All posts by n8rngtd.top

The prolific batsman is back after recovering from dengue as Sri Lanka search for their first points in the new Women’s Championship cycle

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2018Chamari Atapattu has returned to lead Sri Lanka women’s 15-member squad for the three Women’s Championship matches against India starting September 11 in Galle.Atapattu, the team’s most prolific batsman, missed the team’s previous international assignment – the Asia Cup T20 in June – with dengue, but has since recovered and featured in a full Women’s Super League season for Yorkshire Diamonds.Among the new faces, batsman Imalka Mendis has returned to the ODI squad for the first time in more than two years, while the selectors have also retained 17-year-old allrounder Kavisha Dilhari, who made her ODI debut against Pakistan.Overall, the selectors have retained 10 players from Sri Lanka’s 2017 World Cup campaign, showing their push for continuity as they build towards the next four-year cycle under new coach Harsha de Silva. The former first-class cricketer was appointed on a two-year contract last month following Hemantha Devapriya’s resignation.Sri Lanka are currently placed eighth and are winless in six Women’s Championship matches – against Pakistan and West Indies. They have now lost 12 of their last 13 ODIs, a streak that stretches back to last year’s World Cup. India, runners up in that tournament, are currently sixth, having won two of their six matches.Galle will host the first two ODIs, on September 11 and 13, before the series moves to the Moors Cricket Club ground on the outskirts of Colombo for the final match on September 16. The teams will then play five T20Is to round off the tour.Sri Lanka squad: Chamari Attapattu (captain), Prasadani Weerakkody, Anushka Sanjeewani, Nipuni Hansika, Hasini Perera, Dilani Manodara, Shashikala Siriwardena, Nilakshi De Silva, Imalka Mendis, Sripalee Weerakkodi, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaweera, Udeshika Prabodhini, Ama Kanchana, Kavisha Dilhari

Former England captain Andrew Strauss to spend more time with family while his wife Ruth undergoes treatment for cancer

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2018Andrew Strauss has stepped down as director of England cricket after three-and-a-half years in the role, in order to spend more time with his family while his wife Ruth undergoes treatment for cancer.Strauss, who handed over many of his day-to-day duties to Andy Flower during the 2018 home summer, will take on a more flexible role with the ECB, and will play a part in assisting Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, in recruiting a full-time successor ahead of England’s tour of the Caribbean in the New Year.It means, however, that he will not now be at the helm as England enter a defining year in 2019, when they host the World Cup for the first time in 20 years, then take on Australia in a home Ashes campaign.”After three-and-a-half incredible years with the ECB, I have taken the difficult decision to step down from my role as Director of England Cricket,” said Strauss.”Next year is potentially the most important the game has had in this country, with the World Cup on home soil and a home Ashes series, and we have an incredible opportunity to do something special. It is vital that the Director of Cricket can give consistent guidance and support to England Cricket through this period.”Strauss’s appointment in May 2015 came in the wake of England’s disastrous showing at that year’s World Cup, and he endured a gruelling first few weeks in the job, including terminating Peter Moores’ second spell as England coach, as well as drawing a line under any prospect of Kevin Pietersen earning an international recall.On his watch, England have taken significant strides towards becoming a genuine force in white-ball cricket – following his appointment of Trevor Bayliss as head coach in 2015, England reached the final of the World T20 the following year and go into next summer’s World Cup as favourites.The Test team’s fortunes have plateaued in the same period, although Strauss’s appointment of Ed Smith as the new national selector has seen the beginnings of a revival in the long-form game. This summer’s 4-1 series win over India atoned in part for a disappointing display during the Ashes, a tour that was at times overshadowed by the circus that surrounded the squad in the wake of Ben Stokes’ arrest in Bristol last September.Dawid Malan chats with England director of cricket Andrew Strauss•Getty Images

