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It’s hard to believe that a little under ten years ago Manchester City were somewhat a yo-yo side, with the Citizens dipping in and out of the Premier League and truly existing in the shadow of their great rivals, United.

But as the 2014 Capital One Cup Final approaches, they have the chance to win their third piece of major silverware in just four years, a record that would’ve seemed a little far-fetched at the turn of the Millennium.

What a journey it has been. There have been highs and lows throughout City’s rise to become a genuine European force, with botched takeovers, failed signings and last minute league-winning goals making every day at the Etihad Stadium noteworthy.

To an extent the birth of the City we now have occurred in 2007, as former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra took over the club in a big money deal. The Asian billionaire had grand plans, and after installing Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager and ploughing £45m into the first-team squad, all looked rosy. However the financial power could not address the issues the team had, and midtable finish was all their Swedish boss could muster.

This was greeted with yet more spending and another new manager in the shape of Mark Hughes, who had been impressing with Blackburn. ‘Sparky’ was give free rein of the club’s chequebook, and although he snapped up Vincent Kompany for £5m – which has proven to be one of the very best bits of transfer business in recent English football history – the majority of the arrivals at the club were slightly underwhelming in the summer of 2008. Shaun Wright-Phillips – a former club idol – and Tal Ben Haim were other notable signings, but neither truly set the world alight.

Despite this, there was a real sense of optimism as the season got underway, with Hughes having the experience and the know-how to make City genuine contenders for European qualification. But then came turmoil. Shinawatra’s fortune had been seized and all was not well with the owner. Failed attempts to secure added funding and the fact that his own bankrolling of City had become impossible led to calls for his head, and frustration from the fans.

The Citizens’ supporters had seen many false dawns through the years, and were forgiven for fearing for the worse when Shinawatra’s woes were revealed. So it was almost met with joy from supporters of other clubs when they were saved from the brink by the Abu Dhabi United Group.

At the time the extent of their wealth was unclear, with some predicting that they were merely another set of flash in the pan owners. But their intentions were made clear with attempted deals for the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, David Villa and Mario Gomez. Although this trio escaped the club’s grasp, they did break the then British transfer fee record to sign Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5m – even though he was on the verge of joining Chelsea.

This was followed by news that the principal owner of Sheikh Mansour’s personal fortune was estimated to be around £17billion, and that his family’s true wealth went north of $1trillion. It was now clear that City meant business.

There was no dirge of silverware however, but as the club dismissed Hughes and brought in Roberto Mancini, while paying big money for top players, the wheels were in motion for, arguably, the most exciting moment in Premier League history during 2012.

After winning the FA Cup the previous year, the focus switched to Premier League dominance, and after leading for much of the season a late wobble had handed local rivals United the advantage. If you missed what happened against QPR on the final day of the campaign you must have been living under a rock for the past few years, but we’ll just refresh your memory. Sergio Aguero. The Argentine netted deep into injury time to make it 3-2 and steal the title on goal difference, from an already celebrating United side.

The bubble burst to an extent as Mancini was given his marching orders at the end of last season after they surrendered their league crown to Fergie’s side and slipped out of Europe, but now under Manuel Pellegrini they have the chance to complete the domestic hat-trick by securing the Capital One Cup.

Undoubtedly City are favourites for the Wembley clash against Sunderland, and could well be ascending the iconic steps to lift the trophy after those all-important 90 minutes. It’s been some journey, but there is the underlying sense that this chapter in City’s history is just beginning.

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Edin Dzeko came off the bench to score two late goals to earn and rescue 10-man Manchester City against West Brom at the Hawthorns.

Roberto Mancini’s men were heading to an unlikely defeat as they struggled to cope with the loss of James Milner in the first half after he received the first red card of his career.

Defeat was harsh on the Baggies who made their numerical advantage count but any fears over City’s title credentials were quashed to leave them third level on points with rivals United and four behind leaders Chelsea.

Milner’s dismissal in the 22nd minute for hauling down Shane Long following a mistake from captain Vincent Kompany was unquestionable and set the tone for a frustrating afternoon.

