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Batsman Elyse Villani has returned to the Australia Women’s ODI squad in place of the seamer Megan Schutt for the home series against West Indies Women

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2014Tour schedule

November 2: 1st T20, North Sydney Oval

November 5: 2nd T20, Adelaide Oval

November 7: 3rd T20, MCG

November 9: 4th T20, Stadium Australia, Sydney

November 11: 1st ODI, Hurstville

November 13: 2nd ODI, Hurstville

November 16: 3rd ODI, Bowral

November 18: 4th ODI, Bowral

Batsman Elyse Villani has returned to the Australia Women’s ODI squad in place of seamer Megan Schutt for the home series against West Indies Women. It is the only change to the 50-over squad, while Kristen Beams has replaced Julie Hunter in the Twenty20 squad. Ellyse Perry, meanwhile, is set to resume bowling duties after playing as a pure batsman in Australia’s last series against Pakistan in August, when she was recovering from a leg injury.Fast bowler Holly Ferling, who continues her recovery from a back injury, “is expected to return to competitive cricket shortly but will not take part in this series,” women’s national selection panel chairperson Julie Savage said.The series begins on November 2 at the North Sydney Oval with the first of four T20s. The four-match ODI series begins in Hurstville on November 11 and concludes in Bowral on November 18. The first three of the ODIs will count towards the ICC Women’s Championship.Australia Women T20 squad: Meg Lanning (capt), Alex Blackwell, Kristen Beams, Jess Cameron, Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse VillaniAustralia Women ODI squad: Meg Lanning (capt), Alex Blackwell, Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton, Jess Cameron, Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Alyssa Healy, Julie Hunter, Jess Jonassen, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Elyse Villani

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura has been fined 20% of his match fee for a minimum over rate breach of the ICC Code of Conduct during the fourth ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2014Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura has been fined 20% of his match fee for a minimum over rate breach of the ICC Code of Conduct during the fourth ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur. In addition, Chigumbura’s team-mates received 10% match fines, in accordance with Article 2.5.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which states that “players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.”The match referee Ranjan Madugalle imposed the fines after Zimbabwe were ruled to be one over short of their target when time allowances were taken into consideration. If Chigumbura is found guilty of one more minor over-rate offence in ODIs over the next 12 months, he will receive a one-match suspension as per the provisions of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.Zimbabwe lost the ODI by 21 runs to fall behind 0-4 in the five-match series. They had earlier been whitewashed 3-0 in the Tests that preceded the one-day games.

A round-up of all the games played in Group B of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers on November 18, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Steve Tikolo has been consistent since his recall to the Kenyan squad•AFPKenya cruised to their first win of the tournament with an eight-wicket victory over Denmark in Dubai. Denmark batted first and simply couldn’t muster meaningful partnerships as Kenya’s seamers kept the top and middle-order in check. Only three batsmen crossed double digits as Denmark stumbled to 84 for 8 by the end of their quota of overs. Nehemiah Odhiambo took best figures of 3 for 15.Kenya’s opening pair effectively ended any notion of a contest as they put on 71 runs in 7.1 overs. Alex Obanda fell on 30 off 21 to Kamran Mahmood, and despite Nehemiah being run out for just 3, Collins Obuya and Steve Tikolo did the needful to see Kenya home with 10.5 overs to spare. Tikolo himself finished on an unbeaten 48, continuing on his run of consistency with the bat ever since he was recalled to the national squad.
ScorecardCalum MacLeod struck an unbeaten 82 to lead Scotland to an eight-wicket win – their first of the tournament – over Nepal.Nepal batted first, losing opener Subash Khakurel for just six. Despite being reduced to 35 for 3, Captain Paras Khadka and Binod Bhandari put on 47 runs for the fourth wicket to help steady the innings somewhat. Nepal finally scraped to 137 for 7, with Scotland seamers Safyaan Sharif and Gordon Goudie taking three wickets each.Scotland’s innings started inauspiciously, with opener Richie Berrington falling with the score on 17. MacLeod and Matt Machan added 48 for the second wicket, before Machan fell caught and bowled to Khadka. This brought Kyle Coetzer to the crease, and MacLeod found a suitable ally as together they knocked off the remaining 73 runs in 9.4 overs to give Scotland an eight-wicket victory. MacLeod finished on 82 not out.

