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Afghanistan’s bowlers shot Zimbabwe out for 54 in a rain-curtailed final ODI to help the visitors seal the series 3-2

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2017
Scorecard
Rahmat Shah top scored with 50•Zimbabwe Cricket

Afghanistan’s bowlers combined to roll Zimbabwe over for 54, helping the visitors seal a 3-2 series win with a 106-run D/L victory in the final ODI in Harare.Afghanistan elected to bat and were provided a brisk start thanks to opener Noor Ali Zadran’s 49-ball 46, even as Zimbabwe got regular breakthroughs early on. Noor Ali eventually fell at the end of the 15th over, a wicket that put the brakes on Afghanistan’s momentum as captain Asghar Stanikzai and Rahmat Shah tried to steady the innings from 85 for 3. The pair put on 39 off 64 balls, which was followed by a fifth-wicket stand of 35 between Shah and Samiullah Shenwari. After Rahmat reached his fifty, both he and Shenwari were run-out as Afghanistan found themselves at 172 for 6 at the 40-over mark.Allrounder Mohammad Nabi then batted with the lower order, hitting four fours and a six in his 48 off 40 balls. Dawlat Zadran hit 14 off 6 balls to lift them to 253 for 9. Medium-pacer Chris Mpofu finished with figures of 3 for 46 while the spin duo of Graeme Cremer and Sean Williams kept things tight and conceded a combined 74 in 20 overs.Zimbabwe’s response was delayed by rain and a wet outfield, leaving them with a revised target of 161 off 22 overs. They suffered an early blow, losing Peter Moor in the second over. Three balls later, left-arm spinner Amir Hamza removed Solomon Mire, before returning two more wickets off four balls in his next over to reduce Zimbabwe to 13 for 4.There was to be no recovery, with only two batsmen getting into double-figures, as Nabi and Rashid Khan – who were both picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL auction earlier this week – took combined figures of 5 for 22. Rahmat was named Man of the Match for his fifty.

Joe Root admits he was shocked by his first experience of Test cricket in Australia but has promised he will be much better prepared when England return for the Ashes at the end of the year

George Dobell at Headingley29-Mar-20171:05

Taylor tips Root to thrive as captain

Joe Root admits he was shocked by his first experience of Test cricket in Australia but has promised he will be much better prepared when England return for the Ashes at the end of the year.Root, England’s newly appointed Test captain, went to Australia in 2013-14 as a 22-year-old with a growing reputation as England’s finest young batsman. But by the end of the series he had been dropped, England had been defeated 5-0 and he concedes he was “caught cold” by the hostility of the experience.Greeted by abusive crowds, even more abusive opponents and an excellent fast-bowling attack led by Mitchell Johnson, Australia provided a far from gentle welcome. And while Root managed 87 in the second innings in Adelaide, it was the only time he reached 30 and he was dropped, with a series average of 27.42, after the fourth Test.”That first Test match at Brisbane, when I walked out to bat, I think it did it hit me quite hard,” Root said. “It was like I walked into a conservatory door: I was not aware at all that it was there.”For large periods of that trip, I was spending my time and energy working on things that other people said I needed to work on; getting forward; a bigger stride; getting into the ball. But in reality, they were bowling 95mph bouncers, so it was pointless.”But I will be slightly more aware this time. I won’t be caught cold. I know what to expect from what can be quite a hostile environment.”Root is determined that other young players – and Haseeb Hameed would appear to be a prime example – should not be similarly exposed this time.Joe Root: “I won’t be caught cold in Australia”•BRUT Sport Style

