Australia 5 for 123 (Haynes 60, Lanning 41*, Prabodhani 2-17, Siriwardene 2-20) beat Sri Lanka 6 for 122 (Atapattu 50, Sanjeewani 25, Carey 2-18, Strano 2-23) by five wickets

Australia are not playing well at all. Australia are still in the T20 World Cup. These two truths were undeniable at the end of a white-knuckle encounter with Sri Lanka at the WACA Ground, which on several occasions looked like being the day in which Meg Lanning's No. 1-ranked side were eliminated at the first available opportunity.

Sri Lanka, having also lost their opening fixture, had never beaten Australia in a T20I but got closer than most anybody expected. Putting up a sound total and defending it desperately has been a more than useful strategy so far in this tournament, and at 3 for 10, the hosts were in all sorts of trouble thanks to the swing of Udeshika Prabodhani.

Lanning and Rachael Haynes put together a partnership, however, and they were given what turned out to be much-needed assistance by both the umpires - not ruling Lanning caught behind when she was on 15 - and the Sri Lankans, who dropped both Australia's captain and deputy when the game could easily have swung back their way. In the end Australia scrambled to victory with three balls to spare. They are still in the tournament, but they have plenty of improving to do.

Atapattu brings the class

Having never lost to Sri Lanka in 16 matches across formats, Australia had to be wary of Chamari Atapattu after her glorious 103 in an ODI in Brisbane in October. Megan Schutt broke through early, having found some of her trademark new-ball swing away from the left-hand opener Hasini Perera, but otherwise Lanning's team could not find a way to confound Atapattu before she had given Sri Lanka a serviceable start in conditions that, in considerable breeze and on a fresh, fastish pitch, had plenty to offer the bowlers.

Critically, Atapattu gained some handy support from Nos. 3, 4 and 5 as Umesha Thimashini, Anushka Sanjeewani and Nilakshi de Silva all contributed. Their innings were at varying degrees of fluency, Thimashini most striking in her cover drives off Ellyse Perry, but they ensured that once Atapattu departed, caught at extra cover the ball after she was very nearly run out, the Sri Lankan effort was not to peter out entirely.

Strano's costly 19th over

Retained in the team after being a surprise choice for the opener against India, Molly Strano did not share the new ball this time but still had a key role bowling in the middle of the innings and then returning at the death. Her dismissals of Sanjeewani and Ama Kanchana in the same over were moments in which it felt as though Australia were taking control of proceedings, but in her final over of the innings, Strano erred full and then short.

This allowed de Silva to drive and pull a pair of priceless fours, making the 19th over of the innings the most expensive of all at a cost of 12. In a low-scoring and pressure-filled game, these runs were vital for Sri Lanka and troubling for the Australians, pushing their required rate in the chase beyond a run-a-ball.

Prabodhani does a Vaas

It is more than 20 years since Chaminda Vaas set-up Sri Lanka's first ever Test victory over Australia by swinging the new ball around corners in Kandy. There was something similarly memorable about the way Prabodhani curled the white ball into the stumps of Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner at the start of Australia's chase, raising the anxiety of the hosts.

Both Healy and Gardner are in the top order to go on the attack, and as such their gates are more open to the inswinger than some others. But it was still a transfixing sight to see the new ball curling back through their somewhat crooked defences in the midst of a new-ball spell from Prabodhani. She was to bowl her full allotment of overs in the one spell, by which time Australia were a wobbly 3 for 27, with Shashikala Siriwardene turning the ball sharply at the other end.

Haynes, Lanning scramble home with help

Facing an equation that was dialled up from manageable to tricky, and a moving ball, Lanning and Haynes benefited from plenty of good fortune even as they showed more solid defences than Healy and Gardner. Lanning was facing her second ball when she played and missed and Sri Lanka reviewed for caught behind - revealing that the bat had brushed the wicketkeeper's gloves rather than the ball. On 15, Lanning was caught behind cutting, but this time given not out, and then she was to be dropped by Sanjeewani when on 33.

Haynes, who took on a more aggressive posture in the partnership, was most vitally dropped on 26 just as the required rate had begun to spiral away from Australia. Duly revived, she was able to connect with the big leg-side shots off left-arm spin that have become something of a trademark, taking 18 runs off the 16th over to pull back the asking rate from 8.8 an over to a far more manageable 6.5 in one fell swoop. From there, Australia wobbled further, but got over the line. Lanning's clenched fist after diving for the winning run said it all.