Mario Balotelli was also pushing his luck with referee Mark Clattenburg with a series of petulant fouls that saw him cautioned. That appeared to calm the Italian striker down and he almost produced a moment of divine brilliance to break the deadlock, taking on two defenders down the left before firing straight at Ben Forster.

The visitors continued to fashion out chances  Yaya Toure heading over from close range when well placed. And against the run of play West Brom snatched the lead in the 65th minute. Peter Odemwingie produced a precise through ball for Long to turn Joleon Lescott and finish cooly past Joe Hart.

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Dzeko was thrown on in the 79th minute and barely 60 seconds later he had brought City level, climbing highest to head past Foster from a corner. Hart then made two crucial saves to keep his side level tipping Romelu Lukaku’s acrobatic strike over the bar just moments after beating away the Belgian strikers close range header.

And with time running out Dzeko popped up again to steer the ball home from he edge of the area to cap a memorable comebacl.

Invincibles choked by spin as Heather Knight oversees knockout victory at The Oval

ECB Reporters Network17-Aug-2024London Spirit secured a place in the Women’s Hundred final against Welsh Fire at Lord’s with an eight-wicket win over Oval Invincibles.A disciplined bowling performance followed by a Georgia Redmayne half-century took the side to their first final since the competition’s inception – and ensured that across both men’s and women’s competitions, all eight teams will have featured in the Hundred final.Spirit won the toss and elected to bowl. Winfield-Hill hit Danielle Gibson for three boundaries in the second set to take the Invincibles to 21 for 0 after 10 balls before Charlie Dean trapped Paige Scholfield lbw for 5.The introduction of Sarah Glenn saw the back of Winfield-Hill, the Invincibles skipper slapping a return catch back to make the score 37 for 2.At the halfway point of their innings, Invincibles had moved on to 54 for 2, the Spirit spinners bowling tightly, Dean, Glenn and Deepti Sharma with the combined figures of 2 for 25 from 30 balls.Gibson, who had previously dropped Alice Capsey twice, eventually removed her for 30 before Kapp fell to Glenn for a run-a-ball 26.Dean then combined twice with Gibson in the deep to dismiss Mady Villiers and Laura Harris to finish with figures of 3 for 24 – Gibson’s full-length heroics to snare Villiers one of the catches of the tournament.Gray returned for the final five, dismissing MacDonald-Gay first ball and having Smale stumped as the Invincibles closed their innings on 113 for 9.Chasing 114 to win, opening batter Redmayne made an unbeaten 53 from 47 balls and was well supported by captain Heather Knight who made a classy 36 not out.Spirit had reached 33 for 0 after the powerplay, Meg Lanning going well on 21 from 14, both she and Redmayne surviving tough chances to Villiers and Harris.Marizanne Kapp returned to the attack to have Lanning caught behind for 22 and Amanda-Jade Wellington had Cordelia Griffith stumped to leave the Spirit on 42 for 2 after 40 to bring Knight to the crease.From there on, Spirit cruised to their target, Redmayne and Knight sharing an unbroken stand of 74.Meerkat Match Hero, Redmayne, said: “It’s really special, we came into this game in really good spirits.”Oval have probably got the best of us in the games we’ve played against them previously. We knew if we did the simple things right that we’ve got the team to be able to win the game and get to a Lord’s final at home which is going to be incredible.”On her innings she said: “It’s nice knowing what kind of intent you’ve got to go in with. Sometimes when you’re facing some really good bowling upfront you can get caught up in that a bit, but it helps having kept for a hundred balls beforehand.”

