The PCB has put on hold its ongoing discussions with the Afghanistan Cricket Board regarding Afghanistan’s proposed tour of Pakistan in April, following the terrorist attack in a recreational park in Lahore on Sunday

Umar Farooq31-Mar-2016The PCB has put on hold its ongoing discussions with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) regarding Afghanistan’s proposed tour of Pakistan in April, following the terrorist attack in a recreational park in Lahore on Sunday. Kenya Women’s trip to Pakistan has also been called off amid the new wave of security concerns.Afghanistan were in talks to tour Pakistan next month for a series of three ODIs as well as a four-day game against Pakistan A. But with the blast in Gulshan-i-Iqbal park – about 15 minutes away from Gaddafi Stadium – which killed over 70 people, the tour is now in doubt. Afghanistan’s ODIs in Pakistan had been tentatively slated for the period between April 15 and May 8, with Lahore and Karachi serving as venues.Kenya Women were to have visited as part of a development programme, which would have seen them play a series of matches against a Pakistan Women developmental team.In 2011, Afghanistan became the first international team to tour Pakistan, for a series against Pakistan A, following the terror attack on the visiting Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009. They also visited frequently for conditioning camps at the National Cricket Academy facility. But now, ESPNcricinfo understands, the Pakistan government has advised against hosting the series.Pakistan successfully hosted Zimbabwe for two T20Is and three ODIs last year, with heavy security arrangements in place, but has not been able to attract any other international team since then. With the exception of that Zimbabwe tour, Pakistan has had to play all its home matches since March 2009 at neutral venues, mostly in the United Arab Emirates.

Basant Regmi’s returns of 3 for 40 and Sharad Vesawkar’s unbeaten 99-ball 50 helped Nepal seal a five-wicket win over Namibia in the ICC World Cricket League Championship fixture in Kirtipur

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Sharad Vesawkar’s patient knock helped Nepal overcome a low chase•Peter Della Penna

Left-arm spinner Basant Regmi’s 3 for 40 and Sharad Vesawkar’s unbeaten 99-ball 50 helped Nepal beat Namibia by five wickets in the ICC World Cricket League Championship fixture in Kirtipur.Namibia’s top five failed to build on their starts after Stephan Baard, the captain, opted to bat. Baard fell in the third over after hitting four fours in his 18, while his opening partner, Zane Green fell soon after, in the seventh over. Pikky Ya France and Gerhard Erasmus gave Namibia some solidity, but Regmi’s quick strikes in the middle overs triggered a collapse; they lost three wickets for seven runs to wobble at 109 for 6.Sarel Burger made a 77-ball 38 from No. 8 to help Namibia cross 150. Although Regmi came back in the end overs to remove Burger, a lower-order cameo from JJ Smit – 26 off 22 balls – helped Namibia post 195 for 9 in 50 overs.Nepal’s openers fell in successive overs after a 42-run opening stand, but Paras Khadka, the captain, drove the chase forward by hitting two fours and a six in his 21. Sarel Burger induced some panic by dismissing Khadka and Raju Rijal to leave Nepal at 90 for 4. When Rajesh Pulami was dismissed, Nepal needed 82 with five wickets in hand. But Namibia were denied by the Vesawkar-Binod Bhandari’s unbeaten 84-run stand that saw them home with 17 balls to spare.

A fine half-century on debut by Martin Guptill could not prevent cup-holders Lancashire Lightning slumping to their second successive defeat

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2016
ScorecardPhil Mustard’s flying 46 sealed the match for Durham•Getty Images

