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Believe it or not, Steven Smith batted badly today, at least to start with.His first couple of overs were redolent of those passages in which, as he has described it, he forgets how to hold the bat. There was an edge short of the slips first ball, a couple of balls beating the bat, an inside edge past the stumps, and a dropped return catch by Jofra Archer when Smith bunted a full toss back towards the bowler who by the end of the day was still to dismiss him in a Test match.The fact that missed chance strolled on down the ground to the boundary, meaning Smith had still scored 10 runs from those ropey first two overs, rather suggested that this would be his day. He had, on day one, already proven that there were to be no after-effects from his Lord’s concussion and Headingley absence, save for a change in bouncer evasion technique against Archer and the successful adaptation to wearing a stem guard on the back of his helmet. In this he had plenty of help from Marnus Labuschagne, during a stand of 116 that gave Australia a foothold.But more needed to be done on day two, offering as it did far less likelihood of rain breaks, against an England bowling attack of uncertain stamina if they could be ground down. Smith, beyond his early jitters, returned to the combination of calm combat against each ball and exaggerated “eccentric stuff”, as he calls it, after. What he needed more than anything were batting partners, not something that he had been able to find in ready supply so far.Early in the day, the major obstacles for Australia’s left-handed batsmen were again on display, as Stuart Broad bent the ball fiendishly away from the bat after angling it in from around the wicket. Both Travis Head and Matthew Wade had plenty of now familiar difficulties against this angle of attack, and while they were there a wicket never seemed far away. Vitally, though, Head and Wade each hung around long enough for stands of 39 and 41, not much but enough to prevent England from generating the rush of wickets they needed.And even though Wade’s unsuccessful attempt to hammer Jack Leach into Stretford ended with a skied catch to Joe Root and much gnashing of teeth about his choice of shot – not least among those who may have preferred the retention of Usman Khawaja – his innings allowed Tim Paine to walk to the wicket facing spin and an old ball. In averaging little more than 12 for the series so far, Paine had made a point of spending extra time on his batting leading into this match, after the fashion of none other than Smith.On match eve he was the last man in the nets for Australia, working against left-arm spin throwdowns from the assistant coach Sridharan Sriram. They returned to the same spot bright and early the following morning, before the rest of the team had even arrived on the bus from central Manchester, trying to find the key to a better score than those of 5, 34, 23, 4, 11 and 0 he had managed over the first three Tests.What was soon clear, for both Paine and Smith, was that they had the opportunity to put the match more or less beyond England in terms of victory. The home side’s bowlers were looking increasingly sloppy, and fatigued, the fielders similar, while Ben Stokes was fighting not only a tired body but a sore bowling shoulder. As a result, their cricket was far from England’s most exacting this series, personified by how Archer’s speed and venom was demonstrably down, frustrated too by the fact that his short ball was being much better read by Smith.Here could also be seen the benefits Smith reaped from how the Australians had acquitted themselves without him at Headingley, putting 30-odd more overs into both Archer and Broad to contribute to an overall series ledger that always looked likely to favour Australia’s deeper battery of pace options. If the conditions at Lord’s had been more favourable for Archer against Smith, then so too had his preparation. By the time their battle was rejoined, Smith was facing a bowler experiencing the brutality of a long Test series for the first time in his life.It would not, of course, have been this bewitching series without a moment of sliding doors, leaving both sides pondering the consequences. They arrived when Paine was dropped by Jason Roy in the slips immediately after the interval, and again when Smith, having glided to a third century of the series before lunch, threw his hands at a Leach delivery that turned away nicely, drawing the edge straight to Stokes at slip.Steve Smith is embraced by Nathan Lyon as he leaves the field after being dismissed for 211•Getty Images

