All posts by csb10.top

Aaron Finch has conceded there was “no excuse” for his painfully slow innings against Sri Lanka in Perth which heaped the pressure on Australia’s run chase until they were rescued by Marcus Stoinis.Finch could barely contain his frustration as he crawled to 31 not out off 42 balls in Australia’s seven-wicket win on Tuesday night. The match will be remembered for the Stoinis fireworks display at the death, with the allrounder cracking an unbeaten 59 off 18 balls.But Finch’s scratchy performance did not go unnoticed, with former Test star Mark Waugh labelling it “torturous”.At one stage, Finch had scored four of 15 balls. During a stretch of play in which he was totally bamboozled by paceman Lahiru Kumara, the 35-year-old quipped to the umpire: “Happy to take any ideas if you know how to hit that”.Related

• Aaron Finch acing verbal volleys but needs his bat to do the talking

• Green called up after golf injury rules Inglis out of T20 World Cup

• Stats – Contrasting records for Stoinis and Finch

• Stoinis provides the spark to light fire under Australia's title defence

Things only got slightly better for Finch as his innings wore on. He was dropped on 23, was lucky to survive a series of bottom and inside edges that only narrowly missed his stumps, and he shouted a frustrated “oh my god” at the death following yet another mistimed shot.Finch’s innings – at a strike rate of just 73.81 – was the slowest of any consisting of 40 or more balls in men’s T20 World Cup history.”Obviously my innings was unusual, it was poor,” he said. “I just couldn’t hit the ball…they bowled a hard length, it was tough. It’s such a big ground you feel as though it’s hard to just stand and deliver, especially with a bit of extra bounce and when the ball’s seaming slightly you feel it’s just not quite as easy to hit the middle of the bat, but that’s no excuse for the way I played, but it was nice to get the two points.”Aaron Finch could never get going•AFP/Getty Images

The under-fire Finch, who retired from ODIs last month, has passed 50 in just one of his past 18 innings in official international matches, averaging only 11.88 in that time across all formats.Finch’s most recent score of note came in a warm-up match against India last week, when he made 76 off 54 balls. Stoinis praised Finch for seeing out the win until the very end.”That new ball was doing a lot. From what I could see from the boundary, it was definitely the hardest time to bat,” he said. “It was just important that he saw that through and was there to hit the winning runs.”However, Waugh argued that Finch’s innings made it very difficult for him to be retained as an opener for the England match on Friday and called for Cameron Green, who is now in the squad as a replacement for Josh Inglis, to be recalled in place of Pat Cummins and partner David Warner at the top.”I’d bring Cameron Green in and I’d bring him in for Pat Cummins, and I’d let Cameron Green open the batting,” he told radio station . “That’s the one change I would definitely make. I know it’s a bit of a gamble, it leaves your bowling a bit short.”But I think Cameron Green can bowl four overs as good as any of the other bowlers at the moment. Aaron Finch’s innings was torturous. I don’t think he can open the innings in the next game. If he plays, I don’t think he can open.”

