Kaustubh Pawar rescued Mumbai from a precarious position with a fiercely-determined century and along with the lower order, all but batted
Madhya Pradesh out of the Ranji Trophy

Abhishek Purohit at the Holkar Cricket Stadium03-Jan-2012
Scorecard
Ankeet Chavan supported Kaustubh Pawar in an unbeaten stand of 129•Fotocorp

Kaustubh Pawar rescued Mumbai from a precarious position with a fiercely-determined century and along with the lower order, all but batted
Madhya Pradesh out of the Ranji Trophy. Mumbai had begun the day 122 runs
behind MP with only five wickets remaining, but Pawar showed tremendous
character in grinding out his second hundred in his debut season at a time
Mumbai desperately needed someone to bail them out.That he struggled with his rhythm till he reached the three-figure mark
but did not throw his wicket away was a credit to Pawar’s temperament.
That Mumbai lost only two wickets today after 15 had fallen on the first
day was partly due to their tenacity and partly due to the pitch which had eased out.The first session was MP’s only real chance of trying to take the lead but
Pawar and Hiken Shah kept them at bay, giving no chances. As he had done
yesterday, TP Sudhindra kept the batsmen defensive with excellent control
over his lines and lengths but unlike they had done on day one, Mumbai did
not succumb against the lack of runs. They kept nudging and guiding for
singles and Pawar, especially, continued to leave almost everything that
was outside off stump.He was beaten on numerous occasions by Sudhindra who also had him down on
the ground a couple of times as he avoided bouncers. Pawar was even hit on
the helmet as he took his eyes off another bouncer but he just refused to
get out. There was also only so much Sudhindra could do alone. Hiken
signaled Mumbai’s growing confidence when he lofted fast bowler Amarjeet
Singh for a straight one-bounce four.Sudhindra managed to break the stand minutes before lunch when Hiken
finally fiddled with one outside off stump and nicked to the slip cordon.
Mumbai were less than 50 runs behind by then, though. Also, a tail that
has Ramesh Powar, Ankeet Chavan and Dhawal Kulkarni is not exactly a tail.
Kulkarni arrived ahead of Powar and Chavan and with Pawar holding one end
up, calmly pushed up the scoring rate with positive batting. MP were
forced to spread the field and bring their innocuous spinners on as
Kulkarni soon took Mumbai into the lead with a driven four through extra
cover.Sudhindra was still not done, though. He bowled Kulkarni for 40 with one
that bounced from a good length but MP now had Chavan to contend with.
With the crucial first-innings lead in the bag, Chavan was able to play
his strokes from the start. Pawar, meanwhile, got to his century in
uncharacteristic fashion off his 233rd delivery, stepping out to drive the
offspin of Jalaj Saxena through extra cover.The landmark brought out the strokeplayer in Pawar as he started to drive
and cut with authority. Chavan cruised to a fifty as well, swinging a six
over long-on in between his straight and cover drives. The eighth-wicket
stand swelled past 100, taking the game further away from a
flagging MP. Pawar showed no signs of fading, still finding the
energy to punch and push for the three runs that took him past 150.
MP’s bowlers tried everything after being let down by their batsmen but
once again, Mumbai had someone to do the dirty work and dig them out of
the hole.

Aaqib Javed, the former Pakistan fast bowler, has returned as the national team’s bowling coach for the series against England in the UAE that starts in January

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Dec-2011Aaqib Javed, the former Pakistan fast bowler, has returned as the national team’s bowling coach for the series against England in the UAE that starts in January.Aaqib will be part of a nine-man support staff for the series. He has been involved in coaching within Pakistan for almost a decade now, having started at the Lahore Regional Academy and then had stints as Pakistan Under-19 coach and head coach at the National Cricket Academy. He was with the national team on and off since 2009, first as bowling coach and then as assistant coach, before he was removed from that position ahead of Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe earlier in the year.Aaqib was part of the coaching staff when Intikhab Alam was Pakistan’s tour manager, and both were replaced prior to the tour of Zimbabwe. He is in contention to take the role of bowling coach on a full-time basis, as the PCB’s search committee is believed to be interested in hiring home-grown batting and bowling coaches.Ijaz Ahmed, the former Pakistan batsman, has been named fielding coach for the series against England while Mohsin Khan will continue as the interim head coach.

