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The two seamers shared six wickets between them before Australia women chased down a revised D/L target of 92

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2018
Megan Schutt celebrates a wicket with team-mates•AFP

Three-wicket hauls from seamers Megan Schutt and Nicola Carey dismissed Pakistan women for 95 and put Australia women 1-0 up after a rain-hit clash in Kuala Lumpur.Schutt strangled Pakistan from the beginning, after they opted to bat, with a flurry of maidens and two wickets in her opening spell of 5-3-13-2, accounting for opener Ayesha Zafar and No. 3 Muneeba Ali. Nahida Khan, the other opener, and captain Javeria Khan added 28 for the third wicket before Carey and 19-year-old debutant Georgia Wareham sliced through the rest of the batting line-up. Sophie Molineux, Australia’s other debutant, also impressed, with extraordinary figures of 7-2-9-1, with her left-arm spin.A long rain break after 26 overs in Pakistan’s innings – when they were 76 for 6 – reduced the match to 41 overs a side. But they lasted only 11.2 overs after that, to be dismissed for 95. Apart from Nahida and Javeria, Sana Mir was the only other Pakistan player to reach double figures. Mir remained not out on 21 off 60 balls even as wickets tumbled around her. Carey finished with career-best figures of 3 for 19 from seven overs.Chasing a revised target of 92, Australia began steadily, with openers Alyssa Healy and Nicole Bolton putting on 40 in seven overs. But Mir induced a wobble with her offspin, as Australia went from 40 for 0 to 91 for 5, losing three of those five wickets to Mir. Beth Mooney soon drove through the covers for a four and sealed the chase in 22.2 overs.

Jackson Bird and Gabe Bell combined to take seven wickets as Tasmania earned their second win of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2018Tasmania overcame a superb rearguard hundred from Callum Ferguson and rain which threatened to scupper their hopes to secure a 189-run victory over South Australia.Ferguson had started the day at the crease and there was still there at tea, but South Australia were seven down after Jackson Bird and Gabe Bell went through the top order. However, rain delayed the resumption of the final session and when it relented 19 overs were left.Ferguson went to his century with the first ball he faced, his 219th delivery, after the break before Bird removed Nick Winter. Ferguson started to farm the strike with Kane Richardson for company but as the overs started to tick down he was pinned lbw by the impressive Bird.The match ended in the next over when Richardson was caught in the slips off Bell who finished with 3 for 44.Earlier in the day, wickets fell regularly as South Australia stumbled to 5 for 77. Debutant Alex Pyecroft continued his impressive start by having Jake Lehmann caught behind on the way to notable figures of 17-10-16-1.Ferguson and Alex Carey resisted in a stand of 55 in 13 overs, but when Carey and Joe Mennie fell in the space of two deliveries to Riley Meredith the end looked like coming swiftly. Ferguson had other ideas and nearly had a helping hand, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough.

Sam Curran will be England’s third seamer, with Dawid Malan to bat in the middle order while India will confirm their XI on Wednesday