Lauren Bell followed her star turn in England’s successful ODI campaign with a three-wicket haul as West Indies’ batting struggles carried over into a heavy defeat in their first T20I and Danni Wyatt reeled in an easy target with an unbeaten half-century.Bell, who took a crucial 4 for 33 as England thumped West Indies in their second ODI on Tuesday, was rested for the third match, another resounding win as the tourists swept the series 3-0. But she returned for just the third T20I of her career and ended with 3 for 26 from her four overs to help contain West Indies to just 105 for 7.West Indies were thumped by more than 100 runs in each of their 50-over matches, bowled out in all three with a highest total of 165. After slumping to 19 for 3 inside the first five overs in Antigua on Sunday, they never recovered and Wyatt was positively brutal in taking England to victory by eight wickets in just 12.4 overs.Bell backs upEngland could scarcely have hoped for a better start. Bell had a hand in the first two dismissals, bowling Aaliyah Alleyne for her maiden T20I wicket with her fifth ball, the 11th of the match after Katherine Brunt had opened the bowling in her first international since the Commonwealth Games bronze-medal playoff in early August. Bell then held on when Kycia Knight chipped Nat Sciver straight to mid on in the next over.Hayley Matthews tried to ramp Brunt and lost her off stump and, despite a couple of chances going begging, England continued to keep West Indies under immense pressure. Heather Knight had Under-19s batter and debutant Djenaba Joseph stumped by Amy Jones to make it 38 for 4 after eight overs. Rashada Williams, West Indies’ top-scorer in the ODIs, steered Bell to backward point and set off for a run, foolishly challenging Wyatt’s arm as she threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Next ball, Shemaine Campbell scooped Bell straight down Lauren Winfield-Hill’s throat at mid-on and the hosts were in disarray.Run-outs the only way for WISophia Dunkley continued the opening partnership she forged with Wyatt after Tammy Beaumont was dropped from the T20I side during the English summer and, while she managed just three runs off the first nine balls she faced, four boundaries off Chinelle Henry in the third over had her cruising. That was until a messy run out after she skied Cherry-Ann Fraser to midwicket and ran halfway down the pitch before turning back and, despite wicketkeeper Kycia Knight fumbling the throw-in, Campbelle managed to gather running in from the slips cordon and fired onto the stumps as Dunkley dived in vain.Winfield-Hill, playing her first T20I since February 2020 after losing her ODI spot early this year and her ECB central contract for the coming season, was put down on nought by Matthews diving full-stretch to her right at slip. Having come in at No. 3 with teenage allrounder Alice Capsey back home after breaking her collarbone in the first ODI, Winfield-Hill managed a run-a-ball 15 before she was removed by Cambelle, throwing in from backward point for another run out, West Indies’ only mode of dismissal as their bowlers went wicketless.Wyatt seals winDespite those hiccups, Wyatt had England in complete command. From 51 for 1 after the powerplay, including her six off Matthews in the third over, she swung Fraser through the midwicket region for back-to-back fours to move into the 30s. Wyatt brought up a 29-ball fifty with a six off Karishma Ramharack and she sent Shabika Gajnabi over extra cover to the rope to draw within three runs of victory.Fittingly, Wyatt hit the winning runs to finish unbeaten on 59 off 34 balls with a strike rate of 173.52. It followed her half-century in the opening match of the one-day series and rounded off a successful stay for the visitors in Antigua. The tour now moves to Barbados for the remaining four T20Is from Wednesday.

August 17, 2019: BCB appoints Domingo as head coach. “Everything looks in place to be a real powerhouse in world cricket,” he says at the time.February 21, 2020: Six months on, BCB chief Nazmul Hassan says that the team management had been asked to inform him of their game plans, including the exact batting line-up, the day before each game.Related

• Bangladesh in 2022: big milestones, but miles to go in all formats

• Bangladesh benefit from Taskin and Litton's changed mindsets

• Russell Domingo resigns as Bangladesh head coach

February 21, 2020: Domingo takes a strong position on Bangladesh’s strategy of preparing raging turners for home Tests, asking for more balanced pitches.February 14, 2021: BCB president Hassan slams Domingo and Test captain Mominul Haque after the series defeat against West Indies at home.August 9, 2021: Bangladesh crush Australia 4-1 in a home T20I series.September 8, 2021: Bangladesh beat New Zealand 3-2 in a home T20I series but with the series played on massive turners, questions remain about their T20 World Cup preparations.November 4, 2021: After Bangladesh crash out of T20 World Cup, Mashrafe Mortaza demands answers from Domingo, calling Bangladesh coaching staff a “rehab centre for South Africa coaches”.January 5, 2022: Bangladesh beat New Zealand for the first time in any format in New Zealand, winning the first Test in Mount Maunganui by eight wickets. It’s perhaps their most famous Test win ever.March 23, 2022: Bangladesh win their maiden ODI series in South Africa, having never won a match in the country previously.August 22, 2022: After Bangladesh’s loss to Zimbabwe in ODI and T20I series, BCB appoints Sridharan Sriram as T20 consultant for three months. The board says Sriram would act as head coach of the T20I side, with Domingo taking charge of the Test and ODI teams.August 25, 2022: Domingo denies reports of his resignation, says he would return to the side for the India home series.December 28, 2022: Not long after Bangladesh beat India 2-1 in the ODIs and pushed them hard in the second Test in, Domingo resigns as head coach.

