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Ajay Shirke, who was removed as BCCI secretary by the Supreme Court of India, had expressed “concerns” to ECB president Giles Clarke over the BCCI’s ability to host the limited-overs series against England, despite no longer holding office in the Indian board. That was the claim made by Clarke in an email to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, in an email seen by ESPNcricinfo.On January 6, four days after the court ordered Shirke and BCCI president Anurag Thakur to give up their posts with immediate effect, Clarke wrote to Johri about a conversation he had with Shirke. In the email Clarke did not indicate when he received the calls from Shirke, but he refers to him as not being secretary any longer. Both Clarke and Shirke, when contacted, chose not to comment on any communication.Johri, in reply, has offered the ECB assurances of the limited-overs series against India going ahead as planned.”I have received calls from Mr Shirke who I understand is no longer the Honorary Secretary of BCCI,” Clarke wrote. “Can you please confirm to me that the England team will continue to be looked after by the BCCI in the usual fashion, with proper security, player daily allowance payments, hotel bills covered and the like, with transport organised at all times.”Obviously it is entirely a matter for BCCI where matches are played, but please advise soonest that the schedule will be adhered to, or any changes.”Johri replied the same day and assured the ECB that the series would go ahead as planned and that the England squad had “arrived and settled well”.”The BCCI has announced the teams for the warm-up matches, the ODIs and the T20 matches, the ticket sales for which have kicked off with the first game sold out, as of last week,” Johri wrote.The venue of the first ODI between India and England on January 15 is incidentally Pune, where Shirke was president of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) for more than nine years. Apart from losing his post as BCCI secretary, Shirke was also unable to continue as MCA president after the court order on January 2 because his term had exceeded the Lodha Committee’s nine-year cap on tenure for BCCI and state office bearers.MCA officials confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that tickets had been sold out nearly three weeks before the match.Johri also told Clarke that the remaining five venues had confirmed hosting the matches. His email stated the BCCI was in control of the situation and that he would oversee the process.”The other venues have shown similar uptake in anticipation of an exciting contest between our teams. As you must have followed, the Supreme Court has delivered their verdict early this week, and we are expected to work with the court-appointed administrators, who will be appointed by the 19th of this month and till such time, we are making every effort to ensure that the matches live up to the expectations of all our stakeholders, including ECB.”We have been in touch with all the hosting centres and they have expressed confidence that the games will be managed successfully, just like always, and as on date, we do not anticipate any form of disruption to the series. Rest assured, I will personally monitor the series as it unfolds and will keep you posted on the progress.”In another email on January 7, Johri asked Clarke to divulge what Shirke had “communicated” in his “calls” in order for BCCI to “assuage any other concerns” the ECB may have.Clarke replied: “His concern was the BCCI and relevant association having funds and expertise to manage security and safety of our players, and transport, allowances, all usual issues for a tour.”In the email chain, ECB chairman Colin Graves also acknowledged Johri’s assurances.Clarke declined to comment on the exchange when contacted. “I am not going to make any comment,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t even know what this is.”Shirke would not confirm whether he had made the call to Clarke and did not comment on the email exchange either. “I have no comments to offer,” he told ESPNcricinfo. Shirke said that people with “obvious malicious and vested” interests were trying to suggest that he was trying to scupper the Pune ODI.”I have got messages from some people in the media that we are obstructing the match [from taking place],” he said. “This is a record opportunity for MCA: my gate collection is INR 6.2 crore and my in-stadia sales is INR 2.2 [crore]. So we have got a total collection of about INR 8.5 crore.”With regard to funds for the associations hosting the matches, on December 7 the court had approved a maximum of INR 25 lakh for each state hosting the three ODIs and three T20Is. The court had rejected the BCCI’s request to release INR 3.79 crore as advance for the limited-overs series.On January 7, Shirke along with other longstanding office bearers of the BCCI and state associations who were removed by the court order on January 2, had an informal meeting in Bangalore to discuss their next step. That meeting had been called by former BCCI president N Srinivasan and included about 24 state associations.The Lodha Committee was formed in January 2015 to determine appropriate punishments for some of the officials involved in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal, and also to propose changes to streamline the BCCI, reform its functioning, prevent sporting fraud and conflict of interest.In January 2016, the committee released its report, which recommended an exhaustive overhaul of the BCCI’s governance and administrative structures. On July 18, the Supreme Court of India approved the majority of the recommendations and directed the Lodha Committee to supervise the BCCI’s implementations of the same. However, despite the Lodha Committee laying out timelines and other directives, the board did not cooperate because it said that its state associations objected to the recommendations. This impasse eventually led to the Supreme Court removing Thakur and Shirke from office on January 2, 2017.

