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ESPNcricinfo lists five issues that should be on the priority list of the refurbished managing committee, led by Sharad Pawar after he swept the MCA polls on Wednesday

Amol Karhadkar18-Jun-2015The elections may have been over, but the problems plaguing Mumbai cricket remain the same. ESPNcricinfo lists five issues, in no particular order, that should be on the priority list of the refurbished managing committee, led by Sharad Pawar after he swept the MCA polls on Wednesday.Involving former cricketers in MCADuring the last MCA annual general meeting, former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar had supported a proposal to amend the rulebook and allow voting rights to only those who have attended at least four general body meetings. As much as it is a proposal to keep the flock of politicians entering the MCA at bay, the move may help former cricketers gain some sort of importance in administering the game.More importantly, the need of the hour for the MCA is to integrate at all levels. Till very recently, Mumbai has had a long tradition of former cricketers watching games from sidelines on the maidans and giving valuable advice to youngsters. Somehow, the trend has been missing over the last few years.”The need is to involve passionate former cricketers who have got nothing to do with club cricket. They shouldn’t be associated with any office or club lobbies so they come in with neutral views,” says former Mumbai captain Amol Muzumdar.Feeder lines alternate to age-group systemsWhile inter-school cricket has traditionally been the first line of supply to Mumbai’s rich legacy of producing international cricketers, inter-college tournaments have served as the platform to hone skills for talented cricketers. Of late, though, both have suffered due to various problems.”With cricket having spread to remote suburbs like Palghar, Dahanu and Badlapur, Ambarnath (all of which are more than 100kms from south Mumbai), the traditional Harris and Giles shield tournaments are not providing necessary platforms to spot talent. After all, both these inter-school tournaments are restricted to schools that are in the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation,” says Vengsarkar, who was elected as a vice-president for the fifth time.As for the schools that participate in the Harris and Giles Shield, the most rampant problem has been of overage players. Age-fudging results in getting laurels to a select few schools year after year, and overage players end up overshadowing promising cricketers, many of whom give up the game even before blooming as cricketers.”If overage thing is ruining school cricket, put in place a system that would bar it. Or have an alternative, like playing the Harris and Giles matches on the same day so that it would put considerable brakes on the age-fudging problems,” says Muzumdar.Making optimum use of infrastructureThe MCA’s academy at the Bandra-Kurla Complex is one of the plushest facilities, indoor and outdoor. Same is the case with the new club house in Kandivali. But over the last couple of years, the academy at BKC has resulted into a dormant facility, with want of quality coaches.”It’s a dummy academy. Yes, it’s a world-class academy in terms of infrastructure but if it’s not run efficiently, there’s no use of it,” Muzumdar observes. “For that, a good thought process needs to go in it. Otherwise it will just be one more academy. Let’s hope quality coaches are roped in to achieve the primary objective of setting up the academy, which is to produce cricketers.”Making the tournament structure more competitiveDuring their topsy-turvy 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season, Mumbai used a whopping 25 players, nine of whom made their first-class debuts. More than half of those debutants were exposed as they never appeared to be ready for the format. It was in stark contrast to Mumbai’s history to have a second rung of players ready to push those in the first XI.It is primarily due to the lack of a tournament structure that focusses only on quantity rather than quality. Two years ago, the ruling MCA regime drastically changed the club tournament structure, which resulted in the Kanga League, that used to test the batsmen’s technique, but it has lost its charm for being the only monsoon tournament in India.Though the revised structure has given more opportunities to cricketers to pile on the numbers, it has created confusion about what exactly is the selection tournament for the senior team. “Please restore Kanga League. Club cricket is the lifeline of Mumbai cricket,” Muzumdar pleads.Similarly, Vengsarkar had proposed a T20 franchise league, towards the end of his eight-year stint as vice-president, to give more opportunities to fringe players. The proposal had resulted into a Corporate Twenty20 tournament, which has also been stalled for the last few years.”If the corporate tournament is revived, it will not only help us create a bigger bench strength but may also help cricketers getting employment even in private sector. That coupled with a restructured college tournament can give us two additional options for fringe players to make a case for senior team selection,” Vengsarkar says.Women’s cricket and communication wingWomen’s cricket has largely been ignored by all the BCCI member units and MCA is no exception. But with a steady stream of Mumbai cricketers into the national team, it’s high time the MCA comes up with infrastructure and tournament structure for women. President Sharad Pawar’s announcement of creating a provision for female representation on the managing committee is a welcome move, to begin with.And equally important for the MCA is to improve its communication world. In the era of cyber age, MCA’s website wears an ancient look. Statistics and records are outdated and it’s not at all a user-friendly portal.Combining both the factors, Muzumdar sums up aptly: “It’s time for Mumbai cricket to be trendsetters like yesteryears. Be it in any walk of the game, Mumbai has set the trend and the rest of the Indian cricket fraternity has followed them. If we can do it early, it would put Mumbai cricket back to where it has belonged.”

