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New York, Oct 2 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly suspended funds to USA Cricket for the third quarter for its failures to provide the "Q2 Financial Report that was due at the end of June 2022", along with the minutes of the "2021 AGM".

A report on emerging cricket.com said on Sunday that, USA Cricket members were alerted to the "worrying" current state of the national governing body in a letter from interim chairman, Atul Rai.

The report added that Rai had written to members directly for the first time since taking over as interim chairman of USA Cricket in August.

The letter added that USA Cricket had not paid its employees or players for some time now, and have "more than USD200,000 of pending invoices".

In his letter reportedly addressed the USA Cricket member, Rai said, "It has been almost two months since the 2020 elections were finally completed and I was appointed as the interim chairman of USA Cricket Board. While I want to help bring about the change so desperately needed in the system, I am also trying to absorb the challenges that USA Cricket has thrown at me since taking on the new role."

Detailing the financial issues plaguing USA Cricket, he said that when he assumed office he came to know that the financial report for the second quarter ending June 2022, was never submitted.

"Soon after assuming the office, we were informed that the Q2 Financial report that was due at the end of June 2022, was never submitted! In addition, the 2021 audited financial report that was also due on June 30 was not submitted despite several deadline extensions provided by ICC. The report also required the minutes of the 2021 AGM that was never conducted! You may recall that the 2020 AGM was held in May 2021!

Rai informed the ICC had suspended funding for the third quarter due to non-compliance.

"Consequently, ICC has suspended our 3rd quarter funding for non-compliance. I was surprised and disappointed to learn that USA Cricket has been missing the submission deadlines for quite some time now! The current cash flow situation of USA Cricket is critical, as we have defaulted on employee salaries and USA players' salaries.

"In addition, there were more than USD200K of pending invoices from previous non budgeted expenditure that was overdue, and we are planning for them to be paid, having paid a significant portion of it already. Moving forward, the calendar and the budget will be published In January and there will be no expenses outside of the budget," he wrote in the letter.

--IANS

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London, Oct 2 (IANS) Goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka ensured derby day delight for Arsenal as the Gunners beat arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 to maintain their top spot in the Premier League table.

Partey's wonderful strike from distance set Arsenal on their way, and despite a Harry Kane penalty ensuring the sides went in level at half-time, a poacher's effort from Jesus restored their lead four minutes into the second half.

Emerson Royal was then red carded for the visitors and soon after Xhaka drove in a third to secure a third straight home victory for Arsenal in this fixture for the first time since 2013.

The win helped Arsenal move up to 21 points from eight games -- seven wins and one defeat -- leading Manchester City by four points. On Sunday, City will have a chance to reduce the margin when they take on arch-rivals Manchester United in a derby.

Chelsea win 2-1 at Palace

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first goal for his new club while Conor Gallagher struck a dramatic and brilliant late winner on his return to Selhurst Park as Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 on Saturday. The result moves the Blues up to fifth in the Premier League table.

Odsonne Edouard had put Crystal Palace ahead in the seventh minute but Chelsea fought back strongly.

Having recovered from going behind early on with Aubameyang's fine leveller, it looked like Chelsea were ultimately going to be frustrated at Selhurst Park. But substitute Gallagher curled a shot into the top corner in the 90th minute to give Graham Potter his first win as Chelsea head coach in his first Premier League game in charge.

This visit to south London started poorly. Palace took an early lead following some sloppy Chelsea play and then looked good value for that advantage. Steadily though, the Blues' chances began to come with Mason Mount heading wide and Raheem Sterling going close.

It was Aubameyang, without a mask but with a sharp finish on the spin, who did pull his side level before half-time. A first-half talking point was a VAR review for a possible red card for Thiago Silva which went Chelsea's way.

The home crowd angered by that urged their side on in the second half and Kepa made a good save but with time running out, another substitute, Christian Pulisic, teed up Gallagher to decide this derby contest.

In other matches, West Ham United defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 while Newcastle outplayed Fulham 4-1 in an away encounter. Everton got the better of Southampton 2-1.

--IANS

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Guwahati, Oct 1 (IANS) India head coach Rahul Dravid on Saturday said that the team management has been very clear about the kind of skills they wanted in the 15-member squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup, adding that the versatility in the group will allow them to play different kinds of XIs based on the different oppositions and playing conditions in Australia.

On September 12, India announced their squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia. However, since then there have been some serious injury concerns for the team.

India are waiting for clarity on the fitness of Deepak Hooda and Jasprit Bumrah, who have been ruled out of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa and are currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru nursing back injuries. And, star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja too will miss the mega event in Australia due to a knee injury.

