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Central Districts completed their presentation of New Zealand Cricket’s specially numbered Black Caps during last week’s international match against India.Those presented with their caps during the game were: Tom Lowry (accepted by his son Tom), Sir Jack Newman (accepted by his son-in-law Michael Moss), Murray Chapple (accepted by his grandson Peter Chapple), Harry Cave (accepted by his grand-daughter Caroline Cave) and Eric Fisher (accepted by his wife Alma and son Stephen).Mathew Sinclair, who is still playing was also presented with his cap.This leaves presentations to be still made to Jock Edwards, who was unable to attend, Bob Blair and the family of Noel Harford.Arrangements will be made at a future date for these players to be presented with their caps.

Former Northern Districts batsman Neal Parlane is the only newcomer named in the Wellington team to play Central Districts in their State Championship match starting at the Basin Reserve on Friday.The Championship-winning team two years ago has a formidable look to it, and with Central Districts at full-strength, a good test should be possible for the Basin Reserve pitch just out from the first Test.The State Wellington Firebirds team is: Matthew Bell (captain), Richard Jones, Neal Parlane, Stephen Fleming, Grant Donaldson, Chris Nevin, Matthew Walker, Mark Jefferson, Paul Hitchcock, Iain O’Brien, Andrew Penn, Mark Gillespie.

Two Barbadians at the centre of disciplinary action by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) were fined less than $600 each for misdemeanours on the West Indies "A" team’s summer tour of England and Canada.WICB president Wes Hall said yesterday the board ratified the decision of its disciplinary committee with regard to charges against Barbadians Sulieman Benn and Tino Best, and Nevisian Runako Morton, but would only issue a release after the players were informed.Investigations by the DAILY NATION, however, revealed that Benn and Best were fined 10 per cent of their tour fee, which amounted to US$291 (BDS$582). The fine must be paid in seven days.Best, one of the most exciting young fast bowlers in the region, is one of three Barbadians invited to a WICB fast bowlers’ clinic in Antigua, starting on December 9.Ryan Nurse and Fidel Edwards are the other Bajans who have been invited to the clinic, which will be conducted by former outstanding West Indies pacer Andy Roberts.There was increasing speculation yesterday that Best, 21, was also in serious contention for a place in the West Indies team for next month’s short tour of Bangladesh.Recently, Benn was involved in another disciplinary matter that led to the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) withdrawing him from its year-round national programme.The BCA subsequently arranged a course of professional counselling and mentoring which the young cricketer has agreed to participate in.Best and Benn appeared before the WICB disciplinary committee on October 8 after the board reviewed tour reports from team management.Manager Joel Garner spoke of a lack of discipline by some players.Morton also went before the WICB disciplinary committee to explain the circumstances that led to his early departure from the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka two months ago.He was permitted to leave the tournament after informing team management about the death of his grandmother; but information later emerged that one of his grandmothers died 16 years ago and the other lives in Antigua.

Western Australian cricket selectors today announced an Australian Cricket Board Cup Second XI with a distinct view to the state’s future.The team will be captained by experienced Western Warriors all-rounder Stuart Karppinen.With a clear indication of a youth policy within the Second XI round-robin interstate competition, the selectors have banked heavily on emerging young players from the Warriors squad.Australian Under-19 World Cup 2002 team winning team member Shaun Marsh has been named vice-captain.Subiaco-Floreat top order specialist Brett Jones replaces injured opener Scott Meuleman.The team, to play South Australia in a four-day match at Tompkins Park starting on Monday, is:Stuart Karppinen (Captain), Shaun Marsh (vice-captain), Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Geoff Cullen, Andrew James, Brett Jones, Luke Ronchi, Craig Simmons, Michael Thistle, Callum Thorp, and Adam Voges.The team will be coached by Western Warriors assistant-coach Noel Knight.

