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Chittagong Kings have threatened to pull out of the next edition of the Bangladesh Premier League because they were replaced in the semi-finals of this year’s tournament hours after being officially deemed to have qualified. The matter descended into farce, with the BPL first making a clear statement on Monday saying Chittagong were one of the semi-finalists and then, at 2:45am on Tuesday morning, issuing a release saying that in fact Barisal Burners were the fourth semi-finalists. The situation became murkier on Tuesday as the Chittagong franchise alleged that the BPL had also not responded to their reports of being approached to fix matches.Nasir Ahmed, the Chittagong manager, said the manner in which Chittagong had been ousted from the knockout phase was an “injustice”. “We rushed to the stadium [at night] and on arrival we were given a letter which said Barisal are through to the semi-final and we are out,” he said. “We were stunned as this could not happen according to the tournament’s bylaws. This is an injustice and we want a remedy.”On Sunday evening, after Barisal had chased down Chittagong’s score in 15 overs, it was announced by the broadcasters that Barisal were through to the semi-finals on the basis of net run-rate. This, according to Mike Procter, BPL match-referee and technical committee member, was a false announcement. “It didn’t come from us, nothing official came from us,” Procter said. “If the television [broadcasters] speculate and if you guys [the media] speculate, we do not take the responsibility.At that point, Chittagong, Barisal, Khulna Royal Bengals and Dhaka Gladiators were equal on 10 points. On Monday, Dhaka lost narrowly to Rajshahi and Khulna beat Sylhet Royals. By virtue of 12 points from 10 games, Khulna went to second place, leaving Dhaka, Barisal and Chittagong tied on points at the end of the league phase.In the head-to-head results between the three teams level on 10 points, Dhaka had beaten Barisal twice and Chittagong once and therefore qualified for the semi-finals in third place. That now left Chittagong and Barisal in contention for the fourth spot. Chittagong had two wins, against Barisal and Dhaka, while Barisal had only one, against Chittagong. Barisal’s net run-rate, however, was better than that of Chittagong.On Monday evening, BPL governing council chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain officially announced the semi-final line-up. “According to the rules Rajshahi, Khulna, Dhaka and Chittagong are through,” he said. He produced a photocopied page from the by-laws where clause 21.8.2 was pointed out. It said: “when three or more teams finish with equal wins in the league, then the team(s) which was (were) the winner of the most number of matches played between those equal teams in the league will be placed in the higher position(s). If after applying this criterion, there are many items which are still equal, then such equal teams shall be ranked according to their net run-rate in the league.”It was announced that Chittagong were in the semi-finals on the basis of a better head-to-head record in the three-way tie on 10 points, which included Dhaka.At 2.45 am on Tuesday morning, however, the BPL issued a release which said that Barisal was the fourth semi-finalist. The second and third points in the release said:”(2) Three teams – Dhaka Gladiators, Barisal Burners and Chittagong Kings are on equal (10) points. Dhaka Gladiators have most wins from meetings with Barisal Burners and Chittagong Kings and therefore qualify as the 3rd semi-finalist.”(3) With Barisal Burners and Chittagong Kings both having one win against each other the 4th qualifier had to be decided on the basis of superior net run-rate. Barisal edged ahead of Chittagong on net run-rate to become the 4th semi-finalist.”Procter explained that the confusion arose because there were two clauses: one concerning a situation in which three teams were equal on points (21.8.2) and one referring to a similar situation with two teams (21.8.1). The former was used to decide Dhaka’s qualification, which left Chittagong and Barisal level, meaning clause 21.8.1 would come into effect and Chittagong’s win against Dhaka would not be counted.”Because they ended up with the most points Dhaka were taken out of the equation,” Procter said. “Two teams were left. So you could not have a head-to-head between three teams, but only two.”Chittagong, though, were left fuming and their chief executive has now also said they had been approached to fix matches. These claims come a day after the arrest of a Pakistani citizen, who was attending BPL matches, on suspicions of involvement in fixing.”We have been approached by unknown callers at three times to fix matches,” the Chittagong chief executive Sameer Quader Chowdhury said. “We informed the BPL governing council in writing but did not get any response. Even the man arrested on suspicion the other day was first identified by us.”He also said that Chittagong were considering pulling out of the tournament, though the franchise had been bought for three years. “We have invested a lot in this tournament [but] if this trend continues, we will not participate from the next edition.”Another bone of contention for the Chittagong Kings was that the official scoring website (digicricket.marssil.com) showed Chittagong above Barisal in the head-to-head count till 11am in the morning but later had N/A (not applicable) filled for each team in the head-to-head column.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

