Sunita has successfully anchored four World Cup T20 qualifying matches at VCA stadium so far.
She has also anchored several major sporting events like Indian Premier League (IPL), Champions Trophy Hockey and Hockey India League (HIL).
Talking over phone from Nagpur, Sunita thanked OTV and the people of Odisha and said it is a great opportunity for her as she had been selected for the mega sporting event.
“I must say I have been selected for this event on the basis of my performance and experience in the IPL, Champions Trophy Hockey and HIL. Prior to this, I was in constant touch with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since last few years and had associated myself in each sporting event it has conducted in Odisha and Vishakhapatnam. I think my long association with the BCCI has finally paid off. Apart from experience, one must have the knowledge of the sport which matters most,” she added.
Asked about her preparation for the World Cup T20 opening match between India and New Zealand at Nagpur on March 15, Sunita said since India is involved in this match, the enthusiasm among the people here is unbelievable.
She, however, said she would be neutral in her anchoring.
“Though I am a die-hard fan of Team India, I cannot support my home team. Since I will be anchoring on behalf of ICC, I have to be neutral. I have to support both the Indian and the New Zealand teams. But I must say I am on cloud 9 that I will be anchoring a match which involves India."
A graduate from BJB Autonomous College, Sunita did a course from Air Hostess Academy. Apart from anchoring, she is also a model and has worked in several TV serials and in a couple of Odia films.
According to an ICC statement, pacer Jasprit Bumrah is the other Indian to make it to both the sides while stumper Rishabh Pant is the third Indian to find a place in the Test Team of the Year.
Besides Kohli and Bumrah, opener Rohit Sharma and chinaman Kuldeep Yadav are the other Indians to be named in the ICC ODI Team of the Year.
The awards, which honour performances during a calendar year, saw Kohli walk into both sides which were selected by the ICC Voting Academy comprising former players, members of the media and broadcasters.
Kohli's 1,322 runs at an average of 55.08 with five centuries in 13 Tests and 1,202 runs at an astounding average of 133.55 with six hundreds in 14 ODIs saw him selected to both sides by every voting member of the Academy with the majority of them also opting to name him at the helm of each.
Kohli also ended 2018 as the top-ranked Test and ODI batsman in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings while his side finished the year as the top-ranked side in Tests and number two behind England in ODIs.
Reacting to the news, an elated Kohli said: "It has been an amazing year. I was able to play in a manner that I would not have imagined. If the intention is right and you keep working hard, the results are there in front of your own eyes.
"The intent has always been to help your team at any cost, that is when these performances come by and you are pushing yourself to the limit, which you otherwise will not be able to. That is something I experienced in 2018 a lot," he added.
Meanwhile, besides the three Indians -- Kohli, Bumrah and Pant -- New Zealand also has three players in the Test squad -- captain Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls and opener Tom Latham.
Five other nations make up the remainder of the Test team -- Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka), Jason Holder (Windies), top-ranked Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Nathan Lyon (Australia) and Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan).
Similarly in the ODI team, besides the four Indians, England also have four players -- Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.
Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman, top-ranked Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) and Ross Taylor (New Zealand) complete the ICC ODI XI.
According to an ICC statement, USA Cricket's application to become the 93rd Associate Member in accordance with the ICC Constitution was approved by ICC Members following the Membership Committee's recommendation to the ICC Board late last year and is implemented with immediate effect.
As a Member of the ICC, USA Cricket is now eligible to receive funding in accordance with the ICC Development Funding Policy and can sanction domestic and international cricket in the United States.
Welcoming the new body, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: "This is the culmination of a great deal of hard work and I would like to congratulate the Chair of USA Cricket, Paraag Marathe, and the Board, on this important milestone and wish them all the very best for the future."
USA Cricket Board Chair Paraag Marathe said: "USA Cricket was established to bring together the cricket community in the United States, develop the game and unlock the sport's undoubted potential for growth. Today's confirmation that it is the ICC's newest member is a significant staging post on that journey."
As per the qualification criteria set for the tournament, Australia and the other nine top ranked sides have ensured direct qualification, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced in a statement.
The top eight make it straight to the Super 12s stage while the remaining two will play in the group stage along with six other teams who will make it through from the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier in 2019. Four teams from the group stage will advance to the Super 12s.
Of the top 10 sides on the rankings table, top-ranked Pakistan, India, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the West Indies and Afghanistan will start their campaign directly in in the Super 12s.
Former champions and three time finalists Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will have to contend with the other six qualifiers in the group stage of the tournament, which will be held from 18 October to 15 November 2020.
The panel was chaired by Michael Beloff QC, an English barrister and a member of Blackstone Chambers, and included Jan Paulsson and Annabelle Bennett. The hearings took place in Dubai from October 1-3.
"Following a three-day hearing and having considered detailed oral and written submissions, the Dispute Panel has dismissed the PCB's claim against the BCCI," the ICC said in a release.
The PCB had sought compensation to the tune of $70 million from BCCI for not honouring the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two boards in 2014 to play six bilateral series over the course of eight years between 2015 and 2023.
The ICC, earlier, had said the decision of the panel will be final and cannot be challenged.
Kohli's deputy Rohit Sharma also remained static at the second spot in the batmen's list. Kohli has 899 points while Rohit has 871.
In the bowlers' chart, apart from the top ranked Bumrah who has 841 points, spinner Kuldeep Yadav held on to the third place while Yuzvendra Chahal jumped three places to the fifth spot.
Rashid Khan of Afghanistan with 353 points is the top-ranked all-rounder and in the team rankings, India with 121 points, remained second behind England (126 points).
Apart from the Indians, several foreign players also made their presence felt. Two brilliant innings against Pakistan have lifted New Zealand's Ross Taylor to a career best No.3 in the list for ODI batsmen, according to an ICC statement.
The innings took Taylor past Joe Root and Babar Azam to No.3, only behind Kohli and Rohit.
More changes were there within the top 10 of batsmen following the completion of the series between Australia and South Africa and, Pakistan and New Zealand. Faf du Plessis moved up three spots to No.7 and both Kane Williamson and Quinton de Kock dropped two spots, but still staying in the top 10 - Williamson at No.9 and de Kock at No.10.
Just below them, moving up six spots to No.11, was Fakhar Zaman, the Pakistan opener who hit 1, 88 and 65 in the three ODIs against New Zealand. It's a career-high position for him too.
Other gainers included David Miller, whose 51 and 139 in the second and third ODIs catapulted him 11 spots to 31st position, Marcus Stoinis, who scored 63 in the last game to move up three positions to No.49, and Shaun Marsh, who hit a fighting 106 in the last ODI and moved up 18 places to 62nd spot.
No such luck for Australia captain Aaron Finch, who had a poor series - 5, 41 and 11 - and dropped two places to No.17.
On to the bowlers, Kagiso Rabada is now in the top five, at No.4, after picking up seven wickets in the series in Australia.
Imran Tahir has dropped out of the top 10, but moving up are Shadab Khan (up 16 spots to No.24), Lockie Ferguson (up 31 spots to No.42) and Lungi Ngidi (up 19 spots to No.43).
Coming into the reckoning after picking up five wickets in two ODIs in Australia was Dwaine Pretorius, who jumped 20 places to No.55, jointly with Afghanistan's Dawlat Zadran, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, the 18-year-old who picked up nine wickets in the series against New Zealand, gained a remarkable 66 spots to get to No.118, just outside the top 100.
Among the all-rounders, Mohammad Hafeez, who made big gains in the Twenty20 International charts too, swapped positions with New Zealand's Mitchell Santner, getting to No.4.
England, who last topped the ODI rankings in January 2013 have gained eight points and moved to 125 points after the performances in the 2014-15 season has been dropped from the latest calculations while those from the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons were weighted at 50 percent.
