A strong season of ratings for the Australia-India series and BBL appears to have weakened the position of the free-to-air network

Seven West Media are entitled to a broadcast rights fee discount of as little as A$5 million from Cricket Australia due to changes in the schedule due to Covid-19, according to the independent arbitrator demanded by the free-to-air network.

In a draft outcome understood to have been delivered to the warring parties on Tuesday night, the arbitrator Justin Jameson, of Venture Consulting, concluded that Seven should get only a tiny portion of the A$70 million reduction the debt-laden network had been chasing. The figure would rise to around A$8 million if the rescheduled Test match between Australia and Afghanistan does not go ahead next summer prior to the Ashes.

While Jameson’s formal finding is still to be tabled, the heads-up was a source of some relief to CA, after an ugly and protracted campaign by Seven for massive cuts to their A$82 million-a-year share of the A$1.18 billion deal signed alongside Foxtel in April 2018.

Led by their chief executive James Warburton, Seven have mounted all manner of arguments for a greater discount, from complaints about the quality of the BBL to allegations of a vast conspiracy between CA, the BCCI and Foxtel to move this summer’s limited-overs fixtures from January to November.

The pace bowler’s career already has strong links to New Zealand and it could be the scene of her international debut

New Zealand has already played a significant part in Hannah Darlington‘s cricket journey. Two years ago she toured with the Australia Under-19 squad and last season played for Otago in the Super Smash, her performances helping her secure a state contract with New South Wales.

Now it could be the scene of her international debut after being named in Australia’s squad for the ODI and T20I tour next month. Darlington, who has been a star of the last two WBBL seasons with Sydney Thunder, is one of two uncapped players on the trip alongside Darcie Brown, the Adelaide Strikers and South Australia quick, who was her roommate on the U-19 tour.

Darlington was named the female young cricketer of the year earlier this month after a WBBL campaign with the Thunder that brought 19 at 13.68 and economy rate of 6.19 for the champions. That followed 16 wickets in the previous season, although after that she was overlooked for New South Wales Breakers which is how she found herself back in New Zealand.

She took 13 wickets for Otago, with an economy rate of 5.75, and on returning to Australia was selected by NSW then during the off-season earned a full contract. This summer she was named vice-captain, although the plan for her to potentially lead the side when Alyssa Healy departed on tour will now have to shelved with her on the same flight.

Former batsman ends his career with the fifth-most centuries for Sri Lanka in one-day cricket

Sri Lankan batsman Upul Tharanga has announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 36.

Having made his debut in August 2005, Tharanga last turned out for Sri Lanka in an ODI in South Africa in March 2019. He played his final T20I in March the previous year and his last Test in August 2017.

Over the course of his career, Tharanga has captained Sri Lanka’s limited-overs sides several times, first taking up the role in November 2016 in an ODI series against Zimbabwe. Months later he would also take over the reigns of the T20I side for a tour of Australia. Unfortunately for Tharanga, his captaincy coincided with a lean period in Sri Lankan cricket, and he suffered the ignominy of captaining his side to three 5-0 whitewashes in 2017.

Tharanga’s failed captaincy stint somewhat soured what had been an overall impressive period with the national side. While his Test and T20I careers underwhelmed, his ODI record is among the best in Sri Lanka’s history. His 15 one-day hundreds are the fifth-most by a Sri Lankan batsman, while his performances in the 2011 World Cup played a major role in the run to the final. Opening the batting, his 395 runs in the tournament came at 56.42 and included two centuries.

Fans will also remember fondly his role in setting a then-world record for an opening partnership, plundering 286 runs off just 201 deliveries alongside side Sanath Jayasuriya against England at Leeds in 2006.

Tharanga finishes his career having played 31 Tests, 235 ODIs and 26 T20Is. His 1754 Test runs came at an average of 31.89 and included three centuries and eight fifties. It was in limited overs cricket though that Tharanga came into his own, scoring 6951 runs at 33.74 in ODIs, inclusive of 15 centuries and 37 fifties. While he had shown flourishes in the domestic T20 circuit, that form never really carried into his brief T20I career, in which he averaged 16.28.

“As the good old saying goes ‘all good things must come to an end’, I believe it is time for me to bid farewell to my International Cricket Career after over 15 years of giving the game my all,” Tharanga said in a statement.