2012

February 4
News – Sahara withdraws sponsorship of BCCI and IPL
News – The Sahara release
News – BCCI calls Sahara withdrawal ‘unfortunate’
News – We are open to negotiations – Sahara chief
News – Warriors management caught off guard
February 5
News – Franchises perturbed by Sahara pullout
February 6
News – BCCI extends hand, Sahara plans a date
News – Pity if Pune Warriors don’t play – Donald
February 7
News – Pune Warriors players in the dark about future
News – Flintoff sale rigged at 2009 IPL auction – Modi
News – The Flintoff deal explained
News – Modi helped Mumbai get Pollard – official
February 8
Features – Shifting goalposts: Examples of rule-bending in the IPL and Champions League T20
February 9
News – BCCI, Sahara to meet on weekend
February 11
News – BCCI, Sahara likely to soften stance at meeting
February 12
News – No decisions yet on BCCI-Sahara row
February 13
News – No resolution in BCCI-Sahara impasse
February 16
Features – Sale of Pune stake could be IPL’s reality check
News – Sahara and BCCI patch up
News – The BCCI and Sahara joint media statement
February 17
News – Franchises oppose foreign-player allowance to Pune

2013

May 21
News – Pune Warriors pull out of IPL
News – Full text of Pune Warriors’ statement
News – Donald and Uthappa taken by surprise
News – Player payments in focus after withdrawal
May 22
News – BCCI still awaiting Sahara confirmation
News – Full text of BCCI’s statement
June 25
News – Sahara stalemate could continue till SeptemberOctober 26
News – BCCI terminates agreement with Sahara, Pune Warriors out of IPL
October 29
News – Double standards in BCCI, says ‘betrayed’ Roy

Nigel Harrison, the former Barbados first-class umpire, has died aged 77 after a brief illness. He stood in Shell Shield and Red Stripe Cup matches through the 1980s. His last first-class game was a tour match during England’s tour of the West Indies in 1990.He also served as the president and treasurer of the Barbados Cricket Umpires Association (BCUA). He was also a former managing director of Corbin Compton, a leading local advertising company.”He was a good umpire. I don’t think he ever had a bad report,” Lloyd Barker, a former international umpire, told the Barbados Cricket Association website. “He knew the game and was always very involved in the training of new umpires.”Joel Garner, the former West Indies bowler and current president of the Barbados Cricket Association, said in a West Indies Cricket Board release that Harrison had enjoyed the confidence of the players he worked with. “As a player I came into contact with Mr Harrison on many occasions while playing at the club level and in regional cricket and he was always a strong, firm umpire.”He was a good communicator and won the confidence of all the players. He made a huge contribution to the game at the club level in Barbados and also helped with the development of regional cricket as well.”WICB president, Julian Hunte, praised Harrison’s contribution to umpiring in the Caribbean. “It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Nigel Harrison, who was one of the leading umpires in Barbados and West Indies cricket. He carried himself with dignity and made a significant contribution to the game he loved. He helped to lift the standard of umpiring across the region and was a standard-bearer.”Harrison also played club cricket for the Spartan Cricket Club, where he played alongside former West Indies players Wes Hall, David Holford, Cammie Smith, Tony Howard and Peter Lashley.

