The soft ball turned less sharply off the pitch and the Khettarama surface itself has become easier to bat on, according to Sri Lanka’s interim head coach Nic Pothas, thus allowing Zimbabwe’s revival

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo16-Jul-2017The soft ball turned less sharply off the pitch, and the Khettarama surface itself has become easier to bat on. So said Sri Lanka’s interim head coach Nic Pothas, after Zimbabwe turned a scoreline of 59 for 5 into 252 for 6 by the end of the third day. The unbeaten pair of Sikandar Raza and Malcolm Waller have been most responsible for that turnaround, their partnership currently worth 107.”You’ve got to give credit to our players as well as the opposition,” Pothas said. “Once the hardness went out of the ball, it obviously became a bit more difficult, and it spun less than yesterday. I thought Raza played really well, as did PJ Moor and Waller.”But our guys were phenomenal. They did their jobs. I thought the quality of the fielding was superb. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ll get up again tomorrow morning, try to get a few quick wickets, and then chase a score.”Having conceded a first-innings lead of 10, Sri Lanka are presently looking at a fourth-innings chase north of 300, unless they can dismiss Zimbabwe quickly on the fourth morning. Only three times have teams successfully chased down targets of over 300 in Sri Lanka. One of those occasions had been against Zimbabwe, however – Sri Lanka hunting down 326 at the SSC in 1998.Sri Lanka will hope that, as Pothas says, the Khettarama pitch is not as treacherous as Rangana Herath predicted it would be, 24 hours prior. Both Pothas and cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha have put Sri Lanka’s performances in this Test largely down to conditions.”The pitch has changed quite a bit. Once the hardness went out of the ball today, it didn’t seem like it did as much as yesterday,” Pothas said. “Yesterday and day one the ball spun. At the end of the day we’re playing in the subcontinent and wickets spin. You just need to come up with plans to score, and how you’re going to get wickets. Today it was surprising that it didn’t do as much as expected, but we just need to find a way of getting wickets.”With Herath having claimed nine of the 16 Zimbabwe wickets to fall so far, there has been scrutiny about the performance of the remaining bowlers, who have gone through long spells without threatening to take wickets. Pothas, however, defended Sri Lanka’s quicks in particular, again ascribing their lack of wickets to conditions.”The amount of work those guys put in behind the scenes, and the effort they are putting in today with a soft ball, and a wicket that’s not conducive to fast bowling – I thought they did a fantastic job on it,” he said. “If we’re going to keep judging them, we need a bit of perspective. I think under the conditions they did a great job.”Though Sri Lanka have largely fielded well in this Test – Dimuth Karunaratne taking two especially sharp catches at slip in this innings – their fielding over the past few months has come in for stern criticism, particularly after the Champions Trophy defeat to Pakistan. Pothas, however, again defended the side on that front, suggesting they had turned a corner.”Are we judging them on one hour against Pakistan? I think we need to be careful on that, because in the first innings I thought we fielded phenomenally well. I think in general, we’ve been pretty harsh on them even when they put in good performances. I don’t think they get enough credit for it. When we played against South Africa at The Oval, I thought we fielded brilliantly. We fielded brilliantly against India. Then we had an hour of madness at the end of the Pakistan game, which was unfortunate. Since then we’ve done some pretty good stuff in the field, so I think we need to be a bit careful with always looking at the negative part of their fielding.”Sri Lanka dropped no fewer than six catches during the ODI series against Zimbabwe, however. Half of those chances were straightforward.

The West Indies head coach showers praise on his team for dealing with all the negativity so well and turning it around. He also tags Shai Hope a “man of stone”

