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It will be a shift from the “limited DRS” the BCCI had used during the semi-final and final of the 2019-20 season

Shashank Kishore15-Feb-2023The 2022-23 Ranji Trophy final between Bengal and Saurashtra in Kolkata from February 16-20 is set to feature a “full version” of the Decision Review System (DRS). Several teams had requested such a provision from the quarter-finals onwards.The complete use of DRS will be a shift from the “limited DRS” the BCCI had used during the semi-final and final of the 2019-20 season. That version did not comprise ball-tracking and UltraEdge, the two key elements of the system used in international cricket.”It’s good news that it’s (DRS) being implemented in the final,” said Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary. “I feel it should be there in all matches that are being telecast live. All teams come through the league stages, and we have seen many mistakes.”It would be good if all live matches have DRS. But our focus is on the match. I hope we won’t need any assistance from DRS and the field umpires will make the right decisions. But, yes, it will give an opportunity to the batters and bowlers.”Related

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Incidentally, the board introduced a watered-down version after several incidents of poor umpiring in the 2018-19 season. Most notably, the absence of DRS became the focus during a contentious Ranji Trophy 2018-19 semi-final when Karnataka were aggrieved by umpiring errors, believing that Cheteshwar Pujara had been reprieved early in his innings because of the absence of technology. Pujara went on to make an unbeaten century in the fourth innings to steer Saurashtra to the final. In the aftermath, players from both teams welcomed the use of technology in some form.When the BCCI finally introduced it in the 2019-20 season, the absence of ball-tracking led to a number of erroneous decisions. Without that provision, the third umpire wasn’t empowered to overturn an on-field decision where the only doubt was if the ball would hit the stumps or not. The fielding team wasn’t allowed to review an lbw decision if the on-field umpire felt the ball would’ve missed the stumps. This led to several voices at the time suggesting the system was far from “foolproof”.”Ultimately it’s the ball-tracker that leads the third umpire to the decision,” former Mumbai captain Amol Muzumdar had said. If the ball-tracker is not there, it’s not foolproof at all. But I don’t think this particular system is for lbw decisions. The only thing it’s intended for is nicks that are sometimes not heard by umpires, something as blatant as Pujara’s dismissal in the semi-final last season. So, in that sense, I think it worked pretty well.”Instances such as these have now forced the BCCI’s hand in including the full DRS for a crucial game. As such, only a handful of matches are televised during a long domestic first-class season, and the lack of broadcast facilities in several venues makes it near impossible to implement technology for all teams.

Player faces charges of sexual coercion of another person, and bail conditions prevent him from travelling abroad

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2023Sandeep Lamichhane has been left out of Nepal’s squad for the upcoming Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series in Dubai, also featuring United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Papua New Guinea (PNG). Lamichhane is currently out on bail, facing charges of sexual coercion of another person, and bail conditions prevent him from travelling abroad.While the legspinner was not in the provisional 15-member squad, efforts were being made to secure court permission for him to travel. But his name didn’t feature in the final squad announced by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Saturday.Nepal’s participation in the tri-series begins on Monday when they take on PNG in Dubai. Last week, in another Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series, also featuring Scotland and Namibia in Nepal, Lamichhane took 13 wickets in four matches. That performance helped Nepal win all four games in close finishes. He returned three wickets in each of the first three games before picking up four in the final game against Scotland.Related

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His involvement in that series was met with protest by fans as well as opponents. The Scotland players refused to shake hands with Lamichhane post-game, while Namibia decided to bump fists rather than shake hands after one of their games. The boards of both teams also issued statements ahead of the series, condemning gender-based violence.Lamichhane was suspended by CAN last year after an arrest warrant was issued following the allegations against him. He was taken into police custody and later granted bail, which was followed by his suspension being lifted by CAN earlier this month and his inclusion in the squad for the tri-series against Namibia and Scotland.Nepal are placed sixth in the seven-team Cricket World Cup League 2 league table. Lamichhane has picked up 55 wickets in the competition – the most for Nepal – and is third in the overall list of wicket-takers.Nepal squad for UAE-PNG tri-series: Rohit Paudel (capt), Dipendra Singh Airee, Gyanendra Malla, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Kushal Bhurtel, Lalit Rajbanshi, Bhim Sharki, Sundeep Jora, Kushal Malla, Shyam Dhakal, Gulshan Jha, Aarif Sheikh, Pratis GC

Andy Balbirnie lauded Tucker’s hundred, McBrine’s all-round show and Tector’s fifties, as Ireland returned to Tests after four years