Virender Sehwag, the India opener, has not ruled out shifting down to the middle order once some of the senior batsmen retire

Sidharth Monga in Adelaide23-Jan-2012Virender Sehwag, the India opener, has not ruled out shifting down to the middle order once some of the senior batsmen retire. Sehwag began his career as a middle-order batsman, scored his first Test century there, but had to naturalise to the opener’s position because the middle order was packed. He has come to be known as the man who revolutionised how Test innings are opened. However, even at the highest points of his career, Sehwag has maintained he would love to go back to the middle order, where he doesn’t always have to negotiate the moving new ball.Sehwag said such a move would not happen in the Adelaide Test, in which he is captaining India. “No, not in this team because, you know, we have a very good middle order so when they retire then I’ll think about it,” Sehwag said.When the fact that there will be vacancies over the next year or so was pointed out to him, Sehwag said: “It depends on the combination, and who’s the captain, and who’s going to retire.”There has been a lot of criticism of MS Dhoni’s captaincy – defensive or pragmatic, depending on how you see it – over the past two away series, and against that backdrop Sehwag was asked if he saw himself as a full-time Test captain. Sehwag played the rare leave outside off. “Right now, no,” he said. “Right now I’m just concentrating on this Test match. It’s not in my hands; it’s just the selectors’ job and BCCI’s job.”Sehwag’s press conference ahead of the Adelaide Test was as much about the past as about the future. He was asked if the century he scored the last time he played in Adelaide gave him confidence. “Tomorrow is a different day, different game, different tour,” he said. “Last time when we came here, I didn’t play the first two games, and I was out of the team for some time, and I was fighting for my place. But now it’s a different story, a different thing, so I think it’s good to play in Adelaide because when you score a hundred on the previous tour you look forward to going and playing on the same ground and trying to make another hundred.”Sehwag has had a poor run on the Australia tour, with just 128 runs from six innings. He gave credit to the Australia bowlers, saying it was probably the best Australia attack he had faced. “I think they are bowling good areas. They are not giving easy balls to hit boundaries, and they are playing with your patience, so I think this is the best bowling attack I’ve ever seen. Against Australia, generally when I played in the past, I’d get a couple of balls in the early overs to hit to the boundary; but from this attack I hardly get a ball to hit, so I think it’s one of the best bowling attacks.”In a test of patience, he said, you need patience to win. “I think I have to show some patience against the bowling attack because if I show some patience maybe I’ll get some balls to hit for boundaries, but it’s a challenge. It’s a great bowling attack, which everyone loves to play against so I’m looking forward to playing in this Test match and doing well because whenever you do well against Australia people will appreciate and people will praise your performances.”There has been concern during this tour that India’s minds are elsewhere, sparked by on-field comments from the India players, telling the Australia players they will see them when they come to India. Sehwag, though, said that was not the case. “We are focusing on this Test, and looking forward to it. Adelaide is one of the favourite grounds for everyone because the pitch is good to bat on. We have great memories of when we won the game here in 2003-2004. So I think the dressing-room atmosphere is positive, and we are looking forward to this Test match.”

East Zone surged to their maiden Duleep Trophy title in less than eight sessions in Indore

The Report by Abhishek Purohit in Indore14-Feb-2012
ScorecardWriddhiman Saha flayed the Central Zone medium-pacers during his 170•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

