the Redbacks nudged their way to within sight of a draw.ALSO READ: Kurtis Patterson: Injury-hit season ‘put a few things in perspective’Kelly, who in addition to playing a handful of first-class games for two states has also served a long apprenticeship as a curator, is drawn from the Les Burdett school of thinking. This can be summarised as the view that pitches should offer some bounce and seam movement for pacemen early in a game, flatten out into an equable batting surface through its mid-section, before taking increasing amounts of spin and offering a hint of variable bounce by the end.A handful of moments observable on streams of the two Shield games sat very much in line with these principles. Tasmania being bowled out for 250 on the opening day by Queensland, who were then given a sound platform by their top order before the surface flattened out fully; Agar spinning one out of the rough and through the gate of Harry Nielsen as the SA v WA contest began to accelerate; Tim Paine beaten by a big turning and bouncing Swepson leg break the final ball before lunch on day four, but then being bowled by Xavier Bartlett’s away movement with the second new ball soon after it; and Liam Scott falling lbw to a shooter from Matthew Kelly as WA strode to victory in the final hour.All this is to say that the quality and variety of the cricket on display in the first two Shield games was of a kind all too often missing on domestic pitches that are either overly lively or the epitome of dead. Watching from their hotel room quarantine, Victoria’s players in particular will have reason to wonder at some of the soporific strips prepared at the Junction Oval or the MCG in recent times. Similarly, Swepson can only dream about a Gabba Shield game playing out the way that this one did, giving him contrasting but equally important roles in each innings.These surfaces, prepared on traditional wicket blocks by knowledgeable ground staff with plenty of collaboration between states and CA, have proven that the game’s decision-makers should be demanding in terms of what they want from pitches, for so much of the game grows out of this literal groundwork. For Greg Mail, recently installed as the New South Wales head of cricket, the scores emanating from Adelaide were a welcome sign that plenty of thought and discussion was taking the surfaces in the direction they need to go.Nathan Lyon is set to play the opening group of Sheffield Shield matches for New South Wales•Getty Images

“In general terms, result type pitches, whether they’re in favour of bowling early or surfaces that break up and favour spin bowling later in the game, I’d say generally result-type surfaces should be positive,” Mail told ESPNcricinfo. “We want Shield cricket not to be an attritional contest and to give the bowlers a chance. There’s been some experimenting with different balls as well and I think that has a lot of validity, just continuing to try to work out what combination of surface and ball gives you the best contest between bat and ball, so that somewhere between halfway through and the end of the day you come to an outright result. That’s what you’re shooting for.”It’ll be interesting to see how the next month plays out really in terms of how those surfaces hold up and change across the course of the month. There’s been a lot of thought going into the right amount of time between games to keep them at the level we’d like them.”Asked about the state’s position as a nursery for spin bowlers down the years, Mail said that it neatly illustrated the fine balance required between fair surfaces, knowledgeable captains, and spin bowlers who were not only talented but resilient. It was also incumbent upon talent identifiers and selectors to remember that not every spin bowler will develop at the same speed, as promising as Tanveer has proven to be via his performances for Australia at Under-19 level.”It’s a historical and natural position for us as a state, spin bowling is wound into the state’s DNA as a way to win games, and the conditions here have always supported that,” he said. “We have lower and slower wickets in club cricket as well, and the teams with better spinners and captains that are able to use them tend to make their way through the competitions in better shape. The captaincy piece is important, the conditions play a part, but that’s just the first layer of developing spin.”When you think about the subcontinent and the opportunities that exist and how important it is to the DNA of the way they play cricket there, it has been a relative strength, but that’s not to suggest we’ll produce the next one. They can come up from anywhere, they don’t come up very often, and the challenge for the states in developing spinners is that they tend to develop at different rates.”Compare them to your run of the mill top-order batting development programs. It’s not often you get surprised by a top-order batsman who pops up at 27 or 28, but it could realistically happen with a spinner, it just takes people different times to develop and we need to be open-minded about not expecting someone to come out of the Under-19s and play Shield cricket and be able to cope with it. We’re relying on our clubs and the passage of time for spinners to understand their craft and to build the resilience they need.”So while Lyon, in particular, will hope to put in a dominant performance as the nation’s leading spin bowler from Monday, he and others will be somewhat relieved that the conditions prepared in Adelaide have allowed for a wider flourishing of one of Australian cricket’s most elusive skills. As a former groundsman turned cricketer, he will be happy too, that Kelly has flourished in the reverse trajectory.