Alan Gardner30-Aug-2017Having given a steadfast defence of his players in the build-up to the Headingley Test, West Indies head coach Stuart Law has stoked the embers of the criticism aimed at the tourists from all quarters last week and said it would only help fire them up for the series decider at Lord’s.West Indies lost the first Test against England at Edgbaston by an innings and 209 runs, but hit back in Leeds to claim a famous win. Speaking afterwards to Australian radio station , Law said his team had been unfairly written off, but relished their status as underdogs and would be readying themselves to bite England “on the backside” once again when the third Test begins on September 7.”We weren’t given a chance to beat England, since we landed here,” Law said. “We’ve heard it from every part of the media, the written press, , all the ex-cricketers – we weren’t given a chance, mate, so that actually provided us with a lot of fire, a lot of fuel to produce what we’ve done over the last five days.”I know there’s a lot of people eating humble pie, they’re saying nice things about us, but deep down, they don’t believe in us – which is great for us. We’re going to Lord’s, we’ll still be the underdog… I know Aussies love an underdog, I love being an underdog as well, because you can sneak up and bite your opponent on the backside.”We’re going to celebrate this one long and hard, and so we should. But come tomorrow, we start planning and getting ourselves ready for that showdown at Lord’s.”After West Indies lost 19 wickets on the third day at Edgbaston, they met with a fiercely negative reaction. Curtly Ambrose, a West Indies legend who was previously the team’s bowling coach, called their performance “embarrassing”, while former England opener Geoffrey Boycott described Jason Holder’s side as the worst he had seen in 50 years of playing and commentating.Law, who took over as West Indies head coach at the start of the year, said his main focus has been on convincing an inexperienced group that they were good enough to compete.”Credit to the boys, to put up with the amount of criticism that they copped, not just from opposition fans but also their home fans, to come out and turn it around and produce a performance over the last five days was an outstanding effort.”If you get told you’re rubbish nine times out of ten, you’re going to start believing it pretty soon. These guys have copped it every time they’ve taken on the national duties, so for me, it was just a job of instilling that belief and getting people to understand they’re good enough to play at this level. They’ve got the skills, they’ve got the determination, they’ve got the work ethic. Something’s just got to click out in the middle, you’ve got to believe and trust your own game – that was the conversation we had with the batsmen, particularly.”Our bowling’s been pretty good, our fielding’s still not there – we dropped eight chances, so, theoretically, we should have finished the game some time mid-morning yesterday, but that wasn’t the case. Just their belief in their own abilities. Once they believe in themselves, they can play cricket, these kids. I believe that they’re as talented as any other player going around on the planet.”Stuart Law reserved special praise for Shai Hope and likened his strokemaking to Mark Waugh’s•Getty Images

When asked about 23-year old Shai Hope, who hit the winning runs and created history by becoming the first man to score twin centuries in a first-class match at Headingley, Law compared him to former Australia team-mate Mark Waugh, adding that Hope was a “man of stone” who England had been unable to crack.”He’s had a pretty torrid time in international cricket since his introduction. But he has got the talent, and when he gets going, he’s one of the nicest guys to watch. He plays some beautiful drives, cuts and the whip work off his pads – a bit like Mark Waugh. He put it all together, he’s got determination beyond belief, he’s a man of stone. You talk to him, try and crack a joke and he just stonewalls you. I can’t crack him, England haven’t been able to crack him, hopefully that remains the same at Lord’s.”Although West Indies have a chance to win a Test series in England for the first time since 1988, Law was keen not to put additional pressure on the team. He said that the management was in the process of trying to “create a different culture” that would put West Indies on an upward trajectory during his time in the job – initially on a two-year contract.”Improvement for me isn’t necessarily winning the series,” he said. “It means we go out and give a really good account of ourselves at Lord’s again. And if we don’t capitulate and lose in three days, like we did at Edgbaston, I think we’ve improved out of sight and that’s a great step forward for this group.”So far, the signs are looking good. We’re trying to break the culture and create a different culture, which sometimes can take two years. These guys are embracing it, the hard work is now starting to pay off for them… I don’t want to put them under that much pressure. I want them a) to play with a smile on their face, and b) just go out and express themselves. I’m here give them a bit of guidance, a bit of support, a bit of love, and hopefully, they go out and achieve what they want to achieve.”