Strauss had intended to remain on the tour throughout the series, but chose to fly home in the wake of England’s defeat in the second Test at Adelaide after hearing the news of his wife’s diagnosis.”Taking time out this summer to support my wife and kids, as Ruth goes through treatment for cancer, has given me the chance to fully consider what’s right for England and what’s needed at home,” he said. “The role in cricket requires total focus and commitment to deliver the best results, yet right now I need far more flexibility than could ever be possible in my position in order to support my family.”I will not be leaving the game completely – initially helping Tom to shape the role for my successor, then supporting a range of other ECB projects – but it’s important to see someone else in place for a crucial summer in 2019.Harrison responded to the decision on behalf of the ECB. “We’re very sad to see Andrew step down from the role and we all wish him and his family the very best,” he said. “He deserves huge respect for the way he has managed his role, fully supported Ruth and their boys and calmly considered this decision. And it’s hard to overestimate his contribution since joining us in May 2015.”He is an exceptional talent and it is easy to see how he has made a success of each step in his career – moving from dressing room, to captaincy, to commentary, to a key role in the governing body – and all the while being the most popular of colleagues.”Andrew has brought enormous credibility, measured thinking, strong leadership and exceptional insight and we have been extremely fortunate to have worked so closely with him for the last three and a half years. He has improved the ways we work and set the direction for the men’s Test, one-day and T20 teams.”

The wicketkeeper-batsman scored at a strike-rate of 462.50, slamming eight sixes and six fours

Barny Read22-Nov-2018″Feeling tired? Low on energy? In need of a boost?”We’ve all heard the adverts. In fact, there were probably hundreds of them as coatings of dot balls and most energetic player at last year’s T10 League.They usually come with a handy little vitamin solution with the promise of added vigour and perk.But there is a remedy you ignore at your peril. One so smack-you-round-the-gob invigorating, it can wake a few thousand drowsy cricket fans from their slumber in, give or take, 30 minutes.This is, of course, the outrageously addictive product from Afghanistan; Mohammad Shahzad.Still doubtful? There are ringing celebrity endorsements from the likes of coaches Herschelle Gibbs and Tom Moody that can further sway you.”Unheard of. I haven’t seen such clean hitting in a long time,” Gibbs said. “Everything they tried he had an answer to. That was on another level of striking.””We saw something pretty unique and special tonight and you have to take a step back and admire a performance like that,” added Moody on the cure he described as “something out of the ordinary”.”I’d be surprised if we saw an innings like that again in the next couple of weeks. I think tonight we’ve been treated to something special.”Shahzad entered things on the back of a lethargic start to T10’s second season, ready to write prescriptions for all and sundry with a cocktail of sixes over cover, rasping cuts through point, bludgeons over mid-wicket and those – most powerful-of-all – launches over long-on.His 74 off just 16 balls included eight sixes and six fours. This innings should have come with a warning over dosages.Just let it sink in a minute, 74 off a mere 16 balls.He scored at a strike-rate of 462.50 and had he been up against a more challenging total would surely have blistered a first T10 ton. Chris Gayle’s record-fastest T20 century of 30 balls was well within sight, the extra ball to surpass AB de Villiers’ ODI record of 31 balls would have almost certainly given him a six-run buffer.There wasn’t a single dot ball, it was the fastest T10 half-century, the format’s highest score and the most sixes in a single innings. Shahzad breathed life into the opening night of the new T10 League season with an audience desperately in need of vitality. It had just borne witness to a sluggish start to the tournament that undermines the very essence of T10’s modus operandi.There was lethargy early on, a small crowd taking in proceedings but far from engaged and in need of a pickup. Shahzad well and truly delivered the lift, encapsulating everything T10 aims to be as he blasted a whirlwind knock that peppered the boundary. His innings was just what the doctor ordered as a sleepy Sharjah were invigorated by the Shahzad tonic; inspiring Rajputs into chasing down Sindhi’s total of 94 in just four overs and all ten wickets intact.It was with such majesty that Shahzad dispatched the bowling attack that captain Brendon McCullum was reduced to the role of junior doctor, with a knock of 21 off eight balls. His knock was something to savour, to bottle up and take in small doses at risk of sending your body into a spasm.The dizzying side effects resulted in far greater rapture in the stands for the second game, with the likes of Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi on hand to maintain the buzz as Pakhtoons set Kerala Knights 110 to win from their ten overs.And Shahzad is not the only chemist on the circuit, there are two fine alternatives in the form of Paul Sterling (40 off 14 balls) and Eoin Morgan (46* off 20). After Gayle departed, they kept the party going with some potent medication of their own as Kerala Knights got their title defence up and running with an eight-wicket win.But it was Shahzad who stole the show on a night two sets of bowlers were left feeling dizzy. The onus is now on them to discover an antidote.

