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Former Australia coach will join up with club in February after signing two-year contract

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2024Northamptonshire have appointed former Australia coach Darren Lehmann to take charge at Wantage Road on a two-year contract.Lehmann, 54, succeeds John Sadler, who left his position as head coach in September after Northants were beaten in their Vitality Blast quarter-final. Northants were winless in the County Championship at the time, although rallied to finish fourth in Division Two.Lehmann, who had previously stepped back from some of his coaching work after suffering a heart attack in 2020, will join the club in February after working in a commentary role for ABC during the Australian summer.”Northamptonshire has a great history in our game and I am looking forward to meeting the players and learning about the club and its past and create our own history over the coming months and years,” Lehmann said.”The selling point for me is a group that wants to get better and follow their and the club’s dreams, create memories and play at the highest level possible. I will encourage this on and off the field, as well as open door policy. I’m sure we will have success and fun along the way.”Pre-season will search for the high skill levels that the group possess, and the assistant coaches will drive this until I can get there after our summer. We have excellent coaches who want nothing more than for the players to succeed on and off the field.”Lehmann played more than 100 times for Australia, later coaching them to success in the 2013-14 Ashes. He won the Big Bash League with Brisbane Heat in 2012-13, before returning to the team after his time with Australia, fulfilling the role as assistant coach for their 2023-24 title.He has a wealth of experience in England, having had a long and successful playing career with Yorkshire, later coaching the Headingley-based Northern Superchargers in the first season of the Hundred.Northamptonshire’s CEO, Ray Payne, said: “I am delighted we have been able to secure a new head coach with the history, reputation, skills and knowledge that Darren possesses. It is a real marker in the ground and demonstrates once again, the clubs desire to achieve to its highest level on the field.”From our first conversation with Darren it was clear to see his passion and excitement for the opportunity and his coaching philosophy is something that aligns well with the goals of the club.”With this appointment and David Ripley as head coach of Steelbacks Women, we believe we have strong leadership for both the men’s and women’s Northamptonshire teams and that will be the envy of others and well set for success.”I wish Darren all the best in the role and know he will have the support of the whole club and all of the supporters as we strive for promotion back to Division One of the County Championship and success in both white-ball competitions.”

Guest’s 80*, Scrimshaw’s career-best 5 for 49 and rain keep Sussex at bay after posting 402

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2023Derbyshire 212 for 3 (Guest 80*, Shipley 2-64) trail Sussex 402 (Hudson-Prentice 63*, Scrimshaw 5-49) by 190 runsAn unbeaten 80 by Derbyshire’s wicketkeeper-batter Brooke Guest frustrated Sussex on the second day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Hove.Guest, who has yet to score a century this season, came in during the third over and was still there when bad light forced the players off at 5.45pm, with his side 212 for three from 60 overs in reply to Sussex’s 402 and trailing by 190.In the context of the game, it was an important contribution from the 26-year-old who has so far shared a fourth-wicket stand of 70 with Leus du Plooy, the second-highest run-scorer in Division Two. He has contributed 32.With rain forcing the team off for an hour during the afternoon it was a frustrating day for Sussex, who have moved back into second place in the table as a result of Leicestershire’s inactivity against Glamorgan by claiming five bonus points so far, but are desperate to claim a second win of the season and enhance their promotion prospects.The hosts, dismissed earlier in the day for 402, had to be patient on a slow pitch with little sideways movement.Harry Came, having taken three boundaries off Henry Shipley in the first over of the reply, was caught at square leg off a mistimed pull in the New Zealander’s second over, but Guest and Luis Reece progressed carefully either side of lunch as Sussex employed five seamers and off-spinner Jack Carson in search of a breakthrough.Reece had his share of luck. On three a thick edge off Shipley dropped just short of third slip and then on 20 Ari Karvelas, diving forward at fine leg, couldn’t hold on to a mis-timed pull. But after adding three more runs he drove at Shipley’s away-swinger and edged to slip.Either side of an hour’s delay for rain in mid-afternoon Wayne Madsen accumulated busily and when he reached 23 he passed Denis Smith to become Derbyshire’s second highest run-scorer in all formats on 20,520. Kim Barnett’s club record of 36,212 looks safe for a while yet.But two balls after reaching fifty for the fourth time this season, Madsen was out in unlucky circumstances when a full-blooded sweep at Carson bounced off short leg Dan Ibrahim’s pads and rebounded to Karvelas, who took a simple catch in the covers.With the floodlights on and the light poor Sussex would have fancied making further inroads but Guest, who has so far faced 176 balls and hit 12 fours and a six, and du Plooy stood firm before the players went off with 22 overs not bowled.Earlier, Sussex had been dismissed for 402 with beanpole seamer George Scrimshaw picking up the last three wickets to finish with a career-best 5 for 49 as he took the 1000th five-wicket haul by a Derbyshire bowler.Karvelas was caught in the gully and Carson edged his second ball to second slip with Sussex still 20 runs short of a fourth batting point.But last man Shipley hit a six with the ball lodging on the pavilion roof to bring up the 400 before he was caught at point to give Scrimshaw his fifth wicket. Fynn Hudson-Prentice was left unbeaten on 63, his fifth half-century of the season.

