Leicestershire allrounder Andrew McDonald is leaving the county because of visa problems

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2011Leicestershire allrounder Andrew McDonald is leaving the county because of visa problems. McDonald’s visa issue has arisen because the time that has elapsed since he last played for Australia in January 2009 means he no longer qualifies as an overseas player in county cricket. McDonald joins the retiring Paul Nixon and Nottinghamshire-bound Harry Gurney in leaving the county.”Visa regulations mean Andrew cannot return next season and we thank him for the impact he has made over the past two years,” said Leicestershire chief executive Mike Siddall. “It’s really sad to have to say goodbye to three guys on the playing staff who have made a fantastic contribution to winning the t20 this year and taking Leicestershire into the Champions League.”McDonald, 30, was Leicestershire’s Twenty20 player of the year this season, scoring 584 runs and taking 14 wickets during the county’s successful run to the domestic title. His loss will be tempered by the fact that Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq, who scored 262 runs and took 18 wickets this summer, will return to play Twenty20 cricket at Grace Road next year.”It is a major boost for us,” said head coach Phil Whitticase. “There are fewer Twenty20 games next season so it will be important we have a similar type of team. He has shown us all what he can do and we look forward to having him back with us.”Leicestershire have also secured the services of batsman Martin van Jaarsveld, who has moved to Leicestershire from Kent. “With Andrew unable to return next season it was important the club signed a senior batsman as we are unlikely to have an overseas player in the LV County Championship in 2012,” explained Siddall.

MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said that adjusting to the ICC’s revised playing conditions regarding Powerplays will be “tricky” during the ODI series against England

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2011MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said that adjusting to the ICC’s revised playing conditions regarding Powerplays will be “tricky” during the ODI series against England, which begins in Hyderabad on October 14. The changes to the playing conditions took effect on October 1, and India and England will be using them for the first time in this series.Teams will have to start the batting and bowling Powerplays at the beginning of any over between the 16th and the 36th over for a full game. Under the previous playing conditions, teams could begin the Powerplays from the start of the 11th over to the start of the 46th over.”It’s a bit tricky as we have not yet played any match under this new Powerplay,” Dhoni told . “It would certainly need a different approach as the second and third Powerplay will now be taken within the 16th and the 40th over.”Earlier, while chasing, teams would be happy to keep the batting Powerplay for the last five overs. But now we have to make few changes in tactics. It will have different results till we get used to it.”The other major change to the playing conditions is the use of two new balls – one from either end – during an innings. The mandatory change of ball that took place at the end of the 34th over has been done away with. Dhoni said this amendment could reduce the amount of reverse swing because each ball will be only 25-overs-old.”A bit of swing will definitely be there but there may not be as much reverse swing as we expect in the subcontinent,” he said. “Now the reverse swing also depends a lot on the nature of outfield and how you make the ball, but of course legally.”The home ODIs against England are India’s first international matches since the poor summer in England, where they lost the Test series 0-4 and the ODIs 0-3. It was primarily the inability of India’s bowlers to contain that led to the defeats in the ODIs.”During the tour of England, performance of the batsmen was impressive. Here we have a different bowling department and it’s an opportunity for them to do well in home conditions,” Dhoni said. “They have played a lot of IPL but this will be a different ball game.”We have had a few youngsters who did well in England. Also the wickets were very different out there. For us what matters most is good performance in all three departments.”

Allan Donald’s stint with the South African side offers him a chance to achieve things he couldn’t as a player, and beating Australia at home is at the top of his agenda

