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استقر الجهاز الفني لفريق الكرة الأول بالنادي الأهلي بقيادة مارسيل كولر، على تشكيل لاعبيه لمباراة سيراميكا كليوباترا في الدوري.

مباراة الأهلي وسيراميكا المقرر إقامتها في خضم مؤجلات الجولة الثانية من عمر الدوري المصري الممتاز “النيل”، على ملعب استاد المقاولون العرب.

ويدخل الأهلي مباراته طامحًا في مصالحة جماهيره بعد وداع بطولة الدوري السوبر الإفريقي (الدوري الإفريقي) في نسختها الأولى.

ويحتل الأهلي المركز السابع في سلم ترتيب جدول الدوري المصري، برصيد 9 نقاط، بعد أن خاض 3 مباريات ويتبقى له ثلاثة أخرين.

ويتواجد سيراميكا كليوباترا في المركز الثالث عشر برصيد 7 نقاط، حصدها من الفوز في مباراتين والتعادل في لقاء وتلقى الخسارة في مواجهتين. بدلاء الأهلي أمام سيراميكا كليوباترا في الدوري

مصطفى شوبير ورامي ربيعة وحسين الشحات ومحمد مجدي أفشة وكريم نيدفيد وأنتوني موديست ‏وكريم فؤاد ومحمد هاني وأحمد نبيل كوكا.

الجدير بالذكر، أن الأهلي قد فاز في المباراة الماضية التي أقيمت على الملعب ذاته أمام المقاولون العرب، كما حقق سيراميكا مفاجأة بانتصار على بيراميدز متصدر ترتيب جدول الدوري.

Kenya imploded in a chase of 170, folding for a mere 61, as Pakistan A completed a 108-run win in the fifth and final one-dayer in Lahore to sweep the series 5-0

Umar Farooq20-Dec-2014
ScorecardKenya imploded in a chase of 170, folding for a mere 61, as Pakistan A completed a 108-run win in the fifth and final game in Lahore to sweep the series 5-0. The visitors had lost the previous four games by equally large margins: nine wickets, 155 runs, 214 runs and 118 runs, respectively.Kenya’s bowlers signed off with a good performance, bowling Pakistan A out for the first time in the series. They used the overcast foggy conditions well and bowled with a composed line and length. Their discipline, however, was not backed by the fielding, which remained unresponsive with casual chances being dropped.Opting to bat first, Pakistan A suffered an early blow when Mohammad Rizwan was caught behind off the first ball of the day. Mukhtar Ahmed top-scored with 78, his second successive fifty, but was dropped twice in his 115-ball innings. The next highest score in the innings was 16, from Babar Azam and Saeed Ajmal.Kenya negotiated the opening two overs but the resistance did not last long as the left-arm pace duo of Zia-ul-Haq and Mir Hamza ripped the line-up, reducing them to 14 for 7. Opener Alex Obanda fell to a stunning catch when Saeed Ajmal, standing at mid-on, stretched to his right for a one-handed take.Gurdeep Singh, captain Shem Ngoche, Nehemiah Odhiambo and Morris Ouma were the four batsmen to fall for ducks, and only Emmanuel Bundi – 15* off 42 – reached a double-figure score. Ajmal, who was poor with his line bowling outside leg, wrecked the tail with his two wickets to wrap up proceeding within 21.3 overs.

ScorecardSam Billings’ 61 in 36 balls was by far the best innings of the day•Getty Images