However, the Indian head coach is not pressing the panic button and trusts the skills of the players, who are in the squad.

"I think we've been very clear about the kind of skills that we want in the 15. I think for me that is really important, the kind of squad that we picked for the World Cup -- barring injury, what were the kind of skills that we were looking for, different kind of bowlers, certain batting skills -- so all of those things, without going into too much detail, we've always been very clear about it, and I think to a large extent we've managed to get everything," said Dravid in the press conference ahead of the second T20I against South Africa.

"Not everything will be perfect, at times due to injury, due to many other factors. I think, in terms of the skills in the squad, everyone being fit, as we go ahead from here on in, I think we're quite comfortable that we've got all the skills that will allow us to play different combinations and different kinds of XIs based on the different wickets that we might get in Australia and the different oppositions," he added.

The 49-year-old feels that versatility and flexibility are very important in the squad for a tournament like the World Cup.

"I think that's really important in a tournament like the World Cup where you play in five different venues, or four different venues in our case in the league stage, and then hopefully onwards, and you play against five different teams, so you really need to have that little bit of versatility and flexibility in your squad that allows you to change up things if you need to against a particular opposition. I think we've been very clear with that," he said.

Dravid admitted that they haven't been able to play that same squad in the last few series due to a variety of reasons.

"...obviously, over the last few series, we probably haven't been able to play that squad due to a variety of reasons, and that can happen, but I think that most of the guys in the 15 now have had a pretty decent amount of cricket, at least in the last six months here," he said.

Asked whether the constant shuffling in the playing eleven may lead to players not feeling confident about their place in the lineup, India's head coach said the communication within the team has been very good and it's a little unrealistic to keep playing the same XI over and over again.

"I think it's a little unrealistic to expect us to keep playing the same XI over and over again. Some of the changes or experiments that people like to call them are sometimes forced upon you. If Bumrah doesn't play the last game, it's not because we are experimenting. It's because he got injured. In the five-match series against South Africa in June, we played exactly the same XI in all five matches. People were saying, 'why don't they change the XI?'….so I think we can't win either way," he said.

"Whatever we do, people are going to say that. But I think in the group and in the team, we are very confident and sure about what we've been doing. Sometimes it doesn't seem very apparent from the outside but there are a lot of things that people outside can't know. What niggles players are having…how we need to manage the players. If you notice, we were playing a Test match and at the same time, we were playing a series in Ireland. So there are many things that go into this," he added.

Teams that have directly qualified for the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup -- as India have -- can make changes to their squad without ICC permission till October 15.

The Rohit Sharma-led side will begin its T20 World Cup campaign on October 23 with a game against archrivals Pakistan in Melbourne, which will be followed by matches on October 27 (vs Qualifier in Sydney), October 30 (vs South Africa in Perth), November 2 (vs Bangladesh in Adelaide) and November 6 (vs qualifier in Melbourne).

--IANS

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Pune, Oct 1 (IANS) Olympian Vivek Singh Academy, Varanasi won an exciting eight-goal thriller against Army Boys Sports Company, Bengaluru in an encounter that settled old scores on a day when goals rained in the 6th SNBP All-India Hockey Tournament (Boys Under-16) at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, here on Saturday.

On a day that witnessed 54 goals scored, the Olympian Vivek Singh Academy and Army Boys Sports Company (ABSC) encounter stood out for reasons enough to be a cracker.

The Pool-F encounter, to begin with, was a repeat of the final of the 2nd Hockey India Sub Junior Men Academy National Championship 2022 wherein ABSC emerged champions in a shootout at the expense of the boys from Varanasi.

Saturday's encounter began with the Varanasi side trailing early after ABSC, Bengaluru struck through Nitesh Sharma (5th). However, Vivek Yadav (11th) levelled through a penalty corner conversion to go into halftime 1-1.

On resumption, Rahul Yadav (42nd) converted a penalty corner to put the Varanasi side ahead, but then three minutes later ABSC's Daya Ram (45th) gained success off a penalty stroke to make it 2-2.

The match thereafter saw both teams level again. Arjun Chauhan (50th) off a penalty corner for Varanasi and Daya Ram (51st) for ABSC.

However, Olympian Vivek Singh Academy gained control to net two goals by Sonu Patel (52nd) -- off a penalty corner -- and Ajay Kumar Gond (59th) to avenge their loss at Gumanhera, New Delhi early this year.

Earlier, Pool-G recorded the biggest win of the tournament since inception with Agra-based Sukhjeevan Sports Academy notching up a 23-0 win over a hapless Olympian Baskaran Hockey Academy after leading 11-0 at the halfway stage.