The ICC said the judgement was “binding and non-appealable”

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Nov-2018The PCB’s attempts to claim damages worth USD 63 million from the BCCI have met with what is now a final failure: the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) rejected the PCB’s claim that the BCCI’s failure to honour an agreement to play bilateral series in 2014 and 2015 was a legal breach.The three-person DRC said the claim “must fail” because the agreement signed between the boards carried a “moral obligation” but not a legal one.That will not be the PCB’s only defeat. As is the norm in arbitration cases such as this, the party that loses the case usually ends up paying the costs for the proceedings, and the BCCI confirmed that it would seek legal costs from the PCB. “After hearing the evidence and arguments of the parties over three days in Dubai, the Dispute Panel by its award published today has rejected all of the PCB’s contentions and accepted the BCCI’s case inter alia on the ground that the BCCI Letter was non-binding and merely expressed an intention to play,” the BCCI said in a statement. “The BCCI wholeheartedly welcomes the decision of the Dispute Panel. The BCCI will now move the Dispute Panel to recover its legal cost from the PCB.”In a brief initial response, the PCB said it noted the DRC decision with “regret” and “disappointment.” The PCB also said it would “determine its future course of action” after consultations with its members, but the ICC made it clear that the DRC’s judgement was “binding and non-appealable”.The panel, comprising Michael Beloff, Jan Paulsson and Dr Annabelle Bennett, conducted hearings between October 1-3 with several officials from both boards as well as senior ICC officials attending. The central question the DRC had to consider was whether the BCCI had indeed breached the agreement to play seven bilateral series between 2014 and 2023. Two of those “designated” tours were to be home series hosted by Pakistan scheduled for November 2014 and December 2015, both of which did not take place, and for which the PCB claimed damages.Ultimately, the case hinged on how the DRC viewed the agreement the two boards signed on April 9, 2014 – an agreement, incidentally, signed in the chaotic days of the Big Three governance reforms. The PCB’s contention was that it was legally binding, an argument which, at various points in its 26-page judgment, the DRC appeared to think was sustainable; the BCCI argued that it was not and that it was only one step in a process that would lead to bilateral tours.That letter was signed by Sanjay Patel, then BCCI secretary, and Najam Sethi, who was the PCB chairman in 2014. That draft agreement was a result of PCB’s conditional support of Big Three governance changes (the Big-Three model was eventually reversed by the ICC).The DRC quickly concluded that both boards were at “cross purposes”. The BCCI said the agreement was the first step which involved boards proposing dates, followed by a second step where member boards agreed to an FTP schedule for the commercial cycle 2015-23, and a final step involving member boards entering into bilateral FTP agreements in accordance with that schedule.The PCB, however, considered the April letter to be, “in itself”, legally binding, and “any subsequent FTP Agreement to be no more than a formality, ‘a routine matter’, as Mr Sethi for the PCB put it in his oral evidence.”However, it would not have helped the PCB’s case that they sent the BCCI a draft long-form FTP agreement in June 2014, which was never signed, but which could imply that the PCB itself recognised the need for further steps after the April letter. And in an internal PCB board meeting, members were told that an MoU had been agreed but that a “legally binding agreement will subsequently be signed” – the implication again that the April agreement was not so.The DRC rejected the PCB’s claim that the April letter was a “quid pro quo” for its support to the Big Three’s attempts to overhaul the ICC’s governance and financial structures. The DRC pointed out that it was not the BCCI, but in fact, Cricket Australia and the ECB that had told the PCB they would not sign FTP agreements if the PCB did not agree to the Big Three model.But the complexities of the matter were apparent in the judgment, with the DRC rejecting the BCCI argument that the April letter was “uncertain and incomplete” and “therefore could not be contractually binding.” It was “a difficult argument to sustain (and one which the Panel rejects) for various reasons including BCCI approving bilateral tours without FTP agreements.”Their conclusion, eventually, fell against the PCB’s claims on a line of argument raised by the current ICC chairman, Shashank Manohar. The April 9 agreement, according to the DRC, was at most a “letter of intent”. If seen through a “microscope” the DRC said the PCB argument that the letter was a binding agreement “burns bright.” But if a “telescope is deployed”, and a broader take is considered, the argument is “extinguished.””In the Panel’s view, the reasonable observer apprised of all the facts would conclude that the April Letter was no more than a declaration of intent, albeit an intent sincerely held by the BCCI (and of course by the PCB) at most, as Mr [Shashank] Manohar (President of the BCCI from October 2015 to May 2016) put it, creating a “moral obligation” but not a legal one. Context trumps text.”

