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Ish Sodhi, who played three games, found dip, drift and turn to pick up nine wickets, including the second-best figures in the competition’s history, and the best since 2012

Will Macpherson in Sydney18-Jan-2017Ish Sodhi, the New Zealand legspinner, said his career-best 6 for 11 in T20s that knocked defending BBL champions Sydney Thunder out of contention has rejuvenated his love for the game.Sodhi who played three games for Adelaide Strikers found dip, drift and turn to pick up nine wickets, including the second-best figures in the competition’s history, and the best since 2012. He admitted, however, just a few weeks ago, he had “faced a few setbacks at home” and “wasn’t in the form I wanted to be in”.”The boys have rejuvenated my love for the game,” he said. “On the field and off it, just the conversations I had with guys like Brad Hodge. Today I got to meet one of my heroes growing up, Stuart McGill, and you can’t put a price on that. I will take some great experiences back home with me and hopefully I can impact some of my team-mates.”I had faced a few setbacks at home, and I wasn’t in the form I wanted to be in. I got it back in the T20s for New Zealand and I’m glad that I have transferred it to performances in the BBL. I don’t know if I’ll be back next year – it’s quite unfortunate that our seasons clash so heavily. I love it here though – if I get the chance again, if it is next year or five years time, I’ll be happy.”After a mixed showing for Northern Districts in New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition, he was recalled for the final two T20Is against Bangladesh this month. He picked up five wickets before joining Strikers as an overseas replacement for England’s injured Chris Jordan.He eventually filled the role vacated by Adil Rashid, who has been on international duty. Rashid’s absence has been a major factor in Strikers being the first side to fall out of finals contention this season. Despite his best performance in the shortest format till date, Sodhi was critical of his first over because he went wicketless.”If I’m really harsh on myself, I probably took a little time to adjust to the conditions. In the first over, I bowled like I was at the MCG or Adelaide Oval – a little flatter and into the deck so I could spin it on,” he said. “But there was more in the surface for me – I should have used it from ball one. I got going in the second over and it worked out really well for me.”Of his meeting with MacGill, he said: “He spoke a lot about repetition. Growing up, if you liked legspin, you loved watching MacGill bowl, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, those guys. Just to sit down with him was inspiring. He didn’t have to say much – he did tell me a lot, which was great – but just being in his presence was amazing.”He’s a guy who gave me something to look up to when I was younger and something to look forward to. He taught me a lot and hopefully I can continue to make him proud.”

Pakistan batsman Younis Khan will bring the curtains down on his ODI career after the first match against England at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2015Pakistan batsman Younis Khan will bring the curtains down on his ODI career after the first match against England at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.Younis, 37, played 264 matches in an ODI career that spanned 15 years. With 7240 runs, Younis is currently sixth on the list of highest run-getters for Pakistan in ODIs. Earlier this month, he overtook Javed Miandad’s record to become Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in Tests.Overall, Younis scored seven hundreds and 48 fifties at an average of 31.34, but had been on the fringes of the limited-overs side in recent months; he managed just one century since 2008, against New Zealand last December.”I am really pleased to announce that today I am retiring from ODI cricket after deliberation with my family, wife, and close friends,” Younis said. “I feel satisfied and grateful to almighty for showering numerous blessings on me. It is one of the his great blessings that I, by my own will, have taken this decision to retire from ODI cricket after having retired from T20 cricket already.”Explaining his decision, Younis said that he had to be honest with himself while contemplating his ODI future. “During my 15-year long association with ODI cricket, I always tried my best to play positive cricket for my team both as captain and as a player. But now I feel that the time has come when I should call it a day from one-day cricket,” Younis, who captained Pakistan in two stints, first in 2005-06 and later in 2009, said. “I hope that our young players will exhibit the same passion with which I played my game with strict adherence to discipline and fitness.”I would like to thank the PCB, selection committee and my fellow players who always respected and encouraged me. It is difficult to bid adieu to one-day format, but I believe in being sincere and honest with myself as well as with my profession. Pakistan cricket has a bright future ahead. We have been the champions in this game once and I believe we have all necessary ingredients to become champions once again.”While Younis has been in fine form in Test cricket, scoring eight hundreds from his last 15 matches at an average of 68.68, his records in ODI were less impressive. Last year, after being dropped from the ODI squad for the home series against Australia, a hurt Younis lashed out at the PCB, challenging the board to build a team without him in the mix. Despite being out of favour in ODIs at the time, Younis eventually returned to the squad for the home series against New Zealand, and was also included in the team’s World Cup squad. He however had a tournament to forget, scoring just 43 runs from three matches and was eventually axed from the line-up.Younis’ ODI retirement leaves him as an active international cricketer in just Tests. He had retired from Twenty20 Internationals after leading Pakistan to the World T20 title in 2009 in England, their first trophy on the global stage since the 1992 World Cup win.

