Alec Stewart a probable for the national selector role
Ashley Giles set to make administrative return after ECB stint
#OTD: England registered a nail-biting victory over Australia
#OTD in 2002: Trio of Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly hit centuries in the same innings of a Test match
It was the only instance of the India trio reaching three figures simultaneously in a single innings.
ENG vs IND | Ashley Giles terms India a 'T20 powerhouse' following the visitors' thumping victory in Edgbaston
Giles heaped praises on India's aggressive batting after the visitors crushed the hosts in the second consecutive match.
Ashley Giles questions Jasprit Bumrah's leadership skills
Former England spinner Ashley Giles is not convinced that Jasprit Bumrah is the right choice for the captaincy role.
England head coach Chris Silverwood axed after Ashes failure
Losing Ashes 4-0 to Australia, demands of changes within English cricket were made by fans and pundits. While captain Joe Root seemed to have survived the wind, it was all but written that the head coach and a few administrators would suffer the wrath
Ashes aftermath: Managing Director Ashley Giles steps down
England’s 0-4 defeat to Australia in Ashes down under has sent a ripple effect throughout the English cricketing structure. Talks had already begun during the series that the English County system does not given any incentives to the players for playing the long format of the game. And now all of that has boiled down to Ashley Giles having to step down from the position of Managing Director of the England and Wales Cricket Board. His position will be filled by Andrew Strauss on an interim basis till England finds a suitable alternate. When asked about a comment, Giles stated that he was proud of the achievements that England had made under him and he was looking forward to spending more time with his family.
Ashley Giles expresses regret over England's Ashes rout
Giving details of what will follow after the series defeat, Giles mentioned that they will review the tour and send a report to the board as he spoke to the reporters in Sydney ahead of the dead rubber.
Very confident our players didn’t breach protocols: Ashley Giles, England Team Director
England’s Men’s team Director, Ashley Giles backed his players after several of them tested for Covid-19 on Monday, July 5 and reports came out on Tuesday, July 6. A former England player himself, Giles said that the players haven’t broken any protocol whatsoever. "I'm very confident the players haven't breached any of those protocols. We can't say where it [the virus] originated, but we can identify how some of this has developed through close contact,” Giles was quoted as saying by Espncricinfo. Saying that the games are not only involving players and playing but are also seen as sources of revenue generation from cricket. Giles impressed upon the fact that ECB or the England team hasn’t gambled by compromising the protocol. "We haven't gambled. I don't believe we've gambled at all. We are fully aware of the risks and we are aware of the knife-edge that we are working on all the time. We are trying to look after our people and keeping them sane while protecting the revenues of the whole game. It is a difficult balance to strike,” said the 48-year-old. Giles defending the ECB’s relaxed protocols saying that if the entire society opens up, there is no way that players can remain autoimmune to everything around them. "Let's stop talking about relaxed protocols. If we haven't got sole use of hotels, if we have grounds with crowds and you have staff coming in and out of the environment then, however much testing you do, there is going to be a risk. We are seeing an almost impossible situation as society opens and the virus is still spreading,” Giles defended. Setting priorities right for the next assignment, Giles continued, "During this period - these next six games - I think we are going to have to tighten up the environment. It is unlikely that we'll have [family] visits into the hotels. Previously those visits were very carefully risk-assessed and arduous, actually.” “We are dealing with difficult circumstances and there is still a bit of unknown. We probably won't sleep easy until we have got through those PCR tests and arrive in Cardiff,” promised the former left-arm spinner, now tasked to battle it out against a virus for his nation. The ECB already announced a totally different team from the one that played against Sri Lanka, to face Pakistan. The first match of the three-match ODI series against the Babar Azam team would be played on July 8th at Sophia Gardens Cardiff. England would be led by Ben Stokes.
