The former Australian legspinner will be joined by another old Royals hand Zubin Bharucha, who has taken over as head of cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-20181:00

Warne announces Royals arrival

Shane Warne has returned to the Rajasthan Royals franchise as its mentor ahead of the 2018 IPL season. Warne, 48, will renew his association with the side he led to a title in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. The former Australian legspinner went on to lead the Royals for the next three editions, before retiring after the 2011 season. Warne, who has mentored the side in the past, remains the Royals’ third-highest wicket-taker of all time, with 58 scalps from 56 matches.”I am very happy and excited to be back with the Rajasthan Royals, who I believe hold a very special place in my cricketing journey,” Warne was quoted as saying in the Royals website. “I am overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on me by the franchise and fans of Rajasthan Royals. We have a strong, young and energetic bunch of boys, and I am looking forward to work with them.”While Warne has worked with India batsman Ajinkya Rahane in the past, he will work with compatriot Steven Smith – the frontrunner to lead the side – for the first time in the IPL. Warne will also be joined by another old Rajasthan Royals hand Zubin Bharucha, who has now taken over as head of cricket. Bharucha and Warne had worked together during the early years of the Royals. Manoj Badale, co-owner of Royals, said bringing back Warne was a way of giving back to the fans “who have stood by us in trying times.””As we are looking to build a strong team that can be in contention for the title, we believe Warne is the right person to mentor the Rajasthan Royals,” Badale said. “Zubin has also contributed immensely to the growth of the team, and we are happy to have both back on board. We are excited and looking forward to a successful comeback.”According to the Royals website, Warne will have a “multitude” of tasks on and off the field. “His main role will be to work closely with the senior leaders in the team, particularly the captain, to ensure all areas of strategy and tactics are covered. In addition, he will be working with all the spinners to impart technical knowledge in the art of spin.”

The Australia allrounder is thrilled at the attention the women’s game has been getting over the last couple of years, and is all praise for the atmosphere she has experienced at Indian grounds

Gaurav Kalra21-Mar-20185:58

Women’s cricket has become a lot more exciting – Perry

You can tell that Ellyse Perry loves her job as a professional cricketer. She’s only 27 but has already been doing this for a decade, debuting as a not-yet-17-year old in 2007. Nothing of the grind, though, appears to have worn her down. An easy smile greets every question and Perry, the world’s pre-eminent allrounder, is relishing this era of televised games, packed stadiums, decent wages and the respect her peers get as professional sportspersons.”We’ve spoken about how it almost feels like a second career at the moment,” she tells ESPNcricinfo in Mumbai, ahead of the T20 Tri-Series also involving England and India. “We are very fortunate to have the support of Cricket Australia back home who have made our roles full-time and we are all full-time professional cricketers now who get to train every day and work really hard at our craft.”The quality of cricket being played now around Australia and around the world has just grown really rapidly and it’s just an exciting game to watch and people are really drawn to that. As a result, we are getting lots of crowds and people wanting to watch the matches on TV and a lot of interest from the media. From that point of view, it has been absolutely brilliant.”I think it was growing really solidly for the 10 years that I have been involved and before that as well, but for whatever reason things have just come into alignment in the last couple of years and there’s been a huge shift and growth in the sport. I think in a large part the ICC have done a lot to make sure that the game is built on really solid foundations but also that we’ve got a lot more to build on and grow which is exciting for the future.”Much of the impetus for women’s cricket came from the World Cup in England last year. In an unforgettable semi-final, Perry’s Australian team was demolished by India on the back of an astonishing assault from Harmanpreet Kaur. Though Perry politely sidesteps the question when asked if revenge was on their minds as they landed in India for a three-match ODI series earlier in the month, they certainly have played like a team possessed. The games in Baroda were won by eight wickets, 60 runs and 97 runs. Perry herself, as she usually does, made an impression with both bat and ball, making 127 runs and picking up four wickets with her lively medium-pace.”Certainly, in terms of the process and development of our team it has been a really important series for us and particularly in the manner that we’ve played, not just the result,” she says. “The performances across the board from so many different individuals in each match was just brilliant and really satisfying for us because it’s never easy to come to India and playing in Indian conditions so to do what we’ve done has been really great.Getty Images