The match had almost all the ingredients of an absorbing Twenty20 match

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran27-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShane Watson gathered pace towards the end to finish unbeaten on 98•BCCI

The match had almost all the ingredients of an absorbing Twenty20 contest. Sunrisers Hyderabad lost their top order in a cycle-stand collapse, before Darren Sammy led a lower-order revival to push the score to 144. On a pitch assisting the seamers, Rajasthan Royals had to deal with a testing opening period of swing and seam, which the experienced duo of Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson negotiated. Watson, coming off a century in Chennai, paced his innings and powered Royals home with a blistering unbeaten 98.Watson wasn’t the only Australian making waves at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. James Faulkner demolished the Sunrisers’ top order during a five-wicket haul, the first of IPL 2013. Faulkner and the innocuous Ajit Chandila reduced Sunrisers to 29 for 6, raising expectations of early finish. The top six registered scores of 2,0,4,4,6,4 – leaving much responsibility on Sammy.Kumar Sangakkara had dropped himself for three games owing to his indifferent form, but his return made no difference as he joined the early procession of wickets. After Akshath Reddy fell off a leading edge against Chandila, Sangakkara chased a wide delivery from Faulkner and edged to second slip for 4.Though the pitch gave a lot of assistance to the seamers in terms of movement and bounce, the shot selection by the Sunrisers was poor. Shikhar Dhawan slashed straight to backward point and Karan Sharma, walking in unexpectedly at No.5 – just as Amit Mishra did in Chennai – succumbed to the pressure of needing quick runs by top edging Faulkner to fine leg. Thisara Perera perished to a one-handed slog down to long-on before Hanuma Vihari gloved Kevon Cooper down the leg side. It was the first time Royals had managed so many wickets in the Powerplay.Sammy and Amit Mishra scripted Sunrisers’ recovery with a stand of 58. Sammy made room against the seamers to clear cover and shoveled the ball over midwicket to give the innings some impetus. He hit the first six of the innings in the 13th, a pull off Siddharth Trivedi over deep midwicket. He celebrated his fifty – his first in T20s – in unique style, pulling out a baby pacifier tied around his neck sucking at it, for his baby daughter.The seventh, eighth and ninth wickets added 115, giving the Sunrisers bowlers a fighting total to try and defend.Watson and Dravid, however, used their experience to counter the swing and prevent the loss of early wickets. Several deliveries came back into the right-hander, but Watson ensured he played the ball late, dabbing it down to third man and behind point. He did offer some chances, though. On 16, an outside edge off Perera just beat a diving Sangakkara, and another just dropped short of Sammy at slip.Royals had progressed to 53 for 1 after ten overs, with the asking rate passing nine. The partnership gathered pace in the second half of the innings, Dravid launching Royals’ march with a six over long-on. A costly Ishant Sharma over, which leaked 20, included three fours and a six by Watson. The next, off Perera, went for 15 and hastened Royals’ march to the target. Three powerful blows to deep midwicket, by Watson off Karan Sharma, sealed a clinical win.

