Jurgensen released by BCB

Shane Jurgensen has been released with immediate effect from his contract as Bangladesh coach by the BCB. Jurgensen had resigned in late April but it was believed he would stay in the job till the end of the proposed ODI series against India in June, giving the BCB a chance to find a

replacement. The board, however, announced on Monday that he will be leaving immediately.

On Monday, Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, met Jurgensen prior to a board meeting in the afternoon. After their discussion, Jurgensen said in a press briefing that he will stand by his decision to resign, but it will be up to the board to tell him whether they want him to stay on till mid-June or leave immediately. A couple of hours later, the BCB chief confirmed their decision.

"He had written in his resignation letter that he could stay till the India series," Hassan said. "But having discussed the matter with the board, we believe that it is best to release him immediately. Jurgensen also told me during our discussion that he feels that we should release him immediately, which would be good for the team."

Although there were some off-field issues that made him consider his position, Jurgensen said that his decision was cricket-based. He however denied making the resignation based on what some BCB directors said in the media.

"For me what is really important is that this resignation is what is best for the team," Jurgensen said. "I have always been a team person, that's the best outcome for the team. I was asked if I would like to continue till the World Cup I said thank you for the offer but at the moment I don't wish to continue.

"One of many reasons for my decision is that I have a young family, and I have been doing this for six years," he said. "But it is definitely not the main reason. I have taken the decision based on a lot of factors. Those things spoken in the media is not the catalyst [for the resignation]. It is a cricket-based decision. Some things happened off the field which made me realise where I stand as a coach and my immediate future."

Hassan has said that among a handful of prospective coaches who are in discussion with the BCB, two of them have responded positively. But he didn't want to name them as they are apparently busy with their current assignments. The five-member special committee to pick the next coach consists of Mahbubul Anam, Jalal Yunus, Akram Khan, Naimur Rahman and Khaled Mahmud.

"We hope to find a coach by the next month," Hassan said. "We had begun talking to coaches immediately after receiving the resignation letter. We are in touch with 5-6 coaches for our development, national team's head coach and specialist coaches for batting, fielding and bowling. But it is not possible to name them, because they are working somewhere right now.

Hassan however didn't rule out a Bangladeshi coach completely, but he feels that with a World Cup coming up in less than a year's time, this assignment would not be ideal for a local coach.

"If we can't find a coach now, we will use a local coach for the India tour," he said. "The national team have a World Cup coming up so we feel that there isn't anyone among the local coaches who can take up such a massive responsibility. So far we are giving preference to foreign coaches. We will keep it in mind to attach a local coach," he said.

The new coach will be Bangladesh's fourth since 2012: Stuart Law, Richard Pybus and now Jurgensen have all left without fulfilling the period of their contract. Jurgensen had been an interim coach for the West Indies series in 2012, after which he was given a two-year deal from February 2013.

As head coach, Jurgensen oversaw ODI series wins over West Indies and New Zealand at home, as well as a drawn ODI series in Sri Lanka. Bangladesh also drew two Tests each against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and won a Test in 2013 against Zimbabwe.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

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Royals take 6 for 2 to steal game

Rajasthan Royals 170 for 6 (Nair 44, Narine 2-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 160 for 6 (Uthappa 65, Gambhir 54, Watson 3-21, Tambe 3-26) by 10 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Gautam Gambhir had hoped Kolkata Knight Riders had learned from conceding winning positions in multiple matches this season, but losing six wickets for two runs after 70% of the target of 171 had been mowed down by a century stand between himself and Robin Uthappa indicated there was still a lot of work left to do. Rajasthan Royals were the beneficiaries this time as they recorded their fourth victory in five IPL matches in Ahmedabad.

An equation of 50 from the final six overs is not cause for alarm and Knight Riders had all 10 wickets in hand, but the events that unfolded at Motera were almost unfathomable. Shane Watson pried out Gambhir to tip the dominoes. An inexplicable promotion for Andre Russell did not last long and before the over ended three wickets were down. Pravin Tambe claimed a hat-trick off the first three balls of the next over to complete the worst collapse for the first six wickets in T20 history.

Before those nightmarish few minutes, Uthappa had cemented the team's belief in him by melding stability and enterprise together. His fluency allowed Gambhir to work himself into form. Both batsmen embraced percentage cricket, concentrating on keeping a straight face coming down on the ball. Uthappa used his feet to bolster his hits through and over mid-on while Gambhir peppered the cover boundary. It wasn't the most eye-catching innings but it was what Knight Riders needed from their captain and victory seemed more probable than the eventual outcome.