India, who were at the top before the update, have lost a solitary point to slip to No.2 with a total of 122 points.
South Africa, who were second, have dropped down to third place after losing four points, from 117 to 113, leaving them nine points adrift of India and only one point ahead of fourth-placed New Zealand.
The remaining places remain unchanged, meaning that the current top 10 ranked sides are the ones who will be playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
However, there have been some significant changes in points.
World champions Australia have lost eight points to go down to 104 in fifth position and are only two points ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 winners Pakistan, who have gained six points.
In other changes, Bangladesh (93 points) have gained three points, Sri Lanka (77) have lost seven points, the West Indies (69) have lost five points, Afghanistan (63) have gained five points, Zimbabwe (55) have gained four points and 12th-placed Ireland (38) have lost three points.
Meanwhile, in the ICC T20I rankings led by Pakistan, there is no change in the top seven places but Afghanistan are now ahead of Sri Lanka in the eighth slot.
Pakistan (130) and Australia (126) remain in the top two positions without a change in their points total while India have gained two points to reach 123.
New Zealand (116) are unchanged on points while England (115) have gained a solitary point.
Conceptualised, designed, developed and managed by the Mercuri Group with Cricket Canada -- the official governing body for the game in the country -- the Global T20 Canada will kick-off in July with three venues being earmarked in Toronto.
The three venues are the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, Sunnybrook Park and Maple Leaf Cricket Club.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the final leg of his official Indian trip, participated in a promotional event for the Global T20 Canada at a school here on Thursday.
He also signed a bat wishing the Global T20 Canada all the luck on the sidelines of his visit to the school.
The Global T20 Canada will involve six franchises drawn on geographical lines, with the possibility to include two-three more teams in the coming years.
Each squad will include four local Canadians, with the rest being international players.
A high-powered Cricket Advisory Board made up of former players will be formed for the tournament.
Cricket Canada has entered into a 25-year agreement with the Mercuri Group which covers not just the Global T20 Canada, but also investment in developing the grassroots for the game in the country.
The agreement includes the development of a national high performance centre, setting up of regional high performance centres, investment in youth cricket and development tours around the world.
Constructing a world class cricket stadium in Toronto and support for the development of a Canada team that can qualify for the 2023 World Cup is also a part of the agreement.
Nooyi will join the world cricket body's Board in June 2018 to align with the term of the ICC independent chairman, following the unanimous confirmation of her appointment on Friday.
The Independent Director will be appointed for a two-year term although she may be re-appointed for two further terms with a maximum six-year consecutive period of service.
The introduction of an Independent Director, who must be female, was approved by the ICC Full Council in June 2017 as part of wide ranging constitutional change aimed at improving the global governance of the sport.
Commenting on the development ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar said: "We are delighted to welcome Indra to the ICC. Adding another independent director -- particularly a female -- is such an important step forward in improving our governance. To have someone of Indra's calibre is fantastic news for the global game, she is frequently recognised as one of the most influential people in business today, running one of the world's biggest corporations."
"We undertook a global search looking for the right candidate who would complement the existing skills and experience already on our Board.
"A cricket enthusiast with experience in the commercial sector and independent of the ICC, any Member or state or associated organisation were the primary criteria and in Indra we have found an exceptional new colleague and we look forward to working with her in the future," he added.
Expressing her love for the game, Nooyi said: "I love the game of cricket. I played it as a teenager and in college, and to this day, I cherish the lessons the game taught me about teamwork, integrity, respect and healthy competition."
"I am thrilled to join the ICC as the first person to be appointed to this role. And I look forward to working with my colleagues on the board, ICC's incredible partners, and cricketers around the world to grow our sport responsibly and give our fans a new reason to follow every ball and shot," she added.
The 12th edition of the tournament and the third in New Zealand, which will run from January 13 to February 3 across four cities and seven venues, is a platform to inspire the next generation of cricketers and fans.
Commenting on the appointment the 26-year-old said: "It is extremely exciting to be involved again in the U19 World Cup. I played two of them - it is the first stepping stone to playing international cricket. You go from playing domestic cricket to playing international cricket -- it's a big step but it's a step that is necessary.
"To have it in our backyard is great. We are going to see players who people may not know now but who in the years to come will become household names. In 2010, it was my first snippet of playing international cricket at home."
Anderson, who scored 324 runs in 10 matches with four half-centuries across the two editions of the tournament, has been representing New Zealand regularly in all three formats of the game. The 26-year-old all-rounder made his international debut in 2012 and to date has scored 683 runs and bagged 16 wickets in 13 Tests, accumulated 1109 runs and grabbed 60 wickets in 49 ODIs, and has 432 runs and 14 wickets in 29 T20Is.
The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, which replicates a major tournament experience in terms of organisation, playing facilities and media attention, is an important event in ICC's events calendar and is seen as a stepping stone in the development of all participants - players and match officials.
ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley said: "Having Corey on board is ideal because he a player who has come through this very system and hails from New Zealand. The ICC U19 World Cup is an extremely important event for us and our investment in it has been proven worthy time and again with so many top players first catching the world's attention here."
Defending champions, the Windies, New Zealand, South Africa and Kenya make up Group A, three-time champions Australia and India, PNG and Zimbabwe are in Group B, Bangladesh, Canada, England and Namibia comprise Group C while two-time champions Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Ireland are in Group D.
The top two sides from each group will advance to the Super League while the remaining eight teams will figure in the Plate Championship. The final will be played at Bay Oval in Tauranga on February 3 while both semi-finals will be played at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on 29 and 30 January.
Australia staged the first tournament in 1986 and then again in 2012, while the other countries to host the tournament are South Africa (1998), Sri Lanka (2000 and 2006), New Zealand (2002 and 2010), Bangladesh (2004 and 2016), Sri Lanka (2006), Malaysia (2008), New Zealand (2010) and the UAE (2014).
Australia and India have both won the tournament three times each, Pakistan have won it twice, while the West Indies, South Africa and England have won it once each.
Sharma, who was awarded the man of the match in the fifth and final match against Australia on Sunday for his power-packed century knock climbed four places in the ICC ODI batsman ranking to take the fifth spot.
Gujarat spinner Patel who picked up a three-wicket haul in the final match against Australia jumped three spots to take the seventh spot in the ICC ODI bowler ranking.
"Sharma's 296 runs in the series, which included a fine 125 in the last match in Nagpur, contributed significantly to India's convincing victory over the World champions that helped the home side grab the No.1 position in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings. Sharma is now on a career-best 790 rating points but his highest ranking has been third, which he attained in February 2016," the ICC said in a statement.
"In other movements, India's left-arm spinner Axar Patel has reached a career best seventh position after moving up three places," the statement added.
India middle-order batsman Kedar Jadhav was amongst the major movers, who jumped eight places to attain his career best 36th rank.
Player of the series against Australia, Hardik Pandya also climbed 26 places to take the 71st spot in the ICC ODI Batsman ranking.
Overall, the top spot in the ODI batting remained unchanged with India skipper Virat Kohli leading the chart. In bowling, South Africa spinner Imran Tahir overtook Australia's Josh Hazelwood to take the top spot.
The all-rounder rankings led by Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan saw England's Ben Stokes moving one place to take the fifth spot.
The ICC had on Tuesday announced that player can now be sent off the field for the rest of the match if a Level 4 offence is committed. Level 1 to 3 offences will continue to be dealt with under the ICC Code of Conduct.
"It was introduced by the MCC and there are reasons for that. Lot of difficult situations occurred in low level cricket outside India -- particularly in England or in South Africa. It is a good thing," Ganguly said.
"No one can understand the importance of it (of such move) unless video clippings are seen," he said while visiting a Durga Puja pandal here.