Tickets for this year’s World Twenty20 will be as cheap as $0.25 for group games and between $2.50 and $45 for the final

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2012Tickets for this year’s World Twenty20 will be as cheap as $0.25 for group games and between $2.50 and $45 for the final. The ICC has announced the global sale of tickets for the tournament, which will be held in Sri Lanka, from today. The tickets can be bought online from the ICC’s website. The low prices are in sync with those during the World Cup 2011, which drew large local audiences to the grounds.Eight percent of the tickets available to the public are on sale now, with the remaining ones becoming available on August 1 to ensure availability closer to the event. There is a limit of six tickets that any one person can purchase for the group stage matches, and four tickets from Super Eights onwards. The tournament kickstarts with hosts Sri Lanka taking on Zimbabwe on September 18.The attractive ticket pricing for the ICC event comes after Sri Lankan as well as visiting England supporters were angered by exorbitant prices for daily tickets during the ongoing England-Sri Lanka Test series.Attendance to the group games of the women’s World Twenty20 will be free of charge. The women’s semi-finals and finals are scheduled on the same day and ground as the men’s games and the tickets for the men’s games will be valid for both.Edited by Devashish Fuloria

Daniel Vettori believes that an official window for the IPL in the sport’s annual calendar could put the country v IPL argument to rest

Sharda Ugra26-Apr-2011With the IPL once again putting to test – and with largely one-sided results – the debate of club versus country, Daniel Vettori believes that an official window for the IPL in the sport’s annual calendar could settle the argument. One alternative for smaller boards would be to then go down the path that Vettori hopes New Zealand cricket will take when signing in on the Future Tours Programme for the next few years.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo in Delhi, Vettori said the controversies such as Chris Gayle’s spat with the West Indies board, and the discussions between the Indian and Sri Lankan boards over the early release of Lankans from the IPL for the England tour, would not arise if the IPL found its way into the international calendar as well.”For me, there’s a simple solution – you create a window for the IPL and all these probems go away, all the discourse and the conversations about it stops instantly,” Vettori said. “A number of people have been talking about it for a long, long time. That would be great, otherwise people will continually be put into these situations and it’s a tough decision.”A long-standing captain of New Zealand until he stepped down following the World Cup, Vettori leads the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. He pointed out the dilemma faced by international cricketers when having to choose between country and the IPL. “Everyone wants to play for their country,” he said. “But if you understand the amount of money that’s involved and its pressures, and sometimes the lack of certainty around your place in the team, it can make it [the decision] difficult. Like I said you can take all those things away by creating a small window around the IPL.”Vettori said New Zealanders had “missed big chunks” of the IPL in the first three seasons, because the team at the time was involved in New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) previous FTP commitments, though they had largely been supportive of their players. He said NZC were looking to accommodate the IPL in their plans when the new cycle of the FTP comes around.”I think New Zealand is going to try in earnest to make sure that it [players missing out on IPL] doesn’t happen in the future and we hope so,” Vettori said. “We hope that that window is cleared out because the guys enjoy playing here and there’s financial security as well, which helps a lot.”West Indies and England have their international calendars directly overlapping with the IPL’s March-April schedule, but it is not yet certain whether the other ICC member boards would want to create their own tacit ‘windows’ when formulating their FTP arrangements in the coming months.Vettori’s position in the IPL is a unique one: he has stepped down from the New Zealand captaincy and retired from Twenty20 Internationals, but in the IPL he is leading a T20 outfit. His decision to quit Twenty20 internationals came from his desire to focus on his Test cricket. “It [retirement from T20Is] may not be a permanent thing,” he said. “At this point in time I would prefer to concentrate on Test cricket and be ready for it, we don’t actually play a lot of international Twenty20s so I’m not missing out on too much.”After captaining the team for such a long time, in some ways it is better to let the new captain find his feet without having the ex-captain in his face the whole time,” he said. “I think it will be a little bit easier for him coming in.” New Zealand are yet to name his successor with the two candidates for the job being Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor. Vettori, however, refrained from naming his choice.”My opinion is irrelvant because I don’t have any say; I’m good friends with both the guys and enjoy their captaincy styles. They’re both quite aggressive captains,” he said before correcting himself, “Well they’ve been aggressive vice-captains and I think they’ll do a really good job on the field.”The amount of time that is taken up outside of cricket and the pressures that come from there,” Vettori said, would be an “eye-opener” for the new captain. “That is always going to be the hardest thing to deal with, but they are both mature young men. So I think they will be good for New Zealand whoever they choose Ross or Brendon.”Bangalore have won two of their first six matches and Vettori has found the job of leading a team made up of a diverse group of players “probably more of a challenge” than captaining an international team. “In your national team you know everyone well, you know what to expect pretty much in a given situation,” he said. “In IPL, you are getting to know the guys all the time, you are learning all the time, as you have never seen some guys play before. You have to find out different things, so it’s probably more of a challenge captaining an IPL team than captaining an international team.”On Tuesday, Vettori will lead Bangalore against his old team the Delhi Daredevils, with both teams trying to climb up the points table. Vettori said the IPL remained “fluid” in the sense that “one man on his day” could decide games. “Your whole concept of where you are as a team changes so quickly,” Vettori said, referring to the impact of Chris Gayle’s century against Kolkata that took Bangalore up from second-last to fifth. “So if we win this next one, I think we are up to second or something like that.”Barring table-toppers like Mumbai Indians, Vettori said it still remained difficult for sides “to get a real grasp of where you are as a team, because the competition is so close”. He predicted that as the IPL drew closer to the semi-finals, there was a good chance that there would be “close to seven eight teams with something like seven wins and seven losses, or eight wins and six losses. It’s really hard to know where you are.” For the next eight hours or so, Vettori and Bangalore would just like to be on top of their game.