A dominant bowling display from Sui Gas handed them an eight-wicket victory over Habib Bank Limited in the President’s Cup semi-final in Karachi

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2013
ScorecardA dominant bowling display from Sui Gas handed them an eight-wicket victory over Habib Bank Limited in the President’s Cup semi-final in Karachi. HBL were put into bat and lost wickets from the outset, reduced to 22 for 4 in the 10th over. Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi led a temporary revival, until Afridi was ousted on 26. Bilawal Bhatti took the best figures in the innings with 3 for 31, and was ably supported by the other bowlers, who all took at least one wicket. Only Abdur Rehman matched Afridi’s score as HBL were bundled out for 111 in the 36th over.Sui Gas’s openers started well, putting up 70 for the first wicket. Mohammad Hafeez led the way, scoring a timely 62 off 70 balls to ensure he stuck around and rotated the strike accordingly. Fellow opener Taufeeq fell for 23, before Azhar Ali and Umar Akmal helped them romp home in the 24th over with an eight-victory win. They’ll contest the final on April 19.

Alastair Cook praised the role of England’s recalled bowlers, Jade Dernbach and James Tredwell, in helping level the one-day series against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2012Alastair Cook praised the role of England’s recalled bowlers, Jade Dernbach and James Tredwell, in helping level the one-day series against South Africa. The pair shared five wickets, with Dernbach talking three and Tredwell two, as the visitors were bowled out for 211 to set up a four-wicket victory.At the toss Cook said the aim was to “freshen up” the attack with the inclusion of Dernbach ahead of Tim Bresnan who has struggled to make an impact this season with the growing suspicion he is not quite the same bowler as before his elbow surgery at the end of the last year. England were already without Stuart Broad who was rested for this series and Dernbach was preferred ahead of allrounder Chris Woakes.He responded with 3 for 44 including the vital wicket of Hashim Amla, bowled off an inside edge, but his most impressive moment came against Dean Elgar when he confounded the left hander with a superbly disguised slower ball that took off stump. Throughout the innings Dernbach used his variations cleverly rather than overdoing the slower deliveries as he has occasionally in the past.”He was really good. He’s a wicket-taker, and he came in and got them at crucial times,” Cook said. “All our bowlers did well, but especially him. He took two important wickets before the batting Powerplay.”The difference here was we kept taking wickets at just about the right times. We never allowed them to get away from us, and that way we were able to keep them to 211.”Tredwell, meanwhile, again proved an able deputy to Graeme Swann who has been rested for the remainder of the series ahead of the Twenty20 matches later this month. Earlier in the season Tredwell slotted in for Swann against Australia at Old Trafford with 2 for 23 and this time claimed 2 for 49 including the innings-changing scalp of AB de Villiers.”Tredwell is just a really, really good performer,” Cook said. “He knows his game really well; he’s a great man to have around, and it’s nice to have that strength in depth. He hasn’t played that much for England. But every time he has, he’s never let us down. He does it week in, week out for Kent – and every time he’s played for England, he’s done it too.”Cook also said that it was always the management’s intention to give Swann the final three matches off and that it was not an immediate response to any increasing concern about his troublesome elbow where he is contending with floating bone fragments.”We were always going to rest Swanny for the last three games. We planned to rest him, quite simply. He was fit to play, but it was a decision Andy and I made before the series started. With the amount of cricket we have coming up, we have to look at the bigger picture – and it’s really nice as a captain to have someone as solid and as good at James Tredwell to come in.”

Michael Clarke has confirmed that he will move up the order from his customary No.5 position after Australia’s shambolic display in both innings in Hyderabad

