Monday is here and so is your weekly digest of all things related to cricket in our Cricket.com Weekly Newsletter. 

This is the first time since our restart edition in August that India played cricket and hence it is no surprise that the Men in Blue will find more mention than others. 

So let’s get you underway with our September 23rd edition.

Controversies 

Kieron Pollard frustrated by umpiring decisions in CPL

An umpiring howler, a confusing DRS decision and a frustrated captain. This was the setting for one of the weirdest controversies in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024. Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim, playing for the Antigua And Barbuda Falcons (ABF) was given lbw after the decision was reviewed. The on-field call was not out. 

However, things turned 360 degrees after the DRS result as Wasim was called back to bat because when the screens present at the stadium replayed the action, everybody could see a big inside edge. Kieron Pollard, the captain of the opposition Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) was outraged by the call-back and had an animated chat with the umpires. 

“If I speak, I’ll get into trouble. So I better stay quiet on that,” Pollard said in the post-match presentation, hinting at the decision.

Here are the reasons why he said that and what the ABF captain Chris Green said about it. 

Sri Lanka’s Dulip Samaraweera banned 

Cricket Australia banned Sri Lankan cricketer Dulip Samaraweera for inappropriate conduct with women cricketers in the country. This is not the first time that a Sri Lankan cricketer has been caught in the web of inappropriate behaviour with women in Australia. 

Danushka Gunathilaka was accused of rape while in Australia during the 2022 T20 World Cup. Though he later got cleared of all the charges, it nevertheless tainted his image big time. 

To know what breaches of the code of conduct have been levelled against Samaraweera, read this report. 

Essex reprimanded for racism 

English county team Essex were fined £100,000 which roughly equals to $130,000 after they accepted that they were unable to curtail systematic racism in their club between 2001 and 2010. 

Racism has been one of the biggest challenges in English domestic cricket. It became a raging issue after former England U-19 captain, who also led Yorkshire, Azeem Rafiq levelled racism charges against his county club in September 2020. 

To find out why the Cricket Regulator (CR) panel said that racism was kind of a culture that was “embedded” across most levels of the club, read this report.  

And what’s going on with Pakistan cricket?

> Pakistan vs England Tests media rights remain unsold with just one month to go for the series. This happened despite the Karachi Test being shifted to Multan due to construction at the stadium.

> Pakistan women cricketer Aliya Riaz’s husband Ali Younis criticised the women’s team’s new captain Fatima Sana for demoting his wife. Mind you, this was not during a women’s match, but while commentating during the Pakistan Champions Cup One-Day tournament, a domestic men’s competition. 

> Rashid Latif said that Pakistan cricket is in the ICU. To get out of there and build a new road map, Babar Azam along with Shan Masood and seven other senior players would attend a special connection camp by PCB. 

Weekly Recap

In the Spotlight 

How Duleep Trophy’s last week redeemed India hopefuls

> Sanju Samson opened the doors of red-ball cricket after he slammed his first first-class century (106) in over 1700 days. He was playing for India D against India B. 

> Arshdeep Singh registered his best first-class figures after bowling 11.4 overs unchanged and winning the game for his side India D. 

> After enduring a tough time in the first four innings and accumulating two ducks in the last three innings, Shreyas Iyer utilised the next one by slamming a fifty.

> Shaswat Rawat of Baroda, who scored four centuries in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season, smashed a century and two fifties, accumulating 256 runs in only four innings to become the third-highest run-getter. 

> After missing out in the first two innings, Andhra batter Ricky Bhui scored two centuries in two games to secure a unique double of finishing as the top run-getter in the Ranji Trophy (2023-24) and Duleep Trophy (2024) at the same time.  

> But it was not a welcoming start for Suryakumar Yadav in the Duleep Trophy. After missing the first two games, he got to play in the third but did not have much of an impact, scoring only 5 and 16 in the two innings 

Back in Test cricket after over 600 days and Rishabh Pant is loving it

Rishabh Pant made a comeback in Test cricket after 635 days and went on to score a century to mark his returnl. It was his first red-ball century after a gap of 639 days. The Delhi-born said, “Coming back to Test cricket, where I belong the most, being on the field gives me pleasure more than anything else.”

Anirudh Suresh captures all the emotions related to Pant’s comeback in Tests in this feature. 

Ravichandran Ashwin’s special show at home 

If Pant’s comeback century was the best part of India’s second innings in the Chennai Test, it was Ravichandran Ashwin’s special hundred at home that took India from 144/6 to 376 in the first innings. It was Ashwin’s fastest Test century and he was a different batter altogether. 

After missing out in the first innings with the ball, the 38-year-old turned the heat with the red cherry in the last innings, picking 6/80 and taking India to yet another memorable win. 

Ashwin’s special show at home is captured in numbers by Dhanush Lavanya here

Contrasting wins for the Aussies 

It was a tale of two contrasting wins for the Australian men’s team in the first two ODIs against England at Nottingham and Leeds. While they chased down 316 with six overs to spare in the first game, they defended 270 (being 221/9 at one stage) to win the second ODI by a whopping 68 runs. 

Shubh Aggarwal captures the stories of the two Australian heroes Travis Head and Alex Carey. 

Top Performers of the Week

Women’s T20 World Cup Tracker 

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is here and as we build up to it, here are all the important things that will make your wait for the marquee tournament worthwhile. 

WV Raman Interview: ‘Would love to see Deepti score more runs and at quicker pace’

WT20 WC: Mandhana, Dottin and other key sub-plots to keep an eye on

Time for Yastika Bhatia to prove she is more than a one-trick pony

Ellyse Perry’s iconic boot to Katy Perry’s firework: Photos that capture the Women’s T20WC history

WT20 WC: Sajana, Dean, Naidu and other wildcards who can surprise you

Maddy Green Interview: ‘New Zealand are ready for trial by spin in group of death

Stat of the Week

Editor’s Picks

A counter-attack for the ages: Ashwin’s love story with Chepauk continues

Unstoppable Akash Deep keeps growing from strength to strength

How USA Cricket are gunning to be the next Afghanistan

How have Babar, Shaheen & others fared in Champions One-Day Cup 2024?

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