Yorkshire chairman quits, lambasts ECB for not giving prompt response to Azeem Rafiq's allegations

Australia formally postpone only Test against Afghanistan citing uncertain situation

After months of threatening to postpone the only Test between Australia and Afghanistan scheduled towards the end of this month due to a ban on women’s cricket in the country in the wake of change in government in Afghanistan, Cricket Australia has now formally deferred the Test citing uncertainty. It also said that the game has not been cancelled and that it will take place in future when the “situation is clearer” while hoping that Australia will be able to host both men and women cricketers from Afghanistan in not too distant future. Australia has been a favourable cricketing ground for Afghanistan players as they have found reputation and traction among franchises in the Big Bash League. Cricket Australia said that it is looking forward to hosting Afghanistan players whom they called “great ambassadors” of the game. "CA is committed to support growing the game for women and men in Afghanistan and around the world, however, given the present uncertainty, CA felt it necessary to postpone the Test match until a later time when the situation is clearer," a statement said. "CA looks forward to hosting Afghanistan players in the BBL this season, who are great ambassadors for the game, and to hosting both the Afghanistan women's and men's team in the not too distant future." Afghanistan’s T20 captain and one of their biggest all-time stars, Mohammad Nabi expressed disappointment on the development but at the same time, he was “happy” at Australia not cancelling the Test altogether. Nabi said that he is aware of the decision-making process of Cricket Australia who is committed to the development of the game in Afghanistan and he will carry on having discussions over the issue. "It's disappointing the Test match isn't going ahead this year but I'm happy that the match is only postponed and not cancelled. My representative has been assured by Cricket Australia that they remain committed to the development of cricket in Afghanistan, so I look forward to hearing how we can work together in this regard,” Nabi said. Afghanistan suffered a regime change after the Taliban overthrew the civilian government and imposed a massive crackdown on cultural activities such as women’s sport and Cricket Australia has always maintained its stance over the issue. It threatened to cancel the Test against Afghanistan in order to safeguard women’s game in the country despite calls from former players and experts on that being not a good option to produce desired results.

ECB bans Yorkshire from hosting major matches, punishes Gary Ballance with indefinite ban in racism row

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has banned the Yorkshire County Cricket Club from hosting major matches such as international fixtures and the games of The Hundred as it deemed the county’s handling of the investigation into the racism allegations made by Azeem Rafiq “unacceptable” and causing “serious damage” to the reputation of the game. The county manage the Headingley ground and were to host a Test match against New Zealand and an ODI against South Africa next summer and the fate of all such games lie in limbo. “In the meantime, YCCC are suspended from hosting international or major matches until it has clearly demonstrated that it can meet the standards expected of an international venue, ECB member and First Class County,” the ECB said in its statement. The ECB has also taken cognisance of Garry Balanace’s admission of his role in the Yorkshire county in hurling racial abuse against Azeem Rafiq and said that the left-hander will be suspended indefinitely for selection into the England squad. The ECB strong reiterated that it stands for inclusivity and maintained its “unwavering commitment to ensuring that cricket is a game for everyone. Discrimination of any kind on the field of play, in the dressing room, in the stands, or in the boardroom is intolerable in sport or indeed, society. Cricket must work together to eradicate it.”

T20 World Cup | NZ vs NAM: In pursuit of net run rate boost, New Zealand face tricky Namibians in Sharjah