Tasmanian cricket’s chairman Tony Harrison has scoffed at the suggestion that Hobart might be in any danger of losing its share of Australia’s home Test matches

Daniel Brettig at Bellerive Oval16-Dec-2012Tasmanian cricket’s chairman Tony Harrison has scoffed at the suggestion that Hobart might be in any danger of losing its share of Australia’s home Test matches. He also proffered a slogan in response to media criticism that seems likely to end up on a bumper sticker: “If you don’t like Tasmania, don’t come here.”Granted the opening match of the series in mid-December before the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, Bellerive Oval has been host to attendances of just 6221 on day one, 3810 on day two and 4388 on day three. This is against Cricket Tasmania’s budget estimates of around 9000 on the first day and about 7000 on each of Saturday and Sunday.Harrison admitted that 23 years after hosting its first Test, also against Sri Lanka in 1989, Tasmania was still to develop a strong “Test match culture”, something not helped by the five-day game only making periodic visits to the island state’s capital.Among various mitigating circumstances for the slim turnouts, Harrison cited the fixture’s close proximity to Christmas, ticket prices that outstripped those on offer for popular Twenty20 BBL matches at the ground, and Hobart’s changeable weather, which was overcast on day one and caused rain breaks on each of days two and three. By way of a concession, Harrison said general admission tickets for Monday’s fourth day would allow the bearer to sit in the southern stand, rather than simply to stand on the hill.However he flatly rejected any potential for the state losing its share of Australia’s home Test matches, typically receiving the sixth match of the summer when two touring teams make the journey down under.”I think that’s a ridiculous suggestion quite frankly,” Harrison said. “I’ve heard that said, and that is nonsense. We are one of the owners of Cricket Australia and CA has a philosophy in its programming to spread the game around the country, and Test matches [in Hobart] are not in question, not in doubt.”There are no guarantees, we don’t know what the programme will look like in three, four, five years’ time. But at the moment our philosophy is to share the game around the country, to give people around the country the opportunity to see Test cricket. Our job as Cricket Tasmania with CA is to promote the game and get more people to come along to it. That’s problematic when you get a fixture so close to Christmas and the weather interferes.”Another issue for Tasmania and Western Australia in particular is the lack of a set position in the calendar for their Test matches. While residents of Melbourne and Sydney know instinctively when to clear room in their calendar for the annual Test, other states have less certainty, something commonly reflected in oscillating crowds depending on the time of year and the touring team.”We can’t always be certain when teams will come and play, but one year we’ve got a Test match in the second week in November, and the next week it’s the third week in December,” he said. “So it’s not like Sydney and Melbourne where on Boxing Day you know its the Test, doesn’t matter who plays, and it’s an event. Similarly in Sydney you have the New Year’s Test.”Adelaide doesn’t have it always, Perth doesn’t have it, Brisbane gets the first Test of the summer but dates vary … so that’s an issue too. We need to develop a Test match culture.”As for some unkind depictions of Tasmania on the ABC radio broadcast beamed live around Australia, Harrison was pugnacious. Happy with how the local media had promoted the fixture, he more or less raised the drawbridge to those not expressing great enthusiasm for being in Hobart.”I should pay tribute to the local media because I don’t think the promotion could have done anymore,” Harrison said. “But I’m a bit disappointed at some of the comments I’ve heard on the radio in the last two days, not only critical of the crowds, but they’re critical of Tasmania. What I’d say to the commentators who do that, if you don’t like Tasmania, don’t come here.”Unless Tasmania can find a way of developing a greater affinity for Test matches, there remains a chance that in future years they won’t have to.

Michael Hussey’s Twenty20 Champions League duty for Chennai Super Kings has ruled him out of Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield opener, against Tasmania at the WACA ground