“It has been amazing, looking at the amount of people that came to our matches in Baroda, the support that they were displaying for the Indian team was just brilliant. It was one of the best atmospheres I have played in front of and consistently across those three games. The Indian team are very, very good, they’ve got some exceptional players who are world class. Some senior players and also some really great youth that are up and coming and are going to be wonderful cricketers for a long period of time.”Over the next ten days, Perry and her teammates will lock horns against England and India in a tri-series of T20 matches in Mumbai. Perry believes that with the World T20 later in the year in the West Indies, the series, which she says features “arguably the three best teams in the world at the moment”, provides the opportunity for invaluable match practice and to identify personnel and tactics for the tournament.While the focus is on the limited-overs formats for now, Perry, who has played only seven Tests over her career, would like to see more long-format games played. She suggests more teams could adopt the formula used for the Women’s Ashes where the series is decided based on points accumulated across Test, ODI and T20 games. However, for now, Perry’s focus is on ensuring she can help Australia capture a fourth World T20 title in November. And, of course, build on the momentum the women’s game has gained in recent times.”I think the World Cup last year where the final was sold out was just tremendous and it has really set a very high standard for future tournaments,” she says. “Since that we have obviously seen the reception of the Indian team here and how much support they’ve now got and interest in how the girls play. Back home we had a very successful Ashes series, it drew lots of crowds and people to that event which was absolutely brilliant.”Going forward, I hope that occurs everywhere around the world, wherever we are playing, so it’s a great opportunity for the West Indies and everyone is really looking forward to this competition. From my point of view, every T20 World Cup we have played since it started, each one has got bigger and better. I think the quality of play has gone to a new level as well. So, I think it is really exciting.”

The former Australian batsman will no longer continue as a selector after his contract ends in August because of his increasing involvement in TV commentary

Daniel Brettig14-May-2018Australian cricket will soon rid itself of a major conflict of interest after Mark Waugh chose to step down as a national selector in order to commentate full-time for the pay-TV provider Fox Sports.Officially Waugh is still slated to be the selector on duty when the limited-overs team travels to England in June for a series also to be broadcast on Fox, but he will have moved on by the time the next home summer begins.Waugh, who has been a selector since May 2014, will be part of Cricket Australia’s new host broadcaster, with Fox Sports (part-owned by News Corporation) having paid the lion’s share of the A$1 billion television-rights fee sought. In return for the cash, CA has hidden two of three international formats – ODIs and Twenty20s – behind a paywall for the first time in Australian history.For the past year, Waugh has been officially designated CA’s T20 selector in addition to being on the panel to choose teams across all formats, despite concurrently commentating for the Ten Network on its successful coverage of the Big Bash League (BBL). Ten’s loss of the rights to the BBL, alongside Nine’s forfeiture of the rights to international cricket for the first time in 40 years, has led to a feeding frenzy for commentary positions at Fox and also Seven, which will show Test matches and some BBL games on free-to-air television as part of a sub-licensing deal.Alongside the CA board director Mark Taylor while he was also commentating for Nine, Waugh’s has been the most obvious conflict on Australian television screens over the past four seasons, making for numerous awkward moments – not that Ten minded the recurring source of conversation starters. Shaun Graf, Cricket Victoria’s operations manager, said what many were thinking after Waugh offered a thinly veiled criticism of Glenn Maxwell on one broadcast by saying of D’Arcy Short: “Haven’t seen him play a reverse sweep, have we in six games? I think some of the other batsmen around the country, take note.””I know he puts himself into a little bit of a conflict of interest by being a commentator as well, [but] I don’t think that’s the forum to discuss anything like that,” Graf told SEN Radio last summer. “Maybe ‘Junior’ should concentrate on his special comments but not maybe talk as much in relation to the selection side of things.”The Olympic hockey player and respected coach Ric Charlesworth, a state cricketer for western Australia in the 1970s and ’80s, raised the issue of Waugh’s conflict in a 2016 book. Charlesworth is a mentor to the new Australian coach Justin Langer. “Another boundary that seems to have been crossed in cricket is that of selection,” Charlesworth wrote in .”One of the Australian selectors, Mark Waugh, appears on television as an expert commentator and gives opinions on form and performance… this appears an extraordinary conflict of interest. Many of the traditional boundaries are being crossed and there is increasing pressure for coaches and players to ‘come out’ of the game during the contest and sponsors, broadcasters and producers drive this behaviour.”Given to following his instincts rather than relying overly on numbers, Waugh made a mark upon the final squad-selection he has been involved in, choosing Nic Maddinson for the T20 leg of the England tour even though the former state captain had been left out of the New South Wales contract list for next season.Waugh’s signature with Fox Sports joins those of Isa Guha, Mel Jones, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey and Michael Vaughan. Seven, meanwhile, have signed Ricky Ponting. Nine’s long-time commentator Bill Lawry has declined approaches from the two networks.