Ollie Pope took the last nine runs of his first professional hundred from the part-time medium-pace of James Vince, but it was a century in only his third first-class match for all that

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2017Ollie Pope’s maiden hundred enlived a meaningless draw•Getty Images

Ollie Pope, making only his third first-class appearance, struck a maiden first-class century which culminated in slightly hollow circumstances with an over from the part-time bowling of James Vince, the former England batsman, in a match long destined for a draw.Pope, 19, appeared in complete control throughout his free-flowing innings, cutting and pulling with gusto, as he ended up on an unbeaten 100.Vince maintained appearances as he added five deliveries of respectable medium pace to the eight overs he had previously bowled in the Championship this season.Pope took two nine runs from Vince’s over to reach his hundred. As soon as it was achieved, in only his third first-class appearance, captains George Bailey and Gareth Batty shock hands to end the game at 4.30pm.Pope could take pride in his breakthrough, nevertheless. “The first champo hundred was always going to be a special moment and luckily it came a lot quicker than I had anticipated,” he said. “It is an incredibly proud moment.”This is a moment I have dreamed about and it was just about when it was going to come. The first 40 odd runs I had to work pretty hard for because they came at us because they had a game to win.Surrey were in slight danger – only 32 on with half the day remaining when they lost their fourth wicket, but Pope and Ben Foakes added an unbroken stand of 158 in 40 overs.Pope reached his first professional half century in 89 balls before accelerating to three figures from 137 delivery. Foakes had batted a similarly impressive innings to reach 83 not out, having scored his fifty in 113 balls.Rain washed out all but five overs on the opening day, and despite two full days, rain on the morning of the fourth day ended hopes of a positive result.Instead Hampshire keep hold of their third place position by taking an additional bonus point, with Surrey remaining fourth.

After his fighting first-innings 80, Raza picked up his maiden Test five-for and said he was both proud and humbled by the achievement

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo31-Oct-2017Sikandar Raza was Zimbabwe’s unlikely bowling hero on the third day at Queens Sports Club. After his fighting first-innings 80, Raza picked up his maiden Test five-for and said he was both proud and humbled by the achievement.

‘We’ll put more miles on their legs’ – Powell

West Indies opener Kieran Powell believes it is “definitely advantage Windies” after they ended the third day with a lead of 48 runs in Bulawayo.
“If we could stretch this to a 100-150 run lead, that would be massive,” Powell said. “We’re only 48 runs ahead now, but we’ve put lots of miles on their legs. We’re going to come back tomorrow with two set guys as well, put some more miles on their legs and stretch out that lead as much as possible. Any lead is a good lead on this pitch. Tomorrow we don’t know if the pitch is going to start going up and down, so we’ve got to get as big a lead as possible that will help us push for a result.”
Powell played a significant role in pushing West Indies ahead. With Kraigg Brathwaite for company, he ground Zimbabwe down on Monday afternoon before upping the tempo on day three.
“It was just the flow of the day’s play,” Powell said. “Obviously, yesterday they bowled a bit tighter, and they bowled better lines. Today they gave us more scoring opportunities, and as the day progressed we had guys lower down the order to push the score along as well.”

“It’s quite a humbling and proud feeling, especially seeing your team do well as you take five,” Raza said. “It’s one of the roles you have as an allrounder. We always knew that missing [Kyle] Jarvis and Sean [Williams] would be tough. The way that [Graeme] Cremer bowled it could have been him as well.”I still like to think that I’m a batter who can bowl, but being an allrounder it becomes a responsibility that you need to step up whenever you are given an opportunity. We are spending a lot more time as a spinning unit working on our bowling compared to six months ago, so to see the rewards like this is certainly humbling.”Raza finished the day with 5 for 82 from 43 overs. He might easily have had a sixth wicket when he trapped Jason Holder in front of the stumps when he had scored just 11, but Umpire Kumar Dharmasena disagreed with the appeal and Zimbabwe had already used up all of their reviews. Indeed, it was Raza who had used their last review attempting to dislodge Kieran Powell.”It is what it is,” Raza said. “I said to the captain that I think I deserved it because we went for a review on Powell when we shouldn’t have. Kumar said he heard an inside edge. We didn’t. But a few go your way and a few don’t. The [Roston] Chase decision could have gone either way. You win some you lose some.”Holder went on to strike an unbeaten 71, putting on 144 for the eighth wicket with Shane Dowrich and extending West Indies lead to 48 at the close. “We wanted to be 48 ahead,” Raza said. “If the decision against Holder had gone our way then that could have happened. But we tried everything, we bowled well, we fielded well, our energies were up. Sometimes you’re going to have to raise your hand and say that we tried everything and it didn’t work because the opposition have batted well. Credit to them for batting that well.”A natural optimist, Raza reminded the press corp that Zimbabwe were just a few overs away from the new ball on Wednesday morning. Only half joking, he also said he would be willing to open the bowling in West Indies’ second innings.”The last hour was easier [for West Indies] because there wasn’t much turn and what turn there was, was slow,” Raza said. “But we’re 10 overs away from a third new ball, so that’s a positive. I think if Cremer refuses then I’ll pick up the ball and take the first over [in the second innings]. But the way the body is feeling right now, I might make sure he uses all the utilities before he comes to me.”With two more full days to go in the second Test, Raza suggested that Zimbabwe would be happy defending 270 to 300 runs on a pitch likely to break up in the next two days.”Hopefully, we come back fresh tomorrow with all three spinners and two seamers and have a plan how we’re going to go about our business,” he said. “First we have to look at how we get these three wickets and then how we bat second time around. Depending on the time, I think 270 to 300 would be a good total to defend.”

