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Sciver-Brunt scored century in a game where India’s batting collapsed in the absence of senior players

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2025Without Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Pratika Rawal, India’s batting order crumbled against England at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence ground in a warm-up fixture ahead of the ODI World Cup. Chasing 341, India were all out for 187, with Arundhati Reddy not coming out to bat due to a leg injury she sustained while bowling.Wicketkeeper Uma Chetry, who was included in the squad in place of the injured Yastika Bhatia, made a promising 45, while captain Jemimah Rodrigues top-scored with 66 off 68 balls. Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, and Sneh Rana combined to make just 43 runs in the middle order.Related

• Reddy suffers blow to knee during warm-up match against England

Sent in to bat, England, propelled by captain Nat Sciver-Brunt’s brisk 120 and Emma Lamb’s 84, piled up 340. India’s pace spearhead Renuka Singh struck in her first over to remove Tammy Beaumont, and the hosts had both Amy Jones and Heather Knight back before the halfway stage. However, Sciver-Brunt and Lamb’s 173-run stand put England in front, despite Kranti Goud’s three-wicket haul later in the innings.Shafali Verma notched up 70 off 49•Getty Images

Shafali Verma, left out of India’s World Cup squad, scored a blistering 49-ball 70 in India A’s four-wicket win over New Zealand in a rain-affected fixture.After New Zealand posted 273 for 9 on the back of Izzy Gaze’s unbeaten 101 at No. 7, multiple rain interruptions left India chasing a revised target of 225 in 40 overs. Shafali’s brisk knock – which included 11 fours and a six – gave the innings early momentum. Captain Minnu Mani remained unbeaten on 39, while wicketkeeper Madiwala Mamatha contributed a crucial 56 not out off 60 balls at No. 8.Earlier, Sayali Satghare, the reserve seamer for India at the World Cup, picked up three wickets. India A had New Zealand reeling at 146 for 7, but Gaze’s counterattacking century helped the Sophie-Devine-led side post a competitive total.In Colombo, both the Pakistan-Sri Lanka game and South Africa’s match against Bangladesh were washed out. Sri Lanka were 33 for 1 in 7.3 overs when play came to an end, while in the other contest, South Africa had reached 45 for 3 in nine overs before rain intervened. Bangladesh’s young pacer Marufa Akter dismissed both Laura Wolvaardt and Annerie Dercksen, while Nahida Akter bowled Marizanne Kapp – a dream start for Bangladesh.

On a cold Delhi day, he steered his side to safety against Hyderabad’s three-man pace attack

Sidharth Monga in New Delhi25-Dec-2019Playing his first first-class match in more than 15 months, Shikhar Dhawan might have been forgiven for feeling he was still in England. On a cold Delhi day, he was asked to bat against the seaming ball in nightmarish conditions for top-order batsmen. Dhawan, coming back from an injury, brought all his experience to rescue Delhi from 4 for 2 with an unbeaten 137 scored at a strike rate of close to 70. The persistence of a Test attack was missing, but the conditions called for Dhawan to respect the challenge.Hyderabad’s three-man pace attack – Mohammed Siraj, left-arm quick Chama Milind and M Ravi Kiran – tested the batsmen through the day, taking six Delhi wickets in 66 overs. The next best score was 29. Given the conditions, given the presence of Ishant Sharma in Delhi’s attack, Dhawan felt they already might have enough because at one point even 200 had looked like a fighting score.For Dhawan, set to be back with the India limited-overs squad, it was a satisfying innings because he could use his experience for his first first-class score of 50 or more in 18 months. “With experience, you get an idea what shots to play on which kind of track,” Dhawan said. “I hardly played any drives against the fast bowlers. For long parts I played what we call box cricket: play at balls only close to the body. When I was a 20-year-old boy like the other Delhi youngsters, even I used to play the drive in these conditions.”Dhawan did play an injudicious drive, on 67 off Kiran, but was reprieved by what turned out to be a no-ball. It was critical, though, that he had got himself in when he tried those shots.The most successful bowler for Hyderabad, though, was left-arm spinner Mehdi Hassan, who managed to extract uneven bounce from the pitch. Dhawan said he was itching to hit him out of the attack, but when he looked at the situation – 47 for 3 and 100 for 4 – he had to restrict himself. He did hit two sixes, though, off the other left-arm spinner, T Thyagarajan. That brought up his century moments before tea, much to the pleasure of the small but loud crowd enjoying Dhawan’s batting and some sun amid icy cold winds.The Feroz Shah Kotla crowd is well known for its quips to players, most of which come from its knowledge of the game and awareness of current affairs. When Dhawan reached his fifty, the chant from the crowd was, “KL Rahul.” The crowd was asking Dhawan to score more than KL Rahul, well aware that in Dhawan’s absence, Rahul has made a strong case for himself as the limited-overs opener.Dhawan, a good friend of Rahul, with whom he has opened in Tests before, said he wasn’t thinking of his India spot. “I had nothing on my mind,” Dhawan said. “What has to come to you will come to you. I am a very relaxed person, and I don’t burden my mind with extra thoughts. The way you guys think, I don’t think like that.”For the Delhi crowd, there is more fun in offer as on days two and three Ishant Sharma will look to seal a first-innings lead for the home team. The presence of the two stalwarts has helped Delhi after a lacklustre start to the season. Dhawan said he has made an effort to sit down with the batsmen and share his experiences with them. And he said Sharma was doing the same with the bowlers.

