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ScorecardVarun Chopra and Adam Wheater put on a swashbuckling stand of 189 to inflict Glamorgan’s fifth defeat in five Royal London Cup games this season and put Essex back into contention to move through to the knockout stage.Until Wheater was stumped for 88 off 99 balls, it had looked like a race to see who would reach their century first. However, Chopra was left stranded on 98 when Essex passed the target of 201 with 18 and a half overs to spare.Chopra’s 84-ball innings, with nine fours and four sixes, took his season’s tally to 445 runs from five innings.Essex’s victory was set up by some accurate and parsimonious bowling, led by Jamie Porter, and supported by Matt Coles’s 3 for 41 in his first one-day outing since moving from Kent.Porter, who had been rested for the last three games, bowled his 10 overs straight through to record best List A figures of 4 for 27.By reaching their target so quickly, Essex improved their run-rate significantly, which could prove crucial if they win their remaining group matches against Sussex on Sunday and Kent next Wednesday and qualification goes to the wire.For Glamorgan, Chris Cooke marked his 32nd birthday with sixes off successive balls in a 75-ball 59, and shared a 64-run seventh-wicket stand in 12 overs with Andrew Salter that lifted the general lethargy surrounding the Glamorgan innings.Glamorgan, put in on a blameless wicket posted just 34 from the first 10 overs for the loss of their openers. Nick Selman epitomised the delusory pace with 10 from 22 balls before he nicked Porter low to Chopra at first slip. Aneurin Donald had already gone to the first ball he faced, edging a straight one behind in Porter’s second over.Ingram should have followed when he had 4 to another edge off Porter, but Chopra dived to his left, getting both hands to the ball but unable to hang on.However, the first time Porter went around the wicket he ended Ingram’s sequence of five successive one-day centuries against Essex. The left-hander was pinned on his crease as the ball slanted in, and he was out for 13.David Lloyd did not last long, driving Wagner forcefully square to cover point where Simon Harmer took a spectacular catch. Connor Brown, who had managed four fours in a debut 31, departed to a one-handed catch by Adam Wheater in front of first slip to give Porter his fourth wicket.Cooke and Wagg put on 42 for the sixth wicket in 16 overs before Wagg played all around one from Ravi Bopara and was bowled. Andrew Salter helped Cooke increase the rate and lifted Wagner over mid-on to put up Glamorgan’s 150 as late as the 43rd over.Salter hammered a second six over cow corner to dent Coles’s otherwise parsimonious figures, but when he went for another next ball, he was caught on the boundary. He had hit 43 from 47 balls, and shared in a 64-run stand with Cooke in 12 overs.Cooke passed fifty from 72 balls with a six flicked off his legs during the most expensive over of the innings which cost 17 runs. Bopara thought he had Cooke, on 59, caught off a head-high no-ball by Cook, but the South African swung at the next ball and Bopara took the return catch above his head.Coles wrapped up the innings with wickets in successive balls for figures of 3 for 41.Chopra showed the Essex intent. Ruaidhru Smith was twice deposited over the leg-side boundary ropes for six in his first two overs.With Wheater finding the gaps, the opening pair had 50 on the board inside eight overs, 100 up in the 16th. The wicketkeeper was first to his personal fifty from his 55th ball.Chopra’s half-century came from 45 balls and contained five fours and those two sixes.When he was 63, Wheater had a reprieve as a lofted drive flew through van der Gugten’s hands at midwicket. The 150 partnership came up in 26 overs before Chopra clouted Salter for a straight six, and then helped himself to four and another six in successive balls off the spinner.