Threatening to assault an umpire, making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with an umpire, physically assaulting a player or any other person and committing any other act of violence will be deemed Level 4 offence -- warranting marching orders.
The new rules will be effective from Thursday.
Threatening to assault an umpire, making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with an umpire, physically assaulting a player or any other person and committing any other act of violence will be deemed Level 4 offence -- warranting marching orders.
A player can now be sent off the field for the rest of the match if a Level 4 offence is committed. Level 1 to 3 offences will continue to be dealt with under the ICC Code of Conduct.
An important change with respect to run outs has also been announced.
If a batsman is running or diving towards the crease with forward momentum, and has grounded his/her bat behind the popping crease but subsequently has lost contact with the ground at the time of the wickets being put down, the batsman will not be run out.
The same interpretation will also apply for a batsman trying to regain his/her ground to avoid being stumped.
For boundary catches, airborne fielders making their first contact with the ball will need to have taken off from within the boundary. Otherwise a boundary will be deemed to be scored.
Also, a batsman can now be out caught, stumped or run out even if the ball bounces off the helmet worn by a fielder or wicket-keeper.
The ICC also announced new dimensions of the bat and changes to the Decision Review System (DRS) to its playing conditions which will be effective in all series of the game.
The length and width of bats remain unchanged but the thickness of the edges can't be more than 40 mm and the overall depth can be 67 mm at the most. Umpires will be issued a new bat gauge to check a bat's legality.
The ICC has also brought in changes in DRS rules by which a review will now not be lost in case a decision that remains unchanged, as the result of an 'umpire's call'.
"As for DRS in Test matches, there will be no more top-up reviews (two reviews are added back for the teams after 80 overs), meaning that there can only be two unsuccessful reviews in each innings, while the DRS will now also be allowed to be used in T20Is," the ICC said in a statement.
The changes will commence from the two upcoming Test series -- when South Africa hosts Bangladesh and the one between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates.
The ICC playing conditions will now incorporate the relevant clauses from the MCC Laws of Cricket (2017 Code), meaning that all the playing regulations will be captured in one document for each format.
"Most of the changes to the ICC playing conditions are being made as a result of changes to the Laws of Cricket announced by the MCC," ICC General Manager (Cricket) Geoff Allardice said.
"We have just completed a workshop with the umpires to ensure they understand all of the changes. We are now ready to introduce the new playing conditions to international matches."
Manohar, who had resigned in March citing personal reasons, initially agreed to defer his resignation till the annual conference this June this year when the new ICC constitution consisting of the governance structure and the re-worked finance model will be ratified.
The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief, however decided to continue in his post after persuasion by the Full Members and Associates.
"The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed Shashank Manohar will continue to function as the Independent Chairman of ICC until the end of his elected term which is June 2018," the global cricket body said in a statement.
Since taking over as the independent chairman, the 59-year-old lawyer has been at the forefront of proposed reforms to the revenue sharing model in the ICC, and has managed to end the financial dominance of the "Big Three" (boards of England, Australia and India).
The BCCI, who objected to the new structure, lost the vote on 'governance and constitutional changes' by a 2-12 margin while the revenue model was passed 13 votes to one in April.
There were also speculations that India could withdraw from the upcoming Champions Trophy to be held in England, only for the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) to intervene and force the Indian board to give an all-clear to named the Indian squad.
The Virat Kohli-led side is now on 118 points, three points behind ICC World Twenty20 2009 winner Pakistan, which has joined second-placed England on 121 points after gaining five points.
But Pakistan is ranked behind the ICC World Twenty20 2010 winner by a fraction of a point.
England have benefitted significantly to rise three places after gaining seven points to now sit on 121 points.
Eoin Morgan's side is four points behind table-topper New Zealand, which is on 125 points after dropping two points.
South Africa has slipped two places to fifth ranking after conceding six points, but is one point ahead of Australia.
Australia has swapped places with reigning ICC World Twenty20 champions, the West Indies, which is 14 points ahead of 2014 winner and eighth-ranked Sri Lanka (95 points, down by four).
Bangladesh is ranked 10th on 78 points after gaining four points, while Zimbabwe has retained its 12th rank after gaining three points.
Among the non-Test playing sides, Afghanistan and the Netherlands have moved in opposite directions.
Afghanistan is the side to benefit most after England as it has gained six points and climbed to 90 points.
But while Afghanistan has strenghtened its ninth position, the Netherlands has dropped nine points to slip one place to 14th rank.
Scotland is in 11th rank on 67 points (up by four), followed by the UAE in 13th (52, up by four), the Netherlands in 14th (49, down by nine), Hong Kong in 15th (46, up by three), PNG in 16th (39, down by four), Oman in 17th (38, down by one) and Ireland in 18th (36, down by four).
Australia and the next nine highest-ranked sides will qualify automatically for the ICC World Twenty20 2020 to be staged in Australia.
The bottom eight sides on the team rankings will get a second chance to qualify for the seventh edition of the tournament when they will join the regional qualifiers in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2019.
Six sides will qualify from the qualifier to complete the 16-team line-up.
India have gained five points to swap positions with 2015 World Cup finalists New Zealand, who have dropped to fourth after picking two points. This means India have 117 rating points as against Kiwis who have 115.
Number-one ranked South Africa gained four points following the annual update and are now on 123 points, while world champions and second-ranked Australia stayed on 118 points.
But the race for the all-important eighth place -- which spells an automatic entry into the 2019 World Cup in England -- has Pakistan taking a strong nine point lead over the West Indies.
Hosts England, placed at fifth and the top seven-ranked teams, as on September 30, 2017, will get an automatic spot in the 2019 World Cup.
The annual update is carried out to ensure the table continues to reflect teams' recent form with older results being discarded. As such, the table now reflects all matches from May 1, 2014, with matches played after May 1, 2016 carrying 100 per cent weightage.
After the update, Pakistan have gone from 90 points to 88 and West Indies from 83 to 79 points -- meaning Pakistan's previous seven point lead over the Caribbean side has extended to nine points.
In the lead up to the ICC Champions Trophy next month, of Sri Lanka (93 points), Bangladesh (91), Pakistan (88) and West Indies (79), Bangladesh are scheduled to play a tri-series comprising Ireland, New Zealand in Ireland and West Indies host Afghanistan for three ODIs.
There is no change to 10th-ranked Afghanistan's tally of 52 points, but 11th-ranked Zimbabwe have dropped two points and are now on 46 points. Ireland gained one point and are on 43 points.
ICC said in a release that Manohar, who quit on March 15 citing personal reasons, agreed to defer his recent resignation following an ICC Board resolution to request him to remain in the post which was passed with overwhelming support earlier this week.
Manohar said: "I respect the sentiments expressed by the Directors and the confidence they have reposed in me. In the light of this, and although my decision to depart due to personal reasons has not changed, I am willing to continue as Chairman till the responsibility as per the resolution is complete.
"I have duty to work with my colleagues to enable a smooth transition and continue our work on the governance of the ICC."
The 59-year-old was elected unopposed as the ICC's first independent chairman last year. His two-year term will end in May 2018.
Manohar took over the post from N. Srinivasan in May last year after giving up his position of BCCI president.
Since then, he has tried to curb the disproportionate amount of power wielded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The ICC had passed in principle a new constitution last month that corrected some of the imbalance in influence and financial power of the BCCI, CA and ECB.
CA Chairman David Peever said: "This resolution is a clear indication that whilst the Board may not yet agree on the detail of our reform process, we are committed to the overarching philosophies of it.
"We all believe that Shashank should be the man to see it through and whilst respectful of a decision made for personal reasons, we are delighted that he has agreed to remain in the post until the completion of the 2017 Annual Conference where we can elect a successor."