Trevor Bayliss has called on CA and the ECB to “get together” to ensure a better standard of preparation for both teams on Ashes tours

George Dobell in Townsville18-Nov-2017Trevor Bayliss has called on CA and the ECB to “get together” to ensure a better standard of preparation for both teams on Ashes tours.Bayliss, the England coach, has stated several times that he would have preferred England to encounter stiffer opposition ahead of the first Test but has been at pains to point out that the situation is not so different for Australia when they visit the UK.As a result, Bayliss has already spoken to Andrew Strauss – the director of England cricket – to suggest that first-class matches against an A team (effectively the national second XI) are written into future Ashes schedules ahead of the first Test, adding that he will speak to Pat Howard (Strauss’s counterpart in Australia) about the matter in the coming days.”Both Australia and England should be getting together and having at least one match against the A team before each series,” Bayliss said. “I’ve already mentioned it to Strauss and I will mention it to Pat Howard when I see him too.There was a certain irony in the timing of Bayliss’ words. While the CA XI that England played in Townsville contained just one man with a first-class century to his name prior to the match – Nick Larkin – by the time it ended, two more young Australian batsmen had maiden first-class hundreds. And as England laboured throughout the final day in taking just one wicket, it became harder to sustain the argument that the opposition was as modest as had first appeared.In truth, though, that was partially the result of an unusually slow, flat wicket which is unlikely to be replicated during the Ashes series. And while the England camp are reluctant to make any public complaint about the preparation they have been provided by CA, there is a sense that both the surfaces and the opposition to this point have left them facing a major change of quality – and specifically pace – when they arrive at the Gabba.Underlining that suspicion – or, depending on your view, paranoia – is the training schedule ahead of the first Test on Thursday. England will train in the afternoon on Tuesday and Wednesday – often teams alternate between morning and afternoon sessions on consecutive days – giving them slightly less time to rest and slightly less exposure to conditions throughout the day.”That was a bone of contention,” Bayliss said. “The home team makes the programme and that’s just the way it is. We will take it on the chin and get on with it.”

The 17-year old fast bowler has impressed all year, with wickets against the touring West Indies, England and Namibia U-19 teams

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2017Thando Ntini, the 17-year old son of former South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, has been selected in South Africa’s squad for the 2018 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. Ntini is part of the 15-member group that will be captained by Raynard van Tonder.Like his father Makhaya – who also played one U-19 World Cup – Thando is a right-arm fast bowler and has taken ten wickets in eight youth one-dayers. His breakthrough series was against the touring West Indies U-19 team in July, where he took seven wickets in four matches in what was also his first outing as an U-19 player. Since then, Ntini has been part of the team’s fabric and also played during the recent youth tri-series against England and Namibia.Wicketkeeper Wandile Makwetu is the only member of the squad to travel for a second World Cup. He was part of the national team in the 2016 tournament in Bangladesh as well.”I’m confident that we have chosen the combination that will give us the desired results,” Lawrence Mahatlane, the team’s coach, said. “More than half of the squad have semi-professional cricket experience and we even have a franchise player in Matthew Breetzke.”The U-19 World Cup will be played between January 13 and February 3, with South Africa slotted into Group A. They will open their campaign against Kenya on January 14 in Lincoln. The other teams in Group A are hosts New Zealand and defending champions West Indies.South Africa U-19 squad: Raynard van Tonder (capt), Matthew Breetzke, Jean du Plessis, Jason Niemand, Gerald Coetzee, Jade de Klerk, Fraser Jones, Wandile Makwetu, Andile Mogakane, Kgaudise Molefe, Thando Ntini, Jiveshen Pillay, Hermann Rolfes, Kenan Smith, Akhona Mnyaka