Suryakumar Yadav and Shakib Al Hasan were suddenly faced with a required rate over 11 in the final four overs. They swung and swiped and even enjoyed a couple of free hits but they could not muster the necessary pace. Having drained the wind from Knight Riders' sails, Watson returned to bowl an intelligent final over to finish things off. This is the second time a week that Royals have stolen a match from under Knight Riders' noses. Gambhir's men couldn't overhaul an equation of 16 of 12 and lost after the match was pushed into a Super Over.

After Royals were sent in, Karun Nair and Ajinkya Rahane found little trouble dealing with the early overs. The pitch was marked with patches of grass but no matter how much the KKR bowlers willed it, their search for movement was in vain. A few easy flicks to the square boundary on the leg side kickstarted their half-century partnership that was eventually undone by a run out. Nair's season had begun with two single-figure scores and he had to overcome a sluggish beginning during his half-century against Delhi Daredevils. But once he did, he showcased some effective shots and today he seemed to pick up where he had left off. A second successive fifty wasn't on the cards, though.

Sanju Samson, at No.3, ensured there was no loss in momentum with some smart shots to drive Royals past their hundred. Watson's proclivity to hit straight down the ground hinted at a big total on the horizon. Knight Riders pulled things back in the last four overs but the 35 runs that the home side managed during that period proved more than enough.

Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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Traffic flyover threatens Basin Reserve

A proposed traffic flyover could threaten the international future of the Basin Reserve in Wellington, according to former players.

The New Zealand Transport Agency plans to build a two-lane highway flyover 20 metres north of the ground and while a 12-metre high pavilion would also be constructed to block the flyover from view, small glimpses could still be visible to the sides of the pavilion.

Former chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, Martin Snedden, has voiced his concerns that traffic movement outside the 40-degree area from the batsman's view could still be distracting and potentially dangerous, and that it could lead to players and spectators abandoning the venue.

"A fielder at mid-off is not permitted to wave their arms when a bowler is preparing to deliver a ball, despite that fielder being well outside this 40-degree area," Snedden said. "Cricket balls are very hard. Impact on the human body of a fast-moving cricket ball can cause serious injury and even death. Ewen Chatfield, a former New Zealand Test match player, was nearly killed by being struck in the temple by a ball in a Test match in 1974."

Don Neely, the former Wellington captain and cricket historian, said the sight of moving traffic from the playing surface could do irreparable damage to the Basin Reserve's character and could lead to the end of Test cricket at the ground.

"Spectators could decide to vote with their feet and choose not to come to games," Neely said. "Ultimately, the Basin relies on attracting spectators for its ongoing existence. The Basin Reserve could lose its raison d'etre if cricket should cease to be played there ... nothing would be sadder for Wellington than to see this important historical and cultural symbol become a faded monument to the past."

Sir John Anderson, the former NZC chairman who represented the country on the ICC board for more than a decade, said the flyover could be considered a "major renovation" by the ICC, which would lead to the ground's Test status needing to be reviewed after the completion of the project in 2017.

"The [flyover], without sufficient mitigation, runs a small but very real risk of the ICC status of New Zealand's premier Test match ground being taken away," Anderson said.

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Pattinson under back stress cloud

Twenty20 may be removed from James Pattinson's rehab diet after it emerged that the fast bowler is suffering from a recurrence of back stress trouble and has no certain return date for the resumption of his international career.

Among the re-signed pace bowling mentor Craig McDermott's more pressing assignments is to oversee further work to refine the bowling action of Pattinson, who once again fell prey to back problems following his lively return to the Test team in the deciding Test match of the South Africa series at Newlands in March.

While initially Cricket Australia described Pattinson as simply complaining of "lower back soreness", further examination has revealed evidence of stress on his back. McDermott is adamant that at the age of 24, Pattinson should not be rushed back into service until a sustainable technique can be put into place.

"With Patto it'll depend how he heals, first and foremost. That's got to improve from a clinical point of view before we get to the path we'll go down with his technical side of it," McDermott said. "The timeline on that hasn't even been determined yet, so we'll just see how he progresses over the next few months.

"I want to make sure we take our time and get it right. He's obviously having some sort of trouble with his skeletal make up that's not coping at his age. He's almost at the age where you'd think he's not going to get too many more problems, but everyone's different. Patto does bowl fast, he's not a 130kph bowler, so we've got to make sure we get him right and take our time to bring him back nice and slowly."