Stokes, already frustrated by how the day had gone, hurled the ball angrily into the ground by way of celebration; he soon had cause to repeat the act, only with a little more anger. When the umpires went upstairs to check, there was nothing of Leach’s front foot behind the crease either raised or grounded, allowing Smith the fortune of turning on his heels and walking back to re-mark his guard.That moment was both sapping for England and restorative for Paine and Smith, who took their stand to 145, the highest of the series, and underlined how Australia’s captain generally deals in key partnerships as opposed to large individual scores. When he finally fell for 57, first ball after tea, it was Paine’s 30th consecutive score of 50 or more in first-class matches that had not got as far as three figures. Annoying as that may be for him, his contribution was exactly what Smith had needed.All that remained was for Smith, equal parts quirk and command, to stride to the third Ashes double century of his career – only Sir Donald Bradman (eight) and Wally Hammond (four) have more. His grinding down of England’s bowlers, interspersed with the regular flourishes of 24 boundaries and two sixes, served to soften up the ground so effectively that Mitchell Starc was able to hammer a brisk half-century in the closing overs of Australia’s innings.Smith reckoned that Paine was at his best as a batsman when he was trying to score as much as survive.”We kept talking in the middle about building that partnership, just keep trying to put as many runs on the board as possible in that partnership,” Smith said.”I thought Tim played exceptionally well today. He came out with a really positive mind-set, put away the loose balls, defended the good balls, left the balls that he had to leave and was really disciplined. But he had that positive mind-set of really hitting the ball, and when Tim’s got that, that’s when he’s batting at his best. That was a good partnership.”And then Starcy as well came out and did the same. He hit the middle of the bat a lot, played some beautiful straight drives in the air and along the ground and that’s pleasing to see. We’ve seen how lower-order runs have been in big Ashes games. The fact that he’s been able to work on his batting during the three games he hasn’t played in so far, to come out and do that just shows a sign of someone who wants to get better and play their part for the team.”Save for Bradman, no-one can boast of more Test runs after 121 innings than Smith’s 6,678, a tally that for now has granted him the neat average of 64.64. His genius has been undimmed by the Lord’s blow, and perhaps even enhanced. His dealing with the Archer short ball has improved markedly, and he was able to find enormous reserves of concentration that if anything would have been refreshed by the time out of Leeds.What Smith needed most, however, were allies. And in this innings, much to Australia’s relief, he was able to find them. The Ashes, once again, look close to their keeping.

Wriddhiman Saha will play his first international match in 22 months after India captain Virat Kohli confirmed that young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was being dropped for the first Test of India’s home season.”Yes, Saha is fit and fine to go, and he’s going to start for us, this series, and his keeping credentials are there for everyone to see,” Kohli said at a press conference the day before the start of the first Test against South Africa, to be played in Visakhapatnam. “He’s played well for us whenever he’s got a chance, with the bat also, and it was unfortunate that he was out for such a long period because of an injury, and according to me he’s the best keeper in the world, so in these conditions, with what he’s done in the past, he starts for us.”

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Pant had stepped into the breach left by unfortunate injuries to Saha, which put him out for way longer than originally anticipated. Pant took the spot with centuries in England and in Australia, the only India wicketkeeper to have done so in either of the countries.However, Pant has come in for criticism in recent times for his shot selection in limited-overs cricket. India coach Ravi Shastri has called for a “rap on the knuckles”, and batting coach Vikram Rathour has spoken about the importance of being fearless without being careless. Captain Virat Kohli has also spoken of how youngsters wouldn’t get chance after chance in the highly competitive Indian sides.Pant’s limited-overs form, however, might not be the reason for his omission after all. With Kohli saying Saha was the best pure wicketkeeper in the world, and with Indian spinners difficult to keep to on Indian pitches, the door was left open for Saha, who turns 35 this October.Kohli said Saha didn’t make it to the XI in the West Indies because they wanted to give Pant a few more opportunities while they made sure Saha was absolutely ready.”We felt like Rishabh, given the opportunities, had done well, and although Saha was almost going to start [in the West Indies], we felt it was better to just let him ease back into things rather than just forcing him into starting immediately,” Kohli said about the selection in the West Indies. “We all felt that he’s just come back, and although he’s keeping well, he’s batting well, but it’s fair to give Rishabh a few more opportunities because of what he’s done in the past season for us.”But yeah, look, Saha was always going to be someone that we would back as a pure keeper in Test cricket, and he’s done well under pressure situations also in the past. So it was just about finding the right opportunity and moment to bring him back in, and you need to be wary of those things in a team environment where you understand when to bring a player back, and when to give another guy more opportunities. I think these are very delicate things, you can always look at it in hindsight, whether the timing was right or not, but just go with your gut feel, along with the management, and then you take a call and stand by your decision.”I feel now is the right time for Saha to come back in, get into his zone, and then we know what he can do with the gloves and with the bat as well under pressure situations.”Another comeback that was confirmed by Kohli in his pre-match press conference was that of R Ashwin, who is yet to play international cricket since he injured himself during the Adelaide Test win last December. He is not part of the limited-overs teams anymore, and was left out of the Tests in the West Indies where Ravindra Jadeja was India’s only spinner.”Yes, Ashwin will start. Ashwin and Jadeja, both will start here,” Kohli said. “Look, Jaddu, we felt, was in a better zone, as far as him performing overseas and what he’s done in the past season for the team, so yeah, from that point of view, he started in West Indies. But look, wherever the conditions provide us to go ahead with two spinners, obviously Ash is going to be a threat, and in home conditions, with his batting credentials, and the way he bowls as well, he’s always going to be starting with Jadeja, so that was a no-brainer for us. But backing Jadeja to play in West Indies, the reason was the kind of season he had, and the overseas performance that he’s put in in the past as well.”India XI for first Test: Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami

David Warner spent most of this year’s England tour trying to ignore the verbal bile constantly directed his way. So there was not only relief but also revelation in the experience of a loud, supportive Adelaide Oval crowd on Sunday, as the exhortations of 16,268 spectators helped lift him to a first ever Twenty20 international century on his 33rd birthday.There had been queries as to exactly how Warner could be received in his first home match since the Newlands ban. Unlike Steven Smith, his public reputation hadn’t been bolstered by match-winning turns during the Ashes series. But from the moment he took to the middle, Warner was given plenty of adulation to feed off, and admitted that he had almost forgotten what it was like to get the support at home, his first appearance in more than 18 months.”It’s always fantastic to get that. You sort of sit back and watch highlights of other people’s packages and stuff, you forget how much it actually drives you when you’re out there,” Warner said. “We love the people’s support and we love the Australian crowds coming out and supporting us and we always try and put on a show for them.”But I don’t think they actually realise how much impact it has on us players while we are out there. I remember when I was supporting the [Sydney] Roosters in the Grand Final this year. When you’ve got that support behind the team or when you’re supporting someone else, it’s a massive boost, the confidence for us and for the other people out there playing.””Emotions were great. Another year older. Another game for Australia and coming out here in front of an Adelaide crowd. There’s no better place to play you know. You’ve always got a fantastic wicket, the curators are absolutely fantastic here. It’s a batting paradise. I absolutely love it out here.”The most notable element of Warner’s innings was the fact that in a T20I career dating back to 2009, he had never bettered the 89 he coshed against South Africa at the MCG on his storied international debut. More than a decade later, he was able to scamper a last ball single to go to three figures, a milestone that afforded him some light-hearted banter from Glenn Maxwell at the change of innings.Getty Images

“You don’t even actually realise until you get it. It wasn’t even on my mind. You actually forget that you don’t have one,” Warner said. “Maxi reminded me and said ‘welcome to the club’ which is quite funny. It’s just one of those things to contribute, come out and play you free-flowing game from the start. Obviously the couple of balls where a little bit here and there. You don’t get to face too many deliveries back to back when someone’s going off.”For me it’s about keeping a calm head and making sure that I bide my time a little bit and try and pick the gaps as much as I can and run hard. [Last over] bat on ball and I was thinking obscure field so for me you know what you’re going to get. It’s going to wide and pretty much, I don’t lap or anything like that so whatever comes into my mind I try to get it out of my head.”It was in my head but you’ve got to try and pick your gaps. I think in Australia with those fields, you only have to hit the gap hard and it can beat the fielder and then you can run two. You’re always thinking at the start of the over about what do we need. Obviously we had plenty on the board so you’re just trying to hit gaps.”It wasn’t just Warner who enjoyed his place in the sun. Aaron Finch, Maxwell and Australia’s bowlers all responded with a combination of skill and flair that completely confounded a modest Sri Lanka, suggesting that if the Australians stay focused, they can set-up more pageants of adulation in Brisbane and Melbourne this week.”Very good from us. We all set out to come out and try be positive with the bat,” Warner said. “I think the way forward is exactly that, where we try and set the tone at the top and then Maxi coming in and doing what he does. For once the plan actually came off. Obviously starting well and then Maxi coming in and doing what he does. And yeah, someone batting through. That was all in all a great batting performance and obviously the bowlers finished it off there.”

