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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details File photo – Rashid Khan’s four wickets gave Afghanistan a come-from-behind win in the first ODI•Peter Della Penna

It was a collapse of some proportion. Ireland, who had looked dominant for a considerable portion of the match, paid the price for making a mess of what should have been a straightforward finish to a chase of 293. From 206 for 2 in the 36th over, they slid drastically to be bowled out for 262 as Afghanistan took a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series in Greater Noida.And it was Rashid Khan, the 18-year old legspinner who once again came to the fore, picking up four wickets, including that of Niall O’Brien that triggered the collapse. Rashid had great support from pacer Dawlat Zadran, who took the wicket that arguably swung the match Afghanistan’s way, sending back William Porterfield, whose ravaging 119 had put Ireland on cruise control.Rashid was held back until the 19th over of the match, and with Porterfield and Paul Stirling going great guns, it begged the question if Asghar Stanikzai had missed a trick. His introduction, however, did nothing to put the brakes on the scoring. His first over yielded 11 and he was taken out after a three-over first spell where he had gone at a run a ball.He was brought back in the 29th over, and struck with his fourth ball, deceiving Stirling with a googly that was harmlessly chipped back to the bowler. Dawlat’s double strike next over – first Porterfield, who was caught driving on the up and then Wilson who was trapped leg before by one that skidded on – gave Afghanistan a real sniff, and they never conceded ground thereafter.The rest of the order crumbled to a combination of poor strokes and good deliveries as an already sluggish surface showed signs of slowing down even more. Amir Hamza conjured up a beauty, opening up Kevin O’Brien with a length ball that spun away just enough to have him stumped.Rashid asked more questions of the batsmen, showing great adeptness at using the googly, and struck in each of his last two overs. Tim Murtagh, seeing one drifting away, opened up for a cut but the ball spun in to ping him on the back pad. Then, George Dockrell played for the turn to a quicker one that instead merely straightened and beat the inside edge to trap him in front. By then, Ireland were nine down, and Dawlat wrapped it up when he had Peter Chase top-edge a pull to long-on.Before the collapse, Porterfield and Stirling had produced a superb display of batting on a slow pitch. Both batsmen demonstrated the importance of singles and kept the score ticking by nudging the ball either side of the wicket. Porterfield established himself as the dominant partner and was immaculate with his shot selection. Stanikzai’s attempt to stack up the off-side field and get his bowlers to bowl full outside off was met with a series of reverse sweeps through third man. Along with Stirling, he added 157 for the second wicket at over a run a ball. Even the dismissal of Stirling hardly slowed him down as he raised his ninth ODI century with a punch off Mohammad Nabi, but could not see his team through.As with the ball, Afghanistan were solid with the bat. Most of their batsmen came good after Stanikzai opted to make first use of the surface. Mohammad Shahzad played a characteristically entertaining 43 off 41 balls, laced with seven fours and a six and dominated an opening partnership of 68. When he fell, it was to his own undoing, ambling across after pushing a Mulder delivery to midwicket.But Noor Ali Zadran, in the company of Rahmat Shah, consolidated Afghanistan’s position with a second-wicket partnership of 83. Rahmat was all poise and class in his 78, which came with the help of four fours and three sixes. His 92-ball effort took a fair bit out of him, and he fell to a tired shot, holing out to long-on off Kevin O’Brien, Ireland’s best bowler on the day. At that point, Afghanistan had lost some ground, having lost three wickets for 46 runs.Hashmatullah Shahidi and Samiullah Shenwari made up for some of it with a half-century fifth-wicket stand. O’Brien produced a timely double-strike, sending back both batsmen in the space of three balls of the 46th over. But Nabi muscled 34 unbeaten runs off just 19 balls to lift them to what proved to be a very good total on an unhelpful pitch.

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators has specified that an office-bearer who has completed nine years in a post either at the BCCI or at a state association will become ineligible to hold any official post thereafter.