Meg Lanning’s 134 off 122 balls and Ellyse Perry’s unbeaten 95 sank South Africa in a rain-hit game in Canberra as Australia marched to a 2-0 series lead

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMeg Lanning brought up her century off 94 balls•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Meg Lanning equalled Charlotte Edwards’ record of nine ODI hundreds, the most by a woman, with a quickfire 134 to script Australia’s win against South Africa in the second ODI by 66 runs by the Duckworth-Lewis Method in a rain-hit encounter in Canberra. Lanning and Ellyse Perry, who scored a career-best 95*, put on 224 for the third wicket as Australia put on a competitive 278. A rain break in the chase revised South Africa’s target to 241 from 38 overs and they eventually fell short when rain ended the match with their score on 5 for 119, when they should have been 186.Lanning found herself out in the middle early after electing to bat. Opener Elyse Villani fell in the sixth over, and her partner Nicole Bolton followed in the next over as Mignon du Preez took a stunning one-handed catch while leaping to her right at backward point. Australia were reduced to 2 for 27 and it brought Lanning and Perry together.Lanning dominated the partnership, bringing up her century off 94 balls, while Perry ambled to her fifty off 90 balls. The duo pushed the score past 250 during their 236-ball partnership before medium-pacer Ayabonga Khaka (3-55) took a return catch to dismiss Lanning for a 122-ball 134 that included 20 fours. Perry scored her last 45 runs off 39 balls to overtake her previous best of 93* that she had scored in the previous game on Friday. Her 95* off 129 with seven fours helped Australia to 4 for 278 in their 50 overs.Australia kept things tight at the start of South Africa’s chase, opening with left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen in combination with Perry, and then throwing legspinner Kristen Beams into the mix after 11 overs. Perry broke the opening stand in the second over, Jonassen struck in the fifth over and Beams trapped du Preez lbw for 9 to reduce them to 3 for 45. Opener Suné Luus was still at the crease, but the slow start and the interference of rain in the 19th over meant that South Africa were well behind the revised target when play resumed.Luus scored an unbeaten 60, her personal best and second straight fifty, but two more wickets fell and a second spell of rain in the 32nd over ended the game with South Africa well short of the par score.

Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat has declared his board’s support for the introduction of two divisions in Test cricket, as debate intensifies about the future of the game.”Test cricket is already fading and will die if nothing is done,” Lorgat said. “South Africa would support a two-tier Test system in order to create meaningful context for Test match cricket. Currently there is little or no meaning when countries play against each other in bilateral Test matches, save for the Ashes.”The model of two division Test cricket devised by the ICC would feature seven teams in division one and five in division two, with each team playing a series either home or away against the others in their divisions over a two-year cycle. The standings would then be used to determine the overall winner of the Test league, and promotion and relegation between the two divisions. The winners of the Intercontinental Cup, the first-class competition for Associate nations, would also be able to win promotion to division two.”A two-tier system with promotion and relegation will allow for a much better narrative plus two more teams will have the opportunity to play Test match cricket,” Lorgat said. “The Test league can also link down to the Intercontinental Cup where again promotion and relegation will create context and opportunity for other countries.”The news that South Africa endorse the two division plan follows officials from Australia, England and New Zealand supporting the proposals, which are favoured by ICC chief executive David Richardson.Although Anurag Thakur, the president of the BCCI, recently voiced his opposition to two divisions, some other Full Members remain hopeful that the plans could yet pass. Any change would need the vote of seven of the ten Full Members on the ICC board, and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also expressed their opposition to two divisions. One insider said that they believed that Pakistan lean towards supporting two divisions, but Zimbabwe are believed to be reluctant.West Indies have still not decided on their stance. “At this point in time the West Indies Cricket Board does not have enough information to make an informed decision,” Dave Cameron, the president of the WICB, said. “However in world football there are no divisions with over 200 nations participation, and so off the bat we cannot see the need for divisions if we have 12 teams participating in Test cricket.”While Thakur said that the BCCI was worried that “the smaller countries will lose out” under the proposals, Lorgat does not think this would be the case. As well as Associate nations benefiting from the introduction of promotion and relegation, he also said that lower-ranked Full Members, like Bangladesh, could stand to gain from the reforms. “In the proposed system they will have certainty of Test fixtures compared to now when they are at the mercy of countries playing against them.” Sides in division two would also be free to organise extra matches against division one teams.The ICC is due to meet in Dubai next month for a special meeting to discuss comprehensive reforms to the structure of cricket, including the introduction of two divisions in Tests, a 13-team ODI league and ratifying bringing the World T20 back to a once-in-two-years event.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, throughout their rollercoaster of a season, have drastically struggled to find the back of the net.

