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Scotland's Charlie Cassell breaks ODI record with seven-for on debut

South Africa's Kagiso Rabada had held the record for best figures on ODI debut since 2015



Charlie Cassell had a dream ODI debut, taking 7 for 21

Scotland fast bowler Charlie Cassell has broken the record for the best figures on ODI debut by taking 7 for 21 in 5.4 overs against Oman in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 match in Dundee.
The record was held by South Africa's Kagiso Rabada, who had taken 6 for 16 on his ODI debut against Bangladesh in July 2015.
Cassell was added to the Scotland squad for the matches against Oman on July 15, as a replacement for fast bowler Chris Sole who was unavailable for personal reasons.

"You've come back from a huge setback, with that massive injury you had, put you out for a year and a bit," Scotland captain Richie Berrington said when presenting Cassell with his cap before the game against Oman. "Just to see your resilience coming back, getting back on the park, and just love watching what you do at Forfs [Forfashire], and just the way how you hold yourself is incredible."
Cassell made a sensational start to his international career, trapping Zeeshan Maqsood lbw and bowling Ayaan Khan with the first two balls he bowled against Oman. He missed a hat-trick but then had Khalid Kail caught off his fourth delivery, and when he had Shoaib Khan caught in his second over, Cassell had astonishing figures of 1.3-1-0-4.
Mehran Khan became Cassell's fifth wicket. He then dismissed Pratik Athavale to join Rabada and West Indies' Fidel Edwards as the only bowlers with six wickets on ODI debut, before ending Oman's innings by having Bilal Khan caught behind to pick up a record seventh in his maiden international.
Cassell's 7 for 21 helped Scotland dismiss Oman for 91 in 21.4 overs, a target they chased down with eight wickets in hand and 196 balls remaining.

[BangaloreaN]

Will N Srinivasan lose CSK ownership after Ultratech buys India cements?



Aditya Birla Group's UltraTech Cement acquired India Cements. This deal took place on 28 July. UltraTech said in a statement that its board has approved the purchase of 32.72 percent in India Cements. With this he will have a total stake of 55.49 percent in the company. After this, the question is being asked whether the ownership of IPL's most successful franchise Chennai Super Kings will also change. Currently its ownership is with N Srinivasan and his family. Till now Srinivasan was the owner of India Cements. But even after the acquisition of India Cements, the ownership of CSK will remain with Srinivasan.

CSK was taken over by India Cements before the start of IPL in 2008 but its control passed to a different company in 2015. Currently, this IPL franchise works under Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL). In 2015, the shares of the IPL team were distributed among the people involved in India Cements. In this way, lakhs of people currently have shares in CSKCL. However, the maximum stake is with the Srinivasan family. In such a situation, the acquisition of India Cements will not have any impact on Chennai Super Kings.

Dhoni is the Vice President of India Cements

It is not yet decided what will happen to the roles of cricketers like MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, and R Ashwin. These players are holding different positions in India Cements. Dhoni is the Vice President of this company. India Cements also operates some teams in Tamil Nadu cricket. The picture of their future is also not clear.

India Cements is a 77-year-old company. After its acquisition, UltraTech's dominance in the cement market continues. He has bought 32.72 percent stake for Rs 3954 crore. Earlier in June 2024, 22.77 percent shares were taken for Rs 1889 crore.
As for CSK, who won their fifth IPL title in IPL 2023 could not finish in the top four in IPL 2024. Ruturaj Gaikwad was appointed the team's captain but after a hard-fought season team could only finish at number five. Now the big question will be who will they retain ahead of the upcoming mega auction and will the legendary MS Dhoni play another season.

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IND beat SL in Super Over and win series 3-0


India beat Sri Lanka in the Super Over and win the series 3-0. Earlier Inspired bowling from Indian spinners restricted Sri Lanka to 137/8 same as what India have made in the first innings at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on Tuesday.

Earlier Maheesh Theekshana picked up three wickets to restrict India to a low total after the Sri Lankan skipper won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match which was delayed by the rain.
Suryakumar Yadav starts his captaincy on a winning note.

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Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024 : Steve Smith, Maxwell star in Washington Freedom's emphatic title win


Smith, Maxwell and Head lead the charge for Washington, who lost just one game in MLC 2024



Steven Smith led the way with a quick 81 at the top

Washington Freedom 207 for 5 (Smith 88, Maxwell 40) beat San Francisco Unicorns 111 (Ravindra 3-23, Jansen 3-28 ) by 96 runs