The COA’s criteria which disqualifies individuals as office-bearers

• Is not a citizen of India;

• Has attained the age of 70 years;

• Is declared to be insolvent, or of unsound mind;

• Is a Minister or Government Servant;

• Holds any office or post in a sports or athletic association or federation apart from cricket;

• Has been an Office Bearer of the BCCI for a total period of 9 years;

• Has been an Office Bearer of the state association for a total period of 9 years;

• Has been charged by a Court of law for having committed any criminal offence

This directive was part of an e-mail sent to state associations on Wednesday, in which the COA has also sought compliance reports concerning the implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations at the state level. The associations have been asked to submit these reports over e-mail by March 1. This is the first set of directives issued by the COA after it was appointed by the court on January 30.There has been confusion over the specifics of the nine-year tenure cap since the release of the Lodha Committee recommendations in January 2016. The original Lodha Committee recommendation regarding eligibility, which was passed by the Supreme Court on July 18 last year, had made it possible for an individual to serve nine years each at both BCCI and state level. A BCCI office-bearer’s cooling-off period could have been a three-year term at their state association, after which they could once again contest an election for a BCCI position. And if they won the BCCI post, the ensuing three-year term would serve as their cooling-off period from holding office at state level. An individual could therefore have spent 18 years in Indian cricket administration between the BCCI and his state association.On January 2, 2017, the Supreme Court stated in an order that, “A person shall be disqualified from being an Office Bearer if he or she has been an Office Bearer of the BCCI for a cumulative period of 9 years.” A day later, the Court, while modifying the order issued a day earlier, ruled that an office bearer would be disqualified in case he had completed a “cumulative period” of nine years at “BCCI or a state association.”The Lodha Committee’s interpretation of the Court’s modification of January 3 was that if an individual had finished nine years as an office-bearer, whether at BCCI or state level or both combined, that individual was ineligible to continue as an office-bearer at the BCCI or state level effective immediately.On January 20, the court said that its January 3 modification was likely “to create some ambiguity” and therefore it was issuing a fresh clarification on the tenure for an office bearer. It said an administrator would be disqualified if he “has been an office bearer of the BCCI for nine years or a State Association for the same period.”This fresh ruling was interpreted by the office-bearers as a reprieve and an indication that they could continue for nine years separately at BCCI and their respective states. Subsequently, senior administrators like BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhury and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry have continued at the board despite having finished nine years as presidents of their respective state associations. On Monday, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, who has passed the nine-year cap as Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association president, attended the IPL 2017 auction as head of the league’s governing council.As an attempt to put an end to the confusion, the COA has now pointed out that it would stick to the Lodha Committee’s interpretation of the court’s order until a new directive is issued by the Supreme Court.The COA laid out its stand under the subhead: “Disqualification of office bearers/representatives/nominees/patron/advisor/committee member/council members of state/member association” in the e-mail to the sates on Wednesday.”The committee of administrators has been informed that there is lack of clarity on the exact scope and extent of the disqualification in terms of the order dated January 2, 2017, January 3, 2017 and January 20, 2017, passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” the COA said. “The committee of administrators is of the view that until there is complete clarity on the exact scope and extent of the disqualification in terms of the aforesaid order the committee of administrators should proceed on a strict undertaking/interpretation of the same.”As per the advice received by the committee of administrators, this strict understanding/interpretation has the effect on disqualifying all persons who fail to meet the norms recommended by the Lodha Committee and accepted by Supreme Court for being office bearers/representatives/nominees/patron/advisor/committee member/council members of state/member association.”Consequently, the states have been asked to submit list of their existing office bearers along with each individual’s elaborate details. Importantly, all administrators would also need to submit a written undertaking that they conform with the eligibility criteria to the COA by the March 1 deadline.The COA has also asked the state associations that have complied with the courts orders dated October 7 and October 21 last year to submit their resolution in writing by March 1. Last October, the court passed two orders which asked the BCCI to “cease and desist” from supplying funds to the states unless and until they gave a written undertaking that they would comply with the Lodha Committee recommendations as approved by the court.

