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Offspinner Chris Green has been suspended from bowling due to an illegal action, Cricket Australia announced on Wednesday.Green was withdrawn from the Sydney Thunder squad for their Big Bash League match against the Melbourne Stars, scheduled for later in the day. Thunder are fourth on the points table, while the Stars are at the top.He was reported by umpires Nathan Johnstone, Mike Graham-Smith and third umpire Paul Wilson, after the match between the Thunder and Stars at the Sydney Showground Stadium on January 2.Green will be unable to for a minimum of 90 days in CA-run competitions, effective immediately. After the 90-day suspension has elapsed, Green will be eligible to undergo testing once again with a view to returning to bowling. He will be permitted to play as a batsman should the Thunder or Cricket NSW desire and can also play premier cricket (including bowl) under the supervision and with the consent of Cricket NSW during his suspension.So far, Green had played in each of the Thunder’s seven matches in BBL 2019-20, and had the second best economy rate among Thunder’s bowlers, with 7.55. He picked up only three wickets, but his miserly economy rate has been among his chief strengths.In December, he had the best economy rate of any bowler in T20 cricket in the past year, giving up runs at just 6.57 per over.Green had been picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders at his base price of INR 20 lakh in the IPL auction on December 19, and in November last year, he had signed the longest deal in BBL history, with Thunder snapping him up for six seasons.Once he was reported, Green underwent testing at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane on January 5 under the guidance of Dr Luke Kelly. Results from the test were made available to Cricket Australia on Wednesday, which showed Green to have an illegal bowling action.Peter Roach, CA’s head of cricket operations, praised the bowler and the franchise for their cooperation in the matter, and how they had handled it.”We’d like to commend Chris and the Thunder for the way they have approached this process with complete cooperation and respect,” he said. “Chris undertook testing at the earliest possible time and satisfactorily replicated his bowling action in the controlled environment. We look forward to working with Chris in the coming months and conducting further testing once the suspension period has elapsed.””Gutted I couldn’t be out there with my Thunder team-mates tonight,” Green tweeted. “Whilst the news surrounding my action is disappointing, I respect the process and the results of the test. Perspective is a powerful thing with what is currently happening in our country.”Through the help of my coaches, I will be doing everything I can to get back to doing what I love with ball in hand. I would like to thank everyone for their messages, I am very fortunate to have the best people and fans around to support me. Work starts tomorrow.”

The ICC’s anti-corruption unit (ACU) has suspended Oman’s Yousef Abdulrahim Al Balushi with immediate effect for allegedly indulging in corrupt practice during the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier, played in the UAE. The ACU filed the charges on Thursday against Al Balushi, who is also know as Yousuf Mahmood, finding him guilty on four counts including match-fixing. Al Balushi has two weeks to respond to the charges.Al Balushi has not been an active player for Oman for a few years after being named among the reserves for the 2016 T20 World Cup. ESPNcricinfo understands Al Balushi, who was not even part of the national squad, was attempting to influence players in the Oman squad during the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier and was stopped by the ACU. It is understood that Al Balushi was allegedly involved with more than one corruptor who was attempting to carry out betting-related activity on the matches in the T20 World Cup Qualifier.Oman, who finished second in Group B, qualified for the first round of the T20 World Cup which will be played later this year in Australia.The ACU has charged Al Balushi for breaching its code on the following four counts:Article 2.1.1: Being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of matches in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers 2019.Article 2.1.4: Attempting to solicit, induce, entice, persuade, encourage or intentionally facilitate a Participant to breach Article 2.1.Article 2.4.4: Failing to report the approaches or invitations that you received from three different individuals to be a party to an agreement or effort to fix matches in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers 2019.Article 2.4.7: Obstructing or delaying an investigation carried out by the ACU in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code, including by concealing or tampering with information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence of or lead to the discovery of evidence of Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Cricket Australia (CA) have mutually agreed to postpone the two-Test series that was scheduled for June, due to the persisting Covid-19 threat. The boards took the decision with the welfare of their players and communities in mind, and will work together to find a suitable date to play the series once the situation becomes clearer.The series was to be played between June 11 and June 23 in Chattogram and Dhaka, and is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. It becomes the third WTC series to affected after the Sri Lanka-England series scheduled for March, and the second Test of Bangladesh’s staggered tour of Pakistan, which was scheduled to begin on April 5.BCB CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said, “This is understandably disappointing for players and fans of both sides. However, in the current global scenario of the Covid-19 outbreak and considering the nature of the health emergency, the BCB and CA are in agreement that this is the most sensible and practical decision. We hope that the situation will improve soon and we are able to hold this series at a convenient time in the near future. To that end, the BCB will continue to work closely with CA with whom we share a history of support and cooperation.”The series is among two WTC series that are scheduled for June, with England scheduled to host West Indies around the same time. It was also to be Australia’s first visit to Bangladesh since their 1-1 series draw in 2017 – and, in fact, their first meeting in a bilateral setting since that one. Australia had, in 2018, called off hosting Bangladesh for two Tests and three ODIs because broadcasters were understood to have been uninterested in televising the series in the middle of the football season.”Postponing the tour is regrettable,” CA chief Kevin Roberts said through a statement, “but I would like to thank the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the open, honest and responsible discussions that led us to this mutually-agreed position. The health of our people and communities is the number one priority for both Boards and that is reflected in the action we have taken in postponing the two Test matches. As we know, the global cricket calendar is very busy but we will do everything we can to honour our commitment to Bangladesh and will continue to work with the BCB on an agreed date.”Australia are currently second in the WTC table with 296 points, having won two of their three series, while Bangladesh sit at the bottom, in ninth place with no points after one completed series.