Toss Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl v India

Bangladesh won the toss in their first match of the T20 World Cup and elected to bowl against India. Bangladesh had beaten Pakistan in their only warm-up game before the start of the tournament and captain Salma Khatun said they would bring the confidence from that to open their campaign, becoming the last team from Group A to do so. A win in Monday's game will be their first one in the T20 World Cup since 2014.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said her team had been looking to bat first anyway in a bid to put on a decent score, but revealed a significant detail that would make that task harder - opening batter Smriti Mandhana was out with a viral fever. She was replaced by 16-year-old Richa Ghosh, although it was not clear whether Ghosh would slot straight into Mandhana's spot, with wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia also an option to open the batting. The rest of the line-up remained unchanged from their win against Australia.

India: Shafali Verma, Taniya Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shika Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Bangladesh: Murshida Khatun, Shamima Sultana, Sanjida Islam, Nigar Sultana Joty, Fargana Hoque, Rumana Ahmed, Salma Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Jahanara Alam, Panna Ghosh, Nahida Akter

Crimson cruise to 83rd consecutive victory
By CSA Reporters 

Top seeds Harvard created history as they claimed a record sixth straight Howe Cup by winning the College Squash Association women’s Team Championship after beating No.2 seeds Princeton 6-1 in the final at Yale, with two rubbers not played once the result was confirmed.

The Howe Cup is coming back to Cambridge after top-ranked Harvard women’s squash beat No. 2 Princeton, 6-1, in the national championship match.

The Crimson (17-0, 7-0 Ivy) completed its fifth-straight undefeated season en route to its sixth consecutive national championship trophy. The match, held at Yale’s Brady Squash Center, resulted in the 83rd consecutive victory for Harvard, which stands as a CSA record.

Harvard earned its 20th Howe Cup after posting five straight points, starting with Hana Moataz at the third position. The sophomore’s 3-0 victory – and 14th win of the season – gave the Crimson a quick 1-0 lead. First-year Charlotte Orcutt added an impressive win at the ninth position to put her team on top 2-0.

Amina Yousry followed in her teammates footsteps, downing her opponent, 3-1, at the fourth spot. Co-captain Gina Kennedy’s shutout at the top pairing on the ladder put the Crimson on top, 4-0, and in a position to clinch.

Junior Hannah Craig was the deciding-point-winner, as she came away with the 3-0 victory at the seventh position to secure the match for Harvard.

Amelia Henley’s 3-0 decision at the second pairing brought the Crimson total to six before the match was called.

Harvard’s 2019-20 season ends with another national title in the trophy case and another win on the already impressive resume of Mike Way, the Gregory Lee ’87 and Russell Ball ’88 Endowed Coach for Harvard University, James Herscot ’58 Coach of Excellence.

Harvard Highlights
– Harvard finishes the season undefeated for the fifth straight season and improved its CSA-record winning streak to 83 matches.
– The Crimson is 28-2 in Howe Cup play under the leadership of Mike Way.
– The Crimson has won its past 16 matches at Yale’s Squash facility.
– Gina Kennedy, Amelia Henley, Eleonore Evans and Annika Engstrom became the fifth Harvard class to graduate with four Howe Cups.
– Amelia Henley ends her Harvard career with a perfect 52-0 record in dual-match play.
– Gina Kennedy ends her Harvard career on a 40-match winning streak.
– Women’s Squash finishes the season with a combined individual record of 139-12.
– Hannah Craig and Evans both completed perfect seasons, posting a 17-0 record in 2019-20.

Next Up
The team completed its regular season campaign, but members of the team are still set to compete in the Individual National Championships at Penn in two weeks. Draws and tournament information will be released the week of the tournament. 

2020 CSA National Collegiate Women’s Team Championships, Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Harvard 6 Princeton 1 (two rubbers not played):
Gina Kennedy def. Elle Ruggiero, 3-0 (11-3, 11-2, 11-8)
Amelia Henley def. Raneem El Torky, 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-7)
Hana Moataz def. Emme Leonard, 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-9)
Amina Yousry def. Caroline Spahr, 3-1 (12-10, 12-10, 9-11, 11-0)
Eleonore Evans vs. Andrea Toth, DNP
M. Grace Doyle def. Maddie Chai, 3-1 (11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5)
Hannah Craig def. Morgan Steelman, 3-0 (11-4, 13-11, 11-5)
Evie Coxon vs Emily Rose, DNP
Charlotte Orcutt def. India Stephenson, 3-1 (11-3, 11-6, 7-11, 11-3) 

+ College Squash Association report to follow

Pictures by MICHAEL BELLO courtesy of College Squash Association 

Prop Rory Sutherland says Stuart Hogg has made a "fantastic" job of stepping up to captain Scotland and proved it with his wonder try against Italy.