Pattinson's performance in the match was particularly notable considering it was his first red ball fixture of any kind since suffering a stress fracture in the Lord's Test last year. Unready for the first bracket of Sheffield Shield matches and then in South Africa for the second, Pattinson was compelled to make his return in the Big Bash League with the Melbourne Renegades.

Efforts to improve his technique and groove it during long-from cricket were thus frustrated by a format in which pacemen are obliged to bowl at top speed but also change their action on a ball-to-ball basis for slower deliveries, wide yorkers and other variations.

"There's been some discussion about bringing him back through club cricket and formats where he can settle into a rhythm," McDermott said. "T20 cricket is always difficult to bring blokes back through, because they're under the pump, bowling different balls all the time.

"It's a yorker, then a slower-ball bouncer, then a good-length ball or a wide yorker. And if they're getting whacked by the batsmen they're not going to bowl at 80% and build things up gradually. It's not in their make-up, and it's certainly not in Patto's make-up because he's such a competitor."

Elsewhere Ryan Harris is continuing his recovery from overdue knee surgery, though McDermott agreed with the 34-year-old paceman that a return in time for Australia's next Test match assignment against Pakistan in the UAE would be doubtful. More likely is Harris' participation in the 2015 World Cup, having not played an ODI since 2012 as the selectors sought to preserve his body.

"He's definitely touch and go for Dubai, we've just got to see how his knee goes over the next few months. You've got to start bowling workloads about six or eight weeks before that to get right for Test match level," McDermott said. "We've just got to monitor him to see how his knee's coping with his rehabilitation, and see if it's possible to get him up for there.

"I don't think there's any point rushing Ryano either, we've got a lot of cricket with India, World Cup, West Indies and the Ashes, we've got to make sure he's 100% when he comes back. If he's fully fit he's certainly someone who can quite easily play in the one day team. He's got all the firepower, the variations and he's very experienced. I'm sure if he's fit he'll be certainly looked at."

Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @danbrettig

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McDermott's CA role expanded

Twenty-three years since he took part in the failed 1992 campaign, Craig McDermott will mentor Australia's fast bowlers at the 2015 World Cup after re-signing with Cricket Australia as assistant coach with the national team for two years.

Recognising the success of the Test bowling battery against England and South Africa, CA have upgraded McDermott's contract and increased his remit to cover major tours across all formats, rather than the Test-only position he took up at the start of the 2013-14 Ashes summer. He will now be the right hand man of the coach Darren Lehmann.

"I've already had a couple of meetings with Darren mapping out the next two years," McDermott told ESPNcricinfo. "Once we go to Dubai for Pakistan it's pretty much full-on until the end of the 2015-16 season really.

"After we get back from Dubai we've got the one-dayers at home to South Africa, and that's pretty important leading not only into the Test series against India where we'd like to reverse the 4-0 the other way like we did previously in Australia, but also the tri-series with India and England and then the World Cup.

"I feel like we've got a really good group at the moment. While all the guys are playing well, it's really been great to build this close bond with them all - the boys call it the fast bowling cartel, but we also let Nathan Lyon in - and we're all really motivated to keep that going. I'm also looking forward to taking on more responsibility and to work closely with Darren to broaden my coaching skills and alongside Michael Di Venuto to ensure we're a well-oiled coaching unit."

Ali de Winter, who had replaced McDermott as pace bowling coach when he temporarily left the job in April 2012, had been commissioned to look after the bowlers in ODI and Twenty20 matches, but will now work alongside McDermott, mainly at the National Cricket Centre while touring occasionally.

"Craig has built a really strong rapport with the bowling group," the team performance manager Pat Howard said. "Combine that with the international experience and technical expertise that Craig brings and it has proved a successful combination in recent times and we're keen to see that continue and for Craig to continue to grow and develop as a coach.

"Craig will also do a bit more work with the limited overs players, along with Ali de Winter, as we head towards the World Cup early next year and will be closely connected to the work being done at the National Cricket Centre."

The prospect of working at the World Cup is something McDermott is particularly eager for, given his own unhappy experience of the 1992 campaign when Allan Border's team did not reach the semi-finals in their attempt to defend the title won in 1987. A pair of unexpected defeats at the hands of New Zealand and South Africa meant the hosts were always chasing from behind.

"We got beaten by New Zealand in that first game, I can remember we then had a barbecue at Steve Waugh's house and the talk was all 'oh we'll just win the next one'," McDermott said. "But we didn't win the next one and were playing catch-up all through the tournament. It was disappointing because we'd all wanted to win a World Cup in our home country.