Respected commentators Alison Mitchell and Tim Lane will join a Seven broadcasting team including Mel McLaughlin, James Brayshaw and Bruce McAvaney on the network’s roster for the forthcoming Australian summer, after Cricket Australia took free-to-air rights away from Channel Nine for the first time in 40 years.The additions of Mitchell, a longtime radio caller for the BBC and part of BT Sport’s Ashes coverage last summer, and the former ABC cricket caller Lane mark a major departure from the formula used by Nine, which had long preferred to restrict its on-air team to ex-cricketers rather than broadcasting professionals.”I’m tremendously excited to be joining Seven in a new era for Australian cricket coverage,” Mitchell said. “Test cricket holds a very special place in the hearts of the Australian public and it will be a privilege to take a lead role in bringing the action into people’s homes.”Seven had previously named Ricky Ponting, Damien Fleming and Glenn McGrath as experts, and on Tuesday also added Lisa Sthalekar, Jason Gillespie, Greg Blewett, Simon Katich and Brad Hodge to that group. McLaughlin, who had been a part of Ten’s successful Big Bash League coverage before moving to Seven in 2016, will co-host Test matches with Brayshaw, who was moved on from Nine’s commentary box in 2016 but found a new home calling AFL matches at Seven. The well-regarded Fox Sports host Abbey Gelmi will also be part of the team.McAvaney, considered the face and voice of Seven’s sporting coverage since he joined the network in 1990, will be part of Test match coverage by hosting a lunchtime interview show during the highly visible Melbourne and Sydney Test matches across the Boxing Day-New Year holiday period. He had recently explained why he did not think he was suited to a ball-by-ball commentary role on the coverage.”I don’t think I’m capable of calling Test cricket now,” McAvaney said when interviewed by Peter Donegan on SEN. “I reckon I might’ve been 35 years ago, because I don’t think my knowledge now is up to scratch. I could call Donegan [bowling] to McAvaney but if McAvaney hooked and got caught on the boundary line, I wouldn’t be able to recall that three years ago he did the same thing, and I reckon that’s important. I think that’s how well you’ve got to know the sport.”One of Seven’s earliest moves after winning the free-to-air rights to all home Test matches and a majority of BBL games in April was to hire Dave Barham as the network’s head of cricket. A former Seven executive producer, Barham had moved on to Ten and been instrumental in building a distinctive BBL coverage for the network.However, Ten and Nine lost out to Seven for free-to-air rights over the next six years. Fox Sports, owned by News Corp, paid the majority of the overall A$1.18 million deal with CA and in return will broadcast every ball of the summer, including exclusive access to Australian men’s ODIs and T20Is. It’s the first time any international matches played in the Australian summer have been hidden behind a paywall.”We are looking forward to the summer of cricket enormously,” Barham said. “Throughout the coverage, we will be showcasing the players, bringing out their character and personality with more than 30 player features and vignettes.”Heartland cricket will also be championed as Seven highlights stories at community level and local cricket. And we’ll do all of this while respecting the history of cricket, now that we are custodians of the sport.”Fox Sports had previously announced commentators including Adam Gilchrist, Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Mike Hussey, Michael Vaughan, Mel Jones and Isa Guha. The network, which was desperate to gain access to stronger summertime sporting content after losing the rights to the English Premier League in 2016, is expected to unveil a cheaper, sports-only streaming service before the start of the summer in addition to its existing pay television packages.

ScorecardEngland halted New Zealand’s 12-match winning streak in T20 internationals as Nat Sciver and Sophie Ecclestone produced the telling individual contributions in a 54-run win at Taunton. Batting first for the second time in the day, England made 172 for 8 from their 20 overs before career-best figures of 4 for 18 from Ecclestone helped derail New Zealand.There was no lack of energy as England set about defending their target, despite having been beaten in deflating circumstances by South Africa in the first match of Saturday’s double-header. Katherine Brunt claimed the key wicket of Suzie Bates lbw and New Zealand were unable to build partnerships, eventually dismissed with nine balls to spare.”Two games in a day is tough physically and mentally, and I think we’ve dealt with it brilliantly with the response we’ve had – particularly with the ball,” England captain Heather Knight said. “It was really pleasing to come away with the win. We talked about parking [the defeat] quickly, we didn’t have much time to dwell on it, and it was all about character and trying to put in a much-improved performance and nail our basic skills. I think we did that much better.”Knight had no hesitation choosing to bat first after winning the toss again, despite South Africa overhauling a target of 161 earlier in the day. Sciver’s powerful contribution, 59 off 37 balls, was the innings of substance required, but it needed some stout blows from Anya Shrubsole – including the only six of the innings – to ensure New Zealand’s task would be more demanding.Sciver was badly dropped at deep midwicket on 21, by Lea Tahuhu off the bowling of Bates, to continue a day of poor fielding