“I think it’s very important that the guys that haven’t been there get a good idea of what it can be like,” he said. “They shouldn’t be afraid of it. They should try to embrace it and enjoy it. It’s not always easy to enjoy it, but that tour is a great opportunity for this team.”I think I’ve done all my learning from that tour already. I came back from it and thought: just strengthen all the things that have served you very well for long periods of time and slowly but surely work on the rest of it. From that I gained a lot of confidence. It was a really good way, from being in quite a difficult spot, of feeling good again.”If England are to win in Australia, Root knows that he will have to score heavily. So, odd though it may sound, he says the piece of advice he has most taken to heart since he became captain, is to ensure his own game is in order.”I’ve had a lot of people provide quite similar advice,” he said. “But the one thing that’s really stuck out is ‘just make sure you look after your own game and concentrate on scoring as many runs as possible.'”That might come across as quite selfish. But I think it’s going to be very important for me, mentally as well, to put in the work and set the right example when the opportunities arise.”He doesn’t have to look far to find examples of talented young batsmen who appear to have thrived with the responsibility of leadership. Steve Smith, in particular, has batted exceptionally well in recent times, with Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson also highly impressive.”They are great examples of taking that responsibility and making it a real asset to their games,” Root said. “It’s a good opportunity for me to do exactly the same. Over the last couple of years my consistency has been fantastic. But between 50 and 100 there have been far too many occasions when I have got out.”On a few occasions I have been got out, but the majority of the time it has been a lapse of concentration and that’s not good enough. I’m going to have to make sure that moving forward I set a really good example by going on and trying to make sure I make the most of those good starts and be a little bit more ruthless.”In the past, the more responsibility I’ve been given, I’ve generally responded well to it. Hopefully that will be the same.”Root has enjoyed success in home Ashes series, but his maiden tour of Australia was another story•Getty Images

Root is also confident that, while his England will play tough cricket – “There have occasions in the past when we probably have folded a little too easily,” he admitted – they will be able to retain good relationships with their opponents.”I don’t think there was too much bad blood in our series against India,” he said. “There were a few of our guys who were quite passionate and vocal and Virat and a few of his guys were the same. If you understand and respect that and you don’t take it too far and make it personal then I don’t know what the issue is.”There’s nothing wrong with going and having a beer after the game. It is quite nice actually, if someone has really laid into you for five weeks and then you go up to them with a beer and make them feel really uncomfortable. It’s quite good when you can ask them some difficult questions like ‘how’s the missus? How’s the kids?’ And see how they respond to it.”It is good that we are open to that as a side and hopefully other teams are as well.”Joe Root and James Anderson were speaking on behalf of BRUT Sport Style, the new fragrance from men’s grooming brand BRUT

The USA Cricket Association issued a defiant statement late on Tuesday, saying that the organisation ‘intends to vigorously defend its rights’ in the face of possible expulsion from the ICC

Peter Della Penna03-May-2017The USA Cricket Association issued a defiant statement late on Tuesday, saying that the organisation “intends to vigorously defend its rights” in the face of possible expulsion from the ICC. It is a strong hint that USACA is prepared to engage in a legal battle with the game’s global governing body after the ICC announced on Monday that a resolution to expel USACA as an Associate Member will be put before the ICC board at the annual conference in June.”USACA is saddened and disappointed at the ICC Executive Board decision to recommend that the ICC membership expel USACA from the ICC,” the USACA statement said. “This decision is manifestly unfair, prejudicial, unlawful, and unreasonable.”In the three-page statement put out by USACA, they also claim that the ICC’s mandate for USACA to accept an ICC-approved constitution, which includes appointing an ICC-approved independent chairperson to lead the board of directors, laid out as one of 39 terms and conditions in order to achieve reinstatement from their current suspension – in effect since June 2015 – is an “anti-democratic straightjacket [sic]”.”The ICC does not want a strong and unified, , US cricket community,” the USACA release said. “It wants one that the ICC will control and dominate.”The USACA statement repeatedly refers to its own approach to formulating a constitution that was approved by members at an April 8 Special General Meeting in New York as “democratic” while railing against certain aspects of the ICC-approved constitution which USACA’s 45 voting leagues rejected at the same meeting.USACA’s statement is also noteworthy for claiming they have “worked diligently and cooperatively with the ICC to achieve reinstatement by satisfying the reinstatement conditions set forth by the ICC.” That stance directly contradicts the ICC’s statement put out on Monday in which they stated that the resolution for expulsion came as a result of a two-year process in which they have attempted to include members of USACA on ICC advisory groups tasked with trying to unify a fractured cricket community.”It has become clear that this is just not possible and, having invested so much time and resources into helping USACA and with little in the way of cooperation from USACA, the ICC Board now felt that the only remaining option was for the ICC Full Council to consider expulsion of USACA as a member of the ICC,” the ICC statement said on Monday.USACA also states that their constitution will “unify the US cricket community”, though their current self-reported membership of 45 leagues places them in a minority position with approximately 150 leagues in operation nationwide.

