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Steven Finn has been ruled out of the World T20 with a calf strain and Liam Plunkett named as his replacement.

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-20161:43

Injured Finn replaced by Plunkett

Steven Finn has been ruled out of the World T20 in India with a calf strain with Liam Plunkett named as his replacement.It is the latest blow for Finn who has suffered an injury-hit period. He was forced out of the tour of the UAE before Christmas with a stress injury to his left foot and left the tour of South Africa early with a side strain he picked up during the third Test in Johannesburg.”He was just warming up for a bowl a couple of days ago and felt his calf go ping,” Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket, told ESPNcricinfo. “He had the scan today and unfortunately we can’t take him. I’ve just spoken to him and he’s pretty low at the moment.”In between his injuries, Finn has developed into an automatic pick for England in all three formats, and the absence of his hostile method of attack on India’s wickets will be a major dent to England’s hopes of progressing deep into the tournament.He has endured a bittersweet period in the past six months, having fought back from being deemed “unselectable” during the 2013-14 Ashes to claim eight wickets on his return to Test cricket last summer. Against Australia at Edgbaston last July, he claimed a second-innings haul of 6 for 79 in his first outing for two years.”Really disappointed to have picked up another injury on my road to recovery,” Finn tweeted. “Gutted doesn’t describe it. Good luck to the guys out there!”Plunkett was considered unlucky not to make the original 15-man squad, having impressed in the T20 series against Pakistan in the UAE. He claimed three wickets in each of his two appearances in England’s 3-0 series win, including a decisive haul of 3 for 33 in a three-run win in the second match at Dubai.Plunkett will now form England’s pace options for the tournament alongside David Willey, Reece Topley, Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes.

Joe Burns, the Australian batsman who has been representing Leicestershire as an overseas player, is to return home early due to injury

George Dobell29-Jul-2013Joe Burns, the Australian batsman who has been representing Leicestershire as an overseas player, is to return home early due to injury.Burns, who has previously suffered a shin problem, will return to Australia to have treatment on a minor hip injury in the hope that he is fully fit to represent Brisbane Heat in the Champions League from mid-September.”Joe has a hip injury which has gradually got worse,” Leicestershire’s head coach Phil Whitticase told the . “He said he was up for selection for our last two T20 games, but he needs to get back to Queensland for their physio to look at the injury.”They have the Champions League coming up and Joe wants to be part of that. So we are happy to send him back – had the roles been reversed, then we would want our player back.”Burns, 23, has enjoyed only modest success. In five Championship matches, he reached 50 only once, failed to register a century and averaged 30.57. He averaged 28.15 in the FLt20 (at a strike rate of 129.60) and just 16.40 in five Yorkshire Bank 40 games.Leicestershire are not expected to replace Burns. They plan to have the West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan back from international duty for the final few weeks of the season and will use Burns’ absence to take a look at a few younger players.Jigar Naik, the offspinner, has also been ruled out for the rest of the season after dislocating his shoulder. Naik had an operation on the shoulder after sustaining the injury in the T20 victory over Nottinghamshire and his rehabilitation is expected to take four months.Leicestershire are currently bottom of the Division Two Championship table, having failed to win any of their first 10 games, and failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the FLt20.

Gautam Gambhir has said India need to improve their bowling in the last ten overs of an ODI if they want to win consistently