Steven Smith led Washington Freedom to the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024 title as they romped to an overwhelming 96-run victory against San Francisco Unicorns in Dallas. Smith and Australia team-mate Glenn Maxwell dominated with the bat then Unicorns' chase disintegrated with Marco Jansen claiming both openers among his three wickets.
The result cemented Freedom's standing as the team of the season having secured five wins in the group stage before progressing direct to the final with victory over Unicorns in the Qualifier. This contest turned their way through a stand of 83 off 39 balls between Smith and Maxwell as Freedom added 121 in the second half of their innings.
Smith, who was overlooked for Australia's T20 World Cup squad earlier this year, overcame a sluggish start in the powerplay to make 88 off 52 balls including six sixes. Having been 10 off 12 balls in the sixth over he sped to a 34-ball fifty and ended the season as the joint second-leading run-scorer, alongside Travis Head, with 336 at a strike-rate of 148.67.
Head, who has struck at over 170 during the tournament, fell early to Pat Cummins when he edged to slip, where Finn Allen held on at the second attempt, having been given a life in the opening over. But Andries Gous gave Freedom's innings impetus as Smith found his feet although when Haris Rauf removed Rachin Ravindra after the midway mark, it was an even contest at 86 for 3.

Then Smith and Maxwell, the latter having found form in the closing stages of the tournament, took charge included 28 coming off the 13th over from Juanoy Drysdale. Smith produced an outrageous scoop for six off Rauf and was in sight of a century when he got a top edge off Cummins.
It appears likely that Smith's T20I career is over following his World Cup omission and absence from the squad to face Scotland and England in September as the selectors look to the future, but it has been a profitable few weeks for him in the US.

Though Maxwell also fell in the next over, superbly caught by Josh Inglis, Freedom were still able to cross 200.
Unicorns' chase never got off the ground. Jake Fraser-McGurk's low-key tournament ended when he edged into the stumps against Jansen to leave him with 81 runs at 11.57 then both Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Allen also fell inside the powerplay to leave a daunting task. Sherfane Rutherford was superbly caught at deep backward square by Ian Holland the ball after being dropped and the rest of the batting fell away amid a huge asking rate.
Freedom's victory gave Ricky Ponting a title as coach a couple of weeks after leaving his role with Delhi Capitals.

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Delhi Capitals owners agree £120m deal to buy Hampshire in historic move:

Hampshire is all set to become the first county to be owned by an overseas franchise. The Delhi Capitals (DC), an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, has agreed to a £120 million deal to buy the club.


Kiran Kumar Grandhi - Managing director and CEO of GMR Airports

According to a report in the 'Daily Telegraph', based on the terms of an agreement that has been passed to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the GMR Group, one of the owners of Delhi Capitals, will take full ownership of the English County Club Hampshire. The Indian multinational conglomerate will also own 51 per cent stake in The Hundred franchise, Southern Brave, with the option of completing a 100 per cent ownership.

It was the 'Daily Telegraph' that first reported about the possibility of this move by Delhi Capitals back in January this year after rumours emerged that the ECB was exploring opening up 50 per cent stakes in a few Hundred teams, and giving host counties the option to sell their shares.

Former Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove, who was in charge of the club for 23 years, stepped down from his position last year but continued to hold more than 60 per cent of the shares. However, with Hampshire being among the three counties, besides Northamptonshire and Durham, that are not member-owned, Bransgrove had the option to sell his stakes "without fan input."
The report further revealed that Delhi Capitals beat fellow IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants with an offer of £120 million, which includes the club’s debts of around £60 million. It appeared, Hampshire's value went up from £100 million during the process of negotiation, and the high valuation due to their impressive international fixture list and strong ticket sales secured by owner Rod Bransgrove

Hampshire previously collaborated with another IPL franchise, Rajasthan Royals, between 2010 and 2013, participating in T20 cricket as Hampshire Royals. GMR Group currently holds a 50 per cent stake in Delhi Capitals across both the IPL and the Women's Premier League (WPL). Additionally, they own Dubai Capitals in the UAE's ILT20 and have a share in the USA's Major League Cricket side Seattle Orcas.

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Samoa's Darius Visser breaks men's T20I records with 39 runs in an over

He also broke the record for the highest percentage contribution by an individual batter to a team's total


Samoa batter Darius Visser broke records in just his third T20 international •

Samoa batter Darius Visser has broken the men's T20I record for most runs in an over, against Vanuatu in the T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Region Qualifier in Apia on Tuesday. Visser finished with a score of 132 off 62 balls.
In just his third T20I, Visser, 28, smashed six sixes in a 39-run over from Nalin Nipiko. It was the fourth time a batter had hit six sixes in an over in men's T20Is and the first time that a team scored more than 36 runs in an over.
The record was broken in the 15th over of Samoa's innings. Visser hit the first three deliveries from Nipiko over the deep midwicket boundary after which there was a front foot no-ball. The free-hit was hit for six over the leg side, followed by a dot ball when Visser's straight hit struck the stumps at the non-striker's end.
Nipiko overstepped for the second time and then bowled another no-ball, for height, that Visser pulled over fine leg for six. The last ball of the over was a low full toss outside off stump that Visser flicked over deep square leg to achieve the 39-run over.