South Africa’s women and A-team tours to the West Indies, scheduled to begin at the end of May and in mid-June respectively, have been postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. CSA and CWI agreed to reschedule dates for the two series but will continue to discuss the possibility of the men’s two-Test and five-T20 series set to take place in July-August.This is the second series South Africa’s women have had to forego after their home series against Australia, which was due to take place in March, was among the first international series to be postponed. The team has already qualified for next year’s Women’s World Cup and with the ICC’s announcement that the World Cup Qualifiers – due to take place in Sri Lanka between July 3-19 – will also be postponed, CSA and CWI agreed that the series between the two countries will not take place at the moment.Similarly, the A-team tour, which was due to act as an advance party for the senior men’s tour, has fallen victim to the uncertainty surrounding international travel and potential quarantine requirements. South Africa’s borders remain closed as the country approaches seven weeks under lockdown, with no indication of when airports may be allowed to open to the public yet. However, with the senior men’s tour only scheduled to start in mid-July, the two boards remain hopeful at least some cricket between their countries can be played.”The health and safety of the players and coaching staff is of paramount importance to both CWI and CSA and with the current Covid-19 travel restrictions, it is impossible for us to consider both tours taking place as we had originally planned,” Johnny Grave, CWI CEO, said. “We are continuing our discussions with CSA on the feasibility of hosting the men’s tour later this summer and will have further discussions in due course on new dates for the women’s and A-team tours.”ALSO READ: South Africa allrounder Solo Nqweni tests positive for coronavirusThe feasibility of the men’s tour will depend on several factors including whether the teams have enough time to train for an international series. CSA’s director of cricket Graeme Smith said South Africa would need a minimum of six weeks to prepare, which would mean a decision would have to be taken by the first week in June. At the same time, CWI is also involved in discussions with the ECB about the possibility of playing three Tests in the UK in July which may push back South Africa’s visit to the Caribbean.Although South Africa are keen to get on the park, CSA emphasised that health would come first. “It is a frustrating state of affairs in which cricket finds itself around the world, but there are more important issues that have to be confronted and the wellbeing of our players and support staff must always come first,” Jacques Faul, CSA acting CEO, said.”Both our men’s and women’s national teams are keen to get back on the playing field as soon as possible. They want to build on their recent good results with the men achieving a 3-0 victory over Australia and our women coming so close to reaching the Women’s T20 World Cup final.”South Africa’s players have not been able to train since March 26, when the country went into a strict lockdown, under which outdoor exercise was prohibited. Since May 1, South Africans can exercise outside between 6am and 9am but no group activity is allowed, which has resulted in CSA pushing back its planned winter training camps.

