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Lou Vincent will be charged with fixing offences under the anti-corruption code of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament, jointly administered by the governing bodies of India, Australia and South Africa

Daniel Brettig23-May-2014Lou Vincent will be charged with fixing offences under the anti-corruption code of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament, jointly administered by the governing bodies of India, Australia and South Africa.ESPNcricinfo understands the charges will relate to Vincent’s appearances for the Auckland Aces at both the 2011 edition of the tournament, held in India, and the 2012 event in South Africa.Auckland lost both of their qualifying matches in 2011 but reached the main draw the following year, with Vincent taking part in every match.The charges, reportedly being prepared by Cricket Australia’s general manager of legal and business affairs and Champions League technical director Dean Kino, are expected to be formally laid next month after the conclusion of the IPL.They will follow the revelation that the ECB has charged Vincent and a fellow former Sussex team-mate, Naved Arif, with fixing offences for a county limited-overs match in August 2011.Vincent’s charges are the first fruit of a long-running investigation conducted jointly by the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit, in conjunction with integrity officials in England, Australia and India.Under its present code, the ACSU is not permitted to fully pursue investigations or initiate charges against players for offences related to domestic matches in any format, leaving the onus upon boards responsible for the tournaments in which alleged offences have taken place to do so.CLT20 charges against Vincent will not be formally announced, as the tournament’s anti-corruption code forbids the publication of charges or the naming of “participants” until the case has been heard by a disciplinary committee and a finding reached.This clause is in line with the anti-corruption codes of Cricket Australia, the BCCI and the ICC, which all stipulate that players are not to be officially named until the case has been concluded. The ECB’s anti-corruption code states that a name can be released when the charge has been laid.After news of the charges laid by the ECB, Vincent issued a statement through his lawyer acknowledging that further charges were likely and saying it proved he had not made any plea-bargains with the ICC.”The fact of the charges, and more are likely, dispel any notions of a plea bargain having been done as unfortunately appears to be wrongly suggested by others.”

Deandra Dottin’s second successive fifty and a four-wicket haul from offspinner Anisa Mohammed helped West Indies Women secure a 65-run win in the second ODI against New Zealand Women

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2014
ScorecardDeandra Dottin scored her second successive ODI fifty•WICB Media/Ashley AllenDeandra Dottin’s second successive fifty and a four-wicket haul from offspinner Anisa Mohammed helped West Indies Women secure a 65-run win in the second ODI against New Zealand Women and, with it, a 2-0 lead in the four-game series.The first three ODIs of the series are also a part of the ICC Women’s Championship and West Indies’ 2-0 lead has helped them establish the third position on the points table behind Australia Women and England Women.West Indies won the toss and opted to bat and their batsmen put in another strong performance, led by an opening stand of 63 between Natasha McLean and Kycia Knight. The scoring rate dipped after McLean fell in the 12th over, as Knight and Shemaine Campbelle added just 16 runs in 8.3 overs, but gradually picked up after Dottin came in to bat in the 20th over.When Campbelle departed for 27, with the score at 120 for 3 in the 33rd over, West Indies needed a push to get moving towards a big score and that momentum came from 97-run, fourth-wicket partnership between Dottin and Stafanie Taylor that came in a little more than 14 overs. Taylor contributed a 41-ball 50 to the stand, striking three fours and two sixes. Dottin, at the other end, steadily built her innings and, once Taylor was out, provided quick runs to steer West Indies to 246 for 5. Her unbeaten 82 came off 99 balls with seven fours and a six.New Zealand’s chase had been effectively nullified by the 15th over, as Shakera Salman, Taylor and Mohammed reduced the side to 56 for 5. Sophie Devine anchored the innings with a steady half-century but she found little support from the lower order as New Zealand crumbled to 181 in the 46th over. Mohammed’s fifth four-for in ODIs was well supported by Taylor, who took 2 for 21, and Shanel Daley, who finished with 2 for 25.

The Champions League sees Neymar, Mbappe and Cavani of PSG face Liverpool's Salah, Mane and Firmino – are they among the best triumvirates ever?

GettyMSN

Neymar may have broken up Barcelona's band of brothers last season when he fled to France after a shock €222 million move to Paris Saint-Germain, but the legend of the MSN partnership will live on.

With the brilliant Brazilian lining up in attack alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, the Blaugrana won the Champions League, Club World Cup and La Liga (twice), tearing defences to shreds with their incredible pace, skill and movement

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While MSN was forming at Camp Nou, Real Madrid saw their own attacking triumvirate become an institution within the Spanish capital.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has since moved to Juventus, was the undisputed star of the show but the addition of Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema added more blistering pace, power and, of course, goals to a forward line that fired the Blancos to four Champions League triumphs in five years.