Abhishek Purohit at the Premadasa29-Jul-2012Gautam Gambhir has said India need to improve their bowling in the last ten overs of an ODI if they want to win consistently. India conceded 90 and 97 to Sri Lanka’s lower-middle order from overs 41 to 50 in the first and third games of this series, and needed the batsmen to provide buffer on both occasions. The one time the batsmen failed, India lost meekly in the second ODI.”We just didn’t bowl well in the last 10 overs,” Gambhir said after the five-wicket win in Colombo. “You can’t afford to give 95-odd runs in the last ten overs, when they have literally two new batsmen at the crease, Angelo [Mathews] and Jeevan Mendis. Sometimes when you give 60-70 that is still tolerable, but 95-[odd is] too many runs when the [batting] Powerplay is over.”At one stage we were thinking we can contain Sri Lanka to 250 and then chase it down, but there is a difference when you think to contain someone to 250 and then the opposition gets to 287 [286], that is a huge margin. If we want to be a quality side in the future and if we want to win consistently we just need to work on the last ten overs, the way our bowling is. We have given a lot of runs in the last 10 overs in the past as well. We will learn from our mistakes very soon.”While India had the cushion of 314 runs in the first ODI, today’s profligacy left their batsmen needing to achieve the highest successful chase ever against Sri Lanka at home, which they managed to in the last over. Gambhir led the way with a breezy century that kept India going despite the early departure of Virender Sehwag and slow thirties from Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. Gambhir said it was important that one of the top three batsmen batted long.”When you are chasing 280-odd it’s important that someone from the top three bats for 40 overs and tries and anchors the innings from one end, and then people can play around them. Luckily, and fortunately, it was me today [who did that]. [In the] first game Virat and Viru [Sehwag] did it and today it was my turn.”Mahela Jayawardene said Gambhir’s ability to build an innings was why Sri Lanka needed to dismiss him quickly. “The other day [second ODI] he held the innings together,” Jayawardene said. “He is one of those guys who we have to try and get early because he builds innings and bats long and bats big, so then it is easier for the other guys to bat around him, and he bats at a good pace as well.”Gambhir’s 102 set up the eighth win in 11 games for the chasing side at the Premadasa Stadium, which used to favour the team batting first before the pitch was relaid for the 2011 World Cup. Gambhir said that pitch got better when India batted. “It was a good wicket for 100 overs and there was no breeze, though it was very humid. There was a bit of dew [and] the ball started coming on better in the second innings.”The other major blemish in India’s performance was Rohit Sharma’s first-ball duck. On the eve of the match, Gambhir had stood by the out-of-form batsman and his stance remained the same after Rohit fell to a Lasith Malinga yorker. Rohit averages 15.60 this year from 10 innings, and has made 5, 0 and 0 so far in this series, while Manoj Tiwary continues to be benched despite scoring a match-winning century in his last ODI in December 2011.”If someone gets out first ball … if someone gets set and then gets out, then he needs to think about it,” Gambhir said. “Anyone can get out. I still believe, and whenever I say it I mean every word, that Rohit Sharma, according to me, is the best talent India has ever had. Let’s not talk about individuals, let’s not put the blame that Rohit is not doing well. When the team is doing well we need to support people who are not doing well.Gambhir pointed out Rohit’s Man-of-the-Series performances against West Indies at home and away last year. “There was a time against West Indies when neither Viru [Virender Sehwag] nor I were getting runs. It was Rohit who was single-handedly winning the games for us. Let’s not single out. Everyone should back him because I see him scoring a lot of runs in the future and he could be one of the great players of Indian cricket.”

Australia will play three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals when they tour Sri Lanka in August and September this year

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2011

Itinerary of Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka

• August 6: 1st T20, Pallekele

• August 8: 2nd T20, Pallekele

• August 10: First ODI, Pallekele

• August 14: 2nd ODI, Hambantota

• August 16: 3rd ODI, Hambantota

• August 20: 4th ODI, Colombo

• August 22: 5th ODI, Colombo

• August 31-September 4: 1st Test, Galle

• September 8-12: 2nd Test, Pallekele

• September 16-20: 3rd Test, Colombo

Australia will play three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals when they tour Sri Lanka in August and September this year, the Sri Lanka board has announced.While the established centres at Galle and the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, are set to host a Test each, Pallekele – situated just outside Kandy – has been awarded the second Test. Pallekele International Stadium, situated which was constructed in the build up to the World Cup, has hosted just one Test previously, when Sri Lanka took on West Indies in December 2010, but that game was badly affected by rain and ended without a single innings being completed.Pallekele will also host both T20 games and one ODI, while Sri Lanka’s other new stadium, Hambantota gets two ODIs. Hambantota was also built for the World Cup and hosted two games. However, the cost of constructing the stadiums left Sri Lanka Cricket in debt to the tune of $23 million, with the result that the board pledged the newly built stadiums plus the income from upcoming tours as collateral to raise funds to pay for the World Cup.