A fine half-century on debut by Martin Guptill could not prevent cup-holders Lancashire Lightning slumping to their second successive defeat when they lost to Durham Jets by six wickets in Friday’s NatWest T20 Blast game at Emirates Old Trafford.Guptill made 72 off 46 balls but the New Zealand opener’s efforts were rather eclipsed by his Jets counterpart Phil Mustard, whose 46 off 18 balls included five fours and three sixes and put his side on course to overhaul Lightning’s plainly inadequate 149 for 8.Graham Clark then took up where Mustard had left off and made 36 off 27 balls as the Jets romped home with five overs to spare.Having been asked to bat first, Lancashire Lightning’s innings got off to a poor start when they lost Alviro Petersen and Karl Brown to successive balls in Usman Arshad’s second over.Things got worse for the hosts two overs later when Arshad took his third wicket in ten balls, Jos Buttler skying the seamer on the off side only to see Paul Collingwood take a fine diving catch running back from point.That left Lancashire on 46 for 3 but Guptill and Steven Croft repaired some of the damage with a stand of 60 in eight overs, Guptill reaching his half-century off 34 balls with a single off Scott Borthwick.Guptill hit his only six when he deposited a Borthwick long hop over the rope in the 13th over and the pair brought up their fifty stand in the same over.However, instead of marking the start of an acceleration, that six was the last boundary for half a dozen overs, during which Lightning lost four wickets, three of them in the same Barry McCarthy over.The key wicket of Guptill had earlier been taken by McCarthy when the Kiwi opener pulled the Irish seamer to midwicket, where Borthwick dived backwards to take an outstanding catch. Guptill hit ten fours and a six in his innings but the other Lancashire batsmen managed just four more boundaries between them as Collingwood and Borthwick strangled the run-rate.Indeed, there were no weak links in the Jets attack. McCarthy fully deserved his figures of 3 for 23 and Arshad, who had made the vital breakthroughs in the Powerplay overs, finished with three for 30.A six from Neil Wagner helped hoist the score to 149 for 8 off their 20-over allotment but that total looked insufficient on a good pitch at Emirates Old Trafford.The modesty of Lancashire’s total and the limitations of the Lightning attack were ruthlessly exposed as Jets scored 43 runs in the first two overs of their innings, Arron Lilley conceding 23 runs off his first six deliveries and Kyle Jarvis leaking 20 off his over.Mark Stoneman fell for ten runs in the third over but Mustard was on course to equal his county’s fastest short-form fifty, which was achieved off 19 balls by John Hastings against Northamptonshire in 2014, when he skied George Edwards to Guptill at square leg.By then, though, Durham Jets were 73 for two in six overs and the later loss of Clark and Ryan Pringle’s wickets never looked likely to affect the outcome of what was a predominantly one-sided encounter.Wagner and Edwards collected a couple of wickets apiece for Lancashire, who have now lost both their T20 games this season. Michael Richardson completed the victory and finished on 34 not out.

Derbyshire are on course for their first home victory in the Championship since the end of the 2014 season after Worcestershire were routed for 164 and forced to follow-on in the Division Two match at Derby

ECB Reporters Network22-Jun-2016
ScorecardGodleman’s double century set up Derbyshire’s victory chance•Getty Images

Derbyshire are on course for their first home victory in the Championship since the end of the 2014 season after Worcestershire were routed for 164 and forced to follow-on in the Division Two match at Derby.Billy Godleman’s maiden double century and Neil Broom’s 93 carried Derbyshire to 467 for 5 declared before Ben Cotton and Tony Palladino both took four wickets.It looked a different pitch to the one Godleman scored 204 from 328 balls on as Cotton with 4 for 28 and Palladino, 4 for 32, ran through Worcestershire who were 24 for 1 in their second innings, still 279 behind.Cotton saw it thus: “When the lights are on the ball seems to go through a little bit more and I think that’s why we got a little bit more bounce out of the wicket but we don’t scientifically know why.”Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: “Today we possibly had one of those days where we didn’t apply ourselves as well as Godleman, Broom and Madsen did in the Derbyshire innings.”Consequently if that happens you lose your wickets but I don’t want to be too critical because they’ve played really well this year and scored plenty of runs and everyone is entitled to a bad day.”They were nice and fresh and had a new ball in their hand and a big score under their belts so you tend to run in with a real zest. When you have fielded for that length of time while you are probably not physically feeling tired you are mentally not as sharp as you could be and I call that batting tired.”Godleman and Broom set the tone for a day of Derbyshire domination by taking their fourth wicket stand to 155 in 36 overs with Godleman setting a county record for the highest score against Worcestershire when he passed Thomas Richardson’s unbeaten 200 at Chesterfield in 1933.Jack Shantry finally broke through to claim his 250th first-class wicket when Godleman top-edged a pull to leg slip and Broom fell for the second time in the nineties on this ground in a month when his attempt to plant Brett D’Oliveira into the new media centre landed in the hands of long-off.Derbyshire’s declaration at lunch came as no surprise but the collapse that followed did, even though the light was poor enough for the floodlights to be switched on.But that was no excuse for Worcestershire’s limp batting as Cotton and Palladino blew away the top order in the opening 10 overs of the afternoon session with five of the first six mustering only eight runs between them.D’Oliveira’s attempt to flick Cotton through midwicket was taken at short leg, Joe Clarke edged to fourth slip and skipper Daryl Mitchell had his off-stump knocked out when he shouldered arms.Alexei Kervezee was bowled off an inside edge and former Derbyshire batsman Ross Whiteley was snapped up at first slip when he aimed a big drive at Palladino.Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Ben Cox put the pitch into perspective by adding 66 in 14 overs but the return of Palladino removed any chance Worcestershire had of reaching the follow-on target of 318.Cox was trapped on the crease and after Will Davis bowled Joe Leach to claim his first Championship victim, Palladino defeated Kohler-Cadmore’s expansive drive.Matt Henry unleashed some defiant blows, including a pulled six off Davis, before he flashed at Cotton and when Ed Barnard drove Chesney Hughes to cover, Worcestershire had been bowled out in 53.1 overs.Mitchell and D’Oliveira walked out for a second time with nine overs to negotiate and Cotton removed Worcestershire’s captain for a second time when he drove loosely to gully four overs before the close.

