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Groundsman Mohammad Russell has filed a general diary with Rajpara police station in Rajshahi against Mahmood Jamal, the Rajshahi official who had allegedly assaulted him. According to acting officer-in-charge Raihan, Russell mentioned in the GD that Jamal had threatened him before kicking him out of the stadium on the first day of the Rajshahi-Barisal NCL match.The GD is a recording of a major incident within the jurisdiction of a police station and was filed at around 3:00pm in the afternoon. An investigating officer has been put in charge to file a report on the incident, which sparked outrage within the cricket fraternity in Bangladesh. Jamal, a former BCB director, denied the incident while the board has summoned Russell to Dhaka for his security.Akram Khan, the board’s tournament committee chairman, said that the NCL’s final-round match has been taken away from the Rajshahi venue. He was informed formally by the board’s security head and confirmed of the GD being filed.”The sixth round of the NCL will not be played in Rajshahi,” Akram told TV channel . “We will definitely take a decision after discussing the matter with the board president after he returns to the country. Cricket is not just about a player or an official. It has reached a stage where the wicket is a huge factor so we cannot misbehave with the groundstaff who make a contribution every day. I feel that they are a part of cricket’s progress and saving them is the board’s responsibility. We must give them security.”Our security head sent me an email regarding the incident and we have also registered a general diary against him. We want to decide on this in the next board meeting. This is not a good practice. Bangladesh cricket has reached a stage where such things shouldn’t happen. The match referee is in charge of the game while there are umpires too.”Akram said that since Jamal’s complaint against Russell was about water being sprayed on the pitch, the claim should have been referred to the match referee rather than allegedly assaulting the worker. He said that the board’s past record of stern discipline will serve as a precedent for this incident.”If the wicket wasn’t good enough, the start of the match would have definitely been delayed. The match started on time. One team made a score of 300-plus. One can blame the wicket but he should have talked to the match referee and umpires. But he cannot physically abuse a groundstaff. We have taken disciplinary actions in the past so I am sure we will take another strong decision on this matter.”

Kerala and Tamil Nadu picked up three points each in their South ZoneUnder-14 Tournament match at the Municipal Stadium, Tellicherry onFriday after the third day was washed off without a ball being bowled.Kerala, batting first, fizzled out for 144 in 87.5 overs. RI HariKumar top scored with 40 and RN Suraj chipped in with a patient 34.Guru Kedarnath bagged four wickets for 30 runs.In reply, Tamil Nadu openers did well to put up an unbeatenpartnership of 56 runs off 17.1 overs before play was interupted byrain. H Gopinath (32) and K Srikkanth (17) were at the crease at closeof play. The match was affected by the wet conditions and the postlunch session was called off on the second day due to wet conditions.The match thus ended in a tame draw.

Somerset Sabres entertain Gloucestershire Gladiators in the Norwich Union National League at The County Ground tomorrow.Somerset Coach Kevin Shine is only too well aware of the importance of the match for his side after they lost disappointingly against Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Trent Bridge last weekend.”This is a big game for us, a local derby in front of a large crowd, and it’s on Sky television,” the coach told me on Saturday morning.The last time the two sides met in a one day match was at Taunton on May Day Bank Holiday Monday, when Somerset were the victors. On that occasion Gloucestershire were without Mark Alleyne and ‘Jack’ Russell, and their return to the team will no doubt add an edge to the fixture.”The squad will be the same as we had at March against Cambridge on Wednesday,” the coach said and went on. “It’s very likely that Jamie Grove, who bowled beautifully on Wednesday will retain his place and play on Sunday.”