ScorecardPlay wasn’t possible despite little rain after scheduled start of play•Getty Images

A substantial McLean Park crowd was left damp and irritated after the second Chappell-Hadlee ODI between New Zealand and Australia was abandoned without a ball bowled due to damp patches on the outfield. It was Napier’s second successive abandoned ODI.Rain that had lasted most of the morning delayed the scheduled start of 2pm local time, but the showers cleared and the covers were removed about an hour later.A series of inspections by the umpires followed as the ground staff worked on the wicket square and the outfield, but overcast skies conspired against efforts to dry patches of the outfield that were deemed too dangerous for the players .Eventually the match was called off about 6.45pm local time, half an hour before the latest possible start time of 7.15pm. In the meantime spectators were left none the wiser as they waited vainly for the match to begin.The abandonment means that Australia cannot win the series after their defeat in the opening match at Eden Park in Auckland, however they can retain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy secured at home earlier in the season by winning the final encounter at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday.

Jharkhand added 429 runs in the 87 overs they batted on the second day to finish on 458 for 7, 181 runs ahead of Saurashtra in Agartala. Jharkhand rode on centuries from Ishank Jaggi and Ishan Kishan, who struck his second consecutive ton.Jharkhand’s openers Anand Singh and Pratyush Singh added 42 runs in the morning before they slid from 71 for 0 to 82 for 3 in a five-over period. Saurabh Tiwary then scored an 88-ball 61, stringing together a fourth-wicket partnership of 136 with Jaggi, before being dismissed, having taken Jharkhand past 200.Jaggi reached his century soon after and joined hands with Ishan Kishan to put on 153 runs, before Jaggi retired momentarily. Kishan, who scored 273 in the previous match, scored 136 off 120 balls before being bowled by Jaydev Unadkat (2 for 87). Jharkhand lost two more wickets by stumps, ending the day with Jaggi (165*) and Ashish Kumar, who was yet to get off the mark, at the crease.In Kolkata, Vidarbha effected a Maharashtra collapse and backed it up with a strong batting performance to end the day on 141 for 1, after having collapsed for 59 on the first day.Lalit Yadav, who finished with five wickets, dismissed overnight centurion Naushad Shaikh for 127, and then Ankit Bawne, who scored 111. Shrikant Wagh took three wickets as Maharashtra were dismissed for 332, with their last seven wickets falling for just 62 runs.Vidarbha started strongly in their second essay, with openers Sanjay Ramaswamy (67) and Faiz Fazal (53*) putting on 141, before the former was dismissed in the last over of the day.In Vizianagaram, 14 wickets fell as Karnataka ended the day on 78 for 0 in their second innings, leading Rajasthan by 304 runs.The day started with Karnataka on 345 for 6 in the first innings. They added only 29 runs to be bowled out for 374, with medium-pacer TM Ul-Haq taking 5 for 82.It was then Rajasthan’s turn to collapse, as Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar , and S Aravind took four wickets each to dismiss them for 148. Siddharth Dobal top-scored with 47, but with only one significant partnership in the innings – 53 between Dobal and Rajesh Bishnoi (25) for the seventh – they folded in 54 overs with their last four falling for eight runs.KL Rahul – pushing for a Test return – remained unbeaten on 32, while his opening partner R Samarth was not out on 46 as they took Karnataka’s lead past 300.In Hyderabad, Odisha ended the second day on 150 for 2 against Assam, trailing by 151 after bowling Assam out for 301.Govinda Poddar was not out on 81, along with Subhranshu Senapati, who was batting on 34 in an unbroken partnership of 82 for the third wicket. That, after openers Sandeep Pattnaik (1) and Abhishek Yadav (26) were dismissed before tea.Earlier in the day, Assam added 77 runs to their overnight score of 224 for 5, to finish on 301. Kunal Saikia, who ended the opening day on 88, scored his maiden first-class hundred, before being the last man dismissed, for 135.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Samuels’ 48 was the game’s highest score, while Mashrafe’s wicket-less four overs went for 21 runs•Raton Gomes/BCB