by all three teams. England were three down and looking for a spark, and Sciver responded to her life by kicking on to a 31-ball fifty, reached with a dismissive lash over cover.England were grateful for Sciver producing her most-significant contribution of the home summer so far, having seen the in-form Tammy Beaumont fall short of 50 for the first time in five innings – bowled by Hayley Jensen attempting a trademark scoop; with Sarah Taylor run out for 1 after Jensen got a fingertip on Beaumont’s straight drive and Danni Wyatt the first of three wickets for Leigh Kasperek, England had fallen to 58 for 3 in the eighth over.Knight and Brunt produced cameos but, after Sciver was caught trying to clear short fine leg, it was time for some old-fashioned slogging from the tail, as Shrubsole, Ecclestone and Danielle Hazell added 32 from the last 17 balls.In response, Sophie Devine launched the second ball of the New Zealand reply over deep midwicket for six. Tash Farrant received the same treatment as Shrubsole, but then made the breakthrough to send Devine back for 13, and the big moment of the chase came when Brunt trapped Bates in front of leg stump with a delivery that perhaps kept a touch low on the worn pitch – the same one that had been used for three previous games.Bates’ dismissal had been preceded by Katey Martin playing out a maiden from Ecclestone. The 19-year-old spinner returned to bowl Martin for 16 in the 11th over, Knight chipping in with a wicket either side, and Ecclestone then helped round up the lower order as she attacked the stumps and found just enough turn – even beating the usually immaculate Taylor at one point, with Bernadine Bezuidenhoudt out of her ground. Unperturbed, Ecclestone bowled Bezuidenhoudt next ball.A second victory in three matches lifted England to four points in the tri-series standings, with one more fixture to come against New Zealand. South Africa, who resurrected their chances of reaching the final after twice conceding record totals in women’s T20I, will play New Zealand first in Thursday’s final double-header in Bristol.

18 overs a sideTwo young men who had played a combined three T20Is before Monday’s contest between Ireland and Afghanistan at Bready served notice of potentially bright futures. Hazratullah Zazai’s 33-ball 74 had turbo-charged Afghanistan before Joshua Little’s 2 for 20 in four overs reined them in, but the visiting team’s 160 for 7 in a rain-shortened match still proved too many for Ireland.An hour’s delay due to rain had reduced the first T20I of a three-match series to an 18-over affair, but that was enough for Afghanistan to show their superiority. Afghanistan have now won their last six T20Is against Ireland, with the home side’s last win coming in November 2013.The 20-year-old Zazai had been in good form this year, with a List A strike-rate of 160.74 in five games, and he showed that the move to bring him in for just his second T20I – almost two years after an uninspiring international debut – was the right call.After a fairly brisk start in which 28 came off the first three overs, Zazai kicked into a higher gear with three fours off Peter Chase in the fourth over, and exploded for 23 runs in Tyrone Kane’s second over. The hapless Kane couldn’t get his length right, and Zazai deposited him beyond the boundary on the leg side three times in the over, cutting for four too for good measure.Zazai’s almost baseball-style hitting raised a half-century off just 22 balls, and he carried on biffing. After seven overs, Afghanistan had raced to 87 without loss, 74 of those coming off Zazai’s blade.Ireland may have mis-read the pitch, tempted by the combination of steady rain in the lead-up to the match and cloud cover. But they didn’t help their cause with some poor lengths and little variation. Only the introduction of Simi Singh’s offspin brought some respite. Singh made the key strike, getting Zazai caught behind when the ball brushed his glove on an attempted sweep. Captain Gary Wilson did very well to move across and latch on to the ball.Once Zazai had gone, Afghanistan lost momentum drastically. Mohammad Shahzad mixed his customary big hits with dot balls, but his fitness seemingly cost him his wicket. Asghar Afghan had tapped Little to point and set off for a run. Shahzad was slow to respond and slower to make his ground, with Simi’s direct hit catching him short.Little’s three overs between the 10th and 16th then ensured Afghanistan wouldn’t have much left for a finishing kick. Unlike his senior team-mates, Little found the right length, and mixed things up. The batsmen could never line him up, and he was nippy enough that they couldn’t simply hit through the line.While Ireland had done well to concede only 73 runs in the last 13 overs while picking up seven wickets, they wouldn’t have an easy chase, especially against Afghanistan’s spin trio of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan.Mujeeb was handed the new ball, and struck in his first two overs, dismissing Stuart Thompson and William Porterfield. Plenty hinged on Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien, but while O’Brien was done in by Nabi, Stirling had to go when Aftab Alam leapt in the air at the square-leg boundary and plucked out a ball that seemed headed for the maximum.By the time Rashid came on to bowl, Ireland were already 60 for 4 in eight overs and facing a required-rate of more than ten. It was a steep ask against any opposition, leave alone the world’s No. 1 T20I bowler.Wilson delayed the inevitable with a defiant 34 off 23, but Ireland were left with too much to do against a top attack.