The possibility of an innings victory over Jammu and Kashmirwas converted into a reality by Haryana’s bowlers today.After a dismal display last year Haryana came to life with arejuvenating outright trumph over Jammu and Kashmir in theopening encounter of the North Zone Ranji Trophy league at theMaharaja Aggarsain Stadium today. In the process they alsoavenged their defeat suffered at the hands of same opponentslast year at Jammu. On the third and penultimate day of thematch , Haryana registered a convincing victory over theirrivals with an innings margin.After facing the humiliation of follow-on, Jammu and Kashmirneeded another 282 runs to make Haryana bat again with ninewickets intact at draw of stumps yesterday. Today, Haryanabowlers spent a frustating first session as Jammu andKashmir’s overnight-unbeaten pair of batsmen ­ Raju Sharma (57in 227 minutes) and Kavaljit Singh offered resistance andregistered hundred run partnership for the second wicket in144 minutes off 223 balls.The partnership was terminated when leg-spinner Amit Mishraprovided the much needed breakthrough, but not before the pairhad added 140 runs. Kanwal scored 71 runs in 206 minutes off174 balls. He hit twelve fours. His dismissal cleared thedecks for Haryana’s outright victory. Jammu and Kashmir lostthe remaining wickets in quick succession. It was young leftarm spinner S Vidyut who was playing his first match forHaryana after migrating from Tamil Nadu who did the damage.Vidyut struck in a big way and bagged 6 wickets afterconceding only 24 runs in 21 overs. The Jammu and Kashmirinnings folded at 179 to give Haryana a victory by innings.Haryana managed to garner as many as 8 points whereas Jammuand Kashmir got no points from the match.

Central Zone comfortably beat East Zone by seven wickets in theCricInfo Rani Jhansi tournament at the SRMC ground in Chennaitoday. After knocking over East for just 93 in the 45th over, Centralcoasted home with their reply revolving around an unbeaten 40 (65balls) from keeper Arundhati Kirkire. She also effected threedismissals behind the sticks besides completing two run outs andsurely must be a cinch to be selected in the World Cupprobables. Bindeshwari Goyal’s spell of 3-11 had created the openingfor Central in the first place. And spare a thought for SabariMukherjee who took two stunning catches, off her own bowling, thatwould have done Jonty Rhodes proud.East won the toss and elected to bat with captain Pratima Chakrabortiand Neetu Singh opening the innings. Things began brightly for them asNeetu straight drove Varsha to the boundary in the second over of theday. The score had mounted steadily to 15 in the fifth over beforeCentral captain Leena Muley bowled Neetu with one that took the top ofoff stump as she played inside the line.Chandrabarti Paul arrived at the crease and immediately found the gapson either side of the wicket for a couple of twos. But in the verynext over, a dreadful mixup with Pratima saw her depart withoutfurther addition. Pratima played to point, both ran, both stopped, andthen continued on their way. Ranjana Gupta fired in a good throw tothe keeper, finding Chandrabarti short of her ground. With thefielders at mid on, mid off, covers and mid wicket on the edge of thecircle, Pratima and Kavita Roy were able to take singles to theseregions without discomfort.But disaster was lurking round the corner when Pratima pulled one tosquare leg, who was a little closer. Bindeshwari’s throw was too goodfor Kavita as the batswomen