Wi skipper Holder barred from 2nd Test
Wellington: West Indies captain Jason Holder has been suspended from the second Test against New Zealand because of his team's slow over rate in the opening fixture, the International Cricket Council said Wednesday. It said the punishment was imposed after the West Indies were ruled to be three overs short of their target in the Wellington Test, which they lost by an innings and 67 runs. In addition to missing the second Test, due to start in Hamilton on Saturday, Holder was also fined 60 percent of his match fee. His teammates were each fined 30 percent of their match fees. It was Holder's second slow over rate offence in the past 12 months, incurring an automatic suspension.
Fancied Delhi face MP in Ranji quarterfinals
Mulapadu (AP): Former champions Delhi will fancy their chances when they take on Madhya Pradesh in their quarterfinal match of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament beginning here on Thursday. Delhi remained unbeaten in the group phase and qualified for the quarterfinals as the runner-up side from Group A with 27 points from three wins and three draws. They narrowly missed out on a win under controversial circumstances in their season opener against Assam but then went on to pick up three victories, two of them with bonus points. After Gautam Gambhir refused to take up the captain's mantle, pacer Ishant Sharma was handed the job and he performed his role quite admirably, leading from the front and helping Delhi pick up 20 wickets in all four matches he skippered.
HIL to make grand return in Nov-Dec 2019
Bhubaneswar: Hockey India League (HIL) will make a grand return in 2019 and will serve as the season-ending event to a busy international calendar, Hockey India CEO Elena Norman confirmed on Wednesday. There had been doubts over the league's future after the organisers scrapped the 2018 edition. While postponing, the organisers had claimed that the move was needed to review the five seasons of the league. "HIL will return at the end of 2019. It is on track. We are working with FIH for the window. We haven't finalised the exact window yet," Norman said on the sidelines of the ongoing Hockey World League (HWL) Final here.