East Zone surged to their maiden Duleep Trophy title in less than eight sessions in Indore, their fast bowlers ripping through a spineless Central Zone line-up with a succession of short deliveries. Despite trailing by 237 runs after the first innings in a five-day game, Central tried to pull and hook their way out of trouble, but only managed to top-edge catches.Central Zone had caved in for 133 in the first innings. Take out the opening partnership of 79, and they managed 138 in the second – they were minus opener Vineet Saxena, who wasn’t able to bat after fracturing a finger. The Holkar Stadium pitch had eased out on day two going by the way Wriddhiman Saha had flayed the Central Zone medium-pacers for 170. But Shami Ahmed and Ashok Dinda showed that there was still help from the surface for those who had the ability and the intent to extract it.Bengal fast bowler Shami was outstanding, consistently getting bounce and zip from just short of a good length. Dinda, whether he was running in during his first over or his 25th, leapt into his delivery stride with the same effort to end the first-class season with a staggering 59 wickets.The only sore point in an otherwise dominant performance was East Zone’s slip catching. Shami alone had at least a couple of catches put down and at one point shrieked at his blundering team-mates in frustration, “” (What are you guys doing?). It also led a spectator to wryly shout, “” (You should hold your catches at times as well).Central Zone, though, were in no mood to put up any sort of fight, despite national selector Narendra Hirwani’s presence. Central Zone began the day trailing by 189, and had to go for quick runs if they were to come back into the game. Saha had said yesterday that East Zone would look for wickets in the first session on day three, and their fast bowlers were relentless in that quest today. That Naman Ojha and Jalaj Saxena were able to last for almost nine overs today was down more to their good fortune than their survival skills.Jalaj had resisted through a mix of inside edges, slashes, slogs and lofted shots. On 46, he steered Dinda straight to gully, where Shahbaz Nadeem juggled and put down the catch. Two balls later, Dinda produced a searing bouncer, Jalaj went for the hook, but could only top-edge to fine leg. It was to become a pattern.Before that, though, Shami served more notice of his ability to get the ball to rear from just short of a length. Ojha could only fend the snorter to Saha. Mohammad Kaif, who is usually a jittery starter, seemed like getting out at any moment, edging through the cordon a couple of times. He chose to pull a short Shami ball from outside off stump, and fine leg was in business again.The Ranji Trophy’s highest run-getter, Robin Bist, fluffed another opportunity to push his case at the zonal level. Dinda sent one at his throat, Bist hooked, and Saha ran behind square leg to take the offering.
The bouncers to the batsmen before him made Parvinder Singh try to play even a good length Shami delivery from the crease, only to be trapped plumb in front. Parvinder fell off the last ball before lunch, and the talk during the break was about how soon the innings-defeat would arrive.It arrived just over an hour into the second session. If the specialist batsmen had not held back on the pull, there was no question of Piyush Chawla doing so. Another bouncer. Another top-edge to fine leg. Another tame dismissal.Mohnish Mishra played some big strokes during his 44, but he was put down three times in the cordon – two of the chances were straightforward. Anustup Majumdar finally held on to a chance to end Mishra’s stay and give Dinda his third wicket.The end came soon with TP Sudhindra holing out to deep midwicket, setting off celebrations among the East Zone players, who took back all six stumps as mementos. Three wins in three games, two of them outright. No longer were they pushovers in the Duleep Trophy.

New Zealand staved off collapse for 87 overs, but gifted South Africa an opening to push for the win, when they lost five wickets for 33 on day four in Wellington

The Report by Andrew Fernando26-Mar-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Vernon Philander bagged his sixth five-wicket haul in his seventh Test•Getty Images