BCCI's Vikram Limaye added: "It is important that the current issues are resolved to everyone's satisfaction. We had a productive meeting with Manohar recently (prior to his resignation) wherein we outlined the concerns of BCCI on the financial model and governance issues and our suggestions for resolution.
"We are committed to working with ICC for a satisfactory resolution of these issues."
Nazmul Hassan, President of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said: "For the greater interest of cricket, we need Shashank as the Chairman of ICC especially at this critical juncture. He can be assured of our full support."
The ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) officers had recently visited the country as part of the probe, the world body said in a statement.
"The ICC Anti-Corruption Unit works to uphold integrity in cricket and this includes conducting investigations where there are reasonable grounds to do so," ICC's General Manager ACU, Alex Marshall, said in a statement.
Sri Lanka had lost a home ODI series against Zimbabwe 2-3 before suffering a whitewash at the hands of India, losing three Tests, five ODIs and a one-off T20 International.
The ICC statement came a day after Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said that 40 of its contracted players called for an immediate inquiry into certain "shocking" allegations made by former player and selector, Pramodya Wickramasinghe, insinuating unnatural and mysterious match patterns.
"There is currently an ICC (ACU) investigation underway in Sri Lanka. Naturally as part of this we are talking to a number of people.
"We will not comment any further on an ongoing investigation. If anyone has information that would assist the ACU in its enquiries, we would urge them to get in touch."
According to SLC sources, at least three members of the ICC's anti-corruption units arrived in Sri Lanka to meet with its cricket officials.
They have addressed the members of the Sri Lankan team which is due to leave this week for the UAE to play Pakistan in two Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is.
The 46-year-old Wickramasinghe, a former fast bowler who played 40 Tests and 134 ODIs, had made the allegations during an interview to a local television station.
He had alleged that there were "unnatural match patterns" and player selections, while blaming the current management for the team's poor performance.
However, Wickramesinghe later said in a statement: "At no point I was making allegations against players, what I did was to bring out floating rumors and call for a proper inquiry."
In its statement, SLC said that the players expressed profound "shock and displeasure" and rejected the allegations as totally "baseless, disparaging and hurtful".
The players urged SLC to initiate an immediate inquiry by summoning Wickremasinghe as they had all been slandered by his "diabolic allegations".
However, SLC did not say if it had launched such an inquiry.
Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga, in July, had also demanded an inquiry into the team's defeat to India in the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai.
"Ten legends of the game who have made a significant contribution to the history of Test cricket will be inducted to join 93 players who are already in the illustrious list of ICC Hall of Famers making the total now to 103," the ICC said in a statement on Thursday.
"The special intake will see two players from each of the following five eras join the ranks of the world's greatest players: Early Cricket Era (pre-1918), Inter-War Cricket Era (1918 -- 1945), Post-War Cricket Era (1946 -- 1970), ODI Era (1971 -- 1995), Modern Cricket Era (1996 -- 2016)," added the statement.
The special edition will be telecast live on June 13 (Sunday) on all ICC digital channels.
The 10 icons who will be inducted were chosen by the ICC Hall of Fame Voting Academy which comprises of living Hall of Fame members, a FICA (Federation of International Cricketers' Association) representative, prominent cricket journalists and senior ICC figures.
🗓️ Mark your calendars – Sunday, 13 June!
— ICC (@ICC) June 10, 2021
Ten greats of Test cricket to be inducted into the #ICCHallOfFame 🎖️
The announcement will be streamed LIVE via ICC’s digital media channels.
"We are celebrating the history of the game and what better way than to honour some of the greats that founded and played the game across different eras. These are all players with a legacy that will continue to inspire future generations for years to come," Geoff Allardice, the ICC Acting Chief Executive, was quoted as saying in the statement.
According to sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), at the ICC meeting here, Board's CEO Rahul Johri had raised concerns about security at the World Cup, scheduled to be held in England and Wales.
Johri reportedly expressed satisfaction with the ICC's security arrangements during the World Cup which starts on May 30.
The BCCI is yet to take a decision on boycotting the World Cup first round match against Pakistan on June 16 as there is a possibility that the two arch-rivals may meet in the knockout stages as well.
There have been demands from several former players and ex-BCCI officials that the Pakistan match should be boycotted following nation wide outrage over the Pulwama terror attack which led to the martyrdom of at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly and former star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh are among those who had called for a boycott of the match against Pakistan.
'Stand By' - a collaboration between new artist LORYN and one of the UK's most successful and influential acts, Rudimental - will be played in ground and city events across the tournament as the official song to this summer's showpiece event.
"The exciting partnership celebrates the cultural diversity of the United Kingdom and was announced earlier in May at an exclusive event hosted by Radio 1 Breakfast DJ, Greg James in discussion with Cricket World Cup Ambassador Freddie Flintoff and LORYN," a statement said.
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 is one of the world's biggest global sporting events, it attracts one million sporting fans soaking up the action in the UK and a further one billion fans watching worldwide across the 48-match event.
'Stand By' will be played around the world and provide a common voice for fans to show their passion.
Keeping aside those two knocks and the quickfire 46-ball 47 from skipper Virat Kohli, it was again a case of conditions making the batsmen sweat. While ODI deputy Rohit Sharma managed 19, opening partner Shikhar Dhawan scored just 1. The much spoken about Vijay Shankar also managed just 2 as the Indian scoreboard read a scary 102/4 at one stage. But the 164-run partnership between Rahul (108) and Dhoni ensured that another embarrassing collapse was avoided.
Even though Rahul scored a century, it wasn't before he played and missed quite a few. In fact, while the Indian team management decided to stick with Rahul at the much-debated no.4 slot, it would have been interesting to see whether a bowling attack with better penetration would have let Rahul fly away to a century after a start that saw him woefully short on confidence.
The sun peeping through the clouds and Dhoni's acumen also helped as the former Indian skipper looked to ease pressure off Rahul by taking the attack to the Bangladesh spinners. In fact, it almost looked like the Dhoni of old as he used the depth of the crease to perfection against the Bangaldesh spinners.
But then, these warm-up matches are to fine-tune the areas that need attention. And going by the form of the Indian batsmen in the top half, there is plenty to worry for skipper Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri.
Dhawan was the first to go as he was trapped plumb in front after he planted his foot across the line of the ball from Mustafizur Rahman. His worry with the one that leaves the left-hander was clearly behind his undoing in this case.
In case of Rohit, it has to be more of disappointment and frustration at the way he chopped one onto his stumps due to his inability to read the slowness of the ball. Trying a pull off the front foot, he looked to have played the shot a tad bit early.
Kohli's dismissal was against the run of play and it doesn't and it was a case of over attacking. While it is no justification, but then, Kohli's form is definitely not a worry when it comes to adapting to English conditions. But Shankar's typical dismissal behind the wicket off pacer Rubel Hossain will definitely be a cause for concern. Trying to play at one too close to leave, all Shankar managed was an edge to the keeper.
But every dark cloud has a silver lining and on Tuesday, it was Dhoni putting up a brilliant show of batsmanship as he first guided Rahul and then went into a zone as he sent the Bangladesh bowlers on a leather hunt in the death overs. It was only poetic justice that he brought up his 100 with a six in the 49th over of the innings as skipper Kohli cheered on from the dressing room with teammates for company.
One of the fans wrote: "The @ICC and the @BCCI must get a room." Another one wrote: "BCCI ownes ICC clearly....(sic)." Another India fan also made his displeasure clear when he wrote: "ICC acting like Indian team fan. BCCI > ICC (sic)."
Earlier, the fans had trolled the ICC for keeping them waiting to see their favourite stars in action as Team India are playing only their first game of the tournament on Wednesday while some teams have played two games already.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar was also not impressed as he wrote in TOI: "The internal issues at BCCI probably didn't allow the officials to have a close look at the schedule before it was firmed up, else they would have noticed that India, one of the top draws of the event, were going to play their first game well after almost every other team would have played their second one. Going in cold against good teams is never easy."