Hogg conjured a sensational solo score to set Scotland on their way to a win.

The blistering effort in Rome followed high-profile errors in defeats to Ireland and England that had some asking whether Hogg was being weighed down by the pressures of his new role.

"He's been flung in the deep end and done really well," said Sutherland.

"A lot of people have been talking about Hoggy's mistakes but he's made a fantastic jump into that captain's role.

"I don't like it when people talk about his mistakes because you've got to look at what he's done for Scotland. Hoggy's done a hell of a lot and he deserves to be where he is.

"I'm really pleased to see him back on form and getting that try."

Sutherland delivered another solid display in the front row to continue his impressive form since being brought back from the international wilderness as Scotland picked up their first win of the campaign.

After three injury-ravaged years, the 27-year-old Edinburgh prop has become a key cog in a much-improved scrum, and the win in the Stadio Olimpico was his first taste of victory in a Scotland jersey for some time.

"The last one was four years ago in Japan - it feels really good," Sutherland said.

"I'm just grateful to be given the chance to be back involved. On a personal level, I've been really happy with my performances and I've just got to keep a bit of consistency in my game now and keep backing it up.

"When I was injured it was always something that kept me going, I was thinking about playing for Scotland again. That was the goal. Putting little goals in place to reach that final goal.

"I've had a couple of tough seasons, I've not played a lot of rugby but I feel I've taken the opportunities that I've been given. It's nice to be back at this level and playing some good rugby.

"Hopefully I get another opportunity in that starting jersey against France."

Midfielder Bruno Fernandes can help unlock the potential of Manchester United's attack much like Paul Scholes and Juan Sebastian Veron did during their days at Old Trafford, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said.

Fernandes, who joined United in January for an initial fee of €55 million, scored his first goal for the club on Sunday as he placed a cool penalty past Ben Foster in a 3-0 Premier League win over Watford.

The Portugal international provided the assist for Mason Greenwood's goal and also played a part in Anthony Martial's.

"Bruno has come in to be a very important player ... now we've got the No.10 or attacking midfielder nailed down. Hopefully, he'll keep fit and keep producing performances," Solskjaer told a news conference."

United have struggled for a creative spark in midfield this season, with record signing Paul Pogba injured for much of it, and Solskjaer said Fernandes can step up in the France international's absence.

"He's similar to Veron and Scholes," he said. "We've needed that type of player. He knows he's here to play.

"One of the good things about him is he takes risks with the ball, like Veron."

The win on Sunday lifted United to fifth in the league with 41 points from 27 games, three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

United travel to Everton on Sunday after hosting Club Brugge in the second leg of their Europa League round-of-32 clash on Thursday. The first leg ended 1-1.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says he needs to examine the part he played in his side's 24-12 defeat to England in their Six Nations game at Twickenham.

Ireland trailed 17-0 at half-time and despite improving after the break, their hopes of winning a Grand Slam or the Triple Crown ended by the loss.

"I need to look at myself regarding the performance in the first half because obviously we weren't in the right area.

"We didn't play how we wanted to play until the game was over," said Farrell.

Defensive errors by captain Johnny Sexton and wing Jacob Stockdale allowed George Ford and Elliot Daly to cross for first-half tries and gift England tangible reward for their superiority, especially up front.

Sexton was unable to collect Ben Youngs' grubber kick behind his own try-line, allowing Ford to score, while Stockdale was shrugged off the ball by Daly, who grounded for England's second try.

Sexton also missed relatively straightforward kicks for a penalty and a conversion in the opening 40 minutes as any ambitions Ireland had of continuing their winning start to the tournament dissipated.

A second-half try from Robbie Henshaw and a late touchdown by replacement prop Andrew Porter gave the final score a somewhat flattering scoreline for the visitors.

Ireland do at least still retain hope of winning the title with games at home to Italy and away to unbeaten France still to come in March.