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Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini formed a formidable defence in front of legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as Juventus set about re-establishing themselves as a major European force.

Together, the BBC provided the foundation on which the Bianconeri's resurgence was founded, helping the Old Lady win six successive Scudetti before Bonucci departed for AC Milan last year only to return this summer.

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GettyAC Milan's Dutch gold

The arrival of Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit at San Siro in 1987 proved instrumental in AC Milan winning a first Serie A title in nine years, but the signing of Frank Rijkaard propelled the Rossoneri to glory on a world stage.

The Dutch trio became the stars of Arrigo Sacchi's wonderful team, helping the Italian outfit win two European Cups and two Club World Cup crowns.

Faf du Plessis will take no part in South Africa’s final group stage match at the World T20, against England on Saturday, after he was suspended due to South Africa’s slow over-rate

Firdose Moonda28-Mar-2014Faf du Plessis will take no part in South Africa’s final group stage match at the World T20, against England on Saturday, after he was suspended due to South Africa’s slow over-rate against Netherlands.It was their second sanction of the tournament. Du Plessis and the South African team were fined after their second group match against New Zealand in which they were deemed to be two overs short of the target. Du Plessis had to cough up 40% of his match fee with the rest of the team giving up 20% each and the captain was aware that if he used up too much time again, he would be forced to miss a match.Against Netherlands, South Africa were found to be one overs behind the rate. South Africa defended totals on both occasions and used up time setting fields towards the end of the innings.AB de Villiers will lead the team against England in his absence with the extra batsman in the squad, Farhaan Behardien will bat in the middle-order with JP Duminy likely to move up to du Plessis No.3 spot.Du Plessis, who pleaded guilty, became the second player banned on Friday after Sri Lanka’s captain Dinesh Chandimal was handed the same punishment for his team’s over-rate against England. Meanwhile, England’s captain Stuart Broad is flirting with the same – he was fined for a first offence and knows he is one more punishment away from a suspension.This is not the first time South Africa have been without a first-choice captain for an over-rate offence. De Villiers was suspended for two ODIs in a series against New Zealand in early 2013.De Villiers has had to step in twice during the group stage of the World T20. He led South Africa in their opener against Sri Lanka because du Plessis was nursing a hamstring injury. South Africa lost that match but won both the games that followed to leave them a victory away from a semi-final spot. If South Africa beat England on Saturday, they will be through to the final four.

Former BCCI President Shashank Manohar has said he was “disillusioned” by the happenings at the BCCI’s emergent working committee meeting on Sunday

Sharda Ugra21-Apr-2014Former BCCI President Shashank Manohar has said he was “disillusioned” by the happenings at the BCCI’s emergent working committee meeting on Sunday, which picked a three-member panel to investigate the IPL corruption scandal as directed by India’s Supreme Court. Manohar, who served as BCCI president from to 2008-2011, attended the meeting as a special nominee of the Vidarbha Cricket Association, which is a member of the BCCI working committee.Manohar told ESPNcricinfo he had gone to the meeting “with a particular purpose, to help handle this crisis. The Board’s reputation is the lowest that it has been in the 80 years since it was founded. The situation needed to be cleaned up.”Manohar would say no more about the meeting, at which the names of RK Raghavan, JN Patel and Ravi Shastri were picked for the BCCI panel to be presented to the Supreme Court for its next hearing on Tuesday. The BCCI is yet to officially announce the names, however, with BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel saying they could not be revealed “considering the sanctity of the court.”Manohar has been critical of how the BCCI has handled the IPL case, saying on Friday that “nothing has moved in the last one year” because the Board lacked leaders to take on Srinivasan “who is shamelessly and stubbornly sticking to his chair.”It is understood that in addition to Raghavan, Patel and Shastri, four more names were discussed: former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Justice Mukul Mudgal, who headed the Court-appointed committee to look into the IPL 2013 corruption scandal, L Nageshwar Rao, the additional solicitor general of India who was also part of the Mudgal committee and BCCI interim president Shivlal Yadav. While the names of Patel, Shastri and Raghavan were brought to vote, those of Mudgal and/or Rao and Chatterjee were not. There is some discrepancy over the number of people – either 11 or 14 – who supported Raghavan’s name at the meeting, where all proceedings were recorded in audio.The selection of both Raghavan and Shastri can be questioned for separate reasons. Raghavan, who headed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) during the match-fixing inquiry in 2000, was one of the 52 people who deposed before the Mudgal committee. Should he be a part of the BCCI-nominated panel to look into the case, he will have gone from being witness to judge in the same case. Shastri is a paid employee of the BCCI, in his capacity as commentator. He is also a member of the governing council and – according to the website on Monday morning – part of two of the IPL’s four committees, and will personally know most of the individuals who are to be investigated, including BCCI president N Srinivasan.In order to explain Shastri’s contentious inclusion, Patel had said that the Bombay High Court, in an order in 2013, had said any BCCI probe committee needed to include one member from the Code of Behaviour committee under the IPL Operational Rules. The last BCCI-appointed panel to look into the IPL corruption scandal was declared illegal by the Bombay High Court, with differing explanations about its formation.Last week, the two-judge Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice AK Patnaik and FM Ibrahim Kalifullah, asked the BCCI to revert with “constructive, corrective” measures with regard to how it can ensure a free and fair probe. The court said it did not want to infringe on the “institutional autonomy” of the BCCI by ordering an independent probe and said: “We are not inclined to do it [hand the case over to the CBI]… But if we are compelled we will do it.”The case dates back to June 2013 when the Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma raised charges of conflict of interest in the formation of BCCI’s two-member inquiry panel into the IPL corruption issue. After the Bombay High Court declared the panel illegal, the BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order; with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.The Supreme Court then appointed a three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal, and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Nilay Dutta, in October 2013, to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players. The committee had submitted its findings to the court on February 10.