Former England opener Nick Compton has announced his retirement from the game. Compton, 35, did not feature for Middlesex during the 2018 season – which was also his benefit year – but will remain working for the club in an ambassadorial role.Compton played 16 Tests for England, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Denis. He was Alastair Cook’s first opening partner after the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012, and played his part in memorable series wins in India and South Africa.His last cap came during the summer of 2016, a season which ended with Middlesex lifting the County Championship for the first time since 1993.”After almost two decades of professional cricket, I am announcing my retirement from the game I love so much,” Compton said. “It has been a privilege to play first-class cricket for Middlesex, Somerset, and the MCC.”Of course, the pinnacle of my career was following in my grandfather Denis Compton’s footsteps, having achieved my dream of playing and winning Test series for England. I am particularly proud of my successful opening partnership with Alastair Cook and our series victory in India, the first time in 28 years an England team had won in India.”In contrast to his famously dashing grandfather, Nick Compton was a dogged top-order accumulator who carved out a reputation for making hard runs.Having started out at Middlesex, the club closely associated with his family, Compton moved to Somerset in 2010. It was there he found the form that would win him England recognition; in 2012, he scored 1494 runs at 99.60, narrowly failing to become the ninth man in history to score 1000 first-class runs before the end of May.He made his international debut in Ahmedabad that winter and was part of the England side that came from behind to win 2-1 in India. Compton scored hundreds in Dunedin and Wellington on England’s next tour, a 0-0 draw with New Zealand, but lost his place ahead of the 2013 Ashes despite an opening partnership with Cook that averaged 57.93.A second coming in 2015 saw him score 85 and 49 at No. 3 as England won in Durban on the way to a 2-1 series victory, but Compton only played three more Tests, making his final outing against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.”There have been some challenges that I have had to confront, but in spite of these I feel incredibly fortunate to have had this career of mine,” he said. “For one, being named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year in the 150th Anniversary Edition [in 2013] alongside both my cricketing hero Jacques Kallis, and my school friend Hashim Amla.”Other highlights include being chosen as PCA Player of the Year by my peers after coming so close to being the first cricketer for 25 years to score 1000 runs before the end of May is another, up there with making my Test debut in India and receiving my cap from England legend Graham Gooch.”I treasure the 16 Test matches I played for England, especially my back-to-back Test hundreds which I scored in New Zealand. On the domestic front, what a team I played in at Somerset. And winning the County Championship at Lord’s on the final day of the 2016 season for Middlesex provided all involved with an experience that we will savour for the rest of our lives.”In all, Compton scored more than 12,000 first-class runs at an average of 40.42, the last of his 27 hundreds coming for Sri Lanka Ports Authority during a spell playing Sri Lankan domestic cricket in February.He had already begun to explore options for his post-playing career, working as an analyst during the summer for Sky and ESPNcricinfo. “I look forward to pursuing my other interests, particularly in the media and photography as well as working on a few business ventures,” he said.Middlesex’s chief executive, Richard Goatley, added: “It is a sad day for us that Nick Compton has retired from professional cricket. Nick has been a very special servant to the club, culminating in his key role in the Championship winning success of 2016.”Nick is highly valued by Middlesex Cricket and we are delighted that he will remain with the club in an ambassadorial role. We welcome his all-round ability, and want him to add further value by helping to inspire our future success in an off the field capacity.”He has contributed effectively towards the club’s off-field work in the past, both with our senior leadership team and the commercial team at Lord’s, and we look forward to extending that work in the future. Nick Compton will always be welcome at Lord’s.”