The list of 57 candidates for the post of India coach has been cut to 21, the BCCI announced on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2016The list of 57 candidates for the post of India coach has been cut to 21, the BCCI announced on Wednesday. The next step in the process of selecting the coach will be a review of the remaining candidates by the BCCI’s cricket advisory committee, comprising former players Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. Sanjay Jagdale, who had served as BCCI secretary in the past, will act as chief co-ordinator of the committee for the duration of this process.The trimming down from 57 applicants to 21 was carried out by BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke’s office. However, if the cricket advisory committee wishes, it will be furnished with the entire list of 57 as well, the BCCI said. The committee is expected to submit its choice to Shirke by June 22.Shirke did not divulge any of the 21 names, pointing out that that would affect the committee’s work. The BCCI has not revealed any of the 57 names, but some candidates confirmed that they had applied. The prominent ones are Ravi Shastri (former India team director), Anil Kumble (former India captain), Sandeep Patil (current chairman of selectors) and Stuart Law (ex-Bangladesh coach).Among the key qualifications asked of the applicants by the BCCI was that they should have coached at the international or first-class level. It was also mentioned that “it is preferred that the candidate should be qualified through a certification/assessment program conducted by any of the Full Member countries, and currently possess such a valid certification.”*Kumble, despite his vast experience as a player and administrator, does not meet both criteria. Shirke did not want to comment on this, but said it was for the advisory committee to work out the eligibility of the shortlisted candidates. “They [panel] have the liberty to decide,” Shirke said.It is understood that a final shortlist of candidates will be asked to appear for interviews before the BCCI finalises the coach.*15.30GMT, June 15: The wording of the required qualification quoted here has been changed to reflect the BCCI’s list of criteria.

An unlikely eighth-wicket partnership of 69 between Thea Brookes and Paige Scholfield saw Loughborough Lightning come close to pulling off an amazing comeback before Lancashire Thunder completed their first win in the new Kia Super League

ECB Reporters Network03-Aug-2016Lancashire Thunder 164 for 8 (Satterthwaite 52, Dottin 42) beat Loughborough Lightning 158 (Ecclestone 3-23, Matthews 3-25) by six runs
ScorecardDeandra Dottin struck a quickfire 42 to set up Thunder’s victory•Getty Images