Warwickshire’s bowlers put in a solid shift in sweat and drive but could not do enough to undermine Yorkshire’s resolve, even on a pitch that never allowed a batsman to feel entirely comfortable

05-Jul-2010

ScorecardAn unbroken half-century partnership between Alistair Brown and Chris Read enabled title-chasing Nottinghamshire to gain the upper hand of their Championship duel against Essex at Chelmsford.By stumps they had put on 54 in 13 overs to carry their side to 126 for 5 in reply to an Essex total of 154 all out that represented something of a recovery after they had lost half their side for 45.Their problems began in the fourth over of the morning when John Maunders was needlessly run out attempting a single. Jaik Mickleburgh was bowled by Charlie Shreck soon afterwards before Andre Adams plunged the home side into further trouble when he removed Billy Godleman and Matt Walker in the same over.He did so by finding enough swing and lift to discover the edge and wicketkeeper Read did the rest. Paul Franks then got rid of Tom Westley, again with the help of the impressive Read who went on to claim six victims in an innings for the seventh time in his career.Tim Phillips did his best to keep the Essex innings afloat after entering the battle with the score on 69 for 6. His concentration and careful shot selection enabled him to gather a valuable unbeaten 46 that contained seven boundaries.His biggest support came from Maurice Chambers, the pair putting together a stand of 34 for the final wicket which represented the highest of the innings. Shreck and Franks finished with 3 for 40 and 3 for 20 respectively while Adams’ two successes came at a cost of 26.While Chambers performed doggedly with the bat, it was with the new ball that he made the biggest impact, his hostility and swing quickly putting Nottinghamshire on the back foot.
He struck in his opening over by getting rid of Bilal Shafayat with an lbw decision and then bowled Alex Hales.He later trapped Steve Mullaney leg before and so often did he pass the outside edge that he could consider himself unlucky not to have claimed further successes. The other two wickets to fall were picked up by left-arm spinner Phillips. Mark Wagh fell lbw while Samit Patel was caught at short leg by Godleman while pushing forward.Nottinghamshire found themselves in trouble at 72 for 5 before they gained the initiative through Brown and Read. Read completed a highly successful day’s work by reaching the close on 31 which included a straight driven six at the expense of Phillips.Brown will resume on 30 with Nottinghamshire seeking another 29 to move into a first-innings lead. An absorbing opening day finished with Chambers having claimed 3 for 49 and Phillips 2 for 17.

“England’s attacking cricket always gives you an opportunity to induce mistakes in them”

Danyal Rasool05-Oct-2024Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel echoed his coach Jason Gillespie’s comments about Pakistan’s game plan, saying his side were looking to use England’s aggressive tactics against them in their three-Test series. England’s reputation for playing high-risk, high-reward cricket under current coach Brendon McCullum means Pakistan are sniffing an opportunity to draw them into making mistakes, according to Shakeel.”England always play attacking cricket, and that always gives you an opportunity to induce mistakes in them, and to use their mistakes to stay in the game,” Shakeel said at a press conference in Multan.Shakeel, who was Pakistan’s second-highest scorer during their series against England in 2022, said Pakistan would draw inspiration from that tour, despite England ultimately beating the hosts 3-0. “The last series we played against England, there were times we were quite close to winning, such as Rawalpindi and Multan, but we couldn’t finish it off.”Related

• Jamal, Shaheen, Naseem return to Pakistan's XI for first Test against England

• Masood has 'no complaints regarding unity' in the Pakistan side

• The good news for Pakistan? England have problems. The bad news? Pakistan have bigger ones

• Ben Stokes out of first Test as recovery from hamstring injury continues

It was in Multan, where the first Test starts Monday, that Pakistan ran England closest last time, with Shakeel almost steering his side home. Needing 355 for victory in the fourth innings, Pakistan were securely placed at 290 with half the side still to bat, and Shakeel on 94. But two wickets from Mark Wood on the stroke of lunch ended Pakistan’s resistance, with England ultimately edging to a 26-run victory.The idea of exploiting England’s mistakes is not exactly novel. Most recently, Sri Lanka managed it with relative success in their three-Test series in England, winning the third Test after inducing England collapses in each innings. Pakistan’s ability to execute such a plan, though, is far from guaranteed, given recent struggles with both bat and ball, badly exposed by Bangladesh.Saud Shakeel finished as Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer when they last played England•AFP/Getty Images

“We’re struggling with the bat from time to time, and unable to convert starts into huge scores,” Shakeel said. “That’s a point of concern. The series that’s over is now in the past. Admittedly we didn’t play well there. Our focus is on what’s ahead.”But we don’t follow any particular style playing cricket, we play according to the requirement of any situation, which gives us flexibility.”Pakistan have been trying to carve out their own identity, something new head coach Gillespie has tried to nail down. In July, he told ESPNcricinfo he wanted his side to find a style of cricket “authentic to Pakistan”, admitting he didn’t yet know what that was.Earlier this week, he told the that Pakistan would look to “hang in there, keep being disciplined” and “strike at the right moments”, suggesting the quest for an identity is temporarily being shelved in the hunt for the results Pakistan have been starved of.”The strategy is often decided on the spot depending on how England play,” Shakeel said. “Reverse swing may also come into play depending on the weather and the pitch [that is] prepared. If a team is being aggressive, it can be easy to get sucked into their style of play and over-attack. If they’re attacking, and we just let them make their mistakes, that might work out better for us.”