Newspaper reports from London and inputs from New Delhi suggest that top Indian cricketers and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have reached an agreement on the contract issue that has dogged the warm-up to the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.Speaking to CricInfo, Niranjan Shah, honorary secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said, “We have not received anything in writing from the players. Even if some agreement is reached, the players still have to sign the relevant contracts and give copies to the board.”It was earlier reported that the ICC and the players had reached a compromise agreement, wherein the following changes had been agreed on:1) The ICC would not have image rights to Indian cricketers. Previously, the ICC and its sponsors had the right to use footage and photographs of the Indian players for their campaigns for a period of six months.2) The Indian players will be allowed to advertise with rival sponsors shortly after the end of the ICC Champions Trophy. Under the earlier clause, cricketers could not advertise with rivals of the official sponsors of the ICC, for a period of 30 days before and after the tournament – and of course for the duration of the tournament. It is believed that this period has been reduced to a level acceptable to both parties in conflict and might actually work out to a figure of 17 days after the tournament.Shah further told CricInfo, “If the players have reached an agreement with the ICC, the Board is only too happy. It was good that the players could meet and sort things out. However, I must tell you that we have not got anything in writing from the players or the ICC so far on this matter.”A point of major concern to the board however, was its exposure to liability from various parties in case a fresh agreement is reached. “Let me make it very clear at this point itself. If the players reach any kind of agreement with the ICC and resolve the matter that is fine. But it must not cause any liability to the Board, now or on a future date,” added the secretary.It must be remembered that an ICC press release yesterday categorically denied that it was seeking any compensation from the Indian board in connection to this matter. The release goes on to say, “What has occurred today is that the BCCI sought a blanket indemnity from any damages claim that may be made in the future against it or the ICC in relation to the ICC Champions Trophy. It sought this undertaking from all other countries playing in the tournament. This request was considered by the countries and it was agreed that such an undertaking could not be given.”As it stands, there have been no claims for compensation from either the ICC or other countries. However, this does not guarantee that such claims may not arise in the future. With regard to this, the ICC says, “Should a claim emerge in the future, it would be a matter for that time to determine who, if anyone was at fault and the size, if any, of any compensation payout.”That might be the one clause that makes emphatic cries of a happy ending a bit premature. That said, this sticky issue has never been closer to amicable resolution. The Board secretary himself was confident, and concluded, “Hopefully, by the end of the day, we’ll be able to work things out and send our best team to the Champions Trophy.”

Australia will start the defence of their Men’s T20 World Cup title against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand at the SCG in a rematch of last year’s final, while India and Pakistan will face each other at the MCG in their opening fixtures.Those were among the standout contests in the fixtures’ list for the 2022 T20 World Cup, which was announced on Friday. The tournament begins on October 16, with Sri Lanka facing Namibia in Geelong in the first round before the Super 12s start on October 22 in Sydney. While Australia vs New Zealand is the opening game of the round, the India-Pakistan fixture will take place on October 23.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

On three days, during the Super 12s, there will be three games taking place. These are all Group 2 games, which has Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and two teams coming through from the first round of matches. The days in question are October 27, when two matches will be played in Sydney and one in Perth, then October 30, when two matches are scheduled to be held in Perth and one in Brisbane, and finally November 6, when Adelaide will host two matches and Melbourne one.The two semi-finals will be held in Sydney (November 9) and Adelaide (November 10) before the final at the MCG on November 13.In Group one of the Super 12s, Australia are alongside New Zealand, England, Afghanistan plus the winner of the Group A qualifiers and the runner-up in Group B.Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch said knowing the groups so far out does help with planning, but it doesn’t make it any easier as Australia looks to defend their title on home soil.”Our planning was ultra-detailed last time,” Finch said at the MCG on Friday. “Knowing what the groups look like eight, nine months out is really helpful because it can help your level of detail in that planning phase. It’s a tough group though. They’re both tough, and when you throw in qualifiers like West Indies, Sri Lanka, you’ve got to play really well to get out of the group stage.”Two global qualifiers will determine the final teams that will head to Australia. Matches will be played in Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.Australia won the title for the first time last November when they beat New Zealand by eight wickets in Dubai. Mitchell Marsh was Player of the Match for his unbeaten 77 off 50 balls.

Uncapped Fazle Mahmud has replaced Shakib Al Hasan in Bangladesh’s Test squad for the New Zealand tour after the star allrounder opted to skip the series.Mahmud, a left-handed top-order batter who also bowls left-arm spin occasionally, was the highest run-getter in Bangladesh’s first-class competition this season, making 603 runs at an average of 60.30. He made his ODI debut in October 2018, playing two games against Zimbabwe, but was out on zero in both matches.Shakib was initially named in the side, but he verbally informed the board of his reluctance to go to New Zealand where Bangladesh are scheduled to play two Tests in January. BCB president Nazmul Hassan approved his leave request once Shakib submitted a letter officially. However, Hassan added that the players would have to inform the board “officially” in order to seek leave.The New Zealand series will count towards the 2021-23 World Test Championship. The first Test is set to be played in Mount Maunganui from January 1 to 5, and the second in Christchurch from January 9 to 13. When Bangladesh toured New Zealand in 2021, the visitors lost all six matches – three ODIs and three T20Is. Their last Test tour was in 2019, which was abandoned midway, due to the Christchurch attack the day before the third Test.Meanwhile, Rangana Herath has rejoined the Bangladesh team as the spin bowling coach on a two-year contract. He was with the team from July to November this year for the T20 World Cup.Squad: Mominul Haque (capt), Shadman Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Fazle Mahmud, Liton Das (wk), Nurul Hasan (wk), Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Shohidul Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mohammad Naim