Otago clinched a thriller against Central Districts thanks to a last-ball six from Derek de Boorder, to get their HRV Cup campaign off to a winning start at the University Oval in Dunedin. Put in to bat, Central Districts were powered by Ross Taylor’s knock of 95 from 49 balls. There was no other contribution of note, but Taylor smacked eight sixes – including two hat-tricks against Jimmy Neesham and Ian Butler – and three fours to carry the side to a competitive 158 for 7. Butler managed three top-order wickets, including that of Taylor’s, but was very expensive: he conceded 53 in his four overs. The chase was anchored by Brendon McCullum. Coming off a Big Bash League fixture two days back – a game in which he endured a bloody blow to the face – he smashed 79 off 63 after a slow start against the impressive Doug Bracewell. The late push towards the target, however, was provided by Neesham who finished with 34 off 18. Dimitri Mascarenhas was out off the first ball of the 20th over, and Neesham got five off the next four, leaving de Boorder five to get off the final ball. It was the first delivery he faced, and he duly dispatched a short ball from Graham Napier over square leg to secure the victory.Muttiah Muralitharan marked his return after a five-month break with a spell of 3-0-15-2, but it wasn’t enough to deliver victory for Wellington against Auckland at Colin Maiden Park. Operating with the new ball, Muralitharan didn’t take too long to get into the act in a game that was reduced to 12-overs-a-side due to rain. He had Bradley Cachopa dismissed in his second over, but Martin Guptill powered Auckland to a strong start. Azhar Mahmood and Colin de Grandhomme contributed sprightly cameos, while Guptill lashed 46 off 32 balls, before Muralitharan had him stumped. Guptill’s effort lifted Auckland to 116 for 5. Wellington’s other international stars – Jesse Ryder, James Franklin and Brendan Taylor – could not contribute much to the chase, but the opener Michael Pollard kept his side in with a chance. He made 45 off 27 balls, taking Wellington to 81 for 2 in the ninth over, but his dismissal led to a flurry of wickets that killed their challenge. Michael Bates and Andre Adams picked up two wickets each as Auckland ran out winners by 10 runs.BJ Watling’s 75 off 69 balls helped Northern Districts prevail over Canterbury by five runs at the Mainpower Oval. Canterbury invited Northern to bat, but were resisted by a solid opening stand between Watling and Brad Wilson. The pair raised 63 in 8.3 overs, after which Hamish Marshall and Scott Styris made brisk contributions to lift the score to 161 for 6. Canterbury’s reply suffered from a bout of early wickets, and they were up against it at 40 for 3 after five overs. Shanan Stewart and Dean Brownlie kept fighting with 30s, but it was down to Andrew Ellis to provide a final surge at the target. He struck 42 off 24 balls to revive Canterbury from 101 for 4 in the 14th over, but they still fell short in the end.

Martin Crowe’s comeback to club cricket in Auckland at the age of 48 has ended after he was forced to retire hurt three balls into his first innings. Crowe pulled a muscle while batting for Cornwall against Parnell on November 19.”While getting off the mark yesterday I pulled a thigh muscle running a normal single into the covers. So three balls into my first premier match back, it’s over,” Crowe wrote in an email to media outlets. “I said from the start it would end in tears with an injury.”I pulled a hip flexor in July, a hamstring in August, a groin in October and now a thigh, all upper left leg, all compensating for a dodgy arthritic right knee. No tears, but frustrated after a lot of hard work getting ready.”Crowe had announced his decision to return to competitive cricket in May, 15 years after his retirement. He had been forced to quit international cricket due to a bad knee. He had said he saw his comeback as a means of self-motivation and a tool to get fit – and also an opportunity to score the 392 runs he needs to tally 20,000 first-class runs.”It was sort of fun along the way,” Crowe said. “I got to hit lots of balls over five months, experiencing the joy of batting again. But as soon as it required the important running bit, the old problems kicked in.”No regrets, although it would’ve been nice to bat at Cornwall Park once more … Instead, Parnell CC will be the last ground I walk out on to thinking `head still, play straight’.”

