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• JAAA blames late withdrawals, 'unforeseen' challenges for World Relays failures

  Following Jamaica's underwhelming showing at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas, the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association (JAAA) has released a statement addressing the significant hurdles that impacted the team's performance, including unexpected athlete withdrawals and other challenges leading up to the event.

  Only Jamaica's men's 4x100m relay team qualified for a final and an automatic spot in Paris this summer. However, the mixed 4x400m relay team, women's 4x100m relay team and the women's 4x400m relay team were forced to qualify through a second-round of heats that got them into the 14 teams that automatically qualified for the Summer Games.

   In their official statement Wednesday, the JAAA acknowledged the concerns of Jamaican track and field supporters and highlighted the challenges faced leading up to the event.

   "We share the consternation of the Jamaican Track and Field supporters at the showing of our athletes at the recently concluded World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas," expressed the JAAA.

   They emphasized the standard procedure of contacting athletes, coaches, and agents to confirm availability before selection, with a specific deadline in place. Despite meticulous planning, the team encountered significant withdrawals, compelling them to proceed with the athletes who were available.

   "After selection and team entry, we were plagued with withdrawals and had to continue with those available," stated the JAAA.

   While Jamaica eventually managed to qualify all other teams, the men's 4x400m relay team has been left with the daunting task of running a time fast enough by the June 30 deadline to get into Paris.

   The JAAA acknowledged that the team faced unforeseen challenges that impacted their usual level of performance.

  However, specific details regarding these challenges will be forthcoming once the JAAA receives comprehensive reports from the management team, including medical and technical assessments from the ground.

  "Heartiest congratulations to those who represented us as we strive to keep Jamaica's flag high," concluded the JAAA in their statement, recognizing the efforts of the athletes who competed under challenging circumstances.

• Pooran's unbeaten 48 in vain as Head, Sharma lead Sunrisers to dazzling 10-wicket win over Super Giants

  Sunrisers Hyderabad hammered Lucknow Super Giants by 10 wickets with more than 10 overs to spare in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

  Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head struck an unbeaten 167 from the opening partnership to move SRH third in the points table, with LSG unable to come up with any answers to defend their own haul of 165-4.

  Head plundered 89 from 30 balls, including eight fours and eight sixes, while Sharma's 75 from 28 had eight fours and six maximums, in an explosive batting display that saw the duo hit 100 inside the powerplay.

  Earlier, Lucknow struggled to get going in their innings, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-12) conceding only singles and shutting down LSG's top order, who scored just 66 in the first 11.2 overs.

  

  Former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran continued his fine build up to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup with an unbeaten 26-ball 48, as he crafted a 99-run fifth-wicket stand with Ayush Badoni, who was also unbeaten on 55.

  Pooran struck six fours and a solitary six, while Badoni's 30-ball knock had nine fours, as the two gave Lucknow a chance, but in the end, it was nowhere near enough.

  Data Debrief: Sunrisers pounce again in the powerplay

  Sunrisers scored 107 runs in the powerplay. In all of T20 cricket, there have only been seven instances of a team scoring 100 runs or more in the powerplay – SRH have the two top scores, with both coming this year.

  Pooran and Badoni's 99-run partnership was LSG's highest for the fifth wicket in IPL, surpassing the previous record of 87 between Deepak Hooda and Badoni. However, it proved fruitless.

• CPL's Russell urges greater collab between franchise leagues to avoid frequent schedule overlap

  Caribbean Premier League (CPL)'s CEO believes scheduling arrangements through collaboration by the various T20 leagues should be routine to avoid the frequent tournament clashes, which forces players to fly from one tournament to another in a short window.

  Russell’s suggestion came during an interview with ESPNcricinfo, as he called for regular meetings among franchise leagues owners and administrators to solve cricket's global scheduling crisis. This, as CPL and the Hundred have overlapped in the past, but will avoid a clash this season, following dialogue with England Cricket Board (ECB) earlier this year.

  “[The ECB] have a defined window that they have to play in, and it happened that we could move everything out to ensure that we didn't clash [with the Hundred]. It makes absolutely zero sense if you've got [Sunil] Narine and [Andre] Russell having to fly back the day before the final of the Hundred. That's in no one's interests, and certainly not the Hundred's,” Russell declared.

  

  "I hope that [collaboration] continues. It's not rocket science; it's what should happen with all leagues. It's just nonsense that we've got all this overlap when it just needs to be worked through. Scheduling is a challenge, I know, but it can't be that you have two leagues going at each other at the same time. To my mind, it doesn't make any sense,” he added.

  While there is a precedent for leagues negotiating to manage potential clashes as shown by the PSL and ILT20, there were a number of leagues that ran simultaneously earlier in the year. Australia's Big Bash and New Zealand's Super Smash finished in mid-January; South Africa's SA20 and the UAE's ILT20 started in January and ran into February; the Bangladesh Premier League started in January and finished in March; and the Pakistan Super League ran from mid-February to mid-March.

  With the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled for a return next year February, it is expected to further complicate the schedule where franchise leagues are concerned. It is for that reason why the general consensus among players worldwide is for global scheduling windows for franchise leagues and international cricket, to limit overlapping between the two.

  

  While representatives of national governing bodies meet regularly at ICC level - most of whom control their own leagues - there is no specific forum for the owners and administrators of franchise leagues to discuss scheduling.

  "It's the logical way to go - because we're all maturing, and we're all getting to a point where we are sustainable. They are generally regarded now as being part of the domestic calendar, wherever they are played,” Russell said.

  “I think it is a case of, 'OK, let's have that group of people and say how do you figure out the schedule to the benefit of everyone. I think it's workable. Others might think it's not, but I just think the conversations at least need to take place, just to make sure [there's no clash],” he opined.

  

  Russell used the recent release of Major League Cricket (MLC)'s 2024 fixture list –two months before the tournament starts – as evidence of a shortage of "joined-up thinking" among administrators. MLC is scheduled to begin on July 5 and, as such, is on a six-day overlapping course with the Hundred.

  "They've only just come out with their schedule. Why does it take leagues so long to put a schedule together? We have all year to figure it out,” he noted.

  That said, Russell also encouraged administrators to find a solution to the perverse incentives that emerged for players earlier this year.

  "It can't be right. I saw the other day that where leagues were overlapping, a player who got knocked out before the semi-finals or finals could actually make more money by going to another league. That shouldn't be a thing,” he stated.