Julen Lopetegui’s men have only scored 29 times in 33 games, which is the 17th lowest in the division, to highlight their painfully abject form in front of goal.

Morgan Gibbs-White was sold to Nottingham Forest for £25m, with possible add-ons of up to £17m, and has emerged as one of the Reds’ most influential and skilful players.

It was a premature decision to sell this coveted talent at such a young age, who could have reversed Wolves' goal-scoring fortunes.

What is Morgan Gibbs-White up to now?

The playmaker joined Wolves at the age of eight and rose through the youth ranks, before making his Premier League debut in the opening home match of the 2018/19 season against Everton as a late substitute.

The midfielder then provided an assist in his first top-flight start against Chelsea in December 2018. He would subsequently net his first Premier League goal against Brighton in May 2021.

However, it was his loan spell at Sheffield United last season that alerted the country to the unrelenting quality of Gibbs-White. The maestro registered 20 goal contributions in 35 Championship appearances for the Blades, excelling tremendously just behind the striker.

During this time, former Barnsley manager Poya Asbaghi showered the starlet with praise.

He said: "I think Sheffield United have a lot of good players, but he is the most outstanding one. He's good like he showed for the goal, scoring and running in behind, but he is so good when he drops in-between the centre-backs and the midfield to receive the ball to attack the spaces from there.”

Gibbs-White was subsequently named Sheffield United's Player of the Year for his series of excellent performances.

Therefore, it was a controversial surprise when the £22m-rated man moved across the Midlands, but many understood due to the size of the fee and his lack of top-flight experience.

Nevertheless, the prodigy has risen to the occasion and has been the shining light of Steve Cooper’s struggling side.

The former Wolves man has recorded nine goal contributions in 29 league outings and is the club’s highest provider, with six assists. He is the primary orchestrator of attacks for Forest, which is demonstrated by his 1.9 key passes and 1.3 dribbles per 90, the highest rank for these metrics within the team, as per WhoScored.

The £80k-per-week man has established himself as an indispensable component of a side grappling for survival and if his side does get relegated, then Gibbs-White has surely proved himself to be Premier League quality and warrants another top-flight transfer.

Chelsea have accepted the fact that they will make a huge loss on Romelu Lukaku should they sell the striker this summer, according to reports in the last 48 hours.

The Lowdown: Exit highly likely

The Belgian made his return to the Premier League and indeed Stamford Bridge back in 2021 but is currently out on a season-long loan at Inter Milan after falling out of favour.

In January, Spanish reports relayed an update from the 29-year-old admitting that doesn’t want to return to work under Graham Potter, which has alerted several clubs to his potential availability.

Saudi Arabian clubs, Everton and Aston Villa have all been credited with an interest in the forward, but most recently, a new transfer plan has emerged.

Calciomercato claim that the Blues could look to include their player in a deal to re-sign Tammy Abraham, but no matter where he ends up, the club will be down from a financial point of view.

The Latest: Chelsea accept fate

According to Football Insider, Chelsea have ‘resigned themselves’ to the fact that they will be making an ‘enormous loss’ on Lukaku should his sale be sanctioned later in the summer.

Inter’s attacker arrived in SW6 for a £97.5m fee but ‘sources with knowledge of his situation’ believe that Todd Boehly will have to accept a cut-price sum of less than £30m.

The Blues are already paying for part of his salary whilst on loan and it’s stated that the owner needs to ‘trim the squad’ and ‘balance the books’ ahead of the 2023/24 term.

The Verdict: Let him leave

Lukaku has made zero appearances under Potter being at Inter since he was appointed, and that won’t change any time soon, so Chelsea would be making the right decision to cash in, albeit for a significantly lower fee than they would have liked.

The 104-cap international scored just eight goals in the top flight throughout the whole of the 2021/22 season before returning to Italy, therefore lacking the kind of prolific form required to succeed.

The Antwerp native has also been previously slammed for his performances in the capital by journalist Josh Bunting who labelled him a ‘disgrace’, stating that he has a ‘rotten’ attitude and should ‘never play for the club again’.

Chelsea have reached an agreement to sign RB Leipzig striker Christopher Nkunku in the summer so Lukaku’s replacement is already lined up, it’s now just a case of finding a potential suitor that would be able to put the best offer on the table.