Nasir Hossain’s dismissal left the Bangladesh dressing room incensed as they felt the batsman was erroneously given out caught behind by umpire Paul Reiffel

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong06-Feb-2014Bangladesh plagued by injuries

Bangladesh have a string of injuries that could affect them in the course of the ongoing Test. The biggest difficulty is likely to be behind the stumps as captain Mushfiqur Rahim will take the field but not as wicketkeeper.
Imrul Kayes has multiple injuries. He pulled his hamstring on the final ball of his innings, had hurt his groin and suffered a blow to his back on the second day. Abdur Razzak’s bowling in the second innings will depend on how he shows up as a batsman on the fourth morning.
“Imrul has cramps at the moment so after his pain goes away, I can assess his hamstring injury,” physio Vibhav Singh said. “I will see how Razzak bats in the first innings tomorrow, see how he turns while running. I will assess Mushfiqur on a day-to-day basis, but he is unlikely to keep wickets tomorrow.”

Nasir Hossain’s dismissal on the third day left the Bangladesh dressing room irked as they felt the batsman was erroneously given out caught behind by umpire Paul Reiffel. The decision brought back focus on the BCB’s continued avoidance of the Decision Review System (DRS) or the Officiating Replay System (ORS).Hossain had tried to cut an Ajantha Mendis delivery late in the day and was caught low by wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal. The Sri Lankan close-in fielders went up in a huge appeal, but the batsman and the non-striker Mahmudullah were crestfallen. After coach Shane Jurgensen saw a replay of the dismissal on the team analyst’s laptop, he let out a scream that showed the frustration in the team. Later, Shamsur Rahman termed it a “bad decision”.”Our day was ruined by one bad decision, which was of Nasir Hossain,” Shamsur said. “We would have had an altogether great day had Nasir not been given out like that. I think you have seen it on television what happened. I don’t think it touched his bat when he attempted the cut. We saw it in the replay several times. He has now had two such calls in two consecutive matches.”Nasir is a key player for us in that position. He performs in all formats, be it Twenty20s, ODIs and Test cricket. The whole team suffers if such a performer becomes victim of a bad dismissal.”There had been one questionable decision in the previous Test when Mushfiqur Rahim’s leg-before decision appeared to have an inside edge. Bangladesh have had issues with umpiring errors in the past, most notably against England at home in 2010 when several leg-before appeals from Bangladesh were turned down. The other prominent series in this regard was in Zimbabwe last year when umpiring decisions led the Bangladesh coach to visit the match referee’s room on several occasions.BCB’s stance on DRS has been peculiar. As the No. 10 ranked Test team, Bangladesh certainly could do with the aid of the DRS. This was first highlighted by Shakib Al Hasan during the 2010 home series against England, when he criticised the BCB for spending money on welcoming the then ECB chief David Morgan rather than employing the DRS.ESPNcricinfo understands that when the tender notice was placed for the broadcasting rights of the current series, the companies were given a choice to either include or not include the DRS in their bid. None of the bidders went for the “with DRS” deal.