Steven Croft’s instinct to attack has not always served Lancashire’s best interests and there was a moment here when even the knowledge that he was his side’s last line of defence was not enough to curb his enthusiasm

Jon Culley at Old Trafford07-May-2010

ScorecardSteven Croft’s instinct to attack has not always served Lancashire’s best interests and there was a moment here when even the knowledge that he was his side’s last line of defence was not enough to curb his enthusiasm. Tea was half an hour away, Lancashire had just lost their sixth second-innings wicket with their lead only 54. One mistake by the 25-year-old allrounder and Lancashire’s tail would have been exposed to a Somerset attack with their tails up.There must have been hearts in mouths on the Lancashire balcony, then, when Mike Munday, the Somerset legspinner, fed Croft a tempting full toss and the right-hander launched it ambitiously towards the leg-side boundary. For a moment the fielder at deep midwicket eyed the shot eagerly, but to Lancashire’s relief it cleared him and the boundary.Otherwise, Croft did virtually everything right and when Somerset conceded, after spending an hour after tea trying for a seventh wicket and getting nowhere even with the new ball, that time had run out to force a result, it was to Croft’s three hours at the crease that Lancashire owed their survival.His unbeaten 66, with nine fours as well as that six, had steered Lancashire to a lead of 130, with four wickets still standing, at which point Marcus Trescothick, the Somerset captain, decided that playing out the final hour would have been a pointless exercise.And thereby ended an unexpectedly absorbing final day to a match that was robbed of 83 overs by the weather, a day which had begun with Lancashire plunged into trouble by some fine bowling by the under-rated Alfonso Thomas, who took three wickets in the morning session and another just after lunch to encourage Somerset’s belief that they might just pull off a first win of the season.Thomas, the South African allrounder, varied his length to good effect, keeping Lancashire’s batsmen on their toes with some balls aggressively dropped in short and then surprising one or two with fuller balls that swung.Lancashire negotiated the first 30 minutes or so without alarm but when Trescothick, using his bowlers intelligently, replaced Damien Wright with Thomas at the Stretford End he was rewarded with a wicket first ball as Thomas took out Luke Sutton’s middle stump.Trescothick gave Thomas the Statham End for his second spell and he enjoyed more success, nipping one back off the pitch to bowl Paul Horton. What was still a mere setback for Lancashire began to look more worrying as Thomas then had Stephen Moore bowled off a bottom edge and they could have been four down at lunch had Trescothick, diving to his left at first slip, not dropped Ashwell Prince, again off Thomas’s bowling.The miss cost nothing, as it happened. Immediately after the resumption, Thomas jammed in a short delivery to Prince that his his fellow South African tried to avoid but could not, gloving a catch to the wicketkeeper as he swayed back.With that, in effect, Lancashire were 9 for 4. Thomas took his sweater with figures of 4 for 24 from 14 overs but there was more trouble for Lancashire when Trescothick introduced Munday’s leg-spin at the Stretford End, the move bringing an instant dividend as the captain himself holding a comfortable catch at slip as Mark Chilton tried loosely to despatch Monday’s first ball.Croft lost one source of potential assistance when Kyle Hogg steered Damien Wright lazily into the hands of the wider of two gullys but, with Glen Chapple applying his experience to a dogged rearguard at the other end, Croft assuredly defended his own. Even with the new ball, Somerset could make no more inroads.