scrambled frantically for a run. Two ballslater, without any addition to the score, Pratima swept one into thehands of Bharati Verma at squareleg to make it 29/4 in the 12th over.Two new players, Geeta Samanta Ray and Rashmita Mohanty, were nowfacing a Central attack with their tails up.Both lived dangerously with Rashmita hitting the ball uppishly into nowoman’s land between square leg and midwicket and Geeta being droppedby Priyanka at mid on off Bindeshwari. Rahul Singh’s left arm tweakersdid the job for Central Zone, trapping Rashmita lbw on the backfootwhen she tried to pull one that was a bit too full for the stroke.The score was now 37/5 and in the next over (the 18th) it became 38/6as Geeta tamely drove a half volley straight back to the bowlerBindeshwari.Just seven runs came in the following nine overs, as Saswati Mukherjeeand Rumeli Dhar treated the bowling with utmost respect, and Centralbroke through again in the 27th over when left arm spinner PreetiDimri trapped Saswati leg before. The 50 mark came up in the 28th overand Rumeli then proceeded to beef up the score with some cleanstriking that fetched boundaries to long on and midwicket off Varsha.The promising 16-year-old medium pacer Jhulan Goswami was stumped offa wide from Varsha in the 35th over and the innings was finallyterminated with Ranjana Gupta’s first legal delivery, from whichSabari Chatterjee was also stumped. Rumeli had run out of partnersafter making a valiant 33 (82 balls). Six bowlers got amongst thewickets for Central Zone but Bindeshwari was far and away the best andher figures of 10-3-11-3 reflected it.Central openers Bharati Varma and Priyanka Sailey quickly took chargeand guided the score to 16 in the fourth over before an out of theworld catch by Sabari Chatterjee prematurely ended Bharati’sinnings. Bharati got a top edge as she tried to work Sabari away onthe onside and the bowler ran around the non striker who was in herway and dived full length to complete the catch. Umpire Sumathi Iyerhad to consult the square leg umpire before raising the finger.In the next over Jhulan Goswami surprised Priyanka with an off cutterthat went through her defences and disturbed the off stump. Centralwere in just a spot of bother at 22/2 but Chitra Bajpai and ArundhatiKirkire guided them out of the woods with a fluently compiled thirdwicket stand. Sabari had been taken off after her sixth over went for11, including three wides and a trademark Chitra heave over thefielder at midwicket for four.Arundhati was in even better nick and cut Jhulan to the square thirdman fence for her first boundary. Off break bowler Saswati Mukherjeefailed to latch on to a return catch that Arundhati offered in herfirst over but off the very next ball she made up for thatdisappointment by dislodging Chitra’s off bail when the latter triedto repeat the same shot.Ranjana Gupta, playing her first match of the tournament, joinedArundhati with the score at 66/3 and pottered around for a whilebefore Sabari took a second astonishing catch in almost similarfashion. Ranjana sliced a full toss in the air in the direction ofmid on and Sabari once more took the c&b at a 180 degree angle to theground. Rahul Singh arrived with 19 more needed and survived a loudappeal for a catch by the keeper as she swung across the line andmissed. But Arundhati was in full cry now and ensured that no moremishaps occurred on the way. Two boundaries off Saswati in the 30thover closed out Central’s second win in three matches.