Preview by Andrew Miller31-Jul-2018

Big Picture

Seven years ago, at the start of another Indian Test tour of England, another notable Test landmark was reached. It will be England’s 1000th Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday; at Lord’s in the first Test of the 2011 series, it was the 2000th Test all told.Such landmarks can be trite, but every now and then they can have a galvanising effect too. That 2011 Test proved to be an epic, life-affirming affair, lit up by queues all down the Wellington Road on the final morning, as fans piled in for the chance to witness a grandstand finish, and maybe even (or not, as it transpired) a 100th hundred for the inimitable Sachin Tendulkar.The ECB, and Edgbaston, can but pray that this week’s Test will be amplified by its additional layer of history. Ticket sales for the much of the series have been sluggish, undermined no doubt by an England team that may include three players – Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Stuart Broad – who have contributed to more than a tenth of that English Test history, but which is currently performing at a similar fraction of its potential.In theory, everything this summer ought to have been building towards this climax. The logic of the India itinerary certainly implied that the Tests would be the biggest deal – with the T20Is and ODIs loaded into the top half of the tour before clearing the calendar for a full five-Test showdown. And yet, India chose to reduce their solitary warm-up at Chelmsford from four days to three, while England’s non-white-ball players have been hampered by a lack of Championship cricket in which to fine-tune their own preparations.In particular, the new-ball veterans, Anderson and Broad, are about to be asked to go from 0 to 100 in double-quick time. Having both played a solitary county fixture in the whole of July, they are now embarking on an itinerary of five Tests in six weeks, an ask that even an arch-combatant such as Broad has admitted he may struggle to complete without factoring in rest and rotation.It’s a state of affairs that will surely alarm the ECB, who have been banking on the windfalls from this bumper summer to replenish their coffers, and who must be wondering, if not India, then who can keep the crowds coming through the turnstiles for Test cricket?That’s not to say, however, that the status of the series has been diminished before it has begun. The era of the Big Three was consigned to the ICC’s official history books some time ago, but the sentiments that drove that agenda continue to hold sway in on-field engagements. England v India has taken its time to catch up with India v Australia as one of Test cricket’s blue riband battles, and it hasn’t yet produced the sort of see-sawing contest that would lift it alongside the Ashes in the public’s affections. But in terms of spice and animosity, there’s history aplenty between these teams, and scope in the coming weeks for so many additional plotlines.Virat Kohli himself gave short shrift to the notion that his team are favourites, but either way this is looking like India’s best-drilled squad for a tour of England since 2007, when Rahul Dravid’s team emerged as 1-0 victors in a three-Test series, having shed their previous reticence in a gripping tussle under Sourav Ganguly five years earlier.The more recent trips in 2011 and 2014 showed promise in the early exchanges, not least at Lord’s four years ago when Ishant Sharma pushed Cook to the brink of resignation by sealing a remarkable win. But by the end of both series, the captain MS Dhoni had the air of a man who no longer needed the hassle as India’s shortcomings against the moving ball pushed him into reverse.One thing you can be pretty sure of in 2018 – there will be no retreat under Kohli, a man on a mission to cement his own place as one of the sport’s all-time great cricketers. He has no material need to push himself any more than he already does, but like Tendulkar and Dravid before him, he recognises that Test cricket, even in its habitual state of flux, remains the format by which you book your place in the pantheon. If he can inspire a few of England’s own flatlining stars to match his resolve, we could yet be in for the classic that the format so desperately needs.Graphic: Adil Rashid will play his first Test for England since December 2016•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Form guide

England WLDLL
India WWLLD

In the spotlight

James Anderson v Virat Kohli is England v India in microcosm. Two giants of the game, drawn together once more to add another chapter to a storied rivalry. It would be grossly simplistic to say that the winner of this duel will decide the fate of this Test, and ultimately the series, but no two men are more fundamental to the fortunes of their teams.Kohli’s performance in England in 2014 – 134 runs in five Tests – remains a stain on his otherwise spotless world-class record, but his desire for retribution could not be more plain. Had it not been for an injury sustained at the IPL, he would have warmed up for this tour with a county stint with Surrey, but he’s had ample sighters in the course of India’s month-long build-up, including the limited-overs series, and no Indian captain since Ganguly has been more expressive in his desire for victory. His massive haul of 655 runs 109.16 on home soil paved the way for India’s 4-0 win in their last encounter with England in 2016-17.Anderson turned 36 on Monday, and while age is but a number, it’s still a pretty large one for a fast bowler who has been around the block for his 540 wickets over the course of a 15-year career. The economy of his run-up, allied to the magic in his wrist, means that there are no questions about his enduring quality – in many respects he is better now than ever before – but the challenge of five Tests in six weeks will require careful management, especially given his recent history of shoulder trouble. Anderson defied injury to rush himself back for the latter stages of that 2016-17 tour – to no great avail, he claimed four wickets at 53.5 in the last three Tests. But that willingness to put himself back in the frame showed how fiercely his fires still burn, as did his rather churlish end-of-series comments about Kohli’s record in England. The subtext was clear, but whether he’ll find his usual prodigious swing in the midst of England’s heatwave is another matter.