Stephen Parry claimed his first five-wicket haul in the Championship and Haseeb Hameed guided Lancashire’s chase to inflict defeat on the champions

Paul Edwards at Southport12-Jun-2017
ScorecardLancashire and Middlesex’s cricketers reported back for pre-season training last November. A few weeks later, officials at Southport and Birkdale CC heard they would be hosting this game against the champions, which ended in mid-afternoon on the final day when Steven Croft’s straight six off Ravi Patel completed an eight-wicket victory over the champions. It was Middlesex’s first defeat since they lost to Worcestershire in September 2015.So for four June days these three groups of people, all of them professional in their particular ways, have been joined in closely-related endeavours: one of them in preparing to stage a cricket match, the other two in competing against each other to win it. And thus we have a link between Bev Baybutt’s careful editing of the programme for this match and Stephen Parry’s maiden five-wicket haul in Championship cricket and, indeed, his first such return in the first-class game for a decade.It was Parry’s two wickets late on the fourth morning which ensured that Lancashire would need only 108 to win. Until those final breakthroughs, there seemed a chance that Tim Murtagh and Toby Roland-Jones’ shrewd hitting would set Lancashire a target in excess of 150. But Murtagh ventured cautiously down the pitch only to be stumped by Alex Davies for 27 and Roland-Jones swung across a straight one and was leg before for 31.Davies walked rather proudly off the field knowing that only Warren Hegg among Lancashire wicketkeepers had completed more dismissals in a match than the ten he had managed at Southport; on the stroke of lunch, he cut a rather more disappointed figure after he had been caught by John Simpson off Roland-Jones for 13 but one doubts he lunched on water-biscuits and self-pity. Liam Livingstone was the only other Lancashire batsman to lose his wicket and he had the consolation of knowing that he had been selected for England’s T20 squad. Haseeb Hameed helped himself to 104 minutes’ batting practice and made a pleasingly serene 38 not out, the sort of innings that suggests big runs are not far away. Within an hour of the game ending, Paul Parker and his battalion of workers were stacking the chairs they had so carefully set out less than a week ago. Lindsey Bridge’s tremendous alliums were still blooming but there were only a few spectators left on the ground to admire such floral delights.Haseeb Hameed saw Lancashire home in a small chase•Getty Images