An unlikely eighth-wicket partnership of 69 between Thea Brookes and Paige Scholfield saw Loughborough Lightning come close to pulling off an amazing comeback before Lancashire Thunder completed their first win in the new Kia Super League.Lightning had looked dead and buried when they collapsed to 88 for 7 in the 13th over, chasing a formidable Thunder total built on a hard-hitting half-century from captain Amy Satterthwaite, made off just 30 balls.But Scholfield, with 38 off 22 balls, and Brookes (30 not out, off 22) gave the home team a real chance of victory before Thunder all-rounder Hayley Matthews (3 for 25) picked up two wickets in two balls to end the innings.”Lightning fought back superbly, and credit to them for that, and in the end it was a relief to get over the line,” said Satterthwaite. “For ourselves, we talked about being positive in our batting, and not panicking if there were a few dot balls. It’s the nature of the competition that there will be wins and losses in the group stage, every side has a lot of strengths.”Having chosen to bowl first, Loughborough saw seamer Beth Langston pick up the wicket of Matthews in her second over, finding an edge which was well held by Amy Jones diving to her right behind the stumps, but the tall left-hander Satterthwaite hit straight and hard, making the most of the short boundaries and some ragged bowling.Lamb, on 26, went down the wicket to the slow left-arm spin of Rebecca Grundy, missed, and was stumped, but Satterthwaite hit nine fours and a six before top-edging a cut at the medium pace of Sonia Odedra into the hands of Thea Brookes at short third man.The introduction of the leg-spin of South Africa’s Dane van Niekerk briefly slowed the Thunder charge, but West Indies batter Deandra Dottin accelerated the scoring rate again. A series of sweetly timed pulls and sweeps from outside off-stump saw her hit seven fours and a six before skying Perry into the hands of Lightning captain Georgia Elwiss at extra cover.Lightning picked up just a single off the first over of their reply, bowled by Matthews, and in the second saw van Niekerk, unaccountably neglecting to run her bat into the crease, given run out before scoring.Elwiss lofted Matthews for a straight six, but Devine chipped a simple catch to mid-wicket off Kate Cross. Perry went quickly, caught behind thin-edging an attempted cut at the spin of Sophie Ecclestone, and Loughborough’s last real chance of getting close to their formidable target seemed to have vanished when Elwiss was unluckily run out, stranded at the non-striker’s hand when Jones’ firm drive was deflected on to the stumps by bowler Dottin.Scholfield and Brookes thought otherwise, but Scholfield’s dismissal off the last ball of the penultimate over, bowled swinging and missing at Dottin, exposed the tail.”I’m devastated right now, but stepping back, to get within seven from the position we were in says a lot about the spirit and attitude of our team,” said Brookes.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second one-day international between England and Pakistan

The Preview by Andrew Miller26-Aug-2016

Match Facts

Saturday, August 27, Lord’s

Start time 10.30am (0930GMT)

The Big Picture

The rain that swept in for the closing stages of Wednesday’s first ODI provided an anticlimactic finale for a packed ensemble at the Ageas Bowl, but not even the weather could disguise another formidable show of all-round strength from an England one-day team that is starting to look like something really rather special.Unbeaten in ODIs this summer, ever since Liam Plunkett’s six at Trent Bridge swiped a tie in their opening game against Sri Lanka in June, England have showcased the sort of depth and balance that would be the envy of a Russian synchronised swimming team.At no stage in Pakistan’s somewhat old-school grind to 260 for 6 did they ever look like setting a total that would trouble an extraordinarily confident England line-up, and if Jason Roy’s dizzy spell was an alarming moment in an otherwise serene chase, then his brief disorientation was nothing compared to the spin that his power-packed innings had already inflicted on his opponents.England, therefore, are surely ripe for a fall. Nothing guarantees an English comeuppance more readily than the suggestion that they have finally cracked one format or another (the prosecution calls for its first witness: the fourth Test at The Oval). And if any team is capable of penetrating England’s wall of allrounders in their batting ranks, it is Pakistan with players such as Wahab Riaz or the surely-to-be-recalled Yasir Shah, whose individual bursts of brilliance can transcend mere circumstance.But even on the bowling front, the evidence from the opening ODI is that England have the edge. Mark Wood’s stunning speed on his return to action provided a point of difference that Wahab, for one, couldn’t emulate this time out, while Joe Root’s cheeky allsorts offspin – and the early wicket of Mohammad Hafeez – epitomised the confidence coursing through England’s one-day ranks. And there’s variety in their depth as well. In Adil Rashid, they possess one of the most reliable legspinners in modern one-day cricket – his new-found control, allied to an always deceptive googly, makes him extraordinarily hard to dominate.However, domination is what Pakistan may require to get back on level terms in this series. Their batting in the first match was undermined by a very untimely rain delay after 42 overs that swiped the momentum from a promising stand between Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, and arguably cost them 20-30 runs in the final reckoning. But even a total in the region of 300 might not have been sufficient to deter England’s advances.That said, there’s no knowing how unsettled England’s players will be following last night’s security briefing ahead of their forthcoming tour of Bangladesh. The tour is set to go ahead, but one or two players will surely be harbouring a few doubts about travelling in spite of the ECB’s efforts to allay their fears. They’ll need to push all such thoughts to the backs of their minds if they want to continue their upward surge.Jason Roy and Liam Plunkett head for the Lord’s nets•PA Photos