The Lanka Premier League – Sri Lanka’s first major T20 tournament since 2012 – is set to begin on August 28, will feature five teams, and will attract 70 international players and 10 “top notch” coaches. This is according to a Sri Lanka Cricket release, after the board’s executive committee confirmed the tournament, which had been rumoured for over a month.All of the above, however, is subject to government and Ministry of Health approval in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although Sri Lanka has not had lockdowns or curfews for more than a month and has had no community spread so far according to official figures, flights into the island are tightly controlled. Even the repatriation of Sri Lankans currently stands suspended.SLC CEO Ashley de Silva told ESPNcricinfo the board currently has little information about how foreign players and coaches can be brought to Sri Lanka, nor does it know how long they will have to be in quarantine upon arrival. SLC is hopeful the Sri Lankan government will assist with logistics.However, there has been substantial corporate interest in the tournament, according to de Silva. The board is hoping to lock down a tournament sponsor by July 30, and to find franchise owners in the weeks after that. No tournament director or event coordinator has yet been named.If it goes ahead as announced, the LPL will feature 23 games, and will be played across Sri Lanka’s four day/night international stadiums – Khettarama, Sooriyawewa, Pallekele and Dambulla. The action will move from venue to venue as the tournament progresses, rather than be played in various venues within the space of a few days as is the case with past iterations of the Indian Premier League or Big Bash League, for example. The five teams will be named after five cities – Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Dambulla and Kandy – but teams will not have a base venue, nor will they necessarily play most of their games in the city they are named for.SLC had announced an LPL for 2018, but had cancelled that tournament due to insufficient interest. Previous boards had also tried to get major T20 leagues off the ground in at least three other years, and only once managed to host a tournament – 2012’s Sri Lanka Premier League, which was plagued by poor crowds and corruption rumours.Although the board is optimistic about this year’s tournament, largely because Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of Covid-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations, there are substantial hurdles to be cleared before the LPL becomes reality. The most significant of those, for now, is the support of the government.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan is hopeful that Bangladesh will not miss out on most of their postponed international matches during the Covid-19 pandemic, except the two-match Test series against Australia at home, which was supposed to be held in June. Since the Bangladesh government announced a general holiday in March due to the outbreak, the BCB postponed the Dhaka Premier League while their tours to Pakistan and Ireland were also called off.The home Test series against New Zealand were also postponed, but a tour of Sri Lanka, which had fallen through earlier, has now been rescheduled and will take place in October.Hassan added that all the other bilateral series will be back on the calendar in due course. “We have missed a lot of cricket, like the home series against Australia and New Zealand. We have one Test remaining against Pakistan, as well as the Ireland series. Apart from the Australia series, we are going to reschedule all these matches. We cannot match the timing with them.”Hassan drew a bleaker picture for domestic cricket in Bangladesh. The 2019-20 Dhaka Premier League which was postponed after one round of matches in March, is unlikely to take place until the pandemic situation improves in the country.Apart from the Australia series, we are going to reschedule all these matches – Nazmul Hassan•Getty Images

“The league can only start under either two conditions,” Hassan said. “Firstly, if the Covid situation in Bangladesh improves, or if the vaccine arrives. Otherwise, I don’t see any logic in starting the league. I don’t see any point taking a risk by trying to be brave.”My only message to (domestic cricketers) would be to look at the rest of the world where millions have lost their job and have no income. Let us pray to Allah to help us recover from this pandemic. Of course, the BCB will try to help them.”Hassan said that the situation in Bangladesh is so dire that he is proposing early departure to Sri Lanka. Initially the plan was for the players to leave for Colombo on September 23 or 24, go through the two-week quarantine and then train for the series that begins on October 24.”I have proposed that we should shift most of the training to Sri Lanka which we can assume is a safer place,” Hassan said. “Making the training camp short here, we should go there early and hold a longer camp in Sri Lanka.”The only reason we are sending the team to Sri Lanka is because it is one of the safe countries. Sri Lanka hasn’t found any new cases in the last few months.”Hassan said that holding a training camp in Dhaka would mean that the BCB has to rent isolated apartment blocks or take over entire floors of a 5-star hotel. “We will instruct the players to get tested from labs from their hometowns and then as soon as they arrive at the camp, they will be tested. Then 20 days later they will be tested again.”I have suggested that if we keep them in a 5-star hotel, couple of floors have to be completely locked down. Even the cleaners have to be in isolation. So we have to speak to hotels or even find apartments. We are still in the process of finalizing, but we are trying to ensure as much security as possible against coronavirus,” he said.