Team news

Adil Rashid’s recall to the Test squad spawned a chapter of Yorkshire in-fighting not seen since Geoff Boycott was in his pomp – and Boycott himself hasn’t been shy on the subject either – but he will now be making his first Test appearance since December 2016. A grassy deck and a slight easing in the Saharan heat of this most atypical of English summers dissuaded England from fielding two spinners at Edgbaston for the first time since 1993, although Moeen Ali might have been considered ahead of Dawid Malan as a batsman. After playing his part in the series leveller against Pakistan, Sam Curran’s left-arm line complements the veteran pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.England 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dawid Malan, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Sam Curran, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.Kuldeep Yadav’s potential inclusion persuaded England to recruit a trio of club left-armers to replicate his unusual angles in the nets this week. But with R Ashwin a shoo-in, Ravi Jadeja’s established qualities are the likelier second-spin option if India decide to stick to their strengths rather than lean on the extra seamer in Mohammad Shami. Shikhar Dhawan’s place at the top of the order is under pressure following his pair at Essex last week. KL Rahul is itching for an opening, and might well open alongside Murali Vijay.India 1 Shikhar Dhawan/KL Rahul, 2 Murali Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 R Ashwin, 8 Hardik Pandya, 9 Ravindra Jadeja/Mohammed Shami, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

It has taken some diligent input from the Edgbaston groundstaff – and several million litres of water – to keep their wicket from turning to a dustbowl in the midst of an improbable English heatwave. And they have succeeded against the odds, but presumably in keeping with their brief from the ECB, in producing a wicket that looks markedly similar to those from the 2015 Ashes and 2016 Pakistan series. And seamers dominated in both of those games.

Stats and Trivia

• After playing each of his first ten Tests overseas, Rashid is set to make his home Test debut, and play for the first time as a solitary spinner.
• Jos Buttler has been promoted to England’s vice-captain after just two matches of his Test comeback. He takes over from James Anderson, who in turn stepped up after Ben Stokes missed the Ashes. India’s last visit to Edgbaston was one that they’d rather forget. Alastair Cook’s highest Test score of 294 was more than the visitors made in either innings, as they slumped to defeat by an innings and 242 runs.

Quotes

“Looking at the surface, we’ve decided we only want to go with one spinner, and that’s going to be Adil. With the amount of right-handers in what we think is going to be India’s team, he gives us a very attacking option.” Joe Root explains the thinking as Rashid’s Test recall is confirmed.“You need professionalism more than feeling like an underdog or starting as a favourite. That is something we want to do as a team: we want to be consistent and professional.” Virat Kohli is focussed only on on-field matters

Sourav Ganguly was present at the unveiling of the stamp, which features Goswami’s mugshot in India colours next to an image of Kolkata’s iconic Victoria Memorial

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2018Jhulan Goswami’s illustrious career – which includes the distinction of being the leading wicket-taker in women’s ODIs – has now found acknowledgment in the form of a commemorative stamp.Featuring Goswami’s mugshot in India colours next to an image of Kolkata’s iconic Victoria Memorial, it has been issued in honour of her claiming a record 200 wickets in women’s ODIs.The unveiling of the stamp took place on Friday at the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club, in the presence of former India men’s captain Sourav Ganguly.Former Australia cricketer Lisa Sthalekar was among the first who took to Twitter to commend Goswami’s most recent feat.
Adjudged the ICC Women’s Player of Year award in 2007, Goswami, 35, recently became the first female player to pick up 200 ODI wickets when she had Laura Wolvaardt caught behind in the third ODI during India’s tour of South Africa in February.In May 2017, Goswami found her 181st ODI wicket in South Africa’s Raisibe Ntozakhe, during the Quadrangular series, and surpassed Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick as the leading wicket-taker in the format. During the same tour, Goswami pipped Charlotte Edwards and Lydia Greenway to the honour of the most catches by a non-wicketkeeper in women’s ODIs.