New Zealand staved off collapse for 87 overs, but gifted South Africa an opening to push for the win, when they lost five wickets for 33 on day four in Wellington. Only two edges past the keeper allowed the hosts avert the follow on, and at stumps South Africa led by 274 runs, with 10 wickets remaining and an opportunity to crack New Zealand again on the final day of the series. Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen scored at five runs an over late in the day, hinting a declaration might come early on day five, to give their bowlers a chance to clinch the series 2-0.Vernon Philander became the fastest man to 50 Test wickets in 116 years, as he bagged his sixth five-wicket haul in his seventh Test. His 6 for 81 was all the more impressive for the lack of movement at the Basin Reserve. Rarely straying from his impeccable off-stump line, Philander threatened even when his team-mates seemed flat and the batsmen well set. He removed Daniel Flynn to claim the first scalp of the morning, dismissed Martin Guptill on the stroke of lunch, then returned to crush the lower order with second new ball. Sharp and accurate, but uncomplicated, no side yet has learnt to play him – not even New Zealand, who might have devised new plans, having suffered so severely at his hands in Dunedin and Hamilton.New Zealand’s reply was dealt a blow when Ross Taylor took a Morne Morkel bouncer on the wrist. Morkel had intimidated, bruised and winded Taylor throughout the series, but seems to have delivered the knockout blow in Wellington. A golf-ball sized lump on the end of Taylor’s forearm hid a fracture to his ulna, and he will only bat again if the situation is dire for New Zealand – perhaps not even then.Despite Taylor’s injury though, New Zealand had laid the foundations for a competitive reply. At 219 for 3 (effectively 4, with Taylor having retired hurt), eclipsing the follow-on target seemed a foregone conclusion. South Africa had stuck rigidly with a plan to bowl back-of-a-length and, at times, New Zealand seemed to be handling it. Williamson and Brownlie both pulled powerfully when the lifters didn’t quite get head-high, and they had little trouble swaying away or ducking under the rest.South Africa’s perseverance eventually paid off though, and it made plain once again the definitive trait of the series: New Zealand have fought hard to get themselves in good positions, but South Africa have been the more patient side – sticking to their modes of attack until New Zealand make the errors and gift it all away.The pull shot had been productive for Brownlie, but ended his promising 59-run stand with Williamson when he top-edged a Philander short ball to Dale Steyn at fine leg. Williamson rebuilt momentarily alongside Vettori, but was undone by another short one – this time from Steyn himself, who moved it slightly away to take Williamson’s edge. Vettori was the exception, hitting a full delivery to gully, but Doug Bracewell resumed the pattern, deflecting a short ball onto his stumps for nought. Kruger van Wyk top-edged another pull before Mark Gillespie’s edges saved New Zealand the ignominy of following on. Even he fell to a short ball. After having seemed so comfortable, six New Zealand wickets had fallen for 56 and three in a heap with the score on 263.New Zealand’s woes might have been even greater, had they not been given five reprieves earlier in the day. Martin Guptill provided the early substance to the reply with his first 50 of the series, but he had been given three lives.Steyn and Morkel put New Zealand’s overnight pair through a harrowing interrogation first up, testing technique and temperament with searing pace and movement through the air. Steyn drew several plays and misses with a series of outswingers to Martin Guptill, failing only to extract first blood. It was a surprise no batsman was bleeding at the other end either, where Morkel fired in bouncers at close to 150 kph.Guptill and Daniel Flynn were intimidated into caution, having steadily introduced aggression into their play the previous evening, and though the pair applied themselves in periods, only luck prevented their early demise. Twice Guptill was dropped in the gully, Steyn fuming as JP Duminy spilt both chances diving to his left, while Flynn was hounded by Morkel – an inside edge flying whiskers wide of off stump amid a bruising chain of bouncers.Flynn eventually lost his wicket to Philander, before Guptill got his third life on the fence where deep square leg had wandered too far infield to intercept his pull. Brendon McCullum also got a chance, Duminy spilling another catch off a now-furious Steyn, before he departed attempting to pull – he managed only to give the keeper a straightforward take.South Africa’s reply was predictably belligerent. Petersen hammered two fours off the first over of the innings, and the pace rarely relented thereafter. Twos were run hard to the outfield, and though acting-captain McCullum retained the slips in the opening overs, more defensive fields were set towards the close. Smith waltzed down the pitch to slam Gillespie into the crowd to bring up the team’s 50, and soon no less than seven men patrolled the fence for the hosts. The cut-off time for the evening came before the full quota of overs had been bowled, ending a day that again promised much for New Zealand in periods, but ultimately left them in a tangle thanks to one burst of poor cricket.

Essex have applied for the right to become tenants of the Olympic Stadium after London 2012. The club, based in Chelmsford, have made a joint bid with the University of East London.

George Dobell30-Mar-2012Essex have applied for the right to become tenants of the Olympic Stadium after London 2012. The club, based in Chelmsford, have made a joint bid with the University of East London to use what will become a 60,000 seater venue after the games.While the club would rarely utilise the venue for first-class games – it is most unlikely a division two championship clash with Derbyshire would attract 60,000 – Essex do have an excellent record of generating T20 audiences and regularly sell-out their Chelmsford ground, which has a capacity of 6,500. The Olympic Stadium’s situation in heavily populated east London therefore makes it an attractive proposition.A statement from Essex read: “We can confirm that the University of East London and Essex County Cricket Club have jointly put in a bid to the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) to utilise space in the Olympic Stadium.”We cannot provide any further detail at this stage, as we are bound by a legal confidentiality agreement. We see this as a fantastic opportunity and are committed to supporting the achievement of the best possible outcomes from the legacy operation of the Olympic Stadium.”Essex have confirmed, however, that they have no intentions of moving from their home at the Ford County Ground in Chelmsford.”It is very important we make it clear to people that we have no intention of moving from Chelmsford,” Essex’s chief executive, David East told ESPNcricinfo. “This is our home and we are actively pursuing the redevelopment of the ground.”We also have a responsibility to develop the game in east London. We look after five boroughs – including Newham, the location of the stadium – and we have coaching and scouting programmes in place there already. Strategically this would be a very good move for us.”West Ham United were awarded the stadium in a partnership with Newham Council in October, but the deal collapsed after complaints from rival football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient.As a result, OPLC decided the venue would remain in public ownership and retain its athletic capabilities. They subsequently opened a new bidding process to find a tenant – or tenants – which closed on March 23. It is understood that there were four bids.West Ham, should they win the bid, are not thought to be hostile to any application from Essex to use the stadium for a limited number of cricket fixtures.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals in Bangalore

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria14-Apr-2012

Match facts

Sunday, April 15, Bangalore
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Johan Botha will need to lead the young spinners to counter the Royal Challengers batsmen•Associated Press