Defending champions Abahani Limited finished the first phase of the Dhaka Premier League with a loss, after Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club trounced them by four wickets at the BKSP-3 ground in Savar.Batting first, Abahani lost their in-form opener Liton Das in the second over before slipping to 50 for 4 by the 16th over. Allrounder Afif Hossain led the recovery with a swift 94. He also struck an 89-run fifth-wicket stand with Mohammad Mithun and a 46-run stand with Manan Sharma, helping Abahani finish with 246.Doleshwar cruised to a comfortable win, completing the chase with 2.5 overs to spare. Shahriar Nafees and Marshall Ayub added 89 runs for the third wicket before Jakir Ali took them close to the target. Marshall top scored with 83 while Nafees made 69.Brothers Union ended their 2016-17 Dhaka Premier League campaign on a winning note after their thrilling one-run win over Victoria Sporting Club at the BKSP-4 ground in Savar.With nine runs required off the final over, bowled by left-arm spinner Nihaduzzaman, the Victoria batsmen could only manage singles off the first four balls before Abu Sayem fell off the fifth ball. Moinul Islam could only muster two off the final ball.Uttam Sarkar scored 39 while Moinul top-scored with 41. Manvinder Bisla took three wickets while Iftekhar Sajjad took two wickets.Batting first, Brothers Union were bowled out for 235 in 49.1 overs. Bisla top-scored with 78 off 87 balls with three fours and three sixes. Victoria captain Monir Hossain Khan took five wickets.The loss confirmed Victoria, alongside Partex Sporting Club, will have to play in the relegation playoffs. The third team in the playoffs – either Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity or Kalabagan Krira Chakra – will be decided in the final round matches on Sunday.Legends of Rupganj kept themselves in hunt for a Super League place after their five-wicket win over Partex Sporting Club at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium.Batting first, Partex posted a competitive 272 for 9 in 50 overs. Jatin Saxena slammed five sixes and 11 fours in his 50-ball 91. Sajjad Hossain also struck 50 off 85 balls. Syed Rasel took four wickets while Mosharraf Hossain picked up three wickets.In reply, Rupganj lost two early wickets but Raza Ali Dar and Mahmudul Hasan added 182 runs for the third wicket. Raza was bowled for a run-a-ball 99, after having struck ten fours and a six. Mahmudul’s 70 came off 93 balls with three fours and a six before he retired hurt. Naeem Islam shepherded Rupganj to the target with four balls to spare.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
4:23

