Cricket news roundup – 8th March 2019: Grade A+ contracts for Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah

The first day of the second Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh, at Wellington, has been washed out do to rain. And England Women clinched the T20I series against India with an unassailable 2-0 lead with a win at Guwahati.

In other news, BCCI have announced their list of annual contracts for both India Men and Women; and Darren Lehmann and Heath Streak have both picked up coaching contracts.

Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah get top deals

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah have all been awarded Grade A+ annual contracts by BCCI, worth INR 70 million. Other significant announcements include a Grade A contract (50 million) for previously uncontracted Rishabh Pant; both Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul getting Grade B (30 million); a demotion for the injured Wriddhiman Saha from A to C (10 million); M Vijay losing a contract; and Vijay Shankar, Prithvi Shaw, and Mayank Agarwal not getting contracts.

As for women, a superlative 2018 has earned Poonam Yadav a Grade A contract (5 million); Jhulan Goswami has been demoted, and Jemimah Rodrigues promoted, to Grade B (3 million); and Veda Krishnamurthy and Rajeshwari Gayakwad have been demoted to C (1 million).

Grade A+: Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah
Grade A: Ashwin, Dhawan, Dhoni, Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar, Pant, Pujara, Rahane, Shami, Ishant, Kuldeep
Grade B: Chahal, Hardik, Rahul, Umesh
Grade C: Khaleel, Jadhav, Karthik, Pandey, Rayudu, Saha, Vihari

Grade A: Raj, Kaur, Mandhana, Poonam Yadav
Grade B: Bisht, Goswami, Pandey, Deepti, Rodrigues
Grade C: Bhatia, Gayakwad, Hemalatha, Joshi, Krishnamurthy, Meshram, Patil, Raut, Reddy, Vastrakar, Radha Yadav

No play at Basin Reserve

The first day’s play of the second Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh, at Basin Reserve, Wellington, has been called off due to rain. Rain is predicted for tomorrow as well.

New Zealand had won the first Test, at Seddon Park, Hamilton, by an innings and 52 runs.

England Women clinch series

England Women have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series against India. They sealed the series with a 5-wicket win at Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati, with 5 balls to spare.

Batting first, India lost captain Smriti Mandhana early after she hit 2 sixes off the 5 balls she faced. There were starts thereafter but no one went past 20, and none of them scored at more than a run a ball. Katherine Brunt (3/17) and Linsey Smith (2/11) helped England Women restrict India to 111/8.

India hit back, reducing England to 56/4, but Danni Wyatt (64* in 55 balls) and Laura Winfield (29 in 23) made sure there was no collapse.

Heat gets Boof

Brisbane Heat has signed up Darren Lehmann as their head coach for the 2019-20 season. Lehmann will succeed Daniel Vettori.

This will be Lehmann’s first coaching stint since he resigned as Australian coach in the aftermath of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.

New Streak for Somerset

Somerset has signed up Heath Streak as a consultant bowling coach. Streak will come on board before the season, during Somerset’s camp at Abu Dhabi.

Streak was coach of Zimbabwe last year when the team failed to make it to the World Cup for the first time in 36 years.