They gave away 61 runs and took no wickets in the powerplay in conditions that were offering swing

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-20231:05

Bishop: Arshdeep will find his way again

Shikhar Dhawan, the Punjab Kings captain now left hoping for other results to go their way to make the playoffs of IPL 2023, rued the lack of execution from his bowlers as they were bested by Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala on Wednesday.In conditions that offered help for the quick bowlers, the Kings were unable to close out the powerplay properly. Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis were hit for seven fours and three sixes between the third and sixth overs. Capitals benefited from that period of profligacy, going from 11 for 0 to 61 for 0 in just 20 balls.”We didn’t bowl really well in the first six overs,” Dhawan said at the presentation. “We should’ve taken some wickets out there, the way the pitch was offering the swing.”Capitals posted 213 for 2 and won a tight game by 15 runs.Kings have had a particularly difficult time bowling in the first six overs this season. They have taken a mere 14 wickets in this phase of play – the second worst in the league behind Lucknow Super Giants – while also conceding 9.20 an over – again the second worst behind Kolkata Knight Riders.”Our bowlers didn’t pitch the ball up, whereas they should have been,” Dhawan said. “That was the plan. Unfortunately they couldn’t implement it. Whether we take wickets or not, that’s a different thing. But we should bowl in the right areas, which we have not been doing for quite a long time and that’s hurting us because in powerplay we are always giving 50-60 runs. And that’s fine but we should be taking wickets as well.”Dhawan’s concern over his quick bowlers’ performance forced him to take a big call at the death. He brought left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar into the attack in the 16th over and had him bowl the 18th and the 20th as well. This was a time when the Capitals had a well-set left-hander at the crease as well and with many of the balls spinning into him, Rilee Rossouw took full toll, especially in the final over, which yielded 23 runs and pushed Capitals’ total above 200.”Even my decision of bowling the spinner in the last over backfired,” Dhawan said. “I feel the momentum went there. Before that also, my fast bowler [Ellis] also got hit for 18 runs [in the 19th over]. Those two overs cost us the game.”Kings are only barely hanging on in the IPL. They have 12 points and a game in hand, which means they can get to a maximum of 14. But their rivals – Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians – are already on 14 points or more with a game in hand. And, Royal Challengers Bangalore have 12 points and two games in hand along with a healthy net run-rate. Dhawan’s men will need several results to go their way to make it to the final four.

They join the list of high-profile owners like Lancer Capital of Manchester United FC

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2022Capri Global, a non-banking financial company based in India, has bagged one of the six franchises in the UAE T20 league, which is scheduled to be launched later this year. The acquisition is Capri Global’s maiden entry into cricket and becomes the fourth franchise owner in the UAE T20 league, which is owned by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB).The other three firms that have already bought franchise rights comprise: Lancer Capital, the owners of Manchester United Football Club, Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, the owners of Mumbai Indians and GMR Group, co-owners of Delhi Capitals.Capri Global might not be a familiar name in cricket, but the company has been trying hard in recent years to get a toe-hold in the lucrative franchise cricket league, and even raised the fourth-highest bid last year for the two new IPL teams.”Our foray into sports franchising allows Capri Global to leverage on the passion that Indian audience has for cricket,” Rajesh Sharma, managing director of Capri Global, said in a media release on Wednesday.The owners of Kolkata Knight Riders as well as the Sydney Sixers, one of the teams in the BBL, are understood to be the two other parties to have expressed interest in owning the two other franchises in the UAE T20 League. The six-team league, comprising 34 matches, was originally meant to be played in the February-March bracket, but the ECB remains confident it will host the inaugural edition of the league in 2022.ESPNcricinfo understands that one probable window would be in June, immediately after the IPL which is scheduled to end on May 29.