"We certainly didn't come out of the blocks - there was only one team that did that and that is bitterly disappointing," Farrell told ITV Sport after the match.

"We got a bit of a reaction in the second half but I thought England were excellent, they were fighting to stay in the championship.

"Every side will look at themselves physically and they certainly won that battle. That's disappointing for us because we try to pride ourselves on that sort of thing.

"We came off second best in that area and we didn't fire a shot in the first half."

'England put it up to us' - Sexton

Sexton agreed Ireland were left with plenty to ponder after the defeat, which followed victories over Scotland and Wales in their opening two games.

"We gave a very good team two tries from our mistakes and didn't cover the chip-kick, which we knew was going to come," said the Ireland fly-half.

"We were getting the ball on the back foot and trying to get the ball to the space on the edges but we couldn't get it there so we were made to look a bit silly at times.

"We have to have a look at a few things off the top of the line-out - we seemed to be past the midline of the line-out before we even got the ball. I'm not sure what was happening there but we need to try and be better.

"We need to try and not play in certain areas of the field when we are going backwards. We compounded a few errors and we have a lot to learn from.

"When you come to a place like Twickenham the atmosphere is incredible. Fair play to England, they put it up to us."

Ireland lie third in the Six Nations table, four points behind France and level on points with second-placed England.

"We have a big home game against Italy in a couple of weeks and if we can do the business there we still have a championship to play for so we have to pick ourselves up pretty quickly," added the Ireland skipper.

It was never going to be an easy job for Wayne Pivac following Warren Gatland as Wales coach.

Back-to-back Six Nations defeats and a trip to London to take on Eddie Jones' England next mean Pivac has quickly become aware of the rigours of top-flight international rugby.

A 24-14 defeat by Ireland was followed by a 27-23 home loss against France, leaving Wales facing the prospect of relinquishing their Six Nations title.

Life is not about to get much easier with England - who were comfortable winners over Ireland on Sunday - to come on 7 March, with Wales having last won a Six Nations game at Twickenham in 2012.

There has been talk of a new playing style being given time to bed in and a transitional period under Pivac, but all that is alien to Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones.

"It [the new style] can be very pretty but it is not winning," said Jones.

"Ultimately Test rugby is about winning and we need to do that pretty quick.

"People say a lot has changed but that's an excuse.

"Change is just an excuse and we had enough ball to capitalise and get enough points against France, but we are on the receiving end.

"You can take an element of pride with how we finished the game, but there is no consolation."

Number eight Taulupe Faletau echoed his captain's sentiments by insisting victory over England will not eradicate the memory of earlier losses.

"A win over England isn't going to define our championship - as a group of players we are better than that," said Faletau.

"Winning the championship would have been good, but that is probably too far-fetched now.

"We've got England next up and I don't think we are going to need any motivation going into that game."

There were a few murmurings starting to surface following Wales' first loss to France in Cardiff since 2010 as Shaun Edwards returned to haunt his former side.

Pivac knows the levels of expectation but believes there are signs of progress.

"I think as disappointing as it is to lose games of rugby, the matches against the French in recent times have been very close," said Pivac.

"It could have gone either way on numerous occasions and on this occasion it's a very frustrating loss, but we have to keep working on the positives and believe we're heading in the right direction.

"For this team it's all about improving but we're heading in the right direction.

"We're putting in long hours and working very hard and if one or two things had stuck, we'd have been very happy with this performance."

Injury issues

There will not be any panic in the Wales camp with no thoughts of wholesale change following consecutive defeats and little chance of defending their title.

The first task will be to assess the walking wounded after wings George North and Josh Adams were both forced against France.

North failed a head injury assessment after a heavy challenge by Gael Fickou, while Adams suffered an ankle problem. North has a well-documented history of concussions but there was no indication Pivac would take the wing out of action himself.

"That's for the medical people to decide," said Pivac.

"We'll use the best people available as we always do and they'll make the decision on that."

Teenage wing Louis Rees-Zammit is waiting for his first cap, while Liam Williams was training with Wales before the defeat by France after being sidelined since October with an ankle problem.

Pivac believes only minor tweaks are required.

"There were a lot of positives to come out of that France performance and there were a few things out of our control which we weren't too happy with, but to panic and make wholesale changes would not be the right thing to do," said Pivac.

"We've spoken in the changing room about the positives which came out of the game.