He and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored 77, added 196 for the seventh wicket, as visitors posted 565

Vishal Dikshit24-Aug-2024Mushfiqur Rahim turned the tables on Pakistan on a hot and humid fourth day in Rawalpindi with an innings of 191 by being a figure of patience, and exhibiting controlled aggression and compact technique. His 11th Test hundred was also his first against Pakistan in the format.Mushfiqur’s two century partnerships poured water on any hopes the hosts had of taking a first-innings lead at the start of the day. Riding on his knock, Bangladesh first took a sizeable lead of 117 runs by putting up 565, and then adding to Pakistan’s jitters by dismissing Saim Ayub late in the day, with the hosts still trailing by 94 runs with three sessions left in the game.Bangladesh’s opening bowlers Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud swung the ball beautifully in the ten overs Pakistan had to see through. They drew multiple edges out of which only one carried, beat the edges of the bat consistently, and bowled stifling lines to create several tense moments for Pakistan to concede only 23 runs.Mushfiqur’s century partnership with Litton Das didn’t last long on Saturday, and when he added another hundred with No. 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, it made Bangladesh only the second team with two century partnerships after the fall of the fifth wicket in a Test innings against Pakistan. Mehidy gave Mushfiqur company in a massive stand of 196 runs for the seventh wicket with his seventh Test half-century – and only his second outside Bangladesh – which first loosened Pakistan’s grip on the game, and then strengthened their own by taking a lead after lunch.Bangladesh were 316 for 5 and trailing by 132 at the start of the day, which will make Pakistan rue the chances they put down to allow a wicketless second session. Seeing that there was nothing in the pitch for the bowlers, and that Pakistan were without any frontline spinner, the visitors changed gears after a slow first hour.The only time Mushfiqur came close to getting dismissed in the first session was when Mohammad Ali trapped him in front, on 59, but a review overturned the on-field decision. Ali jagged one sharply into Mushfiqur with the help of movement off the pitch to hit him in front of leg stump. Mushfiqur, however, reviewed with success, with ball-tracking showing the ball missing leg stump. Bangladesh had started the day with all three reviews intact while Pakistan had none left in the bank.Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored 77•AFP/Getty Images

Once Litton edged one behind off Naseem Shah’s short delivery outside off which he failed to get on top of, Mushfiqur hit the pedal – especially against the spinners. Soon after Mehidy, whose technique wasn’t as compact as Mushfiqur’s in the first session, collected fours in consecutive overs off Khurram Shahzad, Mushfiqur raced from 73 to 100 in just 20 balls. He punished Shahzad for two more fours in an over – a deft steer through gully, and a punch through the covers – before also driving Shaheen Shah Afridi straight for four in the next over, to reach 88.With Bangladesh chipping away at the deficit and Pakistan desperate for wickets, Masood brought on spin from both ends with 12 minutes left for lunch, and Mushfiqur cashed in. He smote Ayub for back-to-back fours, first against the turn over midwicket and then to the long-on boundary to reach 96, and in the next over nudged one to the leg side for two to spark off animated celebrations for his hundred.In the second session, the temperature had crossed 35 degrees Celsius, Pakistan had bowled over 100 overs already, and it was going to take something extraordinary to take the remaining four wickets quickly. Mehidy looked a lot more assured after lunch, while Mushfiqur continued to play the ball late and right under his eyes to collect runs. Ali soon resorted to a short-ball plan for Mehidy by placing six fielders on the leg side, but his wayward lines failed to create opportunities, and Pakistan moved away from that tactic a bit too soon.The scant Pakistan crowd at the ground thought Mushfiqur, on 126, was finally gone when he nudged a ball from Agha Salman to square leg, but the ball actually fell just short of Saud Shakeel. Mushfiqur wasn’t deterred though; he then lofted Salman over Shakeel two balls later to bring up the century stand as Bangladesh soon took the lead, and when he reached 140, Mushfiqur had overtaken Tamim Iqbal as Bangladesh’s top-scorer in away Tests.The real chance of dismissing Mushfiqur came after he reached 150, when he tickled the ball down leg where Babar Azam put down a catch at leg slip to his left. Mehidy, meanwhile, moved along to his half-century, and in the last over before tea, Mushfiqur smacked Salman for four over extra cover and then almost for a six to the long-on boundary to further stamp Bangladesh’s authority on the day.Once Mushfiqur fell in the last session by edging Ali behind just before the third new ball was taken, Shoriful gave his side the kind of attacking and late lift Afridi had given Pakistan, with 22 runs off 14 balls, while Afridi took two of the last three wickets with the new ball to help Pakistan take 4 for 37 and wrap Bangladesh’s lower order up.Among the Pakistan bowlers, Salman toiled the most by bowling a spell of 24 overs, split by the tea break, which saw 16 overs on the trot in the second session.