Perth Scorchers have signed Chris Jordan, the England seamer, to complete their squad for this season’s Big Bash.Jordan, who was England’s standout bowler in their T20I series in New Zealand, has previously had stints at Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder, and joins compatriot Liam Livingstone in the squad. Both players will be available for the full season.”Playing in Perth can be quite hostile [as an opposition player],” Jordan said. “Obviously it’s a sea of orange and everyone is rooting for the Scorchers.”I know from experience when the opposition hit a boundary in the stadium there’s no noise, but when the Scorchers are up and about and doing well everyone’s backing them to the hills… I’m looking forward to having some of that on my side.”When the opportunity for Perth came up it was as pretty hard one to turn down, I know from playing against them how competitive they are, how successful they are so I’m really looking forward to joining such a great franchise.”Adam Voges said that Jordan provided an “all-round package” thanks to his brilliance in the field and lower-order hitting.”We’re really excited to have Chris on board,” he said. “He’s got great experience in T20 cricket and will do a terrific job with ball, particularly his skills at the death.”He also provides the all-round package with athleticism in the field and strong batting skills which will be great for the fans. Chris is very professional and will fit in well in the Scorchers set-up. I haven’t heard a bad word about him.”We have a dynamic squad that covers all bases really well, some fresh faces and fan favourites returning… it’s a squad that will be entertaining to watch.”The Scorchers will start the season without two of their fast bowlers, with Jason Behrendorff out for the season and Andrew Tye expected to miss most of the tournament with an elbow injury.

Bob Willis, the former England captain and fast bowler who will be forever synonymous with England’s 1981 Ashes victory, has died at the age of 70 after a short battle with cancer.Willis claimed 325 wickets in a 90-Test career that began on the Ashes tour in 1970-71, when he was called up as a 21-year-old as a late replacement for the injured Alan Ward and played a full role in a famous 2-0 series win.Nicknamed “Goose” for his unconventionally loose-limbed approach to the crease, Willis was capable of extreme hostility with the ball, making him England’s one true answer to the West Indian and Australian pace batteries that dominated the 1970s and early 1980s.His finest hour came at Headingley in 1981, when – in the wake of Ian Botham’s counter-attacking 149 not out – he tore into Australia’s second innings in a frenzied display, pounding down the hill from the Kirkstall Lane end to deliver an incredible 18-run win with figures of 8 for 43.Botham would go on to describe Willis as a “tremendous trier, a great team-man and an inspiration – the only world-class fast bowler in my time as an England player”.Willis went on to lead England on 18 occasions in Test cricket, including the 1982-83 Ashes tour, where England were defeated 2-1 though not before pulling off a remarkable three-run win in the fourth Test at Melbourne.Replacing Keith Fletcher in the wake of the 1981-82 tour of India and Sri Lanka, Willis inherited a weakened team, shorn of a number of key players including Graham Gooch and Geoff Boycott who had signed for that year’s rebel tour of South Africa. But he went on to claim nine wickets in his first match in charge, against India at Lord’s, and would lead the side through to the visit of West Indies in 1984.Willis retired after the first Test of that summer as England’s leading wicket-taker, and second in the world overall, behind Australia’s Dennis Lillee. His national tally was subsequently overhauled by his long-term team-mate Botham (383), and more recently James Anderson (575) and Stuart Broad (471).He also captained England at the 1983 World Cup, where England were defeated by India, the eventual winners, in the semi-final at Old Trafford. He claimed 80 wickets at 24.60 in 60 ODIs overall, and was a member of the team that lost the 1979 World Cup final against West Indies at Lord’s.The fact that Willis endured as long as he did made him something of a medical miracle, as he had to overcame surgery on both knees in 1975 before going on to claim 899 first-class wickets at 24.99 in 308 appearances, the majority of them in a 12-year career with Warwickshire.After retirement, Willis went on to forge a career in the media, and was most recently an acerbic and popular pundit on Sky Sports’ post-match show, The Verdict. His off-the-cuff criticisms of England’s players were frequently robust but delivered with an undertone of humour, such as in the wake of England’s 2015 Ashes victory, when Joe Root mimicked his style while wearing a mask in a live TV interview.Willis’ family said in a statement: “We are heartbroken to lose our beloved Bob, who was an incredible husband, father, brother and grandfather. He made a huge impact on everybody he knew and we will miss him terribly.”Tributes poured in in the wake of the news, with David Gower, Willis’s friend and former England team-mate, telling BBC Radio Five Live: “I toured with him as a captain and I took over the captaincy from him and then had him as what was called in those days as an assistant manager. He was a very loyal friend and a loyal supporter. Without going into too much unseemly detail, it was an era where you were allowed to have more fun than you are possibly today. Various tours Down Under were colourful, let’s put it that way.””Bob Willis was my first England captain and a legend of England cricket,” wrote the former England allrounder Derek Pringle, on Twitter. “Headingley 1981 was as much his triumph as Beefy Botham’s – RIP Big Bob…”The ECB, who last year named Willis in an all-time England XI, also paid tribute to “a legend of English cricket” and “a perceptive and respected voice at the microphone”, adding that “cricket has lost a dear friend”.He is survived by his wife Lauren, daughter Katie, brother David and sister Ann.