The highlight of this big win was a 10-goal effort by Manish Kumar (2nd - pc, 25th, 31st, 35th, 37th, 41st - pc, 49th, 58th, 58th, 59th - ps).

Other winners of the day included; R.K. Roy Academy, Patna who downed Tamil Nadu Hockey Academy 6-0 in Pool E, Ritu Rani Hockey Academy, Varanasi completing a 9-0 rout over Mumbai School Sports Association, Mumbai in Pool-C and Grassroot Hockey overcoming Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Kodagu 7-1 in Pool-H.

RESULTS:

Pool E: R.K. Roy, Patna: 6 (Ashutosh Pal 12th; Nicolas Topno 16th, 58th; Nitin 34th, 51st; Shashank Kumar 39th) bt Tamil Nadu Hockey Academy: 0. HT: 2-0

Pool G: Sukhjeevan Sports Academy, Agra: 23 (Manish Kumar 2nd (pc), 25th, 31st, 35th, 37th, 41st (pc), 49th, 58th, 58th, 59th (Ps); Akash Rajbhar 6th, 20th; Divyanshu Sharma 7th, 27th, 47th; Anurag Yadav 9th; Kunal Singh 14th, 47th; Nitin 16th (Ps), Ayush Bhatt 26th, 43rd; Dinesh Sharma 29th; Ankit Pippal 55th) bt Olympian Baskaran Hockey Academy: 0. HT: 11-0

Pool F: Olympian Vivek Singh Academy, Varanasi: 5 (Vivek Yadav 11th (pc); Rahul Yadav 42nd (pc); Arjun Chauhan 50th (pc); Sonu Patel 52nd (pc); Ajay Kumar Gond 59th) bt Army Boys Sports Company, Bengaluru; 3 (Nitesh Sharma 5th; Daya Ram 45th (Ps), 51st (pc). HT: 1-1

Pool-C: Ritu Rani Hockey Academy, Varanasi: 9 (Sunil 2nd; Amandeep 6th, 16th (pc), 28th (pc); Nitin 29th (pc); 37th; Aakash 39th (pc); 41st (pc); Sahil Motte 45th) bt Mumbai School Sports Association, Mumbai: 0. HT: 3-0

Pool-H: Grassroot Hockey: 7 (Suraj Kumar 4th, 39th (pc), 48th (pc); Virendra Koranga 16th (pc); Rohit Airy 44th, 45th, 50th) bt Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Kodagu, Kerala: 1 (Yashwin Bopaiah 24th (pc)). HT: 1-1.

--IANS

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Dubai, Oct 1 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) has named charismatic India middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav among five shortlisted players who it feels will shine during the T20 World Cup in Australia beginning on October 16.

Suryakumar has been a revelation for India this year, with the 32-year-old right-hand batter emerging as arguably the most vital player in Rohit Sharma's side for the showpiece event Down Under.

While Yadav had a forgettable T20 World Cup in the UAE last year, getting just four appearances and managing 42 runs from his three knocks, he has turned a corner this year, emerging as the No.2 T20I batter in the world on the latest ICC rankings.

With his string of fine scores in 2022, he has become the highest run-scorer for India in a calendar year in T20Is. During the opening T20I against South Africa at Thiruvananthapuram on September 28, Suryakumar smashed another unbeaten half-century (50 off 33 balls) as India defeated the visitors by eight wickets with 20 balls to spare in a low-scoring game.

Suryakumar, with 732 runs, an average of 40.66 and a strike rate of 180.29 this year went past Shikhar Dhawan's 689 runs in 2018.

Besides the Indian batter, the ICC also shortlisted Australian opener David Warner, Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, England skipper Jos Buttler and Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan among its five players who could hog the limelight in the T20 World Cup.

In Warner's case, only Pakistan skipper Babar Azam had scored more runs than the Australian in the 2021 World Cup in the UAE. With the benefit of playing on his home turf, Warner could emerge as the star of the tournament. The batting stalwart hit three half centuries at last year's tournament and his 289 runs at an strike rate of almost 150 was among the best for the leading players.

Wanindu Hasaranga has shown his ability to save his best performances for the big occasion and he could Sri Lanka dominate in Australia. Hasaranga claimed the most wickets (16) in the 2021 edition of the tournament and backed up that performance by finishing Sri Lanka's victorious Asia Cup campaign recently as the Player of the Tournament.

--IANS

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Jodhpur, Sep 30 (IANS) Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has played a lot of T20 cricket in the state of Rajasthan. He knows a thing or two about the ground conditions in the state's cricket stadiums and is well-acclimated with the weather.