Kent were not to be denied. As Gloucestershire added 93 for the last four wickets, nerves were stretched tight and the crowd shouted themselves hoarse. With 32 required from 23 balls, Ben Harmison could not hold a diving, one-handed catch a long-off. Benny Howell was the batsman to survive but he was bowled off the final delivery of Mitch Claydon’s over, leaving Gloucestershire nine down.When Rob Key stooped to take a catch off Craig Miles from the first ball of the 48th over, cheers rang around the ground, only for the third umpire to rule that he could not be sure it was cleanly taken. Two balls later, David Griffiths broke the bails of last man David Payne and victory was sealed.The plight of the British seaside town has been brought into focus this week by confirmation that Ukip leader Nigel Farage will stand for parliamentary election in South Thanet, the constituency adjacent to Canterbury and Whistable. It is tempting to see this decline as in some ways mirroring county cricket’s struggle for relevancy – both are pleasures from simpler times – but at the St Lawrence Ground, just a few miles from Farage’s prospective Ramsgate base, it was possible to witness something resembling hope.Kent were one-day kings during the ’70s, which was about when it was last cool to spend your holidays messing about with a bucket and spade. They have not won a lot since but reached the semi-finals of the inaugural Royal London Cup with a 24-run win. Farage was spotted at the Tunbridge Wells festival earlier this season, though it is unknown whether the association is mutual. It seems unlikely that real ale and the fight against EU bureaucracy are central to the philosophy of Jimmy Adams’ side.The whirlwind batting of Sam Billings certainly is and his rambunctious 61 made Kent’s wicketkeeper the third-highest scorer in this season’s competition. It was the most fluent innings of the night by a comfortable majority, as both sides battled on a treacle surface that did not benefit from a cloudburst before the start of play.Gloucestershire began with a flurry of boundaries from Chris Dent but, in their haste to make a statement, got ahead of themselves. With the assorted mysteries of Ben Harmison, Darren Stevens and Fabian Cowdrey – as well as the more classical merits of Adam Riley’s offspin – ranged against them, the visitors slipped to 125 for 6 at just past the halfway point of their chase.

Kent handed tough semi-final

Kent’s reward for a hard-fought victory over Gloucestershire in the quarter-final of the Royal London Cup is an away tie at Warwickshire.
In a see-saw match, Kent saw off Gloucestershire by 24 runs to extend their excellent run in the Royal London Cup but they will have to overcome the form side in the country to reach their first Lord’s final since 2008.
Warwickshire have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions and will fancy their chance at Edgbaston as they seek a clean sweep of domestic titles.
The other semi-final sees Durham play host to Nottinghamshire. Durham meanly defended their total at Headingley to knock out Yorkshire while Notts hammered Derbyshire and kept their title defence alive.
Semi-finals
Warwickshire v Kent, Thursday September 4 D/N
Durham v Nottinghamshire, Saturday September 6

A stand of 53 between Will Gidman, the folk hero who is set to leave Gloucestershire for the bright lights of Nottingham next season, and Howell ensured home nerves remained taught but Griffiths followed a run of three successive wides by yorking Gidman. Without Michael Klinger, their overseas player and captain who broke an arm in last week’s final group game, this was a chase too far for the last side remaining from Group A.Billings has thrived on the return of 50-over cricket, averaging over 100 at a frankly indecent strike rate of 162.64. With a golden blond quiff and schoolboy grin, he radiates energy. Billings is from Pembury, near Tunbridge Wells, but played the sort of shots that would put creases in the locals’ freshly starched linen.His half-century came from 29 balls, with Dent’s left-arm spin twice crunched over the midwicket boundary. He was lucky not to drag the ball on to his stumps in the following over, bowled by Jack Taylor; he proceeded to launch a six like a mortar round over long-on, followed by a rubber-wristed reverse-sweep for four. Billings is packing heat, that much is clear, though England do not want for an explosive keeper-batsman right now.For both these sides, the Royal London Cup represented an opportunity to gloss another season of bobbing along in the quieter reaches of the county circuit. Kent are the only Division Two Championship side left in the competition. The prospect of a first knockout semi-final in five years and, potentially, a trip to Lord’s thereafter should add frisson to the final few weeks.Kent were without Doug Bollinger, who has returned to Australia ahead of the Champions League, and James Tredwell, on England duty. Suggestions that Tredwell has asked to be released from his contract and allowed to join Sussex, where he has been on loan for Championship cricket, were rebuffed by the club.In preparation for this match, Kent had fielded a strong XI against New Zealand A earlier in the week. They were dismissed for 67, their second-lowest score in List A cricket, to lose by 172 runs. Nevertheless, Key chose to bat on winning the toss, only to become the first of two wickets in two balls for Payne. A score of 11 for 2 in the fifth over did not augur well for the chances of Kent posting something more substantial.Key was back in the side after missing most of the campaign with a hamstring problem, replacing Daniel Bell-Drummond. After his brief return, it was left to vice-captain Sam Northeast and 21-year-old Cowdrey – the name of whose grandfather, Colin, looks down from the stands – to repair the early damage. Northeast is developing into an increasingly proficient limited-overs cricketer and played tidily for 78 but, perhaps inflamed by Billings’ bloodlust, missed a straight ball attempting an ungainly swipe as Kent lost their last six wickets for 27 runs.Will Gidman was treated disdainfully by Northeast and Cowdrey but he removed the latter when a ball stopped in the pitch, after a stand worth 106. Alex Gidman took the catch, a moment for the brothers to savour. There will not be many more.