The 16-year-old produced eight overs that made anyone watching sit up and take notice

The Report by Andrew McGlashan13-Nov-2019The first sight of 16-year-old Naseem Shah on the tour was the highlight of the final day of the Pakistanis’ match against Australia A in Perth as the young quick produced eight overs that made everyone watching sit up and take notice.Having been given compassionate leave on the second day in the tragic circumstance of his mother’s death, Shah showed immense fortitude to send down a succession of high-quality overs after Pakistan had declared midway through the day.He had Marcus Harris dropped at slip on 12 – the second of two spills for Haris Sohail who had a poor match – but responded a short while later with a ripping delivery that climbed from a back of a length to take the shoulder of Harris’ bat through to stand-in keeper Abid Ali. It would have been a wonderful delivery for any fast bowler, but when you factor in his age and lack of experience, it was quite something.One delivery, or one good day, does not make a tour but anyone asked has been ready to laud Shah’s talent, and the viral videos of his performances in domestic cricket in Pakistan fully justify it. After eight overs, and a few problems with the footmarks, he took his leave for the rest of the evening and was given an appreciative pat on the back by coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq.Away from the excitement generated by Shah, it was a story of potential indications about Australia’s batting line-up for the Gabba Test and mixed results for Pakistan’s batsmen in their second innings. Australia head coach Justin Langer was spotted having what appeared a positive conversation with the uncapped Will Pucovski on the boundary at dinner, but the batsman did not pad up in the second innings.Iftikhar Ahmed hit 13 boundaries in his quick 79*•Getty Images

Joe Burns completed a miserable match when he edged behind off Shaheen Afridi. He has been incredibly unlucky not to play more Tests – he struck 180 against Sri Lanka in his most recent Test appearance – but the sense is time is now running out for him to add more to the tally. Harris, the incumbent Test opener alongside David Warner, will have known his fate while battling to 20 as the selectors met during the afternoon in Perth.Usman Khawaja, hoping for a recall and another option to open the batting or for a middle-order slot, made his highest first-class score of the season – 37 not out – before the players shook hands.Pakistan did not finish this match without questions and concerns. Captain Azhar Ali was trapped lbw by Michael Neser for the second time in the game to complete returns of 11 and 1, leaving him wanting a few runs against the Cricket Australia XI in the two-day game starting on Friday at the WACA. Sohail, who fell to a wild drive in the first innings, edged to gully when he was squared up by Neser and, on this small evidence, did not look an ideal No. 3 for the Gabba.However, there were better returns for Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed as they both eased to half-centuries in a third-wicket stand of 134, although they did have the chance to take advantage of Travis Head’s part-time offspin which went at six an over.Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan didn’t feature at all on the final day following the blows he took to the hand while batting yesterday.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar named vice-captain, Chetan Sakariya and Nitish Rana among new faces in the mix

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jun-20218:17

Sanjay Manjrekar: Dhawan rewarded with captaincy after longevity in white-ball cricket

Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, K Gowtham and Chetan Sakariya have all received maiden call-ups to the national team, figuring in the 20-man India squad for the white-ball series in Sri Lanka, scheduled for July. The second-string squad – the main team will be in England at the time – will be captained by opening batter Shikhar Dhawan, who has never led India previously, and have fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the vice-captain.India’s Sri Lanka tour comprises six matches: three ODIs (on July 13, 16 and 18), followed by three T20Is (July 21, 23, 25). Former India captain Rahul Dravid has been confirmed as the head coach for the tour, although the BCCI did not announce the entire roster of support staff on Thursday when it made public details of the squad, which will have five reserve bowlers.India will have to field a team in Sri Lanka shorn of its premier players because the main squad, captained by Virat Kohli, is currently in England getting ready for the inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand (June 18 onwards), followed by a five-Test series against England starting in August. That makes this the first instance of two senior Indian men’s teams operating simultaneously in bilateral series.It is no surprise that four of the five uncapped players – Gowtham the exception – all made strong impressions in the last two seasons of the IPL. Padikkal and Gaikwad have been successful as openers at the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Chennai Super Kings respectively, while Rana has been a regular in the top order at the Kolkata Knight Riders for a few seasons, and pacer Sakariya made an impressive start to his stint with the Rajasthan Royals in the truncated 2021 edition.Padikkal became the first Indian to hit four consecutive List A centuries, while opening for Karnataka during the Indian domestic Vijay Hazare 50-over tournament this year. Padikkal, who made his IPL debut with the Royal Challengers in IPL 2020, has 668 runs in 21 IPL matches at an average of 33.40 and a strike rate of 131.75.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Gaikwad, who has a healthy average of 47.87 in List A cricket, has scored five half-centuries in 13 IPL matches. As for Rana, the Knight Riders’ regular, he has 13 fifties in the IPL and a total of 1638 runs. He also has three centuries in List A cricket for Delhi in the domestic circuit.Probably the biggest surprise in the squad, though, is Sakariya. The left-arm fast bowler from Saurashtra was bought by the Royals in the auction before the 2021 IPL for INR 1.2 crore (USD 164,000 approx.), which proved to be an inspired investment. Sakariya, 23, has picked up seven wickets in seven IPL matches so far, and his victims include MS Dhoni, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu and Rana.The India call-up is bound to be a bittersweet moment for Sakariya, who lost his father to Covid-19 immediately after he returned home once the IPL had been suspended indefinitely in early May.For 32-year-old Gowtham, too, the India call-up means a step up from the fringes. He was included as a reserve bowler during the four-match home Test series against England recently and, during that series, he captured the headlines when he became the most expensive uncapped Indian player in the IPL when the Super Kings paid INR 9.25 crore (US$ 1,273,000 approx.) for him, beating bids from the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Knight Riders. In the 2020 IPL, too, Gowtham had bagged a massive sum from the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab), who released him after the season after fielding him in just two matches. Gowtham has 57 wickets in 35 List A matches for Karnataka and has a batting strike rate of 141.26 in List A and 159.24 in T20s respectively.The squad also features spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who has been picked for the third time by the selectors since the 2020 IPL. Chakravarthy, who plays for the Knight Riders, had been selected for the T20I series in Australia last year but did not travel because of a shoulder injury, and was again picked for the home T20I series against England earlier this year, but failed to clear the mandatory fitness test.The pair of Shreyas Iyer and T Natarajan were not considered for selection as they are both still recovering from surgeries. Iyer had hurt his shoulder during the ODI series against England and had undergone surgery in April, which had ruled him out of the IPL. Natarajan, who made a fairy-tale debut in Australia in all three formats at the turn of the year, had to abandon the IPL to undergo knee surgery.Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-capt), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan SakariyaNet bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, R Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh

Australia could consider playing three frontline spinners to try and close the margin to 3-2