"We had a makeshift back-line to finish the game and I thought we were still creating opportunities to win the game. Young Jarrod (Evans) coming on I thought looked dangerous and Nick (Tompkins) went out on to the wing.

"There was a bit of disruption there with George going off early too. There were lots of positives, it's just disappointing about the decisions we feel aggrieved over."

Dubious decisions?

Back to gripes about refereeing decisions. Pivac's frustrations were aimed at a penalty try not being awarded in the second half for what he deemed a deliberate knock-on by France lock Paul Willemse as well as the officiating at the scrum.

There was one particular scrum where Demba Bamba won a penalty with Wales feeling the France replacement tight-head had not scrummaged straight.

So how does Pivac hammer home this message over scrum unhappiness? A call to World Rugby maybe?

"That's out of our control," said Pivac.

"We work very hard to try and improve our performance and I just think when they (the referees) look back at one or two decisions from this game they might agree with us."

Wales had wound France up before the game with prop Wyn Jones predicting that the visiting scrum would aim to "chase and cheat" in the set-piece.

France coach Fabien Galthie responded by saying Jones had shown a lack of respect to the nation while there was an altercation between the two teams after the final whistle.

Wales' captain believes the verbal jousting had little impact on the game.

"It was all hot air," said Jones.

"We knew they were going to be like that because they were a young French side coming to play in one of the best stadiums in the world."

New Zealand's fast bowlers are unmatched when it comes to using the short ball as a defensive option, particularly in home conditions. For the best part of India's second innings at the Basin Reserve, the hosts' expert use of shorter lengths on a two-paced pitch with spongy bounce turned the contest into one where both teams were playing the waiting game.

It suited New Zealand perfectly, given they had a 183-run first-innings lead. Could India have batted more proactively, and tried to put the bowlers off their plans? Their captain Virat Kohli certainly thinks they could have.

"You have to try and get into a positive frame of mind," he said, after New Zealand had completed a ten-wicket win inside the first session of day four. "I think in Test cricket in general, you have to be in a clear state of mind. At home also, you can't really play a lot of shots. You can't just say that I will smash it from ball one. You have to choose which balls to hit even on turning tracks but you also have to maintain that intent when you are putting the boundary balls away.

"Also, we have to understand and accept that New Zealand bowled really, really well in this Test match in both innings, although in first innings there was a bit more assistance, but in the second innings, that's been their strength. They set fields accordingly, get into the mind of the batsmen, and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to.

"I think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure, which we failed to do in this match, and there is no harm in accepting that. We have done that on many occasions but this was a Test match where we were not able to do it. That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required.

"It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership. When Jinx (Ajinkya Rahane) started, the plan was to go positive. If we both add 70 to 80 positively, then the game changes. You have to take chances. Sometimes they don't come off, but if you try and do that for longer periods they do tend to come off and the situation changes, which we have addressed already and something that we will keep in our mind going forward."

According to ESPNcricinfo's data, India's batsmen scored 126 runs off 301 short and short-of-good-length balls across their two innings in Wellington, at a rate of 2.51 per over. New Zealand went after short and short-of-good-length balls more often, and ended up with 130 runs off 150 such balls, at 5.20 per over. They lost a wicket once every 32.5 balls with this approach, while India lost one every 75.25 balls, but the averages - 32.50 for New Zealand, 31.50 for India - ended up more or less identical.

And because they found runs so hard to come by against the shorter ball, India ended up losing wickets off errors they may not otherwise have made against fuller-length balls.

Much of India's short bowling was to New Zealand's lower order, who could afford to go after the bowling with their team already in the lead. When India batted, they were in situations where survival was of utmost importance. And India's struggle to score against the shorter ball also had a lot to do with the skill of New Zealand's bowlers in their own conditions, and an unusual pitch.

"We have faced attacks in the past as well, with a lot of variety. We played in South Africa with Morne [Morkel], [Dale] Steyn and [Vernon] Philander all in the side. So we've faced those kind of attacks," Kohli said, when asked about the difficulty of a New Zealand attack containing a left-arm quick (Trent Boult), a right-arm swing bowler (Tim Southee), a 6'8" fast bowler with steep bounce (Kyle Jamieson) and a medium-paced metronome (Colin de Grandhomme).

"But it was a strange pitch. I was talking to Kane [Williamson] as well. It wasn't seaming around, wasn't troubling us with swing. But it was slow, on the drier side. So you were not able to get the shots away. And I think to be honest, lack of pace is something that cost us more than something like being intimidated or being bowled out by an attack.