يعد بلال دزيري، أسطورة منتخب الجزائر ونادي اتحاد العاصمة لسنوات طويلة وكان أحد اللاعبين في مباراتي الأهلي السابقتين والوحيدتين في المواجهات المباشرة بين الفريقين.

وسبق ولعب دزيري بلال مع اتحاد العاصمة أمام الأهلي في تصفيات دوري أبطال إفريقيا 2005، والتي شهدت تأهل الأهلي بمجموع نتيجة المباراتين 3-2 في الذهاب والعودة.

وارتدى لاعب الوسط السابق قميص اتحاد العاصمة في 4 فترات بمجموع 277 مباراة تقريبًا مع تسجيل 66 هدفًا في جميع البطولات.

وفاز مع الفريق ببطولة الدوري الجزائري 4 مرات، واحترف مع النجم الساحلي التونسي وكذلك السد القطري، كما حصل على لقب أفضل لاعب جزائري عام 2005.

واعتزل دزيري مع اتحاد العاصمة عام 2010، ثم اتجه للتدريب ودرب الفريق نفسه وكذلك نصر حسين داي، الأهلي برج بوعريرج وكانت آخر تجاربه مع وفاق سطيف قبل الرحيل.

اقرأ أيضًا.. رامي ربيعة: لو كنت مكان إمام عاشور لخشيت الانضمام لـ الأهلي

وتواصل “btolat.com” مع بلال دزيري للحديث عن مباراة الغد أمام الأهلي في كأس السوبر الإفريقي والتي ستقام بملعب “الملك فهد” بمدينة “الطائف” السعودية في تمام التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت “القاهرة”.

ما هي رؤيتك الفنية لمباراة كأس السوبر الإفريقي يوم، الجمعة؟

أجاب: “مباراة ستكون صعبة للغاية على كلا الفريقين، خاصة أن الدوري الجزائري قد انتهى في منتصف يوليو الماضي، ولم يحصل اتحاد العاصمة على الراحة الكافية”.

وتابع: “ثم سافر إلى تونس من أجل معسكر الإعداد ولعب بعض المباريات الودية من أجل مواجهة الأهلي، لذلك ربما سيكون اللاعبين مجهدين، كما هو الحال مع الأهلي الذي ظل يلعب حتى يوليو في الدوري المصري بسبب المؤجلات”.

وماذا عن توقعاتك وليس أمنياتك عن المباراة؟

رد: “إذا كان الأهلي في حالته الفنية والبدنية، أعتقد أنه الفريق الأقرب لحسم البطولة ورفع الكأس في السعودية”.

وتابع: “لكن أمنياتي طبعا فوز اتحاد العاصمة باللقب”.

وأضاف: “ورغم ذلك التكهنات عن النتيجة صعبة ربما تصل المباراة لركلات الجزاء بين الفريقين ولكن هذا يتوقف على الحالة البدنية للفريقين خاصة الأهلي ومدى تركيزه لحسم المباراة مبكرًا”.

هل هناك فرصة أمام اتحاد العاصمة لخطف اللقب؟

قال دزيري بلال: “نعم، بالتأكيد لأنها مباراة واحدة ومن الممكن أن يحدث كل شيء، من سيكون أكثر جاهزية على المستوى البدني سيكون قادرًا على الفوز”.

وأضاف: “عبد الحق بن شيخة (مدرب اتحاد العاصمة) نفسه أقر بأن الأهلي على الورق أفضل وأقرب للبطولة، لكن في الملعب، الأمر سيكون مختلفًا”.