Barisal Bulls opened their account in this season’s BPL with a six-wicket win over Comilla Victorians, whose fight fizzled out during a fourth-wicket stand of 49 between Mushfiqur Rahim amd Thisara Perera, which sealed the contest. Comilla, the defending champions, remain winless and would be worried by a brittle batting line-up, though bowling seems to be their strength.Set 130 to win, Barisal opener Dilshan Munaweera struck two pleasing fours before getting caught at mid-off in the fifth over but Dawid Malan quickly restored the pressure with two boundaries in the same over. Mashrafe Mortaza and Nabil Samad then bowled six overs to give away just 26 runs, increasing the required run rate from 6.87 to 8.55. It resulted in Shamsur’s laboured 26-ball 16 ending up in the hands of long-on in the 11th over.Mushfiqur broke the boundary drought with a slog-swept six in the 12th over, before Malan edged his third boundary in the following over from Sharif, though he was immediately caught off the next ball at cover for 26. With Mashrafe finishing his spell (0/21) with Barisal needing 52 off the last six overs, Mushfiqur and Thisara Perera struck boundaries off Sharif and Tanvir. They wrested back control of the game when they struck one six each off Imad, who conceded 17 runs in the 17th over.Their fourth-wicket stand ended when Mushfiqur faintly edged Tanvir to the keeper, but he got them closer to the win with his 23-ball 33. Perera eased Barisal’s nerves with two boundaries in the penultimate over, completing the win with nine balls to spare.Comilla could have slipped further from 73 for 6 in the 14th over, if it wasn’t for the 38-run seventh-wicket partnership between Marlon Samuels and Sohail Tanvir.Samuels – who came to bat after both openers fell within 3.5 overs – was involved in the run-outs of Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Imad Wasim, and saw Liton Das and Nahidul Islam fall meekly. So he had to get Comilla out of trouble. He started off the seventh-wicket stand with two fours off Al-Amin Hossain and nearly blew Thisara Perera away with a straight hit.Tanvir got into the act with a whack over midwicket for his first six. Mahedi Hasan dropped him on 13 in the 18th over, a sitter that ended up hitting him on the face, before hitting the floor. After Samuels departed for a run-a-ball 48, Tanvir struck two sixes over long-on in the last over, his unbeaten 30 off 19 balls giving Comilla the late runs that often make the difference but this time ended in futility.

Australia’s ODI against Ireland in South Africa has been ignored by the pay television operator Fox Sports, leaving followers in Australia without a legal means by which to watch it.The match, being played at Willowmoore Park in Benoni from 6pm Eastern Australian time, is being broadcast by SuperSport in South Africa, but was not purchased by Fox Sports as part of a rights package that features the five ODIs between South Africa and Australia that begin on September 30.It is believed that the rights to the Ireland match were offered as a standalone proposition alongside the South Africa fixtures, with Fox choosing not to add it to their investment.Ben Amarfio, CA’s executive general manager, Media, Communications and Marketing, said he would have preferred to see the match broadcast. “Our preference would be for all of Australia’s away matches to be broadcast in the Australian market,” he said, “but ultimately that is the choice of rights purchasers to determine.”Very seldom is an international fixture played by an Australian side not broadcast back into Australia on Fox Sports. However, the network has in the recent past left it quite late in confirming their broadcast of matches.The most recent example of this was the broadcast of England v Pakistan Test series earlier this year, which was left in doubt until a matter of hours before the series began at Lord’s.Fox Sports has just completed showing the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur, and is also broadcasting the ongoing T20 series between Pakistan and West Indies in the UAE.Cricket’s relationship with the pay television operator was somewhat strained in 2013, when after Fox Sports broadcast the first two seasons of the Twenty20 Big Bash League, Cricket Australia sold the rights to the free-to-air Ten Network to dramatically expand the tournament’s television audience. That decision led to a major scaling back of Fox Sports’ cricket department to a small part of the business.Cricket Australia, meanwhile, launched into a major digital partnership with Channel Nine in addition to the BBL deal with Ten.A Fox Sports spokesperson declined to comment.