Brydon Coverdale 05-Mar-2013Michael Clarke has confirmed that he will move up the order from his customary No. 5 position after Australia’s shambolic display in both innings in Hyderabad. Clarke is the joint leading run-scorer in the series with 268, the same tally as India’s captain MS Dhoni, and more than double scored by any other member of Australia’s top six.He scored 130 in the first innings in Chennai and followed that with 91 on the first day in Hyderabad but neither effort could prevent a heavy defeat. Despite his outstanding form since taking over the captaincy in 2011, Clarke has steadfastly remained at No. 5, but given the struggles of Phillip Hughes and Shane Watson at Nos. 3 and 4 in this series, that will change for the third Test.”I think I have no choice,” Clarke said after the innings loss in Hyderabad. “Again, it hasn’t been about me, it’s about trying to do what’s best for the team, and I think now, especially in these conditions, I have to bat higher.”When asked if that would mean first drop or second drop, Clarke said: “I’ve got nine days to work it out. Wherever I can go and put some runs on the board to help the team.”Although Ed Cowan showed some signs during the second innings that he had learnt from his first three efforts and occupied the crease for nearly three hours, the rest of the batting order collapsed. So far in this series Watson has made 28, 17, 23 and 9; Hughes has scored 6, 0, 19 and 0; Cowan has managed 29, 32, 4 and 44 and Warner has tallied 59, 23, 6 and 26.”I don’t think picking your batting order can revolve around one person, the team needs the team to play well,” Clarke said. “We need our top six batters to be scoring runs, we need our four, five or six bowlers to be taking wickets. It can’t be about one person. I’ve never played cricket that way and I don’t want this team to go to that.”We have enough talent, but we have to get better, every single one of us. I would have liked more runs in the first innings and more runs today in the second innings, so I have work to do as well. I don’t want it to be about the individuals, I want it to be about the whole team improving.

The Belgian's all-too-brief Stamford Bridge career is just one of many dire examples of clubs underappreciating potential stars

Have Manchester City made a massive mistake selling Cole Palmer to Chelsea? Pep Guardiola's side is so strong that maybe it doesn't even matter. But Chelsea will certainly think they've pulled off a long overdue transfer market masterstroke, given how well Palmer is performing since swapping the Etihad Stadium for Stamford Bridge during the summer.

Indeed, the Blues have become synonymous with letting players go too soon – and one of them will be lining up against them on Saturday, with Kevin De Bruyne back at his brilliant best for City after his recent injury lay-off.

Giving up on the Belgian was obviously a colossal mistake on Chelsea's part, but where does the Belgian's exit rank among the worst sales in Premier League history? GOAL runs through its list of undervalued and underappreciated players who were sold too soon, for too little – or both!

Getty 10Carlos Tevez (Man City to Juventus)

One can understand why Manchester City wanted rid of Carlos Tevez. The Argentine had caused uproar by allegedly refusing to come on as a substitute in a Champions League game at Bayern Munich – Tevez insisted he had merely misunderstood manager Roberto Mancini's instructions – while he was still carrying out community service for driving without a licence when eventually sold to Juventus in 2013.

However, this ranks as a massive mistake, because even though City were looking to save some money in terms of wages and bonuses, the £12m ($15m) fee was ludicrously low for a forward of such considerable talent who still had plenty left in the tank.

Indeed, Tevez was a revelation in Turin, the prolific striker that Antonio Conte had long been craving helped Juventus re-establish themselves as a major European force by reaching the Champions League final in 2015.

He left that summer, to return to his beloved Boca Juniors, but did so as one of the finest No.10s in the Bianconeri's history. As veteran defender Giorgio Chiellini enthused, "Carlos is a world-class champion!"

AdvertisementGetty Images9David Beckham (Man Utd to Real Madrid)

It's no secret that Sir Alex Ferguson never approved of David Beckham's high-profile relationship with Victoria 'Posh Spice' Adams. The former Manchester United manager has even stated that the ex-England international "was never a problem until he got married".

Ferguson argued that Beckham became more of a celebrity than a footballer, and that his performances on the pitch suffered as a result. Beckham strongly disagreed, and the growing tension between the pair culminated in a bitter fallout after Ferguson accidentally struck the player in the face with a football boot during a furious post-match ran on February 15, 2003.

Just four months later, United agreed to sell Beckham to Real Madrid for €37 million (£31m/$40m). Los Blancos marketing director Jose Angel Sanchez couldn't believe the fee, describing it as "peanuts" for one of the most talented and famous footballers on the planet.

Beckham says his leaving Old Trafford may have been for the best, given his subsequent success playing overseas, but he admitted again in a recent documentary that his dream all along had been to spend his entire career at United.

Getty8Xabi Alonso (Liverpool to Real Madrid)

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez made no secret of his desire to sign Gareth Barry during the summer of 2008. "If we can do it before the end of the transfer window, we will continue to try," the Spaniard said. "We will always continue to improve our squad." Quite why Benitez felt that selling Xabi Alonso to bring in Barry would actually improve his squad remains a mystery, given the Spaniard was in a different league to the Englishman.