Benjamin Manenti has fallen short of a maiden first-class century, but the spinner’s boundary-laden innings lifted South Australia back from the brink on day one of their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane.Manenti cracked 88 as South Australia were bowled out for 272 just before stumps on day one at the Gabba.Easily the Shield’s fastest scoring side, South Australia scored their runs off 80 overs after a rain-hit afternoon.New captain Jake Lehmann was the other main contributor with his quickfire 65 coming off just 58 balls.But Manenti was the star with 15 boundaries in his 101-ball knock.It was a third half-century in four innings for the No. 8 who is fast making a case to be considered an allrounder.South Australia looked in deep trouble with Lehmann’s dismissal leaving the visitors at 6 for 111 after being sent in to bat by Queensland.Wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen also made an important contribution down the order before being dismissed late in the day for 47.Michael Neser (3 for 60) and Xavier Bartlett (3 for 54) were the chief wicket-takers for Queensland.The latter dismissed Manenti after a flashing drive was caught in the gully.South Australia lined up without Wes Agar, the Shield’s leading wicket-taker before this round of games – he is being rested ahead of next Wednesday’s One-Day Cup final against Western Australia.The second-placed Queensland went into the penultimate round fixture sharing the No. 2 spot on the table with the in-form Victoria.

Earlier this week, Lahore Qalandars coach Aqib Javed told ESPNcricinfo about how other teams in the PSL prioritised power hitters, while Qalandars wanted to go for the best bowlers. Here, Multan Sultans demonstrated to them the value of power hitters lower down the order, as Kieron Pollard and Tim David dug deep against an imperious Qalandars bowling showing to post 160. Sultans then went about taking apart the defending champions’ batting line-up in astonishing fashion, with Sheldon Cottrell blowing away the top order as Qalandars folded for 76, the third-lowest total in PSL history. It sealed Sultans’ place in the PSL final for the third successive season – the first team to do that – while Qalandars drop down into Friday’s eliminator to keep their title defence intact.Chasing a total down against Qalandars’ bowling line-up has become the most daunting challenge in the PSL, and Sultans were sensible enough to be flexible. They won the toss and batted first for the first time this season, and just the fifth time in their history. But they tend to pick these moments well; they won three of the previous four.Related

• Aqib Javed: 'We wanted the best bowling unit, everyone else is after the best hitters'

• Miller: 'I've really enjoyed challenging myself against the PSL death bowlers'

That victory seemed anything but assured for much of the first innings, with Qalandars at their imperious best with the ball, stifling Sultans in the first 15 overs. The average first innings score this season here was 193, but it became obvious fairly soon the Sultans wouldn’t get anywhere near that. They managed just 46 in the powerplay, and while Qalandars hadn’t picked up any wickets, it didn’t seem as if they needed to.Haris Rauf, at his fearsome fastest, struck the first blow, though the ball he cleaned Usman Khan up with was a slower one. Zaman Khan got rid of a scratchy Rilee Rossouw cheaply, a huge wicket, particularly given Rossouw’s imperious record against Qalandars. Rashid Khan prised Mohammad Rizwan out with a wrong’un to reduce the Sultans to 90 for three, and Qalandars only tightened their grip on the game.Sheldon Cottrell celebrates with his signature salute after a top-order wicket•PCB

