Extras and sundries
Eight people were killed and 45 injured
in a terrorist attack on a Ramadan Cup
match in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.Chennai Super Kings won their third IPL,
beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.Virat Kohli is the only cricketer on Forbes’
list of 100 highest-earning athletes (83rd,
with earnings of £17.9m). He pulled out of
his stint with Surrey due to a neck injury.West Indies beat a World XI by 72 runs
in the Hurricane Relief Challenge T
international at Lord’s. Anthony Wreford
will be the next president of MCC.Mike Hesson has stepped down as
New Zealand coach after six years. He,
Belinda Clark and Kyle Coetzer have
joined the ICC Cricket Committee, which
voted to retain the toss in Test cricket.Yorkshire chairman Steve Denison has
been banned from his profession for
15 years after admitting misconduct.
Denison, an audit partner at PwC until
this year, signed off the accounts of BHS
as a going concern in 2015, days before it
was sold for £1 by Philip Green. Denison
was fined £325,000 and PwC fined £6.5m.David Leatherdale will return to work as
PCA chief executive after three months
off due to stress.Arjun Tendulkar, 18-year-old son of
Sachin, was called up for India Under-19s.Wasim Khan, the head of the ECB
working party looking into domestic
cricket, has said that two-divisional
Championship cricket has promoted
short-term thinking in the counties.BBC Radio secured broadcast rights for
the 2019 World Cup.South Africa coach Ottis Gibson admits
to being “shocked” at AB de Villiers’
retirement from international cricket.The Emirates Cricket Board have
announced a new T20 league in the UAE.Pakistan batsman Fawad Alam broke a
dressing-room window after being timed
out for Clitheroe against Colne in a T20.Theresa May jumped the 26-year waiting
list to be a member of MCC.STARC ANNOYANCE OVER TAMPERING
Mitchell Starc spoke of his annoyance that the
“leadership group” were initially pinpointed
by Steve Smith as party to the Newlands
ball-tampering scandal. Starc said the claim
“affected other reputations”. New captain
Tim Paine promised an end to “berating and
belittling” on-field abuse, but said Australia
“won’t be silent”. Smith and David Warner,
banned by Australia for a year, will return to
cricket in the inaugural Global T20 Canada
league in June. Warner was due to commentate
for Channel Nine on the ODIs in England.ECB RESERVES DOWN
The ECB has played down concerns about
their plunging reserves. They now sit at
£8.6m, down from £35.7m in 2017 and £73.1m
in 2016. The ECB had stated their desire
to see reserves at 40 per cent of turnover- around £50m. ECB reserves policy is to
guard against late cancellation of series, for
a variety of possible reasons, including the
death of a member of the royal family. An
ECB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo that the
process was cyclical and that losses would be
recouped in 2019, World Cup and Ashes year.
STRAUSS STEPS ASIDE
Andrew Strauss, director of England cricket,
has stepped aside for the summer to care for
his wife, Ruth, who is undergoing treatment
for cancer. Andy Flower will stand in. Steve
Rhodes is head coach of Bangladesh. He left
as Worcestershire coach after 13 years after it
was found he delayed reporting allegations of
rape against Alex Hepburn to the club’s board.
Rhodes was one of six new scouts reporting
to the ECB selection panel. The others are
Marcus Trescothick, Richard Dawson, Chris
Read, Glen Chapple and James Taylor.AL JAZEERA DOCUMENTARY
Al Jazeera had yet to hand over evidence to
the ICC regarding allegations of spot-fixing
and pitch-doctoring. A documentary, Cricket’s
Match Fixers, featured undercover reporter
David Harrison posing as a businessman. There
were alleged claims that five players – three
from England and two from Australia – agreed
to score at a set rate in recent Tests in India.
There were also allegations that “curator”
Tharanga Indika was prepared to doctor the
Galle pitch for England’s upcoming Test. Sri
Lanka Cricket denied that Indika was a curator.SUTHERLAND TO LEAVE CA POST
James Sutherland is to stand down as Cricket
Australia chief executive in 12 months’ time,
after 17 years. CA chairman David Peever
named Kevin Roberts as Sutherland’s second-
in-command and heir apparent. A week after
that appointment, Iain Roy, the CA head of
integrity who led the investigation into the ball-
tampering affair, was abruptly removed. Mark
Waugh has stood down as a selector to take up
a media role with Fox Sports. Energy company
Alinta have agreed a four-year deal as major
naming-rights sponsor of Australia teams.IRELAND SET FOR 2019 LORD’S TEST
The ECB is reportedly considering staging
a four-day Test against Ireland at Lord’s
between next summer’s World Cup and Ashes
series. England’s last four-day Test was at
Auckland in 1970/71. Australia have ruled out
a Test in Ireland next season. Ireland are not in
the proposed ICC World Test Championship,
which will have Tests set at five days. Gary
Wilson has been appointed their T20 captain,
leaving William Porterfield to concentrate on
the longer formats. Ed Joyce has retired to take
up a new development and batting coach role.GETT
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