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg15-Nov-2011Of the three coaches involved in South Africa’s new set up, it is Allan Donald who stands out. While Russell Domingo quietly goes about his tasks and Gary Kirsten still learns to relax without the constant glares of Indian cricket shining on him anymore, Donald approaches his occupation with all the enthusiasm and effervescence of a youngster, eager to perform on the international stage himself.Donald is relishing coaching in the country of his birth, having been overlooked by them in the past. Donald previously worked in England, Zimbabwe and New Zealand but throughout his travelling assignments, made no secret of his desire to come home. He was on the brink of confirming a full-time arrangement with New Zealand when Kirsten came calling and Donald agreed to take the post.A part of him hoped that it would be present him the opportunity to achieve things on the field, with the national team, that he did not in his playing days. That part emerged on Tuesday at the Wanderers, when Donald was asked how he felt when he watched his attack skittle Australia for 47 last week.”The guys went out and did something unbelievably special at Newlands, something a lot of people dream about,” Donald said, with a wistful look in eyes. “To be at the forefront of something extremely special and to beat Australia on South African soil would be the pinnacle.”That word – pinnacle – expresses Donald’s desire to do what South Africa have never done before: register a home series win against Australia since readmission. When Donald was playing, Australia were at their best and he was used to being dominated by them. Now, the chance to overturn that trend is here.”Gary has always mentioned small steps and we are one Test match away from hopefully something very special,” Donald said. “We are going to focus on what we have to do and do it well to try and win this Test series here in South Africa. It’s not been done before for a very long time.”With South Africa’s bowling appearing more incisive than Australia’s in the first Test, Donald has been given much of the credit for their win. He accepted it reluctantly and modestly. “People in the street might be saying, ‘What a bowling coach,’ but what a load of rubbish,” he joked. “It’s not rocket science what happened in that second innings. We did a job and it was freakish how it turned out.”Australia were reduced to 21 for 9 by what Donald calls “aggressive lengths” bowled by South Africa. He has warned his bowlers not to expect a collapse of that nature again, especially on a totally different pitch at the Wanderers.” I don’t think we will see another pitch as friendly as the Newlands one,” Donald said. “At the Wanderers, you’ve got to be fairly spot on, there’s a bit of bounce and a bit of carry that keeps the bowlers interested but if you do tend to get loose on this pitch, batters will be able to score square of the wicket on both sides.”The Wanderers track is traditionally known to be good for Test cricket, and Donald expects it to provide a tough contest between bat and ball. “Yesterday, it looked a belter of a track, maybe slightly on the soft side,” he said. “He [Chris Scott, Wanderers groundsman] has flooded it to stop it from cracking.”The change of strip could mean a rethink for South Africa, who went into the first Test with three frontline seamers and an attacking spinner. Dale Steyn and debutant Vernon Philander had outstanding returns, Morne Morkel found his form in the second innings and said he hopes to maintain it.”It’s always a bit of a judgement move from one-day to Test cricket. The margin is sometimes very small,” Morkel said. “The timing and rhythm wasn’t as I would have liked in the first innings.”South Africa’s only other seam option is Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who missed Tuesday’s training with flu, but the change could come with left-arm spinner Paul Harris, who may play a containing role. It would mean Imran Tahir might sit out, after being used sparingly at Newlands on a paceman’s wicket. Donald was not alarmed by the legspinner’s lack of immediate impact. “It’s sometimes very difficult for a spinner when you come onto a wicket like that, that is responsive to seam bowling. More often than not, you will see a guy like that not bowl very much,” he said. “Imran, if he does play, will come in and do a job for us, there is no question. When the time is right and the surface is right, he will definitely play a massive part.”While South Africa appear spoilt for choice, Australia have concerns, with Mitchell Johnson, who wowed on his last visit to the country in 2009, appearing flat. Donald said he noticed Johnson was not his usual self. “He is a bit slingy at the moment,” Donald said. “That’s for the Aussies to sort out. He is a match-winner so he will find a way of getting back. He is not in the team just to make up the numbers.”Donald also had words of warning for his side, about Australia’s bowling and their team as a whole. “We expect them to bounce back heavily,” he said. He would know.

This Test will be the final opportunity for Sri Lanka to win a Test this year, after series losses to England, Australia and Pakistan and their only chance to save the series

Firdose Moonda23-Dec-2011There are very few places in South Africa that Sri Lanka have pleasant memories of but Durban is one of them. It was at Kingsmead where, 11 years ago, Sri Lanka managed to stave off defeat in a Test match – the only time they have done so in this country – and salvage a draw. It was also at Kingsmead where they knocked South Africa out of the 2003 World Cup, in a rain-affected encounter that saw the host crash out of the tournament in the first-round.Sri Lanka will need more than just stories of times gone by to mount a suitable challenge for a dangerous South African side. Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan admitted as much. “We batted for a few overs to save the game, Russel [Arnold] and I. But that’s few years ago and things have changed,” he said. “We need to be ready to face this challenge.”This Test will be the final opportunity for Sri Lanka to win a Test this year, after series losses to England, Australia and Pakistan and their only chance to save the series. After being hit by a spate of injuries, most of them to the fast-bowlers, Sri Lanka called up Dhammika Prasad and the uncapped Kanishka Alvitigala. Prasad is likely to play on Monday, possibly replacing Thisara Perera and it’s expected that he will be able to make good use of a seamer-friendly pitch.Another change to the starting XI could come behind the stumps, as Dinesh Chandimal is tipped to make his Test debut. Kaushal Silva, who played in Sri Lanka’s last three Tests without much success, may have to watch from the sidelines as Sri Lanka hope Chandimal can take his good form this year – which has included a ODI century at Lord’s – into the Test arena.”He [Chandimal] is one of the brightest prospects we have got,” Dilshan said. “He has scored a couple of hundreds in ODI cricket. It will be a good test and experience for him to play against such an opposition and in such conditions. Personally I feel good that we have been able to groom another young cricketer.”At 22, there has been some concern over the responsibility that will be placed on Chandimal’s young shoulders, but Dilshan brushed them off, saying Chandimal’s role in the middle-order will not cripple him. “It’s not a case of him batting at No.3 and keeping wicket,” Dilshan said. “He will be batting at No.6 or seven and that’s okay.”Sri Lanka’s batting was a major weakness after they were crushed by an innings in Centurion, managing scores of just 180 and 150. The batsmen were unable to contend with the pace and bounce of South African pitches and were stunned by the SuperSport Park strip. “In my entire career I have not played on a track like that,” Dilshan said, indicating that conditions got the better of the batting group.Still, with two players, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, close to 10,000 Test runs each, and a fair amount of experience in their ranks, Dilshan expects more of his top six. “Our batting unit needs to stand out and get runs. We have experience, we need to apply,” he said. “We are preparing extremely hard and we need to produce results. We are not asking for big totals, but 250 or 300 could be a good total if we are playing on green tops.”Sri Lanka used the two days that they should have been playing Test cricket in Centurion, to train and took a break on reaching Durban, on Tuesday. “We gave our players rest to recharge their batteries,” Dilshan said. They resumed training on Friday but were unable to have a net session because of wet weather.”There are still two days before the Test match and if we can have one net session, it will be good,” Dilshan said. History will remind Sri Lanka that eight years ago, when the heavens opened in Durban, it served them well. This time, they may not get so lucky.

Stuart Broad, the England fast bowler, has said he is satisfied with how his shoulder held up during his first day of competitive cricket in four months

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2012Stuart Broad, the England fast bowler, has said he is satisfied with how his shoulder held up during his first day of competitive cricket in four months. Broad took three wickets in his first three overs against an ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI on the opening day of the first warm-up match of England’s tour of the UAE.The injury had forced Broad to miss the limited-overs tour of India last year, and came soon after his Man-of-the-Series performance in the home Test series against them in the summer. “The shoulder seems fine, I think it was mid-November by the time it completely healed,” he said after the first day’s play in Dubai. “It seems to be back really stronger than it was before, that’s pleasing.”The ICC XI hit back after the early losses, and tested the England bowlers almost until the close of play. From 90 for 6, half-centuries from Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad and Namibia’s Christi Viljoen lifted the ICC XI to 281.Broad felt the hard work would help the bowling line-up during the Tests against Pakistan. “The conditions have been great because I think they are similar to what we will face in the Test matches,” he said. “It is going to be crucial for us in the Test match series to use the new ball and the second new ball wisely.”That period, from overs 50 to 80, is going to be a real holding role. We are not going to be able to burst through because the pitches are not going to be suited to that.”Over the past two years in the UAE, teams have run up ten Test totals in excess of 300, and only been bowled out four times below that score. Broad expected the Pakistan series to be similar, with a tough grind awaiting the bowlers. “It will be attritional cricket, going at two-and-a-half or three runs an over, fielding for long periods of time, trying to bowl teams out for 300 to 350 and probably fielding for 120 overs. It will be old school Test cricket, I suppose.”After the current three-day game, England have another one against a Pakistan Cricket Board XI before the first Test starts on January 17.

As India seek a reversal of fortune in the final Test of the summer at Adelaide Oval, Michael Clarke’s Australians have prepared for a reversal of method in their pursuit of a 4-0 series sweep

Daniel Brettig23-Jan-2012As India seek a reversal of fortune in the final Test of the summer at the Adelaide Oval, Michael Clarke’s Australia have prepared for a reversal of method in their pursuit of a 4-0 series sweep over the visitors.Reverse swing has been seldom glimpsed all summer on a succession of well-grassed pitches that allowed Australia’s fast men to gain conventional movement through the air and off the track for most of each match. However in Adelaide, beyond the rewards to be gained in the first hour or so of play, Clarke expects a return to the subtle art of swinging the old ball, in the absence of any other assistance on what appears a typically hard, dry surface.While India will appreciate the chance to revert to some of the skills that have served the visitors faithfully on home turf for many years, Australia are also happy to be reminded of the need for such measures – their next Test matches are in the West Indies, on pitches likely to be slower and lower than anything seen at home in this series.”I think reverse swing will play a huge part in this Test, it always does,” Clarke said. “The ground is in great nick, so the outfield will keep the ball newer than I have seen it in the past but I think as the day goes on, especially in this heat, you will see a lot of reverse swing.”And that is why I say it’s probably as close to Indian conditions as you’re going to get in Australia. So as a batting unit, we have been working on that in the nets, we have faced a bit of reverse swing and a fair bit of spin, so I think our preparation has been spot on.”In recalling Nathan Lyon at the expense of the young left-armer Mitchell Starc, Clarke kept the experienced pace trio of Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and Ryan Harris in harness, judging all had recovered sufficiently from their Perth exertions for the possible rigours of a match that invariably sees a fifth day.All had questions of sorts to answer in the lead-up: Harris has struggled wit the physical demands of consecutive Tests, Siddle showed signs of exhaustion in Perth, and Hilfenhaus has seldom proven to be at his best in Adelaide, where the new ball movement of his stock delivery can be more fleeting than elsewhere. However Clarke pointed out that Hilfenhaus had an even more modest record in Melbourne before he scooped seven wickets for the match in a 122-run victory.”I’ll bet you it’s better than his record at the MCG, where he had a horrible record, and we picked him there and he got five-for [in the first innings],” Clarke said. “I’m really confident Hilfy’s at the top of his game, bowling really well and can adjust to whatever conditions he faces. He’s a very good bowler with the new ball but he’s also very good at bowling straight if the wicket is slow and low, and he’s got great control with reverse swing as well. He’ll play a big part in this Test.”Generally the Test match on the Adelaide Oval does go five days. So we have to have the discipline to hang in there until you get the opportunity to grab hold of some momentum. The boys are flying high on confidence but it’s going to be a tough challenge. I’m certain India will be very keen to finish the series on a high. It’s a great test for us as a team in what are going to be tough conditions to take 20 wickets.”Well as Australia have played at home this summer, it is a fact that the majority of conditions Clarke and his team will face overseas in years to come will be closer in character to Adelaide than elsewhere. Gautam Gambhir’s talk about the preparation of “rank turners” were striking, but nothing new. To that end, the bowling coach Craig McDermott and his pace battery will, alongside Nathan Lyon, find out more about their prospects for future tours in this match than the preceding three.”The pitches have been the same in Australia for the last two years, I think they were exactly the same against England, they were pretty similar in South Africa as well,” Clarke said. “That is part of being an international sportsman, you travel the world and play in completely different conditions.”I have played a number of times in India when the ball has spun so that will be no different next time we go there I’m sure. In my opinion, it’s very hard to doctor the wicket when you’re playing against very good opposition. It’s about preparing a pitch and then both teams playing on it so that will be no different when we go to India and I think it has been the same in Australia for a while now, the last couple of years I have seen a little bit more grass on the pitches.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has suggested the ICC executive board should consult other cricket boards on the recommendations of the Woolf report

Umar Farooq22-Feb-2012The Pakistan Cricket Board has suggested the ICC executive board evolve a consensus among cricket boards on the recommendations of the Woolf report on cricket’s global governance before deciding whether to implement it or not.This comes a week after Cricket Australia said the ICC executive board would be “silly” to simply reject the recommendations of the Woolf report; that itself was a reaction to the Indian board’s objections.”We are studying it and it isn’t that bad,” Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, told ESPNcricinfo. “If you look at it in a broader form, it can prove useful for international cricket. Obviously there are reservations but those need to be debated instead of being rejected outright.”I have suggested to the ICC that it make a consensus report after taking inputs from all member boards so that the recommendations are implemented amicably for the betterment of world cricket.”The PCB has called a governing board meeting on March 1, with the Woolf report one of the main points on the agenda. The PCB will then write back to the ICC with its detailed observations on the report.”I am studying it, and our lawyers are assessing all aspects of the report, and we will definitely respond to ICC. But there is no point in rejecting this report at all, obviously there are certain points that need to be debated before approval but that has to be discussed… there are several points positive for international cricket.”The ICC, at its meeting last month, also recommended splitting the role of the president with a new chairman’s post from 2014, and deferred the nomination of Bangladesh’s Mustafa Kamal as vice-president. The recommendations create a new system whereby the presidency will be an ambassadorial role, appointed on a one-year rotational basis, while the chairman will lead the board.”Though the resolution was brought up by India and England, that is their own view, which is yet to reach a consensus in the board. And I think some more debate has to be carried out on this (presidential issue) with a cool mind.””Apart from this, there are so many things that are scrapped and never implemented – most notably playing bilateral series and obviously for many boards it’s a concern. For Pakistan, hosting international cricket is the main concern. India don’t always fulfill their bilateral commitments and they hardly play against the weaker teams. I think cricket needs to be expanded.”

The BCCI will issue a fresh tender for the broadcast, internet and mobile rights to cricket in India on March 10 and appears to have marginally raised its base price per game for its broadcast rights

Tariq Engineer07-Mar-2012The BCCI will issue a fresh tender for the broadcast, internet and mobile rights to cricket in India on March 10 and appears to have marginally raised its base price per game for its broadcast rights, despite having to cancel its previous contract with Nimbus Communications over payment problems.According to , the board’s marketing committee, which met in Mumbai today, has set the price for category A games at Rs 31.25 crores per match (approx $6.4 million) plus Rs 1 crore (approx $198,000) while category B games were set at Rs 3.40 crores (approx $6.75 million) plus Rs 1 crore. Committee chairman Farooq Abdullah did not specify which of the game’s three formats fall under each category, nor why a separate rate of Rs 1 crore was mentioned, though one possibility is that the Rs 1 crore is the base price for the board’s digital rights. The contract with Nimbus had a base price of Rs 31.25 crores (approx $6.20 million) per game for each of the three formats purely for the broadcast rights.The BCCI tried to sell its digital rights as a separate property last year, but found no takers at the original base price of Rs 3 crores(approx $595,000) per game. They then reduced the base price to Rs 2 crores (approx $397,000) but still did not receive a single bid for the rights to stream India’s home games live on the internet.The rights in the new tender cover television, internet and mobile for global territories for the period July 2012 – March 2018, the board said in a statement. The tender will be made available until March 26 and the marketing committee will meet in Chennai to open the bids on April 2.The board was forced to issue a new tender after it terminated its contract with Nimbus in December 2011, claiming the latter had defaulted on its payments. The matter has subsequently been referred for arbitration, with the Bombay High Court ruling that Nimbus must deposit Rs 305 crores (approx. US$61 million) with the court as security for the amount the BCCI claims it is owed by the company.The base price set by the board was much anticipated as the previous price of Rs 31.25 crores per match, agreed to by Nimbus, was widely thought to be unsustainable, especially in the light of India’s recent poor performances in both England and Australia. The team has lost eight away Tests on the trot, did not win any of the five one-dayers in England and failed to make the final of the triangular-series in Australia. However, these rights are for matches in India, where the team has performed much better, winning the World Cup in April, beating England in the ODIs and West Indies in Tests and ODIs in 2011.”Everything was discussed,” Abdullah told reporters after the meeting. “How the shape of the next tender should be. The contract with Nimbus has ended. The difficulties and deficiencies in the previous tender were looked into and rectified, and care has been taken those are not repeated in the new tender. It will be a global tender for six years.”The new tender will give a chance for new people to come in. They can bid either for the whole thing (broadcast, internet and mobile rights) or in parts. It will enable people to come in larger numbers. We expect to generate more interest.”

Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder who is now a British citizen, has not been able to play for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL because he has not yet been given an Indian visa

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2012Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder who is now a British citizen, has not been able to play for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL because he has not yet been given an Indian visa. Mahmood had been bought by Kings XI for $200,000 at the 2012 player auction.The Kings XI management had said Mahmood had taken a short break after playing in the Bangladesh Premier League, but the captain Adam Gilchrist said there had been visa issues. “It’s up to the government. I believe that he has not yet got his visa,” Gilchrist told . “When we picked him at the auction, we were given to believe that he would be available for all the matches. But that has not happened. He is yet to get his visa. He is a class player and we are missing him.”Following the 2012 auction, Kings XI had appeared to be one of the weakest teams, and Mahmood was their highest-profile signing. They struggled in the early part of their campaign, losing two games, and are presently second last in the points table. Kings XI are also without Stuart Broad, who is missing the tournament because of injury.Mahmood is the only player to have represented Pakistan in this season of the IPL. While Pakistan players were part of the inaugural tournament in 2008, they have missed out since then, after cricketing ties between India and Pakistan broke down following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.IPL chairman and BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said earlier this week that the participation of Pakistan cricketers in the tournament was dependent on the resumption of bilateral ties. “No one is against Pakistan or Pakistani players in India, or else we would not have allowed Pakistani commentators or umpires in IPL 5,” he said. “Everything is tied to the resumption of bilateral cricket ties between the two countries. Once that happens, I think everything will happen automatically. The IPL functions under the BCCI and when bilateral relations resume between the two boards, the IPL will also not be a problem for Pakistani players.”

Mitchell Starc, the Australia left-arm quick, will not be able to make his Yorkshire debut this week after being deported following a visa error

David Hopps08-May-2012Mitchell Starc, the Australia left-arm quick, will not be able to make his Yorkshire debut this week after being deported following a visa error that initially led to him being detained at Heathrow for more than four hours.He has been instructed to fly halfway around the world, fill in a couple of forms correctly and then fly all the way back again. His girlfriend has been allowed to stay in England.During Tuesday, Yorkshire were still hopeful of clearing up the situation but late in the afternoon Starc tweeted: “Well that’s a first! Being deported from England.. Surely nothing else can go wrong can it?!?!” He expanded later: “Visa issue. Incorrect communication from aus. Will be straight back to UK ASAP once sorted.Starc aims to be available for next week’s match against Hampshire. What phsyical state he is in remains to be seen.Colin Graves, Yorkshire’s chairman, put the blame on Starc’s agent. “The whole thing to be honest is a fiasco,” he said. “This to me just shows that you get good agents and bad agents, and this agent hasn’t done a proper job.”We’ve got everything right, and Cricket Australia will look at it and say he’s got what’s required, and after that it’s down to the agent. You can’t blame the English authorities, they’ve got rules and regulations, and he didn’t have the proper paperwork.”With Yorkshire mired in debt, Graves insisted that he would not be paying the return air fare. “We’ve told them straight, we’re not paying the airfare again,” he added. “We paid originally but now it’s down to them.”Yorkshire had initially blamed Cricket Australia for filling out an incorrect visa form, bringing swift denials that they were not involved in the visa application process.”Mitchell is on annual leave and decided to organise a short-term contract with Yorkshire. It has absolutely nothing to do with us,” a CA spokesman told . “We have sent plenty of people to England and know all the requirements. Saying that, we have made it clear that if Mitchell needs our help, we are happy to do that.”The latest visa delay – three West Indies cricketers have also been held up by visa issues ahead of their tour of England – brings into question whether UK visa policy is quick and flexible enough to deal with elite sportsmen and women who regularly come and go to the UK on profesisonal sports contracts.Yorkshire’s frustration follows their stand-off with their England pace bowler, Ajmal Shahzad, who has upped sticks to Lancashire after a long-running dispute over his reluctance to bowl in the approved style.
Earlier Yorkshire’s captain, Andrew Gale said: “I don’t think Australia filled out a form correctly when he was out in the West Indies, and he spent four or five hours being questioned in the airport. If we can’t sort it out, we’ll have to drop him at Heathrow on the way down to Bristol.”Yorkshire will definitely have Tim Bresnan available for his third Championship match of the summer after England decided that he would benefit from another bowling workout ahead of the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s next week.Starc was due to play four Championship matches in a deal that, initially at least, only lasts five weeks. He could conceivably be called up for Australia’s ODI series in England between June 21 and July 10, and a subsequent Australia A tour between July 27 and August 17.