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Bangladesh are likely to leave for New Zealand on February 24, nine days after the Dhaka Test ends

Mohammad Isam11-Feb-2021Shakib Al Hasan will miss Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand later this month as the BCB granted him paternity leave for the duration of the entire tour. According to BCB cricket operations chairman Akram Khan, board president Nazmul Hassan spoke with Shakib before the decision was made.”Shakib is not going [to New Zealand]. He applied [for leave] to stay with his [expecting] wife. After talking to the board president, we granted him leave,” Khan said.

New Zealand vs Bangladesh 2020-21

• March 20, 1st ODI, Dunedin

• March 23, 2nd ODI, Christchurch

• March 26, 3rd ODI, Wellington

• March 28, 1st T20I, Hamilton

• March 30, 2nd T20I, Napier

• April 1, 3rd T20I, Auckland

Shakib’s thigh strain forced him out of the ongoing Dhaka Test against West Indies. He is currently recovering under the BCB’s medical team.Khan said that the Bangladesh touring party is likely to leave for New Zealand on February 24, nine days after the Dhaka Test ends. The players will not have a training camp in Dhaka, as they will only have a short time with their family before getting into a hard quarantine in New Zealand.”The chances of holding a camp in Bangladesh are low. It’s very difficult to keep players in quarantine or bio-bubble all the time. After this series we will send them on vacation. After that, we might take them from here to there [New Zealand] and train.”

First Championship win for four months in sight after a day of dominance at New Road

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2019 Worcestershire 205 (Hogan 4-53) and 153 for 2 (Rutherford 52, Mitchell 52*) lead Glamorgan 193 (Morris 5-73) by 165 runs
Paceman Charlie Morris and openers Hamish Rutherford and Daryl Mitchell have left Worcestershire daring to dream of a first Specsavers County Championship win for four months after a day of dominance against Glamorgan at Blackfinch New Road.Paceman Morris earned Worcestershire a narrow first innings lead with his third five wicket haul of the season. He finished with figures of 5 for 73 from 17.5 overs as the visitors were dismissed for 193 in 65.5 overs to give Worcestershire a 12-run advantage.Rutherford then raced to a 51-ball half century and, with Mitchell digging in for an unbeaten 52, Worcestershire closed day two on 153 for 2.It was a rare day of success for the home side who began the campaign as one of the favourites for promotion but who went into this game just five points ahead of bottom-placed Leicestershire.Glamorgan will be hoping to make significant inroads tomorrow morning otherwise they could be facing a major fourth-innings target on a wicket still offering some assistance to the bowlers.Morris struck in successive overs after Glamorgan resumed on 44 for 2 when West Indian opener Kraigg Brathwaite (19) was caught behind and Billy Root (8) drove a wide delivery to cover.Samit Patel (5), on loan from Nottinghamshire, pulled a short ball from Adam Finch straight to deep backward square, before Moeen Ali held onto a sharp head high return catch offered by David Lloyd (35). Captain Chris Cooke (24) then fell victim to a low first slip catch by Riki Wessels off Joe Leach.Morris returned after lunch to bowl Ruaidhri Smith (18) and completed his five-for by having Michael Hogan (15) caught at deep fine leg while in between Lukas Carey (16) drilled Moeen straight to cover.Rutherford (52) ensured Worcestershire built on their narrow first innings advantage in quickfire fashion. He reeled off a series of impressive drives and raced to a 51-ball half century with nine boundaries out of an opening stand of 70 with Mitchell.The New Zealander eventually edged Smith to second slip but Moeen kept the momentum going for the home side. He swept Patel for four and twice cover drove Smith to the ropes as the Worcestershire 100 came up in the 26th over.But after making 26 the England all-rounder aimed a big shot through mid-wicket off Patel and holed out to Hogan at mid off.Mitchell completed his first half century since an unbeaten 64 against Glamorgan at Cardiff in early July shortly before the close with a cover drive for four off Smith. It was his sixth boundary and came from 143 balls.Jack Haynes also batted with great maturity and patience on his home Championship debut and was unbeaten on 22 at the close after surviving an early chance.