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, says that the guilty verdicts handed down to Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif at Southwark Crown Court, as well as Mohammad Amir’s own guilty plea, will “have no impact” on the length of the suspensions meted out on the three players at the ICC’s own hearing in Doha earlier this year.”The ICC has been closely following the criminal trial at Southwark Crown Court in England over the past few weeks,” said Lorgat at a press conference in Dubai. “We note that the jury has found Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif guilty of the criminal offences with which they were charged and also that Mohammad Amir had pleaded guilty to the criminal offences with which he was charged.””These outcomes appear to be consistent with the findings of the independent anti-corruption tribunal which was appointed earlier this year to hear charges brought against the three players by the ICC under our own Anti-Corruption Code. To be clear, the developments in the English criminal courts will have no impact upon those periods of suspension, which will remain in full force and effect.Following the investigation from the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, which was triggered by a sting operation by the now-defunct newspaper, News of the World, the three players were all found guilty of offences under the Anti-Corruption Code and suspended from all forms of cricket for five years in Amir’s case, seven in Asif’s (two of which were suspended), and ten years for Butt (five suspended).”The ICC takes no pleasure from the fact that these players stepped outside not only the laws of the game but also the criminal laws of the country in which they were participating,” said Lorgat. “In addition to constituting offences under the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Code, for which sporting sanctions have been imposed, such conduct has now been shown to constitute criminal behaviour for which serious criminal sanctions can also be imposed.”The exact sentences for the three players remain to be determined, although both Butt and Asif were found guilty of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail, and conspiracy to cheat, which carries a maximum of two years.”Of course, we note that the Judge is yet to determine the appropriate sentence for each of the three players so I do not comment further in that regard,” added Lorgat, “but we hope that this verdict is seen as a further warning to any individual who might, for whatever reason, be tempted to engage in corrupt activity within our sport.”I am satisfied that we have worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police throughout this entire process, and I believe that this case has shown that it is possible for criminal authorities and sports bodies to cooperate with each other, in difficult circumstances, in the best interests of the sport and the public at large.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outKolkata Knight Riders stayed alive in the tournament with a show of desperation in the field, accuracy with the ball, and aggression with the bat. With rain lurking in the background, the Knight Riders won the crucial toss but had to deal with an aggressive start from Colin Ingram and JJ Smuts. However, led by Brett Lee and Jacques Kallis with the ball, they fielded superbly to allow only 67 runs in the last nine overs. Lee went for just 25 off his four overs, including nine runs off the 17th and 19th overs.The sub-par total of 155 was always going to take some defending on a skidding surface flanked by short boundaries and a damp outfield. And with the in-form Kallis and Gautam Gambhir, and Manvinder Bisla playing some scintillating shots, it seemed like the Warriors would need outside intervention. It arrived, in the form of rain, but by then nine overs had been bowled and the Knight Riders were 22 ahead of the par score. That not only brought the Knight Riders, who have now played all their league matches, two points, but also a boost in their net run-rate.The game was won and lost in the last nine overs of the Warriors innings. Ingram, through some stylish aerial hitting, and JJ Smuts, through muscular blows, had put Warriors on course for a defendable total. But both efforts needed finishing touches, which never came.JJ Smuts tried to power his way through at the start, and in spite of all his efforts managed a strike-rate of just 106.97 during his 46. He played 17 dot balls. It is usually difficult to argue against an innings of 61 off 47, but tonight there were elements of Ingram’s game that weren’t up to scratch. He missed out on converting ones into twos, running the first one slowly despite having hit slightly wide of the fielders. He let Shakib Al Hasan get away with a few full tosses. Towards the end he struggled to accelerate. At one stage he wanted to walk off even after edging Lee short of the keeper, only to be asked to come back. He scored two couples, and his last 14 deliveries brought him 11 runs.Ideally Ingram would have wanted to kick on after his impressive start. He began with sixes off Kallis, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib. The third of those made its way to the press box, on the third floor at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. It was going swimmingly for Warriors then: that six took the score to 77 for 1 in the 10th over, with two set batsmen looking to launch.Jacques Kallis scored 31 off just 19 balls•Associated Press

Both batsmen hit a boundary each in the next over, but in the following overs they got stuck. Ingram hit three full tosses for ones, JJ Smuts toe-ended a short ball to mid-off, and with a new batsman at the crease the Knight Riders sneaked in a few quiet overs. Ryan ten Doeschate, Manoj Tiwary and Lee were electric in the outfield to assist their bowlers.Kallis came back in the 16th over with 28 scored off the preceding four overs, and turned the screws further. Just four came off his accurate over, and Lee followed it up with wide yorkers to concede just five off the 17th. Mark Bouhcer scooped his good friend Jacques Kallis for back-to-back fours to take Warriors to a fighting total, but soon followed it up by dropping Kallis.In the form that he is in, you don’t drop Kallis. Boucher’s good high catch to send Bisla back was hardly amends. Both batsmen had hit a six each by then, and the Knight Riders had raced away to 35 in the fourth over. That wicket was followed up by a misfield that allowed Gambhir to get going with a four through mid-off. Kallis and Gambhir proceeded to loot 42 off the next five overs, matching each other short for shot. Gambhir was dropped too, when Kelly Smuts couldn’t hold on to a high catch at deep cover. That mistake capped off an unsatisfactory night for the Warriors in every department.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTillakaratne Dilshan made 83•AFP

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