In Case You Missed It: Shakib gets banned but Bangladesh make history

Some demons of cricket past came back to haunt the game last week when Shakib Al Hasan admitted to not reporting approaches from a bookie and the ICC banned him for two years from all cricket, just a day before Bangladesh left for their tour of India. But a Shakib-less Bangladesh still managed to dispel some doom and gloom - if not the smog in Delhi - with a historic first T20I win against India. Here's your catch-up on a dramatic week in the game.

Shakib Al Hasan banned from all cricket for failing to report bookie approaches
Just a week after he spearheaded a strike by the Bangladesh players, Shakib's failure to report several approaches from Deepak Aggarwal, an alleged corruptor who was seeking inside information, led to the ICC imposing a two-year sentence on him, with one year suspended. Mohammad Isam chronicles the shock and disbelief of the wretched day in Dhaka after the allegations were confirmed. And Sambit Bal asks: just what was Shakib thinking ?

Mushfiqur Rahim's fifty seals Bangladesh's first T20I win over India
Despite a pollution-related emergency in Delhi, the first T20I between India and Bangladesh ran as scheduled, culminating in a historic win for Bangladesh. But Sidharth Monga wants to know whether the BCCI really needed to put the health of two national teams at risk?

Prolific David Warner guides Australia to 3-0 sweep
After getting steamrolled in the first two matches, Sri Lanka put up a better show in the third but were again comfortably beaten.

Lisa Keightley becomes England women's head coach
Keightley replaces Mark Robinson in the role and becomes England's first full-time female coach. Matt Roller maps out five things on her immediate to-do list.

Glenn Maxwell takes break to deal with 'difficulties with his mental health'
A few days after Maxwell spoke to Daniel Brettig about putting his Ashes snub aside, focusing on being a part of the T20I outfit, and settling in for the ride to the next year's World Cup, he announced that he was taking an indefinite break from cricket. His proactivity in reporting the issue and seeking help for it has been widely praised, being seen as opening more doors for players to open about their mental-health struggles.

Upsets the norm as competition among Associates hits fever pitch
A highly competitive qualifying round for the World T20 next year saw Netherlands win the final but it also brought us a feel-good story for the times, Papua New Guinea's rise as Associate cricket's heroes. Peter Della Penna has four takeaways from the upset-driven group stages of the T20 World Cup Qualifier.

'If we develop a formula to win T20 games, it will work wherever in the world we go'
Phil Simmons, back in the saddle as West Indies coach, spoke to Alexis Nunes on looking ahead to next year's World Cup, and the captaincies of Pollard and Holder.

Will someone spare a thought for the poor, wee, enraged cricketers?
Will cricket boards baby-proof dressing rooms already? Andrew Fidel Fernando rues this oversight in this month's Briefing. Also: are Sri Lanka brilliant or dreadful? Answers on a postcard.

The great Hobart heist: when Gilchrist robbed Pakistan
A new book by Dan Liebke on the 50 greatest matches in Australian cricket relives a match played 20 years ago this month that no one thought Australia would win when they were staring down a huge target with five wickets in hand and a rookie keeper-batsman at the crease.

Who played the most cricket in the last 12 months?
Who travelled the most? How busy were the women's teams? Who played the most T20 matches? The second edition of our global workload survey. Featuring Kohli, Babar, Root, Cummins, Healy, and a new Afghan spin sensation