The number of star names on show in the tournament has been a topic of debate but there was concern about stopping local talent

Daniel Brettig19-Oct-2020Big Bash clubs are set to be permitted a third overseas player in their XIs for the next two tournaments after the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) dropped their longstanding opposition to the move on the basis that it would take away a spot from a local cricketer.Amid an ugly dispute between Cricket Australia and Channel Seven over the value of the BBL’s broadcast rights, the likely change in overseas player regulations – as part of a series of tweaks to the MoU between CA and the ACA – is a late but welcome chance for clubs to improve the quality of their playing lists this year.The likelihood of expanded Australian squads being required for international matches this year due to Covid-19 “hub” restrictions has raised the prospect of weakening BBL playing ranks to a greater degree than usual. It is one of the central complaints from Seven to CA about the BBL after the free-to-air network paid in the region of A$40 million a season for the competition as part of its A$450 million component of the A$1.18 billion shared deal with Foxtel in 2018 to broadcast cricket in Australia for six years.The BBL figure represents almost 60% of Seven’s total deal, which also includes the rights to broadcast all Test matches played in Australia, and runs in contrast to CA’s strategic position where international cricket sits at the top of the pyramid in terms of player payments and other investments by the governing body. CA has in recent weeks also committed to helping to finance “marquee” deals worth more than six figures for overseas players outside existing BBL club salary caps.CA had hoped to hold its first player draft ahead of the 2020-21 season but that was shelved in August amid the complexities created by Covid-19Dawid Malan (Hobart Hurricanes), Alex Hales (Sydney Thunder), Liam Livingstone (Perth Scorchers), Tom Banton (Brisbane Heat) and Tom Curran (Sydney Sixers) are the overseas players to have been announced by their clubs so far either on new or existing deals. Three overseas slots per team would mean an additional 20 players join the BBL from beyond Australia’s borders.Such an influx would help to cover for the likelihood of players such as Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch, Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis missing large chunks of the BBL due to international commitments. Clubs are eager to sign up David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, a trio who have often missed the BBL in recent years, and may well end up doing so again should they want to rest in between international commitments and scheduled tours of New Zealand and South Africa in early 2021.One area of intrigue will be whether CA finally convinces the BCCI to allow some Indian players to take part in the BBL – the IPL has long been the only domestic T20 event to showcase Indian cricketers, whether they are core members of Virat Kohli’s national team or not.Overseas names, of both the established star variety such as AB de Villiers, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan and Dale Steyn and emerging talents such as Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan and Sandeep Lamichhane, have been vital to the growth of the BBL over its first nine seasons. But teams have always been limited to having only two overseas players at any one time in their 18-man squads, even though the rules were tweaked in 2019 to allow up to six overseas players to cycle through on shorter deals during a tournament.CA and the broadcasters have been eager to allow for another overseas playing spot, but the ACA’s opposition has remained until recently, when the change was again suggested amid negotiations for a range of provisional alterations to the MoU.In addition to the overseas players clause, the players’ association is also working with CA on plans to use some of this years’ untapped player payment pool cash to provide a range of additional support measures for players, particularly in the WBBL. These would include investment in hub facilities in Sydney, plus greater allowances for player access to their families and other means of mental health assistance during what is sure to be a trying summer.