Andrew McGlashan08-Aug-2021

Big Picture

It’s been a weird T20 series: 120 feels like a batting side has reached the stars, Australia have barely been able to lay a bat on the brilliant Mustafizur Rahman, a debutant has taken a hat-trick and there’s been a 30-run over with five sixes amid a lot of prodding and poking.Bangladesh have achieved what they set out to do – beat Australia – and the confidence gained from winning can never be discounted, but the true value of these performances may not be known until the T20 World Cup. Before then they face New Zealand at home and it will be very interesting to see the types of surfaces produced.Whether pitches were 100 is nearly defendable – Bangladesh were probably one breakthrough away from going 4-0 up – is good T20 is a decent debate, although the challenges of preparing surfaces for this series in terms of the weather and tight Covid protocols should be acknowledged. No one wants roads all the time, and the occasional low-scoring scrap is enjoyable, but when cutters are jumping off a length and batters have little confidence they can play their strokes it’s perhaps tilted a little too far the other way.For Australia this will likely be their last T20 before they select their World Cup squad. Mitchell Marsh will emerge as one of the standout performers, the bowling attack has held up very well and Dan Christian’s onslaught in the fourth match was a statement. But it’s difficult to say they will head home having really answered the pre-tour questions. Justin Langer will hope to have the absent players back – a lot rests on their shoulders.Related

• Bangladesh register historic series win against Australia

• Stats – Australia's fifth successive series defeat in T20Is

• Christian, bowlers help Australia pull one back

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
Bangladesh LWWWL
Australia WLLLWL

In the spotlight

This has been a tough series for batters to prosper, but Soumya Sarkar has had a particularly difficult time at the top of the order with scores of 2, 0, 2 and 8. Josh Hazlewood has caused him problems and taken his wicket twice. He had scored three half-centuries in the previous two series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe but may have now given the selectors something to ponder.Through these twin tours it has felt that Matthew Wade is locked in to be Australia’s keeper at the World Cup. He started this series in the middle order – based on his likely position in that tournament – then went back to the top with returns of 13, 4, 1 and 2. If you include the matches in West Indies his highest score is 33 in nine T20 innings and his average now sits under 20. There will be mitigation given for the conditions in Bangladesh, but coupled with the debate over where the keeper bats it remains one of Australia’s unanswered questions.

Team news

Bangladesh have been unchanged throughout the series. Will they make it five games in row or now that the whitewash is off the table have a look a few other players?Bangladesh (possible) 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mahedi Hasan, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Shamim Hossain, 8 Nurul Hasan (wk), 9 Nasum Ahmed, 10 Mushtifzur Rahman, 11 Shoriful IslamAustralia have tried various combinations throughout the series. The only players not to get a game are quicks Jason Behrendorff and Wes Agar, who don’t appear in contention for the World Cup, and the injured Riley Meredith. Hazlewood has played the first four games so there is a chance he will be rested. It could also be an opportunity for Australia to try three frontline spinners.Australia (possible) 1 Matthew Wade (capt & wk), 2 Ben McDermott, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Moises Henriques, 5 Alex Carey, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 Dan Christian, 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Andrew Tye, 10 Mitchell Swepson, 11 Josh Hazlewood/Mitchell Starc

Pitch and conditions

“They don’t compare to anything I’ve faced in my career. These are as difficult conditions as I’ve seen for T20 cricket – 120 is like 190,” Christian said after the fourth game. It would be a surprise if anything changed for the last match.

Stats and trivia

• With a scoring rate of 5.86, this is the slowest T20I series of at least three matches in history
• Christian’s 39 off 15 balls was the second-fastest 30+ score by an Australia batter in T20Is
• No team has gone unchanged through a T20 series of more than three matches

Quotes

“As a batting unit I think we need to be a bit more cautious and a bit more sensible.”
“I might be a little bit biased here, but certainly something that I think could work for us as well. Fingers crossed that might eventuate but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Ticket sales started in November after a ballot process, and over 55,000 have already been sold

Matt Roller08-Mar-20232:25

Where do you see women’s cricket in five years?

One hundred days before the start of the 2023 Women’s Ashes, England Women are set to attract record crowds this summer.Ticket sales started in November after a ballot process, and ESPNcricinfo understands that over 55,000 tickets have already been sold for England’s home fixtures. The Ashes, a multi-format series, start with the Test match at Trent Bridge on June 22, followed by white-ball fixtures from July 1-18, while Sri Lanka will tour for six white-ball matches in September.The sales figures mean that England are already guaranteed a record-breaking total attendance this summer, having attracted around 50,000 fans to series against South Africa and India in 2022.England will play at some of the country’s biggest stadia in 2023. Ticket sales for the Ashes T20Is at Edgbaston, The Oval and Lord’s are internally considered a major priority by the ECB, who have made a point of marketing the women’s series alongside the men’s.Warwickshire announced last week that they have already sold over 14,000 tickets for the Edgbaston T20I, which looks set to become the best-attended England Women’s home game outside of world events. The current record, set at Lord’s for last year’s India ODI, stands at 15,187.”It’s really exciting that we’ve sold so many tickets,” Nat Sciver-Brunt, who is playing for Mumbai Indians in the inaugural Women’s Premier League, said. “You see it out here in the WPL and back home in the Hundred: a big crowd makes such a difference.”The prospect of playing in front of a full Lord’s or Edgbaston in an Ashes game is pretty cool. It’s what you grow up watching, so I’m really looking forward to that.”Early-bird ticket prices are available until March 9.