No one could doubt the justice of the result of this game. If Middlesex had replaced their suspicious glances at the pitch with a little more tenacity, they might have scored more than the 180 they managed in the first innings; if they had bowled with better lines and lengths Lancashire may not have replied with 309. Resuming on 156 for 6 on the final morning, the visitors lost their overnight batsmen, Dawid Malan and James Harris, to effort balls from Ryan McLaren which bounced more than the batsmen expected. Both were caught at the wicket, Malan when attempting to play no shot at all. Those reverses left the responsibility for building a defendable total in the hands of Roland-Jones and Murtagh; they did what they could in typically aggressive fashion and Glen Chapple admitted that his players were getting “a little twitchy”. Parry settled their nerves and left Chapple praising the way his whole team had responded to their ten-wicket towsing at Headingley.This result will be a fillip to Lancashire’s players as they prepare to meet Hampshire at Emirates Old Trafford; Middlesex’s next match is at home to Yorkshire, which should bring back some happy memories for them. Before long Southport and Birkdale will return to being a club ground once again, although the members will retain warm memories of the 2017 game, albeit that such recollections will not be so precious as those they cherish in their hearts of Durham’s visit last year.In December, pied wagtails will be scuttering along the outfield in the gathering dusk; trains laden with Christmas presents will be rattling into Birkdale station; and the lights in Dover Road will stretch away in the winter darkness. And on one morning in that month S&B’s indefatigable chairman, Tony Elwood, will be told which county will be visiting his ground in 2018.Outground cricket is threatened when it should be encouraged. For many it remains a precious feature of the English season, something which no other sport can match. The game is taken back to a few of the clubs who produce the players. It remains, as Philip Larkin wrote of the Bellingham show in 1958, “something people do, / Not noticing how time’s rolling smithy-smoke / Shadows much greater gestures; something they share / That breaks ancestrally each year into / Regenerate union. Let it always be there.”

West Indies have recalled Chris Gayle for the one-off T20I against India at Sabina Park on July 9

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-20171:13

The return of the ‘Universe Boss’

West Indies T20 squad

Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Samuel Badree, Ronsford Beaton, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton (wk), Kesrick Williams
In: Chris Gayle
Out: Lendl Simmons

West Indies have recalled Chris Gayle to their 13-man squad for the one-off T20I against India. The match is set to take place in Gayle’s home ground of Sabina Park in Jamaica. Gayle came in at the expense of Lendl Simmons, who scored 6, 17* and 15 in the series against Afghanistan, West Indies’ last T20 assignment. Jason Holder, the Test and ODI captain, who did not feature in that series, has been rested again.Gayle last turned out in West Indies colours in the 2016 World T20 final against England at Eden Gardens. He is West Indies’ highest scorer in the shortest format with 1519 runs at 35.32, including two centuries and a strike rate of 145.49. He has never played a T20I at Sabina Park.”We welcome Chris back to the T20 squad. He is the most prolific batsman in this format and will add value to our team at the top of the order,” Courtney Browne, Cricket West Indies’ chairman of selectors, said. “He will get the chance to play on his home ground and against a top-quality Indian team.”West Indies are currently engaged in a five-match ODI series that India are leading 2-1. They will chase a series-levelling win in the fifth and final match in Jamaica before the two teams clash in the one-off T20I on Sunday.

Tamim Iqbal and Essex have determinedly played down the reasons for Tamim’s abrupt abandonment of his stint at the county

David Hopps and Mohammad Isam12-Jul-2017Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal and Essex have determinedly played down the reasons for his abruptly abandoning a stint with the county, after allegations emerged that his wife was the victim of a racially-motivated incident in Stratford in east London.ESPNcricinfo understands that a nervous Tamim reported an altercation to Essex Cricket on Monday, the day after his debut in a NatWest Blast match against Kent at Beckenham, and asked that his contract be terminated so the family could return to Bangladesh.Essex immediately agreed to his request, and the county and player chose to play down the incident, with Essex’s chairman John Faragher and chief executive Derek Bowden overseeing a brief statement which requested that Tamim’s privacy be respected.Essex have made no concerted effort to discover the nature of the incident and it is not thought that any official complaint has been lodged with the Metropolitan Police.It is known that Tamim’s family was uneasy about the environment in London even before his arrival in England. Essex put his family up in a luxury apartment in Stratford at his own request – some 35 miles from their Chelmsford headquarters – after agreeing to an eight-match deal.Terrorist attacks on the British mainland, in London and Manchester, have caused a marked increase in racial tension. Last week, through the Freedom of Information legislation, the newspaper also obtained police figures that showed an unparalleled rise in hate crimes of 23% compared to the previous year, in the 11 months after the UK voted to leave the European Union.The arrival of Tamim’s family in the UK coincided with protests at Stratford train station against recent acid attacks and Islamophobia in east London. The anti-racism demonstration came after police confirmed that an acid attack in neighbouring Newham was being treated as a hate crime.There have been conflicting reports, emanating from Bangladesh, about the exact nature of the incident involving Tamim, his wife Ayesha Siddiqa who often wears a hijab, and their one-year-old son – it is variously said to have occurred in a Stratford restaurant or while the family was on the street.Tamim, meanwhile, was keen to keep his agreement with Essex and not make public his reasons for returning home. “I want all my fans and well wishers to know that I cut short my season with Essex to come back home early for personal reasons,” a statement on his official Facebook page read. “Some media reported that we were the target of attempted hate crime. This is really not true.”England is one my favourite places to play cricket and Essex have been entirely gracious even though I had to leave early. I thank all my fans and well wishers for their concern and messages and look forward to going back to England for future matches.”Essex continued to insist that they will not expand on their brief statement which read: “We wish him all the best and it would be appreciated if Tamim’s privacy is respected during this time.”Whatever the cause of Tamim’s hurried departure, it appears that it will remain officially unreported.