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
England WWWWT

Pakistan LWLLL

In the spotlight

If Alex Hales is enduring something of an ebb in form and fortune, then his opening partner, Jason Roy, is positively flowing at present. He put his funny turn at the Ageas Bowl down to a lack of sugar, but he could not have timed the ball any sweeter in rampaging to 65 from 56 balls, and a summer’s tally of 381 runs from 320 balls, at an average of 95.25 and a strike rate of six runs every five balls. In between whiles he has clocked up his first first-class century of the summer, for Surrey against Middlesex on this very ground three weeks ago, to drop a subtle hint that his talents and technique need not be confined to white-ball cricket forever.Mohammad Amir’s summer has been one of intermittent highs and lengthy periods of frustration. On Wednesday he watched yet another chance go down off his bowling – Sarfraz spilling a top-edge from Roy to add to the seven drops that Amir endured during the Tests. It cannot help that his every move has been scrutinised all summer long, and there’s little question that he is struggling for form in a way that he rarely experienced during his comet-like first coming as a teenager. But now, with the circus moving back to the scene of his mis-steps in 2010, he has another opportunity to charge in and let rip. If he was palpably nervous on his first return to Lord’s during the Test match, then maybe, with the emotion of that day behind him, he’ll emerge from the pavilion feeling rather more liberated by the occasion.

Team news

David Willey remains out of contention with his hand injury, but Chris Jordan would be raring to go after a successful recent spell for Sussex although Wood’s impressive comeback makes changes seem unlikely. Ben Stokes will play as a batsman once again as he continues his injury comeback, while Root’s successful spell at the Ageas Bowl means that Liam Dawson is surely superfluous as a third spinning option. If he isn’t selected, Jonny Bairstow is likely to be released for Yorkshire’s Royal London semi-final against Surrey on Sunday.England (probable) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Mark WoodYasir Shah was overlooked for the first match in favour of the greater control that Imad Wasim’s left-arm tweakers were able to impose, particular in the Powerplays. But Pakistan surely won’t be making that same mistake again. They need wickets by the bucketload if they want to keep England’s batsmen under wraps, and Yasir has a presence that cannot be under-estimated – especially after his heroics in last month’s Test win. Mohammad Amir will have to come through a fitness test after leaving the field in Southampton with a side problem.Pakistan (possible) 1 Sharjeel Khan, 2 Azhar Ali (capt), 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz/Imad Wasim, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Mohammad Amir

Pitch and conditions

There is a bit of grass at present on another typically true Lord’s pitch, which may tempt England to contemplate an extra seamer in place of Moeen Ali, whose bowling has been a bit subdued in recent weeks. But then again, the baking hot weather in London at present will surely persuade them otherwise. Another high-scoring contest seems on the cards.

Stats and trivia

• England have recently lost that winning feeling in Test cricket at Lord’s, but it’s nothing new where their one-day fortunes are concerned. They’ve been beaten in their last three ODIs at HQ, with their most recent win coming against South Africa in 2012.
• Pakistan also won their most recent ODI at Lord’s, beating England by 38 runs in an emotionally charged contest soon after the 2010 spot-fixing saga, perhaps best remembered from an altercation in the nets between Wahab and Jonathan Trott.
• Jos Buttler, who did not bat on Wednesday, still needs 22 runs for 2000 in ODIs – he has the highest strike-rate of the year (126.51) of any batsman with more than 200 runs

Quotes

“It’s tricky for us at the moment, we’ve got a game tomorrow and international cricket needs your full focus to perform well. It’s down to us to try and put those things to one side, the decision has been made by the board and now we get on with the job in hand.”
“We’re going to build a team we think can compete in a year or two’s time. The invitation is there to every player: step up or we’ll find somebody else who can step up, it’s as simple as that.”