Kenya gained some revenge for back-to-back Twenty20 defeats earlier in the week with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Uganda

Cricinfo staff18-Dec-2009Kenya 105 for 1 (Patel 57*) beat Uganda 104 (Obado 3-10, Oluoch 3-23) by nine wicketsKenya gained some revenge for back-to-back Twenty20 defeats earlier in the week with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Uganda in the first ODI at Nairobi Gymkhana. The result also buys a little relief for Kenya’s under-fire selectors after recent poor results.In the two Twenty20 matches it was Kenya’s batsmen who let them down – this time it was the Ugandans whose inexperience was plain to see. None of them was able to play an innings of any substance or to take the attack to the bowlers, so much so that there were only eight boundaries in their innings.There was the briefest worry when David Obuya fell to the fourth ball of Kenya’s reply, but then Rakep Patel (57*) and Maurice Ouma (44*) chased down the target in 17.2 overs with no further alarms. Patel played with increasing confidence, cracking five fours and two sixes in his 59-ball innings.

WA had been 6 for 89 before the lower order hauled them to a total which proved just enough

AAP11-Mar-2022Australian pace bowler Jhye Richardson played a crucial role with the bat but suffered a hamstring injury when bowling as Western Australia beat New South Wales in the one-day final.Star WA batter Shaun Marsh (knee sprain) was also injured in Friday’s match at Melbourne’s Junction Oval as they triumphed by 18 runs, collecting their 15th domestic one-day title.In a see-sawing game highlighted by Hilton Cartwright’s astonishing and crucial outfield catch, WA made 9 for 225 from their 50 overs before NSW were dismissed for 207 in 46.3 overs.Richardson top-scored with 44, leading WA’s rearguard fightback after they had slumped to 6 for 89. An over after bowling Baxter Holt for a duck, Richardson pulled up awkwardly in his delivery stride and had to leave the field injured with NSW on 6 for 117.Richardson took five wickets in the second Ashes Test win at Adelaide Oval, but then went out of the side because of soreness and was left out of the Pakistan tour squad.No. 3 Moises Henriques had paced the NSW innings with 43 from 75 balls when he belted spinner D’Arcy Short to long-on. Cartwright was horizontal when he took an all-time classic diving catch, leaving NSW 8 for 204. It proved the match-winning moment – Henriques and Ben Dwarshuis, who was unbeaten on 31, had put on 36 for the eighth wicket and NSW appeared to be heading to a win. Adam Zampa and Tanveer Sangha were then dismissed for ducks to end the match.WA quick Andrew Tye, who was on a hat-trick, took 4 for 30 and was named player of the match, while Aaron Hardie snared 3 for 41.Matthew Kelly and Jason Behrendorff put on 52, a WA record for the 10th wicket in one-dayers, and that proved the difference. Kelly made 27 not out and Behrendorff hit two sixes off Hayden Kerr in the last over of the innings for his unbeaten 24.While WA’s score was well short of par on a wicket that did not appear to be playing too many tricks, it proved enough to thwart NSW.Marsh gave WA an injury scare at 2 for 70 when he turned back quickly after attempting a quick single. He had a sharp pain in his left leg and dropped to the ground in pain. Marsh needed medical attention for several minutes before resuming his innings.But two runs later, Adam Zampa bowled him for 29, ending his 61-run stand with Cameron Bancroft. Zampa bowled captain Ashton Turner with his next delivery for a duck and Cartwright survived the hat-trick ball.Matthew Gilkes dropped a sitter off Kelly when he had only made 2. Gilkes then caught Richardson in the deep to give Daniel Sams his third wicket and it was given out, despite the fielder appearing to touch the boundary rope with his foot.