The BCCI has decided not to renew the contracts of 11 National Cricket Academy (NCA) coaches, four of them former India players, in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, because of which there has been no activity at the academy in Bengaluru for the past few months and no plans for a restart in the foreseeable future. The BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said the board would advertise for the positions and the people not retained can also apply again.These coaches – former players Subroto Banerjee, Shiv Sunder Das, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Ramesh Powar, Mansur Ali Khan and Sitanshu Kotak among them – were on one-year contracts for salaries ranging from INR 30 lakh to INR 50 lakh [$40,750 to $67,900 approx.]. They were informed by Rahul Dravid, the NCA boss, that they would not be needed after the deals end on September 30. The other members of the coaching staff to lose their jobs are Rajiv Dutta, Apurva Desai, Atul Gaikwad, Subhadeep Ghosh, and T Dilip.According to Ganguly, the board was simply following the rules laid out in the BCCI constitution. “Their (the coaches’) term has expired,” Ganguly told ESPNcricinfo. “As per constitution, new advertisement has to be given and they can apply again. That’s the rule.”*On their part the coaches remarked there was no clear reason conveyed to them.”It came as a shock, because there was no warning, when Rahul called me and said he had some bad news for me,” one of the coaches told ESPNcricinfo on condition of anonymity. “There is no cricket (because of Covid-19), so they probably don’t want to continue with us. The people who were on long-term contracts are still there, but we have been told to go.””It is unfortunate, but the contracts have not been renewed,” a senior BCCI functionary told ESPNcricinfo. “The idea was to engage them for a whole year, and not on a piecemeal basis, when the NCA got them to work when they were free. So they worked with the national teams – India women, India Under-19, India A, Women’s Under-19s, Women’s A team – and for our national camps, across age groups, for women and men, which are conducted at NCA throughout the year.”A lot of good work was going on, with these coaches and all the other people, in the educational wing, where (former India cricketer) Sujith Somasundar is in charge. I hope we consider re-employing them when work resumes at NCA again.”While Dravid was unavailable for comment, one of the coaches we spoke to explained how closely the former India captain had worked with the coaching staff to “try and take Indian cricket to the next level”.”Rahul had handpicked all of us (coaches), and it was done with a plan in place. We have made plans and programmes together, to try and take Indian cricket to the next level, become the best in the world for a long period,” one of the coaches said. “We have had meetings twice every week through the pandemic too. Work has been going on.”Maybe we will be taken back later, but there are no guarantees.”The coaches in question were hired around a year ago by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, who were in charge of helming the affairs of the BCCI till October last year, on Dravid’s recommendation, with an agreement to work 120 days during the course of the year.In the past, before Dravid took charge, the BCCI would appoint coaches on an ad-hoc basis, mostly as consultants. Former cricketers would be roped in for short stints to guide all age-groups. However, once Dravid was appointed as NCA’s director of cricket, he put out a roadmap part of which his vision to provide exposure and growth to Indian domestic coaches.Along with Saba Karim, Dravid shortlisted candidates they thought could serve in different positions. These coaches were then rotated at India A, women’s cricket and Under-19 levels in addition to their responsibilities at the NCA to help them gain the experience of being on the road and understanding the wider challenges of coaching.