England’s top-scorer in a first innings that was blown away insisted the team will “dust themselves down” after a “very poor day”

Melinda Farrell at Trent Bridge19-Aug-20181:17

Time for England to eradicate collapses – Buttler

Jos Buttler was at a loss to explain yet another batting collapse after a dismal day for England at Trent Bridge. England were bowled out in the space of a session – after a promising start by Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings, losing all ten wickets between lunch and tea in conditions that favoured the swing of Hardik Pandya, in particular.Buttler’s swashbuckling 39 off 32 deliveries, as he farmed the strike with James Anderson for a 33-run tenth-wicket partnership, staved off the spectre of a follow-on but that was of little comfort as England saw the match slip away from them as quickly as the wickets tumbled.”We’ve had a poor day today, very disappointing, but we’ll dust ourselves down and come back hard tomorrow,” Buttler said. “It’s important we can recognise why it’s happened and improve.”When we’ve got that momentum, when we’ve been bowling, it felt like we were going to take a wicket every ball.”It comes down to how can you wrestle back the initiative – maybe with a counter-attacking style or someone trying to sit in and be a bit of a limpet for an hour and ride that session out. But obviously we weren’t good enough to do that today.”But while Buttler praised the work ethic of his team he was unable to explain the cause of England’s frequent collapses: the folding of England’s top order has become a far too familiar sight and in the past two years they have been bowled out in a session on three occasions – Mirpur, Auckland and now Trent Bridge.”It comes down to the guys working hard, being disciplined, practice, all of the above,” Buttler said. “Rightly, people say it’s been happening too often – which it has. Guys have got to improve. We know that as a side – to get to where we want to go, we need to eradicate these collapses.”The key is trying not to make the same mistakes. You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again, whether that’s as an individual or as a team. If there’s an obvious weakness as an individual, you need to work on it – or as a team, is there a similar thing we need to make sure it’s not happening?”There’s no magic answer, I don’t think, apart from hard work.While Buttler admitted there were robust and “honest conversations” within the dressing room, he described the atmosphere as “fantastic”, despite the recurring collapses.”The group gel well together, there’s a real good feel about it. We’re not getting the results but it’s not for a lack of trying.”Experience tells you there is no magic key to getting things right. Nobody’s perfect and there’s human error – we’ve got to be better. Everyone is striving to be the best they can, it’s not for a lack of trying. We’ve played some very good cricket during this series, we are 2-0 up, we’ve had a very bad day but we will come back hard. We will keep fighting.”

The BCCI will receive a little over US$100 million more than what was agreed upon by a vast majority of the ICC Board in meetings in April

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Jun-20171:44

How the BCCI and ICC reached a consensus

Peace has broken out in world cricket, as the BCCI and ICC have finally reached an agreement on a new finance model. The bare facts are that the BCCI will receive a little over US$100 million more than what was agreed upon by a vast majority of the ICC Board in meetings in April and most of the other boards will receive marginally less. Under this model, approved by the ICC Board on Thursday in London during the ICC’s AGM, the BCCI will now receive US$405 million, $112 million more than in the original model, which was passed by nine votes to one in Dubai in April.In the final model, seen by ESPNcricinfo, figures are based on the ICC earning US$2.7 billion in the new rights cycle from 2016-2023. After various ICC expenses and costs are taken out, the net surplus is US$ 1.776 billion; of this amount, Full Members will receive US$1.536 billion and Associates US$240 million. Out of the FM’s share, the BCCI will receive US$405 million and the ECB US$139 million. Each of Cricket Australia, Cricket South Africa, Pakistan Cricket Board, New Zealand Cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket, Cricket West Indies and Bangladesh Cricket Board will receive $128 million. Those figures represent a US$ 4 million drop for each of the eight boards. Zimbabwe Cricket retains the same share that was presented in April – $94 million.The total reduction of the eight boards – $32 million – as well as a $40 million cut from the Associates’ share ($280 million in April) has likely gone some way to making up the BCCI’s increase. That, as well as a cut in total ICC event costs of nearly $16 million; also notably absent from the financial model that was approved in February are proposed shares for Afghanistan and Ireland. It is not clear what the breakdown in revenue for Associates will be yet.The BCCI will receive more than what was agreed upon by a majority of the ICC Board in April•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Though all sides will have breathed a collective sigh of relief, the BCCI will feel it especially pleased given the manner in which it was so comprehensively outvoted at the April meetings. At that meeting the BCCI had walked in demanding $570 million as what it thought was its due share. But it was outvoted 9-1 – the only Full Member board to oppose. Licking its wounds the BCCI also rejected a $100 million increase, offered to them as a compromise by the ICC chairman Shashank Manohar. In the intervening months the BCCI has clearly softened its stance and it is now clear it accepted Manohar’s offer.The BCCI’s refusal to accept the new financial model – as part of changes drawing back from the short-lived Big Three era – had hovered over international cricket since February, when matters first came to a head. There was, briefly, a worry that the BCCI might pull India out of ICC tournaments, though that was swiftly assuaged when India played at the Champions Trophy.A key detail is that the finance model is not part of the new constitution. During the last two Board meetings, the BCCI had insisted that the finance model be dealt with exclusively outside the constitution which caters mostly to the governance structure. An accompanying paper from the ICC on the new governance structure, seen by ESPNcricinfo, states that the details of a financial model will “be determined by the Board from time to time in a manner that may allow each member to receive a different level of distribution”.

Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting said that his side’s inability to maintain momentum in the middle overs of a 165-run chase against Delhi Daredevils was one of the main factors for their 10-run loss in Delhi

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2016Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting said that his side’s inability to maintain momentum in the middle overs of a 165-run chase against Delhi Daredevils was one of the main factors for their 10-run loss in Delhi.Mumbai were 52 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay, and a comfortable 98 for 2 in 12 overs with Rohit Sharma and Krunal Pandya at the crease. However, Daredevils’ bowlers, particularly legspinner Amit Mishra, dragged them back and a five-over period between the 13th and 17th overs saw Mumbai score only 25 runs. Ponting felt that Rohit, who eventually scored 65 before his run-out in the last over, struggled to get going in that period.

Try to bowl yorkers as fast as I can – Morris

Delhi Daredevils’ quick bowler Chris Morris, who defended 20 runs off the final over against Mumbai Indians on Saturday, praised his captain Zaheer Khan’s strategies in the end overs of the match. A string of quiet overs from Daredevils’ spinners had stifled Mumbai’s chase of 165 leaving them with an equation of 42 off the last three overs, which were bowled by Morris and Zaheer.
“If it was left to me I would have bowled my third over at [Kieron] Pollard as soon as he came in [the 15th over with Mumbai at 110 for 4], but Zak (Zaheer Khan) being the genius that he is, decided that he would save me for the end with himself,” Morris told . “A genius move by the man; it came off today, it could have backfired horribly. But he has played so many games of cricket and taken so many wickets in his career for a reason. He is very experienced and I think he was brilliant today.”
On his role as an end-overs bowler, Morris said he stuck to a simple plan: “I try and stay calm, believe in what I do and bowl my yorkers as fast as I can. So there might be simple things, but for me I am here to bowl yorkers and bowl fast. That’s basically the plan and, luckily, today it counted for me.”