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2011Michael Hussey’s Twenty20 Champions League duty for Chennai Super Kings has ruled him out of Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield opener, against Tasmania at the WACA ground from Tuesday.Having been the undisputed man of the series for Australia against Sri Lanka in September, plucking the match award in all three Tests, Hussey flew direct from Sri Lanka to India for the CLT20, and then back to Perth in time to train with the Warriors ahead of their first domestic fixture.However the national selectors have decided to withdraw Hussey from the match, allowing him time to rest and rejoin his family before flying off again as part of the Australia ODI squad to face South Africa. Their decision reflects the impact of the CLT20 on player schedules, for Ricky Ponting, Xavier Doherty and Mitchell Johnson, all due to fly to South Africa at the conclusion of the Shield match, will take part having missed the T20 event.Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s general manager, said the call was made with consideration to Hussey’s workload, but also his outstanding batting form of recent times. As a point of contrast, Ponting has played nine days of cricket since the start of the Sri Lanka Test series – returning home mid-series for the birth of his second child – while Hussey has been involved in 18.”The NSP took into account all the various factors in making this decision,” Brown said. “Michael was Man of the Match in all three Test matches on Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka and has just returned from the CLT20, so his recent workload has been significant. Looking at all the coming international fixtures, it was decided that it is best for Michael if he sits out this week’s Sheffield Shield fixture in Perth, in advance of his Friday night flight to South Africa.”Queensland, meanwhile, have been dealt a one-two punch on the eve of the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the Gabba, losing the captain James Hopes and young batsman Chris Lynn to injury.Hopes suffered a jarred knee in the Bulls’ limited overs victory over the Bushrangers on Sunday night, while Lynn sustained a hamstring strain. It was thought prudent to keep the duo out of the match given that another one day fixture against Tasmania in Mackay following closely on the heels of the Shield game.Chris Hartley, the Bulls’ wicketkeeper, will captain the hosts in place of Hopes, having also deputised at times last summer.The withdrawals took place on the same day that CA announced the healthcare group Bupa had signed on as the Shield’s sponsor for the next three summers. The conglomerate replaces Weetbix after its own three-year association expired.”Health, sport and physical activity are a logical mix – CA and Bupa objectives are closely aligned, with each being committed to promotion of healthy lifestyles,” James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, said. “In particular, we are both committed to promoting physical activity as an important contributor to life-long good health.”The Sheffield Shield has a rich tradition, is a critically important part of Australian cricket’s success and it is pleasing to have Bupa’s support promoting its continued success.”The company had previously been engaged by CA as the provider of health insurance for the national team.

The Supreme Court of India has asked the BCCI and Lalit Modi to reach a compromise over the impasse regarding the composition of the disciplinary committee

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2010India’s Supreme Court has asked the BCCI and Lalit Modi to reach a compromise over the composition of the disciplinary committee investigating charges levied against the former IPL chairman. In a surprising turn of events, which was sparked by a plea from Modi’s lawyer, the court said it would resume hearing the case if the parties could reach no agreement by October 27.The court also offered two suggestions for the compromise: to increase the size of the existing committee or have its three members stay away from the league’s governing council, which is authorised to look into the disciplinary committee’s report on Modi. The disciplinary committee currently comprises IPL chairman Chirayu Amin, BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scindia, the president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association.”I am hoping good sense will prevail on the BCCI and they will accept this suggestion,” Modi’s lawyer, Mehmood Abdi, told CNN-IBN.Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, however said the board had neither been asked nor ordered to reach any settlement in the matter within a deadline. He said, “At about 10.30 in the morning Mr Ram Jethmalani (Modi’s lawyer) stood up and asked to use his ‘good offices’ to settle the issue.” The BCCI’s lawyers, Manohar said, responded by saying they had no such instructions on this. The court then asked Jethmalani to use those good offices and come to an agreement by October 27. Asked whether the BCCI would enter into a discussion with Jethmalani, Manohar said, “We are always ready to listen to anyone.”Modi had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the removal of Amin and Jaitley from the disciplinary committee. Modi’s plea for the recusal of these two members, on grounds of bias against him, had been rejected by the Bombay high court in September.The BCCI’s lawyer CA Sundaram told the court that it was not feasible to reconstitute the committee. “It is not possible,” he said. “The inquiry is at an advanced stage. Many witnesses from abroad have already been examined.”The BCCI had suspended Modi immediately following the conclusion of IPL 3 in April and charged him with financial irregularities relating to the bidding process for IPL franchises, the mid-over ad sales and the sale of theatrical rights. He was also charged with colluding to set up a rebel league in England. Modi has denied all the charges and repeatedly accused BCCI president Shashank Manohar and the president-elect N Srinivasan of harbouring personal grudges against him.

Australia’s fast-bowling great has questioned whether the current batch of fast men are more interested in looking good than looking after themselves properly