What we do know is that Alonso was bitterly upset by being used as a pawn in such a bizarre move. "I prefer not to think too much about how I was treated," the midfielder told after refusing to leave Anfield. "It was a new situation for me, something I had never experienced before… It is not always easy to detach yourself from things like that, but I accept it is part of football and the main thing is it was all resolved and I am now playing regularly. I was really pleased that I was able to continue my Liverpool career."

However, a clearly still annoyed Alonso handed in a transfer request the following summer and left for Real Madrid, leaving Steven Gerrard "devastated" and Benitez looking like a fool for upsetting a key player in the club's 2005 Champions League triumph.

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Getty 7Serge Gnabry (Arsenal to Werder Bremen)

Tony Pulis has admitted that he's tired of being singled out as the coach who failed to realise Serge Gnabry's potential during the winger's six-month spell at West Brom during the 2015-16 season. "I always get this thrown at me," he told the podcast, "and he's done fantastically well since, so you have to hold your hands up, but at the time he was nowhere near it.

"What people forget is that we had him on loan, Arsenal were his mother club, and Arsene Wenger was his manager and he sold him to Werder Bremen for £7 million ($9m). Wenger had him right from 14 all the way through, I only had him for a couple of months."

It's a fair point. It's clear that somebody messed up at Arsenal, but Wenger has insisted that he actually wanted to keep Gnabry, telling that he was "very sad" when the player decided to leave in pursuit of regular first-team football because he knew the versatile attacker would have "a great career".

It has certainly turned out that way, with Gnabry doing so well at Bremen that he earned a move to Bayern Munich after just one season, and subsequently scored 23 goals in all competitions during a 2019-20 campaign that ended with the Bavarians winning a treble.

Sri Lanka will play two practice matches in preparation for the ODI series against New Zealand, at the Sinhalese Sports Club

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2013Sri Lanka will play two 50-over practice matches in preparation for the ODI series against New Zealand, at the Sinhalese Sports Club. A side consisting of most of Sri Lanka’s top players will take on a virtual A team on November 5 and 7, before the Sri Lanka squad travels to Hambantota for the first ODI.Dinesh Chandimal will lead the second-string team, which also features Lahiru Thirimanne. Fast bowler Shaminda Eranga, who was omitted from the Sri Lanka squad for the series, and fellow seam bowlers Suranga Lakmal and Thisara Perera will also play for the second side. Middle-order batsman Ashan Priyanjan will play for the top team.Sri Lanka have not played any international cricket since the home series against South Africa ended in early August, but have in that time played a first-class tri-series. The A team, which featured several Sri Lanka players, has also played a home tour of New Zealand A, and a Twenty20 series against Kenya, during the hiatus.The limited-overs series against New Zealand features three ODIs, starting November 10, and two T20s.Team 1: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews (capt), Ashan Priyanjan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis
Reserves: Angelo Perera, Ramith Rambukwella, Isuru UdanaTeam 2: Kusal Perera, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal (capt & wk), Kithuruwan Vithanage, Chaturanga de Silva, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Dilruwan Perera, Shaminda Eranga, Suranga Lakmal
Reserves: Nuwan Pradeep, Ishan Jayaratne, Milinda Siriwardene

English cricket must endure a multi-million pound drop in funding from Sport England as Olympic sports have been the big winners in the award of grants for the next four years.

David Hopps17-Dec-2012English cricket must endure a multi-million pound drop in funding from Sport England as Olympic sports, benefiting from the fervour of the London Olympics, have been the big winners in the award of grants for the next four years.ECB officials expressed “delight” at an outcome which still leaves cricket as the fifth largest recipient of funding, behind cycling, football, netball and athletics.But for all the relief in high places at Lord’s cricket has suffered from a sizeable shift in grant aid to Olympic sports as the feel-good factor of London 2012 brings a major change in the funding landscape.Cricket has been awarded £20m over four years – a drop of £15.2m – although the pill is sugared to a considerable degree by a further guaranteed £7.5m over three years made directly to the much-praised Chance to Shine programme, run by the Cricket Foundation, which seeks to regenerate cricket in state schools by fostering links with local clubs.Sport England’s priorities

Support the nationwide network of 5,500 clubs to keep more club cricketers in the game for longer.

To establish more flexible formats of the game. Short formats of the game such as Last Man Stands will achieve national coverage and will encourage those with busy lifestyles and former cricketers unable to give up valuable leisure time to return to the wicket.