“It felt like we had control of that game for most of the 40 overs. Even with the ball, it didn’t feel like it got away from us at any stage until I guess, the last couple of overs,” Ponting told . “We were well ahead in our batting and in the Powerplay, we were 50-odd, so we were well ahead at that stage, and we had wickets in hand.”Rohit just couldn’t get going in the middle stages of the innings. From the sidelines it felt like he was a bit deprived of the strike as well and momentum just stopped a little bit. Mishra bowled a great spell and then Morris at the end with his yorkers was very good. I think we went for 17 from our last bowling over as well (Mumbai conceded 16), and these games are decided by small margins. Tonight, we were just a little bit off at crucial times and that probably cost us the game.”The middle-overs slump left Mumbai needing 32 off the last two overs and 21 off the final one. Rohit struck a six off the second ball of the 20th over, bowled by Chris Morris, but a ball later, a mid-pitch collision with Hardik Pandya resulted in his dismissal and he had to be helped off the field by the team physio. That dismissal sealed Mumbai’s fourth loss in six matches, leaving them in the bottom half of the table.One positive for Mumbai from the game was another strong performance from Krunal. The allrounder was promoted to No. 4 and cracked a 17-ball 36, which included four fours and two sixes. Playing in his debut IPL season, Krunal has been effective with the bat and his left-arm spin, taking three wickets and scoring 105 runs at a strike rate of 187.5 in three innings. On Saturday, Ponting lauded the allrounder for his fearless approach that forced Daredevils to tweak their tactics.”He was going well at that stage. I had sent him in to try and attack the legspin and he did that well. It forced Zaheer to bring himself back and an over of [Mohammed] Shami as well. Tactically, it worked well and he’s a fearless young player. The couple of times he’s had an opportunity early in the innings, he’s done really well for us. That [Pandya’s run-out] was costly, but you can never put your finger on one instance in a T20 that cost you the game.”

The full text of the letter Sreesanth submitted to the BCCI’s disciplinary committee earlier this week

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2013″The police have mentally and physically harassed me and obtained signed statements”•Associated Press