The confidence of doing well in conditions where better teams have struggled is Zimbabwe’s biggest gain in Bangladesh, according to Hamilton Masakadza, their captain. In the second Test, Zimbabwe fought back after conceding a 218-run deficit but pushed the game into the second session on the final day. They eventually lost the Test with the series finishing 1-1.In the last three years, South Africa, England, Australia and Sri Lanka have struggled in Mirpur, England and Australia were famously defeated by Bangladesh for the first time in Tests.”I think the biggest thing for us is the way the guys played in both Tests, just showed us what we can do as a team,” Masakadza said. “It will give us a lot of confidence going forward. Having been in battles like this really hardens you, and you come out the better for it on the other side. That’s the biggest lesson and the biggest positive for us.”We came and showed what we can do in foreign condition, conditions that have been really hard for pretty much everyone around the world. We came and really competed and took the game to Bangladesh. So that’s really positive and big for us.”Masakadza credited Brendan Taylor for becoming the first Zimbabwean to score hundreds in each innings of a Test twice, and Kyle Jarvis for bowling consistently throughout the tour. In Sylhet, it was the spin trio of Sikandar Raza, Brandon Mavuta and Wellington Masakadza who kept the home side under pressure.”A world-class performance from a world-class player there in Brendan Taylor in this game. He really showed the way of how to bat in these conditions. That was really impressive from him, the way he batted in both innings.”Kyle Jarvis also bowled really well. Even in Sylhet, Tendai Chatara. The seamers have got us wickets early in every game, and the spinners came into it in the first match with Brandon [Mavuta], my brother [Wellington Masakadza] and Sikander [Raza] bowling really well,” he said.Masakadza however rued giving away the advantage on the fourth morning when they reduced Bangladesh to 25 for 4 in the first hour.”If we had managed to build on that four wickets, we might have managed to keep them down to something sort of 320-350 which we would definitely have fancied our chances of getting.”That wicket didn’t really deteriorate or misbehave as much as we expected it to, or as much as it normally does. If we had managed to get a few more after they were four down, we could have had them under pressure.”But for all the gains made in the two Tests, Masakadza said that fewer matches in the near future wasn’t “ideal” for the team. It is likely that their only international cricket in the next six months is a Test in India, likely to be held in March.”I haven’t really had a look, but I think we only have one series between now and the next six months, and that’s some games against India. That’s the only thing that’s on the radar.”I know the board is trying to organise some more games for us, but I don’t know how far along that has gone. That will be the next challenge for us. It’s not ideal to be waiting this long before play, but we have to take that as it is.”

In a match that will be difficult to explain for analysts, Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant seemed to be cruising through what looked like a difficult chase on a pitch with plenty for spinners. Yet, from seven required off 11, India needed a misfield off the last ball of the match to stumble over the line.With the ball turning so much that India’s spinners bowled nine wides – eight because of excessive turn – the spinners on both sides barring Yuzvendra Chahal underwhelmed. Particularly disappointing and inexplicable were West Indies, who had 181 on the board but bowled only fiver overs of spin, that too unimpressive even though they went for only 36 runs. The last of those was an afterthought: the last over, with five runs required.The batting was of a high order. Darren Bravo and Dhawan played the more traditional hits; Nicholas Pooran and Pant dazzled with switch-hits against spin and reverse-ramps and reverse-laps against pace. Bravo and Pooran added 87 off 43 balls from 94 for 3, but Dhawan and Pant went one step ahead with what eventually turned out to be a 130-run match-winning partnership, at 10 runs an over.Hope, Hetmyer finally give West Indies a startMissing regular T20 openers, West Indies had two different combinations in the first two matches. In the third match, Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer showed they had learnt from watching Rohit Sharma in the last game. They played out the first two overs for just six runs, but once they got used to the pace of the pitch they set off using the Powerplay overs. There was also realisation they wanted to use the new ball before it started gripping. Two boundaries each were hit in overs three to six, taking West Indies to 51 in the Powerplay.Spin strikes but does it do enough?Already three overs of spin had gone for 32 in the Powerplay, but when Hope went to attack Yuzvendra Chahal first ball, he top-edged a slog-sweep. Chahal bowled cleverly to Hetmyer, who has a distinct preference for the leg side. Chahal kept bowling wide outside off and slow, not minding the odd wide, until Hetmyer eventually gave deep-backward point a catch. At the other end, though, Washington Sundar and Krunal Pandya bowled to restrict, not slowing down the pace and letting the ball turn. The seven overs after the Powerplay brought just 44 runs but India would have probably wanted more than three wickets. That quick start, though, meant Darren Bravo could take his time through those middle overs.Last seven overs: 86 runs, zero wicketsBhuvneshwar Kumar came back with three overs to bowl out of the last seven. He