The allrounder has been named in Test squad after months out with back injury and hopes to help turn England’s fortunes around

Valkerie Baynes17-Jul-2019Georgia Elwiss is determined to mark her international return by helping England make a “special” comeback of their own when they face Australia in this week’s Test with the Women’s Ashes on the line.Elwiss, the 28-year-old allrounder who has played the past two WBBL seasons with Melbourne Stars, was named in England’s 13-strong squad for the four-day match starting at Taunton on Thursday after being sidelined for more than four months with a back injury.”Injuries are never nice and I think it’s just made me really hungry to be able to contribute to hopefully us pulling off something special for the rest of this series and regaining the Ashes,” Elwiss said.England trail Australia six points to nil after losing all three of their ODIs and must win the Test, worth four points, to remain in the contest for the Ashes with three T20s worth two points each to follow.Also read: ‘The beauty of the red ball is bringing it back to life’ – SchuttElwiss admitted it had been difficult having to watch her team rather than taking part after she felt pain while playing England’s one-day series in India in February and scans revealed a small stress fracture in her back, which then ruled her out of the tour of Sri Lanka, plus a home series against West Indies.”Unfortunately I had to get shut down for a fair few months, so I’m on the comeback trail now and fit and raring to go,” Elwiss said. “Hopefully I can contribute to the girls this week and bring some energy and bring something new to the dynamics of the team.”It’s been not very nice watching the girls out there playing while I’m stuck in the gym but I think that’ s made me really hungry to do everything really well and properly and diligently and so I know that now I’m back I’ll be back better than ever.”Elwiss has played two Tests, in the 2015 and 2017 Ashes, batting at No.4 in the latter where she made a second-innings 41 not out off 190 balls to help England hold out for a draw after Australia’s Ellyse Perry had notched an unbeaten double century.Also read: Perth glories inspire Cross to hit her markElwiss struck an unbeaten 44 batting at No.4 and 36 opening for England in a three-day tour match against Australia A, which finished on Sunday, and said while she enjoyed batting in the upper middle order, she was feeling good with bat and ball and was happy to do “whatever job is asked of me”.”I’ve got to break into the XI first and then see where we go from there,” Elwiss said. “The ODI series was disappointing. We need to remember that we’re not a bad team and we’re not actually that far away from the Australians.”They’ve played some good cricket, probably by their admission not the complete package in terms of their ODI game either. We’ve played some good cricket at times and I think we need to keep remembering that they’re humans as well and they’re going to make mistakes and we’re ready to pounce.”Elwiss comes into the England squad alongside youngster Kirstie Gordon and Katherine Brunt, the 34-year-old fast bowler who is a veteran of 11 Test matches. Brunt, who is no stranger to back injuries with disc problems that require ongoing management, returns having missed the third ODI against Australia after hurting her ankle while leaping in the air to celebrate taking a wicket in the second match of the series.Katherine Brunt turns her ankle celebrating the wicket of Meg Lanning•Getty Images

“We call her the grandma of the group – she hates it,” Elwiss said. “She’s got all the experience but she’s still got the heart and the drive and the fight of a 19-year-old coming in and that’s testament to her.”She’s played a lot of Test matches and a lot of Ashes Test matches. She’s been through a lot in her career and has got plenty of battle scars and things like that so she’s a great person to have around the group. She’s great for giving advice.”She does waffle on a lot so you have to pick your moments to get advice from her because you could be sat there for half an hour listening to her answer, but she’s great,” Elwiss added with a laugh. “She’s a great person to have around and she’s great with the youngsters because she’s always willing to offer that advice.”

Matt Short also makes his return from injury ahead of Australia’s T20I tour of New Zealand

Alex Malcolm16-Sep-2025Despite retiring from ODIs earlier this year Glenn Maxwell will play 50-over cricket for his state side Victoria in the first two Dean Jones Trophy matches of the new summer to help prepare for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand.Maxwell, 36, has been named in Victoria’s 14-player squad for their first two matches against Queensland and Tasmania at Allan Border Field on Wednesday and Friday respectively. Maxwell has played just one List A match for Victoria since March 2022, and that was against New South Wales in October last year.Fellow Australian T20I squad member Matt Short has also been named for his first game of cricket in any form since the MLC in July, after he was ruled out of the five-match T20I tour of the Caribbean then both the T20I and ODI series against South Africa at home in August due to a side injury. Like Maxwell, he has not played a 50-over fixture since the Champions Trophy.Related

• Australia's Ashes 'bat-off' begins: Who could open against England?