Mominul Haque has been recalled to the Bangladesh squad for the first Test against Australia in place of Mosaddek Hossain, who is suffering from an eye infection

Mohammad Isam20-Aug-2017Twenty-four hours after he was dropped for the first time in his Test career, Mominul Haque has been reinstated in the Bangladesh squad for the first Test against Australia, which starts from August 27. Mominul will replace Mosaddek Hossain, who is suffering from an eye infection, and the turnaround came after a meeting between the BCB president, Nazmul Hassan, and the selection committee.Mosaddek will need at least 15 days of rest for his condition to improve, according to an eye specialist. His infection was known to the selectors after he missed Bangladesh’s training camp in Chittagong earlier this month. During Saturday’s press conference, coach Chandika Hathurusingha had said that Nasir Hossain had been picked in the 14-man squad as Mosaddek’s back-up.However, following a stormy press conference after the team’s announcement on Saturday and subsequent criticism by the media, the BCB president called the selection committee, which also includes Hathurusingha, for an impromptu meeting. Hassan later said that such discussions with selectors and players often occur before a tour or home series, and this time took place after the squad was announced. Hassan said he would have insisted on Mominul’s inclusion in the squad if he had met with the selectors before Saturday’s announcement.”I don’t know if he would be in the XI but there was an opportunity to keep him in the squad,” Hassan said. “What would happen if they made it a 15-man squad instead of a 14-man squad? There’s no need to create controversy. Anybody would feel bad seeing Mominul out of the squad.”We have decided that Mominul is coming in as Saikat has an eye infection. So we don’t want to take a risk with him. See, it wouldn’t have come to that if we didn’t have a gap [in communication].”Squad for the first Test: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), Mominul Haque, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Nasir Hossain, Shafiul Islam.

Ian Bell has had a dispiriting season which led him to resign the Warwickshire captaincy and privately wonder about his future but his return to form might lead to Hampshire’s relegation