But Kohli said: "It is a bit of an advantage in terms of understanding how the games have gone, what the conditions have to offer, what the overcast conditions bring into play.
"When you see other teams playing and what the approach is, from that point of view we would say that we have a lot of positives we can take out of starting late."
"We will not beg India or any other country to play cricket with us; we want resumption of bilateral cricket ties with India in a decent and dignified manner," the Dawn quoted Mani as telling the media at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
India and Pakistan have not played any bilateral series since January 2013. Both the teams have, however, met several times in the multilateral events.
Mani also confirmed that the Pakistan women's team will play matches of the ICC women championship in India this November and the team's participation will help them understand whether bilateral cricket ties between the two arch-rivals could be resumed anytime soon.
He further revealed PCB's plans to resume international cricket in Pakistan and said that they will host Sri Lanka in September for two Test matches in what would be a part of the ICC Test Championship which will be spread over two years, concluding in 2021.
"We will host the Sri Lankan team for two Test matches of this inaugural edition of the event in September. Then our team will be flying to Australia in October/November for one day and night and one day Test of the championship," he said.
The Sri Lankan team will then play bilateral series in Pakistan in December this year which will feature three ODIs and three T20Is, said the PCB chief.
Mani further said that the cricket board is trying to persuade the foreign teams to visit Pakistan and in this regard he is utilising his experience of heading the International Cricket Council (ICC) and his personal relations with different cricket boards.
"We want to see our cricket arenas having international cricket activities on a regular basis, the way it used to be in the past and we are speeding up our efforts and contacts with cricket playing nations, as (now) things have improved a lot as far as the security situation is concerned," he said.
He also highlighted the poor condition of training facilities and accommodation.
"What we have found out is that for the four matches we have played so far at Cardiff and Bristol, the ICC prepared green pitches," he told Daily News as reported by ESPNCricinfo.
"At the same venues, the other countries have played on pitches which were brown and favourable for high scoring.
"The pitch being prepared for our match against Australia on Saturday at The Oval is green. It is not sour grapes that we are complaining. But it is very unfair on the part of the ICC that they prepare one type of wicket for certain teams and another type for others," de Mel said.
Sri Lanka's two most recent matches were washed out in Bristol. The Lankans began their campaign on two green decks in Cardiff, where they lost to New Zealand and beat Afghanistan.
"Even the practice facilities provided at Cardiff were unsatisfactory. Instead of three nets, they gave us only two. Also, the hotel where we put up at Bristol did not have a swimming pool, which is very essential for every team, especially for the fast bowlers to relax their muscles after practice.
"The hotels that Pakistan and Bangladesh were put up at Bristol had swimming pools. We wrote to the ICC listing all these shortcomings four days ago but so far we have not had any response from them. We will continue to write to them until we get a reply," de Mel said.
The ICC, on its part, has denied the allegations saying that pitches were overseen by an independent advisor.
"We employ an independent pitch advisor to work with the host curators at all ICC events and the ICC Men's World Cup 2019 is no different," an event spokesperson was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
"We are happy with the wickets that have been produced across the event so far in English conditions.
"As part of the four-year planning process to deliver this event, we have liaised with all teams to ensure they are happy with their set up and are available to work with them should any issues arise that have not been previously anticipated. At the heart of our planning is the philosophy that all 10 teams are treated equally to enable them to have the best possible preparation for the event," the spokesperson said.
Opener Dhawan, who suffered a thumb injury during the league match against Australia, has been ruled out of further participation in the event.
The ICC release said: "The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC World Cup 2019 consists of Geoff Allardice (ICC, ETC chairman), Campbell Jamieson (ICC representative), Steve Elworthy (CWC representative), Alan Fordham (host representative), Harsha Bhogle and Kumar Sangakkara (both independent representatives)."
Dhawan was ruled out of the World Cup on Wednesday morning as he was not in a position to recover in time for the remaining games of the showpiece event. While IANS had broken the news, team manager Sunil Subramaniam addressed the media in Southampton on Wednesday afternoon and confirmed the same.
"Shikhar has a fracture on the left hand and will remain in cast until July 2019. We have requested ICC for Rishabh pant as a replacement," he said.
IANS learnt that Dhawan visited a specialist on Wednesday morning before the call to bring in Pant as replacement was taken.
Explaining the nature of fracture, BCCI tweeted: "Dhawan has been diagnosed with a fracture of the first metacarpal on his left hand following a ball impact injury during the team's second match versus Australia at the Oval on 5th June 2019."
The decision, which needs to be ratified by the CGF members, follows a comprehensive bidding process, where the ICC, in partnership with the ECB, presented the compelling case for women's cricket to become part of the Commonwealth Games sport programme.
The application for inclusion of women's cricket for Birmingham 2022 is part of the global ambition for cricket to inspire and empower women and girls around the world and to drive greater levels of inclusivity and opportunity throughout the sport, the ICC said in a statement.
ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: "We are absolutely delighted that women's cricket has been nominated for inclusion in Birmingham 2022. I'd like to thank everyone at the CGF and Birmingham 2022 for the nomination and it would be a real honour to become part of the Commonwealth Games family.
"We are committed to accelerating the growth of the women's game and breaking down barriers and gender stereotypes along the way. We share our ambition to deliver greater equality, fairness and opportunity in sport with the Commonwealth Games Federation.
"The platform of Birmingham 2022 will provide a springboard for women's cricket and will inspire and engage young girls around the world to be part of this wonderful and inclusive sport."
Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer, added: "The inclusion of women's cricket in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games would be a landmark moment in the development of the sport.
"It would present us with a wonderful opportunity to capitalise on the global reach of these Games to showcase the very best of women's cricket and in doing so inspire a new generation of women and girls from around the world to start playing the game.
"We are extremely grateful to the teams at Birmingham 2022 and CGF for providing us with this opportunity and for sharing our vision for the future of women's cricket."
Pakistan scored 315/9 in their allocated 50 overs against Bangladesh in their final World Cup group stage match on Friday. They needed to dismiss Bangladesh for seven runs or less to qualify for the semifinals and sure enough, the Bangladeshi openers wiped out that improbable chance within the first two overs.
During the mid-innings break, the ICC tweeted the number of runs Bangladesh will have to be bowled out for with a GIF that was a clip from the 1994 Hollywood movie "Dumb and Dumber" featuring Jim Carrey in which the actor's character is gleefully saying, "So you're telling me there's a chance?"
Soon fans started accusing the ICC of trolling the Pakistan cricket team and its supporters. A number of conspiracy theories were also floated in the replies section, including that ICC and the big teams like India, England and Australia had conspired to get Pakistan knocked out and that the ICC Twitter account was controlled by Indian fans, among others.
After making a poor start to the tournament, Pakistan staged an impressive fight back to come close to qualifying for the semifinals. After they beat South Africa and New Zealand, fans and commentators noted the similarities between Pakistan's 2019 campaign and their 1992 campaign that ended with them winning the World Cup under the captaincy of the country's current Prime Minister Imran Khan.
However, England's win over India took Pakistan's chances of qualification out of their hands.
He was seen in the stands, watching the game along with another former Sri Lanka skipper Aravinda de Silva. The ICC has taken note of the same and will ensure that he doesn't go anywhere near the players or the officials.
Speaking to IANS, an ICC spokesperson said: "He is banned from any official cricketing activity, which does not include attending games as a fan. But we are making sure that he does not get access to any lounge or any team area, officials, players or the players' families and representatives. Obviously there are already measures in place to safeguard this, but we are making sure he doesn't get any passes or invites."