How rescheduled IPL jeopardises CWC Super League, T20 World Cup preparations of many countries
The Board of Control for Cricket in India was quick to announce the dates for the remainder of the Indian Premier League to be held in the United Arab Emirates. However, that poses a potent question on whether it will be as global a tournament as it is supposed to be, or will it be, to quote Wriddhiman Saha, “A star-studded version of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.” The rescheduling of the 14th season of the cash-rich league between September 19 and October 10 would mean that all the key foreign players would have to be rushed in from their national duties. And boards would not like it one bit as has been explicitly expressed by ECB’s Ashley Giles and subversively by New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Australia as well, the three nations with the most important players in the league. But what if players decided to abandon national teams and participate in the IPL? How will it hamper the country’s preparation for the T20 World Cup and furthermore the Cricket World Cup Super League, the primary qualifying tournament for the 2023 ODI World Cup to be held in India? The International Cricket Council's Future Tours Programme is a good place to make sense of these things and that's what we will do. We will try to understand, how does the IPL window effect other boards, and consequently the entire ecosystem of cricket till the 2023 ODI World Cup. England The English team is supposed to play Pakistan for two T20Is in October just ahead of the scheduled T20 World Cup dates and the ECB has also confirmed that the team would be touring Bangladesh for a limited over series in early October as well. This is clearly indicative of the fact that English players will not be available for the second leg of the IPL. However, if the likes of Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Sam Curran do try to get in, it has been made highly unlikely by Managing Director of England Men’s team Ashley Giles. The former left-arm spinner said, “We are going to have to give some of these guys a break at some point. But the intention of giving guys a break for, say, Bangladesh, wouldn't be for them to go and play cricket elsewhere.” “We have to manage our schedule now, so we get our guys arriving in the best shape possible for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes," said Giles at the launch of IG as the new official partner of England Cricket. With this statement, he has made fully clear the intentions of ECB of not sending the players for IPL’s second leg. Australia The Australian players haven’t really had much time together with many of its key players not playing together. Just before the World Cup, the team planned a Tri-Series in UAE involving West Indies and Afganistan, although that has yet not been officialised. But if they anyhow do not play the series, the Aussie players would be available as they do not have any series lined up. The question here will be of either bubble fatigue running into a very hectic Australia summer or of preparation going into the T20 World Cup, a tournament the Kangaroos have not won since the inception of the competition. If Kolkata Knight Riders’ most expensive player Pat Cummins’ withdrawal from the second leg is any sign of things to come, then Cricket Australia might want to prioritise their campaign for the T20 World Cup. Thus if the Aussie players indeed go on to join the IPL campaign, they would be jeopardising their team’s training for the World Cup. New Zealand Although not confirmed, the Kiwis are scheduled to tour Bangladesh in the September-October period for limited-overs series which might involve CWC Super League matches as well as all-important T20Is. The BCB did confirm that both England and New Zealand would be touring and hence the availability of key Blackcaps for IPL looks slim. And again if IPL manages to lure them with money, then their World T20 campaign as well as chances of gaining 30 crucial points to their CWC Super league tally would get thin. However those series can be scheduled later, but in the post covid world, that is never guaranteed. West Indies Apart from these big three nations, the other team that would be heavily compromised on the practice and fatigue of the players will be the defending champions West Indies. The Kieron Pollard-led team will be playing back-to-back cricket starting June 26 when they play the first T20I against South Africa, up till September 18, the scheduled date for the Finals of the Caribbean Premier League’s 2021 edition. With such a heavy dose of cricket, if 31 games of IPL are squeezed in along with several bio-bubble transfers, Phil Simmons’ men wouldn’t be in the best of their selves to go for their title defence in October-November for sure, not to mention the tri-series with Afghanistan and Australia if it formulates at all. Bangladesh Although there are only two Bangladesh players signed in the IPL, those two are crucial members of both the national team and their respective franchise, hence their presence matters at both places. Bangladesh back-to-back host Australia, England, and New Zealand after having already had a busy season with the Dhaka Premier League and tour to Zimbabwe. The Bangladesh Cricket Board were already not happy with Shakib Al Hasan skipping the Sri Lanka Test series during the IPL and with CWC Super League points at stake, they would not be very happy if the players choose to prioritise their franchise commitents. Thus far, South Africa remains the only top country that wouldn’t have any fixtures scheduled during the IPL (given they are supposed to play India) and can afford to send players for the league. However, with BCCI seeking some more time to discuss the hosting of the T20 World Cup, chances are that the tournament might get moved a little further than the scheduled dates, in which case, it will solve many of the existing problems. But as things stand at the moment, the rescheduled IPL is certainly jeopardising the plans of many countries’ T20 World Cup campaign as well as messing with their CWC Super League’s points table.