Despite Livingstone’s 94 off 48, Kings fall short in their chase of 214

Vishal Dikshit17-May-2023A dazzling display of boundary hitting all around the ground from Rilee Rossouw in his unbeaten 82 off 37, combined with useful contributions from the other Delhi Capitals top-four batters, handed Punjab Kings a 15-run defeat and severely dented their playoff chances.Kings got close to the finish line in the end, thanks to a belligerent 94 off 48 from Liam Livingstone, but he fought a lone battle. The loss kept Kings on the eighth spot with 12 points. They now depend on many other results going their way to stay alive in the playoffs race because they have only one match to go, and three teams are already above 14 points, which is the most Kings can get to.Kings were mostly behind the asking rate right from the start because their only other batter who scored over 25 was Atharva Taide, who struggled for fluency and retired out on 55 off 42 balls. Livingstone’s pursuit of boundaries in the end kept Kings’ slim hopes alive, whether they needed 79 off 24 or 38 off 12. In the last over too, when they needed 23 from the last three balls, they got a lifeline when Ishant Sharma sent down a no-ball which Livingstone sent for six, making it 16 required from three with a free hit coming. But Livingstone failed to connect with the subsequent full toss and holed out to long-off on the last ball.

Warner, Shaw flick the switch on

In the first IPL game in Dharamsala in ten years, David Warner and Prithvi Shaw saw out the first 16 balls for no boundaries before racing away. Warner broke the shackles with consecutive fours off Sam Curran before pulling Kagiso Rabada for two sixes. Shaw too got going when he saw Arshdeep Singh’s short balls didn’t have much pace. He pulled and glanced him for 4, 4 and 6 in a 16-run over. When Warner also put away Nathan Ellis’ slower balls for fours, Capitals ended the powerplay on 61 and soon brought up their highest opening stand of this IPL.Prithvi Shaw and David Warner got going gradually in the powerplay•BCCI

Rossouw’s fifty takes it up a notch

Rahul Chahar wasn’t having a good day. Soon after he was put away for three fours in his first two overs by Shaw, he dropped a tough chance to give Warner a life on 39. Warner continued to attack because Capitals had all ten wickets in hand at the halfway mark. But when he skied one more, Shikhar Dhawan completed a spectacular catch at mid-off to remove him for 46 off 31.Capitals kept the left-right combination by sending out Rossouw at No. 3, and he attacked literally from ball one. That he pulled his first ball for four and drove his third for four more showed how good the pitch was for batting. The range he showed in the 13th over off Rabada epitomised his innings; a length ball hit straight for six, another length ball placed just wide of short third for four, and yet another length ball dispatched over square leg with a lovely pick-up shot for six in a 17-run over. Not long after Rossouw also punished Chahar and Curran for sixes, Shaw holed out for 54 in the 15th over.

Kings trust Brar for death overs

Rossouw had raced away to 45 off 21, and Capitals to 148, with five overs to go when Dhawan bravely brought on Harpreet Brar, who gave away just 14 runs in the 16th and 18th overs combined, before Phil Salt and Rossouw made up for it in the last two. Salt smoked Ellis for two sixes over long-on while also edging one delivery for four.For the final over, Dhawan once again trusted Brar instead of the designated death bowler Arshdeep, who had been expensive in his first two. Rossouw mercilessly muscled Brar, who also gifted two wides, for two sixes and a four on the leg side. A misfield on the last ball from Rabada at fine leg gave Capitals their first 200-plus total of the season.Liam Livingstone fought a lone battle•Associated Press

Kings also start slow

The Capitals quicks hardly gave any freebies early on. Khaleel Ahmed started with a maiden to Prabhsimran Singh, Ishant had Dhawan caught at slip for a duck, and Khaleel nearly bowled another maiden to keep Kings on 10 for 1 after three. Prabhsimran then hit the pedal with three consecutive fours before Taide also collected boundaries to get out of the hole of 1 off eight balls. Prabhsimran and Taide also enjoyed a fair share of luck. Their leading edges fell safe, and Capitals missed a few direct hits. Taide’s edges even fetched him some boundaries. Kings finished the powerplay on 47 for 1, with the asking rate almost 12 an over.