New Zealand were 164 for 5 in 18.5 overs thanks to Chapman’s unbeaten 71, before the weather intervened

Danyal Rasool20-Apr-2023Match abandoned A hailstorm in April, of all things, resulted in the fourth T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand being abandoned towards the tailend of the first innings. Mark Chapman’s unbeaten 42-ball 71 had spearheaded New Zealand’s innings after an early triple-strike from Imad Wasim put the visitors on the backfoot. The recovery had seen them post their highest total of the series with seven balls still to go, as New Zealand were 164 for 5 when the weather intervened.It was quite the intervention, too. Moments after Haris Rauf deceived Rachin Ravindra in the flight in the penultimate over to send him on his way, light drizzle began to condense on the Rawalpindi grass. The next batter would never be able to get in though, with the rain intensifying almost instantly. As the players scurried off the ground, spectators rushed for cover and groundstaff hurried onto the pitch, hailstones the size of ping-pong balls were peppering Rawalpindi, the groundstaff taking protection underneath the very covers they had hastened to bring out. With the ground bedecked in white, it was almost instantly obvious no further play would be possible.That means, somewhat remarkably, that this depleted New Zealand side stretch this five-match T20I series to the final game on Monday, where a victory would level the series. That did not appear likely when the visitors suffered two thumping defeats to start off the series, but the Pindi crowd is guaranteed a live decider when the teams reconvene on the other side of the Eid break.Pakistan had opted to field first on a surface that, in New Zealand captain Tom Latham’s words “looked a belter”, at a venue that saw stratospherically high scores in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League. But Latham’s side found themselves on the backfoot early on when Imad Wasim rocked them with three quick wickets. Latham miscued one to the boundary to be the first to fall before Will Young and Daryl Mitchell were both deceived by the pace and flight, and cleaned up soon before Imad was done with his spell. He’d bowl out straightaway, his four overs leaking just 19 runs and placing Pakistan firmly on top.That began to change when Chad Bowes hit his stride, taking on the dominant role in a fourth-wicket stand with Chapman that began to shift momentum back. Shadab came in for particular punishment in his third over, and a six off him brought up a 32-ball 50 for the opener before Shaheen Afridi returned to break through.But Chapman, the best batter for the visitors this series, had begun to crank through the gears, and was purring now. Successive boundaries off Haris Rauf helped him hit his stride before he took Zaman Khan to the cleaners, plundering 18 off his over. He’d brought up a half-century by now, and sparing no Pakistan bowler. Shaheen was carved through the offside for four, before Rauf was pummelled over deep midwicket just before the rains hit.It would all be forgotten as nature had its say, but Chapman’s form remains relevant to New Zealand’s chances of snatching an unlikely series draw.