Therefore, he felt an immediate connection with the state's atmosphere when he landed in Jodhpur on Friday to play the Legends League Cricket.

The Aussie legend will be donning the jersey of Bhilwara Kings in the tournament and said that the state of Rajasthan is like his second home. "I am back home. I have so many incredible memories of playing in the state. I felt that connection again when I landed in Jodhpur today. The fans of the state love me and I am always humbled by their support. I am looking forward to playing here," Watson said in a press conference here on Friday.

The conference was also attended by former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor, former India pacer S. Sreesanth, Ireland great Kevin O'Brien and Raman Raheja, Co-Founder and CEO of Legends League Cricket.

Watson said the competition is high among the four teams and he will try to push the boundaries. With two matches left, all four teams -- Gujarat Giants, Bhilwara Kings, India Capitals and Manipal Tigers -- are in contention to clinch the playoffs berth.

"I am following the tournament. It's great to be here. I am well prepared. I know all the guys have been pushing their bodies to the limit. That's the commitment we always had towards the game. So it's not surprising to me. There's nothing like whether you have retired or not. You are always trying to push the boundaries when you are playing the game. With everyone giving their best, I will also try to push the boundaries," the 41-year-old said.

Watson's assessment of the tournament is indeed true. The game has seen tremendous competitive spirit among the cricketers. From Mohammed Kaif and Muttiah Muralidharan taking brilliant catches in the field to pacers Fidel Edwards and Tino Best peppering the batters with bouncers, the cricketers have refused to yield an inch without a fight.

Taylor agreed with Watson too. "Competitiveness kicks in when you cross the rope. I am really happy with the way the legends have played the game. We have shown a lot of spirit and I am looking forward to playing the matches with more vigour," he said.

--IANS

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Sydney, Sep 30 (IANS) Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood believes bigger boundaries and quicker pitches in Australia will play into the hands' of hosts ahead of their Men's T20 World Cup title defence starting from October 16.

Hazlewood, one of the key reasons of Australia winning the silverware for the first time in 2021, will again be the vital cog in the wheel when the Aaron Finch-led side will open their campaign against New Zealand in a re-match of last year's final on October 22 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

Before that, Australia have two T20Is against two-time champions, the West Indies and three T20Is against 2010 winners England apart from one practice match against India, to whom they recently lost 2-1 in a recent week-long tour, on October 17 at The Gabba.

"It was a great test to see where we're at (on series against India). A number of guys got to bowl the end against probably the best hitters in the game on the fattest wickets and smallest boundaries."

"There's always stuff to work on - what fields you want at certain times, what balls you're bowling, how you're sequencing it. "But there's no (better) practice than that and we will be better off for the run."

"T20 in Australia is probably better for the bowlers in a lot of regards. The fields are bigger, wickets might have a bit more pace … you can use those big boundaries to your advantage," Hazlewood was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on sidelines of NRMA Insurance being new Men's Test series naming sponsors.

Hazlewood further spoke about the intense competition in the Men's T20 World Cup, where they almost lost to South Africa in the opening match and came back to win the trophy after an eight-wicket thrashing by England.

"We were very close to losing against South Africa the first game (in the UAE last year). It's very cut-throat and it probably adds to the excitement from ball one that it's game on and there's no warm ups. There's probably an extra level intensity for the tournament."

Hazlewood signed off by saying that apart from the Men's T20 World Cup, he's aiming to get back to the Test side. Last year, Hazlewood played just one Test in the Ashes due to injury and played just one Test on tour of Pakistan in March this year.

"I'm actually really looking forward to the red-ball stuff coming up. I haven't played a great deal the last few years, which has been a little bit disappointing. But I'm really looking forward to the Test summer."


--IANS
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Cuttack, Sep 30 (IANS) Hamilton Masakadza's blazing bat, with able support from fellow Zimbabwean Solomon Mire (28) and New Zealander Ross Taylor (29), helped the India Capitals inflict a seven-wicket defeat on the Manipal Tigers in the 10th game of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) on Thursday.

Masakadza's explosive knock of 68 not out off 39 balls (seven fours and four sixes) was crucial as the Capitals chased down a 162-run target with 16 balls to spare. That innings from the 39-year-old overshadowed the effort of Jesse Ryder and Mohammad Kaif from the rival team earlier in the match.

Ryder and Kaif played like they never went away from competitive cricket as they shared a 126-run partnership to help the Tigers post 161/5. While the left-handed Ryder made 76 off 56 balls with five fours and an equal number of sixes, Kaif's contribution of 67 off 48 balls was no less important. Kaif hit nine boundaries and a six.