Southern Vipers 132 for 4 (McGlashan 54*) beat Lancashire Thunder 121 for 7 (Lamb 34, Satterthwaite 31) by 11 runs
ScorecardSara McGlashan’s fifty proved to be a matchwinning innings•Getty Images

The Southern Vipers made it two wins out of two in the Kia Super League as they came away from sunny Blackpool with an 11-run victory over a below par Lancashire Thunder.Despite being without their talismanic skipper Charlotte Edwards the Vipers recovered from 34 for 3 to reach 132 for 4 from their 20 overs with the score proving just enough against the slightly unlucky hosts.Having chosen to bat, the Vipers were quickly in trouble when opener Georgia Adams was bowled by the sixth ball of the innings as Hayley Matthews got one to turn sharply and hit the stumps.Captain Suzie Bates soon followed when she slapped another Matthews delivery straight to Natalie Brown at point for 15 and when Izzy Collis edged behind off Deandra Dottin’s first delivery, the Thunder looked to be well on top.But Sara McGlashan had other ideas as the New Zealand international steadily rebuilt the innings with the help of Arran Brindle who offered valuable support as McGlashan went through the gears after Lydia Greenway had departed for 11.McGlashan hit the one six of the innings as she slapped the unfortunate Kate Cross back over her head with the New Zealander reaching her 50 off 48 balls in the final over with Brindle remaining unbeaten on 29.The unbeaten partnership of 70 for the fifth wicket left the Vipers with a spring in their step and they carried the momentum into their bowling when Matthews departed in the first over after hitting a Morna Nielsen full toss straight at Brindle at mid-on.A topsy turvy game then swung in Thunder’s direction as Emma Lamb and skipper Amy Satterthwaite compiled a second-wicket partnership worth 57 before Satterthwaite picked out McGlashan on the boundary off Linsey Smith for 31.With Lamb still at the crease Thunder looked to have a chance but when she was run out for 34 going for a suicidal run after hitting the ball straight to Nielsen the game was all but up for the home side.Danielle Wyatt impressed with a 28-ball 29 as she and Laura Newton dragged Thunder to within range but with 18 required off the last over it was all but finished as Bates picked up two late wickets to finish with 2 for 20 and the hosts needing two wins from their remaining games if they are to progress.

ScorecardToby Roland-Jones helped squeeze out Essex with 4 for 40•Getty Images

Middlesex maintained their interest in an unlikely treble with a dramatic victory against Essex in the Royal London Cup at Lord’s. Defending 219 for 8 they looked to be heading for defeat when Essex reached 100 for 1 in the 22nd over. However, with boundary-hitting increasingly difficult on a used pitch they squeezed the life from the visitors’ innings to win by four runs.Nick Browne launched the Essex innings with a flurry of fours on his way to 79 in 94 balls but his team-mates were unable to build on the platform. Toby Roland-Jones took 4 for 40 and James Franklin 3 for 25 as Essex, who would have booked a home quarter-final with a win, were restricted to 215 for 9.Middlesex, already in the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast and leading the Specsavers County Championship, now need to beat Surrey at Lord’s on Tuesday and hope other results go their way. Essex need a win at Gloucestershire the same day to secure their last-eight place.Middlesex’s 50-over captain Franklin* also top-scored with 55. The Kiwi nursed into recovery an innings which seemed fatally damaged by a spell of 3 for 3 in 11 balls by teenage allrounder Dan Lawrence. The 19-year-old finished with 3 for 35, his best return in any form of senior cricket.Despite missing Dawid Malan with a groin injury, Middlesex had begun brightly with Paul Stirling driving over extra cover for six to the shorter Tavern boundary but the introduction of spin, in the form of Lawrence and Ashar Zaidi, then Tom Westley, slowed progress.Between them the trio bowled 24 overs for 90 runs with Lawrence the pick. His trio of quick wickets reduced Middlesex from 87 for 1 to 97 for 4 with Test batsmen George Bailey and Robson among the victims. With Malan out and Eoin Morgan absent with a broken finger it was left to Franklin, with support from John Simpson (33), to rebuild.Middlesex’s total seemed seemed to be insufficient as Browne launched into the Middlesex attack hitting eight boundaries off the first six overs. However, as with Middlesex innings, scoring then slowed especially when Browne, having edged between keeper and slip on 55, then been dropped by Bailey on 69, ran out of luck to be bowled off an inside edge by Franklin.With boundaries drying up the required run rate crept up and wickets fell often enough to keep Middlesex interested. Prime amongst these was Ravi Bopara, who scored 34 off 60 balls without a boundary. That thrust the responsibility on Zaidi whose big-hitting won the T20 match between the teams earlier this week. He needed 11 of the last over, bowled by Franklin, but was leg before first ball.*August 1, 2016 – This was updated to correct the suggestion that Franklin was standing in for Malan as captain