كنت لاعبًا في اتحاد العاصمة في المواجهتين السابقتين مع الأهلي عام 2005، ما هي ذكرياتك؟

تحدث بلال: “نعم، لقد خسرنا مباراة الذهاب في الجزائر 0-1 (هدف محمد بركات)، ولكن تعادلنا في القاهرة 2-2 وكانت مواجهة جميلة من حيث الأهداف، حاولنا الفوز بعد التقدم بهدف في بداية المباراة ولكن تراجعنا بعد ذلك بنتيجة 2-1 وسجلنا التعادل من ركلة جزاء في تصفيات دوري أبطال إفريقيا”.

هل من الممكن أن يمنح الملعب المحايد في السعودية ميزة لاتحاد العاصمة لحصد اللقب؟

أضاف لاعب اتحاد العاصمة السابق: “نعم، ربما ولكن أتمنى حضور كثيف من الجماهير الجزائرية هناك لأن المسافة كبيرة للغاية بين البلدين عكس مصر فارق ساعتين فقط للسفر”.

واستمر: “أتمنى أن يكون الملعب ممتلئاً كما نشاهد في الدوري السعودي في الفترة الأخيرة بعد التطور الكبير هناك، واعتقد أن الفائز هي الكرة الإفريقية بإقامة المباراة في ملعب الطائف”.

تقدم فريق ريال مدريد بهدف ثاني في مباراته أمام خيتافي بمنافسات الدوري الإسباني “الليجا” لموسم 2023-2024.

ويلتقي ريال مدريد مع خيتافي، على ملعب “سانتياجو برنابيو” ضمن مباريات الجولة الرابعة للدوري الإسباني.

وسجل جود بيلينجهام هدف ريال مدريد الثاني، وذلك في الدقيقة الخامسة من الوقت المحتسب بدلًا من الضائع.

وجاء الهدف بعد متابعة بيلينجهام لكرة ارتدت من يد الحارس، عقب تسديدة لزميله ناتشو، ليتابع الإنجليزي ويسدد في الشباك. هدف بيلينجهام القاتل في مرمي خيتافي بالدوري الاسباني 

وكان خيتافي تقدم بهدف أول عن طريق بورخا مايورال في الدقيقة 11، وتعادل خوسيلو لريال مدريد في الدقيقة 47. 

ويعد ذلك الهدف الخامس لـ بيلينجهام مع ريال مدريد، حيث سبق وسجل 4 أهداف على مدار الجولات الثلاث الماضية في الدوري الإسباني.

Graeme Welch has been appointed as Derbyshire’s new elite performance director on a three-year contract. A former Derbyshire captain, Welch has earned a strong reputation as assistant coach at Warwickshire and was widely credited for his developmental role with the bowlers when helping the club to the 2012 County Championship title.But after missing out to Dougie Brown for the role of director of cricket at Edgbaston, 41-year-old Welch has decided to pursue opportunities elsewhere. He also left Edgbaston for Derby during his playing career, before taking up his first coaching role at Essex.Welch replaces Karl Krikken, who stepped down after being asked to reapply for his job in a management reshuffle triggered by Derbyshire’s relegation from Division One.”My experiences with Essex and Warwickshire have been a fantastic grounding, allowing me to learn my trade as a coach,” Welch said. “I’m thankful for those opportunities which have fuelled my ambition to work at the top of the coaching tree.”The opportunity to do that back at Derbyshire, where I had my best years as a player, is perfect for me. The new elite cricket performance structure shows the club’s ambition and I completely buy into their vision and share the desire for success.”Chairman Chris Grant said that Welch was the right man to take charge of the new elite performance structure, aimed at cementing Derbyshire’s reputation as one of the most well-run counties.”It’s great news for Derbyshire that we’ve been able to attract one of the best up and coming coaches around as we strive towards our ambition for sustainable success on the field,” Grant said. “The pedigree of what he has already achieved in county cricket is there for all to see and he thoroughly deserves this appointment.”His appointment will have a knock-on effect elsewhere, with Worcestershire’s Alan Richardson expected to announce his retirement from playing to take up the position of bowling coach with Warwickshire.Though 38, Richardson remains one of the leading bowlers in the county game and led Worcestershire’s Championship bowling averages in 2013. With 69 wickets at 19.82, he claimed 35 more wickets than anyone else at the club.After starting his career with Derbyshire in 1994, Richardson also had respectable spells with Warwickshire and Middlesex before joining Worcestershire in 2010 and enjoying the best period of his career. He claimed 254 first-class wicket in four seasons for the club at an average of 22.07 apiece and, in April 2012, was named one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year.