Jayasuriya was in February banned from all cricket-related activities for two years after he admitted to breaching Articles 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code.
The first breach was failure or refusal to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), including failure to provide accurately and completely any information and/or documentation requested by the ACU as part of such investigation.
The second breach was obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.
By Baidurjo Bhose
In order to add more excitement to the longest format of the game, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already come out with the concept of World Test Championship.
The ongoing first edition of the World Test Championship will see the teams -- Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies -- fight for top honours across 71 Test matches in 27 series over the next two years, the winner of which will be crowned in 2021.
"It is a no-brainer that Test cricket must jazz itself up to survive the onslaught of T20s and alternate entertainment options. I am a die-hard traditionalist, but Test cricket needs to appeal to the millennials. The core issues need to be addressed," Gambhir wrote in his column for The Times of India.
The cricketer-turned-politician, who represented India in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is, also called on the ICC to standardise cricket ball used in Test matches.
While SG balls are used in India, Dukes balls are used in England, Ireland and the West Indies while the rest of the countries use Kookabura balls.
"I can understand the commercial compulsions of this but it is strange to be in a common competition with variable apparatus," he said.
"Maybe ICC can list out standard parameters for a cricket ball to be used in Test cricket and float a tender for the manufacturers. Whoever meets them at a desired cost can be the 'bowling partner of the ICC'. A spinner like R. Ashwin will be thrilled if he gets a cricket ball with the healthy seam of SG, or Dukes," he added.
"Next on the agenda: Better binoculars for the ice spotters on the Titanic," Neesham wrote on Twitter on Tuesday with a link to a story about the rule change.
In the July 14 World Cup final, England managed to tie the target of 242 that was set for them by New Zealand. The Super Over also ended in a tie but England's tally of 22 boundaries against New Zealand's 17 throughout the match helped the hosts win the title for the first time in its history.
However, on Monday, the ICC scrapped the contentious boundary rule and stated that it will not be used in future ICC events.
"In group stages, if the Super Over is tied, the match will be tied. In Semi Finals and Finals, there is one change to the Super Over regulation in keeping with the basic principle of scoring more runs than the opponent to win, the Super Over will be repeated until one team has more runs than the other," said an ICC media release.
Like Neesham, former New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan was also irked with ICC's decision. "Bit late ICC," McMillan tweeted, before drawing attention to another controversial moment when England scored a bonus four runs via the bat of Ben Stokes as he dived to beat a Martin Guptill throw at the stumps.
"How about fixing the other rule issue ICC...... a dead ball once the ball has hit/deflected from a batsman??"
England were awarded six runs for the overthrow, which ultimately saw England win their maiden World Cup at the Lord's.
Former international umpire Simon Taufel had said that the umpires made a mistake while awarding six runs to England, instead of five.
Kumar Dharmasena, who was targeted for his controversial overthrow call, had accepted his mistake, but said he didn't regret the decision. ICC had also backed the Sri Lankan umpire over the issue.
Thakur, a union minister of state for finance and corporate affairs, was in the town in connection with the Sansad Mahakumbh prize distribution function.
"The ICC has no relevance without the BCCI as it used to give it seventy-five percent of grants to run its affairs," said Thakur, who is the brother of newly-appointed BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal.
He also expressed hope that the Sourav Ganguly-led new body of BCCI would take up the issue with the ICC and get its due.
Thakur said the appointment of Arun as the board's treasurer is a matter of pride for the state and he was hopeful that his brother would do the job honestly.
Recently, Arun also said that India not having a "say" in the ICC is a major concern for the newly-appointed treasurer, who has questioned the very relevance of the world body if it doesn't have the country in a prominent role.
Though Thakur is not directly involved in the board's affairs anymore, he said he is open to guiding the BCCI on certain matters.
Earlier, he took part in the Khel Mahakumbh function, which he had started during his last stint as a member of parliament.
The tournament started last year and witnessed participation from over 42,700 youth and 1400 teams from the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency.
"I firmly believe that sports help in building character, shaping personalities and contributes immensely towards the holistic growth of an individual," Thakur said.
"Sansad Star Khel Mahakumbh was started with intent to identify grassroot-level talent, provide them with a platform and nurture them over the due course of the tournament. I have seen these players grow and some of them have transformed into great athletes and are playing at significant platforms."
Under the provisions of the code, Shakib chose to admit the charges and agreed the sanction with the ICC in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing. Subject to him satisfying the conditions in respect of the suspended part of the sanction, he will be free to resume international cricket on October 29, 2020.
It was reported earlier that Shakib could face a lengthy ban for not reporting a corrupt approach.
"I am obviously extremely sad to have been banned from the game I love, but I completely accept my sanction for not reporting the approaches," Shakib is quoted as saying by the ICC. "The ICC ACU is reliant on players to play a central part in the fight against corruption and I didn't do my duty in this instance.
"Like the majority of players and fans around the world, I want cricket to be a corruption-free sport and I am looking forward to working with the ICC ACU team to support their education programme and ensure young players don't make the same mistake I did."
The ICC said that the charges levied on Shakib are:
1. Article 2.4.4 - Failure to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations he received to engage in Corrupt Conduct - in relation to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe Tri-Series in January 2018 and / or the 2018 IPL
2. Article 2.4.4 - Failure to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations he received to engage in Corrupt Conduct - in relation to a second approach in respect of the Tri-Series in January 2018
3. Article 2.4.4 - Failure to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations he received to engage in Corrupt Conduct - in relation to an IPL 2018 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kings XI Punjab on 26 April 2018.
The ICC wants to change the 143-year old five-day format to four days with more emphasis on limited-overs cricket for the next cycle but it has met with stiff resistance across the globe from leading stars including Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer and Nathan Lyon to name a few.
"From a purist's point of view and being an admirer of Test cricket, I don't think it should be tinkered with. The format has to be played in the way it has been played for so many years," Tendulkar told PTI in an exclusive interview.
A day less, according to the world's highest run-getter across two formats, will lead to batsmen thinking of Tests as an extended version of limited-overs cricket.
"The batsmen will start thinking that it is a longer version of the limited-overs match because the moment you bat till the second-day lunch, you know that there are only two and a half days to go. That changes the thinking and dynamics of the game," said the only man to have played 200 international games in the longest format.
The other worrying aspect could be spinners being rendered ineffective with a day less in hand.
"Taking away the fifth-day track from a spinner is like taking away the first-day track from a fast bowler. There is no fast bowler in the world who wouldn't want to bowl on a fifth-day track.
"On the final session of a fifth day, any spinner would like to bowl. The ball doesn't turn from the first day or the first session. The wicket takes time for wear and tear. The fifth day brings with it, turn, bounce and the unevenness of the surface. It doesn't happen on the first two days," he explained.
Tendulkar fully understands that there are commercial aspect and audience interest attached to the game but he wants one format to remain the true Test of batsmanship.
"We first need to understand why do they want it and what are the reasons for that. That's one side of it and obviously it's got to do with the commercial side as well," he said.
"Audience-friendly, yes, it is important. But for that, from Tests, we have moved to ODIs and T20s and now we even have T10s. So there should be something for the purists and that's Test cricket," the maestro added.
"The batsmen, are they being Tested in Test cricket? At least, there should be one format that should challenge the batsmen and that's why it's called Test cricket because it's not over in two sessions. You need to bat for long hours on difficult surfaces at times."
Tendulkar has time and again stressed on the need to have good Test match wickets.
"For good Test matches, you need good wickets. If the Test match pitches have quality, the game will not get boring. There are tracks where even the bowler feels that he can't get the batsman out on this surface.
"They then think let's bowl maiden overs and wait for the batsmen to make mistakes. Batsmen also know that if I don't play a foolish shot, no one can get me out."
