| ICC says improving performance convinced it to give full membership to Ireland, Afghanistan
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 Ireland and Afghanistan are 11tjh and 12th team to earn Test status © PTI London: The International Cricket Council (ICC) said Thursday that improving perfomances by both Ireland and Afghanistan convinced the world cricket body to give full membership to both countries. ICC CEO David Richardson said: "I'd like to congratulate Afghanistan and Ireland on their Full Membership status which is the result of their dedication to improving performance both off and on the field resulting in the significant development and growth of cricket in their respective countries. Both have clearly demonstrated they meet the new criteria and as such have made the progression to full membership." The unanimous vote at the ICC Full Council meeting at the Oval now ensures that both Ireland and Afghanistan will now be eligible to play Test cricket. Afghanistan Cricket Board Chief Executive Shafiq Stanikzai said: "For a nation like Afghanistan it is a huge and remarkable achievement, the entire nation will be celebrating across ...
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| India vs West Indies: Ajinkya Rahane will open in all 5 ODIs, says Virat Kohli
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 Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli © AFP Port of Spain: With Rohit Sharma rested for the West Indies limited-over series, India captain Virat Kohli said that Ajinkya Rahane will open alongside Shikhar Dhawan in the upcoming five-match ODI series starting Friday. Rohit, who opened for India along with Shikhar Dhawan in the just-concluded Champions Trophy in the United Kingdom, has been rested for the West Indies tour. The decision means that prolific youngster Rishabh Pant has to wait for his turn in the middle-order. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: WI vs IND, 1st ODI Asked about opening combination, Kohli said: "We have Ajinkya who we had as a back-up opener in the Champions Trophy. He will start for sure with Shikhar Dhawan (in West Indies series). He is someone who has done well at the opener's slot." Opening is the slot that suits Rahane, feels his skipper. "He has batted in the middle order also but we see him to be more powerful in the opening slot, that is where he can play his game the best," Kohli said on the ...
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| Mithali Raj slams journalist when asked to name her 'favourite male cricketer'
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 Mithali Raj © Getty Images London: India women's cricket team skipper Mithali Raj has asserted that female cricketers should not be compared to their male counterparts. On the eve of the Women's World Cup, Raj, who was attending the opening dinner and media roundtable event, was asked who her favourite men's cricketer was between India and Pakistan to which she replied, "Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? Do you ask them who their favourite female cricketer is? I have always been asked who's your favourite cricketer but you should ask them who their favourite female cricketer is," ESPNcricinfo quoted her as saying. The skipper also pointed out that the Indian women do not receive the same amount of publicity as compared to their male counterparts in a cricket-crazy nation like India. "There's a lot of difference because we are not a regular on television. Now the BCCI has made an effort that the last two home series have been televised and social media has improved a lot of it but there is ...
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| Three new additions to the list of 21 players offered NZC contracts
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 Colin de Grandhomme, Jeet Raval and Neil Broom are the new names on New Zealand Cricket's list of 21 players offered central contracts for the 2017-18 year. Under the terms of NZC's Master Agreement with the New Zealand Cricket Players Association, the 21 players have until Wednesday, June 28 to accept or decline the contract offers. De Grandhomme, Raval and the recalled Broom played for the BLACKCAPS over recent months and during the 2016-17 summer. Of the players centrally contracted during the previous year, off-spinner Mark Craig and paceman Doug Bracewell have not received offers to renew the arrangement, while wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi has announced his retirement from international cricket. In Ronchi's absence, BJ Watling is the only specialist wicket-keeper offered a central contract for the upcoming year, leaving aspiring up-and-coming candidates such as Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips and Tim Seifert to develop their claims. BLACKCAPS selector Gavin Larsen said Bracewell's absence from the list was ...
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| Mahela Jayawardene pulls out of Lancashire stint
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 Mahela Jayawardene © Getty Images Sri Lanka great Mahela Jayawardene has withdrawn from his planned spell with Lancashire during English county cricket's Twenty20 Blast for unspecified "personal reasons", it was announced Thursday. The former Sri Lanka captain and current Mumbai Indians coach was set to arrive at Old Trafford later this month ahead of Lancashire's opening game against Durham on July 7. "I am very disappointed to be unable to join Lancashire Lightning in the upcoming NatWest T20 Blast as planned," said Jayawardene in a club statement. "I would like to wish the club a successful campaign this year." Jayawardene, 40, has previously played in the T20 Blast with both Sussex and Somerset. The former Sri Lanka captain scored nearly 12,000 Test runs at an average of just under 50 in 149 Tests. He also made 448 one-day international appearances, including scoring a century during Sri Lanka's defeat by India in the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai, as well as playing in 55 T20 internationals. After ...
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| The I's: Supreme openers, masterly middle-order, brilliant bowlers
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 Top, from left: Tamim Iqbal, Imtiaz Ahmed, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Lee Irvine, Asif Iqbal Bottom, from left: Imran Khan, Ray Illingworth, David Ironside, Jack Iverson, Bert Ironmonger © Getty Images and Stuff Autographs Alphabetical All Time XIs are great fun. Composing one from the cricketers with their last names starting with I, Arunabha Sengupta is constrained with limited choices, but still manages to come up with a rather strong line up. We come to the I's. And with a serious shortage of last names starting with this letter of the alphabet, we need to borrow heavily from the Muslim world. A word about Muslim names as used in this exercise is perhaps appropriate here. We generally follow the same policy of first and last names as we do with the others. Hence Javed Miandad will be under M and not J. However, there are exceptions when it comes to very frequently used last names: Khan, Mohammad, Ali and Ahmed, for example. In these cases, the first name is more distinctive. Also Read • The H's: ...
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| Australia players urge 'emergency mediation' as deadline looms
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 ACA calls for emergency mediation to be conducted at CEO level © Getty Images The Australian players' union called for "emergency mediation" Friday with Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland to rescue bitter pay talks before a looming June 30 deadline. The Australian Cricketers' Association said talks with the governing body, through CA's lead negotiator Kevin Roberts, had failed to achieve a breakthrough and players were frustrated at the impasse. CA has threatened not to pay contracted players beyond the expiry of their current financial deal at the end of the month if they do not accept a new offer, which includes scrapping revenue-sharing arrangements that have stood for 20 years. "With only seven days until the June 30 deadline, the ACA calls for emergency mediation to be conducted at CEO level," ACA president Greg Dyer said in a statement. "With this the ACA continues to search for ways to resolve the dispute. We are motivated by a sense of duty to the game and its players and frustration at the ...
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| Virat Kohli deletes year-old tweet welcoming Anil Kumble as Team India head coach
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 Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble © AFP New Delhi: India captain Virat Kohli has deleted his year-old tweet welcoming Anil Kumble's appointment as the national cricket team coach, further exposing the bitterness that had crept in. Kohli deleted the post on the microblogging site close on the heals of the spin legend's decision to resign from his post due to "untenable" differences with the captain. Soon after Kumble's appointment, Kohli had tweeted on June 23 last year, greeting him with a smiley and expressed hopes of a great future under his guidance. "Heartiest welcome to @anilkumble1074 Sir. Look forward to your tenure with us. Great things in store for Indian Cricket with you ??" Kohli had posted on his official twitter handle, which he has deleted now. Kohli is checking Twitter. He has deleted this tweet. Very Silly and immature. Original link : https://t.co/... pic.twitter.com/hXeN1XNfDO — Aditya (@forwardshortleg) June 21, 2017 Acknowledging Kohli's welcome tweet, Kumble responded writing, " ...
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