A fine unbeaten century from Adam Lyth saw Yorkshire through to a supremely comfortable nine-wicket victory over Leicestershire

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2018
ScorecardA fine unbeaten century from Adam Lyth saw Yorkshire through to a supremely comfortable nine-wicket victory over Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.The left-handed opener played with real fluency and timing, albeit against some distinctly average seam bowling, first in compiling first a partnership of 153 with fellow opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore (74 from 71 balls) and then of 112 with Cheteshwar Pujara (75 not out from 81 balls).With the match being played on a pitch which had yielded over 700 runs in Leicestershire’s previous RL50 match, against Nottinghamshire, the Foxes were well aware they needed a good start: they got the opposite, losing their first three wickets for only 39 runs.First to go was Cameron Delport. Back from IPL duty, the South African cracked two boundaries off Ben Coad, but in the second over Matthew Fisher swung a ball back in to the left-hander to have him leg-before. Colin Ackermann gave Coad the charge but could only give the bowler a straightforward return catch, and captain Paul Horton then off-drove a delivery from Fisher waist-high to Steve Patterson at mid-off.Mark Cosgrove and Ned Eckersley repaired the innings with a stand of 128 for the fourth wicket, compiled in 20.1 overs, but having reached his 50 off 61 balls, Eckersley’s attempted on-drive failed to clear mid-on, and Pujara took a simple catch.Leicestershire badly needed Cosgrove to go on to three figures, but the Australian’s attempt to loft Adil Rashid for a straight six was well held by Kohler-Cadmore above his head on the boundary at long-on, and soon afterwards the same combination accounted for Tom Wells, this time at long-off. Neil Dexter and Callum Parkinson compiled a partnership of 41 for the eighth wicket, but though Dexter reached his half-century off the final ball, a total of under 300 never looked likely to be enough.So it proved. Neither Lyth nor Kohler-Cadmore needed to take risks in scoring at six runs an over, thanks in part to a series of half-volleys bowled by Richard Jones, making his first appearance of the season for the Foxes after returning from injury.Carelessness saw the end of Kohler-Cadmore, the right-hander pulling a long-hop from Delport to Horton at midwicket, but Lyth went to his century off just 96 balls, hitting thirteen fours and a six before finishing on 132 not out, just four short of his List A career best. Pujara too played with freedom and, towards the end, creativity, twice ramping countryman Aaron Varun for four to third man as the end came quickly.

The PCB had acted promptly in issuing a notice of charge and provisionally suspending a different player in a case last year

Umar Farooq 09-Jul-2018Over two months on from the dope test, and three weeks since the results of that test became public, the Pakistan player who tested positive for a prohibited substance is yet to face any action.The player in question underwent a test in Faisalabad during the 50-over Pakistan Cup in the last week of April. News of a positive test only emerged through media reports, even though the adverse analytical finding from the WADA-accredited lab in India had reached the PCB in early June.The PCB was forced to tweet out a confirmation that a player had tested positive, but also said that under the ICC’s rules, it could not name the player until the chemical report was confirmed by their own government’s anti-doping agency. “We should have an answer in a day or two,” the board said in the tweet.That was on June 20, since when there has been no answer. The details of why there has been such a delay in getting the reports confirmed is unusual – one PCB official told ESPNcricinfo that the review board of the government’s anti-doping agency was doing a very thorough check of the lab results, which was causing the delay.A PCB official said that “the review board report will be out within the next two-three days”.The government’s anti-doping agency is regulated by the Pakistan Sports Board, but an official from PSB confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that, as of July 8, the body hadn’t received any request for a review from PCB.The timeline of this particular case stands in stark contrast to the last doping case the PCB handled. On October 5, 2017, Imran Butt tested positive during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. A positive finding was confirmed by November 6, a review panel was set up the same day, he was provisionally suspended the following day and by November 15, a notice of charge had been issued.In this case, the PCB is yet to confirm the name of the drug or the prohibited substance found in the player’s urine sample. But if the review board confirms that a prohibited substance was indeed present in the sample, then the player will be ineligible to take part in the game for four years, given it’s his first offence. That sanction can be reduced only if the player manages to establish that he had no significant fault, or negligence, about the doping violation.