Devon Conway (Wellington)

Conway, the South African-born batsman who has been prolific in recent seasons, officially completed his qualification period in August although how soon he slots into any of the national sides remains to be seen. There is due to be an extensive New Zealand A programme this season so he can expect to be given a run in that. During the 2019-2020 season he topped the averages across all three tournaments – the Plunket Shield, One-Day Trophy and Super Smash – and his returns included a career-best, unbeaten 327 against Canterbury.

Jeet Raval (Northern Districts)

Last season was a forgettable one for Raval, who lost his Test spot after being worked over by the England and Australia attacks and then dropped off the NZC contracts list. He has moved from Auckland to Northern Districts in the off-season so will hope that a change of scenery can bring a change of fortunes. “A few issues started creeping into my game and then it sort of turned into a battle of the mind.” he told ESPNcricinfo during the winter. “But look, I’m content with the career I’ve had so far, and I’m determined to get back to where I was through the lessons I’ve learnt.”

Ajaz Patel (Central Districts)

Left-arm spinner Patel has been a very consistent performer in the Plunket Shield and now holds a NZC central contract following the retirement of Todd Astle. Since he made his first-class debut in 2012, he is far and away the best spinner in the competition with 215 wickets at 30.42. However, it’s a tough gig being New Zealand’s Test spin bowler on home soil. Patel has played three home matches out his eight Tests and has yet to take a wicket – in his most recent outing against India, in Wellington, he was needed for a grand total of six overs.

Daryl Mitchell (Canterbury)

One of the more significant off-season moves was Mitchell heading from Northern Districts to Canterbury. The allrounder made his Test last season, scoring 73 against England in Hamilton, but did not make the tour of Australia or series against India although he hit a century for New Zealand A against India A. He only made two Plunket Shield appearances but scored 197 runs without being dismissed including a career-best 170 not out. He will be a key component to the Canterbury side as they look to improve on just one win in six games last season.

Ben Sears (Wellington)

The 22-year-old pace bowler, who was part of the Under-19 World Cup in 2016, took 14 wickets in four matches at 18.57 last season and is highly regarded in the Wellington set-up, capable of pushing the speed gun towards 140kph. His returns included 6 for 43 against Auckland during which he took three wickets in seven balls. His father, Michael, had a four-year first-class career with Wellington in the early 1990s.

Glenn Phillips (Auckland)

More well-known for his exploits in T20 cricket, Phillips made a dash across the Tasman in early January to answer an SOS from the New Zealand Test squad and less than 24 hours later was making his debut at the SCG. He produced an excellent half-century in the first innings with a batting style that quickly drew comparisons with Steven Smith. He has a solid first-class record under his belt which included a century against England last year in a warm-up match.

Courtney Walsh wants to see West Indies women’s team smiling again – he also wants to see them winning, but believes the two go hand-in-hand.Walsh has laid out his blueprint as the new West Indies women’s head coach on the eve of meetings with the region’s cricket hierarchy to discuss what is possible under financial and physical constraints imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.Top of his wish list is to restore West Indies’ brand of cricket, starting with an assessment of the talent pool via a series of training camps and either more regional women’s cricket or, if that’s not feasible, scouting trips to the various island nations.”I don’t want to use the word revamp,” Walsh said in a Zoom press conference on Monday. “We’ve got to start to refocus, re-energise and try to recreate and spot new talent as well.”Unfortunately we’re not doing as much cricket in the region for the women as we would like to but we have to look at what we have and to get that sparkle back. I would like to see us smiling again, playing the West Indian brand of cricket that we know we can play.”Walsh, who is West Indies’ leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 519 scalps, was announced as women’s head coach last week, immediately following the team’s 5-0 defeat in their bilateral T20I series in England. He takes over from Gus Logie, with Andre Coley holding the position on an interim basis for the tour to England, which marked the return of top-flight women’s cricket after the pandemic.Walsh, who had previously worked with the women’s team during the T20 World Cup in Australia earlier this year, has also worked as assistant coach with the Bangladesh men’s team and served as a West Indies selector.He believed West Indies women had performed better in England than the series scoreline suggests, but he also conceded that they had suffered from an over-reliance on “a couple of players” who had “been carrying the team”.”You cannot just be dependent on one or two players,” Walsh said. “Yes, we have those players who are going to lead the charge, but we also we have good back-up players who can and will have to step to the plate. It’s giving them that confidence, that self belief.”Sometimes we are afraid to fail, but if you’re failing and you get better, or you’re improving by making a mistake or two, I can live with that, but it can’t be the same constant mistakes all the time.”I want the players to believe in themselves, and they’re smiling and enjoying what they’re doing. Yes, you’re going to have a bad patch, you’re going to have the battle, the hard feelings, here and there, but that consistency and that pride of wanting to play for West Indies is what I want to instil.”Deandra Dottin was the leading run-scorer in the series against England with 185 runs at an average of 37.00. But she and captain Stafanie Taylor, who had 78 runs at 26.00 were the only West Indies players to pass 40 runs for the series, exposing the lack of depth in the batting line-up.Deandra Dottin frees her arms•Getty Images