Brydon Coverdale at the WACA17-Dec-2009Australia’s fast-bowling great Dennis Lillee has questioned whether the current batch of fast men are more interested in looking good than looking after themselves properly, as Australia’s injury list keeps growing. Peter Siddle was the latest member of the pace attack to be sidelined by injury when a hamstring problem ruled him out of the Perth Test.Siddle has joined Ben Hilfenhaus (knee tendonitis), Brett Lee (elbow), Stuart Clark (back) and Nathan Bracken (knee) on the casualty list, which has left Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson as the only Cricket Australia fast bowlers fit and available for Test cricket. Lillee, who was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame at the WACA on Thursday, said his observations led him to wonder if the bowlers were training appropriately.”I think there’s more soft-tissue injuries now,” Lillee said. “You’re getting groins and elbows and I think a lot of it is the amount of cricket that’s played, and I’m not sure that fast bowlers in particular do enough training distance-running and real heavy sprinting work. I’m not sure they do enough of that.”That’s only a gut feel – I’m not that involved in the game and I’m not a scientist and I’m not a doctor. My gut feel is that maybe a lot of the training is more about maybe looking good rather than looking after the core, which is more essential than having a nice beach look.”For the older members of the attack like Lee and Clark, the injuries have raised the serious possibility that they may not play Test cricket again. There have been questions over whether Lee could still be an effective weapon if he cut back his speed in an effort to prolong his career and Lillee, who did that himself in his later years, gave Lee hope that it might be an option.”As you get a bit older you can’t actually bowl it as quick,” Lillee said. “If you’re going to cut your speed you’ve got to have other tricks, and the other tricks are learning about the trade of fast bowling. It is an art-form.”Anyone can do that, as long as they’re prepared to work on the trade itself. You can have an extended career and not just be an outright fast bowler by moving into the next phase.”

Deal is set to make London-based club the most valuable in the Hundred

Matt Roller and Nagraj Gollapudi31-Jan-2025English cricket has landed a multi-million pound windfall after a Silicon Valley tech consortium won a bidding war with the Sanjiv Goenka-owned RPSG Group for a 49% stake in London Spirit, the Hundred team based at Lord’s.The winning bid made by the consortium, headed by Nikesh Arora of Palo Alto Networks, valued the Spirit at £295 million, more than twice the price paid by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for Oval Invincibles on Thursday. It means they will pay £144.55m for a 49% stake in the Spirit, with MCC intending to retain its position as majority shareholder.The price is more than double the floor valuation set for London Spirit based on investors’ indicative bids and represents a significant injection of funds into English cricket. The revenue raised in the sales process will be split between the 18 first-class counties, MCC and the recreational game and is designed to “future-proof” county cricket for the next 20 years. RPSG Group is understood to have quit the race at the £292 million mark.The consortium – under the name Cricket Investor Holdings Limited – includes Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Shantanu Narayen and Egon Durban, the CEOs of Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Silver Lake Management respectively, as well as Arora and Satyan Gajwani, who is one of the co-founders of the US-based Major League Cricket and vice-chairman of Times Internet, the Indian digital giant.It is understood that the consortium’s bid was spearheaded by Arora and Gajwani, after they were among the last investors to enter the race. ESPNcricinfo understands that there are 11 individuals involved in the consortium in total, five of whom are yet to be named publicly.Related

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Mark Nicholas, MCC’s chairman, told members on Friday evening: “We are delighted to have found partners who share our values and understand the power and mystique of Lord’s. We look forward to building on the happy relationship we have already established over the past few weeks.”Nicholas said that there had been “remarkable interest” from investors, and wrote: “Today’s announcement shows what we as Members have always known: our Club is special. It’s why people want to be involved with us. I hope that all Members are as proud as I am and excited at the opportunities that lie ahead.”Goenka, whose company RPSG Group run Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, was considered the favourite to buy a stake in the Spirit but was beaten in a three-hour bidding war on Friday afternoon, which lasted so long that the start time for the same process at Welsh Fire – which was later won by the owner of Washington Freedom – was delayed by an hour.Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Group pulled out of the race at a £292m valuation•Sportzpics

Avram Glazer, the co-owner of Manchester United, and Cain International, who are run by Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein, were also involved in the auction process on Friday afternoon but pulled out early on. It is thought that what one source described as “the Lord’s factor” played a significant role in the unexpectedly high price for the Spirit.The consortium will now enter into a period of exclusive negotiations with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the host venue’s owner, and complete an agreement in the eight-week window set by ECB from the completion of the final round of the bidding process. MCC has maintained throughout that it intends to retain its 51% share in the franchise.The Spirit are defending champions in the women’s Hundred, with England captain Heather Knight leading them to their inaugural title last year and India’s Deepti Sharma hitting the winning runs in the final. Their men’s team, by contrast, have only won three games in the last two Hundred seasons, and finished bottom in 2024.RPSG Group are now expected to refocus their attention to Manchester Originals next week, having held detailed meetings with Lancashire over the past nine months. RIL were also understood to be on the shortlist for the Originals but are out of the running after buying a stake in Oval Invincibles.

The top four is taking shape ahead of finals with three teams level on 14 points

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2023Adelaide Strikers 119 for 4 (Wolvaardt 47, Patterson 36*, Smith 3-16) beat Sydney Thunder 118 for 6 (Athapaththu) by six wicketsAdelaide Strikers’ bowlers were outstanding in a six-wicket win over Sydney Thunder, now in fourth on 13 points, with stylish opening batter Laura Wolvaardt leading the successful run chase at Karen Rolton Oval.Strikers have a bowling attack which boasts economy and variety and as a collective they found their groove to restrict Thunder to 118 for 6.Related