Former PCB chairman appointed to board of governors by Pakistan’s Prime Minister

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2023Former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has taken a step closer to regaining the post once again after he, along with Supreme Court lawyer Mustafa Ramday, was nominated by the country’s Prime Minister to join the PCB’s board of governors.The development occurred the day after Najam Sethi, who is heading the interim management committee that runs the PCB until June 21, withdrew from the running to become the board chairman.Traditionally in Pakistan cricket, it is the Prime Minister’s appointment to the PCB board of governors who usually becomes the board chairman for a three-year term, and Ashraf is the overwhelming favourite to be elected, with the election process usually a formality.While announcing his withdrawal on Twitter, Sethi had said: “I don’t want to be a bone of contention between Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif. Such instability and uncertainty is not good for PCB. Under the circumstances I am not a candidate for Chairmanship of PCB. Good luck to all stakeholders.”Sethi’s tweet was referencing the political horse-trading over the chairman’s seat. Shehbaz Sharif is the current Prime Minister of Pakistan, and also the PCB patron. Asif Ali Zardari, a former Pakistan president with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is a prominent coalition partner in the current government, and Ashraf is thought to be his party’s man for the post.Ordinarily, the PCB chairman would be a pick of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) party. But over the last couple of weeks, the PPP has insisted that as they are the ones in charge of Pakistan sports, through the ministry for inter-provincial coordination (IPC), it maintained the right to nominate a candidate of their choosing.Ashraf’s return after a period of nine years ends – for now at least – a repeat of the tussles that had marked the tug of war between him and Sethi between 2013 and 2014. The pair were involved in a protracted legal battle for the chairmanship at the time, with the position switching hands several times. That issue was seemingly settled when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif – Shehbaz’s elder brother – finally ousted Ashraf and brought in Sethi. But after days of intense mediation between both parties, Sethi was compelled to make way for Ashraf.Sethi has been running the PCB on an interim basis since Ramiz Raja was removed as chairman, and the board’s 2019 constitution was scrapped last December. Sethi’s committee was initially given 120 days to bring back the 2014 constitution under which the PCB was run, and also reinstate the regional and department structure in domestic cricket. The committee was also given a mandate to form a board of governors and elect a chairman.That meant the dismissal of the six-team provincial model for domestic cricket which was formed with the backing of former premier Imran Khan. The domestic structure will now be based on 16 regions, marked by a return of departments. Among them, four regions and four departments are set to be given a board seat at the PCB for a term of three years.The 2014 constitution also requires the PCB to form a board of governors comprising ten members: four out of the 16 regional representatives, four representatives of services organisations, and two members directly nominated by the PCB patron.Over the last six months, Sethi’s management committee has also overseen the hiring of a predominantly overseas coaching staff for Pakistan, with former head coach Mickey Arthur appointed part-time director of cricket.One of the thornier issues that occupied Sethi during his short stint was Pakistan’s hosting of the Asia Cup and its link to Pakistan’s potential participation in the World Cup, scheduled to be held in India in October-November this year. Three days back, Sethi was talking about Pakistan’s participation at the event being subject to the approval of the Pakistan government. That will be one of the more pressing issues for Sethi’s successor to deal with.

Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and defending champions Gujarat Titans will be among the bidders

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Jan-2023At least eight of the 10 men’s IPL franchises will be bidding to own teams in the Women’s IPL. The BCCI is set to announce the winning cities along with the franchises when it opens the sealed bids on January 25.ESPNcricinfo has confirmed that Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and defending IPL champions Gujarat Titans will be submitting bids. The two remaining IPL franchises – Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants – did not confirm whether they had bought the tender document and whether they would enter the bidding for the five-team Women’s IPL, which is scheduled to be launched in March.Related

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The IPL teams are not the only entities to have bought the tender document, which the BCCI put on sale from January 3. Interested bidders have until January 13 to submit questions, with January 23 the deadline to submit the technical bids for evaluation, which the BCCI will conduct along with the Mumbai-based law firm Argus Partners.The BCCI has listed 10 Indian cities and the venues in the tender, which allows a single party to bid for more than one city. There is no base price set, and bids will be accepted for a 10-year period (2023-32).Among the eligibility criteria listed in the tender document, the BCCI has said the audited net worth of the bidder must be at least INR 1000 crore as of March 31, 2022. Consortiums or joint-ventures companies, the BCCI has said, are not eligible.How will the bids be evaluated?
The BCCI has included a key clause in the selection of the winning bid, saying it would not be “obliged to accept highest monetary offer”. This is similar to the clause the ICC had laid down when it sold media rights for women’s global events for the 2023-27 period last year. The BCCI has stated it will look at the vision bidders have towards enhancing the profile and accelerating the growth of women’s cricket in India.Listing the objectives it desired in a potential successful bidder, the BCCI said: “establishing a stable, successful, financially secure, long-term Franchise to participate in the League; ensuring the widest coverage and the widest possible audience for the League; assisting in the development of the game of women’s cricket in India at all levels; maximizing and enhancing exposure, wherever possible, for each of the official sponsors of the League; increasing and enhancing exposure for women’s cricket in India both within India and the rest of the world.”The BCCI has earmarked March as the window for the WIPL in the tender. While the BCCI has not formally announced the dates for the inaugural season, it is expected to start around March 5 and finish around March 23.

An innings clock will be introduced for the BBL, while the Power Surge is set to come into the WBBL for the first time

Alex Malcolm29-Sep-2022The BBL and WBBL will finally have a Decision Review System in place for the coming season, while the Bash Boost point and X-Factor have been scrapped with the Power Surge set to come into the WBBL for the first time.Cricket Australia announced a raft of changes to the BBL and WBBL competitions on Thursday with an innings clock also to be introduced for the BBL only. The teams will need to bowl their 20 overs inside 79 minutes, minus some allowances, or else incur a penalty of only having four fielders outside the circle for the remainder of the innings.The BBL had long hoped to have DRS in the competition to bring it in line with the major T20 leagues around the world. But an attempt to introduce it last season was scuppered by the Covid-19 pandemic, with constant state border closures and scheduling changes preventing the necessary ball-tracking technology from being installed at the various venues around Australia.Under the DRS rules, the teams will be given one unsuccessful review per innings and 15 seconds to review any decision. Reviews will be retained for a decision that remains ‘Umpire’s call’.Related