England have summoned Ian Bell as batting cover for the Twenty20 series against West Indies in Barbados, inviting speculation that he could even make an entirely unexpected late bid for inclusion in World Twenty20 later this month.

George Dobell and David Hopps01-Mar-2014England have summoned Ian Bell as batting cover for the Twenty20 series against West Indies in Barbados, inviting speculation that he could even make an entirely unexpected late bid for inclusion in World Twenty20 later this month.Bell, who was not even named in England’s long list of 30 for World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, will join England’s squad because of injury concerns to Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan, both of whom missed the first ODI against West Indies in Antigua.The manner of England’s batting collapse in Antigua, allied to Bell’s greater pedigree in the 50-over game, will perhaps invite the feeling that he would be more than useful in the current 50-over series, but with the second of three games scheduled for Sunday, there is logically no time to settle him into the squad.Ashley Giles, England’s coach, said: “We’ve two worries – Morgan and Hales, two very different sorts of players. We are going to call up a replacement to come to Barbados and that is Ian Bell.”Belly covers both those sort of areas pretty well. Of course he is a world class player, a world class fielder and a world class bloke, so we look forward to meeting up with him in Barbados.He wasn’t in the original 30 for World Twenty20, but with those two different sorts of players and the cover we need and the conditions we are going to face in Bangladesh, Belly has the ability to play all those different roles.”The Yorkshire pair of Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow, Hampshire’s Michael Carberry and James Vince and a gentleman by the name of Kevin Pietersen, now no longer considered, were all part of England’s provisional 30 and now seemingly less favoured.Since his omission, Bell entered the IPL auction but, in common with many other England players, failed to attract a bid.He does, though, have the reputation of playing spin as well as anyone in the England side. Whether that could be allied to enough power of stroke to be a force in Twenty20 is more debatable.Bell’s omission from the provisional squad of 30 does not automatically exclude him from World Twenty20. The ICC has shown a willingness in the past to allow additions from outside the 30 because of injury.

Matthew Maynard, the former England batsman who resigned as Glamorgan’s director of cricket in 2010, has said he will return to the county as a batting coach

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2013Matthew Maynard, the former England batsman who resigned as Glamorgan’s director of cricket in 2010, has said he will return to the county, likely in a role as batting coach.Glamorgan recently appointed new head coach Toby Radford as the successor to Matthew Mott, with Hugh Morris, the ECB’s managing director of England cricket, set to join the county as chief executive in January. Maynard said he had spoken to Radford and Morris, who was a team-mate during the 1980s and ’90s, about the role he would take up.”I’ve had a chat with Hugh Morris, obviously the new CEO and director of cricket, and with Toby Radford, the head coach,” Maynard told ITV news. “They’ve basically just got to work out as and when to fit me in.”Since leaving Glamorgan, Maynard has coached in South Africa with the Titans franchise, as well as for St Lucia Zouks during this year’s inaugural Caribbean Premier League. He also founded the Tom Maynard Academy, using proceeds from the charitable trust set up in memory of his son Tom Maynard, the former Glamorgan and Surrey batsman who died in an accident on the London Underground in 2012.The Academy’s first intake will spend ten days at the Desert Springs facility in Spain next February. Included in the 14 are Gloucestershire’s Cameron Herring, Surrey fast bowler George Edwards and Northamptonshire batsman Rob Keogh.”We are delighted to have had such fantastic support from the counties and I’m really looking forward to working with the players and establishing the Tom Maynard Academy as an integral part of the ECB’s and the counties’ player development pathways,” Maynard said.”Desert Springs has excellent facilities for the players to work on their games and on their fitness and we’re pleased to be partnering with them. We have some very knowledgeable people involved in delivering the programme and I have no doubt it will be of real benefit to the lads involved as they approach pre-season.”