Pubudu Dassanayake has stepped down as Nepal coach, reportedly citing personal reasons. His last assignment with the side will be the WCL Championship matches against Papua New Guinea in November 16 and 18 in the UAE.The contract that had been offered to Dassanayake last year expired on June 15, 2015. However, the World T20 Qualifier in July, followed by the World Cricket League Championship led the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) to extend his contract until January 15, 2016.”It’s unfortunate. I have received an email from the coach stating that he has submitted a resignation letter to the general secretary and will continue till the WCL in Dubai [sic Abu Dhabi],” Bhawana Ghimire, CEO of Cricket Association of Nepal, said.Dassanayake’s decision will bring an end to his four-year tenure as Nepal coach, the highlight of which was the side’s maiden World T20 appearance at the 2014 edition.His stint with Nepal, however, has not been controversy free, with the Cricket Association of Nepal facing numerous administrative issues of its own including an investigation into the activities of some of its members.In March 2014, CAN had said that Dassanayake would get a year’s extension. However, due to the board being under investigation, he was only given an additional three months, which ran out in June, after which he left the country. In August, Dassanayake returned to Nepal after being invited by the government and was reappointed in September.

Kevin Roberts has emerged as a prospective replacement for the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, after taking the lateral step of resigning from the board of directors to join the executive management team.A former New South Wales batsman, Roberts was one of three independent directors added to the CA board in late 2012 as part of sweeping governance reform, but he has now turned his attention to a full-time role as executive general manager one team, strategy and people, directly reportable to Sutherland.Roberts was chosen as the man to replace Alex Wyatt, a club cricket colleague of Sutherland’s who had an eventful 18-month term in the role. Wyatt had been touted as a potential successor for Sutherland, who last year moved from the contracted role he had held since 2001 to a rolling employment deal that allows both him and CA more flexibility to part ways at a time of mutual choosing.Instead, Wyatt has resigned to return his focus to renewable energy and emerging technology. It was in these areas that he made his name and career, working extensively in Asia before taking on the CA role in early 2014.Since finishing his time with the Blues, Roberts has developed a strong corporate footprint, spending time with Adidas in Europe and also being charged with salvaging the fortunes of the stricken outdoors brand Colorado in Australia.More recently, Roberts has shared his CA board responsibility with a role as chief executive of the Australian-based sports apparel firm 2XU. He will be joining the executive management team around the same time as another independent director, David Peever, replaces Wally Edwards as chairman of the board.”Kevin is an experienced business leader,” Sutherland said, “with an outstanding track record in achieving alignment, managing change and building values-based work forces with a sharp focus on growth and high performance, which aligns with Cricket Australia’s vision to be Australia’s Favourite Sport – A Sport For All Australians.”In addition to his most recent role at 2XU, Kevin spent a number of years with the Adidas Group in Germany, rising to the role of Global Senior Vice President. Either side of his tenure at Adidas, Kevin led business transformations at Colorado Group/Fusion Retail Brands and Canterbury International.”Kevin brings with him a strong cricket pedigree and deep relationships within the game at club, state and national level. Kevin played youth cricket for Australia and first-class cricket for NSW, in addition to managing a former commercial partner of CA and being a CA Director over the last three years.”I am very excited about Kevin’s appointment – it is an extremely important role for Australian cricket and I firmly believe that Kevin’s experience, capability and passion will complement and further support cricket’s leadership, particularly across CA’s Executive Team, Leadership Team and our State and Territory CEOs.”Wyatt, who had shown combustible tendencies in a selection of on-field confrontations as a cricketer in England and Australia, was responsible for a broad area of responsibility after taking a role designed to replace those of Marianne Roux (now self-employed) and Andrew Jones (Cricket NSW chief executive).His major contribution was to push forward a “one team” strategy for the whole of Australian cricket that will be part of Roberts’ remit, an approach that urges all states to work as closely as possible with CA and each other. However there was also the publicised step of looking to create a more competitive market for international matches, leading to headlines suggesting that the MCG was in danger of losing the Boxing Day Test – a claim stridently denied by CA at the time.”I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Alex for his tenure,” Sutherland said. “During his time with Australian cricket, Alex has played an important role leading a number of key projects, including our work with State and Territory Associations around a unified working concept, entitled One Team. That process has and continues to bring about important discussion and debate on how cricket will best deliver on its vision and strategy.”Sutherland’s long tenure has led to speculation about who his replacement might be, with Wyatt once touted as a potential successor due to his business verve and desire to be an agent of change. The team performance manager Pat Howard has been mentioned as a man capable of taking after Sutherland, while Ben Amarfio, the head of communications, digital and marketing, is also thought to have ambitions to lead CA.However Roberts’ decision to vacate his board post – a position he was due to give up in 2016 – leaves him ideally placed to press for the role should he choose to. Like Sutherland, he has first-class playing experience in addition to his strong business record. For all its changes over the past 15 years, CA and its directors still appreciate a cricket pedigree, as evidenced by the tenure of a former Test cricketer in Wally Edwards as chairman and the ascension of Peever, who once faced the likes of Craig McDermott and Carl Rackemann as an opening batsman in Brisbane club cricket.