Mohammad Isam07-Apr-2023Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan praised the visiting Ireland team for mounting a comeback on the third day of the Dhaka Test, but said that the hosts had never lost faith in themselves at any stage of the game. Ireland recovered from 13 for 4 – and then 51 for 5 – at one stage to eventually score 292 in the second innings, and set Bangladesh a respectable 138 to chase.”We didn’t think we would lose the Test, but in this format you get a lot of time to stage a comeback,” Shakib said. “It is lesser in ODIs and even lesser in T20s. Ireland played well yesterday. We didn’t expect it. They showed a lot of fight, but that’s their nature. They are fighters. That’s what they showed to us.”Bangladesh eventually won the solitary Test of the tour by seven wickets, although they had to be patient with the ball for most of the third day. It was arguably Ireland’s best day in Test cricket, particularly poignant as they were playing the format after four years. Earlier in the match, although their batting had collapsed and folded for 214 in the first innings, their bowlers reduced Bangladesh to 40 for 3, before the hosts eventually ended 155 ahead.Related

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Meanwhile, there were questions around the lack of overs that Shakib bowled on the third day, even as Ireland mounted a fight. Bangladesh’s fast-bowling coach Allan Donald himself wasn’t sure after play as to the motive behind the move, as Shakib opted to bowl just six overs across the third day. When asked the reason for his choice after the win, Shakib was typically nonchalant in his reply at first, but later said he wanted to build a strong Test bowling attack.”There’s no real explanation. Someone isn’t bound to bowl,” he said. “If you have five or six weapons, you don’t have to use them all the time. Does it mean that the other Bangladesh bowlers aren’t good enough? I believe that we have good bowlers to take 20 wickets in a Test match.”They have certainly showed it – especially on a good pitch, the type we don’t really play on. Mirpur usually doesn’t have such a good wicket for three or four days running.”Shakib said that one of the ways Bangladesh wants to play positive cricket is by having a robust bowling attack so that it not only gives the captain more options to bowl the opposition out, but also provides some balance to the side.”You need more bowling options if you want to take 20 wickets; there’s no other way,” he said. “You will only want fewer bowlers when you have a defensive mentality, like when you want to draw the game or somehow bat well. If you want to win, you have to play with five or six bowlers.”[Mehidy Hasan] Miraz is capable of batting at No. 7, which gives us more bowling options. It is good for our team. We can rotate the bowlers, and not put too much pressure on one bowler. Taijul [Islam] obviously bowled a lot in this game, and he bowled well, but we still have a lot more options now.”Lorcan Tucker hit 108 on Test debut, while Andy McBrine got 72 and six wickets•BCB

‘Pressure was on Bangladesh’ – Ireland captain Balbirnie

Andy Balbirnie, Ireland’s captain, said they believed that a 180-run target for Bangladesh would have been tricky even as the pitch remained good enough for batting on the fourth day.”The wicket was still pretty good,” he said. “Ebadot [Hossain] bowled well in the morning. He attacked the stumps, but we were confident we could get a 180 lead. Our message was [that] all the pressure was on Bangladesh. If they had lost this game, there would have been a lot more people in this press room.”Even if they were 100 for none chasing 130, the pressure was on them; no one expected Ireland to come here and win a Test match. We knew we needed early wickets, but the way Litton [Das] played took the momentum away. But we stuck at it, [and] created chances, but it just wasn’t to be.”Balbirnie was full of praise for offspinner Andy McBrine and wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker for their performance in this game. McBrine followed a six-for with the ball in the first innings with a 72 with the bat in the second – thus becoming only the second overseas cricketer to take six wickets and score a half-century in a Test in Bangladesh – while Tucker hit 108 and became the second Irishman to score a Test hundred on debut.”[McBrine is] a really high-quality performer, someone you always want in and around your team,” Balbirnie said. “I thought his innings yesterday was top class, took the momentum that Lorcan had set up and went with it. He had a clear plan when he was batting, [and] he’s very good for the ball.”I thought first innings we were maybe off with the ball. I know we took ten wickets, but they went at a decent rate. So I can’t really fault the bowlers. We hadn’t bowled long periods in a while, and coming back for third spells and their efforts were really good, and all the bowlers wanted the ball in their hand.”Balbirnie said that Tucker’s century was one of the best he had seen by an Irish batter. He also mentioned about Harry Tector’s twin fifties as noteworthy performances, with the batter also being on Test debut.”I am so thrilled for him. Over the last 18 months, he has come into his own,” Balbirnie said. “That was arguably as good a hundred as I’ve seen in an Irish shirt. Kevy (Kevin O’Brien)’s first hundred [in Ireland’s first Test] is up there, but yesterday he counter-punched. And it was an amazing effort having kept for 70-80 overs; his body wasn’t used to that, and having not played a Test match.”But there were a lot of special performances – Harry’s two 50s in the game. The top order could have done better, but it’s a good sign the middle order is going well going into next week [when Ireland play two Tests against Sri Lanka].”