• Hardie ruled out of Australia A tour with shoulder injury

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Captain Will Sutherland will only play in game one before departing to India to join the Australia A tour ahead of the second four-day game in Lucknow. Peter Handscomb will captain in game two.Young batter Oliver Peake, who is yet to make his Victoria 50-over debut despite making his List A debut for Australia A in July against Sri Lanka A, is unavailable as he is already in Lucknow playing in the first four-day match against India A. Todd Murphy is also playing for Australia A in India.Harry Dixon and Sam Elliott will play both games for Victoria before departing for India to play for Australia A in the 50-over matches in Kanpur that start on September 30.Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne will captain Queensland against Victoria on Wednesday and Western Australia on Sunday, also at Allan Border Field. Xavier Bartlett is unavailable due to Australia A duty while Mark Steketee (minor hamstring) and Callum Vidler (stress fracture) are also absent. Test opener Usman Khawaja won’t play either of Queensland’s 50-over matches this week as he continues his preparation for the start of the Sheffield Shield summer ahead of the Ashes.Former New South Wales allrounder Hayden Kerr is in line for a Queensland debut as is former Australian Under-19 World Cup winning captain Hugh Weibgen.Tom Straker and Lachlan Hearne will play both matches against Victoria and WA before departing to India to join the Australia A 50-over squad.Hearne has been called up to his first Australia A squad as an injury replacement for Aaron Hardie. Hearne has only played eight List A matches but the left-hander made an impressive 107 off 91 balls against his former state New South Wales in February.Victoria squad: Will Sutherland, Peter Handscomb, Blake Macdonald, Callum Stow, Cam McClure, David Moody, Glenn Maxwell, Harry Dixon, Marcus Harris, Matt Short, Mitch Perry, Sam Elliott, Sam Harper, Tom RogersQueensland squad: Marnus Labuschagne (capt), Jack Clayton, Benji Floros, Lachlan Hearne, Hayden Kerr, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth

New Zealand’s Tim Robinson will act as a temporary replacement for Moeen and then for Gurbaz

Deivarayan Muthu06-Sep-2024England allrounder Moeen Ali is set for his maiden CPL stint after having been signed up by defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors for the ongoing season. Moeen, 37, will slot in as a replacement for Pakistan opener Saim Ayub, who is unavailable for the entire season.Ayub’s absence is a significant blow for Amazon Warriors, considering he was the breakout star in their run to their first title in 2023. Ayub was the second-highest run-getter last season, with 478 runs in 13 innings at an average of 43.45 and strike rate of 142.26. Nobody hit more sixes than Ayub’s 28 in CPL 2023.This time, the CPL clashed with Pakistan’s two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home, where Ayub opened the batting for his team, and will also overlap with the Champions One-Day Cup, a new version of Pakistan’s domestic 50-over competition. Ayub is set to play for Panthers in that tournament.Related

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Moeen’s availability for Amazon Warriors is subject to Birmingham Bears’ progression in the T20 Blast in the UK, which is also clashing with the CPL. If Bears win the quarter-final against Gloucestershire on Friday, they will reach the Finals Day on September 14.Until Moeen arrives for the CPL, New Zealand’s hard-hitting opener Tim Robinson will act as his temporary replacement. Robinson is a bit of a Finn Allen clone who “loves hitting sixes”. In the 2023-24 Super Smash, he was the second-highest run-getter, with 298 runs in six innings at an average of 59.60 and strike rate of 187.42. The tally included 139 off 64 balls, with ten sixes, against Otago, the second-highest score in the history of the Super Smash.Tim Robinson lit up the 2023-24 Super Smash with his big-hitting•Getty Images