Yuvraj Singh and Manan Vohra also contributed significantly as Punjab chased down Mumbai’s target of 199 with three wickets in hand

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2018Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 44-ball 79 was trumped by Punjab‘s collective assault as they chased down Mumbai‘s target of 199 with three wickets and four balls in hand in Kolkata. Yuvraj Singh struck a 34-ball 40, while Gurkeerat Singh (43 off 18 balls) and Manan Vohra (42 off 31 balls) produced quicker cameos.Iyer, who made his international debut last season, has been retained by Delhi Daredevils for INR 7 crore ahead of the IPL auction. The likes of Yuvraj – who has set his base price at the highest bracket of INR 2 crore – Vohra (INR 20 lakh) and Gurkeerat (INR 50 lakh) are likely to receive a few bids at the auction. Yuvraj has had a decent run lately, having produced scores of 50* and 35* during the zonal phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.Earlier, Mumbai, having been put in to bat, began in rousing fashion with Akhil Herwadkar and Jay Bista scoring 45 runs in 5.2 overs before the latter was removed by Mayank Markande. Iyer and Herwadkar then put on 73 runs for the second wicket. After Herwadkar’s dismissal in the 14th over, there weren’t many big partnerships but Shivam Dubey’s 22 off 12 balls and captain Aditya Tare’s unbeaten 13 included a few big hits. Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh went wicketless in his three overs and conceded 27 runs.Punjab’s chase barely had a hiccup after Vohra and Mandeep Singh set things up with a 42-run stand in 3.5 overs. With Harbhajan continuing to bat at No. 3, Yuvraj, Gurkeerat and Sharad Lumba (21 off 10 balls) provided the middle-order muscle.

Dasun Shanaka and Thisara Perera ransacked Bangladesh’s bowlers, after a fifty from opener Kusal Mendis, to help Sri Lanka chase down 194 – their highest in T20Is

The Report by Mohammad Isam15-Feb-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAssociated Press

Dasun Shanaka and Thisara Perera ransacked Bangladesh’s bowlers, after a fifty from opener Kusal Mendis, to help Sri Lanka chase down 194 – their highest in T20Is. This after fluent fifties from the returning Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim, who was passed fit after a niggle, led the hosts to their highest total in T20Is.Kusal Mendis, who had replaced the injured Kusal Perera, struck his maiden T20I fifty to give the chase direction. Sri Lanka then suffered a wobble when they lost Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis and Upul Tharanga in quick succession, but Shanaka and Thisara added an unbroken 65-run stand for the fifth wicket to take their team home.Mendis and Gunathilaka kickstarted the chase with four boundaries off seamer Mohammad Saifuddin in the second over, which cost 19 runs. While Mendis was particularly strong through midwicket, Gunathilaka regularly pierced the off-side gaps with cuts and drives. The pair added 53 for the opening stand before left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam – one of Bangladesh’s four debutants – had Gunathilaka stumped for a 15-ball 30.Mendis, however, continued his aggression: he welcomed Mustafizur Rahman into the attack with a hat-trick of boundaries through the covers. He went on to bring up a 25-ball fifty when he slugged Afif Hossain – also on debut – over midwicket for a six. The offspinner hit back when he had Mendis holing out to long-off two balls later.Tharanga didn’t last for too long thereafter, falling to a catch at the mid-wicket boundary in the ninth over but Shanaka restored Sri Lanka’s rhythm with back-to-back sixes off Mahmudullah in the next over.Saifuddin then leaked three boundaries in the 11th over but Rubel Hossain gave Bangladesh hope when he had Dickwella top-edging a catch to fine leg. Thisara and Shanaka then, however, combined to tear up the Bangladesh attack. Thisara was particularly severe on Rubel, hitting 18 runs off six balls, including two sixes. He finished with 39 not out off 18 balls while Shanaka hit an unbeaten 42 off 24.Bangladesh’s bowling starkly contrasted with their batting. Sarkar marked his return to the team with a maiden T20I fifty. He could have been dismissed for 12 had Gunathilaka hung onto a return catch in the second over. Sarkar then took three fours off Isuru Udana in the next over before Gunathilaka bowled debutant Zakir Hasan for 10.Just as Sarkar looked to reach a higher gear, he was given out lbw off Jeevan Mendis’ first ball. Replays indicated that the ball had pitched outside leg stump and was also heading past leg stump. Sarkar, who had fell over trying to pull the delivery, didn’t go for a review and walked off.Afif Hossain, also on debut, fell two balls later, with wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella showing great awareness to track down the googly, which had hit the back of the bat.Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah then got into the groove and relaunched Bangladesh’s innings in the last 10 overs. Mahmudullah smashed Jeevan Mendis over long-on before he hit Sri Lanka’s debutant Shehan Madushanka over the extra-cover boundary. He eventually fell for 43 off 31 balls, having struck two fours too. Mushfiqur, who posted his highest T20I score, then applied the finishing touches, but in all, it wasn’t enough for Bangladesh.