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DRS will be in place for every BBL match this coming season but only in 24 of the 59 WBBL matches because of the broadcast arrangement. Only 24 WBBL matches will be produced by the host broadcaster Channel Seven with the rest of the matches being streamed online and simulcast on Foxtel. The streamed matches will not have the necessary technology available and will be played without DRS. CA released a statement saying “the league will continue to strive towards greater DRS coverage for future WBBL seasons” with the hope that the next broadcast deal, likely to be in effect in 2024-25 will mean that all WBBL matches will be televised and have DRS.WBBL has never had a Power Surge before with Tahlia McGrath likely to be a major beneficiary•Getty Images

The WBBL will feature the Power Surge for the first time in the competition’s history, with the traditional six-over powerplay to be reduced to four overs with a two-over surge introduced. The surge will be called by the batting team in the final ten overs of the innings with just two fielders outside the circle for those two overs. The surge has been a popular introduction to the BBL in recent seasons and CA has decided to add the innovation to the WBBL despite it not being part of international cricket.The Bash Boost and the X-Factor were not as popular innovations and CA has decided to scrap both after listening to feedback from teams and fans.Teams will now return to naming a standard playing XI, with only substitute fielders and concussion substitutes available as per normal, while competition points will revert to two for a win, one for a tie or no result and zero for a loss.Big Bash Leagues General Manager Alistair Dobson was pleased that DRS could finally be introduced to the BBL and WBBL.”The league is delighted to introduce DRS to every BBL game and the 24 simulcast Weber WBBL games, in line with the very best cricket competitions in the world,” Dobson said. “Implementing DRS has been a challenging task for the BBL, which is the most logistically complex T20 league in the world. That, plus the impact of the pandemic on travel and movement, has meant the technology has not been possible to introduce until this season.”Additionally, the league is pleased with the outcomes of the wider Playing Conditions review process, with the introduction of the Power Surge to WBBL and the BBL innings clock both major wins for fans.”We retain a clear desire to innovate and drive our leagues forward but are also willing to review decisions that have not realised the intended positive impact, such as the Bash Boost point and X-Factor substitution.”The WBBL gets underway on October 13 while the BBL will commence on December 13.

He was was part of Bangladesh’s first two ODIs in 1986, in addition to featuring in the ICC Trophy in 1982 and 1986

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2022Samiur Rahman, the former Bangladesh fast bowler, has died aged 68 in Dhaka. He was suffering from brain tumor, which was diagnosed in January earlier this year.Samiur was part of Bangladesh’s first two ODIs in 1986, in addition to featuring in the ICC Trophy in 1982 and 1986. He enjoyed a more prolific career in the Dhaka Premier League, having played for Abahani, Mohammedan Sporting, Bangladesh Biman, Kalabagan Krira Chakra, Azad Boys and Brothers Union. He represented Barisal, too, in the National Cricket Championship. Notably, he also played basketball for Dhaka Spurs.After his playing career, Samiur served as an umpire and match referee. He is survived by his wife and two sons. His brother Yousuf Rahman, who is currently in the US, is also a former national cricketer.

Yasir Ali led the way with the bat, scoring 92 in the Bangladesh Emerging Team’s only innings

Mohammad Isam28-Feb-2021Tanvir Islam’s career-best match haul of 13 for 106 cleaned up the Ireland Wolves as the Bangladesh Emerging Team won by an innings and 23 runs, finishing the only four-day game of the tour on the third day. Islam, a 25-year-old left-arm spinner who had taken 19 wickets in his 11 previous first-class games, finished with figures of 8 for 51 from 28.3 overs in the Wolves’ second innings at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.The visitors were bowled out for 139, having made 151 in their first innings, as they went through yet another struggle against spin. In the first innings, Islam took 5 for 55 while captain Saif Hassan, who bowls part-time offspin, took two wickets. In the second innings, it was Islam again with the wickets while Ebadot Hossain and Hassan took one each.In between the Wolves’ two innings, the home side were bowled out for 313 with Yasir Ali top-scoring with 92. He struck eight fours and five sixes in his 115-ball knock. Bangladesh’s top three – Saif, Tanzid Hasan and Mahmudul Hasan Joy – all got out in the forties.Mark Adair and Graham Hume took three wickets each while Jonathan Garth took two wickets. Among the Wolves batsmen, only captain Harry Tector struck a fifty for the visitors, having got out for a duck in the first innings. Curtis Campher top-scored with 39 in the first dig.The two sides next take on each other in five one-day games and two T20s in Chattogram and Dhaka.