Ben Stokes believes Marlon Samuels ‘lacks respect’ following the pair’s various confrontations over the years

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2016Ben Stokes believes Marlon Samuels “lacks respect” following the pair’s various confrontations over the years.A feisty, often angry, rivalry which began with Samuels’ saluting Stokes after a dismissal in the Grenada Test in early 2015 further escalated during the World T20 final in Kolkata earlier this year went the pair went face-to-face in the middle.Samuels would end up finishing unbeaten on 85, and earn the Man-of-the Match-award, while Carlos Braithwaite clubbed Stokes for four consecutive sixes to seal the trophy.Samuels, who was later fined 30% of his match fee for abusive language, further raised the tension in the post-match press conference by saying: “Stokes is a nervous laddie…he doesn’t learn.”In his autobiography, , which is being serialised in the , Stokes makes clear that resentment remains strong.”Marlon Samuels lacks respect. You get that if you have spent any time with him on a cricket field. Marlon’s conduct after West Indies’ victory over us in this year’s World Twenty20 final showed a total disrespect for the game.”Without removing his batting pads, Marlon walked into a press conference, sat down and placed his feet on the desk. Totally lacking manners.”It didn’t require him to give me a character assassination — bizarrely claiming I am some sort of ‘nervous laddie’ — to help me form the opinion that I do not like him one bit. I believe in the saying ‘respect the game’. I don’t think he respects the game.”Yes, he played an unbelievable innings but, because of our personal history, it stops me short of saying he’s a good player. Team players are the good players in my eyes.”Recalling how the tensions rose early in West Indies’ run chase, after they had been reduced to 14 for 3, Stokes writes:”His mannerisms got me involved with Marlon. I was at mid-off and, in my enthusiasm, found myself creeping in from my position and I noticed that Samuels, at the non-striker’s end, was walking around like the big easy. I couldn’t resist. ‘You’ve got a bit of a swagger on here, Marlon, considering you’re 14 for three,’ I said. ‘Shut the f*** up, you little bitch,’ came the reply.”It appeared Stokes would be able to have the final say, however, when he had 19 to defend off the final over to earn England their second World T20 title. But he began with a poor leg-side delivery to Brathwaite, which was swung over deep square leg, and three balls later it was all over, leaving Stokes distraught, on his knees, in the middle of Eden Gardens.”It was a numb feeling. I felt hollow,” he writes. “My England team-mates were the ones I had affected most with those four deliveries. We had gone all the way to the tournament’s final over. But in a flash, all that hard graft had come to nothing.”I knew the cameras would be all over me to see how I was holding up. I may have looked OK. That was an act. I was gutted. Do not show it, keep your head up — Joe Root had said exactly that to me more than once as I crouched motionless on the square.”In the aftermath, it was natural to question my methods. I wondered whether things might have been different had I plumped for four slower balls. The answer was no. My regret was execution, not selection.”

Usman Khawaja believes Cricket Australia’s new concussion substitute rule should be introduced in international cricket, after it was used for the first time in Friday’s Matador Cup elimination final in Sydney

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2016Usman Khawaja believes Cricket Australia’s new concussion substitute rule should be introduced in international cricket, after it was used for the first time in Friday’s Matador Cup elimination final in Sydney.New South Wales batsman Daniel Hughes was struck by a bouncer from Peter Siddle during Friday’s game and after retiring hurt and being assessed by Dr John Orchard, was ruled out of the rest of the match. Under the new rule introduced by Cricket Australia in the Matador Cup and BBL this summer, the Blues were then entitled to activate a concussion substitute.That replacement player, Nick Larkin, then officially became part of the playing XI and could have taken full part in the match – indeed, he was walking to the crease to bat when play was called off due to rain. However, the ICC has rejected the idea of using concussion substitutes in international cricket and first-class games, meaning the system will not be in place for the Sheffield Shield.”It’s a sensible rule, so yeah I would like to see it introduced [internationally],” Khawaja, who will captain Queensland in Sunday’s final against New South Wales, said. “But obviously there’s a lot of factors that go into it and I’m sure they’ll make those decisions.”It’s good that it’s taken out of the players’ hands because the players don’t want to leave and sometimes it can be dangerous. As players we’ll never [want to] get off … especially when you’re batting.”The concussion substitute was one of the recommendations that emerged from an independent review into the death of Phillip Hughes in 2014. Ed Cowan, who was batting alongside Daniel Hughes when he was struck on Friday evening, said it was time to take such decisions out of the hands of players and rely entirely on medical advice.”I certainly think any playing condition that helps to improve the safety of players, and takes concussion out of the players’ hands and into the medical experts’ hands, I think is a good thing,” Cowan said. “The game, unfortunately, has changed in the last few years.”We play a sport where the danger of the sport is now in the forefront of everybody’s mind. As long as the game is looking to progress in its playing conditions to ensure the safety of its players, then everyone is happy.””Players always want to play. Players play through all kinds of injuries; soft tissue injuries, broken bones and traditionally would have played through concussion. But we’ve gone past that and I think the players are certainly in favour of the game progressing.”Hughes is considered a chance of playing in Sunday’s decider at North Sydney Oval, but there will be no surprise inclusion of Test stars Steven Smith and David Warner for New South Wales, with the pair being rested ahead of the Test summer. Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who was Man of the Match in the elimination final, will also sit out as his workload is managed.