Big picture

Both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals have lost two consecutive games. In their last outing, Royal Challengers suffered a freak loss at the hands of Albie Morkel in Chennai, while Royals failed to put enough runs in Kolkata. For both teams, their last defeats have come in away games* and therefore, Royal Challengers playing in Bangalore would hold an edge.The venue is not the only difference between the teams. Royal Challengers have a far more potent line up of international players – Indian and foreign. Compare that to Royals and they have Ankeet Chavan, Ashok Menaria, Amit Singh and Shreevats Goswami to challenge Daniel Vettori, Saurabh Tiwary, Zaheer Khan and Virat Kohli. Man to man, there is a massive gap in experience. However, the Royals have fought hard, even in their losses and at the helm, they have a relaxed Rahul Dravid who has been a part of a number of upset wins in his career.In the last game played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Muttiah Muralitharan and Vettori derailed Delhi Daredevils’ chase with incisive spells. Royals have used a combination of spinners in their last two games. They might want to keep it that way and not allow any pace to Royal Challengers’ ensemble of stroke makers. For the home side, Tillakaratne Dilshan will struggle to find a place in the eleven.

Players to watch

Virat Kohli had a forgettable outing in his last game but he still managed to score 57 runs, not fluent, but still important runs. He is known to be a fierce competitor and he would quickly want to acquit himself from the ignominy of bowling that 28-run over.If Johan Botha opens the bowling, which he often does, his duel with Chris Gayle could decide the rest of the game. He has bowled with control in the four games, but has managed to pick up only two wickets. Just one big wicket here and his captain wouldn’t complain.

2011 head-to-head

Last year, Royal Challengers demolished the Royals in Jaipur by nine wickets, courtesy of a 44-ball 76 from Gayle. The other match in Bangalore was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Stats and trivia

• Johan Botha has bowled 13 balls to Chris Gayle in IPL and has given away 21 runs. Four off them in overthrows and another four off a dropped catch.
• Cheteshwar Pujara has played six innings for Royal Challengers and has scored 51 runs.
• Royal challengers have played Royals seven times and hold a 4-3 advantage.
  

  Quotes

  ” We had about 40 runs [in last two overs]. We thought even if they get 20 runs off Virat, they will have 20 runs to get. Unfortunately that over went for 29 runs (sic. 28), so they had about 15 runs to get [off the last over].”

  “We are trying to make them [young Indian bowlers] learn as quickly as possible. We have not been outclassed at all. Credit to youngsters who are fighting hard. We just hope to come over the line soon”
  April 14: 13:40 GMT The article earlier stated that RCB won their home game. This has been corrected.

Tom Westley fell to the last ball of the day as Essex stumbled in their pursuit of Leicestershire’s first-innings 372

17-May-2012
ScorecardLate wickets by Nathan Buck and Wayne White put Leicestershire in the driving seat at the end of the second day of their Division Two clash with Essex at Grace Road. Buck had Adam Wheater caught behind and White trapped Tom Westley lbw for 81 with the last ball of the day, to leave Essex on 239 for 5 – still 133 behind the home side’s first innings total of 372.Westley and Mark Pettini (57) looked to have given Essex the edge with a third-wicket stand of 133 until the two late dismissals turned things in Leicestershire’s favour again.
David Masters completed a six-wicket haul at the start of the day as Leicestershire suffered a late order collapse. The hosts would have been disappointed to miss out on maximum batting points having resumed on 323 for 5, losing their last five wickets for 21 runs in eight overs.Masters, who left Leicestershire to join Essex five years ago, finished with 6 for 82, the fifth time in 11 games against Leicestershire he has taken five wickets – last season he claimed a career best eight for 10 against them at Southend.The 34-year-old seamer, who had picked up four of the five wickets to fall on the first day, collected two more as Leicestershire’s innings folded rapidly following a 20-minute stoppage for a rain shower. White, having reached 50 off 104 balls, edged Charl Willoughby to slip before Masters dismissed Ned Eckersley with a catch behind, then bowled Matthew Hoggard to bring the innings to an end.On the slow-paced pitch, Billy Godleman and Alviro Petersen gave Essex their best start so far this season. They put on 54 in 17 overs until Hoggard struck twice in successive overs, trapping both openers leg before wicket.Westley and Pettini put the brake on Leicestershire’s progress with a gritty partnership, although both survived difficult chances. Will Jefferson just got his fingertips to an edge from Pettini and Westley was put down by Ramnaresh Sarwan at slip on 31.White finally broke through Pettini’s defence to flatten his off-stump and end a stand of 135 in 42 overs, then Buck had Adam Wheater caught behind, before White snapped up the vital wicket of Westley – who hit 12 fours in his 172-ball innings.