It was a sensational lower order counterattack from Pollard that dug his side out of a hole, though it wasn’t without its chances. Sam Billings dropped a skier fairly early on in the onslaught, with Shaheen Afridi and Hussain Talat missing chances to get rid of him. In the meantime, he was grinding through the gears, pushing up Sultans total to a defensible level, never more so than when he powered three sixes off Shaheen in the penultimate over; the 20 the Qalandars captain conceded made it his most costly PSL over. It also brought up a 33-ball 50 for Pollard, winning him the Player-of-the-Match award.Haris hit back with a scintillating final six balls, hitting speeds in excess of 150 regularly and cleaning up both Pollard and Khushdil Shah. It saw just six runs scored and clawed a bit of momentum Qalandars’ way, turning the task over to the batters.But Cottrell, newly arrived at the PSL, wrenched the game out of Qalandars’ hands before they’d even had the opportunity to get the chase off the ground. A double-strike in his second over, making prodigious use of inswing to the right-handers, put paid to both Mirza Baig and Abdullah Shafique, while Anwar Ali from the other end seamed one beautifully to knock back the top of Fakhar Zaman’s off stump. Cottrell wasn’t done with the ambush yet, returning to dispatch Shaheen with a wild swing off the second ball he faced finding Usman Khan at cover.There was more trauma about to be inflicted on a shell-shocked Qalandars. Pollard, their tormentor in chief with the bat, saw two wickets fall in his first over, sloppy running catching Talat out before a sensational running catch from Abbas Afridi brought the curtains down on Sikandar Raza.Qalandars’ thoughts were already turning to Friday’s eliminator. Billings and Rashid fell in quick succession, before a few lusty blows from David Wiese and Rauf gave a packed, partisan home crowd something to cheer for. It was to be ephemeral, however, with Abbas Afridi delivering the knockout blow as Haris feathered one through to the keeper.Sultans were thrashed in last year’s PSL final by this very opposition. But this was a step towards ensuring they might not even need to meet them at that stage one more time.

Multan Sultans put in arguably their worst batting performance of the tournament, but were bailed out by the Lahore weather. With Shan Masood’s side having limped to 102 for 6 in 16.5 overs, the heavens opened, with no further play possible. This had been a distinct possibility with rain having lashed the city for much of the past 24 hours, before the clouds cleared to allow the game to start on time.Karachi Kings started brightly, while Multan, playing their first game back in Lahore after three at home, found themselves under pressure from the outset. A disciplined start from Karachi produced dividends when Zeeshan Ashraf’s low-percentage swipe found a diving Chris Jordan at mid-on, before Moeen Ali, the only Multan player who looked in touch, top-edged Aamer Yamin to find Jordan prowling once more. What followed was nothing short of a collapse, with Rilee Rossouw edging Yamin to the keeper first ball, and Ravi Bopara lasted just two balls. Umer Khan removed Khushdil Shah for a tenuous 16-ball 8, and Multan were reeling at 64 for 6.It was a bitterly cold day for the crowd to endure, and they didn’t even get a completed game, but they may console themselves for one reason: they got to see Shahid Afridi in full flow with the bat once more. An exquisite, and effortless, flick off Mitchell McClenaghan flew over midwicket for six, before he repeated the dose the next ball to liven up a subdued crowd at Gaddafi Stadium. Next over, Umar Khan got the same treatment, and suddenly, Multan had brought up the 100, with Afridi having raced to 35 off 17.It was, as Afridi innings often are, ephemeral. Not, for a change, because of an ill-advised shot. Unseasonal rains were the culprit this time, and as they showed no signs of relenting, Karachi had to settle for a point Multan were only too glad to pocket.

