Cricket news round-up – 1 May: RCB eliminated, Bangladesh forced into jersey change

Royal Challengers Bangalore were mathematically eliminated after the washout in Chinnaswamy against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. Elsewhere, Bangladesh have been forced to change their World Cup jersey, and Alex Hepburn, the former Worcestershire all-rounder, was sentenced to prison for rape.

RCB eliminated after rain forces abandonment

Royal Challengers Bangalore were eliminated from IPL 2019 Playoffs contention after their clash against Rajasthan Royals at Chinnaswamy was rained out.

The result doesn’t help Royals either – they needed the 2 points to keep their hopes alive, and though they are still in with a chance of making the play-offs, their task is a bit more difficult.

All of 8.2 overs were possible in a 5-overs-a-side encounter – Bangalore were reduced to 62/7 in that time, with Shreyas Gopal picking up a hat-trick, comprising Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Marcus Stoinis.

However, with Rajasthan needing 22 runs off 10 balls in their chase, the match was abandoned.

Bangladesh forced to change World Cup jersey

Bangladesh were set to be decked in an all-green jersey for the World Cup, but immense fan uproar has forced the BCB to issue a recall on it.

Fans want to some red in the jersey – an integral part of Bangladesh’s limited-overs jerseys – but according to ESPNCricinfo, the ICC had asked the BCB not to write the team and players names and numbers in red due to the difficulty to read that.

However, the BCB proceeded with an all-green design that didn’t go down well with the fans. An alternate jersey will be provided soon.

Alex Hepburn sentenced to five years in jail for rape

Alex Hepburn, the former Worcestershire all-rounder, was sentenced to prison for five years after the Hereford Crown Court found him guilty of raping a sleeping woman.

Hepburn, 23, had been “fired up” by his participation in a “sexual conquest competition” on a WhatsApp group among his team-mates, and he took advantage of the victim, sleeping on a mattress on the floor of an apartment he shared with Joe Clarke, his team-mate.

“I sentence you on the basis the jury were sure the victim was woken by you but was still barely awake and in the dark thought you were Joe Clarke,” said judge Jim Tindal, when handing down the sentence. “You thought you were God’s gift to women. You saw the victim as a piece of meat, not another human entitled to respect.”

One-Day Cup round-up

Glamorgan beat Gloucestershire by 74 runs after captain Chris Cooke’s 127-ball 161 helped them post 331/7, a target Gloucestershire were no match for, despite Jack Taylor’s 70-ball 75. They were restricted to 257 in 48.3 overs.

Sussex trumped Essex by one wicket in a thriller at Chelmsford – Essex posted 283/7, thanks to half-centuries from Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence. However, Sussex, powered by Laurie Evans (68 off 70) and Will Beer (75 off 90), sneaked across the line, with Danny Briggs’ 26-ball 37* proving decisive.

Lancashire saw off Durham by three wickets in Gosforth. Alex Lees scored a 127-ball 115 to take Durham to 229, but Lancashire, riding on Steven Croft’s 99, aced the chase in 49.2 overs.

Wayne Madsen’s century and Alex Hughes’ half-century helped Derbyshire see off Warwickshire by five wickets in a chase of 289 in Derby.

Hampshire eased past Surrey, with Aiden Markram scoring a 90-ball 88 and Liam Dawson scoring a 93-ball 108 to set a target of 308. Surrey fell short of that by 53 runs, despite Mark Stoneman’s 68-ball 70.