Honoured Sirs,I am beholden to the BCCI for granting me an opportunity to submit this explanation highlighting the whole truth regarding the issue involved and engaging the attention of the BCCI.Cricket is my pride and passion. I have given my entire life to it and in return cricket had given me whatever I have in life: name, game, admiration and recognition. In fact my commitment in life is entirely to cricket. There is no life to me without cricket.I adore it like anything and worship it as my own mother. It will therefore be impossible for a son to sully the image of one’s own mother. Even a mild indication or suggestion like that will send shudders through my spine. I love the game so much and I am prepared to put in my entire life into it.I had to undergo six surgeries on my left big toe & right toe. I have been training hard to make it back. Lot of other injuries too but I never stopped. All I ever want is to play again and win matches for my country and injuries which did not deter me any manner from playing cricket spiritedly and with the same fervour. Though I was in crutches for a considerable number of months I forced me to be present in the play ground on the advice of my well wishers. Even at that time my performance was not in any way affected. After 10 months later due to back injury when I resumed to play in the very First International I was declared the “Man of Match” award.With the commitment and devotion I had and with the blessings of God I became a proud member of the Indian Team which won the World Cup and I may not be misunderstood as blowing my own trumpet if I am permitted to describe in brief my career in cricket.I have played a number of international games and was part of the Indian National Team, which won the inaugural T-20 World Cup, 2007 and the I.C.C World Cup in 2011. My commitment to the cricket and my reputation as one of the Fast Bowlers in the world cannot be doubted by anybody. Even in the enquiry report this has been acknowledged. To cut short a cricket life like that solely on the basis of unreliable media reports, suspicions, generalizations, statement by accused etc will be too distressing to bear for me. I am accused of conceding 14 runs for a paltry sum of Rs 10 lakhs, which is a preposterous suggestion as far as the remuneration of a First Class cricketer in the country is well known to everybody.Till date I have not done anything wrong or improper to bring the name of cricket down in any manner whatever. I cannot think of any reason why I should be charged with a false and fantastic allegation of aligning with the bookies. Nothing of the kind has ever happened and will not ever happen in my cricket life.As regards the charges I respectfully beg to submit that all of them as has been conceded in the report itself are based on media reports and not any concrete and reliable evidence. Fortunately the enquiry officer himself has recorded that his report is made in breach of all principles of natural justice in that before submitting the report no opportunity was given to me or to any others to know what is being put up against me or shown which materials are going to be relied on. It is respectfully pointed out the BCCI is an august body enjoying status and held as a “State” or “other authority” under the Constitution of India and therefore, all its actions must be fair and free of bias and consistent with principles of fairness and natural justice. The enquiry report itself proceeds on the basis that the aforesaid principles could not be fully complied with for the reasons stated above.As regards the charges, I respectfully beg to submit as follows:i. Fixing — There is absolutely no reliable material even to find out a charge of fixing against me. What is relied upon is the alleged conversation between my friend Shri Jiju Janardhanan a fellow cricketer and some others. Shri Jiju Janardhanan is very much familiar with my mannerism and habit in the cricket field as he knows me from the age of 18. It is not uncommon to use a towel in afternoon matches particularly in a place like Mohali in the month of April-May. Enough photographs are there to show that in many of the earlier matches I played, white colour towel had been used by me. In fact even other well known cricketers use white towel as a matter of habit. Even in the very same match towels were used by other players. Apart from sheer coincidence nothing culpable can be attributed to me by reason of using a towel. The allegation that in the first over no towel was used cannot be correct.ii. What is alleged as warming up against me is not really warming up but a manner of play which I did in other plays also.iii. As regards conceding of 14 runs I may respectfully point out that there was no guarantee that the Captain will ask me to bowl in a particular over and if so, depending on the field, the pitch, batsman etc. the bowler will have to bowl. It may be stated here that my bowling is considered pace bowling estimated at an average of 135 km per hour and there is no guarantee for a bowler regarding the runs he is likely to concede unless deliberately either a no ball or wide is bowled. Conceding runs therefore, cannot be manipulated as alleged. There is no allegation that in the concerned second over any wide or no ball was bowled.iv. As regards seeking, accepting, offering or agreeing to accept any bribe there is no trace of evidence pointing out to any such incident at all.v. There had been no failure or refusal on my part to perform my abilities in the Matches as all the balls bowled by me will show that I have done my best in bowling that day also.vi. The charges of soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing etc under Article 2.1.4 cannot be even indicated against me as there is no trace of evidence.vii. As regards Article 2.2.3 my explanation supra will answer and no knowledge of any bet can be attributed to me at all by any acceptable evidence.viii. No gift and payment has ever been recovered by me and no evidence is available even with the police of any acceptance.ix. Since there is no breach of conduct in violation of the BCCI rules there is no need on my part to disclose to the BCCI any such events.x. It is alleged that Rs 5.5 lakhs has been recovered from bookie Abhishek Shukla based on information provided by me and Jiju Janardhanan. While I do not know what Shri Janardhanan said, I have not given any such information. If it has been so recorded it is false and forcibly obtained. The further allegation that the telephonic conversation between me and Jiju Janardhanan referred to sum of Rs 10 lakhs is false. No inference can be drawn that just for Rs 10 lakhs I will be throwing away a brilliant cricket career forgetting my duties to my country and the game of cricket.xi. All the expenses made by me in Jaipur have been spent from my money as will be seen from the statement of accounts maintained by my bank. This has been referred by me in my application in a Delhi Court, which had accepted it. Every pie that has been spent is my own money. The allegation that in JW Marriot Hotel in Chandigarh, an unidentified girl was seen late night is false. It is common knowledge that number of girls stay in that hotel and the girl was not seen with me but was photographed in the passage of the hotel. It will be unfortunate to connect ladies who are seen in the passages with me or my friend, even without enquiry into who that lady was. The allegation is based entirely on tendentious media reports which cannot be taken into account in destroying a successful cricketer’s career.xii. There is no confusion recorded by me willingly to the police. The police have mentally and physically harassed me and obtained signed statements. Annexure-1 may be referred to in this regard. The conclusion arrived at by the Commissioner of Enquiry that I have committed offences in Para 9, it is submitted is based on conjectures, guesses, inferences, and inadmissible police reports. The police have not intercepted any conversation between me and any others in support of the wild and fantastic charges levelled against me which has put me into manifest injustice and prejudice as I had no opportunity to refute them. Before relying on that police reports, the Commissioner who conducted the enquiry has also not put them to me to ascertain my version. That is the reason why the Commissioner himself has recorded in the report in Para 13.

“I also do not have access to any of the arrested persons including the arrested players and therefore, I am not able to question them on the allegations against them or give them a chance to explain their conduct. Even though I have no means to complete the process of natural justice, my hand is being forced to complete the report within 15 days in view of the direction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.”