Livingstone stands tall but alone

As soon as Prabhsimran holed out to long-on off Axar Patel, it was all a Livingstone show. It started with Livingstone getting a life on 3 off Kuldeep Yadav when Anrich Nortje put him down at deep midwicket, and Taide too got dropped off Kuldeep in his next over. Taide, however, could not score freely as he struggled to find the gaps or go over the fielders.Livingstone, meanwhile, made use of his big bat swings for plenty of hits in the ‘V’ down the ground when the bowlers missed their lengths even marginally. He hit a boundary nearly every over and was only beaten by Kuldeep a couple of times. In the 15th over, he dispatched two full tosses from Mukesh Kumar for fours but Taide was labouring at the other end and he retired out when Kings needed a stiff 86 from 30 with their hitters Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan and Curran yet to come.Despite the firepower in the dugout, the heavy lifting was left for Livingstone. Jitesh holed out to long leg for a duck in the 16th and Shahrukh found long-on in the 17th. Meanwhile, Livingstone blasted two sixes and a four off Khaleel, and three sixes came off Mukesh in the 18th to make it 38 required from 12. Nortje then rattled Curran’s leg stump with a yorker and when 33 were left from the last six balls, Ishant started with a dot to all but seal it. His no-ball was thwarted for six, but he finished the game with three dots and send Kings’ hopes crashing.

Duo lead recovery after England manage to dent bright start headed by Brathwaite’s fifty

Valkerie Baynes09-Mar-2022Two key partnerships at either end of the day pushed West Indies closer to parity with England on the second day of a to-and-fro Test in Antigua.This match has had not so much the twists and turns of a helter-skelter but the slow, loping swings of a pirate ship ride after England’s recovery from 48 for 4 to a respectable 311 built on Jonny Bairstow’s century and then West Indies’ rapid response via Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell as the visiting bowlers failed to penetrate with the new ball.West Indies were enjoying all the fun of the fair at 44 without loss by lunch, Brathwaite going along at a run-a-ball, but by tea they were 127 for 4 and England had wrested back some control. Then Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder combined for an unbroken 75-run partnership for the fifth wicket that kept their side in the contest.Chris Woakes was one of the bowlers tipped by England’s interim director of cricket, Andrew Strauss, to blossom as a leader of the attack in the controversial absence of long-time spearheads James Anderson and Stuart Broad. But he endured a torrid day, conceding 23 off his first three overs and only finding relief when he snared the wicket of Jermaine Blackwood moments before the second of several brief showers which halted play intermittently through the day, brought about an early tea break. Woakes was struck for 10 fours in as many overs, which cost 51 runs on a benign pitch that for a second straight day offered little to either side.When he rejoined the attack for two more overs – before yet another of the squalls which had dampened England’s efforts with a reverse-swinging ball brought about stumps – Woakes conceded just three more runs.Spinner Jack Leach had bowled five tight overs until Campbell clubbed him for four over extra cover and Brathwaite thundered a six down the ground in Leach’s sixth as West Indies’ opening swelled to 83. But it was Craig Overton who made the initial breakthrough with a short ball down the leg side that tempted Campbell into a pull and brushed the glove on the way through to keeper Ben Foakes to punctuate West Indies’ keen start.As Shamarh Brooks took West Indies into the nineties with consecutive boundaries off Overton, Ben Stokes entered the attack to bowl for the first time since suffering a side strain during the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney.A single off Stokes’ first ball brought up Brathwaite’s fastest Test fifty – off just 62 balls – but Mark Wood, whose pace and reverse swing kept West Indies’ batters on their toes, struck when the West Indies captain chased a wide delivery only to send it directly to Overton at gully. Then Stokes removed Brooks, edging to Joe Root for a simple catch at slip, and suddenly West Indies were wobbling.Foakes put down a difficult chance diving low to his left off Blackwood, who was yet to score when he got an inside edge to a Wood delivery which found the keeper’s glove but failed to stay there as he went to ground.Blackwood, eventually caught in the gully by Overton, was given not out by umpire Joel Wilson amid hearty appeals from the England side, who swiftly reviewed. UltraEdge confirmed Blackwood had indeed laid bat on ball before it struck his thigh pad and looped into the air as West Indies lost a fourth wicket for 44 runs.Leach bowled nine maidens in all – seven of them on the trot in the evening session – in an excellent comeback from a chastening Ashes tour as Holder and Bonner chose their moments well in a sensible, steadying effort. Holder led the way, picking off six fours and a cracking six – over long-on off Root – to close on 43 not out, with Bonner on 34.Earlier, England resumed at 268 for 6 with Bairstow on 109 but, with the ball only six overs old, West Indies had designs on wrapping up the innings quickly. They did so before lunch, but not before Bairstow had reached 140 and taken the England total into elusive territory – past the 300-mark for the first time since August 2021.Jayden Seales came on in the fifth over and struck with his fourth delivery, an excellent short ball that touched Woakes’ glove and sailed through to keeper Joshua Da Silva, ending his seventh-wicket stand with Bairstow at 71. Seales then made it two in three balls when Overton stabbed a length ball towards short leg, where the crouching Bonner took a roundabout catch via his midriff, thighs and eventually hands.Bairstow continued to accumulate, driving Holder with aplomb through cover moments before feeding him a return catch that bobbled out of Holder’s hands. Bairstow was eventually last man out, top-edging Alzarri Joseph high over backward point, where Holder scrambled around and pouched an excellent catch.