Jess Duffin, the senior Australia cricketer, will become the first elite women’s player to be covered under Cricket Australia’s new policy on parental leave after announcing news of her pregnancy to the cricket board.The update also means that Duffin will not be in contention for a spot in the Australia team for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup, starting February 2020.Although 30-year-old Duffin last represented Australia in 2015, she was named captain of the team of the season at the last WBBL after scoring 544 runs at an average of 68 for the Melbourne Renegades, making her a serious contender for a spot at the World Cup. Earlier this month, she had also turned down the opportunity to represent Australia A in their upcoming tour. “I found out when I was about four weeks (pregnant),” Duffin told . “I was pregnant through the whole Big Bash. When those conversations came up [in the media about Australia selection], I thought, ‘well everyone is going to laugh when they find out’. Cricket Australia were obviously stoked, and were like ‘we know now why you didn’t play the Australia A stuff’.”Under Cricket Australia’s new policy – developed in conjunction with the players’ association – Duffin will get a 12-month paid parental leave and have a confirmed contract for the next summer. Until she gives birth – in July 2020 – Duffin will also be able to take up non-playing roles within Cricket Australia’s system, and is eligible to return to playing whenever she is ready. Duffin is a double-sport athlete who also represents North Melbourne in the AFLW.

ScorecardEngland allrounder George Hill, playing his first game of the Under-19 World Cup, finished with figures of 4 for 12 to help England bowl Nigeria out for 58 in 27.5 overs in the final Group D game at Kimberley. England, for whom this was their first win of the tournament, won by eight wickets with opener Sam Young finishing the game off with a six, as England racing to 64 for 2 in just 11 overs.Nigeria had opted to bat first, but the England seamers reduced them to 19 for 3 early. A 23-run fourth-wicket then took Nigeria past the forties, but then offspinner Hamidullah Qadri, who also took four wickets, and medium-pacer Hill bowled them out soon after. Nigeria captain Sylvester Okpe top-scored with 16.Young was brisk in England’s pursuit of 59, crunching five fours and two sixes in his 33-ball 39, while Hil, who batted at No.4, was not out on 7 when the winning runs were hit. Both teams will move to the Plate League stage of the tournament, having failed to come in the top two of their group. West Indies topped the group, with Australia finishing second.
ScorecardFour days after being bowled out for 41 by India, Japan slumped to 43 all out in their final Group A match, against Sri Lanka. In a match reduced to 22 overs a side, Sri Lanka chose to bowl, and took just 18.3 overs to rattle through Japan’s line-up, and only 8.3 to complete their chase.None of the Japan batsmen got into double figures, their No. 4 Debashish Sahoo coming closest with 9. Four Sri Lanka bowlers – Dilshan Madushanka, Sudeera Thilakaratne, Ashian Daniel and Navod Paranavithana – took two wickets each, with the other two coming via run-outs.Paranavithana fell early in Sri Lanka’s chase, before Mohammad Shamaz and Ravindu Rasantha steered their side home with an unbroken partnership of 38. The result confirmed that New Zealand – whose match against Japan didn’t produce a result – joined India in the quarter-finals.
ScorecardZimbabwe beat Scotland to notch their first win of the Under-19 World Cup, with Tadiwanashe Marumani leading the way. The opener smashed 85 off just 55 balls, including 12 fours and 4 sixes, as Zimbabwe won by eight wickets in just 17.1 overs after keeping Scotland to 140 all out.Put in to bat, Scotland were in deep trouble at 42 for 5 with the top five all back in the hut, but a lower middle-order rally prevented a complete rout. Allrounder Kess Sajjad made 68 off 71 from No.7, and was the last wicket to fall. He shared a 66-run stand for the sixth wicket with Daniel Cairns (28), and did the bulk of the scoring all through his time at the crease.Sakhumuzi Ndlela, the right-arm medium pacer, had done the early damage, taking four of the first five wickets. He ended with figures of 4 for 27, while Dion Myers and Tadiwanashe Nyangani had a couple of wickets each.In the chase, Marumani made it a no-contest, playing the dominant role in a 121-run stand for the second wicket that came off just 14 overs. He was out with just two needed for victory, and Milton Shumba finished things off in style, hitting a six with the scores level.Neither of Zimbabwe or Scotland have finished in the top two of Group C though, and both will thus be progressing to the Plate League knockouts. From Group C, Bangladesh and Pakistan will progress to the quarter-finals, having finished on top of the group.

The injury suffered by Naseem Shah on March 5 during the PSL game between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi will see him miss the next week of games as doctors have advised him to rest for seven days. In the game, he walked off the ground after bowling two overs, and didn’t take the field again. It was later learnt that he had sprained his left ankle.The Quetta management informed the Pakistan Cricket Board about Shah’s situation and put him on rehabilitation with physiotherapist Nisar Khan. The management confirmed that his sprain is minor and not serious enough to ask for an immediate replacement. However, they named legspinner Zahid Mahmood as cover for Shah while he recuperates.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Pakistan national team’s management has raised concerns about Shah’s workload of playing back-to-back games in the PSL. Shah is an integral part of Pakistan’s plans for the World Test Championship, and the management had earlier urged the PCB, among other suggestions, to even monetarily compensate the teenager for the PSL games he was going to miss, to preserve him ahead of the national assignments. Late last year, Shah was pulled out of Pakistan’s Under-19 World Cup squad for the same reason.”We haven’t decided about any replacement yet because we are hopeful that he will recover before our game against Multan Sultans in Lahore [on March 11],” Azam Khan, Quetta manager told ESPNcricinfo.The bowling workloads of Shah, who turned 17 last month, have been the subject of scrutiny given how young he is – he has only played seven first-class matches outside of the four Tests. Over the last three months, he has made major strides in international cricket, holding records for the youngest to have taken a Test hat-trick and the youngest fast bowler to have taken a five-wicket haul.With all the success, injuries have continued to follow him too. After debuting in the first Test of the series in Australia last year, he missed the second Test, as a precaution after he complained of a knee niggle in the nets. Before he broke through, in 2018 he was sidelined for a large part of the season with a back injury, even forcing him to miss the PSL that year.After his spell against Bangladesh that brought him a hat-trick, he soon felt pain in his right rib cage and was taken to hospital for an MRI scan. There, however, he was cleared from any serious injury and was asked to rest ahead of the PSL. He went on to play five T20s for Quetta, taking only three wickets. If he does not play any further part in the tournament, his next major assignment will be the second Test against Bangladesh next month in Karachi.

In middle of a global lockdown, international and domestic West Indies players are facing another challenge with Cricket West Indies (CWI) not paying their match fees since January this year that would under normal circumstances have been due for payment at the end of February 2020. The main reason for the delay in payments has been understood to be a severe cash crunch CWI has been facing which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.The international men players have not been paid their match fee for the home series against Ireland in January (three ODIs and three T20Is) and the Sri Lanka tour in February-March (three ODIs and two T20Is). The international women are owed the match fees for the four matches they played in the T20 World Cup, played in February-March in Australia.However, the biggest losers are the domestic players, most of whom have not been paid a large percentage of their match fees for the 2020 West Indies Championship, the regional four-day competition. In March, CWI discontinued the competition after eight of the 10 rounds, declaring Barbados the winners of the Headley-Weekes Trophy (named after Caribbean greats George Headley and Everton Weekes).The regional players are contracted under two categories: one comprises a set of 90 players that are on monthly retainers with the six franchises. The six teams include Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Leeward Islands and Windward Islands. These contracted players are split across four categories: A, B, C and Development. Players in Category A get a monthly remuneration of US $2,666, those in Category B get $2,000, those in Category C earn $1500 and those in Development get $1,000.The second contracted category is the play-for-pay, where players are paid on per-match basis. All regional players, across both categories, are paid $1600 per match which is separate from all the allowances including per diem.According to Wayne Lewis, the secretary of the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), the contracted regional players have been paid their allowances salaries, but match fees for all the eight rounds of the domestic four-day competition are still outstanding. Those in play-for-pay category, though, have been paid the match fee for the first three rounds only.”The players who are contracted, their monthly salary (and allowances) are up-to-date,” Lewis told ESPNcricinfo. “The problem we are having is the retained players in the regional first-class competition have not been paid their match fees for the eight rounds that have been played so far.”According to Lewis, the West Indies women have received the prize money from the T20 World Cup, but not their match fees, which has also not been paid to the men’s white-ball squads. Lewis said WIPA was in touch with CWI to “ensure the money is paid as quickly as possible” to the players. Lewis also said that CWI had pointed out well in advance to WIPA about the cash crunch.Getty Images

CWI chief executive officer Johnny Grave had given the assurance that payments would be made in the near future. “Cricket West Indies is facing a tough time financially,” Grave told ESPNcricinfo. “Whilst all of our contracted players have received their salaries and allowances, and some players have received prize money and match fees, there is still money that is outstanding and we are trying to settle these player payments as a priority.”Confirming the delay in the payments, Grave explained the match fees accrued in January, for the Ireland series and the first three rounds of the four-day tournament, were meant to be paid by the end of the subsequent month (February). Similarly, payments for February (rounds three-six of the championship along with the Sri Lanka tour and the Women’s T20 World Cup) were due by end of March. And for the matches played in March (rounds seven and eight along with the Sri Lanka tour and the Women’s T20 World Cup) are only due by end of April.”We are two months behind making match fee payments,” Grave said. “I personally emailed all the players since end of the February when they would have been due (match fees). We have apologised to all the players and we are eternally grateful to their continued patience and support. We’ve been very open and honest as to why we can’t pay them and all the players know it is a priority for us to pay them as soon as we can.”Grave said the primary reason CWI was facing the cash crunch was the huge losses the board suffered while hosting Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2018. “When we hosted Sri Lanka and Bangladesh we made a US $22 million loss,” he said. “The media rights contract paid us less than a million dollars for those two tours.”That CWI was still able to clear dues for players for 2019 was only possible because of the England and India series at home last year. “That (the loss) was counter-balanced by having England and India in 2019 which led to record revenues. We almost cleared the balance of 2018 and 2019.”And now we are in unprecedented times with Covid-19 so people that are due to pay us money haven’t been able to. Unfortunately the knock-on effect means that we are struggling to meet our obligations to our players.”Lewis said the delay was nothing new, but he had “no doubt” that CWI would settle the player payments by end of June. “We have always worked amicably with CWI and they have settled all outstanding payments for last year (2019). It is this year’s payments they are having problems with. We are working to have all those payments done by June.”Grave was not sure when exactly CWI would be able to clear the dues, but he remained optimistic mainly because CWI was in the middle of negotiating a new broadcasting deal after the previous contract with Sony-Ten expired in late 2019. He also said that CWI was looking at ways to use the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua, a 16-acre site which Grave called an “asset”, to raise money.”I can assure you we are working all the time to try and bring a speedy end so that we can pay everyone accordingly.”

If the men’s Asia Cup goes ahead this year, it will likely take place in Sri Lanka. The hope is that the tournament will be played in September.Although it is technically Pakistan’s turn to host the Asia Cup this year, the PCB offered SLC to swap hosting years at an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting earlier this week, with SLC handing over hosting rights for the 2022 Asia Cup. With India-Pakistan relations being frosty at present, the PCB cannot feasibly host a tournament involving India. Additionally, Sri Lanka appears to have the Covid-19 pandemic under the most control out of the potential host nations.There is, however, substantial doubt if the tournament will go ahead as planned, largely due to the restrictions and logistical hurdles posed by the pandemic. Hosting a multi-team tournament would clearly require an exponentially greater level of medical arrangements, to say nothing of the travel restrictions that each team will face. At present, SLC has been trying desperately, but has been unable to even confirm bilateral home series against India and Bangladesh that had been slated for the middle of the year. An Asia Cup, which generally sees at least six teams competing, seems far off.Sri Lanka has not hosted an Asia Cup since 2010, but will relish the opportunity to showcase the country as a safe place to play, to a regional audience. The ACC’s executive council has not approved the swap of host nations yet, but is expected to confirm hosting plans before the end of the month.