Agarkar: Disgraceful batting performance from RCB

One hundred and thirty-two runs. That’s all Royal Challengers Bangalore needed. A little over 13 runs per wicket, only 6.6 runs an over, with Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in their side. Against quality pace bowling led by the astute Gautam Gambhir, the most glittering batting line-up in Twenty20 cricket sensationally collapsed to 49 all out, the lowest score in the IPL and the 10th-lowest in all Twenty20 cricket. Not one man reached double figures. This was only the 10th time in the IPL that a total of 131 or under was defended successfully.At the halfway mark, Kolkata Knight Riders felt they were about 50 short of the par score, especially after the start Sunil Narine had given them: a 17-ball 34 in the fastest team fifty this IPL. They had collapsed from 65 for 1 to be bowled out only for the third time when batting first in IPL. That fall couldn’t hold a candle to Royal Challengers, though, who batted with their edges, starting with a golden duck for captain Kohli.Nathan Coulter-Nile began the slide with the wickets of Kohli, AB de Villiers and Kedar Jadhav in his first three overs, and then Chris Woakes and Colin de Grandhomme feasted on the carcass, taking three wickets each. With Umesh Yadav taking the other wicket, this was the fifth time all 10 wickets had fallen to pace in the IPL.Trini PosseAt the toss, Kohli said he expected the pitch to be a little tacky, and thus helpful to seam, after rain last night and a delayed start because of more rain. However, he opened with his trusted legspinner Samuel Badree, who has for long been one of the best T20 new-ball bowlers. Fellow Trinidadian, Narine, played him like a man who knows him inside out. Immediately he played him like a slow seam bowler angling the ball away from him as opposed to bringing it back in. 4, 4, 6, 4 in the first over, and Knight Riders had their most productive first over since 2013. Narine continuing punishing S Aravind, who had a decent Powerplay economy rate of 7.32, in the third over.Mills, Binny strikeThe Narine onslaught forced Kohli to bowl half of Tymal Mills’ quota in the first four overs. It also meant Kohli had to hold back his two other big bowlers, legspinners Badree and Yuzvendra Chahal. Mills responded, though, hitting Gambhir’s thumb on the way to Jadhav in the fourth over. A slower short ball from Stuart Binny in the sixth over accounted for Narine, who pulled and found deep square leg.Legspinners come backIn the last match at Eden Gardens, Knight Riders posted 187, and lost with 10 balls to spare. They must have been under extra pressure now to get a total that was Gayle-Kohli-de-Villiers-proof, which is perhaps why they kept going after the legspinners. Badree and especially Chahal loved it. Robin Uthappa fell playing Badree across the line, Yusuf Pathan was stumped down the leg side off Chahal, de Grandhomme skipped out and edged Chahal to slip, and Manish Pandey flicked a Chahal full toss to midwicket. The real show, though, was yet to begin.Pace like fireGoing into the chase, Royal Challengers might have thought of getting a big net run rate bonus here. Small ground, quick outfield, a paltry total to chase, with explosive batsmen in the shed, this was fertile ground for a quick finish and big momentum.Gambhir, on the other hand, walked out like a desperate nothing-to-lose Tony Montana from . He had his helmet on, and he asked Royal Challengers to say hello to his little friend: raw pace and upright seam. A pumped-up Coulter-Nile began with a massive no-ball, but he hit Gayle on the shoulder on the free hit. And when Kohli faced first up, Gambhir had a second slip in place, which is where the edge to the outswinger went.At the other end, Umesh was cut straight to point by Mandeep Singh, who had moved ahead of de Villiers in the order. The strategy for de Villiers this season has been to give him no room, doing which Knight Riders conceded two early boundaries, but a sharp bouncer from Coulter-Nile drew the fatal top-edge on the hook from well outside off.Towards the end of the fourth over, Gambhir was seen gesturing towards fine leg. He wanted one more from Coulter-Nile, who came back and accounted for Jadhav with the first ball of his third over. Gambhir also knew that Gayle was not enjoying the pace, and he kept peppering him with the pace of Umesh.Gambhir then overlooked Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav, who many might have thought were the key now, with the score 39 for 4 after six overs and with Gayle on 7 off 15. He went to Woakes, who was not going to pitch anything in Gayle’s half, even if it meant bowling a wide. That wide out of the way, perhaps Gayle felt there would be no more short balls in the over, but Woakes still bounced him, handcuffing his attempt at a big shot, and having him caught at wide mid-off. The rest was just a procession.

Match facts

March 25-29, 2017
Start time 0930 local (0400 GMT)4:30

Chappell: One of the best series since 2005 Ashes

Big picture

In a series that has hit plenty of heights, the mountaintop locale of Dharamsala seems as fitting a place as any for the fate of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be decided. India’s players, and doubtless a few on the other side, probably expected the fourth Test to be a festive occasion, completing a marathon home international season with the completion of a comfortable series win over Australia against the most picturesque background possible. But as the former BCCI president Anurag Thakur found out when the match was first scheduled at the ground of his home association, things don’t always go to plan.Instead Dharamsala plays host to a match that will be anything but valedictory. Australia have fought India all the way through the series, having started with a stunning upset in Pune, and now find themselves needing only a draw to go home with the trophy. India, by contrast, have had to dig particularly deep to avoid defeat, first getting decidedly pugilistic in Bengaluru, then relying heavily on the serene Cheteshwar Pujara to forge ahead of the contest in Ranchi. Even so, Steven Smith’s team refused to buckle under last-day pressure, allowing them to travel to Dharamsala with confidence they can handle just about any situation.There remain questions for both sides to answer. Virat Kohli’s sore shoulder is yet another obstacle for him in a series where the Australians have kept him exceptionally quiet in terms of runs if not words. Quite apart from the physical infirmity, Kohli must find a way to escape the funk he has entered when coming out to bat all series, either attacking too soon as in Pune or finding himself starved into error as in Bengaluru or Ranchi. Equally, Australia’s vice-captain David Warner reaches Dharamsala having not yet made an impression on India’s bowlers; the helmsman of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 2016 IPL title has far more to offer, and in the series’ decisive match he will be straining to prove it.Among the bowlers, the physical strain of back-to-back matches at the end of a long season will loom large. Neither R Ashwin nor Nathan Lyon had as much impact as expected in Ranchi, and only partly because they missed the footmarks provided by the injured Mitchell Starc. Australia’s concern about Pat Cummins’ ability to cope with his workload in the third Test was underlined by precautionary scans on his back that showed no damage done. India have extra pace options in reserve, depending on how the pitch and conditions reveal themselves on match day.In a crucible of this kind, there may of course be further flashpoints between the two opposing sides. The joking observation of Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland – in a radio interview this week – that he’s not sure Kohli “knows how to spell” the word sorry was an unexpected quarter from which to stir things up once more. But as this series has shown and Dharamsala will doubtless confirm, expectation is always a chance of being confounded.If Virat Kohli plays, he will still need to find a way to score runs this series•AFP