Middlesex extend lead to 352 in pursuit of first win after much of the day lost to rain

ECB Reporters Network29-May-2019Captain Dawid Malan extended his overnight score to 124 as Middlesex attempted to make up for lost time on a rain-shortened third day in the Specsavers County Championship clash with Worcestershire at Blackfinch New Road.Steady rain, drizzle and latterly bad light meant only 21 overs were possible with play not getting underway until 4.45pm. But Malan and his team-mates had sufficient time to add 92 runs for the loss of four wickets as they stepped up the pace in the bid to clinch their first Championship win of the season.Middlesex extended their overall lead to 352 as they closed on 287 for 6. They resumed on 195 for 2 with Malan unbeaten on 107 and Nick Gubbins 82.Malan signalled his aggressive intentions by cover-driving the first ball of the day from Charlie Morris for four. Gubbins pulled the same bowler for six with the ball hitting the tiled roof of the ladies pavilion and rolling into the guttering.A late cut for four by Gubbins off Morris brought up the double-century stand with Malan in 51 overs. But Morris had his revenge in the same over when Gubbins on 91 drove into the hands of Riki Wessels at backward point. His 167 ball knock contained one six and 12 fours.New batsman Steve Eskinazi departed in the next over when he inside-edged a Josh Tongue delivery through to keeper Ben Cox. Morris collected a second scalp – his 25th of the campaign – when James Harris when for a cut and provided Cox with another catch at 241 for 5.Malan moved onto 124 before his fine knock was brought to an end by Ed Barnard in his first over of the day. The left-hander aimed to hit Barnard over the top but only picked out Ross Whiteley who held onto a sharp catch at cover. Malan faced 173 balls and struck 17 boundaries.John Simpson straight drove Worcestershire captain Joe Leach for six as he and Toby Roland-Jones added a further 36 runs before bad light ended play three overs early.

Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusingha has not been shaken by Shakib Al Hasan’s surprise re-entry in to Bangladesh’s squad

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo15-Mar-2018Chandika Hathurusingha has not been shaken by Shakib Al Hasan’s surprise re-entry in to Bangladesh’s squad, but he does have a warning for his old team – or is it a little psychological agitation? The Sri Lanka coach said playing Shakib would be a great move, if he is fully fit. But if he is not, it becomes a sign of desperation.Shakib had in fact been expected to recover from his finger injury weeks ago, with the allrounder himself suggesting he would be ready by the end of February. But although it had been announced he was also out of the Nidahas Trophy, Shakib has now arrived in Sri Lanka ahead of the virtual semi-final against the hosts.If his sudden arrival is a psychological ploy on Bangladesh’s part, Hathurusingha ventured his own gambit. And it comes one month after his suggesting his knowledge of Bangladesh had helped Sri Lanka beat them at home earlier this year.”I think it’s just fortunate for them that Shakib recovered before such an important game,” Hathurusingha said. “But if he is not fit and hasn’t trained, then I would have to agree with you [that it is desperation].”I don’t think there’s too much these two teams can do as far as psychological games or trump cards, because we have played each other so much recently. The only thing is that I can think of is that if Shakib is half-fit, I think it’s a desperate measure. If he’s fit they really have an advantage, because he is the world’s number one allrounder and we all know that he is a quality player.”Bangladesh’s own stand-in coach, Courtney Walsh, said Shakib would be put through a fitness test – the same as any other player – before his availability for Friday’s encounter is established. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, expect Bangladesh to field the strongest combination possible.”We have nothing else to do because he is a very good player and we prepare as if he will play,” Hathurusingha said. “I think it’s an advantage to them because he will enable them play different combinations, whether it’s an additional bowler or batsman.”