And Tendulkar feels therein comes the shorter version which excites audiences.
"In shorter versions, spectators have got used to action on every ball in T20s and almost every over in ODIs. Then they come to a format where it might not be as exciting.
"So, we have to have pitches where it should seem something can happen anytime which can make people come to the stadium or remain glued to the TV sets."
(PTI)
The 16-team T20 World Cup 2021, which replaces a previously scheduled eight-team ICC Champions Trophy, will see 11 regional qualification events take place across the five ICC regions (Africa, Americas, Asia, East-Asia Pacific and Europe) with eight teams progressing to one of two global qualifying events.
Additionally, the bottom four teams from the T20 World Cup 2020 will join the regional qualifiers in the global qualification events along with the next four best T20I ranked teams as of 1 January 2020: Zimbabwe, Nepal, UAE and Hong Kong.
This means 16 teams will compete for four T20 World Cup spots in two global qualifiers with the top two teams from each progressing to the event proper in 2021. The 12 teams, which make round two of the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia will gain automatic entry into the event the following year.
ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said: "The decision to replace the Champions Trophy with a T20 World Cup in 2021 was driven by our commitment to global growth and use T20 as our vehicle to do that. Of course, that presented us with a one-off qualification challenge.
"Our regional and global qualification pathways have been established and consistently provide compelling and competitive cricket and we didn't want to lose that despite the tight timelines available to us.
"We worked through a number of options together with Members and we're all strongly in favour of this approach which allows for both global and regional competitions on the pathway to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021."
All Members who meet the ICC Event Participation Criteria (EPPC) will be eligible to participate in the qualification for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021.
(IANS)
Across ICC's digital and social platforms, fans have engaged in greater numbers than ever before with an unprecedented 701 million video views to date. This is a record for ICC women's events with the previous best coming in 2017 for the Women's Cricket World Cup, which netted a total of 100 million views from the whole event.
Meanwhile, the official tournament social channels have attracted 34 million engagements and over 2 billion impressions with fans.
Group stage TV viewing figures
The event has been shown in almost 160 territories across the world through live and highlights television coverage. Whilst the live digital coverage -- simulcasts on mobile and other digital platforms like Hotstar in India and other parts of the world and channel apps such as Kayo in the host nation have been available globally -- in over 200 territories.
Continuing the TV viewership records, Australia's opening game against India became the second most-watched women's match in Australia with a combined average audience of 448,000 across Fox Sports and the Nine Network.
Whilst in India, where Star Sports are broadcasting India matches in five languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu, the same game saw a reach of 20 million and an average audience of 3.55 million which is 39 per cent higher than the most-watched match at the Women's World T20 2018 edition.
The first 12 matches of this event have attracted 2.46 billion viewing minutes in India across the first 12 matches versus 787 million viewing minutes for the same matches in the 2018 event. This represents a 213 per cent increase.
The event is receiving unprecedented free to air coverage in Australia with 13 matches (versus six in 2018) broadcast on Nine Network. This has contributed to a 1,600 per cent increase in viewing minutes of the tournament in Australia.
The most-watched match in the UK was England vs West Indies with an average audience of 245,000. This became the second most-watched match for any international women's match on record in the UK. The only higher audience was for the Women's World Cup 2017 final between England and India which saw 460,000.
(IANS)
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had faced a lot of criticism last week after one of the semi-finals of the Women's T20 World Cup between India and England was washed out. India had progressed to the final on account of their unbeaten run in the group stage.
On Wednesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) released the 31-match schedule for the tournament where the games will be held at six venues.
Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin will host the games in the tournament. The two semi-finals will be played at Tauranga and Hamilton on March 3 and March 4 respectively while the final will be held on March 7 under lights at the Hagley Oval.
Hosts New Zealand will kickoff the tournament with a clash against a qualifier on at Eden Park, Auckland on February 6, 2021.
Only four teams have been confirmed for the World Cup so far. Australia, defending champions England, South Africa and hosts New Zealand have already qualified with four more spots are up for grabs. The remaining teams will be confirmed following the conclusion of the Women's Championship and the qualifying event in Sri Lanka in July.
Among the matches confirmed for now, the Trans-Tasman clash featuring Australia and New Zealand on February 13 and the clash between defending champions England and Australia on the second day of the tournament stand out.
"It's a match we absolutely fizz about as players - taking on the Aussies is always a huge thrill. Cricket fans who come along to the Basin Reserve on Saturday the 13th of February will no doubt see a lot of passion from both teams," said New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine.
"Playing in a World Cup against our arch-rivals in my home city will be an unreal feeling," she added.
Prize money for the showpiece of women's international cricket will total NZD$5.5million, and all matches will be broadcast live.
ICC CEO, Manu Sawhney said: "The ICC has made a long-term commitment to elevating women's cricket as part of our strategy to grow and develop the global game.
"We are extremely proud of the significant progress we have made in increasing prize money for ICC events over the last few years, with the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand having $NZD5.5 million dollars available in prize money compared to $NZD3.1m in 2017 and $NZD316,000 in 2013."
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup CEO Andrea Nelson said: "Our team is proud to be delivering a tournament where Kiwis across the whole country, in each of our six host cities, can really get involved in what is a truly special event."
"We can't wait to see the excitement build around New Zealand as we prepare to roll out the welcome mat for the rest of the world," she added.
Hamilton will play host to seven games in the tournament, which is the most, including the semifinal. Christchurch, Wellington and Tauranga will host six games each. Auckland and Dunedin will host two and four matches respectively.
(IANS)
As we all look forward to the return of cricket, the ICC has formed guidelines on how to keep safe 🙌
Phase 1️⃣ Solo training 🏃
Phase 2️⃣ Small groups of three or less 🏃 🏃 🏃
Phase 3️⃣ Groups of less than 🔟
Phase 4️⃣ Full squad activities 🏏Details 👉 https://t.co/usB5l7mDNx pic.twitter.com/kUINBbS4M5
— ICC (@ICC) May 22, 2020
"ICC Back to Cricket Guidelines" is a comprehensive document developed by the ICC Medical Advisory Committee in consultation with Member Medical Representatives, and provides guidance for the safe resumption of community cricket, domestic professional cricket and international cricket.
The guidelines do not provide answers to when the game can resume in different parts of the world, rather it provides a framework with practical suggestions on how members can resume cricket in a manner that protects against the risk of transmission of infection with the COVID-19 virus.
The ICC advises its Members to use these guidelines as the basis to create their own policies for return to cricket activity in compliance, in all cases, with local and national government regulations (which should always take precedence) and to ensure the cricket community applies the necessary safety measures when resuming cricket.
To learn about the guidelines in detail, click here
Meanwhile, many of the current and former Australian players have themselves said that they don't see the likelihood of the World T20 happening in October-November as per initial schedule due to the restrictions that have come in due to the coronavirus pandemic, former Australia skipper Allan Border has made it clear that the Indian Premier League (IPL) shouldn't be given priority over the showpiece event.
(IANS)
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The ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) ratified recommendations from the Anil Kumble-led Cricket Committee, aimed at mitigating the risks posed by the COVID-19 virus and protect the safety of players and match officials when cricket resumes.
COVID-19 Replacements: Teams will be allowed to replace players displaying symptoms of COVID-19 during a Test match. In line with concussion replacements, the Match Referee will approve the nearest like-for-like replacement.
However, the regulation for COVID-19 replacements will not be applicable in ODIs and T20Is.
Ban on applying saliva to the ball: Players will not be permitted to use saliva to shine the ball. If a player does apply saliva to the ball, the umpires will manage the situation with some leniency during an initial period of adjustment for the players, but subsequent instances will result in the team receiving a warning.