As many as ten players opted out of Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan last year, the last time they played ODI cricket, and Sri Lanka have included many of them in a strong squad led by Dimuth Karunaratne, who was one of the players to withdraw, for the three-ODI series against West Indies starting Saturday.The 15-man squad also sees the return of Niroshan Dickwella, who last played an ODI in March 2019 before being dropped for the home games against Bangladesh in July. He also chose not to travel to Pakistan, as did Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews, all now back in the squad.The seam bowling attack for the series comprises of Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara and Isuru Udana, but is without senior bowler Suranga Lakmal, who played in the World Cup last year, but has been omitted from ODIs since. There were no surprises on the spin front: Wanindu Hasaranga, who impressed in Pakistan, and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, are the frontline options. The offspin of De Silva is also there as support. Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera and Mathews are the secondary seam bowling options.Opener Danushka Gunathilaka, meanwhile, missed out on selection due to injury, with the selectors instead going with Shehan Jayasuriya. Upul Tharanga, another opening candidate, did not make the squad despite hitting 120 against West Indies in a practice match on Monday. Asela Gunaratne, who also did well in that match, misses out as well.”Whoever misses out, it doesn’t mean they’re not good enough to play for the national side,” SLC Chief Selector Ashantha De Mel told ESPNcricinfo. “But it’s a difficult balance to give players a prolonged run in the side, while at the same time giving fringe players a chance.”In the end these are decisions that are not just taken by the selectors, but also the coaches and captain.”Lahiru Thirimanne had led Sri Lanka in the ODIs in Pakistan, but he was dropped for the upcoming games after scoring 36 and 0 in the two completed games in Karachi, both of which Sri Lanka lost.Minod Bhanuka, Oshada Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Angelo Perera were some of the younger players who made the trip to Pakistan but missed out this time, with the return of the high-profile players.The three ODIs will be played on February 22 and 26 and March 1 in Colombo, Hambantota and Pallekele respectively, before the teams contest two T20Is.Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Isuru Udana, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara

Australia hope to gather some early intel ahead of the opening T20 Women’s World Cup match against India next month as they get a taste for conditions at the Sydney Showground stadium which will host international cricket for the first time.The squad joined up in Sydney on Sunday to begin the final stages of preparations for the tournament, and while the main focus over the next few weeks will be the tri-series involving India and England, which begins in Canberra next Friday, the warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI at the Showground on Monday carries extra significance beyond allowing players a chance to get back into T20 mode.”That’s what it’s all about really, to get used to that ground,” Australia vice-captain Rachael Haynes said. “Particularly this year with the WBBL we didn’t get to play any matches there like we have in the past so it will be a really good opportunity for our players just to adjust to conditions, I guess spend some time in the stadium, too, as it’s a bit different fielding there. So no doubt we’ll try a couple of things and work out how we can help our game under those conditions.”Being a Sydney Thunder player in the WBBL means Haynes does have more experience of the venue than others, but there is a feeling of not leaving any stone unturned as they prepare for the World Cup, especially with the importance of the first match against India in what is viewed as the tougher of the two groups.”It’s certainly different to other grounds and that’s probably the unique thing about playing in Australia, that wherever you play there’s something you need to adjust,” Haynes said. “Showgrounds is no different, for us [the match] is a great opportunity to make sure we are really comfortable with how we need to play in those conditions.”The tri-series, which features matches in Canberra and Melbourne, will also be a chance to size up India under game situations. Their batting line-up was singled out by Australia coach Matthew Mott as being the most feared in T20 and they are one of the teams who could push the favourites in the World Cup.Having talked as a squad already about embracing the expectations around the tournament – which hopes to break the world record for a crowd at a women’s sports event for the final at the MCG on March 8 – Haynes said thoughts are turning to what lies ahead, but it also remains a balance.”I’d be lying if I said people aren’t thinking about the World Cup, I’m sure it’s on lots of players’ minds, but you can only do what’s in front of you and play the game in front of you. The games against India and England will be really important in terms of shaping our preparation for what’s to come. I’d like to think our team will take that opportunity to use it really well.”Australia will head to Canberra on Tuesday ahead of their first tri-series match against England on Saturday.