The Pakistan allrounder is expected to sign a two-month deal to take in the T20 Blast

George Dobell28-Dec-2018Northamptonshire are closing in on the signing of Faheem Ashraf for the Vitality Blast.ESPNcricinfo understand Faheem, the Pakistan allrounder, has agreed a contract with the club and expects to be available for the entire duration of the 2019 T20 season in England.The competition starts in mid-July – immediately after the World Cup – with the group stages finishing on August 30 and Finals Day taking place on September 21. Pakistan do not currently have any international commitments during that period.While Faheem first gained attention as a seamer – he has opened the bowling for Pakistan in most of his recent international appearances – his explosive batting offers Northants huge potential. He has, at this stage, just one career T20 half-century to his name – and a best of 21 at international level – but could well prosper if utilised as a pinch-hitter.He memorably exploited a short boundary mercilessly in thrashing 60 from 34 balls in a Champions Trophy warm-up match against Bangladesh at Edgbaston last year.Northants, who have denied Faheem’s signing, have previously announced the signing of South Africa’s Temba Bavuma as an overseas player in the County Championship.

The captain struck a 30-ball 58 while Jofra Archer claimed 2 for 19 to consign Melbourne Renegades to a 16-run loss

The Report by Tristan Lavalette07-Feb-2019
A well-rounded Hobart Hurricanes attack stymied Melbourne Renegades’ chase at the batting-friendly Blundstone Arena to secure a home semi-final.Sent in to bat, the Hurricanes looked set to post the first total of 200 this season after openers Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short smashed 87 runs before they both fell in the ninth over. The home side wobbled mid-innings but a late assault propelled them to a sizeable 6 for 183.In their chase, the Renegades were on track until wristspinners Short and debutant Qais Ahmad flipped the match with two wickets apiece. Quick Jofra Archer bowled well at the death as Hurricanes tuned up nicely for the finals with their eighth straight win in Hobart.The victory ensures the Hurricanes will finish on top of the ladder ahead of their final match against Sydney Thunder, while third-placed Renegades’ hopes for a home final are in tatters.The Wade and Short Show
Finch backed spearheads Kane Richardson and Chris Tremain from the get-go in the hope of his aces conjuring early swing. Instead, the veteran seamers copped a thrashing by Hurricanes’ irresistible opening duo during a pyrotechnics show.Wade’s intentions were made clear on the second ball of the innings when he made room and smashed a short ball from Richardson to the boundary. Two balls later, he outdid himself with a six over mid-wicket in perhaps a pointed message to the national selectors after missing out on Australia’s limited-overs tour of India.Wade was soon joined in the party by Short, who gloriously stroked a cover drive to the boundary on the first ball he faced. The normally miserly Renegades seamers were rocked by the whirlwind batting and Finch’s bowling changes were to no avail. Wade smashed a loopy Cameron Boyce delivery into the crowd in the eighth over to memorably bring up his half-century off just 27 balls.His belligerent batting somehow made Short look relatively sedate as the runs flowed at more than 10 an over until Wade holed out off Richardson in the ninth over. Short, who was recalled by national selectors as cover for Shaun Marsh, fell rashly two balls later to a full toss as the contest evened up mid-innings.Hurricanes unleash at the death
Hurricanes’ slump continued when Caleb Jewell fell to Mohammad Nabi, who slowed down the scoring with his accurate offspin. George Bailey and Ben McDermott were left to stabilise the innings, but were tied down and mainly scored through hard-run singles and twos.The frustration led to Bailey throwing his wicket away in the 15th over as Renegades’ seamers fought back into the contest through clever slower deliveries. Needing a tonic, Simon Milenko went for broke in the 17th over with audacious hitting to smash Richardson for 20 runs and reignite the Hurricanes.The BBL’s leading wicket-taker, however, gained revenge shortly after, when he caught his tormentor Milenko in the deep. Richardson, who endured his worst ever BBL bowling figures with 2-55 from 4 overs, then turned to the crowd and cheekily laughed.McDermott tried to improvise, but suffered a nasty blow when his miscued paddled scoop hit him on the jaw. After receiving medical attention, he clubbed the next ball for six to cap a Hurricanes comeback yielding 57 runs off the last five overs.Meredith struggles, Qais shines