Afghanistan cruised to a 64-run win against Namibia in their final group-stage game of the Desert T20 Challenge, after posting 167 for 6

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Dubai19-Jan-2017
Scorecard1:11

It was important for us to top the group – Rashid Khan

The de facto home side Afghanistan sauntered past Namibia by 64 runs for their third win in three games in Group A at the Desert T20 Challenge. Afghanistan, the highest-seeded team, casually accumulated 167 for 6 in their 20 overs against the lowest-ranked side in the competition. Four batsmen crossed 30 but not 35, starting with Mohammad Shahzad (31) and former captain Nawroz Mangal (32) who added 56 for the first wicket in breezy fashion.In the chase, Louis van der Westhuizen, who struck a bruising half-century against Ireland, was out second ball of the innings. By the end of the third over, Namibia were reduced to 7 for 4. Rarely does Afghanistan’s excellence keep the home fans quiet, but about 3000 of them hardly made a peep throughout the rest of the innings as if bored by the ease of the impending victory. Jan Frylinck and Gerrie Snyman added 54 runs for the seventh wicket to lift Namibia from 38 for 6.As he has done so many times this tournament, Rashid Khan roused the fans out of their chairs. Captain Asghar Stanikzai abstained from utilising his biggest wicket threat until the 16th over. Rashid trapped Frylinck in front, playing across the line, to break the stand at the start of the 18th over. Left-arm spinner Amir Hamza, who dismissed van der Westhuizen with the new ball, came back in the 19th to have Snyman stumped off the last ball of the over. Rashid then made it a team hat-trick by snuffing out the tail on the first two balls of the 20th over to end with figures of 3 for 4 in 2.2 overs.Nawroz not done yetNawroz Mangal had reportedly retired at the start of the year to take up a role as Afghanistan’s chief national selector. However, he’d been training and warming up with the squad all week in Abu Dhabi. With Afghanistan already having clinched a semi-final berth, he was inserted into the starting XI against Namibia and walked out with Mohammad Shahzad to open the batting.Nawroz Mangal played an assortment of strokes through the off side in his “farewell series”•Peter Della Penna

It was later communicated by the Afghanistan team management that Nawroz was being given a “farewell series” at this event. Shahzad, usually Afghanistan’s most aggressive player with the bat, let Nawroz take the reins in their stand. In a pressure-free environment, Nawroz played some delightful strokes through the off side among his three fours and a six to please the crowd before exiting to warm applause.Najibullah’s not out streak ends… sort of“Half Man, Half Amazing” Najibullah Zadran had come into this match having been not out in his last six Twenty20 innings. The last time he finished without an asterisk next to his name was against England in the 2016 World T20 when he was run-out by Chris Jordan for 14. In Afghanistan’s next match at the tournament, he scored 48 not out to be named Man of the Match in their victory over West Indies.His spectacular one-handed sliced six against UAE on Tuesday night came as part of a 11 not out, making it 174 runs he’d scored in T20Is since being dismissed. Promoted to no. 4 on Thursday afternoon, he made three before he was deceived by left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz and stumped, ending his scoring streak between dismissals at 177 in Twenty20 matches. However, since Namibia doesn’t have T20I status, this match didn’t either, meaning Najibullah’s not-out streak in T20Is remains alive and kicking at 174 off 101 balls.

As England trouped off the field at lunch on the third day in Johannesburg, Trevor Bayliss produced what may come to be the defining moment in his career as coach

George Dobell17-Jan-2016As England trouped off the field at lunch on the third day in Johannesburg, with the game in the balance and the bowlers struggling to find the correct length to exploit the bounce and cracks in the surface, Trevor Bayliss produced what may come to be the defining moment in his career as coach.It wasn’t that Bayliss said anything particularly revelatory or inspirational to the team. And it wasn’t that he shouted and ranted in a way that shocked or rebuked.It was that he had waited to make a contribution and then chose his moment and message perfectly.Compare that to the methods of his predecessors. By the end of Andy Flower’s period as coach, he so intimidated some players that his attention seemed to stifle rather than assist. And Peter Moores, for all the good intentions, was said by some players to be prone to talking a little too much and, as a consequence, diluting his message.There’s something of the constitutional monarch about Bayliss: you can sort of understand why you need someone in the position, but you’re not always sure exactly what he does. His old-school cricketing philosophy means that the captain is always the man in charge and, in training, it is his genial assistant, Paul Farbrace who appears to inject the energy and organisation. And Bayliss is far too much of a fair dinkum Aussie to bother to cultivate a media image.