Charlotte Edwards’ first T20I fifty in 18 months set up England’s 36-run win over Bangladesh in Bangalore

The Report by Mohammad Isam17-Mar-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCharlotte Edwards led the way for England with 60•International Cricket Council

Charlotte Edwards’ first T20I fifty in 18 months set up England’s 36-run win over Bangladesh in Bangalore. She struck 60 off 51 balls with seven fours before the England bowlers restricted Bangladesh to 117 for 6, which is now their highest score in T20 internationals.Bangladesh lost four early wickets but Salma Khatun and Nigar Sultana added 64 runs, a team record for the fifth wicket. The pair struck boundaries quite regularly, unlike their top and middle-order. Nigar, who had her nickname “Joty” on her jersey, top-scored with 35 off 28 balls.She struck the only six of the innings, a straight hit off Anya Shrubsole in the penultimate over, as well as placing boundaries through square leg, past point and a hoick through the leg side that brought up only Bangladesh’s fifth 50-plus stand in T20s. Nigar became Shrubsole’s second wicket soon after hitting the six, stumped by Sarah Taylor.Salma, who was unbeaten on 32 off 30 balls, started off with an intentional poke past the wicketkeeper before swatting fours over midwicket twice and hammering past mid-off. Shrubsole took two wickets while Jenny Gunn, Katherine Brunt and Danielle Hazell took one each.Having opted to bat first, England were off to a fast start before Tammy Beaumont fell for 18 to Jahanara Alam, who knocked back her leg stump in the fifth over. Taylor and Heather Knight fell in the space of three balls in the 10th and 11th overs to give England a bit of wobble but Edwards held firm.Her seven fours came through cuts, drives through the covers and down the ground, leg-glances and pulls. Salma, off her own bowling, dropped Edwards on 53 and later on 57 though this was a tough chance at cover. Edwards added 47 runs for the fourth wicket with Nat Sciver, who made 27 off 22 balls.Sciver was also dropped at midwicket before she was finally caught in the same over. Danielle Wyatt and Brunt made 15 and 17 respectively in the last two overs as England finished on 153 for 7. Jahanara finished with three wickets, two coming off the last two balls of the innings.

Newcastle United are still interested in potentially signing Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher this summer, according to a recent transfer report.

The Lowdown: Gallagher on the periphery at Chelsea

The 22-year-old stayed put at Stamford Bridge last year after a loan spell at Crystal Palace but he has struggled to nail down a regular place in the team in west London.

Gallagher has only started 10 of his side’s Premier League matches in 2022/23 so far, in what was often been a frustrating campaign for him.

It could be that the Englishman moves away for good during the summer transfer window, and Newcastle have been linked with signing him in the recent past.

The Latest: Newcastle keen on signing Gallagher

According to Football Insider, the Magpies’ interest in Gallagher ‘has not diminished’, having wanted to snap him up in January.

A transfer in the summer reportedly feels ‘possible’, and it is believed that Chelsea would be willing to sell the midfielder for a fee of around £30m.

The Verdict: Exit seems likely

At this point, it does feel increasingly likely that Gallagher could jump at the opportunity to leave Chelsea in order to be a regular starter elsewhere.

There is no denying that the four-cap England international is a very capable player – Thomas Tuchel once called him ‘extraordinary’, while he was Player of the Season during his loan spell at Palace – but he is arguably not quite at the level required to be a star man for the Blues.

There is an abundance of quality ahead of the 22-year-old in the pecking order in Chelsea’s midfield and it is difficult to see that changing, especially with more signings possibly arriving in the summer.

Newcastle could be an ideal place for the £50,000-per-week Gallagher to continue his career, with Eddie Howe more likely to be able to make him a focal point in the team at St James’ Park, one which looks far likelier to be playing Champions League football than Chelsea next season.

We’ve observed him from afar, sat through cliché-riddled press conferences and become infuriated at his brooding demeanour. Will the real Duncan Fletcher please stand up?