Match facts

Thursday, October 8, 2015
Start time 1900 local (1330GMT)

Big picture

A show whose credits have already rolled has come to the biggest theatre in town and Eden Gardens could be forgiven for thinking it has received a raw deal. This is the only match the venue will host on South Africa’s marathon tour, and its result will have no impact on the series.The trophy is already in the visitors’ hands and the sting was taken out of the contest when crowd trouble in the form of a bottle-throwing incident interrupted the second match in Cuttack. By then, however, South Africa’s superiority was confirmed. They had skittled India out for their lowest T20 total at home and their second-lowest overall, and were well on their way to chasing down the target. At least, Kolkata can hope for a better performance from the home side.India have a lot of work to do before the World T20 but MS Dhoni does not seem to be panicking. He understands his batsmen need to take more responsibility and his bowlers need to show more initiative. They should need no more motivation than salvaging pride, especially as South Africa will be eyeing a clean sweep. Although it would be easy for South Africa to switch off, in search of a few days break ahead of the ODIs, the appeal of a whitewash against India in India does not only speak to a rise up the rankings but is also the perfect preparation ahead of the World T20. Expect them to come out fighting.

Form guide

(last five completed games, most recent first)
India LLLWL
South Africa WWLWW

In the spotlight

India’s middle-order has marshmallowed in both matches, first squandering a strong start in Dharamsala and then completely collapsing in Cuttack. In terms of reputation, they have names to produce better numbers and MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu are due a few more runs. The captain has looked uninspired so far and, given the impact he can have on his charges, if he ups his game, the rest may follow.They were supposed to be flummoxed by conditions but South Africa’s seamers have adapted well so far and will want to continue proving coach Russell Domingo – who said they would be the difference for the side – correct. Kagiso Rabada has managed to mix aggression with change of pace, Kyle Abbott has been accurate at the death and Albie Morkel’s return to the highest level after 18 months in Cuttack was promising. Can they produce an encore in Kolkata?

Team news

India have reasons to make changes and the most anticipated one could be Amit Mishra’s recall in place of either Axar Patel or Harbhajan Singh. Shikhar Dhawan’s dual failure at the top could result in a shuffling of the batting line-up or the inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane.India: (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Ambati Rayudu, 7 R Ashwin, 8 & 9 Axar Patel/Amit Mishra/Harbhajan Singh, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohit Sharma/S AravindWith the series already won, South Africa could consider giving an opportunity to legspinner Eddie Leie and perhaps uncapped batsman Khaya Zondo. They will also ponder reintroducing Quinton de Kock into international cricket perhaps to give Hashim Amla some time off on a long tour and think of bringing back Marchant de Lange to bowl at a venue he knows well.South Africa: (probable) 1 AB de Villiers (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 Khaya Zondo, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Albie Morkel, 8 Marchant de Lange/Kagiso Rabada, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10, 11 Imran Tahir/Eddie Leie

Pitch and conditions

Both Sourav Ganguly, who is now joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, and Eden Gardens’ groundsman Prabir Mukherjee have promised a batsman-friendly pitch, but, with India having conceded the series, a full house may not be on the cards. Still, at least 40,000 people could pile in to the iconic venue. Another hot, humid day is forecast with temperatures at 31 degrees, humidity over 80% and the possibility of some showers.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have won two of their last three T20 series, both in the subcontinent. They drew the other won against New Zealand at home and have not lost a T20 series since defeat to Australia last November.
• India’s total of 92 in their previous game is the lowest T20 total by a Test-playing nation this year. They have not won a bilateral T20 ‘series’ since their one-off victory over Australia in October 2013.
• R Ashwin has dismissed AB de Villiers five times in T20s, the most by any bowler. Two of those dismissals have come in this series.

Quotes

That’s what has been the quality of this team. They have stuck to the players they believe can win the game and that’s what we need to do as a team – reunite ourselves and give our best performance.