Billy Doctrove has announced his retirement from umpiring in international cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2012Billy Doctrove, a member of the ICC’s Elite panel of umpires, has announced his retirement from international cricket. Doctrove, who served as an international umpire for 14 years, will not be seeking a renewal of his contract after it expires at the end of this month.Doctrove was due to officiate in the ODI and Test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan but had to withdraw and return home to Dominica due to a family bereavement. The second Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Hamilton in March this year was his last international assignment.”After much consideration I have informed the selectors of my decision to retire,” Doctrove said. “It has been an incredible 14 years for me as an international umpire and I have enjoyed every moment of it.”It has been a dream journey and to supervise international matches which were played by many great players at iconic venues.”I am also honoured and privileged to have been part of the transformation process in cricket with the introduction of technology which is now considered as an integral component of international cricket and the introduction of the revolutionary twenty20 format which has taken cricket to a completely new level.”Doctrove made his international umpiring debut in 1998, in an ODI between West Indies and England in St Vincent, and stood in his first Test two years later when West Indies took on Pakistan in Antigua. He went on to stand in 38 Tests, 112 ODIs and 17 T20 internationals, including the final of the ICC World Twenty20 between England and Australia in Barbados in 2010. He became part of the ICC’s International Panel of Umpires in 2004 and was promoted to the Elite Panel in 2006.”It was a highlight to umpire in the ICC World Twenty20 final in Barbados,” he said. “That was a special and an unforgettable occasion. I am extremely thankful to my family and friends worldwide, for their support and encouragement that they afforded to me during my career.”I would also like to thank the WICB and the ICC for the many opportunities they provided me to serve this wonderful game.”Doctrove umpired in the controversial Oval Test of 2006 between England and Pakistan. His on-field partner then was Darrell Hair, who was at the centre of the controversy. Accusations of ball-tampering prompted the Pakistan team to refuse to take the field after tea on the fourth day and England were declared victors – the result was changed to a draw in 2008 before being reversed again to an England win in 2009.Doctrove was also Dominica’s first FIFA referee and between 1995 and 1997 he officiated in a number of internationals in the Caribbean, including a World Cup qualifier between Guyana and Grenada in 1996. He quit football in 1997.Vince van der Bijl, the ICC umpires and referees manager, said: “Billy has been an excellent servant of the game and we thank him on behalf of the entire cricket fraternity for his outstanding contribution as an international umpire for 14 years.”To have remained as one of the game’s top officials for that length of time has required Billy to be self-motivated, confident and well respected.”Billy is a very special man, with strong values, firm beliefs yet with an underlying gentleness and humour, and a great family man – a wonderful blend.”

PM Rungta, a former BCCI president and head of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, has died at the age of 84 at his residence in Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2012PM Rungta, a former BCCI president and head of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, has died at the age of 84 at his residence in Mumbai. Rungta had been ill for a while and had been recently operated on. He had served as BCCI president from 1972-73 to 1974-75.”Mr. Rungta was an individual who lived and breathed cricket,” N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said. “He served the BCCI with distinction as its president, and was an invaluable guide in later years. He will always be missed.”Rungta, who was nickname was “Bhaiji” (big brother), was “crazy for cricket”, according to former India captain Ajit Wadekar, whose career overlapped with Rungta’s time as board president. Wadekar said Rungta was very accessible to the players while he was playing. “We could approach him directly and not have to go through the proper channels,” Wadekar said. “He would take decisions on his own.”Back then the board was not the financial powerhouse it is now, and the players often had to rely on the largesse of individual board members for uniforms and equipment. “He [Rungta] used to spend from his own pocket quite a lot – clothing and other things like caps and ties,” Wadekar said. Rungta also used to host a farewell party for the players at his house in Mumbai before every overseas tour.Rungta was also on the BCCI’s disciplinary committee that banned six players, including Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri, for a year for playing friendly matches in the United States and Canada after a poor tour of the West Indies in 1989. That decision led to the players challenging the board in court for the first time, a battle they ultimately won. After facing criticism from all quarters, including the Supreme Court, the board relented and withdrew the ban.Rungta’s brother, Kishan, is a former first-class cricketer and chairman of the national selection panel, while his son Kishore is a former treasurer of the BCCI.