Hurricanes speedster Riley Meredith cranked up the pace at 150kmh, but disaster struck when he bowled three no-balls and a leg-side wide that rolled away to the fine leg boundary in a nightmare first over costing 23 runs. Finch further applied the blowtorch with consecutive boundaries off left-arm spinner Clive Rose in the third over to ensure Renegades got off to a flying start.Marcus Harris couldn’t get going in his return from Test cricket and fell to a sharp catch from Short at backward point in the fourth over. Meredith came back on but his confidence was dented as Renegades posted 70 runs in their best Powerplay of the tournament.Hurricanes needed a boost and new import Ahmad delivered with his fifth ball, claiming the prized wicket of Finch, whose frustrating summer continued. The Renegades gifted wickets with Sam Harper miscuing a half-tracker off Short, who then picked up Nabi in a wicket-maiden to put Hurricanes in the box seat.Renegades fall short
Tom Cooper and Dan Christian were forced to play conservatively and knocked the ball around in a bid to get Renegades back into the contest. They could do little to counter Short’s accurate bowling but had better luck when Meredith continued to spray it around.Meredith was further dejected when Qais dropped a sitter in the deep to reprieve Cooper, but he had some belated cheer with the scalp of Christian next ball.Renegades never seriously threatened despite some late fireworks from Mackenzie Harvey.

George Dobell06-Mar-2019The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) appear to have won their fight to see a marked rise in the pay of players in England and Wales.The PCA – the players’ union – had previously expressed their surprise at news that the ECB did not envisage a rise in the salary cap or the salary collar at counties despite their lucrative new broadcasting deal, worth £1.1billion from 2020 to 2024..But it now seems they have persuaded the ECB – both the executive and the counties – to ensure players receive a decent share of the spoils in the new County Partnership Agreement (CPA). While the deal still has to be formally signed off, the PCA have told their members many of their demands have been “secured after a long drawn out negotiation”.The key features of the new deal will see the salary cap (the maximum amount a county can spend on the salaries of its players) rise to £2.5million a year by 2024 – it is about £2million at present – while the salary collar (the minimum amount a county can spend on player salaries) is expected to jump from £750,000 a year to £1.25million in 2020 and £1.5million by 2024.There will also be a minimum wage for full-time professionals aged over 21 of £27,500 per year, with anyone who has played five Championship or 10 T20s considered a full-time professional.It also seems central contracts for England players are set to rise markedly. While figures for those contracts remain relatively well guarded, the new contracts are likely to see the top players earn well in excess of £1million a year – perhaps as much as £1.5million a year – for representing England. In all, 26.5 percent of the ECB’s annual turnover (which will be somewhere around £260million a year from 2020) will be paid to players.ALSO READ: Who gets paid what in cricket?Meanwhile the PCA have also agreed a doubling of the period after which an injured player can be released from their county contract (from 13 to 26 weeks), funding for three more PDMs (personal development and welfare officers, who are charged with helping players with training and other issues that may arise) to take the number to nine, an agreement that the PCA will manage three percent of the annual revenue to help players transition from the game, and agreement that released or retired players can expect three months’ salary once they leave the game.It is not one-way traffic, however. The counties are also negotiating so that players who become unavailable for them while playing in The Hundred will be expected to pay 12.5 percent of their salaries back to their county to ensure their release. It is also understood that several are resisting the extent of the rise in the salary collar.The PCA has come in from some strong criticism in recent times, but this deal – if signed off – would appear to represent a significant victory for them and their members.