bowled a spate of offcutters, fetching more turn that the fingerspinners, but the first ball he bowled at regulation pace, Pooran launched him over cow corner. Now Pooran was off. Bravo had already punished Pandya in the previous over. When Chahal came back, Pooran played a switch-pull first ball, putting to shame some right-hand batsmen. To put Bhuvneshwar off his yorker, he played the reverse-ramp over point. Khaleel bowled an excellent 18th over with three yorkers and no boundary, but his last went for 23. The first ball, an attempted yorker, became a full toss. When he got the yorker right, Pooran pulled out the reverse-ramp again. This was the first time in T20 internationals that India went wicketless in the last seven overs.India go after the new ballFrom the way India went after everything in the Powerplay, you could tell they were wary of the surface. They wanted to cause some damage before the ball got old and began to grip. Rohit Sharma got out trying to do that in the second over, and KL Rahul in the sixth. However, they did seem to have given India some momentum.Pace on a turning pitchIndia were 50 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay, by which time left-arm spinner Khary Pierre had bowled two overs for 13 runs. West Indies had six overs of spin in their bag, but they opted for offcutters from quick bowlers. Kieron Pollard and Keemo Paul bowled the next two overs without a boundary, but captain Carlos Brathwaite went to the well once too often. In the ninth over, he conceded two boundaries, in the tenth Pollard went for one, and when Oshane Thomas was brought back for the 11th, all hell was to break loose.Dhawan, Pant turn it onIndia still needed 106 off the last 10 overs. West Indies still had a potential six overs of spin in hand. This is what they had opted to bat for. Yet they went to their fastest bowler. Pant and Dhawan took a liking to the pace, each of them hitting a six. The pressure had been transferred. Fabien Allen began with a boundary-less over, but Pant destroyed Pollard at the other end. The pressure taken off, he went after Allen in his next. The trajectory kept getting flatter, runs kept coming easily, and Brathwaite refused to go back to spin. It became an exhibition of sorts: Pant would pull out a crazy T20 shot, Dhawan would match it with an equally impressive hit down the ground.Final dramaA twist came when Pant tried one reverse-hit too many, leaving his middle stump exposed to a Paul yorker in the 19th over. Manish Pandey came out to face accurate yorkers from Paul. At seven required from seven, Pandey drilled one back to Paul, who tried to field it to deny the batsmen a single, but all he managed was to take the pace off the ball, which gave the batsmen time to take two by the time the ball went to long-off and came back.The match almost done, Brathwaite went to Allen. With four runs off the first three balls, the job was all but done. Dhawan then became casual, playing a dot and then finding out the only man outside the circle, Pollard at long-on. Allen bowled a pretty good last ball, cramping Pandey, who hit it to the bowler’s right with no real force behind it. Not only could Allen not field it cleanly, he deflected it wide enough of the man running in from straight short midwicket. Match over. India 3, west Indies 0.

WV Raman has been appointed the India women head coach after a day-long series of interviews conducted by a three-member ad-hoc committee set up by the BCCI for the purpose. Raman was one of three names, along with Gary Kirsten and Venkatesh Prasad, recommended by the committee to the board after interviewing nine applicants on Thursday in Mumbai.Raman, the former Tamil Nadu opening batsman, played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs in an international career stretching from 1988 to 1997. He has since transitioned into an extensive coaching career, which, ESPNcricinfo understands, strengthened his case. He has served as the head coach of state teams Bengal and Tamil Nadu, been assistant coach of Kings XI Punjab (2013) and the batting coach of Kolkata Knight Riders when they won their second IPL title in 2014. Later, he was named the batting coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru in 2015.What also worked in his favour vis a vis Prasad was the panel preferring a former international batsman to a bowler in the role of head coach. Raman, however, is understood to have suggested that the board consider appointing a bowling coach for the team’s benefit.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kirsten was the most high-profile candidate but his role as coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore will mean a potential conflict of scheduling with the women’s team. The BCCI release confirming Raman’s appointment also mentioned that this could have been a possible conflict-of-interest situation as per the new BCCI constitution.It is also learnt that the panel suggested to the CoA the possibility of having Kalpana Venkatachar, the former India Test batsman and current coach of the Meghalaya women’s team, and the only female candidate to have been interviewed, hired as a deputy.Anshuman Gaekwad, one of the three members on the ad-hoc committee alongside Kapil Dev and Shantha Rangswamy, said the panel had done its “job in the best manner” it could and that the decision would be taken by the board.”[Three names were recommended] for any last-minute changes, who’s available or not,” he said. “The interviews were conducted only for the head coach and not any deputy or assistant role or any other support staff.”ALSO READ: How the Mithali-Powar mudslinging saga unfoldedThe position has been vacant since Ramesh Powar’s term expired on November 30.