Cricket’s oldest format is to be used as a launchpad for its newer offspring, after Big Bash League chief Alistair Dobson candidly admitted the decision to start the 10th edition of the tournament as early as December 3 had much to do with giving it the helpful lead-in of Australia’s first Test against India at the Gabba that same week.After a period of more than 40 years in which cricket’s shorter formats – ODIs and then domestic T20 – have come to be seen as bankrollers for the traditional game played overs five days in whites, the recently ailing fortunes of the BBL have turned this notion on its head, with CA hoping to kickstart the T20 competition by running its launch off the back of the Brisbane Test.CA and the BBL clubs are increasingly desperate to find a way to get the tournament trending back up again in terms of broadcast viewers and crowds, with 2020-21 marking the halfway point of a six-year, A$1.18 billion deal with Seven and Fox Sports for which around half the value was drawn from an optimistic picture of how the BBL might grow.ALSO READ: WBBL to feature three-week Sydney hub amid Covid-19 contingenciesThis scheduling decision more or less answers the question of why the Gabba won out over Perth Stadium for the first match of the series against India, despite inferior facilities and seemingly a less helpful time slot for the vast subcontinental broadcast audience. A Perth Test would have finished too late for an ideal broadcast slot for BBL openers on the eastern side of the country, beginning with the Adelaide Strikers facing the Melbourne Renegades at Adelaide Oval on the Friday night after Tim Paine tosses the coin opposite Virat Kohli at the Gabba.Rashid Khan races off after claiming his hat-trick•Getty Images

“That fast start off the back of that first Test at the Gabba is going to be huge,” Dobson said. “All our numbers from a TV point of view suggest that BBL games off the back of Test matches are really strong. Our clubs have really bought into the idea of a really creative and innovative week of matches where we’ve got a home game for every club in those first eight, it presents some really interesting opportunities for us to work with our players and clubs around a theme and events.”That said, it also allows us to create a powerful core part of the BBL season in that central school holiday period with a run of prime-time matches and a spread of home games. BBL09 was full of highlights, there were a number of things that impacted our season that were out of our control. Innovation and entertainment are really important things for us to work towards for this season and if we can deliver on those things we’re on track to have a great BBL, inevitably with some bumps in the road to come.”All seven of Adelaide Oval’s Big Bash League fixtures will play out in prime-time evening slots in one of the standout features of a fixture list that has lengthened the 10th edition of the tournament to 65 days to appease broadcasters while also creating more room to move amid the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the chief complaints about last summer’s BBL was a proliferation of afternoon matches to squeeze the tournament’s 56 regular season games into a tighter window, with the Strikers suffering one of the biggest drop offs in terms of attendances due to getting far more early starts compared to Melbourne and Sydney in particular.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

However, the schedule for the 2020-21 tournament, subject to changes forced by Covid-19, has created room for the vast majority of matches to be played at night, with only eight earlier starts on double header days this time around – of those, only two matches start any earlier than 5pm eastern daylight time. As part of the carve up between broadcast rights holders Fox Sports and Seven, the pay TV network will get exclusive access to 10 evening matches.Among other changes, the regional component of last season’s fixture has been stripped back considerably after complaints from broadcasters about costs, while the problematic nature of the pre-Christmas period has been underlined by the use of the boutique-sized Junction Oval for a match between the Melbourne Stars and Adelaide Strikers on December 20. Dobson confirmed that CA would not be shifting from a 61-game tournament during the current broadcast deal with Fox Sports and Seven, lest it open up a negotiation that could only lead to a rights fee discount.”I know the length or the number of games is a topic people like to talk about, but we think the way we’ve set it up this year is really strong and people will be really engaged with the competition,” Dobson said. “Absolutely our commitment is to get all 61 games away and we’ve got a schedule that we think gives us the best chance to do that, but there is a whole range of scenario planning around making sure all the different options are considered.”We’ve got nothing but admiration for the way the footy codes have been able to adapt [to Covid], and we’re learning a lot from them and learning a lot from our broadcast partners, who are in the thick of it at the moment as well.”Issues around overseas players remain to be resolved, while a raft of other in-game tweaks will be formally announced by CA in coming weeks. “The prospect of bringing overseas players into both the WBBL and BBL is really important to those leagues,” Dobson said. “So we’re working really closely with internal experts to make sure the protocols and relevant exemptions and processes are in place. We’re optimistic of having overseas players part of both competitions again and there are a number of things we’ve got in place to give ourselves the best shot to do that.”Flexibility is going to be the key word. The ability for clubs to bring replacement overseas players in is obviously going to be more challenging on a short-term basis than it has in the past, the key is that we have to be really planned and organised. The list management strategies for clubs need to be in place ahead of time and we’re confident we’ll get the players in that we think are important to the league.”

