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Ecb Ceo Tom Harrison Attended Ravi Shastris Book Launch Event In London Report

ECB CEO Tom Harrison attended Ravi Shastri's book launch event in London: Report

The Chief Executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was “gutted” after the cancellation of the fifth and final Test of the series slated to take place in Manchester also attended the book launch of India’s head coach Ravi Shastri’s upcoming book.

The event took place two days before the start of the fourth Test at the Oval and now is being under the scanner for becoming a spreader event for the Indian side.

As per a UK-based newspaper Evening Standard, Harrison was also there at the launch and he had received the invitation for the event from Shastri himself. However, the report suggests that he was in full compliance with the Covid-19 norms such as wearing masks

Harrison was asked if the Indian team members should not have organised such an event after the Old Trafford was “cancelled”, and he refused to issue any mandate on the part of the ECB to the touring Indian team.

“The position we have had is for people to make decisions on what they think they are able to do or not. It’s not for ECB to say, in the context of trying to let people live more freely, we’re not influencing how they live their lives in the constraints of those living standards. That’s not how we operate,” Harrison said.

The final Test of the series that was interestingly poised at 2-1 with a match to go at Old Trafford has been postponed indefinitely with both the ECB and BCCI working together to “reschedule” at some point in the near future.

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5th T20I: New Zealand fight hard to salvage pride after Bangladesh took home series

New Zealand defeated hosts Bangladesh by 27 runs in the fifth and final T20I match of the series to limit the series to a 3-2 result. The hots already had an unassailable lead in the series after winning the fourth game of the series and the win by Blackcaps could only salvage their pride leading up to an important series against Pakistan and ICC World T20 due in a month’s time. Chasing a target of 162 runs which appeared a steep one considering the nature of pitches used in the series, the hosts got off to a sluggish start and lost Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar just when they were looking to get a move on. The duo was eliminated by the spin twins of Blackcaps—Ajaz Patel and Cole McConchie, who have been ripping their spinning deliveries in the series. Even before the hosts could gather some momentum after the loss of Sarkar and Das, they lost the big wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim, who has had a disappointing series with the bat. Bangladesh lost four big wickets in the space of 27 balls while they could muster only 20 runs in the same period. The momentum was never with them, but Afif Hossain swung his bat around valiantly to lead the counterattack. He and the skipper Mahmudullah forged a rapid partnership of 53 runs from just seven overs to put the hosts back on track. However, as soon as Mahmudullah fell to Scott Kuggeleijn, the lower-order could not stand up to rescue the hosts and Afif was left stranded at one end just one run shy of his half-century. Earlier, New Zealand skipper Tom Latham won the toss and elected to bat first on what promised to be a decent batting track. The openers Fin Allen and Rachin Ravindra provided them with a fantastic start and took the team past the 50-run mark inside the mandatory powerplay. However, their innings too suffered a stutter as wickets kept on falling at regular intervals. After the fall of Ravindra and Allen, Will Young and Collin de Grandhomme failed as well to leave the skipper Latham scrambling in the middle. He got support from the experienced Henry Nicholls and the duo carried the Blackcaps past the 100-run mark. Skipper Latham brought up a well-compiled half-century of 32 balls with the help of two fours and as many sixes but he could not provide a rollicking finish to the Blackcaps and that job was well done by Cole McConchie, who smashed a 10-ball 17 to take the Blackcaps past the 160-run mark and put enormous pressure on the hosts. New Zealand were found out in the conditions stacked heavily in the favour of spin bowlers but they did not fail to adapt as their Trans-Tasman rivals Australia did earlier. They were made to work hard for the runs and wins but the two wins and strong fight they have put on in the series would have given welcome signs of depth and talent in the squad going forward to the two T20 World Cups.

Former Bangladesh umpire Nadir Shah dies aged 57

Former Bangladesh umpire Nadir Shah has succumbed following a long battle with cancer in Dhaka on Friday, September 10. He was taken to hospital a month following the latest attack of respiratory problems and later ti days back was put on life support where he lost the battle with life. Aged 57, Nadir had officiated in 40 ODIs and six T20 internationals and had the history of playing domestic cricket in Bangladesh across multiple clubs. His demise has been mourned by the highest level of the authorities in Bangladesh cricketing sphere with Bangladesh's sports minister and the chief executive of the country’s governing body of the game extending their condolences. "Nadir Shah was a renowned face on the cricket field," he said. "His death is an irreparable loss for the country's sports arena. The nation will forever remember his unique contribution to the advancement of cricket in the country,” Bangladesh's sports minister Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel "Nadir Shah was a most affable person who was loved and respected by all in the cricket fraternity. He will be missed. He lived for cricket and had always executed his responsibility as an umpire with fairness. We pray for the salvation of his soul," BCB's chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. Nadir Shah had made his international debut as an umpire in 2006.

Looks impossible for Afghanistan to feature in World T20 2021: Tim Paine

Australia Test captain Tim Paine has said that it would be “impossible” for Afghanistan to feature in the World T20 2021 scheduled to take place in October-November in UAE and Oman. Paine suggested that the countries might refuse to play against the Asian nation after the Taliban has put a ban on women’s cricket in the country. “I don’t think we want to be associated with countries that are taking opportunities or things off literally half their population,” Paine was quoted as saying on SEN radio. “I’d imagine it’s impossible (for Afghanistan to take part) if teams are pulling out of playing against them and governments are not letting them travel to our shores.” “How a team like that can be allowed to play in an ICC-sanctioned event is going to be very, very hard to see,” he added. Cricket Australia had recently said that it would cancel the one-off Test match against Afghanistan that was slated to begin on November 27 in Hobart if the women’s cricket doesn’t get the support from Taliban. The Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced the squad for the tournament but the controversy isn't stopping. The selectors had named Rashid Khan as the skipper of the side initially but the spinner stepped down from the position over team selection issues. The side would now be led by Mohammad Nabi.

ENG vs IND | Old Trafford Test stands cancelled, BCCI offers ECB rescheduling to complete series

The fifth and final Test between India and England has been cancelled. “Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth LV= Insurance Test between England and India Men due to start today at Emirates Old Trafford, will be cancelled,” a statement from the ECB said. “Due to fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases inside the camp, India are regrettably unable to field a team,” it further added. More to follow...