ODI, T20I squad selection on Friday

The ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming limited-overs tour of New Zealand are likely to be selected on Friday afternoon in Delhi. ODI captain Mithali Raj is likely to be in attendance, while T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur is expected to join in via Skype, although she is scheduled to play for Sydney Thunder against the Hobart Hurricanes in the WBBL starting 8.20am IST. India are scheduled to play three ODIs and as many T20Is against New Zealand starting January 24. The three T20Is will be double-headers along with the men’s T20Is in February.

Powar had reapplied for the role after not being handed an extension amid controversial circumstances; he was among the three candidates, including Raman and Manoj Prabhakar, to be interviewed in person at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai but was not among the final three candidates recommended by the ad-hoc committee.Five other applicants from the shortlist, including Kirsten, were interviewed via Skype.While Kirsten has coached the India and South Africa men’s teams before working with Delhi Daredevils and now with RCB, Prasad was the India bowling coach with the victorious India men’s team during the inaugural World T20 in 2007. Prasad then became the coach of the domestic team Uttar Pradesh before taking over as the chairman of India’s junior selection committee, a position he relinquished earlier this year to become the bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab.Raman will now be the fourth coach in 20 months, a timespan that also involved the controversial ousters of two head coaches – former India women captain Purnima Rau in April 2017 and, her replacement, the former Baroda spinner Tushar Arothe in July this year, both of whom had to vacate the position on the demand of seniors players.Before it came to a fractious end, Powar’s tenure saw India clinch limited-overs series victories in Sri Lanka in September, and beat Australia A in an unofficial T20I series in Mumbai where India fielded their regular side. Before the semi-final loss to England – his last match in charge – the team enjoyed an unbeaten run at the World T20, notable for victories over New Zealand and Australia.Powar, the first of the three applicants to have arrived at the headquarters for the interview, had made it to the initial shortlist from a longlist of 28 candidates after the position opened up in the wake of the non-renewal of his contract.Both Powar and Prabhakar are understood to have impressed the panel. Despite his formidable credentials, including coaching India to their first World T20 semi-final in eight years, Powar failed to make the cut largely owing to the controversies that preceded his reapplication.Much of the focus behind selecting the head coach, it is understood, had been on gauging the potential of the candidates at managing the personnel in the team and the sussing out the needs of the support staff.

MS Dhoni’s batting spot has become a raging debate in the lead-up to the World Cup. After scoring three successive fifties, including a series-clinching 87 off 114 balls from No. 4, he has said that he’s ready to float in the middle order. While India’s vice-captain Rohit Sharma believes Dhoni at No. 4 is “most ideal”, captain Virat Kohli says he is “best suited” to bat at No.5.Dhoni is no longer the explosive force he once was, but he has absorbed pressure on the slow pitches in Australia and has secured two successive chases after taking it to the last over in his own inimitable style.In the series opener in Sydney, he walked in at No.5 after India were reduced to 3 for 4 within four overs. He weathered many attacks in a chase of 289 before falling in the 33rd over. He batted at No. 5 in the must-win second ODI for India and struck an unbeaten 54-ball 55 to force the series into a decider. In the third match on a tough pitch, Dhoni was dropped twice on 0 and then on 74, but he pressed on to win it for India.”Well, it’s good (enjoying batting at No.4?),” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation after claiming the Man-of-the-Series award. “If I am batting at 6 and somebody is batting at 4, we’ve to look if we can interchange the position and see if the team [balance] remains the same. It’s not about where you want to be, it’s about how many you can fill in that position. I’m happy to bat at any number. If I have to go back and bat at 5 or 6, I’m happy to do that. Because the important thing is where the team needs me. After playing 14 years, I can’t say I can’t bat at 6 and I need to bat at 4 or 5, so I will bat at where the team needs me.”When asked if the management was keen on keeping Dhoni at No.4 Kohli said: “I personally feel No.5 is the best-suited spot for him because