The report and the materials relied upon do not even come anywhere near broad probabilities in arriving at conclusions against me. In fact they are only guess work based on exaggerated media reports which were never put to me, or their veracity tested in any manner. It will be unduly harsh and unfair to end a person’s cricket career and deprived him of his life and livelihood solely based on media reports which will not be touched by a Court of Law. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is a high powered body, which is expected to act fair, avoiding arbitrariness and without infracting any person’s fundamental rights. I am put to very serious prejudice by not being given an opportunity to controvert the contents of a report before or at the time when it is prepared. It will be indeed hard on me to draw conclusions on such a report, the maker of which himself concedes it is incomplete, to put an end to my career as a cricketer and to cast indelible stigma forever. It is my reputation that will be adversely affected, which cannot be repaired at a later stage. I therefore, request the Board to desist from making conclusion on such imperfect, incomplete and unjust report.xiii. There was no conduct on my part that will fall within the category of any offence.I am therefore, constrained to deny all the charges put to me by the Board as wholly unsustainable, not even prima-facie established and I reiterate there is no violation of any of the quoted codes referred to in the notice under reply.I therefore, emphatically deny all the charges subject to my reservation and restriction to give a full picture since the entire matter is pending trial before a criminal court. Suffice to say that the enquiry officer has not relied upon any material which will bear legal scrutiny even in a court of law. He has relied on media reports, statements of top police officers, newspaper clippings etc. none of which the apex court has held, will be evidence in a court of law, or in any enquiry leading to adverse consequences.On such materials since I have already suffered ignominy of suspension from play from 15th May, 2013 till date, no further action like suspension etc. is warranted on the facts and circumstances unfolded before the BCCI. Whatever I had given in the statement marked as Annexure-1 represents the truth. Under the threat of arrest of my close relatives a statement was forcibly taken in the manner directed by the police. That cannot form the basis or material for presentation before a body like BCCI consisting of eminent persons well-versed in law. The principles of natural justice, fairness and transparent procedure are applicable to proceedings before the BCCI and since the enquiry officer himself has conceded that in view of the Supreme Court direction he did not comply in full with those principles, that may be particularly noticed.Since the matter is subjudice I crave permission not to elaborate. However, it will not be out of place to mention that the court in which a charge against me and others was laid, the court on the 10th of September, 2013 expressed an opinion that not even any proved direct connection had been found on the materials presented before the court to any cricketers with the crime. The court has also observed there are missing links in the investigation. Prima facie therefore, as such present advised I take the liberty to point out that none of the charges levelled against me will hold-water.However, considering the fact that the courts do take long time to ultimately adjudicate the issue, on such unsustainable charges if I am forbidden from entry in the cricket field which has become part of my life and is my life itself it will be a travesty of justice. I am determined to bring greater glory to the country by putting in my best in cricket again and will feel extremely distressed if I am prevented from participating in that game solely on the ground of some cooked up and false charges which cannot even be prima facie sustained at all by any material evidence. Such an action I crave leave to point out will amount to cutting short my cricket life forever without strong and sound reasons and will be violative of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. This I bring to the notice of a high power body like the BCCI, shall not be permitted to happen.I therefore, humbly request that the BCCI may be pleased to declare that I have the necessary permission to play in national as well as International cricket despite the pendency of certain proceedings initiated against me without any supporting materials.I shall be extremely grateful to the BCCI if it is pleased to consider the matter in the above perspective and graciously grant me the permission requested for.Thanking you,Yours obediently,
(S. Sreesanth)11..9..2013

Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has said that his left knee requires surgery but he hasn’t decided when to perform the operation

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2012Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has said that his left knee requires surgery but he hasn’t decided when to perform the operation. Earlier this month, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had declined him permission to play in the Sri Lanka Premier League as a precautionary measure.”The problem (in my left knee) won’t be fixed without an operation. But I haven’t decided when it will be,” Shakib told Bangla daily . “It may be after the World Cup (T20) but if it means that I will miss the West Indies series, I will do it afterwards.”Shakib is part of the Twenty20 squad for three matches in Trinidad & Tobago next month, before heading to Sri Lanka to play the ICC World Twenty20. He is also set to appear for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Champions League T20 from October 13 before the home series against West Indies in mid-November. Further in the 2012-13 season, Shakib will be playing in domestic leagues, including the Bangladesh Premier League as well as tours with Bangladesh to Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the IPL to round things off.Dr Debashish Chowdhury, the BCB doctor, said that Shakib has been diagnosed with degenerated meniscus, but it won’t put him out of action very soon. “The latest MRI suggests that he is suffering degenerated meniscus. Usually it is caused due to impact, but in Shakib’s case it is due to overuse. He’s a spinner so the knee has to twist that way,” Dr Chowdhury said.