The win at the Barabati Stadium took Gautam Gambhir's India Capitals to the sole top position in the League standings with 7 points, while Harbhajan Singh's Tigers kept languishing at the bottom of the table with just 3 points.

It was Gambhir who won the toss and elected to bowl first. Ryder opened the Tigers' innings along with Tatenda Taibu. The New Zealander looked comfortable during his stay at the crease, but the same could not be said about the former Zimbabwe captain.

Former Australia speedster Mitchell Johnson ended Taibu's stay at the crease in the first ball of the fifth over. That was when Kaif joined Ryder in the middle.

The next 13-odd overs saw the Capitals try their best, but the pair of Ryder and Kaif remained unconquered.

The Tigers did not get too many runs in the Powerplay Overs - 46/1 - and thereafter Ryder and Kaif concentrated on building their confidence at the crease. They did not get too many big shots, but perhaps that was their ploy - to preserve their wickets before launching the offensive in the last few overs.

Till the 15th over, it seemed as if the Capitals bowlers had done a fine job by keeping a tight leash on the Tigers, who could make only 117/1after 15 overs of play.

But Ryder and Kaif upped the scoring rate a bit in the last five overs, before both of them were dismissed in the 19th over bowled by Englishman Liam Plunkett.

However, the Tigers failed to make use of the final over of their innings, scoring just 4 runs and losing two wickets to medium pacer Rajat Bhatia.

From Cuttack. the action now moves to the Barkatullah Stadium in Jodhpur, where the Gujarat Giants will take on the Bhilwara Kings on Friday.

--IANS
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Mexico City Sep 30 (IANS) Veteran defender Dani Alves has moved to ease fears that a knee injury could dash his hopes of going to the FIFA World Cup with Brazil.

Alves was ruled out of Pumas' last match of the Mexican Liga MX regular season against Juarez on Saturday after suffering suspected ligament damage while training.

"Dani Alves will not be (available) due to an injury to the medial collateral ligament of his right knee, which is still under evaluation by the club's medical team," Pumas said in a statement on Thursday.

Alves, who joined Pumas in July after parting ways with Spanish giants Barcelona, responded with a social media post in which he denied the problem was serious, reports Xinhua.

"My friend Diogo (De Oliveira) kicked me in training and as a precaution I didn't travel (with the squad)," the 39-year-old said on Twitter.

The right-back has previously made public his desire to be a part of Brazil's squad for the World Cup - to be played in Qatar from November 20 to December 18 - after missing the last edition in Russia because of a knee injury.

--IANS
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Chengdu (China), Sep 29 (IANS) The Indian men's team comprising Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manush Shah, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar and Sanil Shetty landed in a tough Group 2 along with second-seed Germany, European giants France, Kazakhstan and the Group Stage draw for the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Championship starting here on Friday.

The team coached by national coach S Raman and missing veteran player and 2022 Commonwealth Games double gold medallist Achanta Sharath Kamal, will be hoping to make it to the knockout stage from the five-team group. The 32 teams in the fray have been divided into seven groups with Groups 5, 6 and 7 having four teams each while Groups 1 to 4 have five each.

In the women's section, the Indian team comprising Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Seeth Tennison, Diya Parag Chitale and Swastika Ghosh has been placed in Group 5 along with Germany, Egypt and the Czech Republic in the event which will be held from September 30-October 9.

The 28 women's teams in the fray have been divided into six groups with Groups 1-4 having five teams each while Groups 5 and 6 have four each, as per the draw held on Thursday.

Defending champions in both sections, China occupy the top-seeded positions in both events. With an abundance of experience, China starts as clear favourites. Seasoned players such as Ma Long and Fan Zhendong form the backbone of the men's team. For the women, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu are no strangers to the biggest stage of all.

Notably, in the groups, there is a sense of history, with a return to the era of Ping Pong Diplomacy. It is just over 50 years ago since a Chinese team landed in Detroit. In both the men's and women's events China is drawn in the same group as the United States, the ITTF said on its website.

Among other top teams, Japan are in Group 3 with Hong Kong China, Romania, Iran and Hungary.

In men's section, the Indian team coached by S Raman will start its campaign against Uzbekistan while in the women's section, the women's team will open proceedings against Germany. Both matches will be played on October 1.

For the Swaythling Cup in the men's section, teams will play in a round-robin format in the group stage with the top two from the seven groups and the two best third-placed teams qualifying for the 16-team knockout rounds.

In the women's competition for the Corbillon Cup, the top two teams from six groups after the round-robin competition and four best-placed third-placed teams will qualify for the knockout rounds.

The knockout stage starts on October 5. The women's and men's finals will take place on October 8 and October 9 respectively.

--IANS

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