The Bangladesh coach expects pitches in the Caribbean to favour quicks, and is setting up preparations for his team accordingly.

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2018Having signed with Bangladesh earlier this month, Steve Rhodes is coaching an international team for the first time and he does not want to be caught napping. The former England wicketkeeper has been scouring the web for videos of the players he will be training and the support staff he will be working with just to know what everybody looks like.There was more nuanced work to do on Wednesday, though, with Rhodes leading a camp to help prepare the players for a full tour of the West Indies starting on June 27. “Everything is new,” he said. “I don’t know too much about the players, but I’ve been checking on the internet regularly, looking them up on YouTube – as well as highlights – getting to know some faces, of the support staff as well. All a bit of a rush to be honest, but now we’re on the eve of going away to the Caribbean, and honestly that’s what I’m looking forward to doing best – which is helping support the team and improve them as cricketers.”

Tour Schedule

June 27-28: Warm-up match, Coolidge
July 4-8: First Test, North Sound
July 12-16: Second Test, Kingston
July 19: Warm-up match, Kingston
July 22: First ODI, Providence
July 26: Second ODI, Providence
July 28: Third ODI, Basseterre
August 1: First T20I, Basseterre
August 4: Second T20I, Lauderhill
August 5: Third T20I, Lauderhill

Rhodes, 54, expected West Indies to prepare pitches with pace and bounce, and said he would make Bangladesh practice accordingly. “You will have watched the Sri Lanka series. The pitches are currently bouncing, and going to potentially suit their bowlers,” he said. “My hunch is the pitches are going to be pretty similar. So we will try to incorporate our practices with bouncier, greener wickets in the three days of practice we have.”Bangladesh do play a tour match ahead of the two Tests but Rhodes felt conditions in that game may not be challenging enough. “I’m pretty sure the West Indian practice wickets will be a bit like Bangladesh wickets [without pace and bounce]. We need to make sure our batsmen, allrounders, and fast bowlers, are ready to face some quick bowling on bouncy pitches. West Indies are in a good place right now, so if that makes us an underdog, then fantastic. Let the underdog win.”That preparation will include making plans for how to face Shannon Gabriel, who took 13 for 121 against Sri Lanka in the second Test, the third-best figures by a West Indian bowler.Rhodes had signed Gabriel when he had coached Worcestershire and acknowledged that the fast bowler was in top form, but was confident the Bangladesh batsmen could do well. “Test matches, they’re not complicated,” he said. “In trying to win a Test match, you need a good start. There are ways of winning without that, but it’s not rocket science. It’s about getting out of the traps, building on getting a good score, or bowling the opposition out. Really, it’s about not letting the opposition back in the game.”Rhodes identified Mustafizur Rahman’s absence through injury as the biggest challenge for Bangladesh. “I think that there’s no going away from the fact that losing Mustafizur for the first Test, maybe the full series, will play [on our minds] daily,” he said. “But the four quicks who are going – what a wonderful opportunity for them. The depth of fast bowling is something we want to try and improve, and if the Fizz is one of four or five of those bowlers, then we’ll be in a great place. Our spinners are world class. They may not get the purchase off the wicket, but the footholes will help as the game progresses.”Rhodes has played 11 Tests and nine ODIs and is known for his talent-spotting skills. He had been in charge of Worcestershire since 2006, having played for them from 1985 to 2004, and was looking forward to applying all that he had learnt on this stint with Bangladesh.”It’s a great opportunity for me, personally,” he said. “I’ve cut my teeth in county cricket, and the England Lions programme and the England team when we came to Bangladesh. I’ve done a long apprenticeship in that place, and I’m looking forward now to the challenge of international coaching. I’ve played cricket and coached for a long time, and whatever team you’re involved in, you’re wholeheartedly, 100% putting all your efforts into winning. If that’s against England in a World Cup game – then it’s fantastic. It’s time for Steve Rhodes to become a ‘Tiger’.”