News from around the counties in the 2019 Championship season

David Hopps27-Jun-2019Assumptions that Reece Topley’s cricketing career is over appear to be premature. There is at least a possibility that he will revive his professional career with Sussex in this summer’s Vitality Blast as he tries to pull off a remarkable recovery against the odds.Topley has suffered four stress fractures to his back in recent years (two separate breaks that then reoccurred) and has not bowled a ball in competitive cricket since last July but following brief periods training with the Melbourne Renegades and Middlesex, he has pitched up at Hove.”Reece has had some injury issues over the last 12 months and there was no guarantee that he’d ever play again,” said Sussex’s head coach, Jason Gillespie. “So we came to an arrangement whereby, with no pressure at all, he could come here, do some training and build his bowling back up.”We’ve got the gym and we’ve got medical support and we said that if he was in a position to play some cricket later in the summer then we would explore that possibility. It’s very early days, he’s just building himself up and he’s going to play a little bit of club cricket but if he’s fit and firing, we know what a fine bowler he is.”Topley is a free agent since leaving Hampshire after playing only 21 games in three years. Just to fulfil even a white-ball contract last season he had to inject a hormone in his stomach daily and once a month had an anaesthetic in his spine. But England Lions still took a look at him before he broke down and his 10 ODIs and six T20s for England are a reminder of his potential.Sussex have kept faith with another left-arm quick, Tymal Mills despite a back condition that restricts him to T20 only. Mills’ life was changed with a £1.4m IPL deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2017, but he went unsold in the subsequent seasons and had a disappointing Blast campaign in 2018, taking only seven wickets in nine matches.***Another player once billed as possessing England potential has an uncertain future, at 27. Less than three months ago, Adam Riley was talking optimistically about how the retirement of James Tredwell and flatter Division One surfaces might give his offspin more of an opportunity at Kent. But after taking only two expensive wickets in two Championship matches, he has left the county by mutual consent.Riley was mentioned in despatches in the general panic about English spin-bowling resources when Graeme Swann abruptly retired during the 2012-13 Ashes series. He broke through as Kent’s first-choice spinner in four-day cricket in 2014, taking 48 wickets in 15 County Championship appearances, and made his England Lions debut against South Africa A in Bloemfontein in February 2015.But England spin specialists tried to quicken his pace through the air and he was plagued by attempts to tweak his action.***Surrey’s Tasmanian head coach Michael di Venuto was flummoxed briefly at a members’ forum this week when he was asked whether Jason Roy should open for England in the Ashes. “Do you want the answer from me as Jason’s coach or from an Australian point of view?” he replied.That answer pretty much gave away his thoughts, but di Venuto proceeded to articulate them anyway. “If I was England, and I am certainly not, I think the captain [Joe Root] should put his hand up and bat at No 3 and Jason would be a very good No 4 in Test cricket,” he said.”I get where they are coming from – he is an exceptionally talented cricketer – but opening in Test cricket is extremely different to opening in one-day cricket. People make the comparison with David Warner, when Warner has been opening all his life. Jason is a middle-order player.”Di Venuto thinks England should heed what he described as “the Aaron Finch experiment.” Finch, who will return to Surrey for the Blast this season, underlined his quality as a white-ball opener on Tuesday with his World Cup hundred against England. But he averaged a modest 27.80 in five Tests going in first against Pakistan and India last winter.”The results could be the same,” Di Venuto warned. He would certainly be surprised if both Roy and Finch, whose World Cup form has also encouraged Ashes speculation, won the opportunity to open the innings when August comes around***This should have been the summer that Joe Clarke’s transfer to a big county helped him catch England’s eye ahead of the Ashes. Instead he has three ducks in his last four games and a top score of 29 in that time and Nottinghamshire are adrift at the foot of Division One without a Championship win for a year.The fallout is still evident after a court case in which Alex Hepburn, a former Worcestershire team-mate, was found guilty of oral rape and jailed for five years in April. Clarke was not on trial, and neither was another former Worcestershire batsman, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, but they were both named at Worcester Crown Court as fellow members of a WhatsApp messaging group which boasted about sexual conquests. The judge called the sexual contest “pathetic, sexist and foul”.Now the ECB has charged both Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore with bringing the game into disrepute, and England are in no rush to forgive.There is always a question about when it is appropriate for a sport’s governing body to play the role of moral arbiter. But sports stars are role models whether they want to be or not and the ego-centric environment of professional sport clearly needs an element of intervention. Few will chide the ECB for taking this particular matter further and for the players to understand that would be a further stage towards redemption.***Warwickshire will feel they deserve a good result against Essex next month after long hours spent finding a venue for the Championship fixture between the sides. Ironically, the outcome announced this week of switching home and away meetings was their first-choice solution when a clash of scheduling with the World Cup became apparent last year.Edgbaston will host a World Cup semi-final on July 11 and it is reserve venue for the final three days later, meaning the Essex game from July 13-16 must be staged elsewhere. Warwickshire were told initially that a swap with Essex was not possible and even asked about giving up reserve status for the final on the basis that it almost certainly won’t be needed.Eventually, they chose Worcester as an alternative home, only for the latest heavy flooding of New Road to leave the ground unfit. So, with no other plausible option, what might well be viewed the best solution will prevail after all: July 13-16 at Chelmsford, September 10-13 at Edgbaston. Assuming, that is, Chelmsford avoids fire, plague or pestilence over the next three weeks.Meanwhile, Surrey have reiterated their position to the ECB that The Oval should be used for part of the county’s 50-over competition next season, even though it is a venue for The Hundred in the same calendar block. “We will make sure we are not thrown out for the entire time period,” Richard Gould, the chief executive, said.