Develop networks and partnerships to take cricket to new audiences including the desire to harness the inherent appeal of the game within South Asian Communities

Encourage more disabled people to take up the game through a targeted programme called Hit the Top.

Continue talent development in disability cricket. As a result of the priority, investment and energy ECB has given to the disability game in recent years England have become world leaders in disability cricket, both on and off the field.

Focus the women’s game on the supply of players with high potential into the elite academies and development programmes.

The scheme previously existed on an annual grant that would match its own fund raising pound for pound – equivalent to roughly £1.5m a year – but with charitable donations down 20% this year and one in six charities threatened by closure the grant offers much-needed stability.Sport England has awarded a total of £493m from 2013-17, a rise of 12.5 which bucks the trend of Government austerity measures intended to reduce the national debt, a largesse which will not find favour with non-sport lovers and which goes a long way to explaining the ECB’s relief.Phil Smith, Sport England’s director of sport, said: “Cricket has made good progress in the past 18 months and we are confident that it can build further momentum over the next four years. We are particularly interested in the progress made in women’s cricket and the initiatives which focus on disabled participation. The sport has acknowledged the need to do more to help the South Asian communities who have strong cultural links to cricket get involved and we look forward to seeing growth in this area.”The ECB, fearful of an even tighter settlement, has agreed to fund its own development of women’s and disability cricket, which has received praise from Sport England – but no funding.Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England said: “It looks like quite a big drop, but the ECB have decided to invest their own money into their women’s and disability programmes and that is a good thing for a responsible governing body to do.”Nevertheless, the emphasis switches to those sports where Olympic medals. Sport England’s media release boasted that its investment would “keep the inspiration of London 2012 alive and help fulfil Lord Coe’s pledge that the Games would get more people – young and old, women and men – playing sport, a feat that no other host nation has ever managed to achieve.”The Minister for Sport, Hugh Robertson, proclaimed that the shift in funding would ensure “a lasting legacy” from the Olympics.The major winners in Sport England’s settlement are cycling, triathlon, netball and boxing, all of which gained rises of more than 25%, while rugby union, rugby league and tennis – which have been even more savagely hit – join cricket as other team sports which must plan on a tighter budget.The ECB can congratulate itself that its commitment to increasing grassroots involvement has prevented it from suffering the treatment meted out to tennis, which will lose millions in funding unless participation levels increase.Chance to Shine’s emphasis – as far as Sport England’s funding is concerned – will shift away from primary schools, where pupils have been most receptive, to secondary schools in a nationwide campaign to counter the drop-off in participation in sport particularly apparent among 14 to 16-yearolds.At least 60 per cent of the investment announced today will support young people aged between 14 and 25.The Cricket Foundation will deliver a cricket programme to more than 1,000 state schools through ECB’s network of 38 county cricket boards. Creating strong links between community sports clubs and schools is the central focus and the charity plans a three-pronged approach: establishing satellite clubs in schools, embedding competition within them and providing training opportunities for young people.Local cricket clubs will be invited to work closely with coaches, young people and teachers to set up a satellite cricket club on school sites. Pupils will be at the heart of decision making and shape how the school club is run. Activity at the club may range from extra-curricular coaching and forums to discuss club activity, to organising social events and ambassador visits.As well as helping more young players move into their local cricket club, the satellite clubs aim to teach life skills such as leadership, teamwork and co-operation.Competition is a key motivation for young people in secondary schools and the Cricket Foundation plans to expand its ‘Chance to Compete’ format; fast-moving eight-a-side matches played in less than an hour.During the winter, schools will be supported to hold indoor soft-ball competitions in school sports halls and community centres, with the hardball equivalent played outside during the spring and summer terms. The new offer to secondary schools will increase competitive cricket opportunities by encouraging each to play a minimum of five competitive matches annually.Wasim Khan, chief executive of Cricket Foundation said, “Sport England has been a key strategic partner for Chance to Shine over the past seven years. We are delighted that it will continue its investment in Chance to Shine and in the young people we reach for the next three years at least.”Since 2005, Chance to Shine claims to have brought cricket and its educational benefits to 6,591 state schools and 1.8m children at a cost of £15 per child.