"New Zealand opening the bowling with spin was a shock to everyone, the wicket was low, slow and the New Zealand attack really suited that with guys like Dipak Patel and Chris Harris. That first loss was a major psychological issue for us - we expected to beat New Zealand because at that stage we were always beating them, so that took a while to recover from. Then South Africa beat us as well in Sydney, and we never really recovered from those two games.

"Hopefully our boys can do it this time, we've got a good one-day side, we're ranked up the top, we've just got to make sure that we stay there."

Central to the 2015 campaign will be the pace and aggression of Mitchell Johnson, currently turning out in the IPL following the twin peaks of an Ashes sweep then a stirring 2-1 defeat of South Africa away from home. Though Johnson claimed a staggering 59 wickets from those eight Tests, McDermott said there was still room for improvement.

"I don't think Mitchell bowled as well in South Africa as he did in Australia," he said. "It was always going to be hard to improve on what he did against England ... if I wanted to work on something with Mitchell it would be to make sure we get his swing back that he had in Australia. He didn't quite get the same shape he had in Australia, so that's something he has to work on going forward.

"His aggression and pace and everything else was exceptional in South Africa on two very docile wickets in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. He bowled well at Centurion, so we've just got to make sure he gets some rest and then we'll see if he is selected for Zimbabwe or gets some extra time to groove some things to get ready for Dubai."

Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @danbrettig

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Giles admits 'bitter disappointment'

Ashley Giles has spoken for the first time about narrowly missing out to Peter Moores as England coach, saying that the decision had left him "bitterly disappointed".

Moores has been recalled for a second spell in charge after Andy Flower stood down following England's 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia.

Giles appeared to be in pole position to replace Flower. He had been England's one-day coach since November 2012 and a member of the selection panel. But his cause was not helped by a poor run of results in one-day games in Australia and England's humiliating loss to the Netherlands at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh last month

"I was confident," Giles told Sky Sports. "I went into the interview and thought I had as equal a chance as anyone else, if not a better chance, having been close to the team and known what the systems are and, at the same time, not really had full control.

"I can't go into too much detail about that process, but I'm bitterly disappointed I didn't get the job. At no time or stage does that mean I wish anyone in that side any ill going forward. We all want England to do well."

The Bangladesh coaching role is available following the resignation of Shane Jurgensen, but Giles did not sound in a rush to advertise his availability as he faced up to the first inactive spell of his working life. He also decided to resign as an England selector.

"I think it's important in the short-term to take some time out and reflect - with the family as well, because since I retired in 2007 I went straight into coaching and since then I've been pretty busy, as a selector and a coach," he said. "It depends on opportunities, I guess, around the world and in this country. At the moment I'm not rushing.

"I love coaching, I don't think anything's changed on that front. Of course, through recent experiences your confidence takes a little bit of a hit. But I enjoy working with players, improving players, that's the buzz."

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Verma questions ICC's silence on Srinivasan

Aditya Verma, the Cricket Association of Bihar secretary whose petition following the IPL corruption scandal has led to an upheaval in Indian cricket, has questioned the ICC's silence over the scandal and its decision to allow BCCI's stepped-aside president N Srinivasan to attend the ICC Executive board meeting in Dubai last month.

In an email that Verma claims to have sent to all the ICC office-bearers, he has expressed his anguish at the ICC's silence "on the issue of the IPL scam". "Cricket is a great sport and it's the duty of ICC and BCCI to maintain the credibility of cricket and players," the letter stated.

The letter has also questioned the decision to let Srinivasan attend the ICC Board meeting in Dubai last month despite Srinivasan in an "affidavit filed to the court had said he was stepping aside as the BCCI president till the probe concludes".

Verma had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court last July questioning the legality of a two-member panel appointed by the BCCI to inquire the allegations against Gurunath Meiyappan, Srinivasan's son-in-law, his team Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and one of its co-owners Raj Kundra. The matter has escalated to the Supreme Court stepping in to initiate a cleansing act in Indian cricket.

During the last hearing of the case last week, CAB's lawyers requested the court to bar Srinivasan, who is supposed to take over as the ICC chairman in July, from attending ICC meetings. Though the court didn't entertain the plea during its last hearing, the apex court has decided to ask Justice Mukul Mudgal - whose earlier report concluded that Meiyappan was a CSK official and had recommended further recommendations against 13 personalities involved in cricket - to continue the probe into the allegations. The court is likely to issue an interim order in the coming week.

Amol Karhadkar is a correspondent at ESPNcricinfo

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