New Zealand have got all their bases covered and even after struggling a bit in their last game against Scotland, they ended up on the winning side and now have four points from three games. All they need is to win their remaining games which are against Namibia and Afghanistan and they would be through to the semi-finals. They have got no net run rate to worry about. But what if they lose against Afghanistan? What if? To cover that what if, they would look to make sure that their net run rate touches a great high as they face Namibia in their next challenge. Given the fact that the match is at Sharjah and Namibian bowlers have been good throughout the tournament, it might just not be the easiest game for the Kiwis. But easy or not they must try and win it big time. What's at stake? For New Zealand, it is about making a safe basket, which they could not even if they tried as getting past the Afghan and India net run rate is a herculean task, so they might as well just look to avoid any surprise and then as the match nears its end, try and get as early to the finish as possible, just to build some sort of pressure in Afghanistan and India regarding the net run rate issue. For Namibia, they would like t keep performing the way they have been. Their batting is of course the weakest link, especially the top order and hence they would like to see them firing for once. The stakes are not high as per the tournament for the blue eagles, but as far as a nation and as a team it is concerned, they would obviously like to outperform themselves from their last game and try and pull out a surprise. What needs to change? The biggest change that new Zealand would like to have before that virtual quarterfinal against Afghanistan is to have skipper Kane Williamson in form. He has not been able to spend as much time as is desirous from the captain of the team and hence him getting a lot of time in the middle. Another change that the Kiwis would like to have is either get Adam Milne in form or try out Kyle Jamieson. For Namibia, the biggest change could be to see their prime run-scorers in Round-1 captain Gerhard Erasmus and all-rounder David Wiese getting back in form with the willow. If these two score runs, the team from Africa could really pose a challenge with a very talented bowling attack. New Zealand vs Namibia: Match Details Match Number - 36 Date and Time: November 05, 2021, 03:30 pm IST, 02:00 pm Local, 10:00 am GMT Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report The pitch at Sharjah would have shine on it but it would act as a facade as the wicket would be low and slow as usual and anything above the range of 150 would be hard to chase on that wicket. Weather Forecast The temperature at the stadium will fall from 32-degree Celsius at 02:00 pm to 29-degree Celsius by 06:00 pm and similarly, the humidity will increase from 44% to 58% meaning that the wicket would keep getting stickier as the game progresses. Team News New Zealand New Zealand have all the players fit and fine, but it could really test Kyle Jamieson instead of dam Milne as the latter has been out of form in the last two games that he has played. Apart from that, no other change looks like a possibility. Probable XI Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult Namibia For Namibia, they can try and get Bernard Scholtz back in the playing XI in place of van Lingen who has not been able to perform with the bat whatsoever. An extra spinner at Sharjah would really be of some help. Probable XI Stephan Baard, Zane Green (wk), Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (c), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jan Frylinck, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo CE XI Fantasy team Wicketkeepers Devon Conway Batters Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Gerhard Erasmus All-rounders David Wiese, JJ Smit Bowlers Ish Sodhi, Kyle Jamieson, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jan Frylinck Vice-Captain David Wiese Captain Martin Guptill

WI vs SL | Asalanka and bowlers put defending champions out of their misery and the T20 World Cup

It was the night of doom for the defending champions West Indies as they were knocked over by Sri Lanka, and thereby discarded from the race of their title defence. There was not one department where West Indies were better than the islanders they were up against. Charith Asalanka and Wanindu Hsaranag with bat and ball respectively swindled the Windies ship in deep waters from where recovery was just impossible. Chasing a huge target of 190 the West Indies innings got off to the worst possible start losing both Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis in the first two overs itself. First Nicholas Pooran and then Shimron Hetmyer tried to provide some semblance to an otherwise falling apart innings, but it wasn’t enough. While Pooran got out for 46 off 34 balls off Dushmanatha Chameera trying to hit the pacer out of the park, Hetmyer remained unbeaten on 81 off 54 balls as other batters kept going down at the other end. All the big names of T20 cricket such as Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Jason Holder and Dwayne Bravo couldn’t even get past the single-digit mark. The entire Sri Lankan bowling was its mark as apart from Maheesh Theekshana, every bowler was among wickets with Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne and Binura Fernando picking two each while one apiece was picked by Chameera and skipper Dasun Shanaka. Earlier in the evening, after winning the toss, Pollard invited Sri Lanka to bat first. This decision of his was not backed by his bowlers as Sri Lankan openers posted their biggest partnership of this World Cup so far. Though Kusal Perera got out at the team score of 42, Pathum Nissanka tuned up with Charith Asalanka as the two added 91 for the second wicket. After the fall of Nissanka (51 off 41 balls), Asalanka added 46 off just 19 balls with skipper Shanka as they both guided the team to its highest ever total in this World Cup of 189-3. Sri Lanka would move back home with pride and confidence restored with tier showing at the mega event in which they remained in all games even the ones they lost closely against South Africa and England. On the other hand, West Indies will live another day and might turn out to be party poopers for Australia when they face the Kangaroos in their last game, which the Australian team would be looking to win to make sure that they enter the Semi-finals.