All six franchises on sale at the Bangladesh Premier League team auction have been bought. The auction, which took place in Dhaka on January 10, saw a total of $6.49 million spent

Mohammad Isam10-Jan-2012What the franchises went for

Chittagong – $1.2 million (SQ Sports)

Khulna – $1.1 million (Orion Group)

Rajshahi – $1.07 million (Digital Auto Care)

Sylhet – $1.06 million (Conglomerate led by Walton)

Dhaka – 1.05 million (Europa Group)

Rajshahi 1.01 million (Alif Group)

The auction for the six franchises of the Bangladesh Premier League has been completed with a total of $6.49 million spent, and none of the teams fetching much more than their base price of $1 million. Chittagong was the most expensive franchise at $1.2 million and Barisal the least at $1.01 million.BPL governing council secretary Sirajuddin Mohammed Alamgir, however, said he was delighted that the teams had been bought because the tournament, which has received considerable promotion, can now go ahead as planned next month without any hitches. “We are very happy that it has all been completed properly,” Alamgir told ESPNcricinfo. “We have the tournament guaranteed now and we didn’t have to face any embarrassing situations. Bids were placed and we had the franchises sold.”The auction, held in Dhaka, was a low-key event after the sudden demise of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s chief Manzur Ahmed in the morning. The franchises have been bought for a six-year period.The Chittagong franchise was bought by SQ Sports, a group of businessmen led by Dhaka Dyeing, who outbid Pearl Trading ($1.05 million) and Digital Auto Care ($1 million). The fact that a $200,000 bump from the base price was the highest for any team says a lot about the bidding war – or lack of it.The second-highest price offered was for Khulna, which was bought by Orion Group for $1.1 million. Digital Auto Care paid just $1.07 million for Rajshahi; a group of business houses led by Walton, a local electronic goods manufacturing giant, bought Sylhet for $1.06 million; and the Dhaka franchise was picked up by Europa Group for $1.05 million with the other bidders – Digital Auto Care and Euro Impex – offering the base price. This was a bit of a surprise given the prestige attached to the country’s biggest division. When the teams were sold for the National Cricket League T20s two years ago there had been fierce competition between bidders for the Dhaka team.The Alif Group acquired the Barisal franchise for the lowest price of all the teams: $1.01 million. The bidding for the Barisal team turned into a bit of a farce when Southern International quoted $900,000, which was less than the base price for a franchise. That bid indicated the lack of confidence investors seemed to have in the benefits of buying a franchise.The money paid to acquire the franchises will go to Game On Sports, who signed a six-year deal worth $44.3 million with the BCB, acquiring the rights to manage the BPL.”Game On Sports will get all the income from this auction, which will be paid in yearly installments,” Alamgir said. “The companies that have bought the franchises will be in control of their respective teams for six years, though they can sell them after three years. As for the payment to be received by the BCB from Game On Sports, that will be received in installments over six years, paid 30 days after the end of each edition of the tournament.”The absence of bids from big corporate houses was something even the eventual franchise owners expressed concern about, but they expect the profile of the tournament to grow once it starts. Notably, the companies that bought National Cricket League T20 franchises two years ago did not bid for teams this time. That tournament only lasted one season, and that experience, coupled with the fragility of the Bangladesh market, kept them away from the auction.Foreign buyers were also rumoured to have shown interest in buying teams but none came forward in the end. There is hope that owners of IPL franchises will buy stakes in the BPL franchises from their owners.Alamgir said that the revenue generated by the BPL would be ploughed back into first-class and age-group level cricket in Bangladesh, though the franchises will not have any obligation to develop or have any connection to the divisional sides. “The BCB’s policy will be to use this money for longer-version cricket as well as for schools and age-group cricket. It will help us put the regional structure in place.”But these franchises are businesses so we can’t ask their owners to develop regional cricket. They can do it if they want, but primarily the franchises need to be run as professionally strong units with a focus on developing marketing and team management.”The Rajshahi team owners have moved quickly, and have already roped in former chief selector and Bangladesh captain Faruk Ahmed as the manager of the team, and former opener Athar Ali Khan as its chief advisor. They will also involve former national captain Khaled Mashud, who is regarded as the most influential man in Rajshahi cricket.Europa Group, the Dhaka franchise owners, have asked former Bangladesh captain and current national team selector Habibul Bashar to build their team as its chief consultant.The players’ auction will be held on January 19 in Dhaka, and will feature several international cricketers, as well as local players, who will be justifiably excited about the prospects of signing a lucrative deal.