Malan had scores of 19, 55 and 99* in the three-match series, which took England past Australia to the No. 1 position in the T20I team rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2020Dawid Malan achieved the highest-ever points in the ICC T20I rankings for batsmen, getting to 915 at the end of the T20I series in South Africa. In the process, he also became the first batsman to cross the 900-point mark since Aaron Finch got there in July 2018, his 173 runs at a strike rate of 161.68 helping England to a 3-0 series sweep in South Africa. Malan finished the series 44 points ahead of second-placed Babar Azam.Malan had scores of 19, 55 and 99* in the three-match series, which took England past Australia to the No. 1 position in the T20I team rankings. India, Pakistan and South Africa make up the top five. New Zealand are in sixth place after their 2-0 win over West Indies, who have slipped to tenth.Among other players in action in South Africa, Buttler gained seven spots to get to No. 21 among batsmen, while Rassie van der Dussen’s 136 runs lifted him 17 places to No. 5, a career-best. Faf du Plessis’s 121 runs also helped him get into the top 20.Of the bowlers, Adil Rashid gained three spots to get to No. 4, while Chris Jordan gained one place to get to No. 12.Across in New Zealand, the home side won the first two games before the third was washed out, and Lockie Ferguson, the best bowler across the two sides with seven wickets, including 5 for 21 in the first game, moved up 42 spots to the 32nd position. Glenn Phillips, who smashed the quickest T20I century by a New Zealander in the second fixture, got into the top 100 for the first time, moving to No. 86.

England’s tone-setting opener feared the worst when suffering a hamstring injury but is now ready to make an impact on their World Cup semi-final

George Dobell07-Jul-2019Jason Roy is no stranger to dealing with setbacks. He was out to the first ball of England’s limited-overs revolution in 2015 and he was dropped ahead of their last visit to the semi-final stages of a global ODI tournament two years ago.But even he was struggling to contain his frustration when he succumbed to a hamstring injury during the early stages of this World Cup. Having battled back from the disappointment of the Champions Trophy in 2017, having established himself as a key part of the side, and having skipped the IPL to ensure he was fit, he admits his latest injury setback was hard to deal with.He also admits that, for a while after he was forced off the pitch during England’s victory over West Indies, he feared his tournament was over.ALSO READ: England not scared of chasing in World Cup semi – Bayliss“I’ll be honest there was a bit of a fear I might be out,” Roy says. “Initially we thought I’d be back for the Australia game, but then the scan came back and it was a little bit worse that we had thought, so I needed more time.”There was a bit of a scare there. But I needed to stay positive around the group. I was staying around the lads and travelling with them so I had to keep giving out positive vibes and try to help where I can.”But having been dropped in the Champions Trophy and then working my backside off to get here for the World Cup and being in good form only to then get injured, I was like ‘give me a break!'”I thought I was having no luck. It was frustrating and a bit hard to deal with.”While he remains some way off full fitness, Roy has been able to return to the side with some success. He made 66 and 60 in the two innings since his return – both victories for England – and is now facing the prospect of a World Cup semi-final saying he is “mentally and physically” in the right place.Jason Roy got off to a flying start•Getty Images