Soon after the Super Smash, Robinson made his T20I debut for New Zealand. More recently, during the New Zealand winter, he spent time at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai training against spin, something which could come in handy during the CPL. This will be Robinson’s first T20 tournament outside of the Super Smash.Even after Moeen links up with Amazon Warriors, Robinson will stay with the squad, filling in for Rahmanullah Gurbaz who will leave the CPL after the Barbados leg for international duty. Gurbaz is not part of the Afghanistan squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand next week but is likely to play the three-match ODI series against South Africa in the UAE. The Barbados leg of the CPL ends on September 17, with the ODI series in the UAE set to begin a day after.Gurbaz will return for the last leg of the CPL in Guyana, with Robinson making way for him.In the absence of Ayub, Amazon Warriors had Gudakesh Motie opening the batting in their opening game of the season and then Kevin Sinclair in their second game. Even during the last season, Amazon Warriors had promoted pinch-hitters to the top – Keemo Paul, for example, opened the batting in the final – but the signings of Moeen and Robinson gives them the option of using proper batters at the top.Amazon Warriors have made a bright start to their defence, winning both their games so far.

Shaw had ‘inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups,’ a BCCI release said

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2019India Test opener Prithvi Shaw has been suspended until November 15, 2019 for a doping violation. A BCCI release on Tuesday said the penalty on Shaw had been imposed after he “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups”.Not picked in the Test squad for the upcoming West Indies tour because of a hip injury, Shaw will also now miss the home Tests against South Africa in October as well as the first Test against Bangladesh, which begins on November 14.Shaw had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI’s anti-doping testing programme on the day of Mumbai’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Punjab on February 22 in Indore. His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain . “Terbutaline, a specified substance, is prohibited both In & Out of Competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances,” the BCCI release said. Shaw was then charged on July 16 under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) Article 2.1 and provisionally suspended pending determination of the charge. He admitted to the anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) but asserted it was “inadvertent”, caused by using “the over the counter cough syrup he had taken for his cough”.The BCCI was “satisfied” with the explanation that Shaw had not taken terbutaline “as a performance-enhancing drug”, and after considering all the evidence and taking “expert external advice”, agreed that a “period of ineligibility of eight months should apply, together with disqualification of certain results”.”Because Mr. Shaw promptly admitted his ADRV upon being confronted with it by the BCCI, there is discretion under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 to back-date the start of the period of Ineligibility to the date of sample collection (22nd February 2019),” the statement said. “However, the BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 also requires Mr. Shaw to actually serve one half of the period of ineligibility. Therefore, further to BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2, the eight-month period of Ineligibility will be deemed to have started to run on 16th March 2019, so that it will end at midnight on 15th November 2019.”However, Shaw can return to train with his state team and/or use the facilities of any club or other member organisation of the BCCI after midnight on September 15, 2019 because of the following provision: “Under BCCI ADR Article 10.11.2 a Cricketer may return to train with a team or to use the facilities of a club or other member organisation of a Signatory’s member organisation during the shorter of:
(i) the last two months of the Cricketer’s period of Ineligibility; or
(ii) the last one-quarter of the period of Ineligibility imposed.”The BCCI also said that all of Shaw’s numbers from February 22 this year, when the urine sample was collected, to July 16, the date when he was provisionally suspended, stand “disqualified”.Shaw made his Test debut against West Indies in October 2018 with a sparkling century, followed by a half-century in the next Test. Then he was picked for the Australia tour, but he injured his ankle in a warm-up match which ruled him out of the series.Dullarwar and Gajraj suspended tooAlong with Shaw, Vidarbha’s Akshay Dullarwar and Rajasthan’s Divya Gajraj were also suspended for doping violations. The two had “inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance” for a treatment of an infection and an eye injury respectively.Dullarwar had provided his urine sample during a men’s Under-23 one-day match on March 10, 2019 in Hyderabad, while Gajraj provided his during a Cooch Behar Trophy Under-19 match on February 5, 2019 in Jaipur. Dullarwar’s sample was found to contain , a metabolite of deflazacort, which is a glucocorticoid that is prohibited in-competition in the WADA Prohibited List of Substances, whereas Gajraj’s sample contained , which is a diuretic & masking agent, prohibited at all times in the WADA list.Both players admitted to the ADRV after being charged on June 26, 2019, asserting that it was inadvertent, being caused by their ingestion of the medication that had been prescribed for them by their respective doctors. Like in Shaw’s case, the BCCI was satisfied with the players’ explanation that they were not taken as performance-enhancing drugs.Dullarwar was suspended for eight months, from March 10 to November 9. He can return to train with his state team and/or to use the facilities of any club or other member organisation of the BCCI after midnight on September 9, 2019. Gajraj was suspended for six months, February 5 onwards, but he is required to serve one half of the period of ineligibility, which will begin from March 26 and end on September 25. He will be able to return to train with his state team from August 10.