A round-up of the Group B matches from the third round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy matches

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2016A bonus-point victory increasingly looked a possibility for Karnataka after they ground Delhi on the second day of their Group B fixture at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Resuming on 131 for 3, Karnataka almost batted the entire day to make 414. When the last wicket fell, in what was to be the final ball of the day, they had opened up a lead of 324.Despite five of their batsmen unable to kick on after crossing fifty, their good performance with the ball on the opening day – Delhi were bowled out for 90 after S Aravind’s four-for – meant Karnataka had made enough ground to push for seven points.Karun Nair, the captain, and Kaunain Abbas, playing in just his second first-class match, put together 89 for the fifth wicket after Ishant Sharma struck in the second over of the day when he had nightwatchman Abhimanyu Mithun poking an away-swinger to the wicketkeeper. For close to a session, Delhi’s spinners were rendered ineffective on a surface that had considerably eased out as both batsmen milked singles quite comfortably.Halfway through the second session, Delhi’s bowlers had respite against the run of play when Nair and Abbas fell. Stuart Binny briefly entertained in his 32, before chipping a simple return catch to Vikas Tokas. Karnataka’s batting depth then surfaced, with Shreyas Gopal (46) and CM Gautam adding 77 for the eighth wicket. Karnataka added 47 for the last two wickets, before Varun Sood, the left-arm spinner, picked up the last wicket to finish with 4 for 80. Gautam remained unbeaten on 63.Shahbaz Nadeem’s first five-for this season helped Jharkhand nudge ahead•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shahbaz Nadeem’s 7 for 74 helped Jharkhand snatch a two-run lead over Rajasthan in Vadodara. That, after Rajasthan, in reply to Jharkhand’s 209, put together 100 for the first wicket, courtesy fifties from Manender Singh and Vineet Saxena. Nadeem scythed through the middle-order with his left-arm spin as Rajasthan lost their last seven wickets for 61. Jharkhand lost Anand Singh early, but Virat Singh’s 35 and Pratyush Singh’s 33 not out helped extend the lead to 75, with eight wickets in hand when stumps were drawn.Jaydev Shah became the first Saurashtra captain to score a double century as Maharashtra’s bowlers, who nearly conceded a lead despite scoring 600-plus against Delhi last week, were run ragged again. Jaydev (217), who has scores of 193, 64 and 0 so far this season, put on 174 for the sixth wicket with Chirag Jani (100 not out), before Saurashtra declared on 657 for 8.There were contributions from Sheldon Jackson (105) and Cheteshwar Pujara too. Pujara, returing to the domestic circuit in a bid to get match ready ahead of the Test series against England, made 93. He was the first man to be dismissed on the day, in what was to be a rare moment of cheer for Maharashtra. They ended on 18 without loss, trailing by 639.No play was possible between Vidarbha and Assam in Trivandrum because of rain and a wet outfield. Vidarbha, who chose to bat, will resume on 254 for 3, with Ganesh Satish (93) and Ravi Jangid (31) at the crease. Sanjay Ramaswamy, the opener, made 83 and shared a 131-run second-wicket stand with Ganesh to consolidate Vidarbha’s innings on the opening day.