Head coach unfazed by niggles in England camp ahead of Lord’s Test, starting Thursday

Andrew Miller29-May-2023James Anderson and Ollie Robinson have been ruled out of England’s first Test of the summer, against Ireland at Lord’s from Thursday, but according to Brendon McCullum, both are on course for full fitness come the start of the Ashes at Edgbaston, beginning June 16.Robinson limped out of Sussex’s Championship match against Glamorgan last week after experiencing irritation in his Achilles tendon, while Anderson strained his groin while playing for Lancashire against Somerset earlier in the month.Neither has bowled competitively since, while there are still concerns about the readiness of Ben Stokes to fulfil his allrounder role after an injury-hit stint with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.Related

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However, McCullum – speaking at Lord’s as England gathered for their first training session of the summer – insisted his team would be ready to “play the cards you are handed”. This could yet include a first Test outing of the year for Mark Wood, who was rested from the tour of New Zealand in the spring, and returned home early from an eye-catching IPL stint with Lucknow Super Giants, but was seen putting in an energetic stint in the nets on Monday morning.”We’ve got a couple of niggles, so we’re just monitoring those at the moment,” McCullum told Sky Sports. “Every team that goes into a series has got a couple of little things that you need to work through, but we’re pretty confident we’ll have a good squad to be able to pick from.”For the first Ashes Test, I think [Anderson and Robinson] should be fit. They won’t be fit for this one against Ireland. We’ll just have to monitor it over this next sort of while, but we’ve got some great options right throughout the squad.”Stokesy is progressing well too,” he added. “He looks really fit as well, looks in great order and has a big smile on his face. He is delighted to be back around the group and as our leader, having that sort of energy he brings is fantastic, so again we’ll monitor that and see what happens.”I think he’ll bowl at some stage throughout the summer, yeah, no doubt. He is a world-class allrounder and if he is able to bowl, fantastic. If not, we’ll find a way.”When I first took over this job, people said there weren’t much depth in English cricket and I disagree with that completely,” McCullum added. “I think there is an immense amount of depth. There’s no point being concerned. You just deal with what you’ve got and play the cards you are handed. I am confident we will have a good squad to pick from right throughout the summer, and we’ll see how we go.”England come into the season with their reputation transformed in the 12 months since McCullum and Stokes took over in a new coach/captain partnership. They have won ten of their 12 Tests in that period, while their most recent outing was an extraordinary one-run loss against New Zealand in Wellington in February, a result that reinforced the “no-fear” brand of cricket that the team has embraced in the interim.And though the immediate challenge will be to overcome an Ireland team that rolled England aside for 85 in their last appearance at Lord’s in 2019, McCullum acknowledged that the Ashes is already looming large in the team’s thoughts.”It’s been a great year, this will be a big summer,” McCullum said. “There will be a lot of eyeballs on us, not just in the UK but also around the world, and that’s what you want to be involved in. Who knows if we are going to win this summer but we’re going to go into it with the right attitude, the right environment, and the right team which believes it’s got a chance.Ben Stokes did not bowl during England’s practice session at Lord’s•Getty Images

“We’re a team that knows how we want to play now, and we’re not afraid to lose, which is quite a remarkable trait, and that’s led by the skipper and some of the senior players as well. If we do play how we want to play, we give ourselves the best opportunity and we’ve got the talent to put world-class teams under pressure.”As for whether England will be able to play their new liberated brand of cricket against a team of Australia’s talent, and in the full glare of an Ashes summer, McCullum was phlegmatic about the qualities within the team set-up.”Look, Australia is a very good line-up, right? They have world-class bowlers and have been a very good team for a long period of time. They’ll be a formidable challenge for us, but it is a challenge we’re really looking forward to,” he said. “It is what you want to play sport for, right? You want to be playing against the best, in the biggest series and on the biggest stage, and there is no greater opportunity than what lies in front of us in the next six to eight weeks.”From our point of view, we don’t go in to it prescribed with our method, it is about trying to ensure we are nice and free of mind, and being able to live in the present and deal with what comes our way. If it is a high-scoring rate, great. If it’s not, that’s great too. We’ll just see what happens.”