It is understandable that Leicestershire haven’t been entirely focussed since their Twenty20 triumph on Saturday

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's01-Sep-2011
ScorecardIt is understandable that Leicestershire haven’t been entirely focussed since their Twenty20 triumph on Saturday, but after five days the foggy post-celebration haze lifted a little at Lord’s as they showed some fight in the follow-on against Middlesex. However, it won’t be enough to prevent their ninth defeat of the season while, in turn, a victory will send the home side momentarily top of the Division Two table.Even as summer turns to autumn, the same rules apply at Lord’s. If the sun is out, life is a lot tougher for the bowlers. England have previously found to their cost that asking a side to follow-on here can be the path to some hard toil and Middlesex’s bowlers had to earn their rewards – although that isn’t a bad thing because often this season Division Two wickets have fallen too easily.Middlesex only gained two breakthroughs up to tea, as Greg Smith hit 84, his first Championship fifty of the season, but inroads came during the final session including James Taylor for a determined 85. He faced 164 balls, in front of England selector James Whitaker, before gloving Tim Murtagh, armed with the second new ball, down the leg side although Middlesex were convinced they’d got him caught behind in single figures.Taylor’s display will help ease some of the frustrations of being left out of England’s Twenty20 and ODI squads having made his international debut against Ireland last week. Unlike in Dublin, where he fell to a top-edged pull, the shot was in good working order today . Overall, Taylor’s numbers for the season are impressive but it hasn’t been the most productive of summer’s in the Championship for him so a strong finish would be timely.Given he isn’t in the current England squad it appears unlikely he will make the tour to India next month (unless another player is rested) and, based on the recent India Test matches, remains behind Ravi Bopara in the pecking order for the reserve batsmen. It may be that Taylor has to be content with another winter of development for the Lions, which would actually be more beneficial than a couple of tours carrying drinks with the senior side.In the more immediate future he will need to decide where his county career lies. Leicestershire are going to offer him a new deal, but a move away – which would enable his current club to cash in – is still the likeliest option.Someone who may feature with Taylor for the Lions before next season is Toby Roland-Jones. He he has yet to gain any representative honours, but has registered interest with his economical action and ability to plug away on a nagging length. He may have already advanced further if shin splints hadn’t limited his season – this is just his sixth Championship game – but his spell post-tea was impressive.He had Josh Cobb, one of the heroes of finals day, caught behind from a loose drive that was well taken by John Simpson diving forward then produced an excellent delivery which lifted from a length to remove Ned Eckersley. When Wayne White was trapped lbw to the second new ball and Taylor followed shortly afterwards a three-day finish was on the cards but Robert Taylor and Jigar Naik erased the deficit.

South Africa A opener Dean Elgar scored a century to steady a stuttering batting line-up on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka A at the SSC

Cricinfo staff16-Aug-2010
ScorecardSouth Africa A opener Dean Elgar scored a century to steady a stuttering batting line-up on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka A at the SSC. Elgar remained firm amid falling wickets and remained unbeaten on 118 at stumps.The South Africans made a promising start after they chose to bat, with openers Stephen Cook and Elgar adding 62. Cook’s dismissal for 26, however, started a trend in which the visitors would begin to have a partnership but the Sri Lankan bowlers would cut it short before it did any damage. Middle-order batsmen Rilee Rossouw, Stiaan van Zyl, Jonathan Vandiar and Heino Kuhn entered double figures but no one got past 30.Elgar, however, batted steadily to reach his century and led his team to 235 for 6 at the close of play. Sachithra Senanayake and Janaka Gunaratne were the most successful Sri Lanka A bowlers, taking two wickets apiece.