England’s centurions react to their team’s record-smashing effort in the third ODI against Australia

Andrew Miller19-Jun-2018Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales hailed “another very special day” at Trent Bridge, after capitalising on the pristine batting conditions at their favourite ground for ODI cricket and smashing England’s own record for the highest team total in one-day cricket.After being asked to bat first in the third ODI – on the grounds that Tim Paine, Australia’s captain, didn’t know what would constitute enough runs on what was self-evidently a belter of a pitch – England rampaged to a massive total of 481 for 6, beating by 37 runs the previous record of 444 for 3 that they made here against Pakistan in 2016.And Hales, who top-scored on that occasion with a (then-) England record of 171, was once again the stand-out scorer, with 147 from 92 balls, including a century from 62 deliveries. It was the ideal riposte from a batsman whose place in the side had been under scrutiny, with Ben Stokes expected to dislodge him when he returns from injury against India next month.Asked if he felt excitement or relief at his innings, Hales told Sky Sports: “I’d say a little bit of both, but more excitement. What a ground, we’ve had some great memories here as a team, chasing 380 against New Zealand, and setting another record here as well. They are great memories and today’s another very special day.””What a pitch,” Bairstow said. “It was really, really good fun out there.”Bairstow’s 139 from 92 balls was his fourth ODI hundred in his last six innings, and he admitted he couldn’t pinpoint what was making his current form so destructive.”I’ve got no idea, to be honest with you,” he said. “It’s just a case of relaxing and watching the ball. Each opposition gives you different challenges, each bowler gives you different challenges.”I mean, you look at [Billy] Stanlake, at 6ft9, compared to [Jhye] Richardson, who’s smaller and skiddier. That’s just the nature of bowlers around the world. It’s just a case of maintaining your consistency, doing your same things day after day, and keep enjoying it, and that’s what I’m doing at the moment.”Hales arrived at the crease in the 20th over, with 159 runs already on the board thanks to Jason Roy’s opening effort of 82 from 61 balls, and it was clear from the outset what his job would be.”Just keep the momentum going,” he said. “I’ve got enough experience of playing here to know it’s a good pitch and a fast scoring ground. I know it like the back of my hand, so it’s nice to come in, get off to a decent start and build a partnership with Jonny. It gave us a real platform to do something special.”England’s innings didn’t quite overhaul the overall record in ODI cricket – 491, as set last week by New Zealand’s women against Ireland – but it did at one stage look as though 500 was on the cards.”Potentially,” admitted Bairstow. “When Morgs [Eoin Morgan] got going right at the end there, it was definitely something that the lads were thinking.”It was murmured,” said Hales. “Morgs was saying if ever there’s a chance to do it, now’s the time. We just couldn’t get going at the end there with the wide slower balls, but what a day…so far.””They’ve got to come swinging, so we’ve got to be smart with our variations, and field well.”

Lancashire Thunder’s new coach believes the arrival of Indian stars Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana is good for the KSL