In a Ford Trophy match in Auckland, Jeet Raval’s drive rebounded off Andrew Ellis’ head for six, before the bowler passed a concussion test and completed the match

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-20180:13

WATCH – Raval’s drive hits Ellis on the head, goes for six

In a bizarre incident in New Zealand’s domestic 50-over competition, Auckland batsman Jeet Raval struck an Andrew Ellis delivery so hard that it hit the bowler’s head and still crossed the boundary ropes for a six. Ellis, the Canterbury captain, passed a concussion test before completing his over and later on batted at his usual No. 6 position, “showing no obvious ill effects,” according to a New Zealand Cricket release.The incident occurred in the 19th over of Auckland’s innings in the third preliminary final of the Ford Trophy. Auckland opted to bat, and when Ellis brought himself on, Raval struck consecutive sixes in his first over. The second of the lofted drives struck Ellis on the front of his head before sailing over the ropes. The umpire initially signalled a four, before revising his decision. Ellis left the field for a concussion test, and went on to bowl six overs after that to end with figures of 7-0-52-2, including Raval’s wicket, in Canterbury’s 107-run loss.”Whenever anybody gets hit in the head, your immediate concern is for the person, and I was worried Andrew had hurt himself,” Raval said. “But, thankfully, it soon looked like he hadn’t been injured by what had seemed a nasty blow. He’s a true Cantab, a very tough nut, and it was a relief for me to see him carry on and complete the game without any visible effects. My hope for him is that he won’t experience any delayed concussion. It’s certainly not pleasant for anyone to experience that in a game.”Auckland’s win set up a final clash with Central Districts on Saturday, after Raval scored 149 off 153, studded with 10 fours and four sixes, to lead them to 304 for 6. In reply, Canterbury, the defending champions, were bowled out for 197 in 37.2 overs, as legspinner Tarun Nethula ran through the middle and lower order with 4 for 43. Michael Pollard top-scored for Canterbury with 47, and only one other batsman – Todd Astle – crossed 40.

Cameron Bancroft, the player to actually tamper with the ball during the Cape Town Test, has been banned for nine months, as the fall-out of the scandal rumbles on