“I’m as close to 100 percent as I’m going to be,” he says. “It was a decent injury, which was a shame, but I was overworking it a touch and these things happen. The doctors and physios have been incredible to get me to the stage I’m at now where I’m at match fitness and I’ll be able to get through the next two games for sure. But I might not be back at point for a little bit; I’m quite enjoying being at mid-off.”I’m right where I wanted to be, both mentally and physically. This is the reward for the hard work and sacrifices we all make. I didn’t put myself in the IPL auction, I did everything I possibly could to get myself to this point I’m at now.”I’m ecstatic with where I’m at with my cricket and it just goes to show that all the hard work and dedication that goes in really helps.”It is nice to be in a completely different place to where I was in Cardiff [where he was dropped for the Champions Trophy semi-final], but to be honest I think I’ve been here for a while now, since I came back into the side. It has been a really positive journey for me since returning to the England team and it is great that it is still going strong into a World Cup semi-final.”It’s hard to imagine Roy being dropped these days. But, back in 2017, he had failed to pass 20 in nine innings in a run that included six single-figure scores. He owed his return to the decision to omit Alex Hales following the incident in Bristol and performed so well in partnership with Jonny Bairstow, that England’s new opening pair was established.”There’s no secret to it apart from the fact that we both work hard and love batting together,” Roy says of their partnership. “We enjoy each other’s company out in the middle and we just go to work really. There isn’t much rocket science behind it. He’s obviously a great player.”Roy struggled for runs when he first came into the ODI side. He failed to reach 40 in that first series against New Zealand and, after 13 innings, he was averaging a modest 27.69. But the team management had spotted some characteristics they liked, not least a commitment to the newly defined aggressive approach and a selflessness to the team cause. For those reasons, they stuck with him through that underwhelming start.And, up to a point, that might be why they are likely to draft him into the Test side in the coming weeks. While there is an acceptance he has spent most of his first-class career in the middle-order – his county coach, Michael Di Venuto, recently expressed his reservations over the idea of him opening in Test cricket – it is increasingly apparent that he will be given an opportunity to bat in the top three, probably as an opener, during the Ashes.”Yes, there has been a bit of chat about it,” he says. “Playing Test cricket and playing in the Ashes has been an ambition of mine for years. It hasn’t just come about in the last couple of months.”If the call comes, then great it comes, but if it doesn’t then so be it. Of course my ambition is to play Test cricket and see how I go.”When you’re young you don’t understand a huge amount about batting, you just go out there and bat. But now I feel like I know myself a lot better as a batsman.Jason Roy fired up Surrey’s innings•Getty Images

“Most of my batting in first-class cricket has been at No.4, No. 5 or No. 6, but I played at No. 3 twice last year so I’m happy wherever they want to put me. They can put me at No. 9 if they want, although I can’t bowl a few overs! I think I’m better off at the top of the order and then I can give it a go from there.”If I get the chance then I’d like to think I’ll be able to cope, but I don’t want to speak too soon because there is plenty that goes on. You get analysed a lot more in Test cricket. They are long days and the media have got to talk about something which will be interesting.”I’ve played a lot of white-ball games for England so if I get a chance then that should hold me in good stead. Everyone knows what I’m about so if I get caught at fourth slip driving at a ball that maybe a ‘traditional’ Test cricketer wouldn’t drive at, then people hopefully won’t be too outraged by that.”He learned early that, for him at least, that absence of traditional thinking may be one of his greatest strengths. In his second ODI – against New Zealand in June 2015 – he had spent so long thinking about Trent Boult’s skills that when a “juicy half-volley” greeted him, he wasn’t expecting it and edged a drive to point.”I over-analysed my first game by thinking about Trent Boult and how he hoops the ball in,” he says. “I thought I had to watch that front pad.”Instead he gave me a juicy half-volley that didn’t swing at all and I wasn’t expecting it. So since then I haven’t over-analysed bowlers because on the day things can be different. I just play each ball as it comes.”That day was a disaster for me. But now I’ve got a World Cup semi-final to look forward to. It’s unbelievable.”

Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are missing from India’s Test squad to play Afghanistan

Shashank Kishore in Bengaluru08-May-20184:30

Virat is missing out for a good cause – selector MSK Prasad

Rohit Sharma has been left out of India’s squad for Afghanistan’s inaugural Test while Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested. Virat Kohli will miss the Test as he gears up for the England tour with a county stint with Surrey, which gave Ajinkya Rahane a second Test as India’s captain.All four players absent from the squad were part of the newly created A+ category in the BCCI’s contracts list. However, the selectors found Rohit’s performance in South Africa “less than satisfactory”, a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo. Rohit was chosen ahead of vice-captain Rahane in the first two Tests in which he scored 78 runs. It was arguably Rohit’s selection in the Tests in South Africa that got him an A+ contract in the first place. The bowling loads of Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar are being managed carefully, which left Shikhar Dhawan as the only A+ player in this Test squad.

India squad for Test against Afghanistan

Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur
In: Karun Nair, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur
Out: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik

Nonetheless, most of India’s other Test regulars found a place in the squad, allaying fears that Afghanistan would come up against a severely depleted squad in their historic debut Test, which will be played in Bengaluru from June 14 to 18. It will be the first Test match played in India in the month of June, in peak summer, but Bengaluru is cooler than most other Test venues in the country.Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma, who are currently playing county cricket for Yorkshire and Sussex, were both part of the India squad, with neither of their teams in action in the week of the Test match. All three regular openers – M Vijay, KL Rahul and Dhawan – featured in the squad, as well as spinners R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.There had been reports Ashwin and Jadeja might both be rested but it emerged a day before the selection that Ashwin had not pursued his talks with Worcestershire because he had committed to playing this Test. Had Ashwin been rested, he would have gone to England with little red-ball cricket behind him: Worcestershire have already signed up Travis Head instead.In the absence of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah, Ishant, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami returned to the familiar role of India’s first-choice quicks in home conditions. They were backed up by allrounder Hardik Pandya and Mumbai seamer Shardul Thakur, who is yet to make his Test debut but has played three ODIs and seven T20Is.Karun Nair took the sixth specialist batsman’s slot in Rohit’s absence, while Wriddhiman Saha was set to resume wicketkeeping duties after missing the second and third Tests in South Africa with a hamstring injury. Neither Parthiv Patel, the back-up keeper on that tour, nor Dinesh Karthik, who flew in as Saha’s replacement, have found a place in the squad.The chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad, said this was an ideal opportunity to give Nair a chance, incidentally whose last Test was in Kohli’s absence, in Dharamsala against Australia. “This was the best opportunity for us to give Karun a chance, because he’s been doing well,” Prasad said. “It would have been too much of a risk to try him straight in England.”Afghanistan were granted Test status in June 2017, when they and Ireland were made Full Members by the ICC. They will be the fourth team to play their maiden Test against India, after Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Ramachandra Guha, one of the four members of the Committee of Administrators, has said the KSCA would insult the awardees if the state body boycotted the BCCI awards on March 8

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2017Ramachandra Guha, a member of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), has appealed to the KSCA to reconsider its “ill-advised” decision to boycott the annual BCCI awards and the MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture on Wednesday evening (March 8) in Bengaluru. Guha further said the state body would insult the awardees – present and past – by abstaining from the function.”You have thereby insulted the great cricketers who have won the award this year, including the Karnataka cricketer Shanta Rangaswamy, the first to get the woman’s award,” Guha wrote in an email addressed to KSCA president Sanjay Desai. “You have also insulted the awards themselves, and you have insulted all past awardees, including EAS Prasanna, GR Viswanath, BS Chandrasekhar, Syed Kirmani and all the greats from Karnataka that [KSCA secretary] Sudhakar Rao and you played with.”