Craig Ervine to lead Zimbabwe’s 16-member squad for their first ODIs since February

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2025Wicketkeeper-batter Brendan Taylor is set to make his ODI comeback for Zimbabwe in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka after completing his ban for breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption code. He had made his international comeback earlier this month, in the second Test against New Zealand in Bulawayo, and his previous ODI appearance was against Ireland in September 2021.Zimbabwe have named a 16-member squad led by Craig Ervine for the two ODIs in Harare on August 29 and 31. The teams also play three T20Is in Harare on September 3, 6 and 7.”We are delighted to welcome Brendan back into the fold,” Zimbabwe convener of selectors David Mutendera said in a statement. “His experience and quality are invaluable, especially in pressure situations, and his presence will no doubt lift the dressing room.”Zimbabwe have not played ODIs since the series against Ireland in February. Clive Madande, Tony Munyonga, Brad Evans and uncapped seamer Ernest Masuku are the new additions to the squad.”This squad has been selected to give us the best chance against a strong Sri Lankan side,” Mutendera said. “We have combined proven match-winners with players who are hungry to make their mark, and that mix of experience and energy will be crucial as we transition from red-ball cricket to the fast pace of ODIs.”Zimbabwe’s recent results have been poor. Since June, they have been beaten heavily in two home Tests against South Africa, lost all their games in a T20I tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand, and suffered heavy defeats in two home Tests against New Zealand.”We’ve just come off a tough red-ball series and now it’s about adjusting to the tempo and intensity of one-day cricket,” Zimbabwe’s head coach Justin Sammons said. “Clarity in roles will be key – each player must understand exactly what’s required. Get that right, and I believe we can compete strongly against a very disciplined Sri Lankan outfit.”

Zimbabwe squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka

Craig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Ben Curran, Brad Evans, Trevor Gwandu, Wessly Madhevere, Clive Madande, Ernest Masuku, Tony Munyonga, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams.

Shubman Gill has come in for sharp scrutiny following poor returns at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia

Shashank Kishore14-Jan-2025Shubman Gill has confirmed his availability for Punjab for their sixth-round Ranji Trophy fixture against Karnataka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru starting January 23. The squad hasn’t been announced yet.Gill’s possible return to the Punjab fold gives him an opportunity to work with Wasim Jaffer, the highest run-getter in Ranji history who is now the Punjab coach. It comes at a time when his poor returns outside Asia – he averages 17.64 in 18 innings since June 2021 – have come in for sharp scrutiny, especially with India slated to tour England for five Tests in the summer.His return will shore up a squad that will be without senior players Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh, who have both been picked in India’s T20I squad for the five-match series against England starting January 22 in Kolkata.Gill’s last Ranji Trophy appearance for Punjab came in 2022, when he played against Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-finals in Alur. His return coincides with the Indian team management having laid down strict protocols for national players in the wake of India’s 3-1 Test series loss in Australia.1:47

Pujara: Gill’s hard hands and lack of footwork causing trouble in Australia

Head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar have spoken of the need for top players to make themselves available to play for their respective state teams when free of international commitments.Gill was among those who endured a disappointing run in Australia, where he managed a highest of 31 in five innings following a return from a finger injury that kept him out of the series opener in Perth. He averaged 18.60 for the series. He was also left out of India’s XI for the Boxing Day Test, with the team management slotting in KL Rahul at No. 3 after Rohit Sharma reverted to his opening position having initially started the series, in the second Test, in the middle order.At the time, though, the team management said that Gill hadn’t been dropped and was merely “unfortunate” to miss out owing to team combination, as India went in with two spin-bowling allrounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.Punjab’s hopes of qualifying for the Ranji Trophy playoffs hangs by a thread; they are currently fifth in Group A with a solitary win in five games.