Opportunity for knocks for several members of England’s ODI squad in Sri Lanka, with plans to be finalised and places to be won ahead of the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2014Opportunity for knocks for several members of England’s ODI squad in Sri Lanka, with plans to be finalised and places to be won ahead of the World Cup. Harry Gurney only made his England debut on a damp day in Aberdeen six months ago but if he can continue to make a good impression over the next few weeks, his left-arm angle of attack could make him a useful option in Australia and New Zealand.There will be even more chances to impress for England’s seamers, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad both absent. Anderson is resting a knee problem and Broad had begun his recovery from surgery on the same joint, so Gurney will form part of an inexperienced attack led by Steven Finn.Harry Gurney has his eyes on a place in England’s World Cup squad•AFP”From a personal perspective, my aim here is to try to cement that spot and get on that plane to Australia,” Gurney said. “I’m very confident. I think I’ve got a lot to offer. I’m the only left-armer involved here … and I hope I can offer something a little bit different. So when the selectors sit down to pick that squad, I hope I get my place.”Gurney, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes have just 59 ODI caps between them and all have struggled to match promise with consistency so far. With two members of the squad likely to be replaced by Anderson and Broad for the World Cup – though not necessarily both seamers – all four will want to impress coach Peter Moores and captain Alastair Cook.”With Jimmy dropping out reasonably late on and not being replaced, it means all of the seamers in the squad are going to get more opportunity and more time in the limelight to show what we’ve got,” he said. “We’ve got some guys who’ve played a fair bit. Finny has and Woakesy has been around a little while now … we’ve got a good group, and we’re all putting our heads together and trying to come up with the best tactics.””I think we’ve got a group of bowlers that will adapt … and allow Mooresy and Cooky to select a well-balanced attack, given the conditions we’re presented with.”Sri Lanka A squad for England warm-ups

Sri Lanka Cricket have announced a 15-man squad for two 50-over tour matches against England. Sri Lanka A will be captained by Ashan Priyanjan, with the first match scheduled for the SSC in Colombo on Friday.
Sri Lanka A squad: Ashan Priyanjan (capt), Kaushal Silva, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dinesh Chandimal, Thilina Kandamby, Kithruwan Vithanage, Jeevan Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, S A Lakshan Randika Sandakan, Remits Rambukwella, Lahiru Gamage, Dushmantha Sameera, Vishva Fernando, Nisala Tharaka

Gurney’s capacity for offering something different has helped elevate him to England’s limited-overs set-up, mixing up left-arm seam with a variety of slower balls. For express pace and bounce, England will be looking to Finn, who is still feeling his way back into international cricket after a year out of the side working on his run-up.”He’s looking really good,” Gurney said. “He’s in fine shape – and any issues he might have had are well behind him now. That’s brilliant for English cricket.”While the conditions in Sri Lanka will differ from those in Australia and New Zealand, it is in England’s interests to build confidence and work on their skills in the 50-over format. How successful they are could come down to the weather, as much as the opposition, with evening rainfall a potential problem throughout the duration of the tour – despite reserve days being scheduled for five of the seven matches.”Being English, we’re all used to a bit of rain,” Gurney said. “So that doesn’t bother anyone really. Turning up and having slightly damp footholds is not something any of us are fazed by.”Most of the ODIs have reserve days, so I think we’ll probably get a conclusion in most of if not all the games. If there are shorter games, it gives us the opportunity to go out there and maybe approach it with a different tactic. You’re going to get presented with circumstances like that in World Cups. So why not be prepared for it?”

Guided by Gurkeerat Singh and Sandeep Sharma, Punjab overcame a torrid struggle to chase down a target of 135 and eventually beat Haryana by three wickets in Lahli

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo – Sandeep Sharma picked up 6 for 50 before scoring an unbeaten 37 to guide Punjab to victory•ESPNcricinfo LtdGuided by Gurkeerat Singh and Sandeep Sharma, Punjab overcame a torrid struggle to chase down a target of 135 and eventually beat Haryana by three wickets in Lahli.Having reduced Punjab to 46 for 6, Haryana had the match in the bag but Sandeep and Gurkeerat put together an assured 71-run stand. Where the other Punjab batsmen, including their top-order, were bogged down under the pressure of the chase, Gurkeerat, who had scored 51 in the first innings, and Sandeep focused on settling down and playing the ball on merit.Their stand promised to take Punjab to victory but was broken by Harshal Patel who had Gurkeerat caught behind for 37, a decision the batsman was unhappy with. Sandeep then took charge of the innings and hit the winning runs, a little more than four overs after Gurkeerat’s dismissal.Sandeep, promoted ahead of Gurkeerat in the batting order, said he was initially focused on supporting his partner. “I didn’t think I could do this on my own. I was initially focused on just staying at the wicket and supporting Gurkeerat. But I learnt from his innings,” Sandeep said.Earlier, Haryana’s plans of setting a challenging fourth-innings target were scuttled by VRV Singh and Sandeep. Sachin Rana and Amit Mishra pushed the score to 130 but Rana’s wicket, trapped lbw, was part of a slide in which Haryana lost their last five wickets for 25 runs. Sandeep picked up three wickets on the third morning to finish with 6 for 50, while VRV Singh took three wickets for 50 runs.