Deepak Agarwal, the corruptor involved in Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan getting banned last year for failing to report approaches, has now himself received a two-year ban form the ICC’s anti-corruption unit for breaching its code.Agarwal, an Indian businessman, will not be allowed to be involved in any form of cricket worldwide – both domestic as well as international – until April 27, 2022, of which the last six months are suspended.The ICC said in a media release that Agarwal had accepted the solitary charge framed by the anti-corruption unit for “obstructing or delaying” an investigation including “concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence of or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct” under the ACU code.ALSO READ: ‘Do we work in this or I wait til the IPL’ – Agarwal’s conversations with ShakibIncidentally Agarwal, who is understood to be 34 years old and lives in Indian capital Delhi, had been on the ACU list of corruptors for some time, and was charged as a “participant” under its code. That was because in November 2018 Agarwal became one of the owners at the Sindhis franchise in the T10 Cricket League.Three days after he joined T10 League as an owner, the ACU sat down Agarwal on November 26 to investigate an alleged approach he had made to another “participant” in the past. That approach was not related to the T10 League. At this meeting, the ICC said Agarwal “surrendered” his mobile phone by “consent”.A month later, between December 22-25, 2018, the ACU found Agarwal was “engaged” in WhatsApp conversations with an unnamed person the ICC has called Mr X, who was facing several allegations the ACU was investigating. It is understood that Agarwal had used Mr X to get access to people including players to corrupt them and get information from them.On this occasion the ICC said both Agarwal and Mr X had been “in conversation” for “over the course of the previous year. “These WhatsApp conversations between Mr X and Mr Agarwal related to what Mr Agarwal had told the ACU in his interviews,” the ICC said. “In these conversations Mr Agarwal effectively instructed Mr X as to what to say to the ACU over certain matters to ensure that they both told the same story (a story which on occasions was not true) and consequently misled or obstructed the ACU’s investigation.”Mr X also sought clarification from Mr Agarwal over the interview process and what Mr Agarwal had told the ACU on certain matters. In effect, Mr Agarwal and Mr X contrived together to mislead the ACU investigation and not to tell the truth in their answers. 7.”ALSO READ: Just what was Shakib thinking?The ICC also said that Mr X was “instructed” by Agarwal to delete all the messages they had exchanged and his number during the course of the investigation. “In other words, Mr Agarwal instructed Mr X to conceal and/or destroy information which might be relevant to the ACU’s investigations. Mr Agarwal also instructed Mr X to lie to the ACU about when he had last spoken to Mr Agarwal, as they had had conversations during a time where Mr Agarwal had explicitly been told by the ACU not to engage with Mr X.”The ICC said that Agarwal “effectively admitted” to the breach during the investigations, saying both him and Mr X had “connived to mislead and/or obstruct” the ACU investigation.On December 22, 2019 the ICC formally charged Agarwal, who accepted that charge in writing on April 27. The ICC said that although under the code Agarwal could have been charged for the maximum penalty of up to 5 years, it had taken into account some mitigating factors. These included Agarwal “promptly” agreeing to the charge and importantly agreeing to “substantial assistance” he would provide to the ACU with its various other investigations.”There were a number of examples of Mr Agarwal obstructing and delaying our investigations and it was not just a one off occurrence,” Alex Marshall, ICC’s general manager, integrity, said in the release. “However, he made a prompt admission of his breach of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code and continues to provide substantial assistance to the ACU in relation to several investigations involving other participants. This cooperation is reflected in his sanction.”