Annesha Ghosh21-Jul-2018The recruitment of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana to the Kia Super League (KSL) is an “endorsement” of the pair’s impressive T20 calibre. That is the verdict of former Australia vice-captain Alex Blackwell, who will be debuting in a coaching role in the third edition of the English T20 tournament.Harmanpreet, India’s T20I captain, and her deputy Mandhana will represent Lancashire Thunder and Western Storm respectively, the first Indian players to participate in the KSL. The signings have increased the buzz around the tournament, which begins on Sunday with a triple-header.”From a coach’s point of view, I don’t see much more than that we’re recruiting the best players in the world,” Blackwell, Thunder’s head coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “We want to be attracting the best players from around the world to make sure the Kia Super League is a world-class tournament. One of the highest priorities is to ensure it produces the highest-quality England players, but also to make sure it’s highly engaging for the fans.”Mandhana has also been an opponent of Blackwell in the Women’s Big Bash League, playing for Brisbane Heat in 2016. As for Harmanpreet, few have seen her big-hitting skills from closer quarters than Blackwell, who has captained her for two consecutive seasons at Sydney Thunder. It’s no surprise then that Blackwell, Australia’s most-capped female international player and an astute cricketing mind, attaches such currency to the value the signings.”I think it’s wonderful to have a diverse group of players in a tournament like this and have young players learn from this diversity, how these players go about their business,” Blackwell said. “For instance, Harmanpreet goes about her business quite differently to what I do – there’s no right or wrong. As elite cricketers or even as coaches, you accumulate knowledge from all parts of the world and to your exposure to different players. So I think the addition of Harmanpreet and Smriti will be great to both teams they are part of.”Later in the year, after the World T20, Harmanpreet will join Blackwell for her third season at Sydney Thunder. The two-year extension of Harmanpreet’s WBBL contract, on a back of her prolific debut season in 2016 and, more memorably, her match-winning 171 not-out in the World Cup semi-final last year, is further proof, according to Blackwell, of Harmanpreet’s stand-out qualities as an all-round T20 cricketer. That may have played a bigger part in Lancashire roping in Harmanpreet than Blackwell being coach.”It’s a huge endorsement, yes, to try and get Harmanpreet on. I was coach here so she may have found that appealing, but I’m not so certain, to be honest [if that was a factor]. I have been in touch with her through the process, letting her know I would love to work with her [as player and coach]. Knowing how huge an addition she could be to the team, I was keen to let her know I would love to have her here.”It’s quite remarkable how a person of such slight built can hit the ball so powerfully, and I guess it comes down to her flair and her technique. It’s lovely to watch. We’ve enjoyed the time we’ve interacted together at Sydney Thunder and I’m looking forward to working with her here in Lancashire in a slightly different capacity.”Harmanpreet is most likely to miss Thunder’s tournament opener on Sunday, due to a delay in her visa. The season, however, presents her with an opportunity to bring the focus back on her cricket in the wake of a tumultuous time back home. For Thunder, it’s a chance to improve on their last-place finish in both editions of the six-team competition; for Blackwell, to make the most of an offer that came about through her final game for the NSW Breakers, where she captained the state side to the title against Western Australia.”I think it was a case of right place and right time for both me and the team,” Blackwell said. “At the end of my final match for NSW, our 19TH WNCL title, I was talking to [England and Lancashire seamer] Kate Cross, one of the senior players, and Nicole Bolton was heading over to play for Thunder. Theirs is a very talented team but may not have had the kind of success they had been hoping for.”I understood they were looking to bolster the resources for the team. So they were looking for an injection of new ideas maybe, I guess with someone like me, with my 17 years of experience in domestic cricket, 17 domestic titles, five world cups, having seen many successful domestic teams and led many of them.”

No jackets in the Long Room … the hottest day yet of an abnormally sweltering English summer has claimed a notable etiquette casualty

Andrew Miller26-Jul-2018The hottest day yet of an abnormally sweltering English summer claimed a notable etiquette casualty on Thursday evening, as Marylebone Cricket Club announced a relaxation of its strict dress code for members entering the Pavilion at Lord’s.Spectators attending Middlesex’s Vitality Blast match against Hampshire were informed prior to the start of the match, at 6.15pm, that there was no longer a requirement for them to wear jackets in the Long Room, due to the “abnormally warm” weather.Temperatures in London touched 34C on Thursday afternoon, with the possibility of an even hotter day to come on Friday – potentially threatening the hottest ever recorded in the country, 38.5C in August 2003.Ordinarily, Lord’s dress code for men states: “Gentlemen shall wear lounge suits or tailored jacket and trousers, shirt, tie or cravat and shoes with socks.” Women must wear: “dresses; or skirts or trousers (which may be cropped below the knee) or culottes, with blouses or smart tops, and formal shoes, boots or sandals.”However, a tweet from @homeofcricket, the official Lord’s Cricket Ground account, ahead of the match read: “Due to the abnormally warm temperatures, MCC has decided to dispense with requirement for gentlemen to wear jackets in the Pavilion and arrive wearing one. This applies to Members of MCC and Middlesex and their guests.”
It comes after India’s touring team short their ongoing warm-up match against Essex, from four days to three, for what was believed to be concerns about the parched outfield at Chelmsford, and the desire to more closely manage their workloads ahead of next week’s first Test at Edgbaston, starting on August 1.While Lord’s has long held a reputation for inflexibility when it comes to dress codes – and other codes, for that matter: it wasn’t until 1999 that women were finally admitted to the Long Room – in reality, MCC has relaxed many of its regulations in recent years.A loosening of the club’s famous egg-and-bacon tie – both literally and metaphorically – was first undertaken a decade ago by the club’s then-chief executive, the liberally minded Australian Keith Bradshaw, whose efforts to portray the club in a new light also included his championing, on MCC’s behalf, of pink-ball floodlit cricket. Further relaxations have been proposed ahead of the launch of the ECB’s new city-based competition in 2020, which, with its family-friendly remit, may involve permitting children into the pavilion.Certainly the club seems slightly less set in its ways than the other two big beasts of the British Social Season – Wimbledon, where in 2015 Lewis Hamilton was ejected from the Royal Box after an “unfortunate misunderstanding” with the dress code, and Royal Ascot, which actually beefed up its dress code this year in a bid to keep a tighter rein on spectator behaviour.”Additions to the official dress code in 2018 make socks a requirement for gentlemen,” according to the Royal Ascot style guide. “Our dress code is traditional, woven into the very fabric of our history.”There wasn’t a whole lot of tradition on display at Lord’s on Thursday night, where – as Hampshire wilted in the evening heat, losing their last nine wickets for 54 runs in a 22-run defeat – a “kiss-cam” was scouring the stands and zeroing in on amorous couples.And while they may have been unusually hot under the collar, it is not thought that the cameras lingered too long on the members at this stage of the club’s evolution.

From a tearaway fast bowler to motor racing, Mitchell Johnson can’t quite free himself from his addiction for speed

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2018Mitchell Johnson made his name as a tearaway fast bowler in cricket, but he’s gearing up for a different kind of speed now. Having retired from all forms of cricket in August this year, the 36-year old former Australia quick is set to make his motor racing debut this weekend at the Barbagello Raceway in a Formula 1000 series event.”I’ve always loved my cars, I’ve always had that passion,” Johnson told the . “For me it’s that release – it’s not quite the same as what I got with cricket but it’s a great adrenaline rush for me to get my mind off things. You’re going pretty quick, you’ve got so many technical things to think about – when you’re going to turn into the corner, braking, feeling the car. It’s been a great process – I’m starting to really enjoy it.”Johnson took a liking to motorsport following a charity event, and since then he underwent a training and development programme with Arise Racing, an outfit based in Perth that helped prepare him for the race he’ll be a part of this weekend. For Johnson, though, it’s not too different from the thrill of fast bowling, whether he’s bounding into his delivery stride, or at the other end facing it.”I faced Shoaib Akhtar when I was playing for Queensland,” he said. “He’s got this massive run-up – the first ball, I was sort of shaking there. His first ball, hit for four, it was a full toss and I ran past and said ‘please don’t hit me’. It was almost the same as the first time I was driving out here.”Johnson had retired from all international cricket following a Test series against New Zealand in 2015, finishing as the third-highest wicket-taker among Australia fast bowlers in Test cricket. With 313 wickets in 73 Tests, he’s behind only Glenn McGrath (563 wickets) and Dennis Lillee (355). He was a crucial part of the devastating 5-0 Ashes whitewash Australia inflicted on England in 2013-14, when he took 37 wickets at a stellar average of 13.97 and was named Player of the Series.It seems like his days in the fast lane aren’t quite done yet.

The batsman had incidentally opted out of England’s tour of Bangladesh in 2016, citing security reasons

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2018Alex Hales has signed up for BPL franchise Rangpur Riders for the 2018-19 season, their CEO Ishtiaque Sadeque has confirmed. Hales became Riders’ first of the two signings from outside the draft, apart from their four retained players Chris Gayle, Mashrafe Mortaza, Nazmul Islam and Mohammad Mithun.Hales’ deal with Riders is an interesting one given that he had pulled out of England’s 2016 tour of Bangladesh, citing security fear, alongside Eoin Morgan. There was some criticism of the duo especially as the tour passed off without any incidents.The BPL is scheduled to be held in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet from early January, clashing with the Big Bash League in Australia and the UAE T20x tournament.Hales, who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in this year’s IPL, will be reunited with coach Tom Moody who took Riders to their maiden BPL title last year. Riders will fill the rest of their squad during the October 25 players’ draft.While Hales does face a hearing in front of the ECB’s Cricket Disciplinary Commission in December, over his part in the incident last year that saw Ben Stokes charged with affray, he would only not be available for the BPL if any suspension was extended beyond England involvement. England are due in the Caribbean in January, but will begin their tour playing Tests.Meanwhile, Chittagong Vikings owners DBL Group confirmed earlier this week of their participation in the BPL after they had reportedly threatened to pull out of the competition. But on October 4, they announced Luke Ronchi, Sikandar Raza, Najibullah Zadran and Sunzamul Islam as their four retained players.