Previously, there were five instances of a team scoring 36 runs in an over in men's T20Is. India's Yuvraj Singh was the first batter to hit six sixes in a T20I, off England's Stuart Broad in the 2007 T20 World Cup. West Indies' Kieron Pollard repeated the feat against Sri Lanka's Akila Dananjaya in 2021, and Nepal's Dipendra Singh Airee did it earlier this year.

The other two instances of 36-run overs that did not contain six sixes came when West Indies - aided by Nicholas Pooran - scored 36 against Afghanistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and when India's Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh combined to score 36 against Afghanistan, also in 2024.
Visser is the first Samoa batter to score a T20I century and his 14 sixes were the fifth highest in a men's T20I innings. His score of 132, out of Samoa's total of 174, was also the highest percentage of runs scored by a batter in a team's innings. The second-highest score for Samoa against Vanuatu was 16 by their captain Caleb Jasmat. Visser scored 75.86% of his team's runs surpassing the previous record of 75.1% by Australia's Aaron Finch.

According to a report in St George & Sutherland Leader, Visser grew up playing in Sydney and was a fast bowler before nagging injuries and stress fractures made him switch to legspin and batting. He also picked up a wicket as Samoa restricted Vanuatu to 164 for 9 to win the game by ten runs.

[BangaloreaN]

Heartbreak for prodigy: Australia’s Will Pucovski forced to retire from cricket at 26 after a series of head injuries and concussions


Australia cricketer Will Pucovksi’s promising career is coming to an early end due to medical reasons. According to 9News, the 26-year-old Pucovski will retire from all forms of cricket on the basis of recommendations made by a panel of medical experts.
In his brief career so far, which has seen him represent Australia in a lone Test match, Pucovski has suffered a series of head injuries which has led to concussions. The latest one which he suffered in a Sheffield Shield match in March seems to have been the clincher as he hasn’t featured in a game since. It led to Pucovski withdrawing from a County stint with Leicestershire as symptoms from the head blow continued to exist even in the month of May.

Immediately after the blow -- which was his 13th since 2018 – Cricket Victoria (CV) had called for medical assessment. In May this year, when CV put out its annual contract list, it included Pucovski’s name in it, but a final decision was supposed to be taken by the medical experts. According to reports from Down Under, the medical team which included representatives from CV, Cricket Australia and independent experts have recommended Pucovski to stop playing cricket because of the head injuries, especially after his symptoms stayed long after the match in Hobart.
According to 9News, the medical team recommended their decision three months ago but have left it for CV and Pucovski to make the announcement. According to the channel, the opener hasn’t been part of Victoria’s pre-season camps and is believed to be overseas currently.
This wasn’t the first time a medical panel has examined Pucovski’s struggles. In 2022, a panel had found some of his injuries were “not true concussions” and more likely related to stress or trauma responses. Earlier this year even the player had admitted that since he was so used to the symptoms regularly, he had got used to them.

“I sort of link the mental-health stuff back to my first concussion...which was when I was about 15 or 16,” Pucovski had told the Vic State Cricket podcast in February. “I have a lot of concussion symptoms that over a seven or eight year period, actually never subsided. You just sort of got used to having them in a way. The brain's pretty amazing and can find ways to adapt. I would fail concussion tests in the exact same way every single time, regardless of whether I had been hit in the head, and that was over a seven or eight year period,” Pucovski explained of his struggles.
Earlier this year, when he made a comeback after suffering a concussion and scored a century, his name was doing the rounds for a national comeback. And Pucovski admitted a better understanding of his concussions and mental health. In 2019, he had taken a break from cricket because of mental health reasons and did so again in 2022.

“The mental health has been a much bigger issue for me than even the concussions. I don't fear for my long-term health, it's more the mental-health side that's been the tougher part. One day I'll be ready to tell my whole story and it will probably make a lot more sense. I've explained what I've been through to my inner circle of people and actually all the responses I've got have been like 'Jesus, I would never have guessed that in a million years, that doesn't even make sense to me. It hasn't made sense to me for years, either, but I've been on this pathway to understand it all”.
Touted as one of the best of his generation, Pucovski has had a stop-start career because of concussions. Even on his Test debut against India, he ended up dislocating his shoulder while fielding. After his latest injury, former Australia captain Ian Chappell in a column for ESPNCricinfo wrote about his concerns for the player’s mental health.
“There's no doubt his regular concussions are disturbing but even more concerning is his mental health.If Pucovski were healthy he'd be ensconced as an Australian Test opener. However he's only represented Australia once,” Chappell wrote.

According to reports, even though Pucovski’s career is coming to a premature end, he will be receiving injury compensation with Victoria and Australia cricket boards set to provide him with further help.