Jon Culley at Edgbaston27-Sep-20172:06

County Championship Round-up: Final-day drama awaits

Appropriately enough, given that timing has been the foundation of his career, Ian Bell chose the day an uninspiring Ashes squad was announced to offer a reminder that while his star may be on the wane it has not yet been extinguished.Days such as these are not coming around as often as they once were, yet when they do it is difficult to look at the current crop of England batsmen and argue that he would be out of place among them. The same thought might have occurred to James Vince, watching in the field as Bell’s unbeaten 77 guided Warwickshire from 65 for five to a total that might have sounded the death knell for Hampshire’s survival chances.Needing to draw to ensure that they do not join Warwickshire in Division Two next season, this glimpse into Bell’s past left them with a target of 259 to win or a day and a half in which not to lose 10 wickets, depending on how you looked at it.In the event, the arrival of rain just as the players set themselves to restart after tea has cut the survival time by a considerable chunk, with 46 overs left in the day when the players were told to make way for the covers. On a pitch that has seen 31 wickets fall in a day and a half, however, getting through a couple of sessions might be tough enough.Even with Bell’s 159-minute masterclass to give it substance, Warwickshire’s second innings encompassed 10 wickets falling in 44.1 overs, with the four seamers doing all the damage.Fidel Edwards and Ian Holland found movement to remove both openers in quick succession before Jonathan Trott followed them back, plainly unimpressed to given out caught behind off Gareth Berg, his gestures suggesting he did not believe his bat had made any contact.Bell, whose first task was to avoid a pair, had barely settled when Matt Lamb was squarely leg before and Tim Ambrose taken at second slip in the same Berg over. At 65 for five, Warwickshire’s lead was just 137.There have been times this season when Bell has looked like a player whose best days have gone and given that he is 35 now perhaps that is not so surprising. The longevity of a Trescothick or a Collingwood is not bestowed upon every batsman.Even on his poorer days, there is inevitably at least one moment of undeniable class in a Bell innings, yet as he found his stride with three boundaries in the same over off Berg there was a sense that this might be different. Maybe it was because it was the last innings of the season, a rare year without a century to his name. Perhaps he wanted to make a statement, on this of all days, for the benefit of the doubters.Or perhaps it just the mind-focussing consequence of a sense of senior responsibility, to salvage something from Warwickshire’s dismal season, to set up a chance to avoid the double indignity of a season not only finishing in relegation but winless. He could recognise, no doubt, that if he played with aggression and it came off he could give Hampshire a real test of their mettle. Even an extra 30 or so runs on the Warwickshire total could make the difference.In the event, he did better even than that. The wickets kept falling at the other end, Alex Thomson, who again looked a batsman of composure and skill, fell to Kyle Abbott the last ball before lunch, Jeetan Patel bowled by the first one of the afternoon. Then Chris Wright was run out by George Bailey’s direct hit from cover point.But Bell attacked at every opportunity and when he connected it was usually with the middle of the bat. Twice he sent Berg soaring over the rope but it was Edwards who took the most punishment as Bell used the West Indian’s pace to his own advantage.Twice steered deliberately for four over the slips, Edwards was frustrated enough to swish a hand angrily at the stumps at the end of one three-boundary over.It seemed for a while that Bell might get that elusive hundred after all, the one he had come closest to in April when he fell on 99 against Surrey. Olly Hannon-Dalby and Ryan Sidebottom did all they could to help as 72 were added for the last two wickets, of which Bell made exactly 50.Ultimately both ran into a ball that was too good but they had played their part in ensuring Hampshire will have a difficult final day. Although there are signs the pitch is flattening out a little, a draw looks the least likely outcome, unless the heavy rain forecast overnight takes out more time, and Warwickshire are favourites, with Hampshire already one down.

Kieron Pollard will captain Bloem City Blazers in South Africa’s T20 Global League, which begins next month