West Indies missed Dottin’s bowling – she only sent down eight overs as she continues her comeback from shoulder surgery – and Shamilia Connell claimed seven wickets at 19.28 to be their leading wicket-taker on the strength of her 3 for 14 in the fifth match, which was reduced to five overs per side by rain.As recently as last year, Taylor blamed a poor domestic women’s structure for failing to nurture young talent, despite West Indies having won the T20 World Cup in 2016.Walsh will meet with Cricket West Indies CEO Johnny Grave and director of cricket Jimmy Adams on Tuesday to discuss practical ways forward.”I’d like to see more cricket being played, that’s obvious, in the region,” Walsh said. “If we can get more women playing in the region at the regional level, then that’s a big plus for Cricket West Indies and a bigger pool to look at.”Obviously you want to see them in a match situation, but if that’s not going to happen then we might have a look at taking a core of coaches to the Windward Islands, to Jamaica, to Barbados and try to have fun days to see if we can spot talent.”What I’d love to be able to do is get a camp going at the earliest convenience for everybody involved so I can start looking at the players… see where they’re at and get a good guideline or a gauge as to where they can go and who we need to prolong with, who we need to give specifics stuff to go and do, so we can get a little bit more technical with some of the players.”I don’t know how soon we can have that in place in terms of that camp but that will be the first thing on my agenda.”

England allrounder Lewis Gregory has signed with the Brisbane Heat for the BBL, joining Somerset team-mate Tom Banton at the club.Gregory has played eight T20Is, the most recent during the series against Pakistan in September, and has also had spells at the Pakistan Super League and Bangladesh Premier League.”He was quite sought after so we’re very pleased he is coming to us,” the Heat coach Darren Lehmann said. “He has built a very respectable reputation as a finisher with the bat for Somerset in the Vitality Blast T20 competition, and he is skillful with the ball as well as having good pace.””It’s great adding another experienced performer into the group. He’s performed quite well in the overseas T20 leagues he has played in and had a good taste of Australian conditions last season as captain of the English Lions team that was out here on tour.”Exactly when Gregory is available for the tournament will depend on whether he is included in the England squad for the limited-overs tour of South Africa that runs until December 9. International players arriving for the BBL – possibly except those coming from New Zealand which has a travel bubble with parts of Australia – will be required to quarantine for 14 days on arrival.Gregory said: “I’ve enjoyed the challenge of adapting to conditions when I played in the BPL and PSL and got some good insights into Australian conditions during the Lions tour so I’m certainly excited to be heading to the Heat.”The club confirmed last week that AB de Villiers would not return for this year’s tournament. Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is the third overseas player in the Heat squad with teams now allowed to field three in their XIs for the next two seasons.The English game is providing a rich source of overseas players for this year’s BBL. Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tom Curran and James Vince will all be taking part. Jonny Bairstow may also join the Melbourne Stars.The reworked schedule for the tournament is expected to be released later this week with the competition due to start around December 10. It will take place in rolling hubs across the country depending on border restrictions with flexibility built in to take advantage of any further loosening of restrictions during January.