A seemingly below-par score was defended for the second time in the series as Pakistan out-spun and out-thought South Africa to level the rubber

The Report by Firdose Moonda01-Nov-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSouth Africa had no answer to Pakistan’s spinners•AFP

A seemingly below-par score was defended for the second time in the series as Pakistan out-spun and out-thought South Africa to level the rubber. Mohammad Irfan continued to impress with his pace while Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez shared six wickets among them on a surface which facilitated more turn than expected and against a line-up whose technical weaknesses against the art were exposed yet again.In a battle of the two attacks, South Africa’s would have been satisfied with their work when they limited Pakistan to a total below the first-innings average of 228. Their seamers did the job through Morne Morkel, who generated extra bounce and used the short ball well, and Ryan McLaren, whose changes of pace worked. Those two took seven wickets together and conceded 72 runs in the 20 overs they bowled. Their efforts went in vain as the batsmen collapsed, with no-one managing a score over 30.Colin Ingram’s miserable run continued. If not for overthrows, his streak of three ducks from three internationals would have extended to four. He was bowled by a Sohail Tanvir inswinger and will certainly be replaced in the line-up by Hashim Amla, who will be back from the next game.Graeme Smith and JP Duminy spent 74 balls grafting for 36 runs to put South Africa on track. Duminy was the more comfortable, cutting and driving with relative ease while Smith struggled. Pakistan reviewed an lbw appeal against the former captain when he was on 10 but the umpire’s call stood. He persisted with moving across his stumps to defend, though, and was bowled when he missed the sweep. Five balls later, Duminy was caught at slip off Irfan to expose South Africa’s soft middle-order.Ajmal generated sharp turn and with his sublime control, it seemed a wicket would fall off every ball. Faf du Plessis edged one which fell short off slip, AB de Villiers had an lbw appeal turned down – which replays showed should have been given out – and almost offered Ajmal a return catch.For five and half overs, with Ajmal and Irfan in operation, Pakistan gave away only 17 runs. South Africa were strangled and by the time Afridi was brought on, at the start of the 23rd over, their frustration had reached breaking point.Du Plessis got on the back foot to defend a flipper but was trapped on the pad with Afridi’s first ball. By the time he wanted to review, it was too late although it would have been wasted because Hawk-Eye revealed he was as out. In Afridi’s next over, de Villiers tried to cut and was caught behind. At 73 for 5, it was only a matter of time before South Africa unraveled.Wayne Parnell and Ryan McLaren put on 35, South Africa’s second-highest partnership, but when Irfan, whose ability to pitch it up continues to earn him praise, had Parnell caught behind, South Africa were waiting to be finished off. Ajmal became the joint highest ODI wicket-taker of the year when Lonwabo Tsotsobe was given out lbw and Afridi took the final wicket to complete a second consecutive three-wicket haul.In the end it seemed it was Pakistan, rather than South Africa, who could lay claim to de Villiers assertion that only four wickets were needed to dent their opposition. De Villiers’ bold statement was justified, though, when Pakistan were batting, because their last six put on just 92 runs in 21 overs.After Ahmed Shehzad, who scored his third consecutive ODI fifty, was dismissed, Pakistan struggled against the discipline of the South Africa attack. The bowlers set the tone in the first two overs, which ended with Nasir Jamshed, for the second time in the series, top edging an attempted pull. Lonwabo Tsotsobe completed a well-judged catch at fine leg to enhance his opening passage of play in which he also troubled Hafeez. On seeing the left-armer cause problems, de Villiers introduced Wayne Parnell at the other end but the hero from the first match could not find his length and offered Pakistan relief.Shehzad and Hafeez took 32 runs off the last four overs of the Powerplay to set Pakistan up. No sooner had they done that when Hafeez stepped out against Ryan McLaren and inside-edged a back of a length ball onto his own stumps.His departure forced Shehzad to go back into his shell but he slowly emerged from it with Misbah-ul-Haq at his side. Misbah showed more impatience than usual, even after Shehzad has raised his bat to the only half-century of the match, and would have trusted his younger partner to bat for a while longer.Shehzad, though, went soon after Misbah, offering the simplest of return catches to Imran Tahir to spark Pakistan’s slump. After he was dismissed, the two Umar’s – Amin and Akmal – were together for 51 balls in which they only managed 31 runs. South Africa’s bowlers gave away very little so that when McLaren brought his change of pace to the fore, they were victims of it.Misbah predicted turn would be a factor later in the match and he was proved correct. The teams have four days between fixtures to regroup, and South Africa will want to take advantage of Gary Kirsten’s presence as their batting consultant before the third game.

Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has been banned for life from all BCCI affairs by the board during a special general meeting (SGM) in Chennai on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2013Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has been expelled from the BCCI during a special general meeting (SGM) of the board in Chennai. The unanimous decision was made quickly after the meeting began at 2.00 pm and it came following a series of legal proceedings in court over the last couple of weeks, as Modi tried to stay the SGM. The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the final go-ahead for the BCCI meeting and the board’s action was swift and severe.Anirudh Chaudhary, the Haryana Cricket Association secretary, proposed the expulsion and the motion was seconded by Ranjib Biswal, the Orissa Cricket Association president. The sanction could prevent Modi from holding a position in the board again. The BCCI said it had discussed during the SGM, the findings of the disciplinary committee against Modi, as well as a letter Modi had written to the board secretary on September 24, requesting a postponement of the meeting.At the SGM the board “resolved that Mr. Lalit Modi is guilty of committing acts of serious misconduct and indiscipline, and therefore, in exercise of powers as per Regulation 32 of the Memorandum and Rules and Regulations of the Board, Mr. Lalit Modi be and is hereby expelled from the BCCI. He shall forfeit all his rights and privileges as Administrator. He shall not in future be entitled to hold any position or office, or be admitted in any Committee or any member or associate member of the Board.”Modi, speaking to said he would continue to fight the BCCI. “I expected the ban, it’s sad for Indian cricket because it shows the BCCI is least concerned for the integrity of cricket,” he said. “It’s a cosy club. I’m going to be here, fighting them. I think Indian cricket needs cleansing and as far as I am concerned I am going to go after them. Till now they were colleagues. Time has now come to take everything out of the box and put it in public domain.”I was already gone. I was suspended for three years. I kept fighting. I will continue to fight. I am moving on, I am looking at other sports. Wait and watch … it’s a global league. I have not been sitting here idle.”The BCCI’s disciplinary committee had found Modi guilty on eight different charges of “various acts of indiscipline and misconduct”. The charges, relating to irregularities in various financial and administrative matters of the IPL including the sale of franchise and media rights, were pressed by the BCCI in 2010 soon after Modi’s swift and dramatic exit from the league he founded.