Trevor Bayliss on…

Stuart Broad
“I don’t take a lot of interest in the rankings. I think that’s for the fans. There are a lot of good bowlers around. But certainly on yesterday’s performance he is the best in the world. I’m fully aware that when he takes wickets he takes a lot of wickets for not many runs. He hits the crease very hard and a guy that is 6ft 6 and charging in is an intimidating sight from 22 yards away, especially on a wicket that has got a bit of bounce, sideways movement and some movement in the air. Thankfully he’s still got a few years in front of him.”
Joe Root
“In the context of the game – only two guys made 50 – I’d have given him the Man-of-the Match award. They could have halved it I reckon. Over the last few Tests he has got five, six, seven fifties without scoring a hundred. You can really see his disappointment when he gets out. He doesn’t say anything – he doesn’t throw his bat around – but you can tell that he’s got that hunger to make hundreds. The best players are not satisfied with 60 or 70. They are looking to make a big hundred.”
Jonny Bairstow
“From a batting point of view, Jonny has looked as comfortable as anyone on the spinning wickets in the UAE and on these faster, bouncier wickets here. He looks like he’s growing in confidence every day. As a keeper, we had a bit of chat with him after the first innings in Durban about moving his feet. He’s done some work; he’s certainly moving his feet better and getting his head over the ball. The amount he works on his keeping, he will get better.”
Alastair Cook
“He’s come on as a leader. The way he talks to the players and the way they listen to him. He’s got confidence from the way these young players are playing, which I think has given him confidence to be a little freer in his decisions. I’ve absolutely no complaints – I think he’s doing a great job.”
On selection
“I’d like to see the guys get one too many games rather than one not enough. I think in history of any cricket team around the world, if you’re swapping and changing all the time, you never really gain an idea of ‘has he got it or hasn’t he?’ You never seem to move on or give that guy an opportunity to establish himself.”

But he does know about cricket. Indeed, those that know him best suggest that, when he is looking for variety, he stops thinking about international cricket and starts to think about county or state cricket instead. And when he tires of that, he thinks about club cricket.So when he spotted some warning signs in Englands’s performance early in South Africa’s second innings – the bowlers were pitching too short and the fielders looked ready to sit in for the long haul rather than keen to divert the natural direction of the game – he knew it was time to act. He rejected Alastair Cook’s suggestion that he gave the team “a kick up the arse” but accepts he was not fully satisfied with what he saw.”It was more of a reminder, I suppose, of what we needed to do help the bowlers win the game,” he said. “I wouldn’t class it as a kick up the backside. But I thought before lunch and even in the first innings their attitude was not quite right in the field.”Out in the field it was a little bit quiet. There was no movement.”It’s always a decent attitude, but to field well and pick up those half chances – we missed a few in Cape Town – the energy and the attitude has to be more full on.”So it was just a bit of reminder that if we want to win this Test, now is the time to hunt in a pack or get in the batters’ face. Try to make them feel ‘where’s our next run coming from?’ and help the bowlers put the pressure on.”We had spoken about it in the past. But they are only young players, most of them, and like any young person you have to remind them now and then. A player has actually got to make mistakes to learn from them. If someone is telling them all the time what to do then they don’t necessarily recognise it themselves. Hopefully it is a lesson learned and hopefully as time goes by they won’t need a gentle reminder.”While Bayliss cannot have predicted how dramatic the results of his “reminder” would be – and 10 wickets in 25.2 overs is pretty dramatic – he clearly has a huge amount of confidence in the potential of his young squad.”This team could turn into something special,” he said. “You look at some of those players with 50 or 60 Tests experience under their belt and the potential is there. If we win a few Test matches there’ll be a chance of going up the rankings and becoming the best team in the world.”But potential never won anything. You have got to go out and do the hard work and not take everything for granted. I still think we’re two or three years away from possibly our best period.”Central to progressing, in Bayliss’ view, is an improvement in England’s fielding. Not just in the Test side, either, but throughout the game in England and Wales. It is, he believes, one area in which England lag behind Australia.”I’d like to see – in general – our fielding improve,” he said. “That’s not just at this level but at county level as well.”If you think of the game of cricket from a batter’s point of view, they probably spend 85-90% of the time they are actively in the game fielding. So we have to do a bit more work on fielding.”There always seems to be a lot of batting and bowling technique work, but there probably needs to be a little more technique work done with fielding as well.”It’s probably one area of the game that is different between Australia and England. Australian sides do more fielding technique work at a younger age.”That fielding work will have to wait a day or two. Having earned a couple of days off, England will not train again until Wednesday. By then, they will have decided whether to send the injured Steven Finn home – it looks likely that his tour is over – and whether to recall Chris Woakes for the final Test or give a chance to the uncapped left-arm seamer Mark Footitt. Woakes is the more likely choice; England are not in the mood for experimenting.”We want to win 3-0,” Bayliss said. “If you want to get to the best team in the world, you win series three, four and 5-0. That’s the challenge for these young blokes.”

