CricketBriefly

Court sets July 25 date

new delhi: A court hearing the Indian Premier league (IPl) spot-fixing case on Monday set July 25 for framing charges in the matter. Additional Sessions Judge Neena Bansal Krishna deferred till July 25 the court order on finalising the charges in the case. The court also fixed July 13 for clarification if required in the matter.  Delhi Police on July 30, 2013, filed a charge sheet in the IPl spot-fixing case, alleging that absconding don Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel were behind the IPl spot-fixing scandal. The formal set of charges, running into 6,000 pages, named cricketers S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, among others, in the scandal related to the IPl-6 held in 2013.

Hafeez awaits India visa

karachi: Pakistan’s experienced all-rounder, Muhammad Hafeez is due to fly to Chennai on Tuesday for his bowling assessment test but is still awaiting a visa from the Indian authorities. A PCB source said that as per program Hafeez was due to be tested at the ICC accredited biomechanics laboratory in Chennai tomorrow and would return to Colombo the next day to be available for the third Test that begins on July 3. “But he has yet to get a visa from the Indian authorities. If it is delayed then we have already asked the International Cricket Council to extend the 14-days deadline for bowlers reported with illegal bowling actions to undergo a bowling assessment test at an ICC accredited centre,” he said. Under ICC laws he has to undergo a bowling assessment test within 14-days and can continue to bowl during this period which he did during the second test in Colombo which ended on Monday.

1st Night Test in Nov

melbourne: Australia and New Zealand will play the first ever day-night Test under lights with a pink ball in November at the Adelaide Oval, according to a report. The historic event on November 27 will be the third Test of a three-match series against the Black Caps on Australian soil this summer and will be the first to be played under lights and with a pink Kookaburra ball. The match headlines a six-Test summer schedule released by Cricket Australia today, with the series against New Zealand followed by three Tests against West Indies that includes the marquee Boxing Day and New Year's matches. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said the day-night Test puts fans first, with more spectators able to attend or watch on television.

Ganguly happy for Bhajji

kolkata: Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday hailed Harbhajan Singh’s comeback to the ODI team and said it’s a good opportunity for the veteran off-spinner to make a mark following his return to the 50-over format side after a gap of four years. “It’s a good comeback for Harbhajan. Hope he uses the opportunity to cement his place in the team,” Ganguly said about Harbhajan, who has represented the country in 102 Tests and 228 ODIs. On the back of a fine outing for champions Mumbai Indians in the IPl, Harbhajan had earlier returned to the Test fold for the one-off series in Bangladesh. The senior off-spinner is now back for limited-overs format for India’s ODI squad for the tour of  Zimbabwe.

‘Pak batsmen lack skills’

karachi: Former Pakistan player Muhammad Yousuf on Monday said the batsmen on the current Sri lankan tour are not technically sound and that was a major reason for their failure in the second Test."There is nothing wrong with getting out. Kumar Sangakkara also got dismissed in this series but when he played he looked class. Unfortunately I can't say the same about our batsmen the way they batted in both innings of the Test," Yousuf said. "Our players played very badly against the Sri lankan pace bowlers. Chamira was a bit fast and got a little movement and our batsmen were found wanting. Our batsmen generally have technical faults in their batting and that is why they are not so consistent," Yousuf said. Agencies