Form guide

India: DWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia: DLWWW

In the spotlight

By playing the longest innings ever by an Indian Test batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara made himself Australia’s No. 1 wicket-taking priority in the final Test. The tourists have enormous respect for Pujara’s concentration and shot selection, but also feel that a little extra bounce could be the way to defeat him. As Josh Hazlewood put it: “Any sort of bounce is an added bonus for the quicks against most of their batters, and probably him in particular. But he’s got a great temperament and I guess you’ve just got to try and get under his skin somehow, but he just loves batting and loves batting a long time. He’s definitely a key wicket for us.”By David Warner’s logic, the wheel of his overseas under-performance is bound to turn soon. This series he has hinted at taking control of a match on several occasions, whether the first morning of the series, or the start of the second-innings chase in Bengaluru. But there has also been a sense that India’s bowlers know how to find a way past him, so long as they stay patient. Every other member of Australia’s top six has made a major contribution at least once in this series; Dharamsala could be Warner’s turn.

Team news

Kohli will undergo a fitness test on Friday night or Saturday morning to determine whether he is able to play. If he is ruled out, Iyer is likely to slot into the middle order to make his Test debut, and Ajinkya Rahane will captain the side. M Vijay may also be a doubtful starter – he did not train on Friday, and had missed the Bengaluru Test with a shoulder injury. If either or both miss out, India are unlikely to tamper with their six batsmen + keeper + four bowler combination, given the loss of so much experience from their batting line-up.India still seem unsure whether Mohammed Shami is fit enough to last five days, so if there is any change in their bowling attack, it is likely to be the inclusion of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in potentially swing-friendly conditions, possibly at Ishant Sharma’s expense.India: 1 M Vijay/Abhinav Mukund, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt)/Shreyas Iyer, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Karun Nair, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 9 Ravindra Jadeja, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh YadavPat Cummins has been cleared of any back trouble after his return to Test matches in Ranchi, so the likelihood is for an unchanged Australian side after Glenn Maxwell’s first-innings century at No. 6.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Steve O’Keefe, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.Expectations are that the Dharamsala pitch will have help for all disciplines•AFP

Pitch and conditions

Dharamsala’s location and altitude have tended to offer some help to pace bowlers in the past, though during last year’s World Twenty20 the pitch was slow and assisting spin. The surface has a thin film of green grass that is expected to be shaved off by match morning and some help for spin can be expected.Kohli expected it to offer “good bounce for the spinners” and “good pace off the wicket for the quicks”. Dharamsala should have pleasant weather through the Test, with maximum temperatures in the low-to-mid-20s, with forecasts of rain towards the second half of the match.

Stats and trivia

• Australia are seeking their first series win in India since 2004
• Dharamsala will become the 27th Test venue in India
• Should he play, Kohli will need 89 runs to avoid completing his least productive Test series as a batsman – previously 134 runs at 13.40 in England in 2014

Quotes

“I’m focused on what we can control, and that’s playing each ball one at a time and concentrating on the processes of what we need to do in the middle and doing them for just a little bit longer than we have perhaps in the last two Tests. It’s a really exciting time for this team to be involved in this game.”
“I think the series is beautifully placed and everyone’s really excited for the Test match, both sides and people watching as well. It’s been a very, very exciting series of ups and downs, [a] roller-coaster ride. I hope it finishes really well and people get to see some really good cricket here as well.”