Daniel Brettig in Johannesburg28-Mar-2018Steven Smith and David Warner, formerly captain and vice-captain of Australia, have been banned from playing international and domestic cricket for 12 months by Cricket Australia for their roles in the pre-meditated plan to tamper with the ball during the Cape Town Test. Warner is banned from captaincy for life, and Smith for 12 months after the completion of his ban. Cameron Bancroft, the player caught tampering with the ball, was banned from playing for nine months and from captaincy for 12 months after the completion of his ban.CA has said that the plan was devised by Warner, the foreign object used was sandpaper, and that Bancroft and Smith lied publicly in their post-match press conference in referring to it as adhesive tape. The full charge sheet confirms a raft of misdeeds by the trio, under which they have been charged with conduct contrary to the spirit of the game, conduct unbecoming, conduct harmful to the interests of cricket, and conduct bringing the game into disrepute. The basis for these charges includes the following:Warner developed the plan to alter the condition of the ball, instructed Bancroft in how to do it including making a demonstration of technique with sandpaper, and the misled the umpires by helping to conceal the plan.Smith had prior knowledge of the plan and did not stop it, directed the plan’s concealment on the field once it became apparent that the team had been caught out on the big screen, and then made “misleading” public comments about the “nature, extent and participants” in the plan.Bancroft had knowledge of the plan, took instruction as to its carrying out and then did so, before seeking to conceal the evidence and then to mislead the umpires as to what had taken place, and then joined Smith in making misleading public comments about what he had done.All three players were told of their bans in person by the CA chief executive James Sutherland at the team hotel in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning. Smith left the team hotel to fly home soon afterwards. All players will have the right to challenge the verdicts and also the duration of their penalties via a CA code of behaviour hearing with an independent commissioner, who can also choose whether the hearing is public or private. Players at the hearing are permitted to call as many witnesses as they like and also to have legal representation.
Warner, who has been singled out as the architect of the plan and given the harshest penalty of the three, is expected to challenge the verdict and take the matter to a code of conduct hearing. It is not known what Smith and Bancroft intend to do – all three players have seven days to consider the charges and their intent to accept or challenge. All three players have been replaced in the squad ahead of the fourth Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.”The sanctions we have announced are significant for the individuals involved. That is why the process has had to be thorough to ensure that all relevant issues have been examined,” Sutherland said. “I am satisfied that the sanctions in this case properly reflect a balance between the need to protect the integrity and reputation of the game, and the need to maintain the possibility of redemption for the individuals involved, all of whom have learned difficult lessons through these events.”The CA chairman David Peever said that the Board had chosen to take a path that still allowed the players to eventually rebuild their careers. “The CA Board understands and shares the anger of fans and the broader Australian community about these events,” he said. “They go to the integrity and reputation of Australian cricket and Australian sport and the penalties must reflect that. These are significant penalties for professional players and the Board does not impose them lightly. It is hoped that following a period of suspension, the players will be able to return to playing the game they love and eventually rebuild their careers.”While banned from international and first-class cricket, Smith, Warner and Bancroft are all permitted to play club cricket for the period of their bans “to maintain links with the cricket community”, and at the same time will be required to commit to 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket.The ball-tampering incident took place during the afternoon session on day three at Newlands and was picked up on by TV cameras. A small, yellow object was seen in Bancroft’s hands after he had worked on the ball, which he later claimed to be adhesive tape with soil particles on it. He was also captured taking the object from his pocket and placing it down his trousers.The footage showed Bancroft rubbing the rough side of the ball, the opposite side to which he would usually be trying to shine on his trousers. He put the object down his pants after being spoken to by the substitute Peter Handscomb, who had come on to the field after speaking to Australia coach Darren Lehmann over a walkie talkie. Lehmann seemed to speak to Handscomb after footage of Bancroft working on the ball was shown on the TV screens at the ground.The on-field umpires Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth were then seen speaking with Bancroft, though they did not choose to change the ball or penalise the Australians five runs – the statutory on-field penalty for illegally changing the condition of the ball. When Bancroft spoke to the umpires, he was shown holding a bigger, black cloth rather than the small yellow object he had earlier seemed to place down his trousers.Smith and Bancroft owned up to the offence at the press conference after play on the third day. Smith and Warner were stood down as Australia’s captain and vice-captain during the Newlands Test, and both players took the field on the fourth day under wicketkeeper Tim Paine’s leadership.The ICC had already suspended Smith – who was fined 100% of his match fee and given four demerit points – from the fourth Test against South Africa, while Bancroft was given three demerit points and fined 75% of his match fee. There was no ICC sanction against Warner.Smith and Warner had already stepped down from their positions as captains of the IPL franchises Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and have subsequently been banned from playing in the tournament.