The full statement of the former Zimbabwe captain on how he was allegedly approached by corruptors in late 2019

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2022″To my friends, family, supporters and wider public.”I’ve been carrying a burden for over 2 years now that has sadly taken me to some very dark places and had a profound effect on my mental health. And I’ve only recently managed to start sharing my story with close friends and family and receive the love and support I guess I was too ashamed and frightened to seek in the first place.”This may not make for comfortable reading but I would like to make a statement regarding a finding made by the ICC, which is soon to be released.”In late October 2019, I was approached by an Indian businessman requesting that I attend India to discuss sponsorships and the potential launch of a T20 competition in Zimbabwe and was advised that I would be paid USD 15,000 to make the journey.
I can’t deny I was a little wary. But the timing was such that we hadn’t been paid for 6 months by Zimbabwe cricket and it was questionable whether Zimbabwe would be able to continue playing in the international arena. So I made the journey. The discussions took place, as he had said, and on our last night in the hotel, the businessman and his colleagues took me for a celebratory dinner.”We had drinks and during the course of the evening they openly offered me cocaine, which they themselves engaged in, and I foolishly took the bait. I’ve gone over it a million times since and still feel sick to my stomach reliving that night and how they played me.”The following morning, the same men stormed into my hotel room and showed me a video taken of me the night before doing cocaine and told me that if I did not spot fix at international matches for them, the video would be released to the public.”I was cornered. And with 6 of these individuals in my hotel room, I was scared for my own safety. I’d fallen for it. I’d willingly walked into a situation that has changed my life forever.”I was handed the USD 15,000 but was told this was now a ‘deposit’ for spot fixing and that an additional USD 20,000 would be paid once the ‘job’ was complete. I took the money so I could get on a plane and leave India. I felt I had no choice at the time because saying no was clearly not an option. All I knew was I had to get out of there.”When I returned home, the stress of what had taken place severely impacted my mental and physical health. I was a mess. I was diagnosed with shingles and prescribed strong anti-psychotic medication – amitriptyline.Related

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• Brendon Taylor says he failed drug test after his final international game in September 2021

• Brendan Taylor says he faces ICC ban for delay in reporting approach

“The ‘businessman’ wanted a return on his investment which I could not and would not give. It took me 4 months to report this offence and interaction to the ICC. I acknowledge this was too long of a time but I thought I could protect everyone and in particular, my family. I approached the ICC on my own terms and | hoped that if I explained my predicament, my genuine fear for our safety and wellbeing, that they would understand the delay.”Unfortunately, they did not, but I cannot feign ignorance in this regard. I have attended many anti-corruption seminars over the years and we know that time is of the essence when making reports.”I would like to place on record that I have never been involved in any form of match-fixing. I may be many things but I am not a cheat. My love for the beautiful game of cricket far outweighs and surpasses any threats which could be thrown my way.”As a result of approaching the ICC I attended multiple interviews and engagements and was as honest and transparent as I could be during their investigations. Inside and outside I was beating myself up and I still wish I had sought support and advice earlier for a multitude of reasons.”That being said, the ICC are taking the decision to impose a multi-year ban on my international cricketing career. I humbly accept this decision and only hope that my story will be used as a means of encouragement for cricketers to report any approaches early.”I will admit that the past two years have been incredibly challenging, both personally and professionally, and it is from absolute rock bottom that I am trying to climb out of this mess I made.”My family and friends have been incredibly supportive of me and it is clear to me now that I have a much bigger problem which for some time has needed addressing.”And so, I would also like to let you know that on Tuesday the 25th of January I am checking into a rehabilitation centre to get clean and to get my life back on track. I have to tell my story now because I know people will want to hear from me. To try and understand what led to this point. But for many weeks I will be away and trying to get better.”l owe it to myself and to my family to get clean and to put them first. I have let a substance take control of me and impair my vision, my morals and my values and it is time that I prioritise what really matters.”I also hope my story inspires someone who hears it, to get the help that they need. I had not realised that coming forward and talking would give me so much relief from the hell I have found myself in for years. Drugs and narcotics do not discriminate and it took all that I have to admit that I have a problem.”To end I need to let you know I am sorry for those I have hurt. I am sorry for those I have let down.”I would like to thank my family, my friends and my supporters for always being there. I have learnt the true meaning of loyalty.
The greatest honour that can be bestowed, is to captain and represent ones country and for this, l am eternally grateful.”I am also grateful for what this experience has taught me. I am grateful for my four beautiful children, my loving and supportive wife, my health and the clarity I now have to want to be a better version of myself.”Brendan Taylor.”

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.”