Will Luke18-Nov-2007


We’ve observed him from afar, sat through cliché-riddled press conferences and become infuriated at his brooding demeanour. Would the real Duncan Fletcher please stand up?At last, in his autobiography, , he has – and how. The week preceding the book’s publication caused an understandable media furore, with revelations of Andrew Flintoff’s drinking and of the back-room decisions Fletcher was forced to make. Equally predictably, though less understandably, Fletcher was made a scapegoat for revealing these brilliantly juicy insights.Anyone who has read the anodyne (and often premature) autobiographies of sporting figures which litter the shelves won’t mind one little bit. may be slightly ill timed – no cautious forward press, here – but dull it is not.Fletcher is a man who places great emphasis on trust and loyalty, and it comes as no surprise that Steve James, his former comrade at Glamorgan and friend of many years, helped write it. Broken up into 13 chapters, the book spans his life from childhood right up to the World Cup, when he resigned.He begins with a fascinating background to his happy childhood in Zimbabwe, growing up on a farm with a protective (and revealingly, loyal) family. His five siblings – four boys and Ann – were, we are told, far more talented at sport than the young Duncan. This rivalry instilled his determination and sharpened his mental focus on his one sport, cricket.It’s the later chapters, involving his time with Glamorgan, and then as England coach, that contain the most salacious insights. His difficulties with David Graveney; his surprise when offered the England coaching job; his spat with Henry Blofeld (surprising), and the “mutual dislike” of Geoffrey Boycott (less surprising). And, of course, the Flintoff saga in Chapter 13 which is rather dramatically entitled “The Winter from Hell”.But something jars. The book lives up to its title – we are certainly given an insight into a previously mysterious man – but it has an underlying seam of bitterness and resentment which, for someone who has achieved so much, is a disappointment and a little sad. Chapters are sprinkled with insistences that the reader “must understand”; that the media twisted his words and cheated the truth; that he is right and everyone else is wrong. If he never cared about the media during his tenure, why bother now?But this is Fletcher, after all. Dogged, determined and stubborn as a mule. Forthright views are no less than we expect. He and James should be lauded for producing a book that remains interesting from cover to cover while never dodging sensitive issues from the past.

Manchester United's summer transfer business was heavily focused on the present, with the likes of Andre Onana and Mason Mount arriving to bolster Erik ten Hag's options right in their primes.

Things haven't quite gone to plan for the Premier League giants so far this season, however, with three losses in their opening five games representing a disastrous start.

Those at Old Trafford could be set for a positive boost yet, though, with the Red Devils keeping a keen eye on future talent, perhaps in an attempt to avoid any significant collapses such as the one they are currently experiencing.

With that said, according to reports, Manchester United recently sent scouts to watch one particular star for the future, amid their interest in securing his signature.

What's the latest Manchester United transfer news?

Even when the transfer window is shut, a club of Manchester United's calibre does not stop seeking reinforcements, particularly when in poor form. During the summer, they spent a reported €207m (£178m) on welcoming a total of seven fresh faces, hoping to mount a potential title challenge.

Their 3-1 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford shows that they are anything but ready to join the title race, with injuries, off-field issues and poor form bundling the pressure on Ten Hag to turn things around.

The Red Devils could at least give their fans some good news in January, however, with reports suggesting that they're interested in Red Bull Salzburg youngster Oscar Gloukh.

According to The Sun, via Football365, United sent scouts to watch Gloukh's performance for Israel against Romania, in a game that saw the teenager score a crucial goal for his country aiming for Euro 2024 qualification.

Any deal for the Salzburg man may prove to be difficult, given that he only made the move from Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Austrian club in January. The Premier League giants are also not the only club interested in Goukh, with Liverpool and Arsenal also interested in the 19-year-old.

Who is Oscar Gloukh?

A midfielder by trade, Gloukh has impressed for Red Bull Salzburg since making the January switch, with eight goal involvements in just 25 appearances. He'll only get better at the Austrian club, too, who have developed talents such as Erling Haaland and Dominik Szoboszlai in recent years. If Gloukh reaches anything near the level of those two, then United, should they pursue a move, could have themselves a game-changer.

Praising the youngster, Football Talent Scout wrote: "As for his role, Oscar is a pure playmaker that’s distinguished with qualities to operate either an “8”, a “10” or a winger.

"At 170cm tall, he has a low center of gravity, which contributes to his balance and changes of direction, is technically gifted, and is quite agile. In contrast to the rest of the Israeli talents, he has an extremely unique and complete profile, which seems to fit top-flight football."

With that said, whilst they'll face a fight for his signature, if United can secure the signature of Gloukh in January or next summer then it could go down as one of their best deals in recent years.

Tasmania lost 6 for 17 in 11 overs to give South Australia a shot at a comeback in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2018
ScorecardA huge batting collapse by Tasmania gave South Australia the chance to pull off a stunning comeback in their Sheffield Shield clash in Hobart.The Tigers began their second innings 166 runs in front after bowling out the Redbacks for 227 early on day three. Tom Rogers picked up the last wicket to finish with four for the innings.Tasmania cruised to 1 for 83 with Jordan Silk making a swift half-century. They looked poised to take the game beyond the Redbacks reach but they lost 6 for 17 in 11 frantic overs. Joe Mennie removed Silk before Daniel Worrall and Nick Winter ripped through the middle order. A late fightback from Simon Milenko pushed the lead to 331. Worrall finished with 4 for 17.The Redbacks moved to 1 for 49 at stumps, having only lost debutant Conor McInerney.