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2017Kieron Pollard will captain Bloem City Blazers in South Africa’s T20 Global League, which begins next month. The allrounder, 30, has vast experience of T20 competitions around the world and will work alongside head coach and fellow West Indian Phil Simmons.”Polly is a World-Cup winning player and has won numerous T20 domestic titles across the globe; his leadership is a vital asset to the Bloem City Blazers,” Simmons said. “He brings with him a deep understanding of the game and the energy and passion to inspire the squad in our first attempt at T20 Global League success.”Pollard has captained Mumbai Indians in the IPL and recently led Barbados Tridents in the 2017 Caribbean Premier League. He was a member of West Indies’ 2012 World T20-winning side and has played 387 games in the format, scoring 7578 runs and taking 241 wickets.”I’m honoured to be leading this immensely talented group of players,” he said. “Every year I come back to South Africa and I am made to feel incredibly welcome. The T20 Global League is a new and exciting competition and looking at the squad we’ve put together I’m confident our brand of cricket will light up Bloemfontein and give the fans cause to cheer.”We want to start with real momentum and the fans being behind us from the outset is important. We’ve got world-class talent that covers every base in the Bloem City Blazers squad, the ingredients are all there to make the T20 Global League a successful tournament for us.”I’ve either played with or against most of the guys so they’ll be familiar with how I lead a group. If we perform our roles and show the fighting spirit from the outset we will be formidable opponents. I can’t wait for the first game.”Pollard was the first overseas player picked in the T20 Global League draft in August. He will be joined in the Bloemfontein squad by countrymen Dwayne Smith and Rayad Emrit, England’s Chris Jordan and David Miller, the team’s local marquee player.

The Indian board intends to schedule home matches in February-March as well as in October-November every year

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Nov-2017As the ICC gets ready to fine-tune a schedule for the Test and ODI leagues next month, the BCCI has made it clear that any new international calendar would need to account for a fixed Indian home season, played across two windows: October-November and February-March.In October, the BCCI – along with the other Full Members – approved in-principle a nine-team Test and 13-team ODI league, due to start in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Members have been working on drawing up a workable calendar for the leagues and, in December, board chief executives will meet to flesh out a week-by-week schedule at a workshop in Singapore.Earlier this month, the BCCI invited Geoff Allardice, the ICC general manager (cricket) and the organisation’s point man on scheduling discussions, to let him know these were the lines they were thinking along. Although it is the members who negotiate with each other and draw up the final schedule, the ICC facilitates the discussions.”The BCCI’s stance has been that these are our windows we will play at home,” a BCCI member told ESPNcricinfo. “We have been building on this for a while now.”The BCCI has only started to push for a fixed home-season – the likes of which England and Australia have had forever – over the last four years, and specifically when N Srinivasan was board president. Srinivasan, however, wanted a home season stretching from October to March, followed by the IPL, which can stretch to nearly two months.Since 2013 India have played nine Tests in February and March – eight Tests against Australia (in 2013 and 2017) and one against Bangladesh. Between 2014 and 2016 they did not play any Test series in these months. Historically, in 83 years since 1934, India has played 54 Tests at home in those months.Since the 2011 World Cup, India have not hosted any ODIs in February or March. At most of these times, India have been playing away from home on tours to South Africa, Australia or New Zealand.October-November is much more a fixed home-season for India. They have scheduled a Test series every year in those months since 2013; even in 2014 they were scheduled to play against West Indies but the series was abandoned. Nine Tests have been played over the last four years in these months and 31 ODIs; since 1934, they have played 93 Tests at home in October-November and 149 ODIs since they hosted their first in that period in 1981.The real challenge for India over the last four-year cycle has been the long stretches where India play only at home or only away. Most of their major away-tours are now scheduled one after another in a span of 12 months; they had one stretch starting from November 2013 till February 2015, and another looms from December 2017 to February 2019.Led by its chief executive officer, Rahul Johri, the BCCI is now keen on splitting the home season across two windows. And it is something Johri and the late MV Sridhar, who was the BCCI’s GM (cricket operations), have stressed upon right from when discussions began on the leagues. The BCCI is happy to tour overseas during the rest of the year and outside of the IPL season, which now has an established window between April and May.An official from another Full Member said he understood the BCCI’s decision, given that other major teams had similar home seasons. Barring England, who have a home season spanning from May to September, other countries are happy to split their home seasons into shorter windows.”It is completely logical,” the Full-Member official said. “After the IPL they want to travel. And then they want to kick off the domestic season with Indian content. And then later in February-March they again want some home content. It is only fair. Lots of boards want a balance. They don’t have five months of intense home cricket and then nothing for the next 12 months. And India have always been very clear about their aims and objectives.”