that allows him to do a bit of both – get some game-time and finish games off and attack as and when required. The management discussed No. 5 was the ideal position for him and if you saw him in Adelaide as well he was pretty comfortable batting there. He was more himself in that game and he built onto this knock.”ALSO READ: Chopra: What is Dhoni’s role in the India ODI side?On Friday, Dhoni managed only 12 off 22 balls against legspinner Adam Zampa and 5 off 17 balls from Jhye Richardson, but he made up for that by attacking Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake and Marcus Stoinis to shift the pressure back on Australia. Kedar Jadhav eased the pressure on Dhoni with timely boundaries and hard-run twos in an unbeaten 121-run stand.”It was a slow wicket, so it was a bit difficult to hit whenever you want to,” Dhoni said. “I think it was important to take it till the end because some of their main bowlers were on the verge of finishing their quota of overs. So, you have to target the bowlers you can on wickets like these. No point going after the ones who’re bowling well. That was the game plan and it was really well supported by Kedar. He’s somebody who plays some unorthodox shots and great shots in the middle, so it takes that pressure off me when you’re looking to go right till the last over.”Kohli conceded that he was nervous when the asking rate ballooned in the chase, but agreed with Dhoni, saying that the key was to take the game deep.”As MS said, it wasn’t that easy a wicket to bat on. So, he had to take the game deep,” Kohli said during the presentation. “They’re professional enough to finish it off. We were a bit nervous there, but two set batsmen in the middle knew exactly what they wanted to do. So, they got the job done. In the end, that’s what matters.”

Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s three-wicket haul set up Afghanistan’s five-wicket win over Ireland in the first ODI in Dehradun. All three of his wickets came in his opening spell, during which he reduced Ireland to 14 for 3. The visitors couldn’t recover and were bowled out for 161 despite Paul Stirling’s fighting 89. Afghanistan didn’t face much difficulty in their chase, getting over the line in the 42nd over.William Porterfield opted to bat first but the Ireland batsmen had no clue against the guile of Mujeeb. Bowling with the new ball, Mujeeb struck with his third delivery of the match as Porterfield chopped a length ball on to the stumps.Andy Balbrinie was the next to go. The batsman tried to sweep Mujeeb from outside off only to miss and get struck on the pads. Umpire S Ravi didn’t take long to raise his finger but replays showed the impact was outside the line of the off stump.Off the very next ball, Mujeeb snared debutant James McCollum, who went back and across to a googly only to end up playing outside the line. This time there was no doubt about the lbw decision. Mujeeb’s figures at this point were 4-3-2-3.The spinner could have had Stirling lbw in his next over but Ravi once again erred, this time benefitting Ireland. Apart from that call Stirling looked firm in defence, but the middle order – Kevin O’Brien, Simi Singh and Stuart Poynter – offered little resistance and soon Ireland were reeling at 69 for 6.Stirling eventually found an ally in George Dockrell and the two added 76 for the seventh wicket in 15.2 overs. During their association, Stirling switched gears and hit Mohammad Nabi for sixes over long-on and deep midwicket. Rashid Khan broke the partnership in the 46th over, bowling Dockrell for 37 for his first wicket of the match.Stirling hit back-to-back fours off Dawlat Zadran in the 49th over, the first a lofted off-drive and then a cheeky scoop over short fine leg, but was bowled in the next over as he moved too far across only to see a straight delivery clatter into the stumps.Hazratullah Zazai began Afghanistan’s response positively, smashing Tim Murtagh for a six over long-on before clubbing two more fours in the bowler’s next over. However, the run-flow slowed after that and while trying to break the shackles, Zazai was caught off Barry McCarthy by O’Brien near long-on.Mohammad Shahzad and Rahmat Shah took the side to 90 without taking any risks before Boy Rankin dismissed both in quick succession. And when Hashmatullah Shahidi fell to Simi, Afghanistan were 104 for 4, still 58 away from their target.But with the asking rate always well under four, even the dot balls didn’t create enough pressure. Gulbadin Naib then swatted McCarthy for three fours – all towards midwicket – in the 37th over to put the issue beyond doubt. Soon after, he hit Rankin for two fours and a six before falling four short of his half-century. With nine required for victory, Najibullah Zadran smashed Dockrell for two sixes to seal the deal.