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Matt Kuhnemann reported for suspect action after Sri Lanka Test
Left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann has been reported for a suspect action following Australia’s Test series in Sri Lanka.
Kuhnemann, who claimed 16 wickets in the two matches in Galle, will now have to undergo testing at an ICC-approved centre with Brisbane the likely location.
It is the first time in a professional career which began in 2017 that Kuhnemann’s action has been called into question.
“The Australian team was notified of the match officials’ referral following the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle and will support Matt through the process of clearing this matter,” a CA spokesperson said.
“Matt has played 124 professional matches since his debut in 2017, including five Test matches and four One-Day Internationals. He has played 55 Big Bash League games since 2018.
“This is the first time in those eight years of professional cricket that his action has been questioned.
“Cricket Australia will liaise closely with the ICC and independent experts in line with ICC regulations. No further comment will be made by Cricket Australia or Matthew until the matter is resolved.”
Kuhnemann was lauded as Australia’s best bowler in the Sri Lanka series by Nathan Lyon after the duo teamed up to take 30 off the 40 wickets in the 2-0 series sweep.
He faced a race against time to be fit for the tour after breaking his thumb in the BBL in mid-January but made a remarkable recovery to be able to take his place in the side.
Kuhnemann has taken 25 wickets in five Tests at an average of 22.20.
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka Cricket will conduct an inquiry over allegations that Dasun Shanaka left a first-class match in Colombo hours early, in order to play for the Dubai Capitals in the UAE that same evening on February 2.
The board’s chargesheet to Shanaka includes the allegation that first-class match referee Wendell Labrooy had been led to believe Shanaka had a concussion, in order to approve a substitute. This is according to SLC CEO Ashley de Silva, who told ESPNcricinfo “SSC [Shanaka’s first-class club] would probably be conducting their own inquiry as well”.
Shanaka, however, told ESPNcricinfo that de Silva and others had been aware that he would have to leave the first-class match early. According to Shanaka, he had left the ground soon after being dismissed on the third morning of the the three-day match. He said he visited a doctor at a nearby hospital first, to inspect a blow to the neck he had sustained while playing a sweep shot that morning, and then headed off to Dubai to play that evening’s T20, after a separate physiotherapist had cleared him to play.
“SLC and the club knew I had to leave,” Shanaka said. “I only came back because there was a request from the SSC to play this first-class match. But my other team wanted me back, as I’d helped win two games for them earlier in the tournament.”
For SLC, however, exiting a league game early, particularly with suspect reasons, is problematic, not that it has yet been established if there actually was any pretense involved. The board CEO de Silva explained that while Lasith Malinga had also famously played a Mumbai Indians match and then broken records in a domestic match in a match at Pallekele the next day, Malinga had played until both those matches reached their conclusion.
On the surface, though, Shanaka’s looks like a spectacular cricketing feat. He had been among the three players called back from the ILT20 by the SSC for their fixture against Moors Sports Club in the Major League Tournament, as SSC strove to avoid relegation. Shanaka had played the first two days of this three-dayer, bowling 21 overs and taking a wicket in Moors’ innings, before finishing on 39 not out at the end of day two.
Day three is when the absconding is alleged to have occurred, but before he left, Shanaka crashed a further 84, hitting 123 off 87 balls in total, 88 of those runs coming in boundaries. Though SSC’s innings ended not long after he got out, Shanaka did not bowl an over in the next Moors innings (the third of the match), and played no further part in the game.
What is clear is that several hours later, he appeared for the Capitals in Dubai, and struck 34 off 12 at No. 5, helping his team to 217 against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. He didn’t bowl in the Knight Riders’ innings either, however.
Capitals would go on to win the ILT20, Shanaka playing three further games for them. He has not appeared for SSC since February 2.
[Cricinfo]
A deepwater fish new to science has been named after San, the warrior princess from Studio Ghibli’s landmark animated film Princess Mononoke, due to its striking facial markings.
The new species, Branchiostegus sanae, was identified by Chinese researchers after they noticed its unique cheek stripes.
San, a princess raised by wolves, was the war-painted protagonist of Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 animated film.
Princess Mononoke was a sensation in Japan and grossed over 19 billion yen (£100.4m) at the box office.
The newly discovered fish is a deepwater tilefish, belonging to the family Branchiostegidae.
As their name suggests, deepwater tilefish are found at extreme depths, with some species being found as deep as 600m below the surface.
Researchers from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, the Chinese Academy of Science, Zhejiang University and Ocean University of China, used genetic analysis to confirm it as a new species.
Inspired by its resemblance to San, they chose “sanae” for the specific name as a tribute.
Lead author of the study Haochen Huang said: “In Princess Mononoke, San is a young woman raised by wolves after being abandoned by her human parents. She sees herself as a part of the forest and fights to protect it.
“The film delves into the complex relationship between humans and nature, promoting a message of harmonious coexistence between the two: something we hope to echo through this naming.”
Deepwater tilefish are commonly found in seafood markets across east and southeast Asia.
However their diversity remains relatively low, with only 31 described species in the Branchiostegidae family and 19 in the Branchiostegus genus.
“Finding a new species in this group is a rare and fortunate event, especially one as distinctive as Branchiostegus sanae,” said Haochen Huang.
Only three new species in the genus Branchiostegus have been identified in the last 34 years.
Specimens have been preserved in marine biological collections to help scientists learn more about them.
(BBC)
Israel’s prime minister has warned Hamas it will end the ceasefire in Gaza and resume intense fighting if the Palestinian group “does not return our hostages by Saturday noon”.
Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered Israeli forces to amass inside and around Gaza in response to Hamas’s announcement that it was postponing freeing more hostages until further notice.
Netanyahu did not specify whether he was demanding the release of all 76 remaining hostages, or just the three due to be freed this Saturday – but a minister said he meant “everyone”.
On Monday, Hamas accused Israel of violating the three-week-old ceasefire deal, including by blocking vital humanitarian aid – a claim Israel has denied.
The group’s decision to delay this weekend’s scheduled release prompted US President Donald Trump to propose that Israel cancel the agreement altogether and “let hell break out” unless “all of the hostages” were returned by Saturday.
(BBC)
Shanaka in trouble with SLC after two matches in two countries in one day
Matt Kuhnemann reported for suspect action after Sri Lanka Test
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