Worcestershire could be without their left-arm spinner for the entire season after he sustained a serious injury

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2019Worcestershire could be without Ben Twohig for the entire season after he sustained a serious injury. Twohig, the 20-year-old left-arm spinner, is understood to have suffered the anterior cruciate ligament injury while playing five-a-side football.A former England Under-19 player, Twohig made his List A and first-class debuts last season and did well enough to win a run of games in Worcestershire’s Championship side towards the end of the season.It is entirely possible the injury will renew debate over the wisdom of professional cricketers playing football. Ashley Giles, the director of England’s men’s teams, had already made it clear he does not favour the idea.”We’ve got to keep our best players on the park and I’m not sure playing football is the best way of going about that,” he told ESPNcricinfo in January. “If you look at what football does, the benefits from a physiological and fun point of view are outstripped by the dangers.”This injury was not sustained during a training or warm-up session, though. It is understood Twohig was playing a five-a-side game with friends. It is unclear if he was permitted to take part in such a game.

“On my part, it was very instinctive. It was not planned or anything like that. It’s there within the rules of the game,” says Kings XI captain

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-20191:15

Buttler dismissal was ‘within the rules of the game’ – Ashwin

R Ashwin has reignited the spirit-of-cricket debate by running out non-striker Jos Buttler without bowling the ball. It turns out the dismissal was touch and go when it comes to being within the laws of the game.Running in to deliver the penultimate delivery of his final over, Ashwin stopped after entering his delivery stride. Buttler didn’t have his eye on the bowler and slipped out of the crease. As soon as he saw that, Ashwin simply turned around and broke the stumps at the non-strikers’ end with the batsman out of his crease. The decision was sent up to the third umpire, who didn’t need much time to send Buttler on his way.Rajasthan Royals’ Buttler had an unpleasant exchange with Ashwin, the Kings XI Punjab captain, while the third umpire made his decision. He walked off angry, and was seen shouting in the general direction of one of the dugouts.Speaking at the post-match press conference, Ashwin said of the incident: “Look, it was very instinctive. On my part, it was very instinctive. It was not planned or anything like that. It’s there within the rules of the game. I don’t understand where the spirit of the game comes, naturally if it’s there in the rules it’s there.”Responding to a comparison drawn between this incident and the 1987 World Cup match between West Indies and Pakistan – where Courtney Walsh did not run non-striker Saleem Jaffar out in the last over of the match, despite the latter being well out of his crease – Ashwin said the question of ‘sporting’ didn’t arise when it came to rules.”I don’t understand the point of sporting or sportive in that point because it’s rules. What applies for one man does not apply for everyone else. Neither was Jos Buttler playing there nor was I played so it’s very pertinent to just not compare two people…”This was not the first time Buttler had been run out backing up too far. On air in host broadcaster Star Sports’ “Dugout”, Kumar Sangakkara pointed out how, in a game against Sri Lanka in 2014, Buttler was run out in a similar fashion after two warnings by Sachithra Senanayake. Ashwin, too, had attempted dismissing a batsman in similar fashion a few years ago. During an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2012, Ashwin had run out Lahiru Thirimanne for backing up too much. The appeal was withdrawn by then India captain Virender Sehwag, who stated that Ashwin had warned Thirimanne before attempting the dismissal.The question here, though, was whether Buttler would have been inside his crease had Ashwin not stopped at the point of delivery. The updated Law 41.16 says: “If the non-striker is out of his/her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the bowler is permitted to attempt to run him/her out.”The wording “expected to release the ball” leaves room for subjectivity, which is where Ashwin’s assertion that he hadn’t even loaded becomes critical. If the bowler hadn’t even loaded, as Ashwin said, is it possible to estimate a time when he was “expected to release the ball”?Royals’ coach Paddy Upton, though, didn’t bother about the technicalities. He was miffed, and it showed in the press conference. “I think R Ashwin’s actions tonight speak for him and represent him, when I looked at his team-mates,” Upton said, “and I’m not sure it represented his team-mates. I think we’ll leave it up to the IPL fans to decide if that’s the kind of things they want to see, and we’ll leave it up to the cricket world to judge R Ashwin’s actions tonight. But for us, we’re certainly here to play cricket and entertain the fans and be good role models for people who love the game.”R Ashwin mankads Jos Buttler•BCCI