The Australia Test opener will take on the same role for his state in his first season since being replaced as captain having previously batted at No. 4

Alex Malcolm16-Sep-2024Usman Khawaja will open the batting for Queensland in the opening three Sheffield Shield rounds, having previously batted at No. 4 while being the Test opener, as new coach Johan Botha looks to create more stability in the Bulls’ middle-order following a disappointing season last summer.Despite being the Test opener, Khawaja had batted at No.4 in his last eight Shield games since last opening in February 2022 just after he had been elevated to open in the final Test of the 2021-22 Ashes series. Australia’s selectors have not been prescriptive in directing state teams to bat players in their Test positions in Shield cricket and have been happy to let Khawaja and others bat wherever they were needed at domestic level.Related

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However, New South Wales coach Greg Shipperd has asked for guidance from the national selectors regarding where to bat incumbent Test opener Steven Smith when he returns to play Shield cricket at the start of the summer, with conjecture continuing to swirl around his batting position in the Test team for the India series.Meanwhile, Michael Neser is set to be available for the start of the domestic season after overcoming a calf issue but Xavier Bartlett is expected to miss at least the first month after the side strain he picked up in the first T20I in Southampton. It’s understood there is hope he could be fit for the Pakistan limited-overs series in early November.Khawaja, who was Queensland captain last season, opted to bat at No. 4 in his four Shield games last summer and scored two centuries. But he and new Queensland skipper Marnus Labuschagne are only set to be available for the first three Shield games this summer before leaving to play in the five-Test series against India. Khawaja is unlikely to be available to play Shield cricket again until the end of the Sri Lanka Test tour in February while Labuschagne may not return to Queensland until the end of the Champions Trophy in March.Jack Clayton was Queensland’s leading Shield run-scorer last season and made two centuries at No. 4 when Khawaja was absent but had to bat at No. 5 when the Australian opener returned and finished the season at No. 3. The promising 25-year-old left-hander looks set to settle at No. 4 this season and Botha praised Khawaja for helping create some stability in the Bulls’ middle order.”I know Uzzie has a good record for Queensland at No. 4, but I had a chat to him and he understood what we’re trying to do with giving the younger guys a bit of stability through Nos. 4, 5, 6,” Botha told ESPNcricinfo.Michael Neser is currently on track to start the Shield season•Getty Images

“I think he realized that if he went in at No. 4 then we’ll have to change our line-up around. And he’s been great with that. He said, ‘I’ll do whatever the team needs,’ and we want him to open so he’s going to do that for us to start with. So that’s a nice result for us. We can have a bit of stability through our Nos. 4, 5, 6 when the [Test players] leave after the third game.”Khawaja is already in some fine touch having helped his Queensland premier cricket club Valley claim the T20 Max title last week before smashing 114 off 119 balls in Valley’s first 50-over match of the season against a South Brisbane attack featuring Bulls seamer Gurinder Sandhu.On the bowling front, Neser looks set to be available for the start of the season after recovering from a calf problem. He got through six overs in a practice game for Queensland against South Australia last week and bowled 10 overs for his club side Gold Coast on Saturday.”He’s in a good spot,” Botha said. “You never want to be injured. But I think it came at a good time where he could freshen up a bit. He was over at Hampshire. So in a way, it probably worked out well. If he starts the season and he goes well, then it’s obviously worked perfectly, but we’ll have to see how that start goes and manage that maybe a little bit. But at the moment, he’s in a good space. He’s fresh. He’s good to go and he’ll be a big player for us this summer.”There have been concerns building over Australia’s fast bowling depth ahead of the series against India with Neser’s calf issue among a host of injury worries. Scott Boland is managing a long-term knee complaint while Lance Morris is set for a slow return following a stress fracture in his back.Bartlett’s significant side strain along with injuries to other white-ball quicks Nathan Ellis (hamstring) and Riley Meredith (side) has stretched Australia on the tour of the UK while they try to carefully manage Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc ahead of a huge workload against India.