XAVIER VOIGT-HILL looks back at who has had the best and worst week in the world of cricket, from Ireland's new men's captain to England's most prolific Test bowler
The Brazilian Cricket Association has announced that 14 members of the national women's setup will this year become the country's first players to receive central contracts.
The women's side currently sits 36th in the ICC's international T20 team rankings – 40 spots higher than their male counterparts – and support from local sponsors has enabled the board to offer contracts that will see players training five days a week.
In a press release announcing the news, BCA president Matt Featherstone said the board hopes the investment will help further stimulate the growth of the women's game in the country and help the national side reach a maiden global tournament in the coming years.
"We know that the Brazilian ladies have the ability to play at higher level – we are just going to provide them with the opportunity. I really think the ladies have the potential to put Brazil on the map globally," Featherstone said.
While cricket has been played in Brazil since the 1800s, the country first fielded a men's side in an ICC regional tournament in 2005 before the women's side followed suit five years later.
The women have since gone on to take four of the last five South American Women's Championships – most recently easing to a four-wicket win over Argentina in Lima to take the 2019 title – and they are undefeated through their 10 international fixtures since being granted full T20I status by the ICC in 2018.
The charity sale of the spinner's Australian Test cap concluded overnight, with the final bid of A$1,007,500 (£530,140) more than doubling the previous world record for cricket memorabilia set by Sir Don Bradman’s cap at a private auction in 2003.
A late flurry of bids saw the Baggy Green's value almost double in the 24 hours of the online auction, which began on Monday, with a Sydney-based bidder by the name of M.C. – later revealed to be Matt Comyn, the chief executive of longtime Cricket Australia sponsors Commonwealth Bank – eventually coming away with the famous keepsake.
All proceeds from the sale will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund to assist ongoing bushfire relief efforts across Australia, while the bank intends to tour the cap around the country before donating it to the Bradman Museum in New South Wales as a permanent exhibit.
Thankyou so much to everyone that placed a bid & a huge Thankyou / congrats to the successful bidder - you have blown me away with your generosity and this was way beyond my expectations ! The money will go direct to the Red Cross bushfire appeal. Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vyVcA7NfGs
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) January 9, 2020
Speculation has been rife that the ICC's Cricket Committee is set to mandate four-day Test matches in the next World Test Championship cycle, but five-day purists have come out in force this week after England completed a thrilling victory over South Africa at Newlands this week with just 8.2 overs remaining on the final day of the game.
After appearing to support the concept in an interview with Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton on the eve of the Cape Town Test, England skipper Joe Root joined the likes of Nathan Lyon, Vernon Philander, Sachin Tendulkar and Ashley Giles in coming out in vociferous support of the longer format, which has been the primary format of the international red-ball game since four-day matches were abandoned in 1973.
Committee members Andrew Strauss and Mahela Jayawardene have both also expressed caution at the idea of shortening the traditional game ahead of a meeting, with the former England captain insisting that administrators would be better off ensuring the all-round health and viability of the Test game first before rushing into any unproven format changes.
Looking ahead to the Cricket Committee's debates in March, The Cricketer has profiled each of the 18 members of the panel, while Huw Turbervill has reflected on what the support of players and fans might mean for the future of the format.
Ben Stokes celebrated England's win in Cape Town by expressing his love of the five-day Test format
Two international mainstays found themselves in hot water and out of pocket this week after being found guilty of making inappropriate remarks to opponents in the field of play.
Australia's Marcus Stoinis was the first man to be caught out, tarnishing an otherwise impressive Big Bash campaign at the top of the Melbourne Stars lineup by making a homophobic comment towards Melbourne Renegades bowler Kane Richardson during a convincing derby win over the weekend against the reigning champions.
After Stoinis admitted to the disciplinary charges brought after the game by umpires Phillip Gillespie and Gerard Abood, Cricket Australia fined the opener A$7,500. As it was his first breach of the board's code of conduct, the offence does not result in a repeat of the one-match ban handed out to Victoria's James Pattinson after a similar incident in a Sheffield Shield fixture in November.
Jos Buttler then joined him in the game's bad books, with England's wicketkeeper being penalised 15 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point after the second Test win over South Africa in Cape Town. A second-innings tirade directed at Proteas stalwart Vernon Philander included describing the Somerset-bound bowler as a "f*****g k******d" and was picked up on stump microphones for the global broadcast feed.
The incident is Buttler's first reprimand from the ICC since being handed a demerit point for obscenities directed at Bangladesh players in 2016, however players only become in danger of being suspended if they accumulate four or more of these points in a 24-month period.
England's leading wicket-taker faces another uphill battle to return to the Test arena after being ruled out of the second half of his side's tour of South Africa with a damaged left rib.
James Anderson picked up the niggle during the team's win historic win at Newlands, which was only his second game back in the side after recovering from the calf injury that limited his Ashes summer to four overs on the first morning and also saw him miss Tests against New Zealand and Ireland in 2019.
Having arrived earlier than his teammates to undergo rehab work in Potchefstroom, the 37-year-old had been one of a very small handful of England's 17-man squad to dodge an illness that marred the opening portion of the tour, and the side's former batting coach Mark Ramprakash has been among those to question whether the injury could mark the end of Anderson's storied 151-match Test career, at least on the road.
"He's done terrifically well to play as long as he has, but you feel with the calf strain he had last summer and now this, it's going to be very tough for him to continue his England career," the veteran Surrey and Middlesex batsman said.
News of Anderson's ailment added injury to, well, injury for Joe Root's side as they head to Port Elizabeth, as the previous day had seen confirmation that opening batsman Rory Burns will miss the next four months – including the tour of Sri Lanka – after requiring ankle surgery earlier this week.
Rory Burns and James Anderson will miss the remainder of England's South Africa tour
This week saw Balbirnie's long-awaited debut as Ireland's full-time men's skipper kick off with a trip to the West Indies, but William Porterfield's successor is still hunting his first win after two ODI outings at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
In Tuesday's series opener, the batsman was the second to fall after winning the toss as the green team slid down to 88 for 6, and late resistance from Mark Adair, Lorcan Tucker and the unbeaten Boyd Rankin (10 from 29 at No.11) could not come close to posting a competitive total. A run-a-ball 99 from opener Evin Lewis saw the hosts cruise to a five-wicket win with 16.4 overs to spare, while Alzarri Joseph picked up the player of the match honours for an efficient display of 4-32.
The template in yesterday's must-win clash was eerily familiar, as Balbirnie was again second to fall with 51 runs on the board, while Antiguan seamer Joseph came away with the exact same figures after Ireland put Kieron Pollard’s host side in to field. However, a fine 63 from opener Paul Stirling alongside late cameos from Simi Singh and Barry McCarthy saw the tourists register 237.
All seemed to be going to plan for the first 40 overs of the chase, with single-figure scores from three of the top four leaving the West Indies at 33 for 3 after the powerplay and 200 for 8 when Khary Pierre departed with 67 balls remaining.
However, Joseph again came to the rescue in a 32-run partnership with Hayden Walsh Jr, and a pair of bungled run-out attempts from bowler Mark Adair in the final over saw Sheldon Cottrell eventually seal a remarkable one-wicket comeback with a drive over extra cover – his fourth six in 56 international matches – with the penultimate ball of the game.
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