In his final act as South Africa coach, Gary Kirsten did not shy away from the team’s uncomfortable history of failing at pressure stages in major events, admitting they “choked” against England

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2013In his final act as South Africa coach, Gary Kirsten did not shy away from the team’s uncomfortable history of failing at pressure stages in major events, accepting they “choked” against England, a term he called “horrible”, and that it does not reflect well on his time as coach.The word has been associated with South Africa since the 1999 World Cup when they fell at the semi-final stage in an agonising tie against Australia. It was the same hurdle that proved too much this time as they were thrashed by seven wickets at The Oval, having crashed to 80 for 8 on their way to 175.Before the match, AB de Villiers spoke of it being a chance to shed the tag which has haunted them for more than a decade but instead the outgoing coach has ensured it will remain firmly associated with them until at least the 2015 World Cup.”I think we did choke in the game,” Kirsten said. “It’s an uncomfortable word but you’ve got to make yourself comfortable with it. It’s a horrible word, it does get used, we’ve spoken about it, we are open about it.”We let ourselves down. You’ve got to accept that’s what it is. They bowled exceptionally well but that doesn’t mean your batting line-up should be 80 for 8.”If we had the secret recipe to turn it around, we would certainly have packaged it and be selling it. We give it our best shot in our preparation, we try different things. It’s definitely a dark mist that hangs over South African cricket in knockout events.”At some point we are going to have to try and cross the line. It’s going to require some real charisma, some real guts and glory to get over the line. It might not be pretty but at some point we are going to have to do it. It is an unfortunate thing. It’s not for lack of trying. It does require an enormous amount of resilience, maybe certain types of individuals who can do it for us.””These guys play really good cricket year after year. At some point, you need to cross the line because people will continue looking at you and saying you can’t do it. I don’t think as individuals they get emotionally hijacked because they play brilliantly for other teams. It will require some really tough individuals to overcome it.”Kirsten did not hold back during his press conference, where he attended instead of de Villiers, and admitted the team’s lack of global one-day silverware did not show his tenure in a good light despite his achievements in the Test arena.”We haven’t improved, he said. “That’s where the question mark needs to come over me so maybe it’s not a bad thing I am leaving. As a coach you always want to take the team forward. There are some good signs. We are playing some good one-day cricket but in events of this nature, we haven’t gone forward.”We haven’t been consistent. That’s maybe because we’ve explored quite a lot of combinations over the last few years. We’ve broadened our base. When you play in important tournaments like this maybe you get exposed. We’ve given it our best shot to try and overcome it and we haven’t.”Dale Steyn was forced to sit out the semi-final with a groin injury – following a side problem earlier in the tournament – which meant South Africa were missing four senior players; Jacques Kallis ruled himself out before the event, Graeme Smith pulled out due an ankle injury and Morne Morkel flew home after the first game.When it was suggested that Kallis left a particularly large hole to fill, after his personal decision not to play the tournament, Kirsten said that the team could not rely on always having someone who is in the latter stage of his career.”In high pressure games, you want your most experienced players,” Kirsten said. “But at the same time they can have a lot of scarring from past events. South African cricket has got to move past Jacques Kallis.”We’ve got to start finding other players, which I think we have. Our strength was our batting line-up and we focused our attention on the middle order. Bowling-wise, we’ve explored the talent. There is still more out there. At some point you need to find some stability.”

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has said losing the toss worked to his team’s advantage during its win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Pallekele