Lace becomes third young Middlesex player to join Gloucestershire in four years

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2020Gloucestershire have announced the signing of 22-year-old batsman Tom Lace with immediate effect on a three-year contract.Lace, who made 835 County Championship runs at 41.75 last year with three hundreds, becomes the third young Middlesex player to join Gloucestershire in four years, after Ryan Higgins and George Scott.He spent the majority of the 2019 season on loan at Derbyshire, topping their Championship averages and making 83, 57, 16 and 125 in his four innings against Gloucestershire.After passing a medical last week, Lace will go straight into the Gloucestershire squad for their Bob Willis Trophy match against Glamorgan on Saturday having been released from his Middlesex contract with immediate effect.”I’m delighted to have signed for Gloucestershire for the next three years,” Lace said. “I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running and helping the team to more success.”Bristol is a brilliant city and Gloucestershire is a county full of hungry and talented young players. I’m hugely grateful to everyone at the club for the opportunity to be a part of that.”Richard Dawson, Gloucestershire’s head coach, described Lace as a “very talented young batsman” with a “great work ethic”.”Last season we saw first-hand when he played for Derbyshire how good a batsman he is,” he said, “and now we look forward to him scoring runs for Gloucestershire.”Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, said: “We are sorry to see Tom leave. He is a fine young man with a bright future in the game. When Tom extended his contract, it was on the mutual understanding that if, for whatever reason, he was not playing regular first XI cricket he would be entitled to seek opportunities elsewhere. Everyone at Middlesex wishes him well for the future.”

West Indies captain understood to have agreed a deal in April ahead of Ireland tour

George Dobell in Barbados17-Jan-2019Jason Holder is set to join Northamptonshire as an overseas player for the early weeks of the 2019 season.Holder, the West Indies captain, is understood to have agreed a deal to represent the county in April ahead of West Indies’ trip to Ireland
from May 1, as part of their World Cup preparations.That means he should be available for two Championship and five One-Day Cup games. He is currently rated 10th in the ICC’s Test bowling rankings and third in their Test all-rounder rankings.Northants have previously announced that South African batsman Temba Bavuma will join them from May for around eight Championship matches, while Faheem Ashraf will join them for the T20 competition.

Chief selector Graeme Labrooy says likely to be clear picture of who is willing to travel to Pakistan by Friday

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Oct-2017Sri Lanka players who refuse to travel to Lahore will not be considered for the other two T20s in the series.The board is presently attempting to convince as many players as possible that a 24-hour trip to Pakistan would not be unsafe, but in the interim has indicated to the selectors that only those willing to travel should play in the two preceding matches in Abu Dhabi.”The understanding is that we choose the same squad for the series, in fairness to the players who have put their hands up for the Lahore match,” chief selector Graeme Labrooy said. That decision, however, came from board and sports ministry, rather than the selectors themselves.If the board sticks to this policy of picking just one squad for the series, Sri Lanka are likely to have a new captain across the three matches – Upul Tharanga has already conveyed unwillingness to play in Lahore. The series may also become an opportunity for fringe players to make their case for further selection. Already, a rough pattern appears to be emerging, where players who have had sporadic opportunities to play for Sri Lanka are more willing to go to Lahore than those who have had longer international careers.”At the moment the board is talking to each of the players individually, so the selectors don’t know exactly who is available now,” Labrooy said. “But we should know that by Friday morning. Two SLC executive committee members have been contacting the players.”The Lahore match, on October 29, will be Sri Lanka’s first in Pakistan since gunmen attacked the team bus in 2009, also in Lahore.