Kolkata Knight Riders have decided to send Sunil Narine for another test of his bowling action after match officials expressed “concerns” over “fair amount” of deliveries the offspinner bowled in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday in Visakhapatnam. If Narine is called a second time, he will be out of the IPL and hence the franchise wants to play it safe and not risk playing him in the upcoming matches without the test.It is understood that the franchise is trying hard to get an appointment at the Sri Ramachandra Arthroscopy and Sports Science Centre in Chennai, an ICC accredited testing centre. Narine will travel with former Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram, who is Knight Riders’ bowling consultant, and team analyst AR Srikkanth.This will be the second time Narine will be travelling to Chennai this month having already received a clearance from the BCCI’s sub-committee on suspect action days before the IPL started. The panel, comprising former India captain S Venkataraghavan, former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath and former international umpire AV Jayaprakash, had no issues with Narine’s remodelled action and gave him a clean chit. That was a re-test for Narine considering he got the clearance in two months having obtained the earlier one from the testing centre at the University of Loughborough on March 10.According to an official privy to the matter, the on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Vineet Kulkarni reported to the match referee having doubts about a few deliveries Narine bowled against Sunrisers, who won the rain-affected match by 16 runs. Incidentally, Narine had gone wicketless, giving away 38 runs in his four overs.The official said “a fair number of deliveries, about four to five” were spotted by the umpires. He did not describe the type of deliveries but did confirm the faster one was one of them. It is understood that the BCCI told the franchise that the match officials were “concerned” about some deliveries.The news would have definitely come as a surprise for Narine and the franchise considering the BCCI panel had given him a positive report card earlier this month. As intriguing as the matter could be, the official pointed out that sometimes a bowler, if he is pushed into a corner, can fall back on old habits. Indirectly he said that Narine might have repeated some of the mistakes he made during the Champions League Twenty20 last year, when he was reported twice by the umpires and was consequently out of the tournament.According to the official he did not want to cast aspersions on Narine’s future in the tournament and only said the decision was his and Knight Riders’ to make. Although no Knight Riders official was available for comment, as a first step the defending champions have decided to not risk playing Narine without sending him for fresh testing. Knight Riders play Rajasthan Royals at home on Sunday and there is a strong possibility Narine will miss that match.

New Zealand wicket-keeper Robbie Hart admitted to a pang of regret when breaking a sequence of 85 unbroken matches for his Northern Districts side today, but it was only a momentary pang.As Northern Districts took on Otago at Carisbrook in the State Championship, Hart was with the New Zealand side preparing for his fourth Test match, his first at home, and on a ground he has many happy memories of, the Basin Reserve.Midway through last summer Hart would have been entitled to wonder if he would ever emulate his brother Matthew by playing for New Zealand. It seemed that Adam Parore would be a career-denying impediment to his advance.Then Parore said he had had enough and retired.Enter from stage left, and the plethora of contenders, Robbie Hart.While his introduction to Test cricket was at Lahore when Hurricane Shoaib Akhtar blew the New Zealanders to their worst Test loss, by an innings and 324 runs, happier days came in the West Indies.He scored 57 not out and 24 in the second innings in New Zealand’s historic 204-run win for their first Test win in the West Indies.Then as New Zealand attempted to stave off the prospect of the West Indies recovering to share the series, he batted for 142 minutes in the second innings to score 28 not out and help New Zealand draw the match.It was a heady start, but now the prospect of a home Test is a new delight.”It’s really exciting to play a home series, I’ve worked a lot of years to get the opportunity to do it.”I’ve always enjoyed it at the Basin. The atmosphere, this is a true Test ground and there’s been some good cricket occasions here over the years, some good tussles with Wellington,” he said.While there has been some movement in the quality of wicket-keepers starting to emerge, Hart has not been distracted.”I’ve just been totally focused on my own game. The minute you start looking over your shoulder it’s not a good mindset to be in. I want to give myself every chance to perform,” he said.The West Indies experience had been a good one because of what was achieved but also because of the lessons he took from the tour.It had been hard work mentally, yet exciting at the same time.He said the experience of playing at international level had resulted in him lifting the work he was putting into his game because that was what the experience did to you.Although New Zealand’s players have been hit hard by the weather, Hart admitted that his preparation for batting in the Test starting on Thursday in Wellington had been helped by having to face fast bowler Shane Bond on “an average pitch” at Rangiora.Hart said he had admired the Indian play for the last 10 years but he goes into the match confident New Zealand can compete with them in the two Test series.