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2012Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has said losing the toss worked to his team’s advantage during its win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Pallekele. Mahela Jayawardene chose to bat but Pakistan’s bowlers put in a fine performance to restrict the hosts to 135 for 8 in a rain-affected game.”It was a difficult decision for any captain about what to do,” Misbah said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “It was a good toss to lose. There was a lot of moisture in the wicket and covers were on.”Pakistan’s seamers led the way, with Umar Gul nipping out the first three wickets – he ultimately won the Man-of-the-Match award – and Mohammad Sami providing excellent support in an economical spell during which he picked up three for 19 in six overs. Mohammad Hafeez was also miserly with his off-spin, taking 2 for 20 in 10 overs. “We have got world-class spinners and whenever the fast bowlers get the conditions [they need], they come good.”Pakistan reached their target with almost eight overs to spare, but lost two wickets early. Hafeez and Misbah steadied the innings with a 51-run stand before Umar Akmal made an unbeaten 36, steering his team home. “The conditions were really difficult for batting,” Misbah said, “but the way Hafeez and Umar batted, it was really handy.”We have to improve in these conditions – it’s a windy and open ground. It’s difficult to judge, so we have to work hard.”Jayawardene said a score of around 190 to 200 would have proved competitive. “It was important we put up a decent score,” he said. “But credit to Pakistan, they came strongly at us. We faced two new balls in Australia as well, but they have got a quality attack and we need to make sure we are careful.”The second ODI, on Saturday, will also take place in Pallekele.

Rahul Dravid has said the lack of experience in the Rajasthan Royals squad hampered the team’s performance but was confident of a better show in the next season

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2011Rahul Dravid has said the lack of experience in the Rajasthan Royals squad hampered the team’s performance but was confident of a better show in the next season. Rajasthan were top of the table midway through the season but four straight defeats have put them out of contention for a play-off spot.”Our side has got a little bit of inexperience,” Dravid said on Tuesday. “There are 10 teams and at the end of the day other teams probably had more experienced players in this competition.” While most of the other franchises picked up at least a dozen players in January’s auction of top cricketers, Rajasthan were content with buying only six players with international experience and building the squad with lesser-known Indians.Even a victory in Rajasthan’s final league match, against Mumbai Indians on Friday, won’t lift them above sixth spot. Dravid, though, said there were bright spots for Rajasthan in the campaign such as the performances of 20-year-old Ashok Menaria and 22-year-old Ajinkya Rahane.”We have some youngsters doing well for us. We can improve next year,” he said. “Happy to see some young players like Ajinkya Rahane and Ashok Menaria come through … they have shown a glimpse of what they can do. Rahane has done well for Mumbai in Ranji and domestic cricket while Menaria has done well for Rajasthan.”After the IPL, Dravid’s next engagement is the West Indies tour, with the Tests starting June 20. One of his career highlights was leading India to their first Test series win in the Caribbean in 35 years when they toured five years ago, and Dravid hoped the team could repeat that success.”We won the series there last time around, but I hope we will do better this time,” he said. “If the West Indies play their full strength side, they will be a tough team to beat. But it will be interesting to see if they have their full side.”

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has asked his team-mates to be united on the field and off it as they left Karachi to take part in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka

Cricinfo staff12-Jun-2010Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has asked his team-mates to be united on the field and off it as they left Karachi to take part in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. The tournament, involving Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be the first assignment for Afridi’s team ahead of a busy summer in England, where they will play Australia and England.”What has happened cannot be changed,” said Afridi, referring to the turbulent last few months. “What we can do is ensure that past mistakes are not repeated. We cannot afford to be a bickering lot and the only way we can give our best is by staying united. What I want is that our team should be united on the field and off it.”I know the importance of having frequent team meetings. It’s also important for all the players to dine together as much as possible and discuss issues openly because these are the things that help boost team spirit.”The recent problems in the Pakistan team surfaced after their winless tour to Australia in 2009-10, following which, the PCB conducted an inquiry and punished several players. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan were banned indefinitely, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan for a year, while Afridi, Kamran and Umar Akmal were fined. No reasons for the penalties were forthcoming from the PCB at the time, but a leaked video later revealed the extent of discord within the team. However, all the players apart from Yousuf, who retired from international cricket, appealed against their punishments. The bans on Malik and Younis were overturned by an arbitrator; Afridi’s fine was removed while those of the Akmals were reduced. The selectors then included Malik, who had been slated for his attitude during the inquiry, in the squad for the Asia Cup, and recalled injury-prone fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.Afridi said Pakistan’s squad for the competition in Sri Lanka was balanced. “We have a very solid bowling attack and the batting is also looking good. There is a lot of potential. What we need is to translate that potential into positive results and that’s only possible if each and every player gives his best for the team.”We have a long and challenging tour of England coming up but right now we are completely focusing on the Asia Cup, which is also an important assignment. A good showing in the Asia Cup would be a great start to our World Cup plans.”Pakistan’s first game of the Asia Cup is against Sri Lanka in Dambulla on June 15.