Buttler was looking in control of the chase of 185 at that time, having scored 69 off 43. His wicket, though, triggered a collapse as hosts Rajasthan Royals lost seven wickets for 16 runs to lose by 14 runs. Every wicket brought about loud boos from the Sawai Mansingh Stadium crowd.At the end of the match, Buttler shook Ashwin’s hand, but refused to look his way. Just behind Buttler, Upton seemed to have said something to Ashwin while shaking his hand, which made Ashwin stop in his tracks and give them a bemused look.”Part and parcel,” Royals’ captain Ajinkya Rahane said at the post-match presentation. “Sadly we are not allowed to comment on controversial issues. I am sure the match referee will take a call. We take these decisions sportingly.”

Tim Bresnan and Jonny Tattersall resurrected Yorkshire, who scrambled a bye from the final ball for a share of the spoils

ECB Reporters Network19-Apr-2019A wonderful match came down to the final ball with former Warwickshire spinner Josh Poysden needing to find two runs to secure a Yorkshire victory. He swished and missed – but the batsmen scrambled a bye to bring the scores level.It was a pulsating match in which Warwickshire amassed 270 for 8, a solid total but one which appeared no more than par on a good batting pitch. Tim Ambrose provided their backbone with a well-worked 77 but without Adam Hose (absent with a hand injury sustained in the nets the day before the game) and Ian Bell (foot injury) in the top order, too many others got in then got out.It looked a very good total after Henry Brookes and Chris Woakes reduced Yorkshire to 33 for 4. A superb sixth-wicket partnership of 138 in 24 overs between Tim Bresnan and Jonny Tattersall then kept their side alive before a game which fluctuated fascinatingly all day – a tribute to the format – finished all square. Fifty-over cricket was the winner.Warwickshire, put in, lost Ed Pollock to the 11th ball when Bresnan rattled his off stump. Bresnan then removed the other opener Dom Sibley, caught by wicketkeeper Tattersall.A fine spell of 7-0-17-0 from captain Steve Patterson kept a brake on the scoring before Adil Rashid removed Sam Hain, stumped by Tattersall. While Ambrose settled, Will Rhodes moved fluently to 43 against his former county before tickling a leg-side offering from Mathew Pillans to the wicketkeeper.Liam Banks, on his List A debut, made a punchy 31 off 28 balls but when he and Woakes hoisted Poysden to long-off in quick succession, the innings lost momentum when it needed to be gathering it. Ambrose’s 24th List A half-century was ended by a catch at deep midwicket and Yorkshire, who had piled up 379 in their North Group opener two days earlier, could reflect on a decent job done.They were less happy when four down in the 11th over. Brookes hit the stumps of Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Adam Lyth and Woakes had Harry Brook caught in the gully and the in-form Gary Ballance taken at cover. David Willey and Tattersall added 56 in 11 overs before Willey spliced a pull at young seamer George Panayi to mid-on.That was 89 for 5 but Tattersall and Bresnan both advanced to 56-ball half-centuries to take their side into the last ten overs with 80 required. The sixth-wicket pair brought the chase down to 44 needed from five when both fell in three balls, Tattersall bowled by Jeetan Patel and Bresnan caught by Patel at cover off Woakes.It came down to 10 needed from the last over, delivered by Brookes and when Patterson swiped the second ball for four, suddenly the Vikings were favourites again. With three needed from three balls, Pillans holed out to mid-off, but the batsmen crossed, leaving Patterson on strike. A single brought Poysden down to face his first ball against his former club – and a bye meant a fine match concluded in a tie.