Fazle, who is part of Bangladesh’s ODI squad against Zimbabwe, caught Bashar’s attention when he struck two fifties in three innings during their A-tour in Ireland in August

Mohammad Isam13-Oct-2018Fazle Mahmud’s evolved batting was the main reason behind his selection in Bangladesh’s ODI squad for the three-match series against Zimbabwe, according to selector Habibul Bashar. Bashar said that Mahmud has become a far more stable batsman in the last three years, having begun as a big-hitter many years ago.Mahmud struck two fifties in three innings for Bangladesh A in Ireland in August, catching the attention of Bashar, who was the selector on tour. He also made 708 runs at an average of 47.20 in this year’s Dhaka Premier League List-A tournament, to top off a good run in the last three years in domestic cricket. Bashar said that Mahmud offers the “complete package” with his left-arm spin, fitness and fielding, apart from his batting.”He’s had an interesting career,” Bashar said. “[Fazle Mahmud] Rabbi was in the high-performance squad about five or six years ago as a promising player. But then he lost his form. He has been in the runs again in the last three years, and there is a noticeable change in his overall game. He batted well in the A team tours. He is slightly on the older side, which we see less of when players get their first call-up. But he is a fit cricketer. We needed a batsman and although he is not like Shakib, he bowls a bit.”He started as a flamboyant, aggressive batsman in his early days, but I have noticed in the Ireland tour that he can bat according to the team’s needs. He rotates the strike, but he still has the big shots. He is now a complete batsman, which had a big influence in his selection. He is also a good fielder and bowls spin, a complete package.”Mohammad Saifuddin, the other new inclusion in the ODI side was a slightly more experimental pick, according to Bashar, as the Bangladesh thinktank wanted a bowling allrounder lower down the order. Despite the presence of Ariful Haque in the current side, Saifuddin is more likely to get the spot because of his bowling ability.”We have been looking for a bowling allrounder at No. 7 in the Zimbabwe ODI series,” Bashar said. “[Soumya Sarkar and Ariful] are batting allrounders. We expect batting first from them, and then bowling. We picked Saifuddin because he is a bowler who can contribute with the bat.”Over the years Ariful focused on batting although he came on to the scene as a bowling allrounder. Currently, we can’t expect him to bowl 10 overs. He has played as a batting allrounder, but we want someone who can bowl 10 overs and bat well too.”Bashar also said that Mominul Haque, one of three batsmen to be dropped after the Asia Cup, should not let thoughts of a permanent ODI place affect his Test batting. Mominul and Soumya made 14 and 33 runs in two matches respectively, while Mosaddek Hossain could muster only 39 runs in three outings. Mosaddek had replaced Sabbir Rahman at No. 7 while Soumya – and Imrul Kayes – were included midway through the Asia Cup by BCB president Nazmul Hassan after openers Liton Das and Nazmul Hossain Shanto failed on three occasions.Mominul, who earlier this year became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score hundreds in both innings of a Test match, earned his place in the Asia Cup squad through his 182 in a List-A game against Ireland A in August. Bashar feels Mominul is shifting his mindset towards the shorter format.”It would have been great had Mominul been in the runs,” Bashar said. “I have noticed that his batting has changed quite a lot recently. I am not sure whether his ODI-minded batting will affect him in Tests. If it happens, it certainly wouldn’t be desirable. We haven’t seen him do well in Tests in recent months, although he is one of our most important Test players. We need him in that format more than we need him in ODIs.”Bashar stated said that Mominul was still “unlucky” to miss out on the ODI squad where the focus was also on seeing how some of the fringe players fared at the highest level. “I feel bad for Mominul who was unlucky to miss out on selection,” Bashar said. “His ODI career is far from over. We basically had to see some other cricketers, and this is our best opportunity ahead of series against West Indies and New Zealand and the World Cup.”He had two knocks in the Asia Cup, which I feel isn’t enough for a batsman. It would have been beneficial for him had he made runs but since he couldn’t and we needed to see some new players, we had to drop him.”Bashar, however, was far less sympathetic towards Mosaddek. “We are not happy with Mosaddek’s form. He hasn’t been able to bat functionally. We are giving him a break, and we hope he returns among runs in domestic cricket.”