"It played perfectly into their plans because they feed off bowling on one spot for long periods and having fielders close in, and unless you take them on, that field is not going to change. I think the way they bowled was very accurate and the pace of the pitch also allowed them to keep bowling there because it wasn't easy to get those shots away.

"To be honest, they did not give us any room, on the front foot or the back foot, so we have to accept that they outplayed us this game and they bowled much better than we did, and put enough pressure on us, understanding the wicket well, which you expect them to do, playing in their conditions. But I think going forward we understand what they would like to do and it's our job as batsmen to try and disrupt it so that as soon as possible we put enough runs on the board."

Between now and the second Test in Christchurch, which begins on Saturday, Kohli said India would try and work on ways to put New Zealand's bowlers under pressure with a more proactive approach.

"I don't think there is anything technical [the batsmen need to do]," he said. "It's all about clarity of mind and taking responsibility individually when you walk out to bat. I feel as a batsman you should not wait for a message from outside to execute something in the middle. I think it's about understanding what you want to do as a batsman, and if that doesn't come off then you say fine, I did not do it in this innings.

"But if six-seven people can think like that, for sure two-three people will come good. So if we go with a bit of hesitation whether to play our shots or not, rather than just going for shots, then you know, analysing the execution later on, that's a better balance that we have stuck to in the past, especially playing in away conditions.

"We are very clear with what we want to do as batsmen, that we get off to a start and we keep that momentum, we start leaving well, we start defending well, we start dropping and running well so these are things that are an outcome of a clear head. We will definitely be much more positive.

"There's no doubt about it, especially in the first innings. We will try and put their bowlers under pressure and try and make them do something different rather than them making us do something different. I think as international cricketers, we are good enough, and that's why we are here, and we should be able to find that balance and we definitely take this as a challenge to put in a better batting performance next time."

The ICC has banned Oman player Yousuf Al Balushi from all cricket for seven years after he accepted four charges of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. The charges relate to attempting to influence team members to engage in corruption during the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier, played in the UAE.

Balushi had been suspended last month for the same offence, and has now been formally slapped with the sanction after he "chose to admit the charges and agreed the sanction with the ICC in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing," an ICC release said.

While Alex Marshall, the ICC's general manager for Integrity, called Balushi's offence "very serious", he also revealed that the ban could have been "significantly longer" had Balushi not cooperated with the investigation and admitted his guilt.

"This is a very serious offence where a player attempted but failed to get a team mate to engage in corrupt activity in high profile games and this is reflected in the severity of the sentence," Marshall said in the ICC statement. "Without Mr Balushi's admission of guilt and full cooperation throughout our investigation, the ban could have been significantly longer. The player has also indicated that he is willing to contribute to future integrity education programmes on our behalf to help younger players learn from his mistakes."

The ACU had charged Al Balushi for breaching its code on the following four counts:

Article 2.1.1: Being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of matches in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers 2019.

Article 2.1.4: Attempting to solicit, induce, entice, persuade, encourage or intentionally facilitate a Participant to breach Article 2.1.

Article 2.4.4: Failing to report the approaches or invitations that you received from three different individuals to be a party to an agreement or effort to fix matches in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers 2019.

Article 2.4.7: Obstructing or delaying an investigation carried out by the ACU in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code, including by concealing or tampering with information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence of or lead to the discovery of evidence of Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

The ICC's investigation found that Balushi had been approached in August 2019 by someone he knew from playing in an unsanctioned Arabian Carnival League match in Bahrain. The individual, referred to as Mr X by the ICC, asked Balushi if they could "do some work together", asking for Balushi's help to fix matches in the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifiers.

Subsequently, Mr X introduced Balushi to two other men (Mr Y and Mr Z) who told him he needed to get a particular Oman player on board. The fix would involve this player getting out for less than a pre-agreed amount of runs. To show that the fix was on, the player would have to use an orange or black coloured grip on his bat, and he would then have to act on a signal from Mr Y and Mr Z, who would be in the stands.

Balushi messaged the player and put the offer to him, but the approach was immediately rejected and reported to the ICC's anti-corruption unit. Balushi learned of the approach being reported, and on being told that the ACU would interview him and also look at his phone messages, he deleted the messages. Balushi did not report the approaches made to him and accepted he had deleted incriminating messages on his phone, which then led to the punishment.