The BCCI has announced its first set of proposals to “clean up” the IPL, measures ranging from financial disclosures by players and team owners to curbing the tournament’s controversial “entertainment” quotient, including putting a stop to cheerleaders and after-match parties.The measures are part of “operation clean-up,” announced by acting BCCI head Jagmohan Dalmiya at the end of a working committee meeting in Delhi on Monday. It aims to curb corruption and remove “sleaze” in the IPL by enforcing a “strict code of conduct” for players, support staff and owners, after the 2013 season was hit by charges of spot-fixing against players and by allegations that team owners were involved in illegal betting.Players will be required to reveal sources of their earnings, and owners will have to furnish details of payments and their contractual obligations with players and support staff.Access to the players’ dug-out and dressing room has been tightened once again, with Dalmiya saying that team owners will be restricted from these areas during matches. Owners were allowed in the dug-out and dressing room during the first season in 2008, but following complaints had been prevented from entering those areas thereafter. They now have seating arrangements close to the dug-out. Top officials of two teams, Gurunath Meiyappan of the Chennai Super Kings and Raj Kundra of Rajasthan Royals, have confessed to taking part in illegal betting, according to the Mumbai and Delhi police.Dalmiya also said that “no selector will be allowed to get associated with any franchise in any capacity.” No member of India’s current selection panel is attached to any franchise, but former selection chairman Kris Srikkanth was brand ambassador for the Super Kings for a period at the start of the IPL.Players and support staff will need to provide their telephone numbers to the BCCI before the IPL, and there will be a larger number of officials from the BCCI’s Anti Corruption and Security Unit at grounds and hotels during the tournament. It was also said that cell phone towers at the ground could be jammed during matches.No decision was taken on the strategic time-out, which accounts for five minutes of every IPL match and came into being in 2010. The two intervals of two and a half minutes each in every innings allow teams to strategise with support staff, and commercially it creates 300 seconds of advertising space. However, according to police investigations that led to more than 25 betting-related arrests in Delhi and Mumbai, the time-out was also an ideal period for the syndicates to adjust their session and spot odds. When Dalmiya was asked about this, he said: “We have not thought about it, it was just a financial exercise.”On Tuesday, BCCI’s secretary Sanjay Patel was quoted in the saying that cleaning up the IPL was an “ongoing process” and doing away with the strategic time-outs had “financial implications.” He did not rule out any future change, however, saying that the strategic time-out could form a part of “additional measures in our programme. We will discuss all other issues, including strategic time-out in our future meetings.”Operation clean-up is a work in progress, Dalmiya said, and IPL captains will be called for a meeting and franchises will also be consulted before a blueprint could be finalised at another working committee meeting.By Sharda UgraThe BCCI’s 12-point “Operation Clean-Up” should, in a twisted way, look like a giant leap for Indian cricket. It is the first formal, even if disguised, admission of errors, misdemeanours and lapses in governance that Indian cricket has made since it became the game’s financial behemoth.It was official acknowledgement that the dirt whirling around the IPL could not possibly be brushed under a carpet of delusion. It involved three players, two IPL team owners, the police of two cities, an umpire who was yanked out of the Champions Trophy by the ICC, two dozen illegal bookies and time in prison.Operation Clean-Up addresses IPL’s corruption issues at two levels. Putting an end to cheer leaders and after-match parties and planning to jam cellphones during matches is at worst a cosmetic change, at best tangential. Cheerleaders are not responsible for cricketers being lured by bookies or owners falling prey to gambling. After-match parties have been off limits in the post-Modi IPL world anyway. Jamming cellphones during matches serve no purpose if deals have already been done.The more serious aspect of the BCCI’s plans involve asking cricketers to spell out their financial investments and partnerships, and for IPL owners to come clean with the details of their payment structures with players and support staff. While it may not uncover ‘black’ or ‘grey’ money dealings but it is the most you can do. It must be hoped that these will be early steps towards financial transparency in the BCCI, signaling a departure from the IPL’s very smelly ‘secret tie-break’ culture.Whatever may have been included in the 12-point list, what stayed off it were the unmentionables. Whether BCCI officials would be willing to have their own financial backgrounds so thoroughly examined. To reveal the channels through which they make profits through cricket. Whether the BCCI would consider re-amending their constitution, rolling back the clause that gave N Srinivasan the latitude to buy an IPL franchise. Whether officials fighting misappropriation of funds cases against them could possibly continue in office.Operation Clean Up is a very small first step. It is the follow through that will tell us whether the BCCI has responded to perhaps the worst crisis in its history with a thorough overhaul of its governance structures, or mere window dressing.

Pakistan are considering Grant Flower for the position of batting coach

George Dobell and Umar Farooq12-Apr-2013Pakistan are considering Grant Flower for the position of batting coach. While Flower is currently fulfilling a similar role with the Zimbabwe team, ESPNcricinfo understands that he is out of contract in August and Zimbabwe Cricket are prevaricating over a new deal.ESPNcricinfo has learned that Flower is in the frame for the role, but he is still just one of a few candidates; the PCB might look to fill the position some time before Flower becomes available in August.In response to the PCB advert last year several former Pakistan Test batsmen, including Zaheer Abbas and Saleem Malik, applied for the role but the PCB was looking to hire a candidate with at least Level 3 coaching accreditation and a minimum of five years’ experience working with top cricketers.Flower, 42, the younger brother of England coach, Andy, has been Zimbabwe batting coach since October 2010. He applied for the head coach position but lost out to Andy Waller. Flower previously played 67 Tests and 221 ODIs for Zimbabwe.