A team can be issued up to two warnings per innings but repeated use of saliva on the ball will result in a 5-run penalty to the batting side. Whenever saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before play recommences.
Non-neutral umpires: The requirement to appoint neutral match officials will be temporarily removed from the playing conditions for all international formats owing to the current logistical challenges with international travel. The ICC will be able to appoint locally based match officials from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Officials and the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Officials.
Additional DRS reviews: The CEC has also confirmed an additional unsuccessful DRS review for each team in each innings of a match, keeping in mind that there may be less experienced umpires on duty at times. This will increase the number of unsuccessful appeals per innings for each team to three for Tests and two for the white-ball formats.
The ICC Cricket Operations team will support Match Referees when processing Code of Conduct breaches and a neutral Elite Panel match referee will conduct any hearing remotely via video link.
An earlier media release on the recommendations of the Cricket Committee and details on the appointment of match officials is available here.
Additional logo allowed: Meanwhile, the CEC has also approved a relaxation of rules on apparel logos for the next 12 months.
A logo, not exceeding 32 square inches in size, may be placed on the chest of the Test match shirt and sweater in addition to the three other logos allowed as per regulations. As of now, logos on chests are only allowed in ODIs and T20Is.
(ICC)
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ICC Provides Framework For Safe Resumption Of Cricket
The fate of the showpiece event has been under the scanner in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic which has seen the ICC and CA work overtime to try and ensure that the tournament is held as per schedule. The event was scheduled to be held Down Under from October 18 to November 15.
The ICC release said: "The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board today agreed to continue exploring a number of contingency plans regarding the future of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 and the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 until next month whilst planning for delivery of the events in the scheduled window is ongoing.
"The Board expressed its desire to continue to assess and evaluate the rapidly changing public health situation caused by COVID-19 working with key stakeholders including governments to explore how the events can be staged to protect the health and safety of everyone involved.
"This contingency planning process will evaluate health and safety, cricket, partner and host considerations ensuring any decision taken is in the best interests of the sport, its members and fans."
ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: "The situation surrounding the global pandemic is evolving rapidly and we want to give ourselves the best possible opportunity to make the right decision for the whole sport. The health and well-being of everyone involved is our priority and other considerations fall out from that.
"We will only get one chance to make this decision and it needs to be the right one and as such we will continue to consult with our members, broadcasters, partners, governments and players and to ensure that we make a well-informed decision."
While the ICC has time and again said that contingency planning was on, it was revealed before the May 28 meeting that Cricket Australia had stated their inability to host the event this year.
In their letter, Cricket Australia had also suggested that Australia be handed rights to hosts the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup instead of postponing this year's edition to 2022. Interestingly, the 2021 edition rights are with India and as per BCCI officials, they are in no mood to exchange the hosting rights.
The ICC has also given the BCCI time till December to get the required tax exemption to host the 2021 T20 World Cup in the country after initially refusing to agree to extend the deadline.
"The board discussed the ongoing issue of tax exemptions required for ICC events and agreed to extend the deadline given to the BCCI to provide a tax solution to December 2020," the release said.
As for the independent investigation that was called for during the last meeting after reports were leaked in the media, the release said: "The board received an update on the independent investigation into the confidentiality of board matters. The enquiry, which is being led by the ICC Ethics Officer, will be supported administratively by a sub-group of the board comprising Independent Director Indra Nooyi and Chair of the F&CA Ehsan Mani. All members of the board and ICC management are parties to the enquiry."
(IANS)
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The ICC recently introduced the system of issuing two warnings per innings to players found violating the saliva ban. Any further violation will result in a five-run penalty.
"They have to try and be lenient which I'm sure they will be but eventually one umpire is going to stick his neck out and say that's a five-run penalty'," Taylor told 'Channel 9'.
The 55-year-old fears that if bowlers are unable to effectively shine the ball, it can result in deliveries becoming too predictable for the batsmen in Test cricket. He also said that this can result in the higher totals which ultimately is not good for the longest format.
"I think it is a bit of a concern because I like, particularly in Test matches, to see the ball slightly dominate the bat, it is a much better game when Test cricket is played that way," Taylor said.
"My concern will be that if the players can't shine the ball and the ball does get very straight and very predictable we are going to see more and more runs, more and more high scores in Test match cricket," Taylor said.
"And that is not the best Test match cricket. Test cricket is much better when the score is around 300," he added.
(IANS)
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The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the Futures Tours and Programme (FTP) into disarray with the T20 World Cup already postponed to give member nations time to complete their bilateral commitments.
"We are currently in discussion with members on what their plans are around rescheduling their series," Allardice answered to a query from PTI during an interaction with news agencies.
Given the circumstances and tight schedules, ICC might have to postpone the June final at the Lord's as Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England have backlog series but Allardice, a former Australian first-class cricketer, would like to wait a bit more.
"Obviously their teams have re-scheduled them (their engagements) as quickly as possible. Depending on how many of them (postponed series) could be re-scheduled within the available time will give us the most appropriate timing for the final. But at this stage the final is scheduled for June 2021," he said.
"We are working with the members on that...Countries are now working out on how to resume and when it's best to resume and they are all in their process of looking at calenders," Allardice added.
Allardice also made it clear that the ICC's role in this scenario would be of a facilitator for the members as the body can't directly get involved in drawing up their calendars.
"I don't see us taking a greater role in terms of being pro-active. ICC plays a role in coordinating competitions, but it has no role in scheduling as it is on members," he clarified.
He admitted that there is a lot of "uncertainty around when international cricket can resume in a number of countries" considering that the situation is different everywhere.
Allardice also said that since 2018, when the ICC ODI League was first devised, the global body has tried to recommend a bit of balance between ODIs and T20 International formats with bilaterals featuring three 50-over and an equal number of 20-over games.
"The rules around league were established, back in 2017-18, a decision was taken at that time that T20Is and ODis will be three-match series.
"Earlier, it used to be five ODIs and a T20 International. Probably it changes the balance but when the league was designed, the countries agreed that there would be three ODIs and three T20 Internationals," he added.
While South Africa has started with 'Three Team Cricket' or better known as 3TC on an experimental basis, ICC will only be focussing on the three formats at its disposal.
In 3TC, three teams of eight players compete in a single match. Each team bats for a total of 12 overs, split between two periods of six overs apiece from each of the other two teams in the match.
"Look the ICC's position is at the moment we have three international formats but members are encouraged to try out new format," Allardice said.
"We are focussed on these three formats (Tests, ODis, T20Is). We are aware of what's happening in member countries but it has not come on the ICC radar as yet," the GM put forth global body's point.
Talking about women's cricket Allardice refused to buy the notion that women's game is likely to suffer more because of the pandemic compared to men's cricket.
"Women's cricket is as much affected as men's cricket. The planning is going ahead for the event and the situation is being monitored."
(PTI)
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The International Cricket Council (ICC) rules say that if a pitch is rated poor then the home team would be docked three points.
"A poor pitch is one that does not even allow an even contest between bat and ball, either by favouring batters too much, and not giving the bowlers (seam and spin) from either side sufficient opportunity to take wickets, or by favouring the bowlers too much (seam or spin), and not giving the batters from either team the opportunity to make runs," states the rules leading to the docking of points.
The rules further state the conditions that make the pitch poor and one of the conditions is about assistance to spin bowlers from early on. "The pitch offers excessive assistance to spin bowlers, especially early in the match."
The wicket for the second wicket started helping spinners from the first session of the first day and it remains to be seen how match referee Javagal Srinath will write on it.
India are currently placed fourth on the WTC table at the moment and need to win the series 2-1 or 3-1 to play New Zealand, who have already qualified, in the final in June at Lord's, London, in England.
India had 430 points in 14 Tests and 68.3 percentage of points ahead of the second Test.