Former India Women captain Diana Edulji has said the creation of a players’ association – one of several recommendations of the Lodha committee that was approved by the Supreme Court in a watershed verdict – will empower women cricketers in the country. Edulji is a part of the four-member steering committee, led by former union home secretary GK Pillai, that has been tasked with the responsibility of setting up a players’ association.Edulji said women players now had an outlet to express their grievances and offer suggestions. “I don’t know about the men’s side, at least from the women’s side some of the players are scared to speak,” Edulji told ESPNcricinfo. “Maybe with me there, they can come to me, speak to me and I can put forward their views to the authorities and see how best they can be benefited.”Edulji felt a women’s representative of the players’ association in the Apex Council, which will replace the working committee, would ensure greater accountability. “People will be more answerable. That will also help because we need somebody to listen to us,” she said. “There is a women’s committee in the BCCI but most of them are not players. Women’s cricket needs a little push and I think this is the right time for it.”Edulji said the players’ association shouldn’t be viewed as an anti-establishment body, and that there was a more positive attitude towards women’s cricket with initiatives like the introduction of central contracts for players. “We don’t want to antagonise BCCI. We don’t want a confrontation, and we want to work together. It is just two parties working together, the players get a little voice in a proper way. [It is] not striking or union types,” she said.”The current lot – I have been with the MCA as well in the cricket advisory committee as well – is favourable towards improving women’s cricket. Even in BCCI, I have had a word with Anurag Thakur and they are quite positive.”Edulji, however, was unsure of when the steering committee was going to meet to discuss the formation of the association. “We haven’t officially got any information. We have to wait because only the day before [yesterday] have we got the verdict,” she said. “We haven’t even been sounded out [by the BCCI] yet.”

Some of South Africa’s international players will be unavailable for at least the first half of the domestic 20-over competition, which will impact CSA’s ability to grow the profile of the tournament. The fixtures of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge were announced on Tuesday and the tournament is scheduled to run from November 12 to December 16, which overlaps with the Test team’s tour to Australia that ends on November 28.This means international players, including Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada, will only feature peripherally in the tournament, despite CSA’s desire to have their big names available for as much of the competition as possible. Such was South Africa’s desire to try and promote their shortest format like India, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies and England have done, that they moved a Test in Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa from mid-December to mid-January to free up the holiday period for Ram Slam T20. Although they have achieved that, the first 18 matches of the 32-game tournament will take place with the Test team playing fixtures in Hobart and Adelaide.South Africa’s 20-over competition has struggled to gain the same glamour as some of its counterparts for two reasons. Chiefly, it has not attracted enough international stars, not even from South Africa, and this will only change in the second half of the event this year. The tournament has also been unable to contract too many big names as the declining Rand is an unattractive currency, and the timing of the tournament is awkward for many players. In some years, it clashed with the Big Bash League. In a few seasons, it has clashed with Test fixtures in other countries.The competition has retained its sponsor for now. Courier company RAM were reviewing their backing of the tournament after last season’s competition was marred by match-fixing allegations which saw Gulam Bodi banned for 20 years for attempting to manipulate matches. CSA insists Bodi did not succeed. The investigation into the allegations has not reached its conclusion with the South African board still expected to name other players it intends to sanction.The rest of South Africa’s domestic season will take place as normal, beginning with the four-day competition that is split into two rounds of five matches each. The one-day cup will be played in a single block in February and March, when the national side will be in New Zealand, which also makes them unavailable for those games.The second-tier semi-professional tournament still includes Namibia and will be played as three-day and one-day fixtures but the 20-over tournament has fallen away in favour of the season-opening Africa Cup. Now in its second edition, the Africa Cup is played over four weekends with the table-topping team from each pool advancing to a finals weekend. All teams play only three matches and it also includes teams from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya.