Veteran legspinner won’t play for the Renegades after electing to stay on in South Africa

Alex Malcolm28-Dec-2020The Melbourne Renegades have suffered another blow with their premier legspinner Imran Tahir withdrawing from the tournament for personal reasons.Tahir had been in doubt to play in the BBL after his arrival was delayed in December with the Australian government requiring overseas players to do a 14-day quarantine in a hotel room prior to being available to play.Related

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The Renegades had signed a bevy of international spinners including Tahir, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, and Imad Wasim.The Renegades coach Michael Klinger said that while it was disappointing to lose Tahir, it would give an opportunity to Noor Ahmad. “Unfortunately, Imran is not coming for personal reasons,” Klinger said. “He’s a great player so it is a loss. But at the same time we’ve seen Noor Ahmad a couple of games ago, a bowler who people haven’t seen that much, it might actually work in our favour.”He’ll now be able to play a fair chunk of that back end of the season, with Imad Wasim. Nabi has to go home for international duty. It is a loss but at the same time what a huge opportunity for young Noor to come in and have a huge impact on the BBL.”Ahmad, 15, made his BBL debut against the Hobart Hurricanes and took 1 for 27 from four overs and was unfortunate not to claim a second wicket with a very close lbw shout against Colin Ingram turned down.He was left out of the Renegades last match against the Sydney Thunder, where they were beaten by 129 runs to suffer the second-largest defeat in BBL history, just two weeks after suffering the worst one against the Sydney Sixers.Klinger said the mood in the group was still upbeat despite the heavy defeats. “The mood is still pretty good because we know what we’re capable of doing,” he said. “We saw in game one how well we played. We know we’ve got the ability in the group to really come out and perform well.”

Batsman set to enter IPL auction as international exile continues

Matt Roller22-Jan-2021Alex Hales’ prospects of an England recall remain unchanged, despite his rich vein of form for Sydney Thunder which has propelled him to the top of the Big Bash League’s run-scoring charts.Hales’ innings of 110 off 56 balls against cross-town rivals Sydney Sixers on Friday night was enough to take him past Josh Philippe in the race for the ‘golden bat’, but he said after the game that he had received no contact from the England selectors ahead of the white-ball tour to India in March which comprises three ODIs and five T20Is.”No, nothing at all – nothing from that end,” Hales told Fox Sports when asked if he had heard anything from the England management. “At the moment, I’m just enjoying my cricket and I’m going to keep trying to score as many runs as I can, enjoying myself, and see what happens.Related

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“Obviously that’s the peak of cricket, playing for your country. At the moment, I’m just going to focus on the process of scoring runs and enjoying my cricket, and if that’s the end result then brilliant.”Hales was de-selected from England’s 2019 World Cup squad immediately before the tournament after it came to light that he had returned a second positive test for recreational drugs, and he has not been part of a squad since.Eoin Morgan, England’s white-ball captain, has repeatedly stressed that Hales’ actions had caused a “breakdown in trust” and demonstrated a “complete disregard” for the team’s values. While he has never officially drawn a line under Hales’ England career, 22 months have passed since his last international appearance.Hales overtook Josh Philippe in the race for the Golden Bat on Friday night•Getty Images

Hales’ case is not helped by the fact that England are overflowing with top-order options, particularly in T20 cricket. Jonny Bairstow shifted into the middle order in their most recent series with Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan forming the top three, while players like Tom Banton, Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone missed out on the squad altogether.And his prospects of a recall were dealt a further blow on Thursday when Ed Smith, the national selector, said that he did not anticipate the situation changing in time for Hales to win a recall for the squads to tour India, leaving his chances of a comeback before the T20 World Cup in India looking slim.”I think at the moment, I would expect things to stay as they are,” Smith said. “No doors are closed – there’s been no final decision. It’s not that it’s going to be the same indefinitely, but at the moment, if I had to make a prediction, I would say we would stay as we are.”Smith said that it was an “unfair inference” to suggest Hales would not be picked again under Morgan’s leadership, but stressed the importance of captains’ opinions in the decision-making process.”I would say every captain is very important for selection, and that goes for Joe Root, too,” he said. “But in terms of responsibility, selectors take responsibility for a selection of squads, while working closely with all the coaches, and especially the captain. We all work together, and we all take responsibility for our decisions.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Instead, Hales is set to play for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League from February to March, following the conclusion of the BBL season. His runs helped Karachi Kings to the title in November, but he has been traded back to the franchise he represented in 2018 and 2019 ahead of the 2021 edition.It is understood that he will enter next month’s IPL auction, and he will hope that his form over the last two years will be enough for a team to pick him up. A handful of overseas openers, including Banton, Roy and Aaron Finch, were released by their franchises this week, boosting his chances of being signed.Hales is the leading run-scorer around the world in T20 cricket since the start of the 2019 Vitality Blast, averaging 32.21 with a strike rate of 147.93 in that period. He has played more innings than anyone else in that time, across five different leagues, and demonstrated his skill and experience in his belligerent innings on Friday. His hundred – his fourth in T20 cricket – included nine fours and eight sixes, helping the Thunder to break their losing streak as they piled on the highest total in BBL history.”The last few games hadn’t quite gone to plan so for us to turn up in the Sydney derby was really good,” he said. “It’s about trying to find that balance between which bowlers and which ends to attack, and what stage of the partnership to go at. It’s finding that balance between having that positive intent and not throwing your wicket away, which I’d done a few times this year in the 40s, so to go on and get that big score was really pleasing.”

Australia need England to level the series 2-2 in Ahmedabad to qualify to play New Zealand

Andrew McGlashan02-Mar-2021England will have some unusual support in their final Test against India with Australia, perhaps through gritted teeth, hoping their arch rivals can secure victory to give them a place in the World Test Championship final.Australia have needed favours from England throughout the series since their tour of South Africa was postponed due to Covid-19, taking it out of their hands whether they will qualify to play New Zealand in the late-June encounter.There were a variety of series outcomes that would have put Australia through, but the only one left is for England to level the scoreline at 2-2 in Ahmedabad. England’s two-day defeat in the third Test put England themselves out of the running for the final.Related

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“[There’s a] bit of self-interest there for us. We’ll be hoping they can do the job there,” Andrew McDonald, Australia’s assistant coach who is in charge of the team in New Zealand, said.”It’s going to be difficult for them, no doubt, some of the surfaces have been conducive to spin bowling and probably India’s strengths in their ability to play spin as well. We wish them well. See what unfolds, it’s out of our hands but we’ll be watching along with interest.”Think most people have been watching that series with some great interest in terms of the conditions and the short nature of the Tests has been very interesting to watch from afar.”However, David Warner won’t be able to bring himself to support England although would gladly take a spot in the final. “I won’t be barracking for England,” he said. “From a cricket perspective we’d like to see a draw [in the series]. It would be ideal for us to make the World Test Championship final and if that happens it’s a great result for us.”If it had not been for points docked for a slow over-rate against India in Melbourne, Australia would have qualified for the final once their South Africa tour was called off. If they do not sneak through with England’s help it will mean their next Test cricket will not be until late this year with the Ashes or potentially a one-off match against Afghanistan beforehand.For his part, Joe Root, the England captain, said he wouldn’t see beating India as doing Australia a favour.”I would see it as us ending the series as a drawn series and us doing something special here in India,” Root said. “Unfortunately we can’t qualify for that final, but it would be a fantastic achievement for us to have drawn this series and as an England captain that is about as much as I can say.”New Zealand, meanwhile, can watch it all unfold having booked their spot in the final weeks ago, and they weren’t stating a preference of opponent. “It’s out of my hands,” coach Gary Stead said. “I know it’s either going to be India or Australia, we’ve put England to side, but it doesn’t really worry me.”

“That call I’ll take once the IPL is over or in-between [the tournament].” says India’s No. 3 in Test cricket

Shashank Kishore20-Feb-2021Cheteshwar Pujara isn’t ruling out the possibility of a short county stint this summer, as preparation for India’s tour of England in August, while also insisting he’s keen to prove himself in the shortest format after finding an IPL team in Chennai Super Kings after a gap of seven years. Pujara was picked up at his base price (INR 50 lakhs) at the IPL auction on Thursday, which means he’ll once again play under his first India captain, MS Dhoni.”First of all, I’m really glad to be part of the IPL. It’s good to be back again and I’d like to thank CSK for picking me,” he said after India’s training session in Ahmedabad on Saturday. “At the same time, with regards to county cricket we still have enough time before we play the England Test series. Once the IPL will be over, there is a window where I can play a few county games. That call I’ll take once the IPL is over or in-between [the tournament].”There will be enough time to play some county games. We also have a couple of practice games [against India A] before the Test series. But yes, it’s good to be back in the IPL. I haven’t spoken to them [CSK management] yet but I always want to play the shorter formats. But for now, my focus once this series is over will be on the IPL and after that, I’ll think about county cricket and the big series against England in August. Hopefully, we will play the World Test Championship final as well. I want to focus now on the next two Tests, both of them are important for us to qualify.”In a way, a return to Ahmedabad is a little like life coming full circle for Pujara. The last time he played here was way back in November 2012, when he was just setting out to make a mark at No. 3 in the post-Dravid era. On a turner, India utilised the toss to their advantage by setting up an imposing first-innings total, with Pujara making 206 not out against an England attack of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Samit Patel.The surroundings and the surface, though, are starkly different this time around. The stadium has now been redeveloped to accommodate 110,000 spectators – although only half of those can be in attendance for the third Test – and the surface they’ll encounter here could be much different to the one from 2012, because they’ll be playing a day-night Test with the pink ball. The pandemic has meant Ahmedabad has only hosted a handful of T20 games – the Syed Mushtaq Ali knockouts – before this big match. Pujara was posed a question on the uncertainty of the challenges of playing on an untested surface, but it’s not something he’s too worried about.”We have three-four days [for the Test] and a lot could change,” Pujara said. “It looks a decent pitch but it’s difficult to predict anything, considering we’re playing with a pink ball. With the red ball, it’d be a different ball game, but with the pink ball, it’s difficult to assess. You expect something, but it could turn out to be something else. I want to just try and keep things simple and not worry too much about the pitch.”‘As a batsman, what is in my control – my practice, preparation, process – it’s been wonderful. I’m confident of getting a big score very soon’ – Cheteshwar Pujara•BCCI

The one thing India do expect is dew, which could potentially mean they’ll play three seamers, even though Pujara steered away from any talks over team combination. “Yes, there maybe dew,” he said. “Looking at the weather, there’s a possibility of dew in the final session. The guys have played a lot of cricket with the white ball here, and the bowlers are used to it. As batters, we’ve played with the pink ball. It could [affect] in the third session, although how much we don’t know yet. We will have a better idea [over the coming days] but we are expecting dew.”Pujara was also reminded about India’s previous pink-ball Test – the infamous 36 all out in Adelaide two months ago. He swatted it away with a chuckle, insisting there’s going to be no baggage from that game, and instead chose to draw positives from how well India batted in the first innings of that Test, where they even claimed a slender lead over Australia.”I’ve played so many Tests but with the pink ball, even I don’t have enough experience,” he said. “I don’t think it matters a lot when you play one-off pink-ball Tests, we will get used to it as we keep playing more. We’ll have to just play normal cricket, have similar game plans like we had in the previous Test match, depending on the pitch. We’ll just stick to that. In Adelaide, the ball was swinging around and we had one bad session of poor batting that led to that disaster, but overall if you look at the first innings, we were in a dominating position.”‘Chennai pitch not dangerous at all’Pujara was asked for his verdict on the Chepauk surface for the second Test, in which England folded cheaply in both innings. India’s spinners ran amok, picking up 17 of the 20 wickets to fall, with none of the visiting batsmen going beyond the 43 Moeen Ali made in the dying moments of the match which India won by 317 runs on the fourth day.”Sometimes, if you’re playing on a turner, you find it difficult, but it wasn’t a dangerous pitch at all,” he said. “When the ball spins, people find it difficult to score runs. When we go overseas, we also play on seaming tracks where games finish in three or four days. We still have to play on pitches with grass and seam movement. When it comes to turning tracks, you can’t define how much it should turn. There’s a thin line, but I don’t think it was a bad pitch. Yes, it always becomes difficult in the second innings, but even when we play in Australia on fourth or fifth-day tracks, balls can hit the cracks and take off. As a team, I don’t think we had an issue, am sure England once they’re used to it and play more matches, they’ll also figure out a way.”It’s not often Pujara goes through an entire press conference without questions about his batting. And while he’s made key contributions right through the summer, the one thing he’s looking to tick off is getting to three-figures, something he last did in Tests in Sydney in January 2019.”I started well, got off to starts but got out unfortunately [in the second Test],” he said. Pujara was out to a pull shot that deflected off short leg to the midwicket fielder in the first innings. In the second, he was run out after his bat got stuck in the turf while trying to get back into the crease.”The way I am batting, although the three-figures haven’t come, I am hoping it wont’ be too far away. As a batsman, what is in my control – my practice, preparation, process – it’s been wonderful. I’m confident of getting a big score very soon.”

Amelia Kerr, Devon Conway also pick up top honours at the New Zealand Cricket Awards

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2021New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been awarded the Sir Richard Hadlee medal for the fourth time in six years, while women’s allrounder Amelia Kerr and rising star Devon Conway also claimed top honours at the New Zealand Cricket Awards for the 2020-21 season.Williamson was given the award on the back of his impressive run in Tests during the summer, where he scored a career-best 251 against the West Indies in Hamilton, followed by a century on his home ground in Tauranga during the Boxing Day Test. He also made a double-century against Pakistan in Christchurch, which helped New Zealand book their place in the ICC World Test Championship final. Overall, New Zealand won 17 out of 20 matches they played during the summer, and claimed all seven series.Related

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Williamson, the highest ranked Test batsman, was also named the International Test Player of the Year and awarded the Redpath Cup for first-class batting, after he amassed 639 runs in just four innings at an average of 159.”Going into the Test summer – there was that Championship final carrot and there was a real drive there for the guys,” Williamson told Richard Hadlee on a phone call, upon receiving the news of the award. “Although it seemed a long way off, winning four Tests before you’ve started one is a pretty lofty goal. To spend some time at the crease personally and make contributions towards that … certainly proud as a leader and a player in this side that we were able to achieve some of those things and we’re looking forward to that final.”In the women’s category, Kerr won the Super Smash and the International T20 awards. The legspinning allrounder played a key role in the White Ferns’ wins over Australia in Brisbane last December and in Napier last month. She averaged 51 with the bat, striking at 134 in the Super Smash T20s. She also took 14 wickets, including a hat-trick for Wellington Blaze in the final.Conway, meanwhile, was named the men’s player of the year in both ODIs as well as T20Is. He had smashed 473 T20I runs at a strike rate of 151 during the season, including four half-centuries, to edge out Glenn Phillips (366 runs at 40.6) and bowlers Tim Southee (21 wickets at 16.7) and Ish Sodhi (20 wickets at 15.4) for the award. He was equally dominant in the ODIs, hitting 225 runs, including his maiden century, in the three-match series against Bangladesh in March.Finn Allen, the 21-year-old opener who recently made his international debut, was named the Super Smash Player of the Year in the men’s category after scoring 512 runs at an average of 56 and a strike-rate of 193.Kyle Jamieson, a key member of New Zealand’s Test attack, was given the Windsor Cup for first-class bowling, his first NZC award. Jamieson had picked up 27 wickets during the season, including a haul of 11 in the final Test against Pakistan in Christchurch. In the Plunket Shield, he picked up 20 wickets in just three matches for Auckland, including a hat-trick at Eden Park Outer Oval.Stand-in captain Amy Satterthwaite was named the women’s ODI Player of the Year, courtesy 304 runs in six matches on her comeback trail.Former batsman Jeff Crowe was honoured with the Bert Sutcliffe Medal for outstanding services to cricket. Crowe represented New Zealand in 39 Tests and 75 ODIs between 1983 and 1990, captaining the side on 22 occasions. He was later appointed manager of the national team. Since 2004, Crowe has been an ICC match referee, overseeing 103 Tests, 301 ODIs and 137 T20s.

Pollard’s unbeaten 35 off 22 gave Mumbai a respectable total

Sidharth Monga17-Apr-20212:16

Bishop: Pollard always a more dangerous batter when he has more time

Taking inspiration from two successive successful defences of middling totals at Chepauk, Mumbai Indians became the first team in this IPL to choose to bat and defend successfully. Their 150 for 5 landed in the middle of the 152 and 149 defended in the two previous matches, but Jonny Bairstow, opening this time, threatened to run away with the game taking three of the powerplay overs for 52 runs. However, the crafty Mumbai Indians bowling rallied around Jasprit Bumrah, who went without a boundary in his four overs for the fourth time in the history of the IPL.Rahul Chahar broke the back of the Sunrisers Hyderabad with three wickets in the middle overs, and then Trent Boult came back to wipe off any resistance, with a little help from Bumrah again. For the Sunrisers, it was another case of Warner-Bairstow or bust, and not for the first time since the start of the last IPL. Bairstow left the scene with 84 to get in 82 balls, which became 61 off 51 balls when Warner ran himself out, a fourth captain getting run out taking a quick single this IPL.Vijay Shankar, who had taken two wickets but dropped Kieron Pollard in the 19th over before Pollard caused the damage, kept the Sunrisers alive with 28 off 25 but Bumrah and Boult were too good in the end on a slow pitch.Powerplay tussle
On this pitch, you do all your scoring in the powerplay, but also be mindful you don’t lose too many wickets trying to do so. With Quinton de Kock struggling for his touch, Rohit Sharma took on the onus of scoring, scoring 31 off 23 in the powerplay. At 53 for 0, however, no side could claim the honours.Shankar, Rashid squeeze on
As soon as the field spread, the game changed completely. Shankar used the slowness in the surface to have Rohit caught at deep midwicket, and did the catching himself for the dangerous-looking Suryakumar Yadav. The Sunrisers didn’t mind that Rashid Khan enjoys a great match-up against Pollard and Hardik Pandya. They used him from overs eight through 12 for just 17 runs. When Mujeeb Ur Rahman came on to replace Khan, he removed de Kock, caught at deep midwicket for a 39-ball 40. Mumbai 98 for 3 in 14 overs.Mumbai win at the death, only just
It was now down to the best lower-middle order of the last IPL to drag Mumbai to a total they might feel comfortable with. However, Khaleel Ahmed, Khan and Mujeeb stifled them. Mujeeb got Ishan Kishan caught down the leg side by the wicketkeeper, and Ahmed got Hardik. Leading up to the last two balls of the innings, no sixes had come in the last 27 balls. Between them, three of the four new players, Shankar, Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma bowled eight overs for 48 runs and three wickets.Pollard, dropped in the 19th over and so far shanking everything to midwicket because of the slowness of the surface, finally found a Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivery in his slot and hit it for a six. The last ball wasn’t in the slot but had enough pace on it for Pollard to send it over deep midwicket. On a rare off night, Kumar ended up with figures of 4-0-45-0. Their 43 in the last four overs were the joint-highest effort at Chepauk this IPL.Jonny Bairstow got out hit wicket•BCCI/IPL

Bairstow hits the ground running
The other change in Sunrisers’ line-up was the dropping of Wriddhiman Saha and the promotion of Bairstow to the top of the order. It nearly proved right as he laid into the New Zealanders, Boult and Adam Milne. He hit three fours and four sixes in 15 balls in the first five overs. At 55 for 0 in five overs, the Sunrisers were possibly a good final powerplay over from practically sealing the chase.Mumbai claw back
Which is probably why Rohit went to Bumrah to close the powerplay out. He nearly got Bairstow out with a slower ball, but a two-run over meant the Sunrisers still had work to do now with the field spread out. There was no reason, though, for Bairstow to change his tempo. Unfortunately, though, his back foot slipped onto the base of his wicket as he looked to ramp Krunal Pandya, making him the fifth Sunrisers victim out of 13 hit-wicket dismissals in the IPL.Chahar, coming off a star hand in Mumbai’s win in the last match, then turned the screw in. Manish Pandey, for a change, eschewed his anchor game, but with no luck as he hit straight to long-off for a seven-ball two. Then Warner went off for the fateful single with the ball hit straight to point.Rohit smartly snuck in two Pollard overs to exploit the slowness of the surface and provide insurance should either Boult or Milne not be able to bowl out. From the end of the fifth over to the end of the 14th, only one boundary came for the Sunrisers, that too off a top edge. The pressure was too much for an inexperienced middle order, and Virat Singh and Abhishek holed out in Chahar’s last over.Shankar tries but in vain

With 47 required in five overs and the fifth bowler’s quota done, Rohit still went to Krunal to avoid bowling Milne at the end. Shankar hit two big sixes to keep the Sunrisers breathing, but Bumrah’s mix of slower balls and yorkers on the slow pitch raised the asking rate high enough for Boult to take advantage of the batters who had no option but to hit out at him.

Quetta have picked Zahir Khan to fill in for Ben Cutting, while Islamabad have chosen not to replace the unavailable Janneman Malan

Umar Farooq22-May-2021Multan Sultans have picked the West Indies batter Shimron Hetmyer to replace Bangladesh batter Mahmudullah in the platinum category for the remainder of the PSL 2021, which begins in the first week of June in Abu Dhabi. Several players are set to miss the remaining 20 games of the season for multiple reasons, including logistical challenges. In order to allow teams to replace their absentees, the PCB carried out a mini replacement draft on Saturday.Rashid Khan, meanwhile, will be back with the Lahore Qalandars. The franchise had signed the Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan in his place during last month’s replacement draft. Shakib has now pulled out of the remainder of the season, but Lahore have announced Rashid is available once again. Related

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All six franchises were also allowed to pick two additional players in their original squads, with at least one overseas player, increasing squad sizes from 18 to 20. Teams originally had to feature at least three overseas players in their XIs, but given the growing challenges around the Covid-19 pandemic, the PCB has reduced the number to two for each team.The draft is the third overall since the start of the season, which was suspended after 14 matches following a spate of Covid-19 cases among players and support staffers.The Quetta Gladiators have picked the Afghanistan left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan to replace the Australian allrounder Ben Cutting, while Lahore have chosen the Singaporean batter Tim David, who plays for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, and boasts an overall T20 strike rate of 154.07, to replace the Australian batter Joe Burns.Meanwhile, Hammad Azam, once talked of as a exciting all-round prospect for Pakistan, is back in the limelight, with Multan picking him as an additional option in the silver category.The Singaporean batter Tim David replaces Joe Burns in the Lahore Qalandars squad•Getty Images

UAE’s Waseem Muhammad, who made his name with his blazing knocks for the Northern Warriors in the Abu Dhabi T10, has found a place in the Multan roster. His career highlight so far is an unbeaten 13-ball 56 in the T10, which helped the Warriors chase down 98 in just 4.3 overs against the Pune Devils. The Qalandars snapped up another UAE player in Sultan Ahmed, a left-arm spinner who originally hails from Pakistan.During last month’s replacement draft, Islamabad United had picked Janneman Malan in place of Alex Hales. Now, with Malan also unavailable, Islamabad did not pick a replacement, citing a lack of equivalent options.Islamabad, Lahore and the Karachi Kings haven’t yet picked a 20th player, but can do so if required.

Final squads

Karachi Kings Imad Wasim (capt), Abbas Afridi, Aamer Yamin, Arshad Iqbal, Babar Azam, Chadwick Walton, Danish Aziz, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Haris, Thisara Perera, Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ahmad, Qasim Akram, Sharjeel Khan, Waqas Maqsood, Zeeshan Malik.Lahore Qalandars Sohail Akhtar (capt), Ahmed Danyal, Ben Dunk, Callum Ferguson, Dilbar Hussain, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, James Faulkner, Maaz Khan, Mohammad Faizan, Mohammad Hafeez, Rashid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Seekkuge Prasana, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sultan Ahmed, Tim David, Zaid Alam and Zeeshan Ashraf.Multan Sultans Mohammad Rizwan (capt), Hammad Azam, Imran Tahir, Imran Khan Snr, Johnson Charles, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Umar, Obed McCoy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rilee Rossouw, Shahid Afridi, Shahnawaz Dhani, Shan Masood, Shimron Hetmyer (partially available), Sohaib Maqsood, Sohaibullah, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Usman Qadir, Waseem Muhammad.Islamabad United Shadab Khan (capt), Ahmed Saifi Abdullah, Ali Khan, Akif Javed, Asif Ali, Colin Munro, Fawad Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Akhlaq, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir, Usman Khawaja, Zafar Gohar, Zeeshan Zameer.Peshawar Zalmi Wahab Riaz (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Amad Butt, Bismillah Khan, David Miller (partially available), Fabian Allen (partially available), Fidel Edwards (partially available), Haider Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Amir Khan, Mohammad Irfan Snr, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Rovman Powell, Waqar Salamkheil, Sherfane Rutherford, Shoaib Malik, Umaid Asif.Quetta Gladiators Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt), Abdul Nasir, Andre Russell (partially available), Anwar Ali, Arish Ali Khan, Azam Khan, Cameron Delport, Faf du Plessis, Hassan Khan, Jack Wildermuth, Jake Weatherald, Khurram Shehzad, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Usman Shinwari, Zahid Mahmood, Zahir Khan.

Ben Stokes set to return to action, for Durham, after being out since April when he picked up a finger injury

Matt Roller19-Jun-2021Olly Stone has been ruled out for the rest of the English summer after suffering another stress fracture to the lower back, his third in as many years. Stone was due to be named in England’s ODI squad for their upcoming three-match World Cup Super League series against Sri Lanka, which starts on June 29, but the injury has opened the door for George Garton, the Sussex left-arm seamer, to be included in a full squad for the first time.Stone suffered the injury following England’s second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston, in which he took three wickets for 97 runs. It is the latest in a cruel run of injuries that has blighted his career, and leaves his prospects of playing in the T20 World Cup and the Ashes this winter in doubt.Related

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Garton has been a regular in England Lions’ white-ball plans since he was 19, and was added to the touring party ahead of the first Ashes Test in 2017-18 as cover after impressing in the nets. He missed the 2018 summer after picking up a side strain while picking a suitcase off a baggage carousel at Los Angeles airport, but has made significant strides since: across the last two T20 Blast seasons, he has taken 22 wickets at 13.54 with an economy rate of 6.93, and has also contributed with the bat as a finisher and in the field.”It is a great shame as Olly was showing real promise with the ball and would have been part of our selection plans for this series,” Chris Silverwood, England’s coach, who will hand over the reins to Graham Thorpe, his assistant, during the ODI series, said.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We have been monitoring the progress of George Garton for quite some time. He has been a significant part of Sussex’s bowling unit in white-ball cricket for an extended period. His ability to bowl quick, with his point of difference being a left-armer, certainly gives us options in this series, and he deserves his chance at this level.”England are also missing Jofra Archer (elbow injury), Reece Topley (side strain) and Saqib Mahmood (abdominal strain), who Silverwood said were making “excellent progress”.Meanwhile, Ben Stokes is due to make his return to cricket after being out with a hand injury on Sunday, when he plays for Durham against Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast. Stokes has not played competitively since the Rajasthan Royals’ opening game of the IPL, when he suffered the injury while taking a catch. Stokes is targeting an international return in the T20I series against Pakistan, which starts on July 16.Jonny Bairstow has been named in the squad despite suffering an ankle injury during Yorkshire’s win at Worcestershire on Wednesday, after which he left the ground with a moon boot. There are only two changes from the T20I squad named last week, with Garton and Joe Root replacing Chris Jordan and Dawid Malan.

All-new line-up presents opportunities for host players but question marks for visitors

Andrew Miller07-Jul-2021

Big Picture

Well, that escalated quickly. It’s only been a matter of days since the soggy denouement to England’s third and final ODI against Sri Lanka – a match that had begun amid rumours of a few fresh faces in the ranks, but had continued with a solitary change to the line-up and another win-toss-and-bowl display, as Eoin Morgan targeted a full hand of World Cup Super League points before the heavens opened to rain on his run-chase.Changes are afoot now, all right. Eighteen of them to be precise, following the scrambling scenes on Tuesday morning, as seven positive Covid cases in the England camp led to the self-isolation of the other close contacts therein. You thought it was extraordinary when Gareth Southgate reeled off three substitutions with England 4-0 up against Ukraine on Saturday? Chris Silverwood just phoned and wants you to hold his beer…And so, all bets are off for the coming contest – which was always expected to be a stiffer challenge than Sri Lanka were ever able to pose, though these new circumstances are rather taking the Mickey (as Mickey Arthur himself has acknowledged). Pakistan are currently third on the Super League table, having played half as many games as England, and though they didn’t play ODIs on last year’s bio-secure tour, they emerged with a share of the T20I series with a thrilling defence of 191 in the decider at Old Trafford. The lack of jeopardy was palpable throughout the Sri Lanka leg, particularly for England’s fans, returning to the stands, but sometimes you really do have to be careful what you wish for.Nevertheless, what an opportunity these coming games present for England’s hastily-assembled stand-ins. There are players in this emergency party who may well find themselves playing their first and only international matches in the coming days – men such as Gloucestershire’s David Payne, who admitted he couldn’t stop smiling after getting the call from Silverwood while on red-ball duty in Cheltenham, and Middlesex’s John Simpson, one of the most accomplished wicketkeepers in the country, and now the only specialist on parade.John Simpson received a surprise call-up•Getty Images

But there are players too for whom this is a massive opportunity to restate credentials that, for one reason or another, have been marginalised in the intervening seasons (step forward James Vince and Ben Duckett) or simply to fast-track their own standings as ones to watch for the future – Surrey’s Will Jacks being a particularly prime example. Others, such as Somerset’s Lewis Gregory, have found it hard to gain traction in their limited opportunities to date. His eight T20Is have so far offered little opportunity to show off his range as a No.7, fifth-change bowler. A 50-over outing gives far more scope for meaningful contributions across the board.And then there’s the skipper. Ben Stokes was meant to be easing back to match fitness at Durham after breaking his finger at the IPL and saving his energies for an intense second half of the year – starting with the five Tests against India (not to mention his vital status as a drawcard for the Hundred), then morphing into the World T20 and the Ashes over Christmas and New Year. Now he’s answered the call as if it’s the final day at Headingley or Cape Town all over again – “help us Ben Kenobi, you’re our only hope”.A penny for Pakistan’s thoughts amid all this chaos. They’ve been holed up in their Derby Travelodge, a familiar base-camp following last year’s Test preparations, no doubt plotting their strategies for tackling the new-ball threat of Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and David Willey, and undermining the Bairstow-Roy-Root axis at the top of England’s World Cup-winning batting order. Instead they’ll now be cobbling together some hasty plans for the likes of Phil Salt and Brydon Carse. The county streams may help them in that regard, but despite England’s undignified departure, it’s unlikely that their outgoing management forgot to leave their own scouting reports pinned to the dressing-room fridge.

Form Guide

England WWLWL
Pakistan WLWTW

In the spotlight

One player that Pakistan won’t need to make many plans for is Saqib Mahmood. They saw signs of his potential in the T20I series last summer, but moreover, they watched him grow into his role as one of only two overseas seamers at the first leg of this year’s postponed PSL – the other was no less an icon than Dale Steyn. With 12 wickets in 18.1 overs across five appearances, he was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker at the time of the bubble breach in March, having thrived on the strike-bowling responsibility handed to him by his Peshawar Zalmi captain, Wahab Riaz. He translated that attacking threat into red-ball cricket this summer too, with a thrilling five-for to seal the Roses match for Lancashire in May, and of all the reserves drafted into England’s emergency squad, he’s among the closest to making a proper push for first-team honours.Related

• Ben Stokes answers England's call with a vow to keep smiling through the 'fluster'

• Babar Azam says Pakistan players didn't think about calling England tour off

• Waqar Younis has 'high hopes' for Pakistan attack despite lack of ideal preparation

• Ben's Babes – the last-minute call-ups in England's emergency ODI squad

• David Payne 'can't stop smiling' after left-field England call-up

Shadab Khan is Pakistan’s designated vice-captain, and he’ll hope that that responsibility rubs off on his performance after a fallow few months for his country. He’s not taken a wicket in six matches since August, the second match of last summer’s England tour, while his batting remains promising rather than fulfilling – he made the last of his three ODI half-centuries way back in January 2018. With Usman Qadir offering an alternative legspinning option, and Mohammad Nawaz waiting in the wings as an allrounder, he’ll need to step up sooner rather than later.Shadab Khan has had a fallow few months•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

Cardiff served up a dog of a pitch for the T20I against Sri Lanka last month – tacky, two-paced, with occasionally savage lift, and resulting in a match strike-rate of barely a run a ball as England laboured to hunt down a paltry target of 112. With abject weather to boot, it was not exactly the spectacle the BBC might have ordered for their first live match of the English summer. But at least the sun is expected to shine on Sophia Gardens on Thursday. The rest is in the lap of the groundstaff.

Team news

Ha! Your guess is as good as ours. With nine new caps in England’s makeshift ranks, there will be an element of lucky dip to the final XI that takes the field – Stokes admitted on the eve of the game that the squad hasn’t yet managed to meet in person. However, a handful of building blocks are sure to be in place, namely the top-order trio of James Vince, Dawid Malan and Stokes himself – when you’re rummaging through the back of that dressing-room fridge, seeking some left-overs to make a team, two World Cup winners and a No.1 T20I batter aren’t such bad ingredients to fall back on. Mahmood, likewise, seems assured of a role, and so too Matt Parkinson – England couldn’t be so cruel as to overlook him again, surely? That leaves Phil Salt and Ben Duckett to squabble over the second opener’s role – Salt may win that, seeing as Duckett is probably the likely keeper, despite Simpson’s claims – then we need to consider the balance of batting depth and bowling penetration required at Nos. 6-9. Jacks, bruising batter and handy offspinner, looks well equipped in that regard, and so too does Gregory at No.7. Craig Overton and Brydon Carse can also wield a bat to good effect while serving up some muscular seam – Stokes likened Carse’s potential role to that of Liam Plunkett – although with left-armers very much in vogue, there may be a temptation to take a closer look at Payne. He may be a long way behind the likes of Curran, Willey, George Garton, Reece Topley and Tymal Mills in the T20 World Cup stakes, but as England have suddenly discovered, you can never have too many options …England (possible): 1 Phil Salt, 2 James Vince, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Stokes (capt), 5 Ben Duckett (wk), 6 Will Jacks, 7 Lewis Gregory, 8 Craig Overton / David Payne, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Saqib Mahmood, 11 Matt ParkinsonRare are the occasions when Pakistan are outdone in the team selection drama stakes, but such is the poise of their current line-up that few surprises are in store. Saud Shakeel is set to make his ODI debut, after missing the chance earlier this year in South Africa after suffering a quadriceps tear prior to the team’s departure.Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Hasan Ali, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain.

Stats and trivia

• If Babar Azam continues the form he showed in South Africa earlier this year, where he made 228 runs at 76.00 in three matches, he could become the fastest batter to reach 4000 ODI runs. Hashim Amla holds the record, reaching the mark in his 81st innings in 2013. Babar currently has 3808 runs from 78.
• Should Danny Briggs feature in any of these three matches, he will be playing his first ODI since his one-off appearance against Pakistan in the UAE in February 2012, almost a decade ago. His last England appearance in any format came at Hobart in January 2014, the last of his seven T20Is.
• Ben Stokes will be playing his first home England match for 11 months – he last featured against Pakistan in the first Test at Old Trafford in August 2020, prior to a spell of compassionate leave. He has played 15 overseas matches since then, three in South Africa and the rest in India.

Quotes

“I’ve captained because Joe [Root] was having a baby, and I’ve captained because of a Covid outbreak. They are obviously strange situations to be involved in, but it’s a huge honour to lead your country out onto a sporting field and I’m looking forward to it.”

Ben Stokes is once again at the helm for England in unusual circumstances.

The five-match T20I series will happen first now. The original schedule had the tour starting with three ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Aug-2021Zimbabwe’s tour of Ireland has been rescheduled to begin on August 27 on the advice of Ireland’s health authorities. The tour was originally scheduled to start on August 6, but Zimbabwe Cricket hadn’t received clearance from the Ireland government due to complications around Covid-19 protocols.In a media release, Ireland Cricket said the tour would now be “effectively flipping” with the five-match T20I series happening first, as opposed to the previous schedule that had the tour starting with a three-match ODI series. A Zimbabwe XI will play against Ireland Wolves in a 50-over warm-up match between the two series.”There has been a great deal of behind-the-scenes work on pulling together a revised playing programme since the earlier series postponement, but thanks to the support of Provincial Unions and various hosting clubs, we have managed to create a schedule that meets the evolving requirements of health and sporting authorities, while ensuring we can still host these extremely important matches within the available window,” Ireland’s High Performance cricket director Richard Holdsworth said in the statement.A change of venues is also part of the new plan, with Belfast – where three ODIs and the last three T20Is were to be played – dropping off the schedule. The first two T20Is will now be played in Clontarf, and the last three will be played at Bready, which was originally supposed to host only the first two T20Is. The ODIs, which are part of the World Cup Super league, will all be held in Stormont.”In order to meet quarantining requirements in both jurisdictions, the visiting side will spend the first ten days of their tour training and playing in the Republic under biosecure protocols, then the two sides can then move to Northern Ireland to complete the series,” Holdsworth said. “As a consequence of this change, we have had to flip the order of the T20I and ODI series, and we will see the return of international cricket at Clontarf for the first time since May 2019.”Zimbabwe have not qualified for the upcoming T20 World Cup, but the ODIs against Ireland will be a chance for them to drag themselves off the bottom of the World Cup Super league points table and push for qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup. In their most recent ODI series, Zimbabwe were swept 3-0 at home by Bangladesh. As for Ireland, they are placed seventh on the Super League table, although they have had the benefit of playing 12 matches; Zimbabwe have played only six.