KSCA member hits back at Guha

The KSCA, in a statement signed by managing committee member Ashok Raghavan, responded to Ramachandra Guha’s comments on the association’s awards boycott, tagging his comments “despicable”. The statement said Guha was taking his job on the Committee of Administrators “far too seriously”, and that the member would continue to make “submissions every time when the [CoA] cross the line of authority either by way of their action or their words”.
“Your above remarks per se are uncalled for, unnecessary, disdainful, disparaging, despicable and condemnable to say the least,” the statement said. “I being the member of the Managing Committee, who has spent considerable time and energy in carrying out my duties… which is strictly honorary in nature, do not deserve such uncharitable remarks. I respectfully submit that I do not need a certificate from you or from anybody else for that matter, about my extent of love for cricket or lust for power as I personally know the hours I have spent in the Association for its betterment and smooth administration.
“… As a person of public repute far larger than me it is expected that you should have been more mature, measured and sensitive in your remarks… From your statements in the press it appears that you are taking your job far too seriously and making comments without even understanding the other point of view.
“… It is needless to state that the Apex Court has found some merit in your good self to bestow you with the onerous responsibility of a Member of the [CoA] and it would only be fitting if you could carry the confidence reposed in you by the Apex Court with maturity and wisdom.”

Guha called the decision to boycott the functions “foolish and petty”, and said it would send a message that the KSCA put its opposition to the reforms ahead of honouring cricketers. “Please do reconsider. Think of the message it will send – that KSCA hates reforms in cricket administration so much that it does not even wish to honour its own great cricketers. Do act like gentlemen and come join in the celebration of cricket and cricketers,” he said in the email accessed by ESPNcricinfo.BCCI CEO Rahul Johri had earlier invited state associations for the fifth Pataudi Lecture, to be delivered by former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer, and the board’s annual awards. However, the last paragraph of the invitation – “Kindly note that the committee of administrators is constrained to convey that only those office bearers who are qualified as per the Supreme Court orders are expected to attend the function” – struck a raw nerve with the KSCA.In its reply dated March 3, the KSCA said it would be a “humiliation to the very cricketing fraternity” to accept the invitation with constraints and restrictions. “It may seem very rude or undiplomatic, however, looking at the last paragraph of your invitation, we would like to ascertain that we are also constrained not to acknowledge, thank or even remotely think of attending this function,” the two-page mail, signed by Desai and Rao, said.Desai and Rao had also accused the CoA of treating cricketers and administrators shabbily. “Administrators and Cricketers who have contributed their time and energy and also have sacrificed immensely for the development of game over decades are being treated so shabbily by the Committee of Administrators as though all of them are of doubtful integrity,” their reply had said.Many state associations, who are likely to follow KSCA’s lead and stay away from the awards, have been critical of the CoA “overstepping” its role defined by the Supreme Court. Last week, these associations, barring Vidarbha and Tripura, sent the CoA separate emails saying they would not comply with its directives till they got clarification from the Supreme Court on aspects like eligibility of an office bearer.

Centuries by Rajat Patidar and Harpreet Singh in the second innings and Ishwar Pandey’s match-haul of eight wickets helped Madhya Pradesh seal a spot in 2015-16 Ranji Trophy semi-final with a colossal 355-run win over Bengal

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Ishwar Pandey finished with match figures of 8 for 138•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Centuries by Rajat Patidar and Harpreet Singh in the second innings and Ishwar Pandey’s match-haul of eight wickets helped Madhya Pradesh seal a spot in 2015-16 Ranji Trophy semi-final with a 355-run win over Bengal. In the improbable task of chasing down 788 in the final innings, Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary and Pankaj Shaw struck fighting hundreds, but it was not enough as their side folded for 432 on the final day.Coming in with the score at 69 for 2, captain Tiwary took 160 balls to score his 124 that included 14 fours and three sixes. His innings saw Bengal past 250 before he was the sixth man to fall. Tiwary shared a sixth-wicket stand of 108 with Shaw, who scored his maiden first-class century. Shaw carried on after Tiwary fell, stroking 13 fours and four sixes in his 137-ball 118. He also built lower order partnerships of 58 and 78 with Pragyan Ojha and Ashok Dinda (52) respectively. Pandey and debutant Chandrakant Sakure led the charge for MP’s bowlers, picking match-hauls of 8 for 138 and 6 for 152 respectively.