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

Just a day after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) banned Yorkshire county from hosting major matches due to its poor handling of the racism allegations levied by Azeem Rafiq, Roger Hutton has resigned as Yorkshire chairman with immediate effect.

Notably, he joined the club in April last year, way after Azeem had left the club raising the issue of racism in the club, but Hutton has apologised to the leg spinner for not carrying out strong investigations into “serious allegations of racism” and making changes at the county.

"Azeem left the club in August 2018, 18 months before I joined. I have never met Azeem. I know, however, that when someone makes claims as serious as his, they need to be investigated and changes need to be made. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise unreservedly to Azeem. The club should have recognised at the time the serious allegations of racism,” he said to ESPNcricinfo.

As things stand now, the ECB has stepped into the racism row and reprimanded the Yorkshire club for not acting swiftly and botching up the response to Azeem’s allegations of racism. However, Hutton expressed his frustrations and said that the board, too, has to take a fair share of the blame after not providing him with enough assistance when he sought help to look into a “matter of great importance”.

"I want to be clear that when I was made aware of Azeem Rafiq's allegations, I immediately reached out to the ECB to ask for their help and intervention to support a robust inquiry," Hutton said. "I was saddened when they declined to help as I felt it was a matter of great importance for the game as a whole. It is a matter of record that I have continually expressed my frustration at the ECB's reluctance to act."

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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

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

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I think the time has come: DJ Bravo decides to hang his boots for West Indies post the T20 World Cup

It was sad to see that a pure legend of the game decided to hang his boots from international T20Is on a losing note and that too in a World Cup. Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies all-rounder announced after the team’s loss against Sri Lanka in the Super 12 that he would be playing his last game in the maroon against Australia on November 06 as he has decided to call it quits from the international cricket post the T20 World Cup 2021. Announcing his retirement in the post-match discussion on the ICC broadcast, Bravo said, “I think the time has come. I’ve had a very good career. To represent the West Indies for 18 years, had some ups and downs, but as I look back at it I’m very grateful to represent the region and the Caribbean people for so long.” Standing alongside Daren Sammy who was part of the commentary team, Bravi further said, "To win three ICC trophies, two with my captain on the left here. One thing I am proud about is that in the era of cricketers we had we were able to make a name for ourselves on the global stage and not only do that but have silverware to show for it." The 38-year-old, who started out for West Indies in 2004 has ended up as a two time T20 World Cup winner and a Champions Trophy winner as well. Bravo has so far played 90 T20Is, taking 78 wickets and scoring more than 1000 runs in them for the West Indies. Asked about what the future holds for the great man, the Trinidadian said, "For me now I want to try and pass on whatever experience and information I have with the younger players," he said. "I think in the white-ball formats West Indies cricket have a bright future and it's important for us to keep supporting the guys and keep encouraging them,” he added. Although the defending champions bowed out of the tournament, Bravo said that the team should hold its head high because they have been beaten by better teams. "It wasn't the World Cup we expected, it wasn't the World Cup we wanted as players. We shouldn't feel sorry for ourselves, it was a tough competition, we should keep our heads high,” he said.